Beware ...
Beware ...
go to find a safer place to rest ...
Priscilla Hernandez – The Willow's Lullaby
There was no sense of time as they wandered, the young flaxen-haired woman and her steed. Desiare's pace was slow, laborious, and she found herself clinging to Starlight to keep from stumbling more than once. Finally, she stopped and lifted her head, her eyes wide as she heard a new noise among the leaves and wind.
“Do you hear that?” she said, her voice weary but hopeful. “It sounds like water. If there's a stream nearby, there'll be something to follow.” Encouraged by the sound, she sped up as she sought out the source.
After struggling through a thicket of brambles, she came to a halt at the sight before her – a verdant clearing with a bubbling brook. A shaft of sun shone on the water, creating small prisms of light that shimmered along the mossy, stone-lined banks. With a small sound of sheer pleasure, she let go of Starlight and headed down to the edge of the brook, kneeling as she cupped her hands and took a deep drink of the clear, cool water.
Starlight, however, approached the water slowly and sniffed at the water warily before taking a drink. A moment later, Desiare was sprayed in a fine mist and she turned to look up at her steed in surprised amusement.
“What was that? I know I probably need a bath, but I don't think you're helping.” She turned and, grabbing a handful of water, tossed it back at Starlight as the steed sidestepped it and shook her head, her snorts sounding much like laughter.
“Well,” Desiare said and looks back and forth at the brook. “If we follow the water, it's bound to lead somewhere. But which direction? If we follow where it's going it could lead us out – or it could just disappear. And if we follow the direction it's coming from, it should lead us to the source.” She tapped her fingers against her arm as she debated, then covered her mouth quickly as she yawned. “But, first, a rest. What do you say Starlight? It seems safe enough here.”
The steed merely blinked and stood still as Desiare unstrapped her bedroll, watching as her mistress looked for a flat place to lay it down. “There,” Desiare said, pointing to a large tree, its boughs hanging low to the ground. The curved branches had created a natural shelter, almost tent-like, so she got down on her knees and stared into it before shoving her bedding inside. Turning to look up at Starlight, she yawned again and shook her head, as though warding off a swarm of flies. “Alright, you've got the first watch,” she said teasingly, before crawling into the opening and arranging herself on the bedroll.
As Desiare closed her eyes, almost immediately drifting off to sleep, Starlight huffed quietly and positioned herself in front of the opening, keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.
And when the attack came, she was ready …
