The outsider (Modern / Forest)

[Duchess Marie]

Clover smiled, "it is the least I can do. We will leave at sunrise for the map." She laid down across from him. "I am going to get a little sleep, but do wake me at dawn if I do not get up. We should move as fast as possible." She yawned and closed her eyes. Her breathing became regular as she quickly went to sleep.  

[Reciter5613]

Kire knew that he would have a better sleep now. Before he went to sleep he looked at Clover sleeping. Before he didn't notice how pretty she looked. He felt as if he was drawn to her with her pretty looks and kind spirit. He then held it off and then went to sleep.  

[Duchess Marie]

Clover woke with the sunrise; it was hard not to since she always woke up early. She stretched and got to her hooves to wake Kire. Then she noticed that she had dirt in her coat from sleeping on the floor so she dusted herself off first. She did not want to look like an animal around him. "Kire? You ready to go," she said just above a whisper. She started collecting the incense from last night into the basket.  

[Reciter5613]

Kire yawned and got up. "Strange. I didn't have the dream again. I actually had a pleasant dream for once. Anyway, I'm ready when you are."  

[Duchess Marie]

"The frankincense should have helped with that, as well as the fact that you now know what happened." She nodded toward the hide, "we will leave that here. In case we need a secluded place again." Clover stepped out of the house and looked around for anyone who might be watching. "We must go quickly before anyone starts asking questions." She turned and walked to the largest building in the village. "The record building will have everything we need. It has the whole history of the village and the surrounding area; our culture, law and past is all here."  

[Reciter5613]

Kire nodded and followed her to the building. But when they got near some firemane centaur appeared. One of them said "Hey there Clover. What are you and your friend doing all the way here? Where's your future husband?"  

[Duchess Marie]

Clover hid her anger at these people, the guards had always annoyed her, but that was when she did not know the reason for their presence. She smiled in his face and sweetly spoke to him, "I am sure that Yucca is busy protecting us, patroling the village as he should be. He is very brave like that." She kept her tone adoring and prideful. Maybe the guard would not notice that she ignored his first question.  

[Reciter5613]

The guard smirked back. "You don't have to pretend to like him. We know how much of a fool he is. But as long as he does his job who cares. So what was you and that dork gonna do before we showed up?"  

[Duchess Marie]

"We have been ordered to clean the records storage and arrange it by year." She thought of the most boring job she could think of for them. "As for Yucca, why would you care what a Greenleaf soldier does at all?" She pretended that she knew nothing of who he truly was, perhaps this fool would release some information that his tribe would rather not share. "What business is he or our relationship to you?"  

[Reciter5613]

The guard took a moment. He glared at Kire then went back to Clover. "Well I guess it's not our business. Our only concern is protecting tribes from threats like filthy humans. Be on your way." They soon left. Kire formed a fist in anger for their comment on humans but kept it to himself.  

[Duchess Marie]

Clover kept the smile on her face until she was in the records hall and made sure no one was in there, then she growled in frustration. "Ignorant creep!" She turned to Kire, "that is exactly the kind of attitued that we are up against. Most centaurs fear humans, we will have to show them that threats do not necessarily come in unfamiliar forms." She shook her whole body. "Ugh! I feel the need to bathe just from talking to him."  

[Reciter5613]

"I don't like those guys either. Even before figuring out what they did in my dream. They make humans as a boogieman to fear others to following them. Something we gonna take them down. For right now let's do what we came to do."  

[Duchess Marie]

Clover nodded in agreement. She searched the shelves. "I was lying to them earlier, the elders insist that these books are kept in a very particular order. She selected a book. "Here are the maps." She help it out to him and continued to read the titles on the opposite wall. "There also ought to be- ah, here it is: a volume on your tribe. I guess I never really noticed it. Not knowing the name of your tribe anyway. Do you want to look for the map or read up on your tribe?"  

[Reciter5613]

Kire took the book of his tribe. "They keep records of other tribes? Maybe I should check this one first. Make sure to pick out the other book with maps."  

[Duchess Marie]

"Just basic stuff really, mostly trade records and foreign policies. There may be something there about the resources they had access to or how many people lived in the village." She open the map book and flipped through the pages. "Here is a map from 10 years ago..." She turned the pages again. "And one from 25 years ago, but no river here either." She was silent for several minutes while studying page after page. She gasped softly, "I have something. There is a Galloping Meadow Brook on this map, but it is four generations old. It must have dried up ages ago." She compared this map to a modern one, moving from page to page several times. "I know why I never saw it now. The place where the river used to be is no longer part of the forest; it is beyond our borders."