A quest of Love (Dahlia & Paeony)

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Dahlia turned her ears back to listen to Paeony's approach. He had given her a head start, but she didn't care. It just felt too good to run, to be free for these few minutes. She continued to race forward, eager to get to the pond and truly start their afternoon of alone time. The further away they got from the herds main territory the less likely another healer or member of the herd would come looking for her. She had been working hard lately and that definitely deserved some time off.

Her pace slowed a bit as she got closer to the pond. Part of her wanting to just gallop up to it and jump in. But the healer in her made her slow down and take a slightly more cautious approach. Oh she still planned on jumping in but certainly not at a full gallop. Dahlia glanced behind her to see Paeony not far behind. "Hurry up!" She called out to him with a laugh and then race the last bit to the pond. When she got to the edge, her pace more of a trot now, she lept into the water.  

[JetAlmeara]

As Dahlia slowed down Paeony closed the gap between them, slowing to a more respectful pace as he neared the water - though it was less because he didn't want to hurt himself and more because he didn't want to be rude and splash water all over Dahlia, that was the sort of thing that rambunctious unthinking colts did - not distinguished gentleman stallions.

Following her lead he slowed to a trot and then leapt into the water alongside her, holding his head up high to keep the water from splashing into his eyes as he did so. "Ah, feels nice." He commented, it was the perfect time of year for a swim and the water was a wonderful temperature. "I can't believe that we are the only ones here." He stated looking around the area, oh he had been hoping they would be of course and but he still couldn't quite believe their luck in the matter. Hopefully the luck held and no one would show up until they were leaving or already gone.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

The wave created by her, and then Paeony, made the once still pond plenty wavy. But after a few short moments it because to still once again. The water was the perfect temperature and already Dahlia could feel herself relax, any stress she had been feeling was melting away and she could not think of a better way to spend her afternoon off than this.

At Paeony's comment Dahlia looked over to her mate with a smile. "I think that means that luck is on our side. Or perhaps the others are busy with something else." It was probably the luck thing. The general activity of the herd was low at the moment. Things were settled in, winter was still far enough away that there wasn't that rush to gather things like herbs and for the most part the her members were simply trying to enjoy the nice weather while they had it. "Of course, now that you've mentioned it I wouldn't be surprised if the whole herd shows up shortly." She said with a chuckle.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony's eyes went wide at her teasing comment "why would you say such a thing?!?" He wailed in fake exasperation. "now it's going to happen for sure. Any moment now we'll love over towards the tress and see the rising cloud of dust spelling the doom of our nice and peaceful day!" He exaggerated in a mournful tone. Sighing loudly he turned to look at the tress as though fully expecting to see the aforementioned cloud of doom.

Thankfully the world didn't seem to be out to get them and the horizon remained clear and quiet. "Of not." He said with a slight laugh before he flopped on his side in the shallows and enjoyed the contrast of cool water and warm sun on his hide for a few moments before lifting his head to look towards Dahlia and see what she was up to.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Dahlia couldn't help but roll her eyes at Paeony. Of course it was this side of him that she loved, just as much as the rest of him, so eventually a smile came to her lips. "You were always the over dramatic type." She said with a laugh. Honestly if a bunch of herd members did show up to enjoy the pond Dahlia would have no trouble sharing the water with them, and she knew Paeony would be the same. But admittedly, it was very nice to have some truly alone time. It was an all too rare thing, especially with how hectic it could be with sickness was abound in the herd. Thankfully they were not dealing with any major illnesses at the time, just the typical small cuts and a few expecting mares and young foals.

Letting out a sigh of content Dahlia continued to swim around the pond. "If I could get a couple of days off from healer duty, do you think we could go somewhere?" She asked. Really she didn't have anything particular in mind, but she was due for a break from her duties, all the healers took turns taking a few days off to recharge. Of course she still needed to ask the herd leader and head healer for the time off, but it would be nice to get a plan started ahead of time.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony glanced towards Dahlia with a sheepish grin as she commented about his over dramatic ways, yes he was a bit weird with it sometimes but he found it funny and he was pretty sure that Dahlia did too - or at the very least she didn't seem to mind it.

Her next comment was a bit surprising however and he glanced at her sideways as she swam about as thought to make sure he had heard her right. "I'm sure we can...where would you want to go?" He questioned her after a few moments, there were plenty of nice places in the area, places they had heard about from the herds scouts or the rare native Soquili they had met passing through but he didn't mention any of these areas right off the bat, for her to have brought it up she must have someplace she wanted to go? He at least wanted to wait and see what she had in mind before overwhelming her with the various ideas dancing through his own mind. It would be wonderful if they could find a way to get out of the herd for a little while. Dahlia worked so very hard, she deserved a bit of a break now and them and was long overdue for one.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Dahlia closed her eyes in thought. Where would she like to go if she were able to take a few days off and just get away from it all? It was a good question and as she thought about it she realized she didn't know. Honestly, she hadn't really thought that far ahead, getting the time off would be the biggest decision maker in the end, since certain places would take longer to reach than others and so part of her choice would depend on how long she could be away from the herd.

"To be honest," she began, opening her eyes once more and looked at her mate, "I don't know. I feel like almost anywhere would be nice. I love this herd and being a healer from them, but sometimes you get need to get away from all of that for a few days to recharge and remember what else you cherish in your life." Like spending time with the stallion that she loved and simply just enjoying life without worrying about a foal with a cough or an infected wound on another herd member.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony nodded slightly as Dahlia spoke, it was easy to understand where she was coming from, he had long thought the little mare worked herself to hard - and yet he also understood why she couldn't do anything but work that hard, when you were responsible for the health and safety of others it wasn't like you could slack off or half a** your job now was it?

"Well there are a few places I've heard about from the scouts and the few locals we've met, maybe you can find out how long you can take off and then we can just..leave..go and see as many of them as we can make it to in the time you have?" He suggested. SInce she didn't get much time off Paeony thought it might be mice to let her see as many things as they could manage, after all who knew when she would be able to take time off again?  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

She considered his suggesting while swimming around. My but this was a very relaxing thing to do. If it wasn't for all of her healing duties Dahlia might find herself here every day, just floating on the water letting the day slip away. Of course, she doubted even if she wasn't a healer than she would do that. A relaxing day was nice, but Dahlia was the type that needed something to do to occupy her days, the busier she was, the happier she was.

"I think that's a wonderful idea." She said, swimming up to her mate and giving him a nuzzle. This way they didn't have to follow a set schedule, they could go as far as they wanted in a day and depending on what they found they could either stay there a while, or continue on. "We'll talk to the scouts to find out what trails are best to take, but after that we will let our hooves decide where to go." It would be a wonderful time...if she could get the time off.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony nuzled his mate back as she swam up beside him, bobbing peacefully in the water beside her the stallion let out a huge sigh of contentment. It was exciting to think about taking Dahlia off to see all of the sights he had heard the scouts speaking of...but it was also wonderfully peaceful to just be lazing about here in the water with her. "It sounds like a plan." The stallion finally stated, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between them.

"I am sure that you will be able to get away for a good bit of time, its a good time of year to try anyways...no foals coming, no sickness coming through - I'm sure the other healers will be able to handle anything that comes along and we won't be gone all that long in the grand scheme of things." He told the mare, knowing that although she would be excited about going on this trip with him she would also be nervous about leaving.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Dahlia couldn't help but smile. Even though she wasn't sure exactly when they would be going on this little trip, it felt good to plan a little getaway before things got busy once more. If they tried to go later in the season she would be bogged down with duties and it would be next to impossible to get more than a few hours off. It would work out perfect, they would get to spend some time together, Dahlia would get to relax for a bit and then it would be back to the busy life that she loved.

"That's true." Unless some plague suddenly came upon the herd then she shouldn't have an issue getting the time off to go. "It will take me some time to assign others to my regular duties." She couldn't leave her regulars alone without someone to care for them, especially that sweet old mare she visited every day. "You can speak with the scouts while I talk to the other healers. If all goes well we might just be heading off on this little adventure in a couple of days."  

[JetAlmeara]

A couple of days! It was both too far away and at the same time quite soon with lots of planning to do in the meantime, searching out the scouts alone would take a fair bit of time - but Paeony had never been one to shy away from a challenge, at least not when that challenge included pleasing Dahlia! "I will find us the best route with the best sights to see." The stallion promised the mare beside him, his eyes aglow with warmth and love for her.

He would do anything for Dahlia - and if he had to track down scouts for the next two days straight and start the trip without any sleep at all he would do so - and quite gladly, getting some time alone with her was more then worth being a little bit exhausted!  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Dahlia smiled at him. "I have no doubt that you will arrange the best trip anyone could ever have." After all, Paeony was the type that once a task was set before him he put in all of his effort and then some to see it through. Though Dahlia had to admit, she didn't really care where they went, it could be something simple like just finding a place not far from the herd to relax or a decent length journey with some of the most amazing sights. All that mattered to her was that she would get to spend some good one on one time with Paeony, relax and then return back here to her hectic but enjoyable job as healer.

"Perhaps it would be easiest to talk to Hypnos." She suggested. "He still runs the night patrol, but since he and Okelani got together he spends a few hours with the herd so they can spend time together." Yes, it would mean interrupting the couples time together, but once they knew the reason she was sure that they would understand. With Okelani also being a healer for the herd there would be a greater understanding of the need to get away every once and a while. "I can see if Okelani can cover some of my work as well." She wouldn't pile it all on the other mare, even though there wasn't much, Dahlia would try to spread it out among the healers so no one was left burnt out by the extra work.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony dipped his head slightly in agreement with her thoughts, the scout and healer pair did seem like the most obvious choice when it came to asking for advice on a matter such as this and while he was loathe to interrupt the two during their infrequent time together he, like his mate, was sure that they ultimately wouldn't mind.

"We should look for them when we head back, I imagine we can catch them before Hypnos leaves for patrol." He suggested, glancing at the sun to see how much time they had left - more then enough he judged. they probably wouldn't even have to hurry. Paddling with his hooves in the lazy water Paeony let his thoughts wander slightly, what sort of things should he ask Hypno's about? Interesting sites? Romantic sites? Maybe a mix of both? He supposed that he really should wait until he had more of a time frame to work with before worrying over it to much. "I'm sure Okelani will be willing to look in one your patients who need it for you." He agreed, the other healer was a kind helpful sort, much like his Dahlia - perhaps it was a common feature among healers.It made sense...you probably wouldn't be a very good healer if you were ill tempered and miserable all the time.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

"That's a good idea." It would be a while still before Hypnos would leave for his patrol, so it would still give them some time to simply relax and be together before they needed to return. Actually, it would likely work out perfectly timing wise, as she would need to do her evening rounds and she would likely find Okelani there or with Hypnos.

Dahlia let the water relax her muscles, kicking every now and then to keep moving but overall just floating peacefully. "I'm sure that Okelani would take on my entire workload if I let her." Dahlia said with a bit of a laugh. "But I won't let her do that unless no other healer can help out while we are gone." She was certain that the other healers would take up some of her duties, as they all relied on each other at time to care for their charges when other things pulled them away.