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 Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:05 am
Belyy continued to preen his ego a bit at Nova’s praise. It was still nice to hear the truth spoken aloud. He watched as the dark mare settled down and considered for a moment. “You might try soaking your legs in the river when the sun goes down,” he suggested. “The water will cool down by then. It’s fairly safe. There’s no predators in these parts, so you don’t have to worry about that. A few minutes in the cold water will numb the muscles in your legs. It’ll help a bit.” At the very least, it would numb away the pain she was feeling. Only time would really get rid of the soreness completely. Though… that was only helpful if he was right about the lack of predators. He was fairly certain he was, but… “I can check the river again, just to be certain.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Duga agreed, though she was hesitant about letting Nova go into the water at night like that. What if there were alligators or skinwalkers? Were there even any alligator skinwalkers? She had never heard of any, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t. There were a lot of things that she had never heard of, or that she had dismissed as urban legend. Still, this stallion had volunteered to double check for them. That was something, right? Assuming that he was trustworthy at all. She was still fairly certain that he was, but she could be wrong.
“It does sound lovely,” Nova agreed, wistfully. The idea of soaking away her aches and pains was highly tempting. But she didn’t want Duga to think that she was too weak to travel. “But please don’t go through too much trouble,” she added, looking at the overly helpful stallion. “I wouldn’t want to be a burden or… anything like that.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:09 am
Belyy smiled at the little, dark mare. That was adorable. She was worried about being troublesome. “It’s no trouble at all,” he assured her, trying hard not to chuckle at her predicament. No doubt it was a serious worry in her mind, which would mean that it would be rude of him to belittle that. Just because he didn’t think it was something to worry about didn’t mean that it wasn’t important to her. “I love being of use to lovely ladies such as yourselves,” he added, hoping that would be enough to assuage her guilt. Though, he was fairly certain that nothing he did would do so. Nova was likely more concerned about what Duga thought than what he did.
“There, you see?” Duga said, grinning at Nova. “He doesn’t mind double checking. And it’ll help you feel better. It’s important to accept help from others when it’s offered.” And when you trusted the person offering it, at least. But that was a lesson she could get into with Nova later, when they didn’t have a stranger listening in. Right now, Duga could be extra observant for both of them.
Nova considered that for a moment. Zahavah was always telling her children that they shouldn’t try to do everything themselves. It was a new thing that Nova’s mother had been struggling to learn herself. But Nova didn’t want to be too dependent on the people around her. It would go a long way toward becoming a burden if she couldn’t do anything herself. But then again, she didn’t really have enough knowledge to take care of herself. She nodded a bit. “Alright, then… later… Thank you.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2016 3:41 pm
“Of course,” Belyy flashed both mares a charming smile. “You ladies make yourselves comfortable and I’ll scout out the river a bit now. While I’m at it, I’ll do a quick patrol around the area also.” He hadn’t had a chance to do that before running into the ladies. Usually he took a quick check before he settled down. Though, to be fair to his magnificent self, it was still relatively early in the day. Without something as interesting as the two mares to keep him put, he would have kept going for at least another couple hours.
“We’d appreciate that,” Duga said with what she hoped was an equally charming smile. The fellow’s song was still playing merrily. Usually, if someone was untrustworthy, the song would have given them away by now. She was growing more confident that they could rely on this stallion, at least temporarily. But she tried not to give in to that urge. If she was on her own, it wouldn’t be such a problem, but she was also looking after Nova. She didn’t want to set a bad example.
“Yes, thank you,” Nova added, smiling as well. She didn’t bother trying to make it charming. She didn’t think she had it in her. But she did give them a genuinely grateful smile. They really were very lucky to have met such a nice stranger so early in their journeys.
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2016 3:45 pm
Belyy nodded his head once to acknowledge their gratitude, which was deserved of course. That didn’t mean that he had to be smug about it. No, a true gentleman accepted praise and thanks with grace and humility. He couldn’t fake the humility, but he could definitely accept their thanks with grace, which is what he did. He left the ladies in the little meadow and ran a quick patrol around the area first. It would be a stain on his reputation if the ladies were hurt in some way while he was checking the river. No, it was better to check out the surrounding area first. After doing that, and finding no threats or even hints of threats, he headed for the river to repeat the process. He was a little more through with the river. It would be harder to watch out after the dark mare at night when she was half submerged in the water. Rather than look for current dangers, he looked to see if there were any hints of night creatures that might lurk about later.
Duga waited until Belyy was out of earshot before she turned to nuzzle Nova gently. “How are you really holding up?” she asked, gently. She hoped she’d get an honest answer. She had given up on trying to dance around the issue. She needed the reassurance…
Nova started to assure Duga that she was fine, but something in the other mare’s face or voice stopped her. She considered her answer before she admitted, honestly, “I’m not sure… I’m enjoying being with you. But I’m a little sore… I’ll get over that, it’s not a problem. I’m just… I don’t know. I AM enjoying your company. I know that much. Nothing else seems to be too terribly different."
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2016 9:04 am
Once Belyy’s examination of the river area was complete, he made his way back to the clearing. Hearing voices, however, he made sure to step quietly. Normally he wasn’t one to eavesdrop… Okay, he was usually one to eavesdrop. It was the best way to learn, after all. So, he crept up on the ladies, keeping to the shadows and the foliage. If the conversation seemed to be too personal, he’d back off and make it clear that he was there. For now, he’d just satisfy his curiosity.
“We aren’t that far from your home,” Duga assured Nova, thinking that maybe Nova was concerned that nothing seemed different. “We’ll continue west, maybe explore some of the beaches or the forests out that way. The terrain is different… or we could head toward the plains if you like…”
“No,” Nova shook her head quickly. “I don’t want you to go anywhere just for me… I want to live the way you live for a bit… to see if I can. That means not going out of the way just for me.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2016 9:12 am
“It’s not going out of the way,” Duga argued with a soft chuckle. “I never have a destination in mind. Going somewhere in particular just so that you can see it won’t be any different than going where the wind blows… for now, you’re my wind, Nova. I’m fine with that… if you are…”
“If you’re certain,” Nova hesitated. She didn’t want Duga to go out of her way, but on the other hand, she DID want to see something different…
Well… if that wasn’t a personal conversation, Belyy didn’t know what was. He backed up slowly and silently until he could walk down the path again, this time taking care to make noise. Oh, he didn’t thunder down the path, that would be too obvious. But he didn’t step carefully. A snapped twig here, a russle of leaves there, and the ladies were properly informed of his coming. “Good news, ladies!” he announced when he had stepped fully into the clearing. “The river and the area are all cleared of any evil doers. Of course, I’ll look again before we venture out, just in case, but we should be fine for a little midnight swim.” He settled down, careful not to crowd the ladies. The air felt a little thick to him, so he made an effort to change the topic and lighten the mood… by telling them of some of his exploits while clearing the area. After all, everyone loved a good story.
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