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"You'll see." They will have a bit to do on foot before meeting up with Athanasius, as the errais was loathe to get too close to the market. Once someone had tried to put a bridle on him and it hadn't ended up too well for anyone involved in that particular disaster. The path would be rather quick, however, and he was already waiting for them as they headed northward into the forested areas.

"Well, look who decided to finally let me do something." The creature had not truly spoken in a tangible way, but the words echoed softly in their minds. He gave a rather audible snort, much like any equine would have.

"Good morning to you too, Athanasius." Ankou said, quite unfazed by the errais' comment. He could not help it that he did not like sitting down and doing nothing !

"You both get those bags in my harness, if you would like." He could carry all that and the two ladies just fine, he knew from experience, though he remained still as Ankou made sure everything was settled correctly.

"It is quite a long way, both to the tree and within, but you may alternate walking and riding as you like." He was rather eager to go back there and see that place again - it was breathtaking in a way little else could even be, to be literally inside a tree.

It did indeed take a while, and the shortcuts he took while he was on his own were not shortcuts he could take with others alongside him. He could have had Athanasius run the chasm, but it would be more complicated than it was worth.

"I certainly can." The mental voice had taken an amused tone. "I would not dare disappoint a lady, even less two."

Oh boy. That was Athanatius being himself, though he truly meant nothing of it, beside the fact that most women enjoyed flattery.

"It is good to be of use. My so-called master seems to believe that walking is a superior option." Much like many of Ankou's servants, the errais had seemed to become an expert in the fine art of applying just enough sass to avoid true consequences, stopping short of the the line where Ankou's rather hard to find temper would be triggered. Though if he had realized just who Alva was, then he probably would have been a great deal more polite.

Athanatius would allow himself to be touched. He felt like the horses both host and valkyrie would know, though his dark fur would prove to have chocolate brown undertone once they got closer.

"Well, you are the first to complain that I do not stay still." Honestly. He could move freely and fly, what need did he have for a mount ? The Underworld was the exception, but he was unwilling to take the errais there for obvious reasons. That, and Nath had solved this problem for him quite well.

"For all the things you happen to be good at, sitting still is not one of them." One only had to observe the god for a few minutes to notice that.

Ah, suddenly this trip made a little more sense. "It is a pleasure to meet you both." Three ? Honestly, hosts were a bit of a mystery to the errais. He knew what they were, yes, but had yet to truly meet one. His lord had already some measure of himself when he was born, and his parents' gods were even further along their own cycles. Though Ankou now might as well be a completely different creature compared to the man he had met as a foal.

He would stand still as the two took place onto his back.

With the two of them on his back, he started to trot, then slowly gained speed. "Let me know if I need to slow down." Since the two of them had ridden before, the errais did not forsee this to be a problem, but better safe than sorry. He had been loathe to accidentally harm either of them before he knew who they were, but it was doubly so now that he realized one of them bore his lord's own sister.

Or at least he assumed this much.

Ankou would simply start walking once the errais headed off, picking up pace as he did. He was no travel god, not completely, but he was fast enough to keep up with Athanatius in full run for quite a bit, at least.

And even if not, well, he could always start jumping soul paths to keep up.

"A few days northward, but it is a relatively easy ride. Running the chasm would probably not help too much in this case." Ankou said. He had never done such a thing himself - the sky and therefore the links in between worlds were gone when he had needed it the most, and now he could simply move freely as he wished.

"The chasm in the space in between worlds. Most errais can run it to go from worlds to worlds quickly." In this case he could simply run to another world and use that as a jump pad. "But as my lord says, it means running twice in quick succession which is something I would prefer to avoid unless there is an emergency. It is not a kind place. If either of you fall off my back, you are done for. If I stumble, we are all dead. Hence why only one run by day is best."

He would let them decide which way to go. He was not adverse to the longer ride. He liked the weight of the two of them sitting on his back, and the feeling that came with actually doing something useful.