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Vale of the White Horse
Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,370 Views)
Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She went in. The tent flap closed behind her, shutting her off from the camp, though she could still see the light of the fire and the faint figure of Morcant. It was probably not the best idea to undress right here, but she had walked for days in the same clothes. She removed the upper part of her garments, so she could move more freely, and curled herself in the warm fur, staring up with big, awake eyes.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Morcant gave a sigh and made himself comfortable in front of the tent. It was going to be a long night, he thought. Well, it was his own damn fault and he'd just have to face the consquences, Gwyddien would say. Serves him right for not thinking things through. He stared into the flames. After a while Cuhelyn appeared and sat down next to him, saying nothing. Morcant looked at him, grinned and stared into the fire again.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Essylt dreamt of flying. She recognized the dream from her childhood, but this time the surroundings were unfamiliar. A forest - she soared above a carpet of tree tops, looking down with the regal calm of a creature that belonged in the forest air. When she woke up, there was light peering through the tent. She heard voices and remembered the camp. With two hands she tried to brush her hair before peeking outside the flap.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Morcant had gotten up just before dawn to get some game to cook for breakfast, leaving Cuhelyn in front of the tent. He returned to find Essylt just popping her head out of the tent and being heartily greeted by his friend.
'Morning,' he himself grunted. 'Sleep all right?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'I suppose,' she said. It wasn't any use to confess that she had been awake half the night between dreams, listening to the sounds outside the tent. She remembered that she was only partly dressed and quickly put on the rest of her clothes before she shifted outside. She considered asking if he had had any rest despite guarding her, but wondered if she'd really care if he said no.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Your throne is ready to receive your behind, ma'am,' Cuhelyn grinned and patted on the lump of grass next to him. Morcant shoved the leg of meat into the fire and wondered if Cuhelyn would ever stop making jokes of everything.
'Stop fooling around and get the girl something to drink.'
'My, testy, aren't we?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
If these two men were supposed to be good friends, they sure argued a lot. Essylt shook her hair back and sat herself next to Cuhelyn, on the spot he'd appointed her. He talked crudely, but now that she had understood not to take offence, she found that it did not bother her so much. 'I was hoping I could somehow clean myself up a bit,' she said, looking at Cuhelyn instead of Morcant. Somehow, the other man seemed friendlier to her. 'I haven't been able to in nearly a week.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Cuhelyn poured some fresh water into a stone cup and handed it to Essylt. 'Hm. Not sure if you'd want to clean yourself up around this lot,' he started.
'Of which you are a part, too,' Morcant interrupted with half a grin. Cuhelyn shrugged it off. 'There's a place a bit farther up, where the stream widens into a sort of lake. It's half an hour's walk, but you won't have the likes of Elgued to bother you there.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Er - I'd like to stay safe,' she agreed, falling silent as she drank the water. 'I don't really mind a bit of a walk.' She glanced at the two men. 'It'll make me feel better.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'All right,' Morcant said and turned the leg of meat around. 'We'll go after breakfast, if that's okay with you.' In all honesty he had to admit that he could go for a refreshing swim himself, but since he didn't know how Essylt was going to take to that, he kept his mouth shut.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Thank you.' She had her breakfast in silence, listening to Cuhelyn joking. Was he always like that, or did the man just try to make her feel at ease? After she had eaten, she stretched her legs. Essylt didn't want to push Morcant - he seemed the wrong man entirely to push - but her body longed for a dip in fresh water, to clean her hair out, wash off the dust and sweat.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
When he'd finished his piece of meat, he rubbed his fingers off on his trousers and slipped into his tent to get something she could dry herself with after bathing. He found an old tunic; threadbare but clean. Morcant stepped outside and motioned Cuhelyn to him, whispering something in his ear. His brother nodded, flashed a grin at Essylt and wandered off.
'Let's go get you cleaned up,' Morcant then said to her.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'What did you just tell him?' she asked, following him. This was actually something she'd gotten used to: following Morcant between the trees of a forest.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Oh, to keep an eye on Elgued,' he said vaguely. Five minutes out of camp and they arrived at the brook. Morcant nodded to his left, 'that way', and led Essylt upstream.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
They passed half an hour in perfect silence. It was a good day, if a bit chilly. When they arrived at the place and he pointed down, she nearly drew a step back. The brook broadened into a lake indeed, but to get there, she had to climb down a cascade of bedrocks. They looked rather sharp. Well, at least she'd be hidden from view down there. 'Can you help me down?'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'No problem,' he shrugged and stepped over the ledge, securing a foothold and holding his hands out to Essylt. 'It'll get a little slippery towards the bottom, but up here it's not so bad.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'I'm not so used to this as you and your brothers,' she said with little difficulty, as she lowered herself, leaning on his hands. 'Not since I was a child, at least.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Climbing rocks is like swimming,' he said dryly, 'you can never un-learn it. That's it, you're doing just fine.' It took them the better part of ten minutes, but at last they made it to the water's edge. Morcant pulled the old tunic he had ripped up to cloths from his bag and handed it to her. 'I'll go back up and stand guard. Whistle when you're done.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Right,' she said, taking the cloth. 'And thanks.'
She undressed and waded into the water. It was so cold it made her gasp, but after a while she was used to it. Scrubbing off the dust from her skin and washing her hair felt like a blessing. It did not take long, and she had to dry herself off with some speed because she was shivering. Now her skirt and tunic felt old and unclean, but it couldn't be helped. She whistled as Morcant had told her, while combing the strings of hair with her fingers.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Within a couple of minutes he'd clambered down again towards Essylt. She looked much more at ease now, he thought. Morcant smiled at her, albeit a bit unaccustomed. 'Feeling better?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'As good as it will get,' Essylt replied, not feeling like lying to him.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
It was a strange sort of situation, this. He almost felt sorry for bringing her here, but what's done is done and Morcant wasn't the man to beat himself over the head for that sort of thing. He shrugged at and made the best of it. 'Let's go back to camp, then. Gwyddien will want to talk to you.' He wondered if Cuhelyn had succeeded in doing what he'd asked of him.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Oh, right.' She had no idea what else she could tell the leader of these rebels, but she would certainly try. The more she could say, the sooner she'd be back home - or so Essylt hoped. Automatically she braided her hair back, but had nothing to bind it with, so it fell back in loose curls.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
The journey back to camp passed just as silently. Morcant didn't know if Essylt felt like talking, and he didn't feel like finding out either. When they arrived, he looked around for Cuhelyn and found his friend sitting in front of one of the tents, closely looking at something. When he spotted the pair, he got up and hid the goods he'd been working on behind his back.
'Ello,' he said, 'had a nice swim?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'I feel better,' Essylt said, then looked to Morcant. 'I thought I was going to be interrogated by Gwyddien now.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Yes, well, I thought that you might want to look your best for such an important occasion,' Morcant said with a faint smile and looked at Cuhelyn. 'You did get it, didn't you?'
A disgusted look appeared on the man's face. 'Of course I do, don't you trust me anymore?'
'With you, you never know.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She looked from one man to another. 'I'm not sure what you're talking about.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Well, give it to her, you numbskull,' Morcant said, refraining from landing a kick in his brother's midriff.
'No need to be so testy.' Cuhelyn turned to Essylt and got his hands from behind his back, holding out the colourful stack of fabric.
'I said I'd get you clothes, so I told Cuhelyn to look through the lo- I mean, our possessions for something your size. Don't know if you like the colour, but at least it's clean.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Essylt looked at the clothes, then from Morcant to Cuhelyn, who presented them to her as if he was offering her a crown jewel. 'I didn't...really expect that,' she then said, taking the clothes from him. 'Thanks...Thank you. Both.' She found that she was actually blushing a little. This was a rather sensitive gesture; not something she'd think Morcant would come up with. She drew up a smile for the both of them.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Cuhelyn bowed with a flourish, grinning widely, but Morcant just returned her smile. Some of the tension disappeared from her face with it, and now that all the dirt and grime had been scrubbed off of her, he could see how pale she really was. Just like a lily, he thought again.
'Don't mention it,' he told her. 'Cuhelyn, why don't you go with her and make sure no one disturbs the lady while she makes her toilette? I need a bath, myself.'
'That you do, brother,' his friend said with a disdainful sniff.
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