[OOC: OK so based on the ooc messages on Lion's last two posts- and the fact that it's been over two days since anyone posted in character and you're both normally so good at posting frequently- I'm assuming then that you're waiting on me. *blinded by the light clicking on above my head* My apologies, I would have posted sooner had I realized. On the off chance I'm misinterpreting the situation please don't kill me I'm not trying to skip your turn Juno. OK, so now to get on with the action...]
After quickly putting her pack in order and slinging it over her shoulder, Crysha thought she noticed Cassa looking quite intently on their surroundings. Her head cocked slightly in curiosity, but the other woman only indicated they should get underway and Crysha soon put it out of her mind.
"I remember a village South of here," she mentioned as they started off. "I believe it was called 'Pinegrove.' It was fairly small, but it will supply the basic necessities. It might prove a good place from which to turn East into the deeper woods as you advised."
The course Cassa had proposed would notably avoid the bustling city of Ketra. While she had not at first considered this course, she immediately liked it. Crowded places simply meant more prying eyes and attention was not something she liked. A thought crossed her mind that perhaps it was not something Cassa liked either, at least on this trip.
That it would lead them through the very heart of the Draconi forest, by a road Crysha was not as familiar with, did create some worry in the back of her mind. However, that was another day's concern. Being in the presence of an armor-clad warrior seemed to make all dangers seem farther away. It reminded her of traveling with her friend and mentor as he guided her through the mountains near her home. He had been a father to her in ways her real father had not been able. A frown crept across her face as she wondered what he thought of her so flippantly abandoning her training. Did he think of her at all? Will I ever meet someone like him again, or have I thrown away a chance that will never come again?
The fall weather, being somewhat indecisive as is its nature, continued to threaten them with approaching ominous clouds and the sun had failed to banish the chill from the air. The activity of travel warmed her somewhat, but Crysha pulled her cloak more tightly about her none the less.
As the time passed the scenery transitioned once more into evergreen forests, and the group could start to feel pine needles beneath their boots. To the West, the Terrin Mountains towered like silent sentinels watching with disinterest the activities of the small scurrying creatures beneath them. Trees flourished on their sides under great spires of rock, the peaks proudly displaying the year's first snowfalls.
Not for the first time, she was reminded of why she loved to travel. My people once lived in those mountains, she thought wistfully. If only I had been old enough then to remember more of those days. Why did my mother turn her back on her people, on everything she had been? Her thoughts made the air seem colder, and the forest seem too quiet.
So far none of the three travelers had seemed anxious to talk about themselves or their past, and being that Crysha shared that particular desire she decided to turn to more abstract subject matter to break the silence.
"A friend -well teacher really- once told me that there is only one true 'energy,' and that everything we see is a different form or expression of this greater energy. Do you suppose that's true?"
