The Song of Wind

[Paladienne]

"My debt will be paid to you when you're completely healed and can move on your own." Ann said, his gaze turning to follow Riala's. He smiled as he watched his four-footed sister pivot to constantly face the stallion, her ears twitching forward and back, and her tail raising slightly as she tried to figure out what Ortec was doing. "And for now, that doesn't seem like that's going to happen any time soon."

As if finally figuring out the stallion's game, Ma'akéné pawed the ground, then lunged at Ortec, playfully nipping at his shoulder before kicking up her feet and prancing away, turning back toward him to make sure he was following. She leaped forward and then to the side, her whinnying sounding like laughter. Ann grinned as well, chuckling softly himself.

"It looks like those two are getting along just fine." Ann said, watching as Ma'akéné playfully lunged again before darting away, daring Ortec to play his own game. His sister was no longer truly a foal, but it was good to see her acting like one again. She needed to have some fun, especially when things were now so serious. He turned his attention back to Ortec's human, his smile soft and gentle. "You can stay here for as long as you need. Like I said, no one knows about this place. You'll be safe here."

[DragonSong]

Riala smiled a bit as she watched the horses play. It was good to see Ortec relax, even just a bit.

"She'd best watch herself," she chuckled quietly. "My brother can be a heartbreaker."

As though he heard her, Ortec tossed his head showily and nipped back at Ma'akéné's withers, then pranced away from her, flicking his tail energetically.

After a few moments more of silence, Riala looked to her rescuer. "Thank you," she murmured. "You didn't have to help me. Actually, it probably would have been smarter for you if you hadn't. But you're putting yourself and your sister at risk for our sakes. So...thank you." She cleared her throat and looked away again. "I'll be out of your hair as quick as I can, I promise."

[Paladienne]

Ma'akéné squealed as Ortec nipped at her, leaping away from him. When she landed, she pivoted and pranced back over, extending her neck to nip him back. She leaped backwards, much like a foal at play, and pranced around with her head and tail held high. She whickered, stamping her hooves and shaking herself before she trotted around the stallion in a wide circle, leaping forward to jump and nip at him again. It was clear she was having fun playing with him, enjoying the carefree attitude that they both were able to share in, especially now that their humans were safe.

Ann laughed. "Ma'akéné can take care of herself. She's refused to bow since the day she was born. Sometimes I think she only listens to me because she knows there's not much I can do to stop her once she gets stubborn about something."

He turned to look at her, a gentle smile on his face. "Maybe it would've been smarter, but it wouldn't have been the right, or honorable, thing to do. My tribe places family above all else, and we also pride ourselves on paying our debts. If I'm exiled for this, then so be it. I can find ways to survive on my own. Both of us can. And if we are not, then we'll do our best to honor my tribe's kindness in allowing us to return." He shrugged. "The future isn't written in stone. It's fluid, like water. And a river is ever-changing, after all, is it not?"

[DragonSong]

Orect, evidently absolutely delighted with the play, neighed a challenge to the mare and abruptly took off, racing circles around the alcove where their human siblings rested.

Riala found her eyes drawing heavy as she listened to Ann speak, chin resting on her knees. "I suppose you're right." She sighed and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I still feel like I owe you for this. You're risking an awful lot, honorable or no."

[Paladienne]

Ma'akéné snorted and reared, using her hind legs to push off the earth and leap after Ortec, chasing him as he wanted her to. She easily caught up to him and came abreast of him, carefully judging the distance between them and their speed before she playfully bumped her shoulder against his. She nipped at his neck, then kicked up her heels and picked up speed to pass him, making a sound akin to laughter.

Ann smiled, his head tilting slightly to the side. "You owe me nothing. I'll protect you until you're well enough to stay or go on your own. And my life is my own. I make my own choices and I am responsible for them. My tribe will understand. They may not be happy about it, but they'll understand."

He shifted to face her a little better, his own hands on his knees. "If you're feeling tired again, you should rest. I'll go out and see if I can't find us something better to eat."

[DragonSong]

The stallion snorted and staggered dramatically, pretending to lose his footing as the mare bumped into him. He tossed his head and gave a plaintive, pitiful whicker, limping slightly as though she had bruised him.

Riala rolled her eyes as she watched. "Cad," she accused the horse fondly, to which he simply flicked his tail and "miraculously" recovered, tearing off after Ma'akéné again.

After watching a moment or two longer, Riala glanced back to Ann. She hesitated, then nodded slightly. "Alright...thanks." Sighing, she leaned back against the wall of the little cavern, allowing her eyes to slide closed.

[Paladienne]

Ann smiled as he watched Ma'akéné pivot around to face Ortec as he faked his injury, certain that he was. Yet, when he came chasing after her, she squealed and took off like an arrow shot from a bow, bouncing around like she was again a foal and not a grown mare. He could laugh, but she wouldn't have appreciated that, so he just continued to smile and laugh at her antics on the inside. He returned his attention to Riala then, and waited until she was fully asleep before he rose. He made sure she was comfortable, and that she wouldn't hurt herself if she woke before he returned by trying to move around on her own. He didn't doubt that she had the strength and wherewithal to take care of herself, but he would feel better if someone was around to watch her when she started doing it. Their brother and sister were good for keeping an eye on them, but there were just things opposable thumbs could do that hooves could not.

Signaling Ma'akéné as he stepped out of the alcove, Ann picked up his bow and quiver, along with his knife and pack, which he had emptied of its contents. When she arrived at his side, he placed his hands on either side of her face and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I'm going hunting," he said softly, staring into her liquid eyes. "I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Riala. Don't let Ortec go crazy, okay? He needs to rest too."

She whickered and lifted her head away from him, pawing the ground. She shook herself, then turned to return to Ortec. Ann watched her go and smiled. She would take care of them in his absence, and she knew what to do if she sensed or saw danger. Besides, he wasn't going that far away. He knew where there were things he could dig up and gather food, and if he could, he'd get them some meat. But he didn't want to stay away for too long.

[DragonSong]

Ortec sobered slightly as he watched Ann head off, bow in hand. He snorted quietly and his tail whisked through the air a few times. He greeted Ma'akéné with a soft huff and an absent sort of bob of his head, but his attention was suddenly back on the alcove where Riala slept.

He huffed again and paced through the grasses toward the stone outcropping. A satisfied little sort left him when he saw his sister was resting, but the playfulness seemed to have dimmed.

[Paladienne]

Ma'akéné whickered softly at Ortec, recognizing that he no longer wanted to play, and recognizing that his desire to play had lessened because her brother had left. She trotted closer to the stallion, then bumped his shoulder lightly with hers. She whickered softly again, pushing her nose against his cheek as it to try and comfort him. Her brother would return, and until then, she was responsible for both him and Riala. She pawed the ground and snorted, then pulled away from him and trotted over to the alcove, taking up a guard position by the opening. There, she had a good view of the sleeping human girl inside and she could keep an eye out for her brother, leaving Ortec to stand guard with her or resume playing as he pleased.

Ann, in the meantime, had slipped into the high grasses of the plains, moving slowly and silently as he sought food for them to eat. Their supplies had to be supplemented, or they would quickly run out and be in a worse situation than they were now. He had already found several roots that were edible and could be made to taste good with an expert hand, and he had found some wild onions and several other things that could be eaten in a pinch. Now, though, he had spotted the tracks of rabbits, and while the scrawny things couldn't feed an entire tribe, one or two would be able to feed him and Riala. So he stepped lightly and carefully, looking for the creatures so he could stalk them and be successful in hunting them. He didn't want to be out too late, so he decided he would return near dusk. Ma'akéné would be looking for him by then, as well, and he didn't want to alarm her by being late.

She was trained to come after him, after all, and protect him as much as he protected her. And if there was really a dire situation, then she was trained to return to the tribe to obtain help. Which was what Ann didn't want to have happen. He didn't want anyone to know Riala was there, that she was alive. In her weakened state, she would certainly be killed. And, likely, so would they all.

At last he spotted the rabbit, a rather scrawny looking one, but there would be enough meat on it in order to feed both of them tonight. Perhaps, when Riala was feeling up to it, he would bring her hunting with them. Nocking an arrow, Ann pulled back on the string and let the arrow fly.

[DragonSong]

Utterly exhausted, Riala slept until nearly sundown. Ortec found himself pacing outside the entrance to her shelter, huffing and snorting nervously every so often.

Ma'akéné's presence was something of a comfort, and he did attempt to pass some of the time with soft touches or companionable silence, standing nose to tail and occasionally resting his head across her flank with a tired sigh.

Finally, he heard Riala stir, and he bolted for the entrance of the outcropping, snorting and pawing at the ground.

Riala chuckled, then winced as she pushed herself up. "Yeah, lad, I'm still here," she assured her horse with a wry smile, reaching up to stroke his velvety muzzle. Ortec sighed softly and leaned into her hands, closing his eyes for a moment, and she let her brow rest against his.

"How've you two been then?" she murmured, glancing past him to where Ann's horse waited. "Keeping each other busy?"

[Paladienne]

Ma'akéné whickered in answer to Riala's question, turning her head to bump her nose against Ortec's neck. She flicked her tail and turned her attention to Riala, lowering her head to snuffle the human girl's hair and hands, to make sure she was as fine as she seemed to be. She lifted her head away after a moment, letting the stallion have his human sister all to himself. Turning, the mare headed back out to wait for her own brother, her ears lifting and pricking forward as she listened to the sounds of the world around her.

She took a few steps forward as she saw someone emerging from the grasses, prepared to bolt and lead danger away from Ortec and Riala if need be, but she realized she didn't need to the moment the wind shifted and she caught a familiar scent. Even in the low light, Ma'akéné could recognize her human by sight now, and she raised her tail and high stepped toward him, whickering softly in greeting to Ann.

Ann raised a hand in a return greeting, then shifted his catch higher onto his shoulder. He'd been able to catch two more rabbits, giving him a brace of three, along with the things he had managed to forage. They would eat like royalty tonight.

Ma'akéné met him halfway and danced around him in her excitement of his return. Ann laughed and stroked her neck when she finally stopped and plodded alongside him, nuzzling his catch until she managed to pull out a piece of sweetgrass for herself. She stole another piece from him as he entered the alcove, and took it over to Ortec, trying to tempt the stallion into taking the treat.

Ann set his catch down near the bedding he'd made for Riala, smiling at her. "I'm glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

[DragonSong]

Worried as he'd been throughout the day, the promise of a treat was enough to tempt Ortec back out of his sullenness, and he eagerly craned his neck forward to take the offered sweetgrasss from the mare.

Chuckling slightly as she watched, Riala turned her attention back to Ann when he spoke. "I'm...alright, I think. Sore as all hells, but that's really just to be expected." Her head still hurt too, but she decided not to mention that. She didn't want him worrying too much about what she suspected was just a minor crack on her skull. As long as she was careful for a few days, she'd been fine.

She thought.

Nodding toward the rabbits, she added, "Seems you're a pretty good hunter after all." Her lips quirked up a little sheepishly on one side. "I'm, uh, sorry about that doe, by the way. When we first met. I would have let you have it, it was your kill by rights, but I was worried about... Anyway. Sorry."

[Paladienne]

Ann shrugged. "It's fine. I'm not worried about the doe at all. And, technically, I only wounded her. You killed her. So the right thing to do would be to have split the meat between the two of us."

He shifted, moving to begin setting up a fire and getting the coals nice and hot. Once he'd started the fire and tended it for a minute, he turned his attention to gutting and skinning the rabbits. "I've hunted since the day I could ride. Until that day, I was considered too young and my task was to forage. And I wouldn't say that I'm good... I'm just patient."

Ann turned to look at Riala once more, his knife paused in its task. "And you were worried about what would happen if your tribe caught me. I understand. That is both the problem and the beauty of the plains. We all must share space, but we all want to be the ones with the most." He shrugged again and returned to preparing their dinner. "I hold no ill will toward you, Riala. None at all. I only dislike that you were hurt because of me."

[DragonSong]

Riala shrugged, then winced, her so recently dislocated shoulder aching. "Eh, it's fine. Probably would have happened sooner or later anyway."

She tried to sound careless about it, but there was the barest hint of hurt, of aching betrayal, that she couldn't keep from her voice. She cleared her throat, hoping not to dwell on it, and tried to peer over Ann's shoulder.

"So, what're you planning to do with the hares then?"

[Paladienne]

"Well," Ann said, shifting so she could watch him better without having to adjust her position or get up, "I don't have the proper tools for a stew, but I figure the next best thing is to just roast it on a spit. It won't be much, but I promise, it'll be good."

He finished skinning and cleaning the animals, and then began to split meat from bone. Then he turned his attention to the roots he had scavenged. Once he was finished that, he gathered up the scraps and non-edible pieces and went outside to bury the offal well away from their camp so that the smell wouldn't attract predators and alert anyone watching that someone was living nearby. When he returned, he had with him several thin branches that he used his knife to whittle down to the perfect size for a skewer, and began to slip the pieces of meat and roots onto the pieces of wood. Adjusting stones to act as braces so he wouldn't have to sit and hold them, Ann rested the skewers against the rocks and leaned them into the flames.

After using a bit of water to wash his hands clean of blood and debris, and drying them on his shirt, he reached for his pack and pulled out a small bundle. Opening it, it released a pungent smell of herbs and spices, and he carefully pinched a bit between his fingers before sprinkling some on each of the skewers. There would be more than enough for both of them, and he certainly hadn't forgotten about their four-footed brother and sister, for once he put away the bundle of spices, he retrieved another bundle, this one holding more sweetgrass.

"A little for each of you," Ann said, portioning out the treat for both Ma'akéné and Ortec. "Slowly, now."

Then he turned back to Riala and smiled. "It'll be ready soon. The real trick is not burning the meat so much that it becomes impossible to eat."

[DragonSong]

Ortec eagerly lipped up the treat, ignoring Ann's "slowly" as he was wont to do. Riala rolled her eyes watching him.

"Yearling," she accused, and he snorted at her. She chuckled a bit as she returned her attention to her rescuer, shifting slightly so she was leaning more comfortably against the wall.

"I'll take your word for it." She smiled wryly. "I've always been a terrible cook. I can manage field rations alright, but pretty much anything else is beyond me."

[Paladienne]

Ann laughed. "In my tribe, it's required that everyone learns how to cook. And hunt, and gather, and sew, and make weapons. There is no difference between who does what. Everyone participates. The only difference comes in as to who actually is assigned the tasks. Children are assigned certain tasks and adults are assigned certain tasks."

He reached to turn the meat, making sure it would be cooked on all sides and full through.

"We must rely on everyone to survive. Those who can't fight take care of those who can, and those who fight protect those who can't. It's a simple balance."

[DragonSong]

"Well, sure. I mean, I know how to cook," Riala said with a shrug. "I'm just not very good at it."

She smiled a bit, then settled back against the cavern wall again. Trying to stay upright for too long started to make her ache.

[Paladienne]

"It just takes practice." Ann replied. He looked toward her, looking to see if she needed any help. Since she didn't look like she did, he didn't move from his spot. He didn't think she'd appreciate him worrying over her any more than he already was. "I could teach you, if you wanted. When you're feeling better."

He turned the meat again, then inspected it to make sure it was done. Satisfied, Ann shifted to hold out one of the skewers to her, his fingers barely brushing against hers as he handed it off. Then he picked up another one and blew gently on the meat before he took a bite.

"I learned how to make this," he said between chewing, "as one of my first lessons. It's easy for a child's hand. Although I wasn't allowed to use a knife until I was a little older. Something about cutting off fingers."

[DragonSong]

She chuckled, shaking her head as she watched him. "Your own, or others?" she teased. Carefully, she shuffled a little closer, trying to feel like she was at least doing something.

She took the offered food and nibbled at it cautiously. "Oh." She blinked, looking up at him. "It's good! Ah--" Realizing how that might sound, she smiled wryly and added, "I'm not surprised or anything. I guess I just realized how hungry I was."