lead me not into temptation (open)

[devona]

It was an extremely bright day. Even with the thick canopy of trees overhead, sunlight blistered through. Goliath's heavy hooves struck the ground, carrying him along the leave covered ground, long tail swishing as he gaited. Devona lefft his reins loose, one leg crossed up over the saddle horn so she could rest her sword across her knees. Even as the animal moved, her was at ease on his back, hands steady as she polished her sword. Her fingers moved over it like someone familiar with its design. In truth, she was. Her dwarvish guardians had it made for her over four hundred years ago.

When she finished, she moved her leg to slip down properly and stood in the stirrups, slipping her sword back into it's sheath. She sat back down, reaching to grasp the reins once more, but they were still lose enough for the horse to move easy. She looked around her, up into the sun, at her surroundings, then back in front of her. By the position of the sun, she guessed it was around four o'clock, and the sun would begin it's decent into the Eastern sky.

She needed to find shelter soon.

She gathered up Goliath's reins and pressed her heels into his sides. Leaning forward slightly in her saddle, she kissed softly, and the horse sprang into a gallop. His long legs carried him great distances with a single stride, barelling through trees and over logs as she leaned forward to keep from getting hit in the face by the branches. When the sun began to set, she slowed to a walk.

She reached an area sheltered by trees by the Great River and pulled her stud to a stop. He snorted, turning to look at her as she lowered herself to the ground. Devona reached out, touching the animal's neck, and then moving to unsaddle him. He snorted in gratification, touching her neck with his large nose. She smiled, moving to sit on the ground and light a fire. Goliath lay next to her, providing an extremely comfortable pillow. She smiled, closing her eyes.

She only awoke when she felt Goliath's body tense. Her fire had gone out, and there was someone coming up the path. Goliath snorted threateningly, waiting until Devona was sitting up to move to stand.

[ariadne]

Ariadne was so relieved to be in the forest. As much as she was devoted to and loved Cair Paravel, sometimes the wilder side of her needed the surroundings of trees and fresh air. And she'd missed her family. Her dear siblings, Asclepsius, Dion, Magnesia, and little Philyra. It had been far too long since she had seen them. She had been living with her aunt and uncle on her mother's side for years, and had recently taken up residence in Cair Paravel. It was a lovely castle and a lovely region, but her blood thirsted for the deep trees and forest.

She'd returned home, specifically, for the inheritance ceremony of Dion. Though not quite as grand as the ceremony given for Asclespius, it was still quite an affair. Both the Pelion and the Aenea clan gathered for the celebration, as Dion was given his inheritance and blessings from the clan leaders. He was now to be recognized as his own individual. He was no longer only the son of Ixion, but a warrior of his own to be recognized and respected. Ariadne anticipated hers greatly. She was the fourth child of her father, so her inheritance would be small, but she had already proposed a position. She wanted to be an ambassador for her people. There was still much to be discussed. She couldn't marry until after her ceremony, but if she became an ambassador, would she be allowed to marry at all? These things still needed to be decided. A notable amount of time had been spent on that while she'd been home. Still, the ceremony was four years away, so there was time to enjoy with her siblings and her friends.

The time she had enjoyed had feld by quickly, however. She needed to return to Cair Paravel, because despite the fact she had left the library in worthy hands, she was sure it would be a mess by the time she got there. Ariadne had very high standards, and cleanliness fell into that category. No matter how much she wanted to hurry back, though, the wilderness persuaded her to slow down and enjoy the serenity. She listened to the trees whispering to each other, and the naiads giggling in the Great River. She planned to follow the river straight back to the castle if she could. It was the most direct route.

It was early evening now, but past Ariadne's favorite time of day. She had made sure to reach a decent area to watch the sunset by the time it came about. She never missed a sunset and was always up on time for the sunrise. The beauty of it amazed her and she could never pass it up. Now, though, she was back underneath the heavy canopy of leaves and branches. Suddenly, her senses picked up something ahead of her, though she couldn't imagine what it was. She had passed the dancing lawn a while ago, so it wasn't likely a faun, though one could never know. But then she became aware that it was a horse, but not only a horse. Was it another centaur? It would be highly unusual for another of her race to be away from the celebrations, as she was not aware of another settlement nearby.

As she neared, she determined that it was not a centaur, but two separate entities. A horse and it's rider. Curiosity got the better of her, and she worked her way to the edge of the clearing. She stood between two saplings, the branches of which crossed each other at about Ariadne's horseback area. She didn't know it, but she rather looked like a human rider with her own horse herself. She peered through the dim light of the stars and saw a burnt-out fire and a dark horse on the ground. She pawed the ground with her own hoof and raised her hand in a sign of peace. She wasn't sure if the rider had seen her yet, but she was prepared to give them same coutesy to he or she.

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[devona]

Devona had moved to her feet, bow and arrow in hand in a matter of seconds. She had aimed, and was ready to fire at a moment's notice if need be. That was until she saw someone that appeared to be on a horse emerge from the trees around the clearing. Her grip on her sturdy long bow tightened, raised into a defensive posture.

Only when the stranger raised a hand in peace did she lower her weapon slightly, arrow aimed at the ground so it could easily be brought back up at a moment's notice. A horse and rider could be very dangerous to either of them. However, when she recognized the horse and rider were one being, she lowered her bow and arrow completely. "Forgive me if I'm a little cautious." She called softly, allowing her arrow to slip back into the quiver at her back.

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