Face Your Fears

[Shandriz]

Her ebony skin seemed to lose a shade or so at his question,
"No. He looked a bit more like you," she said softly, burying her hands in Rune's mane and looking away from him,

"Though I think his hair was a bit darker. I don't know. I never saw him in the sunlight."

That much was true. She'd only ever seen him in candlelight at best, when she was still working on adjusting to the surface light. Just before he'd left her forever.

She'd asked him to, though. She'd given up everything she had because she wanted to see the surface world, to experience the sunlight for herself. She'd had to know...but wasn't what she got so much better? She had life now.

[Reverend]

"Oh."

It made him feel jealous for some reason. Why did he think he was the first human she had met? Why did it matter? He finally fished out a small sugar cube he'd had for later and held it out in his palm to Shandriz's horse, walking right next to her now.

"Well...I guess that'll take more time then." He looked up at Shandriz and found himself quickly looking away, his face flushing. "Do you know any songs to pass the time?"

[Shandriz]

She sighed,
"Significantly more. I told you it'd be a long trip."

Rune whickered happily and accepted the sugar cube, trotting forward without a care in the world. Shandriz found herself immensely envious of the horse. He didn't have to worry about his past. In fact, he probably didn't even remember past breakfast.

They'd head for the Peaks of Fire, first. She could tell him that much, she supposed. He had probably found out from Shino or Musashi that she'd come from there anyhow. She didn't remember telling him about it herself-- it'd never seemed important, really.

She shook her head,
"You wouldn't want to sing any of the songs I know," she said, "They're in another language and very crude."

She would worry about where they were going when he asked. She didn't want to think about it anymore. She just wanted to keep going. Keep trudging on. That was it.

[Reverend]

"If they're in another language how would I know-"
He cut himself off before he could say anything more. It was stupid, and he was slightly frustrated that he didn't know what was going on. With nothing else to do, he began to hum.

They continued walking for some time, Airius humming, Shandriz riding along. Hours seemed to drag along, his armor felt heavy.

"Where shall we be stopping tonight? I'm not exactly used to being fully outdoors all the time."

[Shandriz]

Shandriz relaxed visibly, ignoring Airius's humming and concentrating on the road ahead. The trip passed in quietude for a while, until Airius seemed to get tired.

She nodded,
"The next town we reach, we'll stop. Unless you feel like camping already."

She'd brought a small tent and sleeping bag for those days when they might not be in convenient reach of another town.

"If you want to find an inn while we're there, I'd like to ask some questions around the local tavern. Maybe someone will have seen the person I'm looking for."

Probably not, so far away from where she'd last seen him. But then again, as she'd thought before, he was less likely to be close to where she'd found him. Perhaps that made it more likely she'd find him here?

Her head was starting to hurt. How did one search for someone when they had no idea where to find him?

[Reverend]

"I'll find an inn and a stable, thank you very much. The last thing I need is a night of possible rain for my armor to rust."

It was a good half an hour of walking past family farms before Airius and Shandriz finally reached what could be called a town. A tavern was attached to a stables, with a watermill and blacksmith shop nearby.

"Quaint, nice, comfy." Airius liked towns this size. They were slow moving, everyone knew each other, travelers were few but a fixture. He wished he could have a life in a place like this. "But who'd I share it with?" was all he could mutter.

"I don't suppose we'll be getting this often. I'll get lodgings, then meet you at the stables."

[Shandriz]

The dark elf nodded, not saying anything as she dismounted and headed to the stables to get Rune settled in. It was a nice little town, to be sure. Smaller than Miniopia Village, anyhow. But she didn't see a temple. She'd become so used to her daily routine that she felt a bit lost without one.

She supposed she could pray in the room Airius procured for them. It wouldn't be the same, though.

Quickly, she pulled the saddle and bridle off of Rune, then pulled off the armor part of her outfit. Setting aside the metal so it wouldn't get wet, she started washing the horse off.