[CLOSED] Together we'll make our sweet escape

[fangoffenharel]

WHO: Aella Tabris (fangoffenharel), and Ned Stark (ulgr)
WHEN: December 20th
WHAT: Going to Roselake and watching the fire fennecs frolic in the snow
WHERE: Roselake and the journey there and back
WARNINGS: None for the moment; will edit if that changes

It’s nice, travelling with Ned. She’s so used to travelling with so many people, half of which usually didn’t get along with each other, that travelling with just one person, alone, someone she got along with well was... nice. Really nice. She hasn't felt this comfortable with a human, not since Duncan. (There had been Alistair, to a pretty big degree, but she had regretted the fuck out of that, regretted trusting him, caring about him. Morrigan had been right about him. She doesn’t think she’ll regret trusting Ned. Caring about him.

At least, she hopes she won’t.)

She’s really glad she’d decided to find herself a horse. She wouldn’t be able to do this, if she hadn’t. And she wouldn’t want to miss this for the fucking world. And she’d named her Acorn, after the Great Oak, in a way. Maybe, after everything is over, she’ll go back to Brecilian forest. Sit among the trees for a while. Away from everyone.

(If she survives.)

The ride out to Roselake is kind of a long one, but that’s all right. It’s not like she’s not been spending a lot of time with him. And it’s not like she’s not used to travel. That’s all she’s BEEN doing. At least this is because she wants to, not because she has to. Because the weight of the fucking world is on her shoulders.

It’s actually kind of peaceful, riding through the snow-covered forest with Ned by her side. The snow is still falling, but gently, now. She likes this. She likes it a lot.

Comments

[ulfur]

They've traveled so many paths already, but this one is different. This one is of his own asking. A godswood, he'd mourned, and Aella had answered, with a journey she said was counted spiritual for many in this land. At the very least, perhaps he would know where to seek after this. And she spoke of wood carvings that one could look into, much as the heart tree of his godswood, and Ned could not pass up the chance to see it for himself.

He rides Pantheon, who has been his companion for more than a month now, and whom he has just recently been able to buy, thanks to the profits from their trips. The handsome grey dun stallion came named thus, and Ned had thought it a fitting name. He could embody all the virtues of the gods of both worlds, and Ned could embrace them for a time. He pats his horse's neck and spurs him on.

The journey would take at least two days, maybe three, depending on the weather conditions and anyone (thing) they encountered on the road. If snow began to fall in earnest, they would need to find some place to shelter. For now, he enjoys it too. A taste of home.

"How did you discover Roselake?" Ned asks her, urging Pantheon up close enough to comfortably talk together.

[fangoffenharel]

Aella had wanted to... give him something. A place to call his own, to harken back to the godswood he knows from home. Somewhere to pray, to talk to his gods, even if it won’t be quite the same. She just hopes it helps. Hopes its enough. Between Roselake and the copse of trees in Vasari... she hopes.

Ned urges Pantheon up close so that they can talk easily, and she can’t help but grin at him, dark eyes sparkling. Happy to get out of Gazin, and happier still to be travelling with him. “I’d heard a little talk about it, saw it on a map, and on one of those days where I was itching with inactivity, too used to travelling and going and DOING I finally decided I might as well ride up that way. So I did.”

[ulfur]

The cold weather and rugged terrain suits Ned perfectly. As does, in fact, the elf-girl's company. She does not take it amiss when he spends hours hiking or riding and dwelling in his thoughts, remembering those he had lost yet glad not to be alone. When she does speak to him, Ned finds her engaging, easy to answer, her perspective unique, for she and her kind are unlike anyone he has known in Westeros.

He's come to admire her skill in riding and hunting and simply life on the road, her competency in navigating this world. And...he's come to trust her opinion, implicitly.

He meets her gaze, grey eyes thoughtful at the sight of her dark sparkling glance. "It's a good thing you did, then," Ned observes. "For I doubt I would have found my way here on my own any time soon." Perhaps he would have heard that same talk that she had, eventually, but Aella was so much more versed in this world than he was. She has been his guide in a great deal of it, and has helped him get ahead far more swiftly (and lucratively) than he otherwise would have.

He pats Pantheon's neck, and the stallion dances a few steps under the attention. "It is because of you that I could afford this beauty. And, someday, my own land." He has told Aella of his dream, here. To buy a piece of property to call his own. If he's to stay a few months, even a few years in this realm as some have. He wants a proper keep. They've been working toward it, hunting and gathering the most desirable commodities the land has to offer. Most of them, the most dangerous. It has been quite the thrilling time for them both.

[fangoffenharel]

“There’s still a whole lot I haven’t seen of this world. We might have to ride out further one of these days, if you’re game. Explore somewhere that’s new to us both.” And she finds that she really kind of likes that idea. A lot. He’s a good man, Aella’s learning. A good human. Which is a rarity. He’s skilled at riding, and hunting, with a gentle heart, who doesn’t carry the prejudice and hatred that she’s so used to from humans in Thedas. (He’d never met an elf at all, before her.)

It’s been REALLY thrilling. They’ve hauled each other’s asses out of the fire more than once, during their hunting and gathering explorations. It’s nice. Having someone at her back that she trusts. “I’m happy I could help. And don’t worry,” she tells him, “we’ll get you your land in no time at all.” She’s determined as hell to make that happen, for him and his sister both. “I haven’t thought about that. Buying land. Setting somewhere up for myself. I guess I’m just not used to the idea.” THAT she can probably blame on Thedas and how they treat elves in the city. They don’t get to buy their own property; they get the alienage. That’s all. And she’s just not used to the idea of settling down, probably. She’s been on the move for so fucking long now. “Might be nice, though. To have a place of my own. That’s actually MINE.”

You’ve gotten her thinking, Ned.