resuming the search for life

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar entered the forest once again. she had only been in it once before and had been followed by a huge bunch of students. today though she slipped in behind the greenhouses when she was sure no one was looking. as soon as she was undercover of the trees, she took off the annoying things called shoes. just feeling the earth beneath her feet made her feel at home again. suddenly without warning she took off full sprint. she could run faster than almost all humans but not as fast as the centaurs she was in search of. usually running didn't affect her at all, and she could keep going for hours full pelt but the long months since she had left home coupled with the starchy food had made her feel unfit. after about ten minutes when she was in the depths of the forest a hoof print caught her eye. slowing to a jog, which was still as fast as a normal humans sprint she looked around for a centaur as she knew wit would be rude to go too close to the village without permission.

 

[Dover]

The human's scent assailed her instantly and Dover sighed. This was now her fourth day in this forest and soon she would have to leave, this having been the longest she had ever spent in the past few weeks in any one place. She was an exile from her own tribe from the South Island, a dangerous bid for the leadership of her clan had been issued and the traditional fight that had ensued between Ethros and her father, had seen her father lose his life. It should have ended there and all should have returned to normal with simply a new leader but for reasons that were beyond her, five tribal members loyal to Ethros had turned and killed her mother and brother. Her own life would most certainly have been meant for bondage, she knew the new leader had prized her for a long time to be his mate and time and again she had refused him. She had only one choice and that was to run, to leave the home she had always known and attempt to build a new home somewhere else.

The weeks that had followed were strewn with many hazards and difficulties but she was coping better today than she had been in all those weeks. Diagoras had given her meat the night before and she was finally filled. Sustained for another journey if she had to take one. Inhaling the aroma of the mortal she withdrew her broadsword having no intention of actually using it but enjoyed immensely the faces of the humans when they saw the weaponry. As the girl drew nearer, it was no great feat to approach from behind. She seemed intent on following some foolish hoof print left behind by one of the Vico's tribe. Both hands clasping the blade she noted as she came closer to her that the human female wore no shoes at all and smiled at this.

"Now this is much too far into their territory for even a human to trespass" she spoke clearly and with authority as she always did. The years of being a chieftains daughter were hard to erase and though she was now literally a nobody, with no tribe she still carried herself with the regal elegance of her former life.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

briar saw a centaur ahead, she was one of the prettiest centaurs she had ever seen. and clasped in the hands of this centaur she saw the glimmer of a broad sord. when face to face with a centaur it was common habit to speak their language, or at least the language of her clan, but she knew that this would be a bad move so she said " Hello, I'm Briar Rowan. nice to meet you, I was starting to think that the rumors were lies and no centaurs live here. what do you mean, their territory, are you not a native ether?. she had not met a centaur since she had left her adoptive 'family' months ago.

 

[Dover]

This was a very young female human, she looked a little feral and Dover smiled putting her broad sword away. There was something about the girl that she instantly liked.
"I am Ve..." she paused in the telling of her real name, the name her tribe had given her at birth. Exiled she had taken a new name. It perhaps was silly but in her time running for the safety of her life she had come upon a small group of muggle tourists in a forest north of the South Island, they were speaking of a place that had white cliffs, so white that on a clear day they could be seen all the way from a country many miles away across the ocean. The called it the White Cliffs of Dover. She had pondered for a few hours on this strange place that they had spoken of and when next she had met another centaur who had asked of her name, she had told him she was Dover. Her tribe in the South Island were mainly white bodied centaurs, a few grey perhaps so she knew she stood out here. So far all the centaurs she had met were all beautiful chestnut browns.
"I am very glad to meet you Briar Rowan, I am Dover" she reached up pulling her long locks behind her and tying them into a rough tail with a vine binding.

"No I am not a native here, I am... passing through" it was not a lie per se she was indeed passing through though the longer she stayed the more she wished she could stay but that would mean a meeting with the tribe leader and she had more than enough with leaders to last her a life time.
"Where are you from Briar Rowan?"

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar watched as Dover started to introduce herself and then stop and start again. Dover was a nice name and it some how suited her. "dover, Nice name. I come from europe, but i traveled around a bit. I sort if wish i was there rather than stuck at the school, but at least the grounds are nice." I was true that some days she wished she hadn't ever gotten her letter but then others she loves the whole concept of magic. today however was the former. she missed her home and her adoptive family. however meeting dover had made this a little less, as centaurs made her feel at home. you see she had been brought up by centaurs, so their ways were second nature to her by now where as some of the human ways were still strange. oh well, i suppose i will get used to them she thought.

 

[Dover]

She did not mind lying to the human girl, it was a necessity after all and if she could lie about her name to her own kind then doing so to a mere chit of a girl was not such a hardship.
"I travel only between the south island and the north island" she told the girl glancing about her and noting how quiet the forest was. It was most unusual, for usually by now Spike or some other male would come bounding towards her. She waited another moment then smiled when she realized that today this particular part of the forest seemed clear of them. Not that she minded their company overly much but at some point they would begin to question her lingering presence in the forest and questions like that she could not answer.
"You do not like the school?" she turned her attention back to the girl once more.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar watched as dover looked around the forest. only after a moment she realized how still the forest was. when Dover poke again she wondered how a centaur could move between islands, maybe they were good swimmers, or did they hide on a boat? she didn't know. the sound of running water reached her ears and only then she realized that she was thirsty, however before she could move to the spring Dover asked weather she liked the school. her this was a hard question, she liked being with people and learning about magic. but she missed her old life running free. she found the constant walls around her extremely restricting. "I suppose i like it but I have always lived outside so the castle is a little constricting, if you know what i mean. do you mind if i have some of the water, from the spring over there, I'm a little thirsty?" she didn't know why she asked if she could have a drink, the water didn't belong to dover or anything, but she guessed that it was best to be polite, and ask.

 

[Dover]

The girl seemed so small yet was anything but fragile from Dover could see for herself. Moving slowly back and forth on the spot Dover knew she was getting restless. Staying in the one spot lately had always meant some type of danger or encounter with another centaur and she did not know if she wanted to stay still much longer.

"I have never been inside one but I can only imagine" she mused to her reaching across and removing a furred pouch that was strapped to her side. Tossing it to the girl she nodded her head.
"Drink from here, it is fresh" she told the girl, having passed her a water pouch she had only filled a few hours earlier. It was always best to carry some with you for watering holes were hard enough to come by.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar saw Dover was getting restless she was pacing back and forth not staying still. She was greatful that Dover had offered her a drink from as as she walked over to the springthe wate looked stagnent. She easily caught it as Dover through it at her and she took a deep mouth full she put the lid back on it and through it back. She didn't drink any More as she knew how hard it sometimes was to find water in a forest and she didint want to take all oofdovers supply "thank you." she watched at the restless centaur continued to pace and she realised how resess she would be. Briar had been the same untill only a fiew short months ago. "Do you fancy a run, I'm not that guick but I should be able to keep up with you if you don't sprint off". She knew that the centaur needed to move and she always enjoyed a run. It would be good to finy be running with centaurs again.

 

[Dover]

She caught the water pouch easily enough and strapping it once more to her side smiled at the human girl for her request. Her long tail swished about her and she nodded her head.

"I would thoroughly enjoy a good run and I promise, I will not sprint off" looking about her she pointed to the west of them, "there are less brambles and bushes that way, the trees are also more spread out so the way will be clearer for a decent run. Are you ready human? Call it and we shall be off".

Her forelegs rose up in expectation of the run now, the thrill of it coursing through her. She loved this dearly. The wind blowing through her hair, the ground being pounded by her hooves. Yes the thrill of a hunt was good but the fun of a good run was just as effective.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar was glad that Dover wanted to go for a run. the direction she gestured seemed easier. and more fun to fun. she braced herself to go as Dover asked her to call it. "alright. on your marks, set, GO" and with that she was off running dodging trees and jumping over fallen branches. she hadn't felt this free since she had to leave home. although she was slower than the centaurs. being smaller had its advantages and she was able t dodge things and duck things a lot easier. and although Dover had quickly overtaken her to begin with she was soon hot on her tail. she wanted to shout with enjoyment, but as this was strangers territory, she decided that this would not be a good idea so instead she kept running, hard. she knew somewhere in the back of the thing they called a brain that she had better-stop so that she would have enough energy to get back to the castle. she knew that she couldn't. her life seemed to be, at that moment, focused on running and nothing else.

 

[Dover]

Dover watched the girl run and gave her a headstart. She was a fast runner for a human and at first Dover did consider slowing down to allow the girl to race onwards but as soon as her hooves hit the ground in the first series of gallops she could not contain the adrenaline that coursed through her. The blood rushed and pounded through her, her heartbeat quickened and faster she raced. It was not hard to catch up to the human and it was easier to surpass her stride. Leaping over a hedgerow so that the girl could take the clearer path, jumping over a fallen tree and glancing back over her shoulder only to realize the girl was not in view any more. Pulling up short she stomped the ground, tempted to keep running but slightly concerned now as well. Dover did have a tendency to race on faster than even her old tribe.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar continued to follow dover into the forest. soon she could only see flecks of Dover's white coat between the trees. she kept running, feeling the adrenalin pump through her at last. pushing in another burst of speed pushing until she was almost level with dover before stopping short of breath.