stone dog

@Louison!

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morning greyed paled heavens above pool and mossbeds. uesuca had slept little in the night. she told herself that slumber would not have come even had she been alone, even if it was a bit of a half-truth. what of the hares remained she portioned again, more for the lady than herself. such fare would trim her own body down to whittlesticks if they did not come soon across a settlement.

the wind today carried a distinct odor of brine. in regional center, the sea's voice was stilled by inland power. but its reach was great. was this an island then, uesuca wondered. she had spent no time upon them.

three pelts from three hares. softly heaped, dry with blood. "do you want to bring these furs, lady?" the warrior asked of said hides, rolling her shoulders in preparation for how many miles they might walk today.

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The night had been quiet, yet far from restful. Louison had spent it lost in thought, feigning sleep while remaining ever watchful. She knew nothing of these lands, and trust did not come easily—certainly not for the one she called her knight, or rather, her mercenary, who, for now, seemed content to serve without pay…

At the first light of dawn, Uesuca had set about preparing their journey, and Louison had observed her in silence. She was methodical, unhurried, moving with the quiet assurance of one well-versed in the art of travel. Far more than Louison, that much was certain.

Do you want to bring these furs, lady?
Where the mercenary likely saw materials to barter or craft into garments, Louison saw only precious sustenance—and sustenance was never to be cast aside. So she had merely inclined her head.

“We leave nothing.” Her voice carried no room for argument, though her gaze flickered toward the remnants Uesuca had buried the night before. What a waste. Had it been her choice alone, the maiden would have defiled the earth, unearthed the spoils, and gorged herself upon them like some ravenous beast. But for now, hunger did not call to her. She was sated.

“Northward, then.” She had murmured at last, lifting her face to the wind. Still, she caught no scent beyond the stale perfume of her own filth—a blend of earth and crushed vines, bitter to her senses. The cold air swallowed all other traces, stifling the whispers of prey, dulling the trails that might have guided her steps. Tracking would be harder now. Thus, to the north they journey...
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northward. "let us go. i will east and westward will put us within sight of the sea, if you would like to dally any day on our walk," uesuca teased gruffly, gathering the hides to sling over her own shoulder. when louison moved, so did the boarsword, eager to be shut of the place they had lingered far longer than her liking.

a head pillowed in a new locale each night; thus was the life that uesuca had long lived and was not hard-put to leave. yet the golden profile of the lady reminded her yet again that there were other things in the world. 

had she ever wished to put down roots of her own? on trudging, the warrior considered in silence the years behind and pondered those to come, eyes ever on the ready. for danger she watched, listened; the air tasted, and no words broke first from her unless lady louison first spoke.

morning rose in slow gradient. the sun bloomed in orange ochre and rosewater pink. movement ahead, deer moving back into the woodland as the wolves passed.

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Would she ever grow accustomed to Uesuca’s words? Or would she forever see in them nothing but vice and treacherous double meanings? Louison had merely fixed her gaze upon her knight, offering not a single word in return. She was well accustomed to walking alongside beasts devoid of reason, but her new mercenary was not one of them. Her words were simple yet keen-edged—let her blade be just as sharp, the maiden hoped.

Around them, the air shimmered with waves of intertwined light, warm hues coiling and unfurling like embers caught in the wind. Louison seemed spellbound—no, taken aback. The skies above the Citadel held no such colors. Uncertain, she turned toward Uesuca. The beast showed neither wariness nor wonder. Either the gates of hell had cracked open to welcome them, or the skies of these lands were steeped in an enchantment beyond reckoning.

The shimmering glow danced upon their pale coats, wrapping them in shifting shades—red-tinged shadows, like flames licking at their forms.

Perhaps these celestial fires unveiled the soul’s true nature. With a furtive glance, Louison sought the shade of her own… It, too, burned, ablaze in the divine conflagration of the heavens.

“Does the sky always burn so fiercely at this hour?” she asked at last, indifferent to whatever the question might reveal of her.
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"yes, lady," uesuca murmured, making mental note that the noblewoman must have been locked away in a stone chamber to question the sun. "when it sets, it is much the same. vibrant. it almost hurts the eyes," she added, casting a sidelong smirk at louison. 

thus so: a lady who was not a lady, only a wandering maiden. a wandering maiden, then, with the mien of a lady and ability to name her knight. a woman who woke in rags and filth but had no chance to slumber in the fetid spoilt sleep of one with many guards. a very beautiful enigma.

and now, to add, she did not understand how fierce a sunrise could be. 

the air here was more braced with salt as they came to a clearing. several animal tracks led off in different directions, and a thin creek was nearby, water-scent light but present. there was time, then, to rest and to break one's fast, but uesuca would allow the lady to decide.

light glittered between the trees surrounding them, and she wondered just how dense the forest was, or if it lessened as the water approached.

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Yet the day before, the sun had not seemed so fierce. Perhaps she had been too weary to take notice. Her gaze had wandered into the celestial flames, watching as they stretched and unfurled, advancing ever forward until they yielded to a sky of more ordinary hues. Everything here was a thousand times more vivid than in the Citadel. And yet, this grand symphony of colors did little to stir the dull embers of the maiden’s heart. Once the first shock of wonder had faded, she no longer spared it a glance.

Instead, her attention had shifted back to her guardian—formidable, her sculpted muscles swelling beneath the vivid light of dawn. She seemed even more imposing now, so much so that Louison found herself wondering if she had ever known a knight of greater strength. But was this raw power anything more than ornamentation? Would those honed limbs and gleaming weapons prove their worth when the moment demanded it? She was eager to witness it firsthand…

“Why did you bury those… things yesterday?” she asked, her voice barely feigning disgust—as if she herself had not buried her delicate mouth in those same entrails the night before. “What did it all mean? Was it a ritual? A curse?”
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"it is habit. i typically do not eat that portion of the animal. and i am used to burying it outside campsites so that bears and cats do not come to prey upon the sleeping." a stag crossed their path not far ahead, proud antler glinting in the peeking sunlight as he glided beyond into the timber. each time that pinewood let light through, it caught in the fur of louison, suspending itself in lockets of gold along the tips of soft fur.

uesuca had become aware of her companion's particular fragrance — as if the lady had climbed out of a crypt. no one noble nor highborn strove for such perfumes, but she was without a ladylike and passive opinion upon flowers. suggesting them in her direct way might offend louison, one of the last things needed.

"eating offal is starvation food. i will not allow you to starve, lady," uesuca decided, and glanced up toward the canopy, but it was too twisted for her intent. 

a ritual. a curse. what did louison know of magick? but the warrior, wisely, had already learned not to poke with inquiry.

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What a strange habit, if one were to go by Louison. Yet if the knight saw some purpose in it, she left her to it, trusting in her expertise. Nature was her domain—so unlike Louison, who drifted through the world with a distant indifference, as though untouched by its wonders. Could she even hunt, if need be? Her senses lay dormant, unstirred even by the silent approach of a deer on the distant ridge. Not a glance, not the slightest twitch of an ear. She remained unmoved. Or perhaps she simply was not hungry.

"Eating offal is starvation food. i will not allow you to starve, lady,"
She had wrinkled her nose, as was her custom—though all her expressions were mere whispers, no more than the faintest crease of skin, a fleeting shadow of a thought. It took a keen eye to discern her, and Uesuca had such an eye.

“Food is food,” she had declared, unyielding. Its form, its state—none of it mattered. If it was flesh and blood, it could sustain her.

She did not elaborate, nor did she seek to bridge the silence. Louison moved forward, her gaze fixed upon the vanishing point ahead. She had a purpose, and she advanced toward it, undeterred. The creaking of branches, the whisper of grass, the murmurs of unseen creatures—none of it reached her. She did not pause to take in the beauty of the landscape. She had looked upon the sky once, and it had left no lasting impression; now, nothing could.

She would not have heard even a lost soul, no matter how it wept, how it raged, how it writhed in agony. It was not for her to gather the wounded—that was the burden of her beastly knight.
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what a beautiful depiction!!! <333

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food is food.

it was not the sort of pronouncement a noblewoman might utter. uesuca, who remained aware she may have misjudged the woman for gilded at all, decided there was little harm in continuing her line of thought. why not? they were alone here, as louison seemed to insist upon. no one existed to tell uesuca that she should treat the golden wolf as a superior.

quietude went on. she would not break it. sunlight barred their coats as the forest swept by, and little insects stirred from warmer alcoves. hunger pinched. uesuca ignored it, used to the sensation of dull thrum. but eventually nature would demand a halt.

did the lady wish to see where the forest ended? how far it grew? she understood, preserving their adventure's tension by remaining silent.

eyes, as always, watched all around, gleaning what information she needed from the sights of the weald.

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The horizon of the forest seemed infinite to her. Though scarcely dense, the trees stretched on without end—at each step, a new row emerged, as if conjured from the depths of the earth. And if a steady stride had guided her thus far, she now felt a raw, insidious ache settle within her very core. Her gait had lost its even rhythm, and though she voiced no complaint, her hindquarters had sunk ever so slightly—a mere whisper of a curve, almost imperceptible, yet unmistakable to a keen eye.

That eye would notice, the beast's eye. And if she could deceive the world, she could not lie to herself.
But in the end, she seemed to yield to resignation, her ears gently drawing back as her expression remained a mask of stone. An angelic visage, betraying only the faintest, almost imperceptible flickers of emotion.

“I have never journeyed without an apothecary.” She had, at last, confessed, breaking the silence. “In this wretched place, I would even accept the help of an old fool who fornicated with nettles so long as he is capable of finding me a use for his accursed plants!”
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uesuca did notice. but calling a halt for her lady would be taken as an insult. therefore she called none and only listened as the golden lioness spoke of her retinue once more.

to have a servant follow belied the modest story that louison would have liked her to believe. the boarsword guarded this with a deep amusement. "when we find civilization, we will find a healer."

she wondered indeed and true what had happened, and suddenly saw the last night's bluster and this for what it must be: pain. a warrior of skill might walk on a thorned paw for a long while and utter not a sound. her lady seemed to be limned in such iron. "if there is something you want, i have a small skill in plant identification," uesuca offered, though kept her eyes still trained ahead.

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