As A Stranger Or A Friend?: The Swallow And The Drowned Sailor

Mariel - 17 Sun's Dawn, 1246 A.D.

I struck a match and leaned forward to light his pipe for him. He smiled at me from his reclined position amongst the many pillows inside our tent and took a few satisfied starting puffs. I smiled back at him, putting the box of matches aside, then pulled my nightdress's sleeve up over my shoulder.

"Oi, nay do that." He commanded, smacking his lips and shaking his head at me.

I bit my lip and shyly tugged it back down.

He laughed, then pulled his pipe away from his mouth to expel some smoke. "Come here."

"O-Okay..." I said, beginning to scoot towards him.

He seemed rather impatient, though, and didn't wait for me to get to him, instead reached out and pulled me into him eagerly. I shuddered and shied away from him as he planted a tiny kiss on my shoulder, but he didn't tease me for my reaction. Instead, he looked quite pleased with himself.

"Sh-Shouldn't we focus on the task at hand...?" I asked nervously.

He laughed, then gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Aye, so, as ye said, this be plains, ey?"

"Yes, Yula mentioned that Thantril's Steppe is entirely wild grassland and boasts of much game...ideal for hunting." I admitted quietly as I turned away from him to point the area out on his map.

"And ridin'..." He added, sitting up to lean his head on my shoulder, then began to nibble on my ear.

"Axtapor..." I pouted as I curled in on myself.

"What?" He asked in a low voice as he exhaled in a satisfied way upon my neck.

"W-We should f-focus..."

"I be focused..." He remarked quietly, "Be ye a good rider?"

For some reason, the way he asked the question made me shiver.

"I-It's been m-many y-years since I've ridden in earnest, but I believe my skills have k-kept...Axtapor, please, w-we should f-focus..." I responded nervously as I squirmed; he'd not stopped fiddling with my ear or the space behind it.

He sighed, then grumbled something to himself in his tongue, finally sitting up and stuffing the stem of his pipe in his mouth. He leaned forward, making a mark upon the map. "So then, Thantril's Steppe it be. When did ye learn to ride?"

"When I was a girl." I responded quietly.

I observed his face carefully to see if he was truly upset with me, only to see him flash me an overly pouty look. I let out a small sigh and did my best not to laugh. He really was like a child sometimes—a large, perverted man-child.

"My people breed a small type of horse that can traverse the mountains of Naren with ease." I continued, "That boy my sister Ada spent time with, Harald, his father was one such breeder, and since we were all friends, we spent much of our free time at their ranch learning to ride. There isn't much else to do for fun in the countryside." I said with a small shrug as I recalled those times fondly, "Tomas, my little brother, was always upset that he had to ride the ponies. He was far too young then for my mother to allow him to attempt anything larger."

He chuckled. "Be that why ye been cross with me when I pulled ye down from that mount in the woods outside the palace?"

"Yes." I responded with a playful smile.

He laughed. "Well, then, when we find a fit place in The Steppe, what do ye think of building a wee house, ey? Middle of those plains, 'way from everythin' and everyone."

"In the plains?"

"Aye, be what ye want, is it no?" He asked with a quizzical look.

"Yes, but I thought you might want to be close to the sea." I explained.