Back home... And Farther

Come on, let's go!

"Destiny come one, if we want to get to Pasleia in good time, we need to leave soon!" I yelled into the phone. I was waiting in the barn with Night, my horse, waiting for Destiny. Maybe I should be more sympathetic since I am always packed, I thought. Destiny was coming with me, through the mountains, to Pasleia to visit Temple and his family and to trade with some of the people there.

"I'm trying, but I need to get my sword and then I'll be right there!" Destiny replied as a loud crash sounded through the phone.

"What was that Destiny?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Nothing, just my bag," Destiny replied, "I'll be down in a second Har. See you then!" And with that she hung up. I sighed, and went over my bags again. Bow, check, food, check, water, check, everything else, check. I sighed, glancing around at the sound of a door swinging open.

"Ok I'm her, jeez. So, where is my donkey?" Destiny asked, glancing around looking for 

"Pluto is in her stall. You need to feed her real quick and then we'll get going. I don't want your horse racing across the land on an empty stomach," I instructed, scrolling through my texts real quick, and seeing a text from Luna saying, "I won't send any guards with you this time, I think you'll be ok with Destiny, just be careful." "You ready to go yet?" I asked, sliding my phone into one of the pockets in the bag that Night wore.

"Yes, I assume Luna didn't send any guards, so let's go!" Destiny said, checking her trades book really quickly, making sure she had what she needed to trade.

"Alright, but we start off slow. We don't want to tire the rides too quick, but we also don't want to ride to slow. I recommend a canter, or at least that's what I use when I travel," I explained as we mounted our rides.

"Alright, I'll follow your lead, but still I think that it would be cool to just race," Destiny replied.

"Yes, we can race across the long stretch of savanna we'll have to get across. Don't worry, traveling is fun, or at least I think it is, but you may kill me for this when we get back. It takes a little while to get used to riding a horse for so long, but you really bond with them," I replied, laughing as Night began to canter without me even telling her to.

"So... What's the plan for traveling?" Destiny questioned about 30 minutes after we'd left.

"We go strait through the first night, riding, then we break the second night. We'll eat our meals while we ride," I explained simply. Destiny and I weren't exactly on too good of terms, but she had still agreed to come with me to Pasleia. 

"Ugg, you take away from my sleep, but fine, you're the expert at traveling," Destiny replied, sighing. I could tell she was already wishing she hadn't agreed, but she rode on, following my lead. 

About and hour had passed, and Destiny was already getting drowsy. I didn't want to delay our travels any longer, but I had to give Destiny some slack, as she was used to sleeping on regular hours.

"Alright fine, we'll set up camp for tonight, but then tomorrow we get right back on riding," I commented, waking Destiny up a little. Night and Pluto slowed to a stop, and Destiny and I slid off, and tied their reigns to a tree. Destiny started making a tent while I set about making a fire. i walked over to the pack Night always had on, took out some crackers and cheese, and gave them to Destiny. 

"Won't you get hungry over the night?" Destiny asked as she scarfed down the food. 

"No, I'm going to hunt. You can come with me, but I think one of us should stay here, so that the camp doesn't look abandoned," I replied, getting out my bow and a quiver, filled with arrows.

"Oh, ok, I'll stay here and attend to the horses. I think I should also go over the trades I need to do, you know, in the firelight," Destiny replied, getting up and walking over to the horses. She had some special connection with horses, of any kind. I contemplated on whether to let Destiny stay or bring her with me to hunt, be eventually I decided it would be better to have a well fed horse and donkey, then have starving animals, plus Destiny loved being around horses. I streaked through the forest, searching desperately for food. A rustle in the bushes stopped me in my tracks, and I notched an arrow and my bowstring. I shot quickly, the arrow whizzing through the air, and hitting something in the bushes. I went over and pulled my arrow out of a furry creature. I picked it up, finding that it was a rabbit, and brought it back to the camp. 

"You caught something! Nice job, now you can cook it and then we can eat it," Destiny exclaimed. She was sitting on the ground, near the fire, looking at me with her notebook in hand. I nodded and started preparing the dinner.

"You're fine with this, aren't you? I mean, setting up camp in the middle of a forest?" Destiny asked curiously as I worked.

"Of course,  do it all the time. I mean there aren't any real dangers, except for maybe a few aggressive creatures, but that's usual only when you mess with them." I replied, glancing at her quickly, before continuing on.

"Well, I guess, but don't you get lonely, with no one to talk with, or nothing to do but ride through the day and night." Destiny replied, gazing at me expectantly.

"Yea, I guess sometimes I get lonely, but I also have Night. I mean, traveling is being alone, and I mean it's not all boring. I get to see a lot of new landscapes that look amazing. Sometimes I wonder how much more there could possibly be out there," I explained, looking up from the bunny, and staring into Destiny's eyes. I could see curiosity and interest in her eyes, gleaming in the firelight. "Well I am usually alone when I'm in Thymentine too. Mapping and paperwork is all I do back at the office. Sometimes I don't even take place in meetings, as I know I have nothing to report and I'd be useless," I said, glancing back at the roasting rabbit.

"Well. I guess I never saw it that way, but I have noticed your absence at some of the meetings," Destiny replied.

After we ate the bunny, Destiny crawled into her tent and slept, while I sat up all night on guard, thinking about all the good times I've had during travels.