A quiet snort in his hair further woke the young Bey Gavin. Loudly he groaned and drowsily pushed the velvety nose from his forehead, asking Dawn for a few more minutes of rest. The sorrel mare squealed in near frustration and once more stuck her muzzle in her master's pale bangs, her breath hot and insistent.

"Alright, Dawny," Bey grumbled, rolling onto his back and rubbing his eyes open. There'd never been much to see through the Wrathwine canopy, but even that view was obscured by the long and inquisitive horse's face. Dawn's perky little ears were fixed on her master as her large brown eyes blinked in question--warm breath whuffing from her dilating nostrils.

"I'm awake," Bey replied, propping himself up from his grassy bed to rub Dawn's forehead. The little mare nodded her head in appreciation as he scratched.

Good mornings having been said, Bey hauled himself up and loosened his sleep stiff muscles. Lately he'd been waking up later. Now that he didn't have his little farm in the clearing to tend to, there was no constraint on when he was to rise. If it weren't for Dawn's intervention, Bey imagined he could sleep much longer.

The forest about them was already awake and about. Flies of some sort drowsily hummed about the lower branches, their slender wings catching small glints of light. Birds hailed each other with their various calls--from short barks of larger avians to whistling little songbirds. A peaceful beginning to the day.

Bey found the rest of his cloths on the low-lying branch he'd left them on and did not take long to slip on his shirt, vest, and cloth belt; his boots and calf leathers further protecting his lower legs from brambles. He discovered his wide-brimmed hat in his horse's mouth a few moments later and promptly snatched it from her, causing her to snort in response. "No hat for you, Dawny," he chided, fondly messing the forelock between her ears.

The kint was waterlogged; their tarp had gotten a hole in it somehow, and Jerzy Wira had foolishly attempted to mend it himself, which had only made it bigger. Luckily, their bunk had been dry enough to sleep on, and only half of the food had been ruined.

He did not wish to stop over in a town, as practical as that might have been. Something strange and wild in his chest was pulling him towards the wilderness, insisting he continue with his journey. The last few days with Keiyra had been wonderful, but part of him still felt an unexplainable yearning to roam.

He had driven since the wee hours of the morning while Keiyra had a lie-in, still exhausted from their late night; Jerzy was tired too, but he couldn't sleep. He had an itch.

Benny Boy had wanted to enter the forest, so he found a path after circling for a quarter of an hour; it was ancient and a bit overgrown, but there was good hunting in Wraithwine, and Jerzy didn't mind taking a detour. The cartwheels rumbled on the earthy path, occasionally kicking aside a stone. It soon became difficult to drive up-top, so Jerzy had found a convenient tree and moored the kint with a chain, bade Keiyra goodbye, saddled Benny Boy and set off into the woods with a bow and arrow in hand.

The Laughing Sky were good hunters, and Jerzy had a decent amount of luck; he bagged a brace of conies and a pheasant before the sun had finished its ascent. He has just begun to contemplate returning to the kint when he heard a voice a few yards away, its source concealed by bushes:



It was certainly not something he expected to hear. He crept forward, wondering what sort of nutcase would be wandering around in the forest this early in the morning.

Patting his hat down on his head, Bey picked up his rucksack and sat back down where he'd slept. Most mornings, he'd chosen to eat while on Dawn's back, but the morning was so nice and it seemed a shame not to eat at leisure and listen to the rest of the world come alive.

Bey pawed through his belongings, searching for a few bites of his scant rations. Bread and yet more stale bread. He'd eaten the more perishable items long ago and now he was stuck with the same bland meal he'd forced down the previous night. While he could stop his wanderings to forage for something more delectable, pressing forward was the only thing truly on his mind and he really didn't mind the feeling of sawdust in his throat, so long as he could swill it down with water.

As her master daydreamed less about better food and more about the lands he might see beyond the one he'd known since birth, Dawn's head pulled up from grazing when a new smell caught her attention. She snorted and honed her ears in on the sound of soft breathing--so much quieter than that of Bey's, but still discernable to her sharp hearing.

The ugly little mare was unhesitant; she blinked her big eyes and slowly walked towards a clump of bushes where the smell had to be. Sniffing loudly, she stuck her head into the undergrowth.