#dreaming

"Sorry, love. Salt in the wound there" And leads her on

The trod leads on, straight and true, then... abruptly, and in the thickest of the fog, does a HARD Right Angle. Earl is about to step off it without realizing.

Hisss!

And he stops, then bends down, looks VERY close, "And lo, Sir Earl nearly died because of a ninety degree turn." A huff

"But not today!"

Her exlimation is a thread of a whisper, but yet the passion behind it speaks volumes, he smiles "Nay, thanks to the witch that loves him"

"Aye. She is fond."

"Well, of course, she did work so hard to be spell him" And they move on.. oh the plains have shifted to hills and wood, not marsh, but the fog now thins so it is more an affectation , and thus it may appeal to girls who like headless horsemen

"Mmm, may haps we near home?"

"It does seem a bit like doesn't it?"

The silver path, at last, seems less wide, less highway like... the better to wind through the wood. And yet, they are in the woods, and perhaps a poet should be blamed that it forks here

"Oh... two paths..."

"Which one.. the Northeastern, or the Western one?" He says

"Not that directions are constant here"

"Mmm..."

She retrieves a coin to flip.

He watches with amusement

"Tails westward..."

"Then westward we go" He moves along with her... "I somehow expected this to be more trollish."

"well, it was. But this is much more delightful..." She links her arm with his.

He grins and locked in her arm, they walk

The hills rise and go up and up, and Earl says "Well, okay I take it back, I think we're going into mountains and that can be trollish" Mountains it maybe, but not above the treeline, not yet

"Less delightful, but still good. More you. Perhaps we can explore the fork later...."

"A moment, lady, undignified this may feel, but you will not tire as easily" And he offers his arm not to link with, but to clamber on so he might carry her and safe her the walk.

"A touch undignified.. but..." She muses. "Pleasant in its way, aye."

Wolf grin, and up she goes. They travel for what seems many miles..and it is well she does not have to walk it. And they see a narrow mountain pass ahead... the fogs have left, the trees sparser.

She has her hands about Earl's antlers, her cheek pressed against his hair - a few soft whispers as she points out a beauty spotted.

Oh and there are beauties, trees rarer, but no less majestic. One is pale white in bark, with leaves of raven black, which is to say that when you look at it just so, you can see purples in the ebony.

Siiiigh. Content.

Earl says "Good tree, you please my lady, and thus I thank you."

The tree drops a delicate acorn which rolls right next to the trod, and acts like a lady who dropped a favor, but is too dignfied to act like she did

Zara coos softly - perhaps she can will the acorn to roll just an inch further...

And it does! Earl bends down so SHE can pick it up

With joyful greed, she takes it. Fingertips touch her chin and drop - a silent 'thank you' sign to the tree.

The tree gives the most victorian of boughs

err.. you know

And they move on, Earl says "What a lovely lady that tree was."

"She was. Most elegant."

The acorn is admired, and placed in her satchel for safekeeping.

And they travel, and see a sleeping sphinx on a cliff.

"Aye, a most wonderful trod, this."

"I wonder... centaurs, sphinxes..."

"Mountains?"

"We were going west, but I'd almost swear it was getting greecian"

"My thoughts, aye."

The sphinx stirs in the sleep mmm and wakes, but they've passed under

"No wait, you can't cross.. I didn't ask a riddle.. Iwas a sleep. Come back, let's do this again" The sphinx insists

A soft chuff, amused.

"Sorry, another time maybe?" earl says

"No seriously, I have been hree for YEARS, a trod finally opens for travel.. and I miss my first vict..err travelers?" The sphinx pouts "PUHLEAZE?"