Distance Can't Make Hearts Fonder

[xarae]

It was sunset, and the sky was getting darker. The forest, which seemed so welcoming during the day, was turning dangerous. Isabel pressed her thighs closer to the saddle, stroking Vern's neck nervously. Bird song had long since died, along with it the apparent safety of the forest. Isabel was nervous, which caused Vern to shy at things he normally would not.

Intent on coming out of the forest unscathed, Isabel clutched the reins tighter and pulled in the large horse. Vern snorted uneasily and halted. She turned in the saddle, looking over her shoulder. Every direction looked the same, foliage melting into each other until it was all an indiscernible mass of leaves. Her breath caught in her throat. Outlaws roamed the forest, though she wasn't afraid. They were hardly likely to steal from her. There were but a few pennies to her name, and though her horse was large and strong, she doubted he'd put up with someone besides his mistress on his back. Issie nibbled on her lower lip, bracing a hand on his withers and looking to the left, then the right.

Nothing.

On a whim, she looked up. A crow soared high above her vision, the calls of jackdaws sounding in the distance, but that was all. Crows... hate them. The word crow tasted of smoke and deceit - if deceit had a flavor, which of course to Isabel, it did.

Issie sighed and figured she'd have a better perspective of the forest if she was on her feet. The girl stroked Vern's neck, and with a deep breath, dismounted. Her foot caught under a root and tripped her up, causing Issie to flounder backwards, landing on her rear in the moldy leaves. Never before had so dismounted so... ungracefully. She huffed in annoyance. Vern had shied away, his owner's nervousness causing him to resort to green horse tricks. The girl rolled her eyes, clucking softly to her horse. Eventually he came to his senses and walked back towards her, shoving his muzzle in her hand. Issie smiled softly and stroked his nose, holding his bridle loosely while she looked in every direction.

Issie found nothing - just more trees, which she was coming to loathe.

"Ugh! Trees, trees, trees! As far as the eye can see! Damn it all!" Perhaps not the most ladylike language, but Isabel saw some advantages to being alone in the forest. Freedom of speech was a small consolation for being lost and alone. Well, maybe not quite so alone. Issie sighed and stroked her horse's neck. Vern snorted softly, tossing his head.

At least her horse hadn't changed much. Isabel glanced about with tired eyes, nibbling on her lower lip. "Help?" Her voice was whisper soft, though she knew no help would come. Still, it felt better to admit she was wrong. Isabel groaned loudly. "Well, boy, looks like we're here for the night." The sound of her own voice seemed to comfort the girl, so Isabel continued to speak softly. "Down, Vern." Obediently, the horse lowered himself to the ground, leaving Isabel with something comfortable to lean against.

She didn't want to chance a fire for fear of being unable to control it and burning down half the forest, so she simply cuddled as close as she could to her equine friend, petting his shoulder absently. Vern didn't like sleeping on the ground - it felt wrong and unnatural to the great horse, which of course it was, but he'd do it for his kind owner. She'd never steered him wrong before, and he trusted Isabel and her kind words. Issie closed her eyes briefly, then blinked them open. She didn't feel safe closing her eyes in the forest for too long.

Isabel leaned her head back, staring up at the sky through the canopy of trees. It was quite pretty out here, without the sky being marred by tendrils of smoke emitted from other cottages. The dark sky was quite beautiful, actually. She blinked, sitting up straighter and continuing to pet her horse. At least the sheer natural beauty of the stars gave her something distract herself with. Isabel smiled faintly as the daylight faded.

The bushes to her right began to rustle. Vern twitched an ear and snorted uneasily. Issie winced and placed a hand on his neck, murmuring softly. A fox shot out of the foliage, scampering across the clearing. Isabel watched the fleet-footed red furred creature disappear into the woods, smirking slightly. The forest came alive at night.

In the distance, she heard the soft hooting of an owl. The sounds were beginning to sound less threatening and more comforting. Her eyes slid closed, and Isabel slid down in the leaves, turning on her side and resting her cheek against Vern's warm shoulder. The horse huffed, letting his eyelids droop momentarily. Isabel sighed softly, letting the sounds of the forest lull her to sleep. Above, a curious nightingale watched her as she slept, occasionally calling out to the fellow winged creatures of the night, a soft warning. Issie adjusted herself slightly, then lay her head back down, and finally settled into a light doze.

The tide brings salt-soaked memories,
When freshwater life is all I need.

All is never fair in love and war.
These are the things that kings die for.

text in purple © forgive durden

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[theowood]

Tonight, Theo decided, had been a great success.

The moment the twins had heard about the fete in honour of the new lord Sebastian something-or-other, and, more specifically, about the free food, they’d jumped at the chance to go. Their sisters, much to their dismay, had been kept at home by their parents, who were afraid to go due to the likely late night walk back through the forest, with the potential to turn into a nasty confrontation with the less savoury outlaws hiding beneath its green canopy.

The twins weren’t too bothered by that. Together they could probably handle any problems, and if there was more trouble than they could handle, they were pretty fast and were confident they could outrun anyone. Besides, all the outlaws were probably in Knighton too, filling up their purses and stomachs, just like everyone else.

Theo, himself, had happily gorged himself on some of the fresh fruit lying around the tables; a rare treat, since the orchard workers had started watching out for unsavoury characters (such as the twins) and ward off the scrumpers. This had put a real dampener on Theo’s snack time, and he’d pilfered a few of the ones at the fete to last him the next few days.

As they wandered home, swaying slightly, Theo thought about the day. The archery contest had been interesting, although he’d made a fool of himself by entering; he was lousy with a bow and arrow. And his mask? The damn thing, so kindly made by his little sister Caroline from some old sacks, had refused to stay on his face and he’d spent most of the day tying it back on, but it had been fun. Especially watching those two drunks dancing around singing about Robin Hood. Hadn’t they been daring? There were plenty of guards around, and it was no secret that the Sheriff, whom they’d been mocking, was present too.

And that woman who had been stabbed… Theo was intrigued. What had she done to get such a violent reaction? Perhaps the man was a jealous boyfriend; Theo hadn’t been paying attention, more concerned with stopping the bleeding at that point in time, and then getting drunk. Speaking of not paying attention…

He looked over at his twin, Nate, and was astounded that the other man hadn’t said a word during his silence. Usually it was all anyone could do to get either of them to shut up.

He was about to ask Nathaniel if he was alright, when ahead he spotted a large black lump in the landscape. He blinked once and rubbed his eyes.

Well, either he was seeing things or they ought to investigate.

”What the bloody hell is that?” he asked, not exactly quietly, and didn’t notice that a few birds fluttered away from the trees as he shattered the silence.

(OOC - omg so short >_>)

[nathanielwood]

Nathaniel was really quite drunk. After his daring rescue of the lady, who's name he couldn't quite remember right now, he'd decided that a celebration of his own good deed was in order. Of course if there hadn't been a woman to be saved from stabbing Nate would have found another reason to consume vast quantities of alcohol.

As they stumbled through the darkened forest Nate began to think that maybe he'd overdone it a bit. He'd certainly feel the effects tomorrow when he would be expected to rise bright and early and clamber about on somebody's roof with a pounding headache. He just hoped we wouldn't have to dangle Rupert off the edge by his ankles to get him to shut up, mother got so touchy when he did that.

He looked at the shadowy figure of his twin, hoping that Theo had some idea which way they were supposed to be going. He'd lost the familiar landmarks of the forest path a long time ago in his drunken haze. "What the bloody hell is that?"[/i] Theo broke the silence and Nate had to squint before he could make out the indistinguishable black shape a little distance off. Well it definitely wasn't a tree, he could see plenty of trees and they didn't look like that.

"Dunno." He shrugged and took a couple of wobbly steps towards the unidentified object. If it was a person there was no point being quiet as his twin's sudden loud exclamation would have alerted anyone within a mile radius of their presence. He just hoped it wasn't that unsavoury character that he'd tackled at the fair, he hadn't failed to miss the look of malice on the man's face and he didn't want to end up with similar or worse stab wounds for his trouble. Whatever it was it was worth checking out, Nate never missed a chance at an adventure, even when he couldn't stand up straight.

[xarae]

Isabel had been sleeping peacefully until a voice cut through the silence. 'What the bloody hell is that?' She groaned slightly, raising a hand and rubbing at her eyes. It had only been a few moments of rest, but it felt like hours. Issie forced herself to sit up and look around, her eyes unused to the dim light.

Once she found the person - thing - who had spoken, she huffed slightly and got shakily to her feet. Isabel stumbled slightly, then caught herself, straightening up and sighing in annoyance. "I am really, really not in the mood for games... so, uh, can you come closer? Can't really see anything in these blasted woods..."

Isabel leaned down, fumbling by Vern's saddle. She knew she'd dropped the small hunting knife somewhere... Growling in frustration, she stepped back. Being the obedient beast that he was, the horse stayed down, sighing lustily from his place on the ground. It seemed he was half asleep already. "Great, great, what a helpful beast you are," She hissed in annoyance, taking another step backwards to avoid lashing out or frightening her horse.

She really was quite scared, and she didn't want the great stallion to sense her worry in case he decided to suddenly become brave and bolt into the woods, invariably spraining or breaking a leg on the brush that littered the ground. Issie flexed her hand, staring dejectedly at the ground. If it was a group of outlaws (which she doubted, as there were only two) she was done for. Though, the two voices she'd heard had seemed relatively neutral, if a bit tipsy. Most likely peasants left over from the fete, lost in the forest... Hope they're not from Knighton. If they were - and if they recognized her - they'd most likely hightail it in the other direction. Issie hadn't realized before that moment how much she craved human company. Vern was nice enough, but to have someone to talk to who would talk back was something else.

Issie brushed her foot through the decaying leaves, kicking some up in a bored manner. Deciding she wouldn't leave this meeting to chance, she strode ahead. There was quite a lot of shuffling and noise coming from the northwest direction, so she supposed it was a place to start. Placing a hand on Vern's shoulder, she gently told him to stay put and began walking slowly in that direction. The skirts of her dress were quite cumbersome, but she tried to ignore how much noise the swish-swish of silk was making.

Isabel placed a hand out to steady herself on a tree branch, but rather than touching cold wood, she found her palm resting on a warm shoulder. Issie shrieked and jumped backwards, stumbling slightly but catching herself by leaning against a tree trunk, glancing with wide eyes at what seemed to be a boy around her own age, perhaps older. She hadn't been paying attention, and she mentally slapped herself for her lapse in judgment. "Err... hi there."

I wear this angel's crown
To cover up my devil's frown

And upon my broken chest
Lay a struggle between loneliness

text in purple © automatic loveletter

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[theowood]

Theo rolled his eyes as his brother stumbled onwards to investigate. He mused that he would have probably done the same thing sober, so he couldn’t blame his brother’s actions on being drunk. But honestly, what if it was a trap? Or… or a dead person or something.

Of course, the speech (which he missed, so caught up in his head) obviously showed that whatever the lump was, it was certainly human and certainly not dead. He shrugged and followed his brother, who had managed to get a fair bit away from him, and approached the mass. As he got closer, the little light that managed to escape through the leaves and shine on the earth below revealed a female figure standing behind the large black mass (a horse, perhaps?). For a moment, he wondered if it wasn’t one of the wood witches that he so often teased Rupert about, but quickly shook the thought out of his head. There were no such things as the wood witches he talked about.

Apparently she hadn’t noticed his brother approach and shrieked when she reached out and leaned on him. Theo couldn’t help it; he started laughing his head off. Clearly she was as scared of them as he had been of her (though he’d never admit it). She gave a meek hello to his brother and he assumed she hadn’t seen him come up either. He slid into her view, hands up to show he meant no harm, and smiled, although he was unsure if she could see or not.

”Hello.”

He cringed slightly inside. Well, at least it was something to say. He could feel his brain wasn’t quite up to scratch.

(OOC - sorry short)

[nathanielwood]

Nate's reaction times, not to mention his thought processes, really weren't up to scratch when he was drunk. He'd eventually realised it was a girl, the clue had been when she spoke. She was quite a pretty one at that and he'd smiled charmingly at her, the expression was probably more like a lopsided smirk, as she approached. By the time he'd worked out she hadn't spotted him in the dark and tried to step backwards out of her way she already had a hand on his shoulder. Then she shrieked and Nate was quite offended at that, he wasn't that frightening, in fact he always maintained that he was the more attractive of the two twins despite his apparent disadvantage in age. The way Theo went on about it those eight minutes must have been the most revolutionary and exciting minutes in the history of the world.

"What are you doing out in the forest, on your own, in the middle of the night?" Nathaniel asked bluntly, curiosity getting the better of him and the amount of alcohol he'd consumed erasing what little tact he possessed. Besides Theo had said hello and everyone knew that a greeting from one of the twins was meant from both of them.

"Dangerous place these woods can be in the dark, ain't that right Theo?" He elbowed his brother in the ribs a shark-like grin spreading across his face. Well now that they were talking they might as well have some fun with her, he just hoped she didn't scare easy. The small chivalrous part of him thought that perhaps it wasn't right to tease a girl so, but the other, much larger, mischievous part of him was always looking for another victim. If he was really lucky Theo would bring up the wood witches, they scared the pants off of Rupert and his twin was always much more inventive with the stories.

[xarae]

'Hello.' Isabel took a step back, then another, realizing that there were two figures rather than just the one she'd laid her hand on. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she made out the figure of two lanky boys around her own age. They look safe enough... she thought, but then again, she'd never been a big fan of judging simply on appearances. Isabel ground her teeth together, trying to think of something sensible to say. The two figures looked wildly similar, so she figured they were brothers, or at the very least related somehow.

"Hmph. What I do alone in dark forests is my own business," Issie snapped irritably, straightening her skirts and looking at the ground. She took a deep breath, then ran a hand through her hair. "Forgive me. It's late, I'm tired - and I do believe I'm lost. Quite trying on my manners," She added dryly, raising her eyes just enough as to be able to inspect the twins once more. As her sight slowly returned, she realized they were quite similar in looks, almost frighteningly so. Must be twins, she reasoned in her head, scuffing her leather-clad foot lamely through the leaves.

Dangerous? He can't be serious. He can't be - Isabel started. Theo. Sounded like it was short for Theodore, but she wasn't about to question it. The name had a different sort of taste, confectionery. After repeating it quietly under her breath, she realized it was indeed a sort of candy. Ooh. Toffee... Her train of thought drifted off, swiftly turning away from the twins and heading towards a fantasy land. Isabel glanced momentarily at the possessor of the name and decided it fit him well. Her eyes drifted back towards Nate, smiling slyly. "Right. Dangerous." Her voice dripped sarcasm. Issie, of course, realized how potentially life-threatening this excursion was, but Nathaniel seemed more interesting in scaring her than warning her.

"Mhm, especially dangerous considering I'm dead lost. I don't suppose you know where I am?" She added, her eyes narrowing slightly, though it was too dark to notice. Issie appreciated a cunning mind when she came across one, but Nate seemed more intent on using his "powers" to scare innocent girls. Hmm... perhaps maybe not so innocent. Her gaze lingered on Nathaniel for a moment before sliding over to Theo. "Don't you agree? The forest is quite dangerous, no? Especially at night, when you're unaware of who - excuse me, what - exactly you're dealing with."

Biting my tongue just to get me by,
Sick of going back and forth with the cheap shots all night

Sink my teeth in a little bit deeper
The red on my teeth should be enough for you

text in purple © every avenue

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[theowood]

Theo grinned as the girl started straightening herself out, snapping at them. Well, Nate. Probably both of them. More often than not, when one was yelled at it usually meant a reprimand for the other. they were pretty much constant pairs.

He stepped up closer, standing beside the other two, and smiled politely, taking in what he could. The girl seemed about their age, not particularly petite but not burly either. She seemed nice enough; none of those sharp features Theo associated with the spiteful girls he knew so well. She would probably be a good chat on a different day.

He chuckled when Isabel mentioned how late it was, and that she was lost. Well, he couldn't say they knew exactly where they were going, but Theo had a general idea of the direction they needed to head in, and they didn't have to be up particularly early so no matter. "Maybe we can help," he offered, though, knowing he'd get a clip round the ear if his mother ever found out that they'd left a lady alone. Like they hadn't used up their good deeds quota for the day with that noble bird.

He grinned at his brother, wondering if his twin knew the look on his face but realising that he understood anyway. He had to fight to rub his hands together in glee. Oh, they were going to play a game! That was always so much fun.

"Dangerous indeed, Nate," he replied, nodding a little. Addressing Isabel again, he added, more seriously, "Especially if you're lost. Don't you know about the spirits?"

He watched her carefully, listening to her words. Was she trying to insinuate something here? That she was part of an outlaw gang, or that she was one of the spirits he was talking about? He wanted to laugh at that. It was nice to see someone play along with their games. He liked it.

"Sounds to me like someone knows about the wood witches, don't you think Nate?" he asked his brother, quite seriously, before realising that he didn't actually know the girl's name. "I'm Theodore, and this is Nathaniel," he added, quite unnecessarily, before continuing, "What's your name?"

Easily distracted, as always, he happened to look down to find the source of the constant scuffling noise and realised that the big black figure was still on the floor and that it was, in fact, a horse. Stupidly, he asked, "This your horse then?"

[nathanielwood]

"You're in the forest." Nate answered completely unnecessarily, as an exact location his answer really wasn't up to scratch. It only helped to reveal that at least he had no idea where they were right now. "But a forest at night may not be where you mean to be." He slurred, his deduction a brilliant one as far as he was concerned even though she had only mentioned to them moments before that she was lost. Theo was offering to help and Nate nodded approvingly, clearly his twin hadn't lost all sense of chivalry at the bottom of his mug (or mugs) of ale as Nate seemed to have.

"Where do you need to be my lady?" He asked, not waiting to here her name. Names were irrelevant right now as he wouldn't remember it anyway. He could always call her missy or something, he just hoped it wouldn't get a slap for his troubles. "For we shall gladly lead you to safety." Nate paused, nodding happily to himself, seemingly quite satisfied with his speech. Then he leaned conspiratorially towards the girl. "Although if it's outside Nottingham you're on your own mate, I ain't walking that far even for a damsel in distress."

He was probably being terribly rude, but he couldn't really bring himself to care. A combination of too much alcohol and the late hour were making him less amenable to daring rescues. His words probably would have earned him a clip round the ear from his mother, but she wasn't here and what she didn't know couldn't hurt her. Although... she did seem to have some kind of witchy intuition about these things. Nate frowned worriedly and lifted a hand to rub the back of his head as if to protect it from an invisible assault.

"Horse? Where?" He asked looking around wildly. He couldn't see any horse shaped shadows in the gloom, only tree shaped ones and even in his current drunken haze he could tell that trees and horses were not remotely similar in size or shape. Maybe it was one of those invisible horses, he glanced enviously at Theo. It was so unfair that his twin could see it!