Eric awoke the next morning to the blinding rays of the sun piercing him in the eyes. "Ow!" He cried out as he threw one arm over his arms. "By all the powers that be, who opened those shades!?"
"I did, m'lord." A dainty voice said, and Eric peeked underneath his arm to see a small Fae girl standing there, an amused smile gracing her lips. She stood about five foot three, much shorter than he, with a bluish tint to her skin and membrane of her wings in the glare of the sunlight. Her hair was an even lighter blonde than the merchant's that Eric had met last night, almost so that it was white. Her face, however, was one of a young girl, and had she not been a Fae Eric would have guessed her to be fifteen or sixteen at the most. Eyes sparkling with happiness gazed at the swordsman as he sat up from his bed and groaned, cracking his neck.
"Hello, Aingeal." He muttered. He'd stayed at an inn called Fairy Wings, and unsurprisingly he'd found it mainly populated by Fae. While the lack of unoriginality had been slightly irritating, their friendlier attitude than most of the draconians made up for it. In fact, he found their attitude a little disconcerting, and even more so when one girl, Aingeal here, had declared herself his personal servant for the duration of his stay. He'd tried to protest, but eventually he'd given up and just let her do whatever. After all, it was her job, wasn't it? "...That's right, I told you to wake me up shortly before seven, didn't I?"
"Yes you did, m'lord."
Last night was a little fuzzy to him. Damned drinks... "Did I do or say anything stupid last night? I can't remember..."
Her amused smile grew a bit wider, and he groaned. "Great. What'd I-- no, wait, nevermind, don't tell me." He waved his hands and cut her off as she'd opened her mouth to answer already. "It's probably better off that I don't know, right?" She looked thoughtful, then nodded. "Just great." He shook his head and groaned again.
"If it helps, m'lord, you passed out before you could finish completely undressing."
"No, it doesn't help." He raised an eyebrow. "Just...get my stuff, will you?" She laughed and bowed before skipping off, her wings bouncing happily. He rolled his eyes and clambered out of his bed and into bathroom, where a hot shower and shaving kit awaited him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Using his unstrung yew bow as a walking stick and slinging his quiver of arrows across his back, Eric made his way through a bustling city of Talmhaidh to the East Gate as fast as possible. He was unsurprised to find Eros standing there with a scowl of disapproval upon her face. However, he was surprised to see that she had two new companions with her.
"And who might these be?" He asked her as he approached the draconian, gesturing to the two horses. They were magnificent animals, with golden coats that seemed almost to be burning in the morning sun. Dark, intelligent eyes stared back at him as the two horses sniffed his hand before snorting with approval. He grinned as he turned back to Eros. "Don't tell me you went and bought me a pony while I was gone."
She didn't appreciate his humor, it seemed. She pulled at the reins of the larger one and brought it closer to her. "This is Morlor'ien." As if in response to her words, the horse neighed. "He's the dominant one, so I'll be riding him. You can have his mate, Senalia." She gestured to the smaller one before putting her foot in the stirrups and lifting herself up and on top of Morlor'ien. Eric took note of the fact that he hadn't been the only one hiding weaponry yesterday; she now had, in addition to the short sword at her side, a large glaive upon her back that seemed not to trouble her movements at all.
He walked over to the other horse and took off one of his gauntlets before stroking her face gently. She whinnied in pleasure and rubbed her head against his naked flesh, and he grinned. "Hey there, Senalia. My name's Eric."
"What're you doing?"
He looked up to see the draconian warrioress looking at him with cool interest. "I'm introducing myself to her. Letting her know I'm a friend."
She stared at him for a little while, and for not the first time he wondered exactly what she was thinking about. Finally she spoke. "They're only rentals. We're to bring them back after we're done."
"Still." He patted Senalia's head once more before slipping his iron gauntlet back on, and for the first time Rose saw him wear a completely serious expression upon his face. "All living things deserve love and respect, in one way or another. Just because she's an animal doesn't mean she deserves any less."
Completely unaware of the chord his words had struck within her, Eric went to stringing his yew bow before slipping it on his back, next to his arrows. For one so young to be so wise... Rose thought as she watched him prepare. ...he must have gone through the trials of Eadhochas and beyond...
Eric pulled himself upon Senalia with a little effort, and was at first worried that she wouldn't be able to hold his weight. However, the horse didn't seem to have any trouble moving with him on her after testing out a couple of steps, so he looked over to Eros and said "Let's go."