Her boots were more than boots, she carried things in them. She wore dark brown leggings and her leathers when she went hunting. She had to run fast and be completely silent, even her horse knew when it was time to be quiet… This was not something she liked in the least, but sometimes she had to feed herself and her pack, it was her responsibility… they helped her, kept her company, kept her safe… she watched for rabbits, pheasants, she had no need of anything bigger… she always carried a flat pouch across her back where she would put anything lovely along the way, mushrooms, precious greens, any ripe fruits, sometimes she wondered if she was the only person in this forest, until she came to the edge, the big cliffs that overlooked the big river that went on forever… she never left the banks, and that night in the twilight she and the dark one made their way silently down to the waters edge, where she filled her flasks and hung a big leather bag across the back of her saddle, which was very light and made for moving fast. The grass along the edge of the water was sweet and fresh, newly grown and her horse stood down into the water to reach the most sweet shoots… she sat back against a tree, and drank from her flask. She reached down and pulled a tiny pouch out of her front pocket, and took out a little vial of tiny herbs and placed a thumbprint into a little rock pipe, and sat back and listened to the water. A big bird flew down the canyon of the river riding the currents and turning from one side to the next, changing his tac, riding the wind effortlessly.

Suddenly it was dark and she was caught off guard. There was a light across the inlet and the definite smell of food caught her nose. She had no idea why she was drawn to cross the shallow water to the other side, and as she quietly walked up into the edge of the opening she saw the fire and the young man with the long brown hair working fish on a spit, and some large leaves tied in bundles laid at the edge of the fire. He spun around quickly taking in his breath and then a smile took over his whole face and his eyes caught the sparkle of the embers in the fire and the old dark one stomped his hoof and blew out his breath… She dropped his lead to the ground and stepped out into the light of the fire. He reached out his left hand as if to welcome her to sit…