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Wulfham
"Wonderful," she said as the group of fishermen approached camp, "this shall surely tide us over for a few days to come." Incana still wanted to put her rock thrower to use, so she and Vaenosa agreed that they would mount up and test their hunting skills. Incana brought her right leg over Starlight's back and settled into the saddle that was made to fit specifically for her by her father. While the mare's feet shuffled anxiously side-to-side, Incana declared "Vaenosa and I are off to test our skills. We will return before you could even begin to miss us!" She gave a squeal of delight and leaned into Starlight giving way to a full out run.
The wind in her hair and biting at her cheeks, it was all so exhilarating. Incana caught Nay out of the corner of her eye and slapped the reins against Starlight's neck advancing the couple into the lead once more. The two women did this kind of playful exchange for a little while longer until they felt that the horses had had enough. Incana brought her horse to a trot and then slowed to a walk. The woman was completely out of breath, this had always begged the question:Why am I out of breath? It is my horse that has done all of the work whilst carrying me.
Vaenosa and Incana were riding slowly beside each-other with only the sound of their horses hooves crushing the dry grass under them. Incana kept her eyes and her ears open with a regular turn of her head to scan in all directions for possible prey. She suddenly picked up a different sound, it wasn't in tune with the horses hoof beats, it was something smaller and quicker. Incana motioned to Vaenosa that she had heard something behind them. She brought Starlight to a halt and quietly pulled out her rock thrower readying herself for whatever was following them. The sound of rustling grass was drawing ever near and closer still, until out came none other than the dog. The dog was no longer the colour that he was back in the village, he actually had a very light colour to his coat; almost the same colour as the wheat fields back home. "Well hello there, you have followed us a long way my friend. You must have found that little stream a bit to tantalizing and decided to take a swim." He needed a name, but that thought would have to be set to the back of her mind for the time being.
The dog kept two strides ahead of the horses not wanting to get behind them for fear of receiving a rear kick, one that he surely would have got earlier if he hadn't been so noisy with his approach. Just then the dog gave a sharp yip and Incana immediately saw what he had flushed out. The woman glanced over at Vaenosa with a look in her eye as to say 'ready, let's go.' It appeared to Incana that it was a smaller deer, not a baby for it had already lost it's white spots, no it was an adult just smaller than she had known them to be.
Incana held her rock thrower in her right hand and Starlight's reins in the other and gave chase. She kept her horse in a straight line as the deer dodged back and forth across her path. As soon as Incana noticed that the deer was tiring she let go of the reins altogether and steadied herself in the saddle. She reached into the satchel that was used only for rocks and put one of them into the leather hammock of the thrower. Incana twirled the crude weapon in the air above her head and just when it looked like it was a sure kill, she snapped the wooden handle back to stop the motion and watched as the rock flew threw the air and hit its mark. The deer collapsed in a swirl of dust and grass. The two women got off of their horses and took measures to ensure the animal was completely dead. They were in the process of bleeding out the deer when Starlight and Nay began to whinny like they had seen or smelt one of their own. Incana lifted her head and looked in the same direction that the two horses were looking, "this grass is too tall for me to see through." She stood up and put her hand over her brow to block the sun and what she saw was frightening and panic immediately set in.
Incana felt the blood drain from her face and turned to Vaenosa, "We--we have to go Vae-no-sa, we have to g--go now!" She didn't wait for Vaenosa she just leaped onto Starlight's back and gave a loud "Ye-Ya" and headed for the camp as fast as her horse would run.
The dog arrived first and did not stop yipping and barking until Incana came into view. She barreled around the corner of some trees, bringing the mare to a dead stop. Incana jumped off and ran towards Brand, Dorran, Leod and Athwen. Trying desperately to catch her breath so they could understand what she was about to say, she inhaled deeply and said, "There are people out there in the grass--no, no riding through the grass" she paused to collect her thoughts. "While Vaenosa and I were bleeding out the deer we killed, I saw people off in the distance from where we were. It looked like there were two riders, but they could have others with them that we didn't see. I couldn't make out what they looked like, whether they were human or not!"
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