The Journey to the Clearing

Opal char--[Opal]
Gwyn--[ShiftySkillet]
Lian--[Silent Dream]
Mirriam--[Silent Dream]

---

As the golden sun shines fully in the sky, an odd company of two wolves and a horse catch up with a lone spotted palomino. No words are exchanged as the surrounding forest leaves sigh with the breeze. With time the group begins to tire, and as the sun begins to take its daily nap, the group settles down too.

The silver wolf retreats to the forest before quickly changing into the young woman known as Lian. Her smile flashes quickly as she joins her friends.
Mirriam, a tall, slender and curvy woman begins to unpack several bags from the back of the palomino paint and the stallion, black as the night.
A black wolf with a small heart-shaped patch of white on its chest, MoonLight, sets a log down on a pile before nudging Lian's leg.

Sitting down, the girl quickly sets the pile ablaze with a quick flick of the wrist and a thread of purple magic. The fire is a small point of light in the steadily growing darkness. Lian gets out some dried meat and nuts as Mirriam makes a lean-to out of the canvas that their belongings had been packed in.

Hearing the slight russle behind her, (spelling?) Lian fills a small wooden bowl with the dried rations. She turns to a thin figure behind her, previously hidden in the shadows of the quickly progressing night. The curvy redhead woman sits down, folding her large feathered wings behind her.
"You two can put your things in here when you're done eating." states Mirriam. She speaks to Opal, the winged woman, and another flame haired girl who is calming the horses. The girl, fully grown, talks and pets the horses, her soothing touch calming them. Despite her touch, Gwyn's mind is seething with thoughs.

Lian distributes rations to the rest of the party before advising that they ought to get a good sleep before morning. Afterwards the party eats and finishes chores before going to sleep, Mirriam standing sentry. Slowly the moon rises like a scithe slicing the sky.

Gwyn tosses and turns in her sleep, uneased by her surroundings. She stands up quietly, slowly padding her way into the forest and to the city. As she reaches the city's edges, her smile brims at the noises of a busy night.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Lian and Mirriam experience the same dream- again. Previously it had plagued them for weeks before the two had met up with each other. Now it had twisted to a slightly different form. The two females walked side by side through a forest. Neither spoke but was aware of the other. Slowly the light began to filter through the boughs of the giant trees, thinning themselves. They came upon a clearing, a crystal clear pond in the middle. Bending down to drink, Lian cups a handful of water. Looking into it an image forms. He walks along a wall, joking with men armed to the teeth. Locks of brown hair fall in his eyes, a tangled mess. He turns to the woods outside of the wall, a hum reaching his ears. "ARM YOURSELVES MEN, THEY'RE COMING! SEND UP THE ALARM!" She watches as he fits an arrow to his bow. Slowly, one by one an army emerges from the woods......
Mirriam bends down beside Lian. She starts as she looks down into the once crystal clear water. In her eyes it glows red, shimmering with each of the blows from its week prisoner. Under the water another man fights to gain breath, his strength slowly being drawn from him like a vampire sucking his blood. He screams in rage and agony, yearning for help to come. Mirriams eyes grow wide in shock and fear, recognizing immediately his face. Gavillan's face.

Mirriam tosses and turns, moaning in her sleep. Lian screams in her dream watching in horror as the young man in her dreams is shot, an arrow going into his shoulder. She wakes up, her mouth feeling muffled, the sound of her scream not emerging. Her face is bathed in sweat. She looks around, seeing that it was only a dream. She realises Gwyn is missing. Mirriam is asleep, and Opal appears to sleeping too. Wanting to get away and have time to herself, Lian shape-shifts into an owl. She wings silently into the night.

Gwyn darts off down the busy street, through the bustling people who never sleep. Suddenly she stops dead in her tracks and smiles up at the beautiful black sky. An owl's silhouette shapes perfectly against the brilliant moon. Gwyn sighs happily and ducks into one of the noisy bars.

Lian, currently a white barn owl, is feeling confused and angry. She feels like letting out her anger, literally, on someone below. Perhaps the one looking up at the sky right now... nah. She flies completely over the town, a human day's walk, and heads over the nearbye forest. Hearing the wolf pack on the hunt she hoots a greeting. Flapping her wings silently she gently lands on a pine tree's limb. She contemplates her dream, wondering if it is an omen...

Gwyn muscles her way to the bar and manages to climb ontop of it. She grabs a bottle of beer and smacks it on a large, bald man's head. She immediately jumps down behind the bar as the man whips around, growling, "I' some'uhn' don' tell meh who did at..." Gwyn giggles malevolently as the sounds of a brawl break loose behind her. She giddily licks beer off her hand with a sigh, listening to the bar become more vicious by the moment.

Seeing the sun beginning to rise and the noise of the night begin to quiet, the creamy Barn owl that is Lian takes wing and begins to head back to camp.

Gwyn wakes up, having fallen asleep under the bar. She yawns and stands, stretching her arms and legs out. She walks over to the front door and sees a large padlock holding the door locked. She snorts in indignation, the thing is puny, not one suit for this kind of setting. She sighs and shrugs off the thought, quickly taking a hair pin to the lock. After a minute, she's trotting through the dew-coated forest back to camp.

"Seeing" Opal (Opal ! ?) getting up and hearing Gwyn coming through the forest Lian begins to comb and tack the horses. After a quick nudge fails to wake Mirriam, she tries a swift kick.
Mirriam scramble up in a tangle of bedroll and hair. Seeing Lian looking innocently the other direction, and Opal asleep, and Gwyn not in sight yet, she mumbles a few curses under her breath as she tries to swipe the sleep out of her eyes.

By the time the sun is fully up in all its glory the group is saddled and riding deeper into the forest. Small bits of light filter in through the ancient trees covered in moss and mushrooms. Brambles and berry bushes cover the ground, overtop of a thick layer of decomposing leaves and needles. A stream chuckles and gurgles nearbye, and the riders begin to to follow it to its source. Rapidly the trees thin and disappear to avoid a large meadow. The stream briefly enters the edge of the clearing before swerving and retreating into the depths of the forest. Sunlight covers everything giving it a warm, hazy touch. Tall grasses and wildflowers wave in the slight breeze.

"Glory..." whispers Lian in an awed voice.

"Here we are!" states Mirriam.
    "The Clearing."