Change Of Scenery (Open)

[Verbena Nightshade]

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She was grateful for the company and she silently thanked Estolia for allowing them to meet. "Then it would be my pleasure to accompany you," she said happily with a smile peering out from beneath her black and gold mask.

Much as she enjoyed Dusty's company, the unexpected pat on the shoulder had been...well...unexpected. No one had ever done something like that. Rarely were people brave enough to touch a priestess. At least, rarely had anyone gotten near enough to Verbena. She was sure that others did not have the same experiences, as there were many married priestesses.

A load off of her feet...? Dusty would travel on foot...? The teenager's silver-gray eyes widened in surprise. She had never ridden on a horse before. Never so much as touched one. Her heart raced. Whether it was from fear or excitement, Verbena couldn't guess. Either way, she didn't want to be a burden.

"I couldn't impose," she insisted. "Taking your time is more than I could ask for...I could never take your horse as well." She glanced away, slightly embarrassed at the prospect. A Priestess Prima, afraid of a horse..... And what was worse, she was making excuses for her own well-being. Her conscience tugged at the back of her mind and her heart sank with the knowledge.

And yet she smiled softly as she spoke.

[Dusty Dawson]

Dusty put her hands on her hips, "Now now...you might go an' hurt Watson's feelin's!" she joked. The horse did appeared amused. Or affected at all by the conversation taking place.

"'Sides, it ain't imposin'!" she cracked another grin and lead Verbana over to Watson. Dusty had it in her head that the priestess was going to be going for a ride...and there was very little that was about to dissuade her.

It was a battle of wills, that was to be engaged, and Dusty did not want to lose. She took the Verbena by the shoulders and maneuvered her closer to the bored looking beast of burden.

"Now hop on up there! It'll be the best ride ya ever had!"

[Verbena Nightshade]

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Riding side-saddle, or even sitting side-saddle, was much more of a challenge than women liked to let on. That was what Verbena concluded.

"I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings," she had said solemnly, fully convinced by Dusty's words. The teenager had no way of telling for herself the horse's emotional state and was inclined to believe what her new companion had said.

Whether she had wanted to continue arguing or not, the raven-haired woman had little choice in the matter, or so it appeared. The red-head was by no means forceful as she took the nervous girl by the shoulders, leading her to the massive creature.

Horses, she knew, were large. She didn't realize quite how large they were until she saw one this close. The idea of riding such an incredible animal once again caused her heart to race. Her face, normally pale beneath the mask, grew pink with nervous anticipation. "It would be the only ride I've ever had..." she amended.

The first, and probably only. What need was there for a priestess to ride a horse? She stared uncomfortably at the horse and the saddle. What was she supposed to do? Awkwardly, she climbed on and, unsure of what to do about the dress, decided to attempt at sitting sideways.

Which was when she came to the conclusion that doing so was much more difficult than it appeared to be.

[Dusty Dawson]

"See? Now that ain't so bad!" Dusty beamed, as Verbena climbed up on to the saddle. Quite awkwardly, too. She had no doubt in her mind that the priestess had never once touched a horse, let alone ride on one.

And, with that matter settled, Dusty took the reins and gave a light tug to initiate Watson's forward progress. He clopped along, down the path as the two resumed their journey once more.

"What'd I tell ya! A nice smooth ride!" Dusty continued to sing praises of the animal she had been traveling on, "So, I don't think I ever asked...but what's bringing you all the way up this way?"

The former soldier was strolling along with no trouble keeping up with Watson and Verbena. She looked up toward the strange girl. Well, at least she was strange Dusty. About as strange as Dusty appeared to Verbena.

[Verbena Nightshade]

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Not so bad? She supposed it was all a matter of perspective.

Verbena liked her feet firmly planted on the ground if at all possible. However, in all truthfulness, this was not as terrifying as she had thought. Her concentration focused on maintaining her balance and not falling.

It was a difficult task.

The woman smiled beneath her mask. "You are very fond of your horse..." she noted gently, her hand patting the animal's neck. Such a bond, such love and caring, wasn't solely reserved for people. This was proof.

What had brought her up all this way? In some ways, that was a simple answer and in some ways it was entirely too complex even for Verbena herself to understand. "I hope to find something...." she answered vaguely. Her companion deserved a better response. However, she was certain that there was no better way of phrasing it.

She was looking for answers without knowing all of the questions. She hoped to find herself but feared what she would discover. Maybe it was true. Maybe there was no true self to recover. There was nothing beyond the little black mask that framed her face.

[Dusty Dawson]

"Well, of course!" she gave a nod of her head, as if this was a widely known fact, "Me an' Watson got through a whole lotta messy situations, 'fore we got up to the border!"

Verbena's internal turmoil was as well covered as the face behind the physical mask. Dusty had no idea what was going in the head of her new travel-companion. The answer certainly was cryptic enough.

"Lookin' fer somethin', eh?" she pressed for a little more information, "Well, allow me to offer my services! Finding missing items or persons ain't no big deal! Lemme know, if ya need a hand and I'll gladly do some diggin' around for ya."

Of course finding something as intangible as what Verbena was seeking would probably be a little bit outside of Dusty's talents.

[Verbena Nightshade]

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Yes, of course. A small smile found its way to the young woman's lips. She should have expected that someone who had traveled such a long way on horseback would be fond of her horse. That didn't mean that the relationship between Dusty and her horse - Watson? - wasn't any less refreshing.

It was inviting.

Just as the smile had found its way to Verbena's lips, a small laugh had just found its escape. It wasn't sarcastic, bitter, or condescending...it was simply a laugh for unknown and unexpected reasons. Perhaps knowing that this kind stranger - that's all that Dusty was, really - was willing to help was enough to make the teenager happy to laugh.

"Talented though I'm sure you are, I doubt you would be able to help me find what I am looking for..." she responded simply.

She wasn't so oblivious as not to notice that her newfound companion was hoping for more tangible answers. What sort of answers could the young priestess provide. She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, the smile still remaining faintly on her pale pink lips. "I suppose you could say that I'm searching for myself.... And she had learned over the course of her travels that 'herself' was the hardest thing to find.

As well as the last thing she wanted to find.

[Dusty Dawson]

"Whew, that is a deep one!" Dusty said, after a moments pause. She had (very) briefly wondered if there was some way around the intangible goal that she could be of assistance, but this only confirmed the fact that she would be unable to provide any service. So much for her first client.

"Well, I s'pose all I can do is wish ya good luck, then!" she turned and offered a grin up at Watson's new rider, "That would be a tricky thing even for ME ta find! Anyhow...you ever find yourself in need o' somethin' a bit more...er....graspable...just give me a holler! I'll even do it pro bono, since I wouldn't feel right chargin' a preacher....er....priestess. 'Specially since you've been kind enough to go on this little stroll an' let me talk yer ear off an' whatnot."

She gave a rather polite tip of her hat as she walked along and even tossed a rather whimsical wink up at the priestess. The strange masked girl did make for good company.

[Verbena Nightshade]

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It certainly was deep. It was a potentially impossible task and Verbena knew that, whether or not she had found herself, she would someday need to return to Sol Doratina to fulfill the role of Head Priestess. But until then, she would search.

And before then, she would work on getting to Terre de Conte. For the time being, the company was nice. And the extra help was appreciated. "You've been kind enough to accompany me, give me food, and let me borrow your horse," she glanced tentatively down at the animal beneath her.

Immediately, she regretted it, having caught a quick glimpse of the ground much farther below than she had fooled herself into believing. "But if I ever need to find something, I will not hesitate to ask. I'll try to find you some customers as well, if I can..." She wasn't entirely sure of how to go about that task, but she wanted to at least try to help her new traveling companion.

"I hope you don't mind if I ask, but how do you and...Watson know each other...?" that was the name of the horse, right? Verbena had always had a fairly good memory when it came to names. That may have been an odd question, but it had seemed as though the other woman was incredibly fond of the beast, and she was rather curious to know a little more.

[Dusty Dawson]

"Ah, passin' out recommendations? That'd be very nice!" Dusty grinned.

She kept a good grip on the reins. Not that she was particularly concerned. Watson was never one to go particularly wild. And that brought her to the next question in their conversation.

"Oh, we go back pretty far...Me an' him were assigned to each other back when I was servin'. Went on quite a few patrols with the ol' fella...wouldn't go out with nobody else. Once I left the service, I took 'im with me. I figure, if I'm hittin' the road for a long time, I'd need a good reliable horse. Watson, here, was kind enough to oblige." she explained...with a few omissions, naturally. As nice as her travel companion was, there just some stories that she didn't tell.

[Verbena Nightshade]

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Things were missing. There were holes. But Verbena couldn't very well have expected Dusty to reveal her entire past to a complete stranger. She shouldn't have been prying, but she was curious. That in itself was strange for her.

Perhaps it was Dusty's apparently open nature which brought out this strange curiosity. That was the only explanation the priestess could think of, the only one that seemed plausible at any rate.

So, they had met back when they were serving? Serving what? "What sort of service did you do? Was it some sort of detective work?" she asked.

Or, attempted to ask. She would have asked, she had begun to ask, when she momentarily lost her balance. Desperately searching for something to cling to, her arms shot out, wrapping tightly around Watson's neck to keep herself up.

[Dusty Dawson]

"Well, I --" she had begun to respond, but the whole dialogue was interrupted when Watson's temporary passenger lost her balance and began what would be a rather unfortunate fall. One that would have been much worse should the horse have been inclined to lose his composure during such hectic events.

Instead, he halted and allowed the priestess to hang from his neck. Dusty, meanwhile, had to be quick on her feet. She ran around Watson to try and catch the falling Verbena.

"Easy, there!" she said, with a chuckle, "It'd be a damn shame, if I went about given ya a pleasant ride, only to have ya landin' on your backside!"

[Verbena Nightshade]

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Relieved and finally having regained her bearings, Verbena let out a soft, gentle laugh. "It would have been even more of a shame if I had landed on top of you," she said lightly, glancing down at the other woman, poised to catch her.

Slowly, the priestess released her grip. Truly relieved, she laughed again. This was one of those moments when she truly gave thanks to Estolia. It truly would have been a shame had she fallen, and she would have been lucky to have landed on her backside, as Dusty had so gracefully called it.

Suddenly, and with clear distress, she looked at the other woman. "I am incredibly sorry..." she apologized sincerely. "I interrupted you while you were speaking. That was very rude of me.... Please, forgive me and continue?" she asked solemnly, truly feeling sorry for having interrupted Dusty with so minor a mishap.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to get back on her feet as soon as possible. Verbena always preferred to be firmly on the ground....

[Dusty Dawson]

Dusty made sure to catch the priestess and that her trip back to the ground would be an uneventful one. With a slight grin, she grabbed the reins once more and shook her head. "Now there you go, apologizin' again!" she said, "An' when ya got no reason to, neither! Naw, it've been m'own fault for insistin' this here ride on ya...but! It all turned, OK, so I guess if there's no harm, then there ain't no worries!"

With a light tug, she started to walk again, bringing Watson back into a very steady pace. She walked next to Verbena and decided it was time to pick up where she had left off.

"Oh, yeah! Well, like I was sayin', I wasn't pullin' any detective duty. There ain't been a legitimate detective branch o' the Magistrate since...well...since things started heatin' back up." she shrugged her shoulders, "So, I was an enlisted gal. I was a soldier, just like them folks I tossed outta that farm. But, well, solderin' just wasn't in the cards for me. I figure, the sorta skills I had been set up with could be put to better use out this way...so...here I am! Watson came along with me 'cuz...well, where else he gonna go? Right, boy?"

She turned to the horse, who clopped along the path, not appearing to take any sort of interest in the conversation going on next to him.

[Verbena Nightshade]

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Verbena smiled under the black and gold butterfly wings of her mask. It was nice to be back on the ground, her feet feeling its comfort through the flimsy soles of her thin black shoes. It wasn't that she hadn't enjoyed the ride, or the offer to ride. She had greatly appreciated both. But the priestess had always spent a great deal of time on the ground, and there was a sort of comfort in knowing that even if she were to fall, it wouldn't be far enough to do much damage.

A fear of death from Verbena Nightshade. The thought was almost laughable.

"It was very rude of me to interrupt while you were still speaking," she said, attempting to justify her apology. Had it really been unneeded? This was something which she would need to think on at a later time.

Enlisted? A soldier? "You aren't what one would normally expect of a former soldier." She assessed her companion. Perhaps that was a rude statement. It wasn't that placing judgments on people didn't have its uses. It was the placement of values on those judgments which the priestess did not approve. However, this was a simple judgment, its only meaning was the curiosity that fueled it.

Again, she smiled as the other woman addressed the horse. It must have been nice to have someone with whom she could talk for this long journey. The road to Terre de Conte was lonely when partaken alone.

"It is a good thing that you chose not to do that anymore," she began, choosing her words carefully. "It seems like being a detective is something that will bring happiness...." She wasn't sure how to describe what she wanted to say.

Verbena, for all her elegance and social graces, had never been entirely good with conversations. She admired those who spoke to others with ease, finding herself drawn to them as she was drawn to Dusty's character. And so, strangely, slight color rose to her cheeks, only partially hidden behind the mask that stretched over her features.

((OOC: Sorry that it took me so long to respond. I've been a major spazz. I'll try to be on more frequently from now on! And also, sorry for the bad post. I'm still having trouble getting a grasp on Verbena.... >.< ))[/color]