Messangers in the Night (Jade)

[neav]

Neav and Windsinger were perhaps the most unlikely pairing as had ever been seen in a forest.
Even if you knew nothing of horses, you would see the mare was a princess of her kind.
Her legs were long, slim and delicate. She had the sweet dished face of her Arbian ancestors. She wore the air of a wild thing, as though she were made of the wind and it were only her name that kept her pinned on earth.
She was black as a starless night, her only marking being a white spot on one hind heel. The Abrabian mark of swiftness.

And even if you knew nothing of boys, you would see that Neav was not the best advertisment for his kind.
He was so small that was almost embarrasing to admit to fourteen years of age. His black hair was ragged and had obviously been cut with a blunt knife and without a mirror. His clothes were as ragged as his hair and there were both bruises and mud on his face.
You would be forgiven for thinking that the boy had stolen the horse.

Neav did not look like a Messanger of Camelot.
And for once, he was not supposed to. Since war had broken out, it was not a good idea to ride alone through the forests shrieking what side you came from. Neav had his offical message hidden in a saddle-bag, but that was all to identify him.

The boy stopped watching the mare and gazed at his little campfire. It was night, and they had been riding hard all day. They would not reach Camelot with the reply message for many days, but Neav was not worried. The question and answer were only the same as had been sent out for weeks:
Have you seen aught of the Lady Morgana?
No.
Neav sighed.
"Got to sleep soon, Flute," he said to the mare, using his fond nickname for her. "I can make protections against the wolves and then we will be safe."


Tags: Jade
Timeline: One month into the One Year Gap
Place: A forest far from Camelot...
Time of day: early night
Weather: clear and cold