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When the trees opened up and the castle walls were in view, Daae dropped her pack. She'd been walking since dawn and she would go no further. Perhaps it was cowardice, but she simply could not convince herself to finish the journey and cross the gate's threshold. The shadow cast by the white city seemed to stretch right up to where she was hidden at the tree line, dark and cold. Impossible, she knew, but that didn't stop the shiver that shook her slim frame. Walls. What an ugly invention. The idea of being closed in made Daae twitch but there was little choice.

What good was her skill if she couldn't sell it?

Her trip to the forest's edge was one she took as infrequently as possible. Daae would collect her trappings for trade and make the trek to Camelot, her hound loyal at her side. There were few professionals and merchants that dealt with the female hunter personally but she had carved herself a handful of loyal business connections that seemed willing to cater to her... oddities. There was a tanner and a baker that met her amid the trees. They left with skins or meat and she was left with supplies to last her until her next market day. Inconvenient, perhaps, but Daae would rather be slightly inconvenienced than shut in like a pig in a pen. How people lived in the city was a mystery to the woman, and one that she was perfectly content to remain so.

Turning her whisky-colored eyes to the sky, Daae marked the sun's position. It was not yet mid-day and her connections would not seek her out until well after the afternoon rush. There was nothing to do but wait and she settled in the grass beside her pack, an unusually cheerful grin brightening her expression. It was lovely out and the scowl that often seemed a permanent fixture on her young face was chased away by the soft sun, the sweet smelling grass, and the promise of a profitable day. "Beast? Come eat, you silly thing. Tar isteach agus é a fháil." Daae dug in her pack, searching for her dog's food and laying it out on the grass as the white wolfhound collapsed beside her, panting loudly.

There was nothing for the woman to do...

...but wait.

Daae slung the bow over her shoulder, idly scratching her head with the arrow still in hand. "Who me?" She couldn't help but smirk at the indignant blonde man she'd razzed with her first shot, her tone perfectly innocent. "I was just shooting for the tree there, mate. Were I aiming for you, you'd be less chatty. I take it you'll live?" An impish twist turned her smirk into a full blown mischievous grin as she dropped her pack and leaned back against a conveniently placed tree, appraising him with a raised eyebrow. Daae had a tendency to look half asleep at times, her wide whisky eyes seeming to wander, but very little got past her. Honey-brown and unimpressed, her gaze lingered an extra moment on the well kept sword that the stranger held at his side.

What sort of hunter used a blade like that to take down their game...

Aw, hell. Daae was as stupid as her dog, charging off first and taking in the details later. Whoever she had just vaguely threatened, he was no peasant. Too clean to be a hunter, too dignified to be a thief, armed and traveling by a well bred horse with expensive tack... at best he was an errant knight going to or from Camelot. At worst some little lordling had wandered out of his keep. Either way, the man might have been a threat but Daae didn't find him all that threatening.

Shrugging, she waved a dismissive hand, a mere flick of her wrist, and strode forward. "Didn't mean to scare you. My dog found your horse and I thought it might have been stolen. We don't get many lofty types this far in. Usually people like you stick to the path. You know..." she paused, deciding what best described the armed man being slobbered on by her hound, "pretty boys." There was a teasing lilt to her voice, a playful trace as she smirked up at him. When would these freshly scrubbed city folk learn that the heart of the forest was no place for them. Daae had no way of knowing that the man she was judging so harshly was the crowned prince. She only saw another idiot with a sword, albeit one who seemed confident enough. She had no doubt that if push came to shove, blondie over there could and would use that blade.

"I'm Dy," the small trapper gave up her name and then promptly ignored him, inspecting the arrow that had bitten deeply into the bark. She didn't ask for his name in return for the simple reason, she didn't really care. She was more concerned that between Sir Studly there and her own fool dog, all the game in the wood would be in hiding. Clicking her tongue in disapproval she scowled and cut the shaft of her arrow free, the bolt embedded several inches into the bark. "What a waste. Next time don't sneak up on a person." The look she sent in his direction was laced with annoyance, as though it was his fault that she'd shot at him.

First light meant only one thing to Daae. Work. With the sun's rise came an endless list of responsibilities and chores to be done. There were tools to be sharpened and cleaned, a faithful hound to be fed, camp to break, and the usual round to check her traps. In truth the routine was welcome and Daae did it all without complaint. Things in Camelot had been lively enough as of late that the tracker didn't have any desire to stir up any entertainment or adventure. Not when it had been finding her. She was fair certain she'd even seen a griffin bandying about the trees a few weeks past. Living in Camelot, even on the fringes as she did, was exciting enough without looking for more trouble.

With her loyal white Beast in step beside her, Daae moved smoothly through the trees. There were traps to be checked and hunting lines to be repaired and moved. She never kept a trap down for more than a few days. Most would call that foolishness or impatience but Daae never over hunted an area. It was common sense after all... if animals went into a clearing and never came out again, their little furry friends would eventually catch wise. The fox and three hares strapped lifeless to her pack only proved her methods. "Socrú síos, Beast. Téigh!" With a quiet wuff, the massive wolfhound took off into the trees. He'd return eventually, hopefully with a prize.

He'd only been gone a moment when Daae heard a sharp bark. Bow in hand, she followed in the direction of her dog... and rolled her eyes. "Oh, well done." Her tone was laden with sarcasm but she pulled a bit of dried meat from a pouch on her belt and awarded Beast with the treat. He'd sighted something alright. A horse was hitched to a tree, quite alone and looking thoroughly annoyed by the hunting dog that was running back and forth between it and his mistress. Clearly, Beast was very proud of himself, his white tail held high like a banner. "Yes, you dozy idiot, you found a horse. We don't hunt horses." Her tone was colored with laughter, an easy smile on her face as she glanced over the animal. It was very well taken care of, properly fed, clean, it's hooves recently trimmed and shod. This wasn't some peasant's work horse, that was for sure and Daae looked about alert. It was entirely possible that this was some knight's mount and she'd just followed a barking dog straight to it. Wonderful. "There goes the neighborhood," she muttered, absently giving up another bit of dried meat to her gluttonous hound. "Let's go, Beast. Before anyone hears your noise..." Her bow hung out of her hands as she backed away slowly. She wasn't worried about being caught. After all, she'd not done anything wrong. But Daae was far from the most sociable of young ladies and if she could avoid some dopey knight and his ego she would do just that.

Per usual, Beast had other ideas. Tail wagging as though it were all just a delightful game, the wolfhound went tearing into the thick of the forest. Throwing her arms up, exasperated, Daae took off after him, pulling an arrow from her quiver. No, she wasn't going to shoot her own dog, but there was a stranger about, and nothing makes a stranger think twice so much as the threat of a pointy stick. "I ought to trade you in for a cat," Daae hissed, easily hopping a fallen tree. A flash of white up ahead alerted her to her quarry and the petite trapper smirked. "Fool dog. Where did you think you were off to?" Beast ignored his scolding, simply plopping his butt down and looking up at Daae with liquid eyes and his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

What was she going to do with him? She was contemplating her next move when something moved in her peripheral vision. The arrow was already in hand and in less than the time it took to breath in, it was nocked, drawn, and released.

The bolt thudded deeply into a tree practically under the nose of a blonde man around her own age. He certainly didn't look like a knight but that did nothing to encourage her to lower her bow, another arrow already on the string. What was a hunter doing with a knight's mount? A thief perhaps? Daae's smirked as she lined up her shot. That was more likely than anything. He could hardly be a hunter by trade, he was far too clean. "The second one won't miss, mate." she said carefully, honey eyes intent. "Oh, c'mon, Beast!" The dog was licking at the stranger in a plea for attention and the trapper lowered her bow, shaking her head in amused annoyance. "Ferocious, is he not?"

The smell of cooked meat permeated the air, greasy fat hissing and spitting as it fell from the cooking flesh to splatter noisily into the fire. Scant sunlight was piercing the leafy canopy above, dappling the woods with beams that looked nearly solid enough to touch but none of the sun's heat seemed to reach the ground. It was cool enough that Daae was shrugged deeply into her colorless gray cloak, her honey eyes alert on the potential thief that was sitting still as the grave beside her fire.

"Don't even think of it or I'll be cooking you on a spit next." Her voice was amused, mostly musical and a pair of large, liquid, and very canine eyes turned in her direction. There was no better sight-hound in all of Camelot than her Beast, but the massive white wolfhound was a glutton. If she so much as blinked in the midst of her cooking, he'd gobble up her dinner and probably the stick that it was roasting on as well. "You were a pig in a past life. Weren't you, Beast?"

Ever the manipulator, the dog whined, falling onto his side as though he were malnourished. Dirty little beggar... Laughing quietly, Daae picked a bit of meat from the skinned rabbit that was meant to be her meal for the next few days, tossing it to the pig that often masqueraded as a hunting dog. Beast gobbled them up before they had a chance to cool. Not that he'd notice. One of the many benefits of simply inhaling one's meal. Eyebrows raised, Daae went back to the task at hand. The rabbit wasn't going anywhere, at least not of its own volition, and she had a pelt to clean before it dried and started to curl.

It was unusual for a woman to be in the trapping trade. It was even more unusual for Daae, considering her age. Barely into her twenties, she'd made her foster father's last years very comfortable. He was paid for the jobs that she herself performed with the skills that he had taught her. They were always fed, always warm, always sheltered, but when the old Trapper died, the jobs stopped coming. Men didn't feel her up to the task of stalking the creatures of the forest. Daae snorted, pulling a blade out from her boot. It was one of many that were stashed on her body. Hardly a weapon, the knife playing between her fingers was a tool of her trade. Dull, thin, but stiff, its only use was to clean the underside of the hide she'd ripped off her dinner a short time ago.

If nothing else she could sell it and it would go on to line some fine lady's sleeves or collar. Women that had no idea that their fine garments were once her bloody trappings. It was a thought that always left her smirking. Bless the oblivious aristocracy. "Fool Beast, I see you. Go leor!" Her tone was hardly heated and she contradicted them by picking off another few chunks of roast and offering them to her stalwart, four-legged companion. "Tá tú madra maith, Beast." Her only answer was a wag of his tail and fair bit of slobber, but the young trapper wasn't concerned with such things. It was a beautiful day, after all, and there was a meal waiting to be had.