[Alexis]

Alexis, holding tight to Sabrina's hand, Stepped together with his friend out of the bright whiteness of the portal...into a scene that could have been straight from one of the old movies he had seen back on earth. He hardly noticed the cold bite the air had as he gazed around awestruck. A bright sun shown down on top of a very lively and bustling city. Large buildings stood, reminiscent of time square in New york, and yet somehow they had a magical feel about them. People bustled about their business, or sat in open air cafes, or perhaps stood at various points in the great square the pair had emerged into hawking various goods. One old woman Alexis saw hawking what appeared to be something similar to pot pies, while another was selling bouquets of flowers he had never seen the like of on earth. Animals of all sorts roamed the streets with their masters, towing wagons and carts full of various things. He even saw a large bird take flight, carrying a a heavy looking crate, with a figure on it's back. Not only were the shops and creatures different, but the people were different as well. He saw Anyeli, their great wings folded on their backs, as well as a what appeared to be another bird swoop down before transforming into a human, to walk into a shop. The place felt so alive, compared to even the largest cities he had visited on earth.

He glanced at Sabrina, his face an expression of pure amazement. Looking around more closely, it seemed they were in the center of a massive square. To one side appeared to be a large garden, trees and flowers growing up so the place appeared to be a jungle with small paved and dirt paths through it. As he watched, a large flock of birds he couldn't recognize burst out of the trees, their calls carrying across the square, yet still only one noise compared to the thousands that enveloped him. The other side seemed a large grass field with children playing games, as well as what seemed a cross between European Football and rugby, with the kids first kicking the ball, then picking it up and running or throwing it.

Still not noticing or caring about Sabrina's grip on his hand he turned to face her, pure joy shining on his face much like the kids playing their game. "This place is...amazing!" he said, his gaze even more full of emotion then it had been before. He had never felt a place so alive in his entire life. How on Earth...well, that was just the thing wasn't it? He wasn't on Earth anymore, and things here were even more amazing than he had ever imagined. Unconsciously he turned slowly started towards the garden, before stopping himself. He grinned at Sabrina, amusement lighting his eyes. "Sabs, I think you're gonna have to do the leading here. If I lead, only Xanth knows where we'll end up." If he had doubts about Sabrina before, they were gone now that she had taken him here. He truly was the proverbial kid in the candy shop, and ever grateful for her bringing him here.

[Sabrina]

¤ Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Kyuusho ¤ Aethereality ¤ Hanna Beth ¤

It was just how she remembered it, Sabrina thought as she stepped out of the portal with Alexis. She grinned to see the bustling town alive with its daily business, and, when she had first visited Danurai, she had been a little worried because of the whole walking on only wood thing and the stilts had made her alarmed. Now it didn't seem so bad, when she saw what a hardy little civilisation it was here, and she liked how it didn't look prestigious at all. She liked the closely-packed buildings with their weathered exteriors, much more than any other style of building.

And, it wasn't unusual for two people to pop up out of the middle nowhere. She smiled wryly and took in all of the activities of the people around her, from the small little stalls where people were selling their wares collectively, to the young children playing in the street, and everyone else who hurried about. No one even spared them a second glance, it was that busy, but that wasn't a bad thing. It was nice to be unnoticed for once.

"This place is...amazing!" Sabrina looked up at the 'Vari and grinned an enthralled grin, nodding in agreement and scanning the familiar area. She liked it here lots, as it was a wonderful place and a great getaway from her normally monotonous routines. True, she'd only been there once before, but the point was that it was a nice change from New Alexandria, where she lived. It would be a nice daytrip today, anyway.

But, at least she got to lead. "Sabs, I think you're gonna have to do the leading here. If I lead, only Xanth knows where we'll end up." It wasn't that she was bossy, it was that she preferred to do things her own way most of the time; after all, who better to do something than yourself? But, she smiled and gently tugged him after her, then dropped his hand in bewildered realisation and hastily said, "Come on, we can explore the area around Lake Cora; I promise that it's really beautiful and it'll do for a good adventure, right?" She winked and wordless wove her way through a crowd, probably just a dark little head to him, but hopefully he wouldn't lose sight of her.

She ventured down to where she, Loranth and Inimicus had went one fine day months ago. The stables were on the outside of the town, but at least the droves of people had thinned down enough that she could now walk freely without traversing past a montage of warm bodies. She always glanced around to assure herself that Alexis was still near to her, and then walked on in satisfaction, reassured that he hadn't got lost.

Xanth knew how much guilt would be on her conscience if she lost him.

Eventually, she walked into the stables, conducting herself all business-like and ready to strike a deal. "We'd like to hire two horses, please," she told the stableboy she saw there, who was grooming a horse, and there were two others near to him. "Sorry, I only got one available. The other two are my master's and I'm looking after 'em while he's out of town."

Sabrina frowned distastefully when he continued what he was doing before he had spoken to her, and took a step forward. Maxing up the allure, uncertain as to how much control she had over it and whether or not it worked, she smiled tenderly and answered, "Okay, how about... we give you a little something extra, and have one of your master's horses back before nightfall?" She kept that smile on her face, vaguely aware that she had played her trump card there.

Though, his look of impatience as if she were the very devil himself made it hard to keep that smile on her face. He looked as if he was weighing up the pros and cons of the whole deal, what was good for him here? What would be the first thing he could possibly choose to do? After a few moments of concentration, his face screwed up and weighing the odds, "Oh, I don't know..."

"Aw, come on? We're responsible adults and your master will never even know that his horse was gone. You just have to make sure that your jaw becomes slack."

"Fine, but you stick to our deal."

While he went to saddle up two of three that looked the right size for them both, she turned to Alexis with a grin on her face. "Worked like a charm, huh?" It was a rhetorical question and she secretly revelled in her first successful attempt at using her allure for persuasion, though it felt sort of wrong to manipulate people like that. Ah well. The extra twenty xanthos she'd give him would hopefully make that go away.

A short while later, and she was the handed the reins of a young chestnut horse, a male, with good, strong legs and a sturdy little body. At least he didn't offend her by saddling up a pony, and at least the horse was actually a little bit taller than her. She mounted him up, with the help of the boy, and slipped the tip to him, then checked the price board hanging up on the outside of one of the stalls. "Fancy splitting the total price for the hire of both the horses and the equipment, fifty fifty?" she asked Alexis innocently. "We'd do the same if we went out for dinner, right?"

That was true. But anyway. "Such a handsome boy," she murmured to herself, petting her horse's neck. While she waited for Alexis to make a decision, she asked the boy who was tucking away his extra money, "What's his name?" He looked up, informing her, "Owynn."

"A handsome name, for a handsome young man." She probably looked like a nutter, but she felt closer to animals than she did to humans, sometimes.

---

ooc; please may i have gmod permission for alexis following, and the stableboy? if there're anything problems, let me know.

[Alexis]

ooc: I have no qualms with it. Can't talk for emms though.



Alexis started, realizing that they had been holding hands. He never noticed, being caught up with all the other wonders around him. Now that the connection was gone though, he surprised himself by feeling a little sad that she had let go. But his amused grin was back as soon as Sabrina started speaking again.

""Come on, we can explore the area around Lake Cora; I promise that it's really beautiful and it'll do for a good adventure, right?"" And he thought he was the kid in the candy shop? He followed Sabs down the twisting streets, all the while taking in the various things that presented themselves to him. Every time Sabrina looked back to make sure he was there, he let his smile show and gave a small wave.

Finally they turned into a small stable. Well, small only if compared to the buildings they had been surrounded by. He gazed at the 3 horses the stable boy was handling with respect. They were beautiful creatures really. His gaze was drawn back to Sabs though, as he heard the stable boy's admonishment that he only had one horse for rent. Well, they could always go on foot. He stopped in his tracks though, as something...changed...about Sabrina he couldn't quite tell what, but with a glance at the stable boy and his look of awe, he gave a small grin. It seemed they wouldn't have to walk after all. Not that he was opposed to walking in any case.

""Worked like a charm, huh?"" He grinned back, and lowering his voice, and taking on a teasing tone for the last statement. "Like a charm? It seemed to me like he would have done anything you asked. I just hope you don't do that to me. But then again, who knows? I may enjoy it."

As he waited for their horses, he kept exchanging glances, first outside admiring the sights, then back at Sabrina to give her a cheerful grin. He hoped, and her expression waylaid his fears, the she was having as good a time as he would. When they finally received their horses, he looked over his, blowing in it's nostrils to teach it his scent. It mas a magnificent horse. He didn't know to much about horses, but one look and the animal, with its sleek white body, and he knew it was worth every Xanthos they paid.

""Fancy splitting the total price for the hire of both the horses and the equipment, fifty fifty?"" He grinned at her, and gave his voice a skeptical tone, as if weighing the price of a gift. "Well, I don't know. Are you saying this is date?" He stared at her, forcing his gaze to stay serious and trying his best not to laugh. "Of course I'll split it with you! It's not like I'm scrooge or anything. Just how much is it anyways?" Not noticing the board with the prices listed, he waited for an answer from her, grinning at the way she addressed her horse.

[Sabrina]

¤ Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Kyuusho ¤ Aethereality ¤ Hanna Beth ¤

Though he was simply teasing, Sabrina blushed girlishly and grinned, though she didn't know why she was blushing. Possibly because she had probably sounded as if a date with him were the only thing on her mind, and that wasn't true, cross her heart and hope to die, stick a needle in her eye. Fair enough that he was only messing with her, but... still. She was being silly, she knew that. But she was easily embarrassed.

She glanced from Alexis' pure, white beauty to her adorable, sturdy little colt and grinned; she couldn't see herself on a magnificent horse like that, hair flowing, looking like something out of an artist's painting. Nah, she couldn't be all photogenic like that. She was more of a pull-it-off-with-no-finesse-at-all person. Imagine her on a beautiful horse like that.

In her mind, it was laughable. She was definitey more suited for the little horse she was sitting on. Sabs looked up from where her gaze had been sitting, on the neck of her horse, and she relayed off the price Alexis would have to pay to him. She had been surprised to see that she had done the mental arithmetic so well, and had to smile smugly to herself, rather than appear as if she were ridiculing.

She innocently slipped her half of the tab, and the tip, to the stableboy, and flashed him one last smile. It felt good to have that sort of control over people, but also a bit... wrong. Ah, well. She'd feel guilty about it once the prospect of adventure began to be old news to her, and she calmed down a bit.

Sabs, remembering the early days of horse riding lessons, and the last time she had hired a horse, gently squeezed her horse's sides with the heels of her tennis shoes. She rode him out at a leisurely pace, then stopped at the crossroads. There was a bog, she knew that much, but which end away from Danurai, she didn't know. "Left, or right?" she unsurely asked the Dracovari, leaving the decision entirely up to him.

[Alexis]

Alexis shrugged at the price he was given. He really had no idea how much stuff was worth here, and considering that he didn't exactly have a shortage of cash at the moment, He handed it over to the stable boy. Grinning at Sabrina's blush from his comment before, he nimbly climbed up into the saddle of his horse. Or at least, It was nimble until he almost fell swinging his leg over. Now with his face gone a shade of crimson, he and Sabs looked quite the pair.

Following the nymph out of the city, he wasn't nearly as distracted by the sights of city, so much as by the girl herself. He kept trying force his mind to another subject but it would always wander back to the girl in front of him. Was it possible that he actually...liked her? He gave his head a shake. Of course not! It was probably just her allure. She was a Nymph after all. And she was so much younger than him. Not in appearances of course, but in actual age. Nymphs didn't even com close to becoming as old as he was, did they? But your mind doesn't seem to be that much older, given the way you're thinking... a small voice in his head said.

The thoughts took up so much attention that he didn't even notice when they left the city, or when she stopped at the crossroads, though he subconsciously stopped his horse next to hers. He looked up up when she spoke, his eyes taking a moment to take in his surroundings and the hint of a blush touching his cheeks at the thought she may have known what he was thinking. He berated himself mentally. Honestly, here he was out on an adventure and he couldn't stop acting like a teenage human.

"Umm, which way?" Alexis said, looking around. The landscape appeared roughly the same either direction, though to the right he thought he saw what looked like a rather large copse of trees, but at this distance it was hard to tell. "How about right? Those trees over there look interesting." He gave her a small grin before starting his mount on a walk, slow enough that she would be able to come ride up next to him. Hopefully that way he wouldn't start at her back all day instead of enjoying the scenery. He was on an adventure after all, and he could look at a woman's back anytime, if not this one's. Another hint of a blush appeared as he hoped again Sabrina didn't catch where his thoughts were going. He gave a small grimace. Light, at this rate he was going to end up asking her out before they even reached the trees. He hoped that wouldn't happen. Not that she wasn't pretty, but he had just met her!

Slapping his thoughts away from the subject, He turned his gaze out over the grass and trees, and to the large blue expanse of water that stretched off to the horizon. He looked up to the blue sky to see a small flock of birds wheel above them, their musicale calls soaring across the flat lands to sound in their ears. Oh, how he loved this place.

[Sabrina]

¤ Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Kyuusho ¤ Aethereality ¤ Hanna Beth ¤

Sabrina felt responsible for the Dracovari, much as she had felt responsible, when she was thirteen, for the children she babysat. Without her vague familiarity with the landscape, Alexis would probably go wandering into some marshland, but then again, he wouldn't even be here were it not for her. She liked him, too, so it made her strive a little harder to not get lost. She was useless with maps, so that wouldn't have helped, either.

She grinned; he looked distracted, and she wasn't sure what by, but there was the small hint that her allure was becoming stronger as she gained experience. And, she was becoming pretty experienced, if she did say so herself. Though, that was irrelevant. "Fair enough, but we'll try to stick by the road as much as we can, okay?" She didn't ask, she told him. Though she might seem bossy, she didn't mean to be, she simply wanted to make sure that they wouldn't have an exploring disaster (and she sort of liked to be the leader).

Sabs settled her horse into stride once more, holding the reins firmly and feeling fairly confident that she wasn't going to fall off of her horse. Or do anything ridiculously embarrassing, for that matter. Hopefully, anyway. "Where're you from, Alexis?" she asked cheerfully, curious to learn about the 'Vari. "Anywhere in Elysia?" She didn't know anything about Draconic culture, to be honest, and so she played it safe by naming the most obvious place.

[Alexis]

Alexis nodded his accent to sticking to the road. He had far to much experience getting lost in forests to want to risk it here, with all the strange creatures around, and let alone get lost in front of Sabrina. He hated to think what that would do to what she thought of him, but then again, it might work for his benefit as well. Well, we'll take it as it comes He thought to himself.

As they walked forward, Alexis gave a little jump, jerked back to reality by her questioning. He gave a small shrug, not really sure of the Answer to the question. He told her as much. "I don't really know. I guess I'm from all over, or no where. My parents traveled a lot, and me with them, so I've been almost everywhere on earth, with the exception of antarctic, and the whole northeastern part of Russia. I haven't really been to Elysia much, and the only area I'm really familiar with is New Alexandria, and the area around it. " He gave another little shrug, not really sure if the answer was adequate or not.

He continued in silence for a couple seconds, lost in memories, before realizing it. He gave Sabs a sheepish grin, embarrassed for losing track of himself. "Sorry, I'm not usually this distracted, its just, the surroundings are so...beautiful, and give me so much to look at, and think about." He said the last with what he hoped was not too significant a look at her, and hoped after the fact that she didn't notice it, though it would be like his luck that she did.

"How about you? Are you from Elysia?" He asked with a ,what he hoped at least was, warm smile.

[Sabrina]

¤ Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Kyuusho ¤ Aethereality ¤ Hanna Beth ¤

There she was again, having a conversation about her hometown. It was in this same place that she had taken part in the same conversation, with the vampire, Inimicus, and the Dracovari, Loranth. She almost smiled at the thought, but, seeing as there was already a wide, and more than likely whacky, smile on her face, she simply drifted into thought. That same day had been as sunny as it was today, though, she thought with subconscious disdain, that she would like to spend a week in Bangor with her family, as they had done not so long ago.

It had felt very much like when they had all lived together, harmoniously and yet fighting as siblings do. They had even fought, despite the fact that all four had ranged from the ages of eighteen to over twenty, over anything really; the portions of food they received, who used the bathroom first on mornings, if one of them used up all the hot water... Just like a bunch of children. Those few weeks had been very pleasant.

But, the day was glorious, and she was in good company. Much better than the stuffy, stressful kitchen whose interior she usually viewed during the day. "No, I come from Earth. Actually, until a short while ago, I had neer been here - to Elysia, I mean. I like it her, a lot. I have my own home in New Alexandria, and I make a tidy living as a chef, so I'm not hard done by."

She liked her life. It was comfortable, she encountered no considerably terrible hardships, and she was friendly with those in it. And, she liked discovering more about her race, unearth more powers as she grew more experienced. "I'm glad that I came here, anyway. I've learned a lot about myself, and I can do a fair bit more than when I was first arrived." Well, a little bit, anyway. "Are you still living in your sanctuary?" She knew nothing of Draconic culture, in fact she didn't even know where they lived, let alone if they had a sanctuary or not.