[Aylwen Dreamsong]

“Whoa, more elves!” Jess exclaimed, visibly pleased and awed as everyone took to camp. Jess sat scrunched up with her knees under her chin and her arms around her knees, and Cartil smirked at his sister’s amazement as he weeded through papers her had brought from Minas Tirith. Sparrow had wandered off somewhere, but came back whenever Cartil whistled for the stallion.

“You need to get out more, Jess,” Cartil commented, scrawling in his messy handwriting onto one of the parchments. Jess rolled her eyes at her brother. It seemed her once fun-loving brother had little time to do anything exciting or daring anymore. Cartil always had something to do and something to finish.

“Are there many elves in Minas Tirith?” Jess asked, and her brother continued writing on his papers. Jess didn’t repeat the question; she knew her brother well and wouldn’t ask the same question twice.

“Not many. There are plenty in Ithilien though,” Cartil replied after several moments of consideration. Silence followed, and Jess couldn’t stand the boredom any longer. She stood, and turned on her right foot, like all good soldiers in the way her brothers had taught her, and then went to find Sparrow.

Once she found the white stallion rummaging through the foliage for some tasty grass, Jess strode over to him, and ran her fingers through his well-cared-for mane.

“Sparrow, does it ever get dull carrying Cartil around everywhere?” Jess asked the horse, not expecting an answer. Jess shook her head. Everyone loved Cartil, even the horse probably. Jess carefully put both hands on the area just behind Sparrow’s withers, and then swung her right leg over Sparrow’s back. Sparrow grunted and flicked his ears back, but Jess hardly noticed.

“Let’s go for a ride, Sparrow!” Jess whispered to the horse as she gently dug her heels into Sparrow’s abdomen. Sparrow neighed loudly, and Jess nearly fell off the stallion as he reared up into the air, and began to kick his front legs. Sparrow, in the mood for a little payback, went galloping off into the woods at full speed, hoping to knock the annoying human girl off his back. Sparrow went flying into the camp with all the travelers, and the stallion was certainly not careful to avoid the people and their belongings. Sparrow nearly knocked over one of the Rohirric men, and trashed any part of the camp that was in his way. Then, the horse went speeding back into the woods until he came to a small creek, where he came to a sudden halt that sent Jess soaring through the air and into the water. With a kick of dust in Jess’ direction, a satisfied Sparrow trotted off towards the camp.

When Sparrow came back to the camp, several of the travelers glared at him as they cleaned up any part of the camp in disarray. Cartil whistled a short tune, and Sparrow clip-clopped up to his master.

“Good job, Sparrow old boy,” Cartil congratulated his horse.

Jess quickly jumped up from her landing spot in the small creek, and then went to get out of the little ditch running through the forest. As she was about to get out of the creek, Jess slipped on a wet stone. Her feet slid backwards and her upper body fell down into the mucky grass. Her knees were wet now, and sure to bruise, and her tunic was dirty as the ground itself. Jess sighed; it was just her luck for something like that to happen. Jess trudged back towards the campsite to get changed into clean, dry clothing. When she did return, Cartil chuckled at her and her disheveled look.

“You’re more trouble than you’re worth,” Cartil commented, letting Sparrow take a bite from an apple.

“Always glad to provide everyone with endless amusement," Jess replied sracastically, and grabbed some clean clothes from her pack. Cartil frowned her way, then continued to take a seat next to the priestess woman. Cartil struggled to remember her name. He had heard it before...Leah, no...Lara? Leena! Her name was Leena.

"Do you have any sisters? They can be a pain," Cartil began, recieving a stare from the grey eyes of Leena.

[ May 05, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]