[AoA: RoM Prequel] Beginning of a Journey

Lonsophle was sitting at her desk, thumbing through the various papers, schedules, and show entry forms for the animals of the Estate.
On one wall was the list of future breedings for each species that made the place home. She was currently staring at the paper letting her know that their youngest Female dire Izhi was old enough to take part in the Arms of Anka event and earn her rite to be bred. Lonsophle sighed in frustration she had been planning on holding off on Izhi's rites for a while, wanting to get the playful dire's training and status higher before doing the Arms of Anka but an auction for the young female's first public breeding would bring in some much needed revenue for the Estate. Money had been tight, not uncomfortably so, but enough to cause concern since breedings had been frozen for the Nordanner breed causing the market for sales of breedings to plummet and foals couldn't be bred which meant no new foals could be sold for the current season. To top it off the Estate was expecting a large influx of Shedus and Tokotas from the current breeding season which would tie up the Estate's funds in training, socializing and care of the great beasts. Lonsophle chewed her lip indecisively before sighing and starting to fill out the required paperwork. She glanced up as a shadow fell on her desk, it was her bodyguard and long time friend, Soren. His black eyes were scrutinizing her as she continued to fill out the paperwork.
"Don't look at me like that," Lonsophle sighed, "I know we were going to wait but-"
"I'm not judging, the staff need paid and the bills are starting to pile a bit. It's an unfortunate necessity. Perhaps we will get lucky and Pinga will throw more than one Dire pup from her scheduled litters," Soren sighed, he sank into the chair in front of her desk and leaned back before putting his bare feet on the edge of Lonsophle's desk.
Lonsophle winced and then frowned at him, before poking the closest of his feet with her pen. Soren grunted and moved his feet off of the desk.
"I'd rather not sell pups unless we have to, plus Pin would have a fit, you know how distressed she gets when people come to claim the pups they paid for. I'm just glad we were able to keep Izhi," Lonsophle smiled a little despite the sorrow of the statement.
Soren only chuckled in reply. A few moments of silence stretched between them as the paperwork was finished, stamped, signed, and then sealed into an envelope. Soren quickly stood and reached out to take the envelope which caused Lonsophle to blink in surprise. 
"I thought you didn't like Myst?" she stated with a slight frown. 
"I don't," Soren replied flatly, "But I'd rather deliver the paperwork than let you go up there by yourself."
Lonsophle held the envelope a bit closer and gave Soren a critical look with a slight smirk.
"You don't like that he likes me do you?" Lonsophle inquired as she stood, still holding the envelope close.
She wasn't used to Soren being so openly against someone and it both interested and worried her. Did he know something she didn't about the reclusive ice spirit who had made the Estate his home.
"I don't trust him," Soren grunted, "Lon...milady...give me the paperwork please."
"No," Lonsophle said gently, "I've been wanting to visit with Myst anyway. I had planned on taking Dub up to Myst's camp for some endurance training later today. If you don't want me to go by myself, come along with me."
Lonsophle smiled at the instant frown on Soren's face and the way he clenched and then relaxed his out stretched hand into a fist as he moved it to his side. 
"Lon," he sighed, "Please, you've always trusted me..."
Lonsophle was grabbing her coat as Soren turned towards her, before walking to the door. 
"I do trust you Soren, but I also trust Myst. If I didn't know better I'd think that you were jealous of him?" Lonsophle teased as she started to leave. 
Soren reached out and gently caught her arm.
"Milady," he sighed, black eyes boring into her deep blue with a look of concern.
"Yes?" She inquired.
"Nothing...just...I'll go with you. Let me saddle Dub and Prinny," He sighed before slipping past her and walking down the hall. 
Lonsophle cocked her head, still holding the envelope with the papers required for Izhi's Rite of Merit, as she watched Soren walk away.
She sighed and shook her head before walking down the hall a ways to check on the schedule for the staff while she was waiting for him to return. She couldn't stop the concerned frown that turned down the corners of her mouth. Soren's sudden hostility towards her spending time with Myst was worrying and she couldn't help but wonder why it was.
Meanwhile Soren was walking with a rather determined stride and dark scowl fixed on his face towards the stables. Every few seconds he'd flex his fingers and a spark of black fire would dance across his finger tips. It was at best his attempt to control his frustration and at worst the result of his temper slipping. As Soren reached the door to Prinny's stall he quickly jerked it open causing the black and white peafowl mare to jump and short in response. Soren sighed and focused on cooling his frustration before grabbing for her halter. The mare snorted again but allowed him to lead her out of her stall and into the main hall. Soren quickly clipped her to cross ties and brushed her down before going to get her tack. He moved quickly to ready her before moving onto the stallion Dubhghal's stall and was pleased to find the stud dozing in it. Dub jumped awake as Soren opened the door and reached for him.
"Easy boy," he soothed as the blue and white stallion huffed in annoyance before seeming to begrudgingly allow himself to be led out of the stall. 
As Soren led the dark blue and white stud from the stall he blinked in surprise at the realization that Prinny was in her light weight dragon tack. Soren sighed at his own unintended action before moving Dubhghal to the other set of cross ties and proceeded to brush him down. The stallion whickered softly after turning his head to look at Prinny; the mare simply ignored him aside from tipping her ear back in annoyance. Soren quickly finished brushing down the stud before walking back to the tack room and with a soft sigh he gathered up the gold, emerald, and red light dragon tack that was Dub's elegant tack. 
The elaborately woven emerald saddle pad was accented by the rusty red leather saddle, halter, and further accented by the glittering gold fastenings. There was even a bit of gold thread woven into the emerald saddle pad itself.
"If Prinny's going to be all dolled up in her light armor, it won't hurt for Dub to get some training in his," Soren muttered to himself before turning to go back to the two horses with Dub's light dragon tack in hand. 
After reaching the stallion and getting his tack put in place, Soren knelt to wrap the deep emerald and gold leg protectors around the stallion's forelegs and was rewarded with a soft nuzzle from the stallion. This caused Soren to smile before gently pushing the stud away; Dub was by far the most friendly stud on the farm aside from Dancer. Soren glanced around at the two horses before walking over to retrieve his boots. Once he was ready he sighed and after closing his eyes gently brushed his conscious against Lonsophle's seeking permission to converse. She didn't respond right away but after a moment opened her mind enough to communicate.
Where are you milady? - he inquired 
The Tokota Compound, playing with Yakone and Eren. These two are a riot. -she replied.
Soren smiled as he sensed her delight before replying.
On my way over to you. 
With that he stood and walked over to Dub, clipped a lead to his halter and then walked over to Prinny. Then after ordering her to stand he removed the crossties and climbed into the saddle. Soren made one quick glance around to be sure he hadn't left anything out or in the way before urging Prinny into a trot and scolding her lightly as she kicked out at Dub. Dub only snorted while continuing to trot along behind her while Prinny seems to pout. As they exited the barn and entered the main path between the stables and Tokota compound Prinny seemed to settle while Dub looked around at the various people they were moving past. Soren slowed Prinny to a walk as they reached the Tokota compound chuckling as he saw Lonsophle playing with the two visiting male Tokotas. They were in the process of chasing her as she held toys away from them. The tawny sphinx male Eren kept bolting ahead of her and stopping with his tail going, obviously trying to catch her off guard, while the brown wolverine marked male Yakone was chasing Lonsophle with almost bored strides. It seemed the one was more interested in Lonsophle herself rather than the toys she was teasing him with. Both Tokotas were wearing loose harnesses with which various packs could be attached. This caused Soren to pause, looking somewhat confused for a few moments before he spotted the packs of supplies sitting off to the side along with the bundled up roll of Izhi's official competition tack.
"Having those two help carry the gear?" Soren asked as he slowed Prinny and Dub to a stop as they approached.
Lonsophle giggled as Yakone head butted her when she turned to look at Soren. She patted the male Tokota's head before replying and continued to scratch behind his ear as he leaned into it. Eren moved forward and attempted to take the toy from Lonsophle after nudging her hand.
"Shush no Eren, sit," she ordered.
The sphinx male grunted but sat, tail wagging slightly as he remained still. He whimpered after a moment but didn't move from his spot.
"Soren...why are the horses in armor?" Lonsophle sighed, frowning a bit as she looked at Dub and Prinny all dolled up in their light dragon tack.
"You wanted to do endurance training, teaching them to associate the long run in armor will help them in later events where they don't have to carry as much weight," Soren replied simply.
Lonsophle smirked and shook her head.
"You forget that Myst is blind and therefore can't see you trying to show off how prepared you are," she chuckled before walking over to grab the bags to put on Yakone and Eren. 
Soren simply grunted and then sighed as if deciding it was best to simply ignore her comment. He watched her for a moment as she started to gather up the various bags. He couldn't help but admire her simple beauty and quiet grace as she moved.
"Want me to help?" he asked softly after glancing away.
"Nope this will just take a second, thanks though," she answered, quickly clipping the bags in place as Yakone sniffed them. 
she then grabbed the next set of bags and clipped them to Eren's harness as the wiggled about. When she finished she walked over and awkwardly gathered up the roll of Izhi's official tack before walking over to Dub who whickered a greeting and pricked his ears as she approached. Prinny bobbed her head and playfully nipped at Lonsophle as she walked by which caused the woman to laugh softly. 
"Hello you two, playing nice I hope?" she teased before easing Izhi's tack onto the space behind Dub' saddle and fastening it into place. As she was doing this Soren dismounted from Prinny's saddle and walked over to her, gently placing a hand on her back. She smiled as he knelt and put his hands together to allow her to step up so she could get into Dub's saddle. 
"Thank you," she replied as she stepped into his hand and jumped up into the saddle.
Soren stood after she got seated and patted Dub's neck before nodding to Lonsophle. He walked over and climbed into Prinny's saddle as Yakone and Eren stood watching with wagging tails. Soren removed the lead rope from Dub's halter, looped it together, and then secured it to the back of Prinny's saddle. He shifted in his seat, whistled to the Tokotas who were watching and turned Prinny towards Lonsophle and Dub. 
"I told the staff we would be away for most of the afternoon," she stated before turning Dub's head towards one of the far trails that lead up to the mountains where Myst and Izhi resided. It would take them most of the afternoon to get up to Myst's home.
"You ready?" Lonsophle asked Soren as he glanced over at Yakone and Eren. 
Soren sighed and nodded.
"As I'll ever be," he muttered just loud enough to be heard before nudging Prinny into a walk with his heels.
Lonsophle giggled and clicked her tongue before gently kicking Dub into a canter. The stud took off with a happy little bounce in his step.
"Yakone! Eren! Come on boys!" Lonsophle called and the Tokotas barked before bolting after her, passing Prinny and Soren who were still only walking.
"Milady...wait!" Soren grumbled, "Let's go Prinny."
He kicked her sides gently and Prinny jumped into a loping gallop, catching up to and passing Lonsophle and the Tokotas which caused Lonsophle to laugh. Yakone and Eren barked happily as they ran alongside the two horses and their riders. Dub waited for his rider's command and then broke into a collected gallop to catch up to Soren and Prinny. The sound of hooves and large paws on the gravel leading to the path seemed for a moment like the sweetest song. As they reached the entrance to the trail they began the journey up the mountain and gravel gave way to stone and dirt with the boughs of trees scattering light above them.
It was twilight as they reached the edge of the area that Myst claimed as his own property on the Estate; snow and frost coated everything and continued up towards the caves where Myst  lived. Dub loped into the snowy area with Lonsophle giggling on his back as Eren charged ahead barking. Yakone was paused head cocked, staring at the mounds of snow with a confused expression as Prinny and Soren cantered past.
"Milady," Soren called, "Wait. Don't forget about Myst's Sentinels." 
It was as if it had been a signal and a low rumbling growl rippled out from the mound of now Yakone was currently sniffing. Yakone yelped and bolted over to Prinny and Soren as the snow shifted and moved. Soren pulled Prinny around and reached for his sword then remembered it would be useless and cursed softly before pooling his magic into a ball of black flame in his left hand while still holding Prinny's reins with his right. Yakone started barking and growling at the moving snow which had taken the shape of a large lynx. Ahead of them the other mound of snow had taken shape into a large wolverine and Eren was growling and snarling at it as well. Lonsophle was the only one who didn't seem distressed, although Dub was nervously bobbing his head as she held him in a standing position. After a moment Lonsophle reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a pure white crystal pendant in the shape of a snowflake. She held it in one hand, turned to Soren and Yakone, called for them to follow, and then kicked Dub into a trot. Soren nearly shouted for her to wait, but saw the wolverine allow her to pass, kicked Prinny into a trot and shouted for Eren and Yakone to heel. Both Tokotas reluctantly followed at Prinny's heels as they moved past the Lynx and then the growling Wolverine before he caught up to Lonsophle. 
"How did you do that?" he ordered while pulling Prinny along side Dub.
Lonsophle handed him the crystal which he took carefully.
"Beautiful," he noted, then frowned, "What is it?"
"It's Myst's. One of two he created when he tamed the Sentinels. It tells them I am a friend and will not harm Myst," Lonsophle replied, carefully taking it back and tucking it into her coat pocket again.
"How many times have you come up here without me?" Soren inquired, a strained and angry tone to his voice, "I am supposed to protect you."
"Soren," Lonsophle sighed, "Myst would never harm me."
A loud bark greeted them followed by the sound of heavy paws on snow. Lonsophle looked up and laughed at the sight of Izhi's large steel grey frame running towards them. 
"Izhi!" Lonsphle greeted, laughing as Yakone and Eren bounded forward to greet the other Tokota. Behind Izhi, Myst was walking towards them, his scarf as per usual covering most of his face but this time he was not wearing a shirt, only his pants and boots. Intricate patterns of frost covered his chest and arms like elaborate tattoos. Izhi skidded to a stop, covering Yakone and Eren in snow before curiously sniffing Dub who had tensed and tipped his ears back as the massive predator approached. Prinny only snorted, being used to the other Dire on the Estate Pinga who was even larger. Eren and Yakone stood beside Izhi, sniffing her curiously as Lonsophle reached forward and gently petted Izhi's face.
"Hi there pretty girl," she greeted.
The steel grey Dire wagged her small tail and licked Lonsophle's hand in response, finally choosing to accept the blue and white stallion Lonsophle was riding as a friend. Abet an odd looking friend. Soren watched the whole exchange with what had to be a nearly permanent frown, which only deepened into a scowl when he saw Myst approaching the group. Although he did seem to admire the way the blind ice elemental spirit seemed unfazed by his inability to see. Myst moved with a grace that was somewhat startling for one whose gaze was forever dark. 
"Milady, why your warmth cases the chill from the air. What pleasure brings your ray of sunlight into my home?" Myst called to Lonsophle, ignoring or not yet noticing Soren.
"You flatter me Myst," Lonsophle laughed, "We are actually here on business. We received word this morning that Izhi is old enough to take part in the Arms of Anka rites."
"That is interesting news," Myst stated as he walked up beside her.
Dub sniffed him and immediately jumped when his muzzle brushed Myst's bare arm which caused the man to chuckle. 
"Little cold aren't I?" Myst teased the stallion, carefully reaching for the stud's halter so he could gauge his height. With the other hand he touched Lonsophle's boot to gather where she was. He tipped his head in a slight bow once he had an idea of where she was. Dub twitched at the man's cold touch and shifted slightly but stayed still.
"Good evening Myst," Soren greeted.
"I thought I sensed a dark cloud," Myst replied before  returning his attention back to Lonsophle, "I am guessing you are here to usher me off to have the little miss take part in her first rite?"
Lonsophle suppressed a giggle at Soren's scowl and suspiciously narrowed eyes at Myst who continued to ignore the other man.
"If you could, we are hoping her first breeding will bring in some revenue for the Estate," she replied, "I was hoping for her to take part in the Endurance trait. She seems to do very well over long distance."
Myst nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. As Lonsophle waited for him to reply she watched the swirls of frost work their way up her boot from where Myst's hand was and noted that he wasn't wearing his gloves which would have prevented this. Despite the chill she now felt from his hand she admired the beauty of the frost.
"I think that would be a good fit as well, she doesn't seem to tire easily and we have been exploring quite a bit lately further into the mountain range over the past few weeks and returning," Myst stated, then with a nod, "Yes I agree."
"Wonderful, I brought up some supplies for you in case you wanted to leave right away. I know you prefer not to come down the mountain in the spring," Lonsophle stated with a soft voice towards the end.
Myst chuckled a little at her statement.
"I can leave right away actually, our hunting trip didn't go as well as planned this afternoon so I have no meat to prepare," Myst replied, "Although I don't think the gear I have for Izhi will be adequate for carrying supplies along for the trip."
Yakone and Eren at this point barked at Izhi and seemed to be attempting to get the large female dire to play with them in the snow. Izhi responded by jumping forward and scattering snow in their faces which caused all to chuckle slightly.
"Well I do have a solution to that," Lonsophle laughed, gently taking Myst's hand  and ignoring the sudden cold of his touch, she guided it to the bundle of tack she had brought along for Izhi, "I had her official tack made. It's fairly simple so you shouldn't have difficulty putting it together."
"Ah very nice, describe it for me?" Myst stated with a smile, "And how it fits together?"
Soren glared slightly at the fact that Lonsophle and Myst's hands were still together a fact that seemed to have escaped Lonsophle's notice although Myst was smiling at it.
"Of course," Lonsophle replied, "It's two pieces. There is a bearskin saddle pad, the albino one Pin brought back from her hunt a few weeks back. Then there is a harness-type structure as the second piece. It's all connected to the seat and the only fastenings are around the chest, under Izhi's belly, and under Izhi's tail. I had a second albino bear pelt prepared so you could drape it over the seat if you wished."
Myst nodded as she finished and seemed to be memorizing the pieces she had named before speaking.
"Sounds fairly simple, I shouldn't have too much difficulty putting it together," he stated, then with a sigh he stepped back, gently pulling his hand from Lonsophle's who looked almost sad as he did.
"Soren, if you would be so kind as to help me put it together the first time? You would have a much easier time reaching Izhi's back than our lovely lady here," Myst inquired, tipping his head in Soren's direction.

Soren grunted but dismounted from Prinny's saddle then lead the black mare over to Lonsophle and handed her the mare's reins. He then pulled the bundled tack off of Dub's back and turned to see Myst coaxing Izhi to stand still. Yakone and Eren were flopped in the snow their heavy packs sitting beside them. Once Myst had Izhi still Soren bundled the tack and quickly started to lay it out. It was beautiful. Black leather accented by silver fastenings against the pure white of the bearskins. Myst knelt and ran a hand along the tack whistling as he felt the intricate tooled leather of the seat.
"Milady you need not have done something so elaborate, but I thank you kindly for it," he whispered. 
"You are welcome," she replied with a soft smile. 
Then after Soren was sure that Myst was done admiring the tack with careful fingers he lifted up the lower bear skin, which had  a layer of gold and jade cloth underneath it that draped just below the edge of the fur. On the edges of the fur itself were small black tassels with silver beads. 
"This is the skin that is intended for the saddle pad," Soren stated, stiffly handing it to Myst, "the front has been shaped to fit up against Izhi's neck and is the only undecorated edge."
Myst nodded, took the skin and after standing walked over to where Izhi was watching curiously. He lifted the skin up onto her back and carefully set it in place, taking the time to make sure the edges were sitting correctly and that none of Izhi's fur was being pinched or dragged the wrong direction. He then turned back to Soren and walked over. Soren grunted as Myst knelt again.
"This is the front of the harness, the saddle seat is heart shaped and the front clasp has the Estate's Sun icon," Soren instructed, allowing Myst to run his hands along the tack where Soren moved them to so the man could memorize the angles and fastening structure.
"Are the casps buckles?" Myst asked.
"Yes," Soren replied.
"We thought that would be easiest," Lonsophle called from where she was sitting. 
Myst nodded in agreement, then quickly gathered up the tack and walked over to Izhi, it took him a moment to get the tack adjusted in his arms enough to lay across her back but once he did he began to connect the fastenings. Izhi turned her head and sniffed a bit at the tack as she turned to see what Myst was doing. 
"I had the packs specially designed to lay across Izhi's rump and connect to the harness without too much trouble. Each clasp is also a different shape so you can tell what they contain," Lonsophle called over.
Myst chuckled.
"You put a lot of thought into this tack, I thank you," he smiled towards the sound of her voice as he said this. 
Soren rolled his eyes a little and walked over to the bags. They too were black leather with silver clasps and fastenings. There were four bags, one had a clasp in the shape of a paw print, one had a clasp in the shape of an acorn, one had the shape of a snowflake, and the last had a clasp in the shape of a curved claw. Soren pointed out which clasp indicated what to Myst before helping him secure them to Izhi's harness. Once everything was in place Myst excused himself to gather his own things for the trip. He returned a few minutes later wearing his black and white winter gear, his gloves, and a few small bags that would fit into the packs. Soren handed him the paperwork that he had retrieved from Lonsophle once Myst returned. That and the supplies Myst had retrieved were placed into the bag with the snowflake clasp.
Yakone and Eren stood then seeming to realize that something was up.
"Milday, I wish you a good evening and I will contact you when I return," Myst stated softly, dipping his head respectfully. 
Lonsophle nodded despite knowing he couldn't see her.
"Be careful," she called as Myst climbed up into Izhi's saddle. 
Soren had walked over and was now climbing into Prinny's saddle as Myst gave off a slow quiet whistle. Yakone and Eren jumped up as the figures of the Sentinel Lynx and Wolverine walked into the area before approaching Izhi and Myst. Then with another whistle Myst, Izhi, and his sentinels moved off into the woods that surrounded his camp.
Yakone and Eren started to chase after them but stopped when Soren called them back. As the two visiting Tokotas returned to Soren and Prinny's side he turned the mare back down towards the trail which would take them one. Lonsophle remained where she was for a few moments, staring after Myst and glancing down at her boot where the frost was just starting to melt. With a heavy sigh she turned Dub around and trotted up to catch up with Soren. Meanwhile Myst urged Izhi into a run, trusting the steel grey dire to follow the trails they had marked out. Once they reached the Estate edge Myst would get directions and a guide to the Official Tokota Compound. 
The Journey was just beginning.