Chapter 1
The bird songs of dawn cause Cyrene's eyes to snap open. Lying still beneath her bedroll, her hand finds the hilt of her sword. Unmoving, she listens for any unnatural sounds, footsteps or the snapping of twigs she had spread around her campsite the night before. Hearing nothing to rouse suspicion, Cyrene raises her head to survey her surroundings. The amber tinted light filtering through the tree tops casts a warm glow into the clearing where she had stopped the night before. Her horse, unsaddled and tethered to a small tree a few yards away, relaxed, crops at the sweet grass enjoying his breakfast. Needing no further assurance, Cyrene throws back the covers of her bedroll and stretches her nude body, reveling in the morning air caressing her.
Rising with sword in hand she slides the bare steel into its sheath and props the sword against a tree. Taking her wide bladed dagger with her, she leaves the clearing, moving into the tree line. After a few yards, using the dagger, she digs a hole in the ground and squats over it to relieve herself. Finished, Cyrene covers the hole with dirt and returns to the clearing. Excited for the days prospects, she moves to the ashes of the previous nights fire, pleased to see there are a few remaining embers glowing redly in the ash. Adding twigs and small branches, Cyrene soon has a small fire, plenty large enough to warm the second half of the rabbit she had cooked last night. Placing the meat on a green stick, she props it over the flames to warm and rises to tend to her stallion.
Reaching the large horse, with his reddish colored coat, she rest her head on his forehead while rubbing the sides of his large, noble face. Letting their scents and warmth intermingle, she feels love for this great beast. Untying him from the tree, she leads him to the edge of the small river that she had been following up until darkness had called a need to make camp. In their progress they startled a family of squirrels that had been digging for nuts in the forest floor. The startled family scampered up into the trees, chattering at them as their kind is wont to do. Reaching the waters edge, Cyrene releases the tether, allowing the stallion to lower its head and drink noisily from the river. Raising her arms and stretching languidly, Cyrene enjoys the feel of the suns morning rays upon her skin.