You should have gone through the long way
No shortcut is safe
Priscilla Hernandez - Off the Lane
Desiare wasn't scared at first. After all, she'd gotten lost in woods before and had to find her way out again. It wasn't as though she was in a hurry; there was no one else but herself and Starlight to worry about. Her cat, Tank, was around somewhere, but he would manage to keep up with them. He always did.
So she assessed the situation calmly as she gathered up her bedroll and tied it to the back of her steed. “Well, girl,” she said, rubbing Starlight's flank after cinching the ties, “I had better see what I can find here. Stay put and I'll be back shortly.” She stepped away, and started towards an opening in the trees, following the shadows along the ground in places that light had managed to seep through.
She'd not taken more than a few steps past the trees when she felt a puff of warm air against her neck. “Starlight, I told you to stay put,” she said, reaching up to push the steed's muzzle out of her hair. “Go back, I won't be that long.” Thinking the discussion over, she took another few steps into the woods.
Instead of listening, as she normally did, Starlight stayed next to Desiare, whinnying as she carefully set her hooves down in the unfamiliar foliage.
Desiare turned and stared at her usually obedient companion, and puffed her cheeks out before shaking her head. “Fine, I'm sure I don't know why you insist on coming with me, but if you must ...” She grinned and scratched at Starlight's ear; the steed, seemingly mollified at this concession from her mistress, followed along as Desiare made her way in what she felt was the direction they'd come from the night before.
“The crone said there was a path in these woods somewhere,” she said, almost conversationally to the animal at her side as they walked, “so I must have simply missed it in the dark last night. Easy enough to do, and there's bound to be some sign of our passing somewhere ...” As she said that, Desiare kneeled down to examine the ground, looking for any sign that it'd been disturbed. “Nothing,” she muttered and stood again, turning herself back towards the way they'd come. “Back to the clearing, and I'll try a different direction.”
“Ummm, Starlight?” she said, the first note of worry creeping into her voice as she looked around for where they'd come from. “What is this place?”
