The ride was a relief from walking and Amaranth was rather grateful that she didn't have the ability to create footsteps, due to sitting in the carriage, snuggled up with Samuel. Their journey carried out all through the day and all through the night, she was starting to worry about the driver, who will be directing them to their next quest over nightly hours. The night was silent and warm, so it was easier to relax and not freeze.

By morning, Amaranth awoke beside Samuel, who was still asleep and embracing her with his arms. Stomach clutching up, Morning Sickness was approaching. She opened the door of the carriage and released the Morning curse of pregnancy, vomiting. It was better to get it done and over with now. She pulled her head back and closed the door, relaxing into her companion once more, her hands gently placed on her lower abdomen to soon to find out, the child was sleeping too.

The Drow closed her silver eyes and slipped into a mode of sleep again, when her body needed it more than ever. She hoped they'd find a place to get food soon and to bring some with them for storage. Groaning, she felt the bright morning sun's rays shoot into her eyes, trying not to wake her up. Amaranth gave up on going back to sleep and sat herself up with groggy eyes, glancing at the cat and the Angel, both still in slumber.

The carriage stopped suddenly, the horse whinnied loudly. Amaranth gaze out the window and saw the moist breath-taking sight in all Arda. It was glamorous, absolutely stupendous. The water falls reminded her of a Tropical Island, she loved those. She elbowed Samuel gently, "Sweetheart, we're here!" she exclaimed, silver eyes glistening.

Samuel’s eyes opened instantly, his mind ever alert and ready to react even when sleeping; though perhaps paranoid would be a more appropriate word than alert. He woke leaning against the inside of the wall of the cart, with Amaranth less than a foot from him looking out the window. He started at her for a minute, for some reason hesitant to look around out of the window; he thought he could see the flicker of the waterfalls reflected in Amaranth’s eyes.

A few more seconds passed before he leaned forward and turned his head, gazing out to the falls. The sky was grey and gloomy, bar a small gap almost directly above them where the sun was desperately trying to squirm its way through the murkiness. The falls themselves were as beautiful as he remembered them; just in their line of sight there were at least ten cliffs with crystal clear water flowing ferociously over them. There were many large and healthy trees and bushes growing around the falls, adding a beautiful green colour to the area.

Samuel climbed out of the carriage, and then helped Amaranth from the carriage by holding her hand as she stepped out. Pywhackette jumped from the cart gingerly behind Amaranth. ”Go and look around, I need to speak to our friend for a moment.” he said under his breath. Amaranth skipped away in awe of her surroundings and Samuel approached the front of the cart. ”Thank you kindly for the lift, sir. I’m going to have to continue to impose upon you. Stay here and wait for us; I may choose to find other means of transport, but it is possible I’ll need you again. Don’t go anywhere.”

Samuel winked at the old man obnoxiously then turned and walked towards Amaranth, who was now some thirty yards away, standing on a large boulder, looking down into the lake ahead of her. He stopped a few feet behind her and looked out at the small lake. ”It’s all too similar… I don’t know where it was I actually arrived. It was on a rock to the left of a waterfall, but that could be a million places here. I don’t imagine I’ll ever find the exact spot, but it doesn’t really matter, I suppose…”

He took another few steps forward and stopped at Amaranth’s side. ”All that matters is that I am here…” he paused and looked to his right, staring into Amaranth’s stunning silvery eyes. ”All that matters is that I am here with you.” he said, with a trace of a smile. He raised his right hand and gently caressed Amaranth’s stomach, his eyes somewhat glazed over. ”And you, young one.” He finished, still with that hint of a smile and his eyes still preoccupied.

Amaranth gave a smile to him as she lifted her silver eyes to meet his deep blue ones. His hand on her stomach, feeling relieved that he now accepted their child, she only had 2 months left and her stomach was nearly showing through the satin black dress she wore. Samuel released her from his claspel arms, letting her roan free of the land. Amaranth paused at a thought.

"Where are we going to eat and sleep?" she asked, while Pywhackette pawed passed them with a mouse in grasped by his cuspids. The Drow watched as her pet carried off his meal, she shook her head. "Well, it looks like someone found their breakfast already." The Drow giggled seeing Pywhackette curl up in th grass, dining on his freshly killed prey.

Standing there, Amaranth suddenly put a hand on her stomach as it growled with hunger for two. She frowned a bit, looking for a source of food. "It's beautiful, Samuel, but it'll be more beautiful after we eat," she said rather swiftly, waddling over to the falls.

The falls sure were breath-taking, so tall, so majestic, any Ardian would've died happy here, but let's just hope not. Amaranth knelt down gently by the water, it was fresh, clean, and crystal-clear. So clear that it looked almost as if it were transparent. The girl gazed down as she saw the most beautiful tropical fish over, they were very big, colorful and bright. "Oh, wow...I couldn't eat you..you're just too pretty to cook up," she said softly, placing her hand in the water, as the fish nuzzled at her fingertips.

Samuel stood at Amaranth’s side as she knelt down by the water, gazing mesmerically at the fish in the clear water. He rolled his eyes slightly as she refused to eat them, knowing that she was serious. He lacked sentiment for the little creatures; they were just fish after all. He knew, however, that Amaranth simply would not eat them and so he turned around and walked away slowly, leaving Amaranth alone by the water. ”I’ll be back soon. Don’t go anywhere.” he called over his shoulder as he continued walking.

He had been in a rush to leave Ondolond, and hadn’t thought to pack any food. Thankfully he had thought to bring his dagger, which he now pulled from his belt. It was a beautiful black handled dagger, and he was very glad to have it, even though he virtually never used it. Now though, he would have no choice but to use it: Samuel was being forced to hunt. He had never actually hunted anything before, but how hard could it be? Wild animals were stupid creatures, with little to no guile.

He didn’t even know if there were many wild animals around here, but it was either look or try and convince Amaranth to eat those damn fish. He journeyed around the area surrounding Alulanta Falls, where greenery was thicker and greater and thus hopefully so was the population of wild life. After thirty or so minutes of looking, he wandered into a large grouping of trees and bushes and heard a loud rustling noise. His grip on his dagger’s handle tightened as he pushed his way through a bush and into a clearing. Ten or eleven feet ahead of him, gently goring a tree with its large tusks was a fully grown Boar. It looked to be at least two hundred pounds and its tusks were over a foot long.

”Hm…” Samuel said aloud, rather expecting something smaller and less volatile. The Boar whipped its body around and began to prowl away before it caught sight of Samuel. It pawed the ground with one of it’s huge hoofs, tilted it’s head and ran directly at Samuel. ”Uh oh.” he managed to say before turning and leaping on to a nearby tree, scurrying up it in desperation to get out of the way of this colossus pig. It gored the tree and it’s right tusk missed Samuel’s left ankle by inches, as he tried to get as high as possible.

When he was around six feet in the air, just about high enough to ensure he couldn’t be reached by the Boar, he had time to compose himself and gather his thoughts. Thankfully, he hadn’t dropped his dagger in his dart up the tree. He looked down and saw the Boar was preparing to gore the tree once again. Samuel waited, leaning over the edge of the branch as the creature powerfully ran towards the tree. It hit it with great force, almost knocking Samuel off the branch, but he managed to keep his balance. The time to strike was now; the Boar’s tusks were stuck in the tree, and it would only take it a few moments to get free again.

Samuel leaped from the branch, dagger in hand, and landed on the back of the animal; he realised now just how filthy and smelly it was. In an instant, he had thrusted his dagger’s blade into the side of the Boar’s neck. It bucked it’s back and tossed Samuel a few feet into the air, and he landed flat on his back a few feet behind it. He looked up at the Boar as it pulled its tusks out of the wood, dagger still impaled into its neck; for a minute it looked like it was going to turn and attack, but it simply collapsed to the ground. The deed was done, and the creature was dead.

Samuel pulled the dagger from it’s throat and proceeded with the unpleasant chore of butchering it’s body so as to assure it was appropriate to eat. Forty minutes later, he was approaching Amaranth again, two meaty Boar legs draped over his shoulders, and his hands drenched in blood. Undoubtedly, he had better days in terms of appearance, but he had provided for Amaranth and that was the most important thing.

Seeing how Samuel left her side, she saved him the trouble and went to look for fallen branches of a tree around the forest to create a fire for warmth and cooking. Amaranth entered the mystical land of Alulanta Falls. Inside the forest was even more majestic than the raving water falls that pooled over and around their surroundings. As she explored the new discovery of the woods, she came across a small tree no bigger than 6 feet long, that had toppled over during a storm. Luckily, she still carried her father's sword that was sheathed and strapped to her back. Amaranth needed to be careful, though, in her condition of bearing a child right now.

Sighing for luck, her arms reached in back of her and drew the sword. It was sharp, so sharp it'd cut through steel. She held it in front of her and with just a few slashes, the tree was nothing, but logs and ash. Sheathing her sword, she grabbed the logs, as many as she possibly could and slowly made her way back to the water. While waiting for him, she had set the logs in a pile by the water, trying to start a fire the old fashioned way, using two sticks.

A fire sparked between the two sticks rubbing against each other, just in time when Samuel walked out of the forest with their dinner. Amaranth turned and looked over her shoulder to see him standing there holding the two, meantful legs of the hog. "So, that's what you were doing, darling," she said greetingly sweet. She moved out of his way so he can see what she's been up to while he was hunting.

The two sat on the grass, as they were roasting their food. Amaranth leaned her head on his shoulder, the day was growing dark now and crickets were heard chirping their beautiful love songs. Pywhackette seemed too distracted trying to catch one with his paws, prancing around like a deer in a meadow.

As they sat on the grass together side by side under the increasingly dark evening sky, Samuel was grateful that the weather wasn’t too bad. He had, of course, forgotten to pack any tents or shelter and they would be completely exposed to bad weather conditions. It was fairly cold though, and he was thankful they had both remembered to pack extra clothes. While their food was roasting over the open fire, they both took the time put on additional layers of material to keep themselves warm.

Having done so, Samuel took a minute to simply stand by the waterside and gaze out at the falls. Though daylight was gone and the moon was small and almost entirely cloud covered, it looked as though some kind of light was reflecting on the water. The water pouring down the falls and resting calmly in the small lakes was shining a subtle white, practically glowing. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. An unnatural, unexplainable and yet beautiful glow? He wondered fleetingly, with a hint of a smile to himself, if a fallen star had landed in the water recently.

He turned back to the fire and Amaranth, standing and observing quietly. In his line of sight, Amaranth sat directly behind the fire, the crackling flames lighting her dark skin with a warm orange glow. He knew that as beautiful as this place was and as important to his past as it was, it was nothing but a stopgap. There was nothing of any real importance here, and they would not be staying long. In fact, as eager as he had been to return there, he already wanted to leave. The place was so quiet and so deserted, and as much disdain and contempt he showed for others, he did not like complete solitude.

And as much as he cared for Amaranth, he needed more contact with the world. He needed contact with more people, even if it was simply a fleeting glance or a courteous nod of the head. As bitter and angry as he had become, he still needed the people he aimed that bitterness and anger towards.

He walked forwards and sat back down at Amaranth's side, pulling the cooked meat from atop the fire. He cut a chunk of meat from the bone with his dagger and served it to Amaranth, before cutting some of his own. He wasn't a big eater, but it had now been almost two full days since he had eaten anything and that was a little too long even for him. "Enjoy." he muttered to Amaranth.



OOC- Sorry for the lack of progression. Couldn't think of anywhere to go with it.

It was almost Amaranth's last month of her pregnancy now, and boy was her stomach bulging to its limit. She was curled up by Samuel, asleep, dreaming of her future, would they get married? Will he ever settle down and raise more children with her in the future? her body twitched as she dreamed about her thoughts, they were both warmed by the furious, blazing fire.

Amaranth opened her eyes the next morning, trying her best to lift her engorged self up from her mate's side. She winced when she finally got on her own two feet, carressing her womb to calm down the restless child. They needed to leave and fast, so she can give birth to their child the first night of their fourth journey.

Waddling to gain her balance, she bent over carefully, nudging him softly. "Hey, baby...it's time to get up. We need to pack up and go...it's almost that time, Samuel." After doing so, she went to pack her things back in the carriage.

His eyes opened gently and gazed up into the eyes of Amaranth, smiling. She wandered off to prepare her things and Samuel pulled himself to his feet. He looked around at his surroundings, attempting to properly wake himself up. He usually had no problem waking up, but he had found himself in such comfort the night before, laying with his dear Amaranth, that he had slept so soundly that he struggled to properly adapt to being awake once more.

He began to wander off to the east, not mentioning his exit to Amaranth. He was walking back to where they had arrived in Alulanta Falls. He knew it was highly unlikely that their escort had obeyed him and remained there, but it was worth checking. When he eventually got there, he was proved correct. Nothing there but the tracks left behind by wheels and hooves. Samuel paused to consider how they would go about moving to their next destination; they obviously couldn’t walk in Amaranth’s condition. For whatever reason, Samuel was not worried. Subconsciously, he just knew that something was waiting for him; something waiting to solve this problem.

He looked dead ahead and began to walk again, walking in a straight line towards the nearest grouping of falls. He didn’t know why he was going this way, or what he expected to find. He walked for at least ten minutes, moving straight ahead and into the deeper areas of woodlands and cliffs. Still, he had no real reason for this random journey. He turned the corner of a large cliff and before him was something that would change his life; something he would remember forever: a horse.

It stood before him, standing on the river bank, opposite one of the largest and most impressive waterfalls in all of Alulanta. The horse was black, bar its silvery hooves, muzzle and a few patches across its body, though its mane was jet black. Its body was incredibly muscular and it looked strong enough to carry a small army on it’s back, but at the same time it wasn’t particularly large. It truly was an incredible animal, and somehow, he knew he had found it for a reason. Perhaps it was destiny for him to find it… perhaps it was destiny for it to come to his rescue.

He approached it, staring at it, fascinated by its incredibly fortunate arrival. As he reached it, Samuel raised his hand to the horse’s mane and stroked it gently. ”Markandeya…” Samuel muttered under his breath, and the animal shook it’s head and neighed loudly. There was no doubt in Samuel’s mind that this horse was meant for him; whether it had been sent to him or if it was just a matter of fate it didn’t really matter.

Samuel put his hands on the back of the horse’s neck and hoisted himself on to its back and the animal instantly began running, heading in the direction of Amaranth without any directing required. The powerful and graceful horse galloped along, eating up the ground and moving with a constant and unwavering speed. Within a minute, Amaranth was in his line of sight. The animal lowered to a trot and then came to a halt completely by Amaranth’s side. ”Are you ready?” Samuel asked, looking down at Amaranth and not even bothering to mention where the horse had come from.



OOC- Bad RP. Sorry. Couldn't focus on writing it at all.

Hearing the thunderous hooves of the huge animal, Amaranth turned to only see that it stopped at her side, even the trotting sent vibrations throughout her body, into her veins - she felt a response from the fetus in her womb by its kicks, knowing that their child felt it too. She held her hands gently to her abdomen, soothing the soon-to-be child, calming it down - she winced softly. It was nearly time. Just a few more hours until night fell.

Amaranth turned her silver gaze to the horse again, remembering that her mother had a Unicorn, it was beautiful, more than majestic. She remembered the name of the mare unicorn, Mamiya - which meant 'Majestic' in her mother's foreign tongue. The young Drow remembered that her mother taught her how to pet the creature, not near the mouth, but on the muzzle higher up.

To repeat the method her mother taught her, she reached to stroke along te long muzzle of the horse. Their eyes met, he bore dark brown eyes like her father's. Maybe this horse was sent by her father? The horse calmed itself down as she cooed to him sweetly. Amaranth pulled her hand back, resting it softly on her swollen oversized stomach giving a nod, "Yes, I'm ready," she said before gritting her teeth, feeling a slightly sharp pain surge through her womb. She sent a message, telepathically to him, while she closes her eyes, letting him know...that the time for her to give birth was just around the corner, as she breathed deeply.