It was a cloudy springday over the furthest edges of Rayneth's forest. Lucard's taint did not reach here, in fact, the forest seemed healthier and more alife then any other. Birds happily sang their morning orchestra, their shrill but lovely sounds resounded over the dew-covered leaves and grass. A nearby rode cut through forest, just wide enough for a small wagon it was little used and entirely overtaken by the forest at some spots. But despite the lushness and vigor of this woodland it was little frequented by hunters, the animals seemed more clever then elsewhere and always managed to stay clear the hunts. As the nearest town was also still miles away the forest was declared 'not worth the trouble'.
The clack and clatter of hooves and wheels soon comes ringing through the trees, succeeded by the sight of an unpainted wagon and the two beasts that pull it, tossing their heads and swishing their tails. There is a shine of delight in their large, brown eyes, and a playfulness that they bring to their chore, leaving the man guiding them to only wonder and muse over the cause. The lively vigor of this part of the forest is not lost upon him, for it is lifting his own spirits, too, but never before had he seen his old mare so merry, or the gelding so calm and at peace.
His horses might not remain that good-spirited though. As the purple-clad wizard moved on through the forest the lushness and sound seems to fade, until it becomes wholly silent. As if a part of the forest is holding its breath for something. Ahead the wizard might already spot a bend in the road and a clearing occupied by a tiny campsite, but with his bad eyesight the red-haired man would have to get closer in order to make out anything.
The wagon takes the bend, for there is littlewhere else to go; the campsite is intriguing, and the wizard slows the horses as he approaches it, perhaps hoping to ask just where this road would lead him if he were to continue upon it. The forest's silence resonates with some deep part of him, for, being so prone to flightiness himself, he knows well the signs of danger, but the rationality of his mind keeps the instinct in check, and he squares his shoulders as he leans over the side of his seat to try and gather a glance at the campsite and any possible residents.
The campsite seems devoid of anyone at first glance, there is a small silken-like tent with a burnt out campfire and a small chair with a table between them. At the far side of the tent there is something strange though, a large square empty cage... Still Edward might 'feel' something about the cage, something off, something that didn't add up. But strangest of all might be the reaction of his horses, they'd grow restless but don't want to run, they'd rather seem 'angry' about something, furious even.
Edward had never seen his horses change moods so quickly, and it disturbs him. As they paw the earth and snort, ears pinned and eyes suddenly full of discontent, he steps off the wagon and goes to soothe them, patting their manes and faces and saying calming things to them in Erish. He eyes the campsite, again. Surely that is the problem. Surely, if he kept going, they would calm once more. Encouraged by this logic, he climbs up again, and gets the restless beasts to move forward; they do, most obediently. But when they are nearly out of sight of the camp, it is Edward's own heart that aches, and he abruptly halts them, leaves the wagon entirely, and strides off towards that cage as though his legs were not his own. "J-just a look," he utters to himself. "A-a glance. A peek. No one will be the wiser."
The cage stays empty as he approaches it, but the energy emanating from it grows stronger and stronger. Still that is all that changes, although Edward might notice the strange fact that, although the cage is empty a heavy lock is still sealing it, inscribed around the keyhole with strange scratches that Edward could recognize as the elven script. A magical lock on an empty cage....
Then Edward gets a glimpse, it's brief but there, for a moment the cage is not empty and a strange single-horned horse-like being is staring down at him from within, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and curiousity. It is gone as fast it comes.
Edward had slowly lifted his hand towards the bars of the cage, but he abruptly retracts it to his chest and staggers a step back in surprise at what he sees, stunned, at first. He stares at the emptiness where the creature had been, mouth slightly open, astonished, disbelieving and drawn, all at once; were his poor eyes playing tricks on him? They wander towards the lock, and he wrinkles his brow. He knows enough of magic to realize that whoever had placed that lock had done so with severe purpose--and that they would surely know if it was opened. Edward finds, suddenly, that he doesn't mind. Something strong and noble seizes him, and he, in turn, fixes his solemn eyes on the door of the cage; a small and obvious place to begin, but as good as any. He shakes his sleeves from his hands, and begins to quietly evoke a spell.
The door of the cage has nothing special about it. Another glimpse comes from the cage, this time the equine thing has backed away from the door, it is obviously confused and clearly afraid too, then the image disappears again.
The spell is no short one, nor a simple one; the wizard stands there, gesturing and muttering and staring determinedly at the bars for minutes, five, ten, fifteen--but as he does, the metal of the cage's door begins to change, going first mottled, then brown with rust, then eaten and corroded, as if by acid, or centuries. As it changes, so, too, does the spellcaster, growing wearier and weaker. Something strange and black trickles from the corner of his mouth. At last, he breathes one last word, wipes his face, and then he reaches out, and touches the door. The metal crumbles beneath his fingers like sand, and falls away.
And the spell breaks to reveal the creature in full. She stands there looking wide-eyed at her 'saviour', her mane pure white as she stood under the shadows. She had been picked clean of twigs and leaves, even though Ed would not notice the difference there. After a minute of cold and confused staring the unicorn finally, cautiously, sets a few hooves forward. "You freed me? Exerted yourself to free me." The unicorn's voice is surprisingly steady, soft and clear. She speaks the common tongue well but still there is something ancient in her accent that is hard to place. "WHy did you free me. At the cost of your own health?" She looks at his weary state. "Is there some other desire you hold in your heart? Or is it you who shall claim me now?" The unicorn snorts derisively, as if he has already confirmed her suspicions.
As the illusion falls away, Edward gasps; his knees grow weak, and he falls to them, unable to do anything but gaze upon the unicorn with the timid awe of a child. Every word she speaks rings in his head like the purest note of music, and he is so enamored by the sound of her voice that he thinks he may have understood her even if she spoke no language he knew at all. "My--m-my lady," he breathes, fumbling for the brim of his hat and then pulling it off of his head to clutch it before his chest in reverence, "You--y-you are s-s-so beautiful." He answers none of her questions, but perhaps the trembling admiration he speaks with is enough to show that he has no ill intentions.
The unicorn regards the wizard curiously as she continues forward, until she is right in front of him at the opening he rusted into the cage. This man was so curious, there is something 'pure' about him, like the purity of a virgin maiden contained within a man. "You may call me Xiana." She said simply in her singsong voice, as if it was something he should know. When he said she was beautiful the unicorn pulled back her head and took a few steps backwards again. "Those words were spoken by the one who placed me here..." The unicorn snorts again, although not as derisively this time. "But you tell them differently. He told them as something he knew, you tell them as something you have learned." The unicorn looks puzzled at him for a moment, but then lowers her head towards him, for a moment it may seem she intends to stab him with her horn but all she does is bring it up next to him, an aid to pull himself up.
Edward only watches her, never daring to blink, lest he miss even a moment of the serene majesty of the most magnificent creature in the world. He had never seen a unicorn before--only heard of them, and read of them in books, with their crude illustrations and cruder attempts at capturing such beauty with something so crass as words. If she hadchosen to stab him instead, he would have only remained there, and taken the strike without wince or cry, so still and so enraptured she has made him! He stares at the shimmering horn, but he does not take it. "I-I--I dare not t-t-touch you," he says in a whisper, his voice shaking with emotion.
The forest around Edward wakes up again with the unicorns freedom, it is a slow and steady process, but birds are already singing and plants seem to becoming lusher by the second. The unicorn herself gives Edward a sideways glance. "I would wish you do not touch my horn, I do not trust you enough for that yet. But lay your arms around my neck or head and I shall hoist you back on your feet. If you saved me truly with no ulterior motive, brought upon yourself the wrath of my captor for nothing but my freedom, it is my pleasure to lend myself to aid you too." Xiana, bringing her captor back to her own mind takes her eyes off the strange human wizard for a moment to look around, but to her relief she sees no sign of him approaching yet.
"I-I d-dare not t-t-touch you," Edward says again, and yet, how could he not obey a unicorn? But beside her white coat and perfect grace, he feels so clumsy, so foolish, so mortal; his dear robe and hat are rags, the glasses an aid to a flaw, his fingers strange and silly compared to the elegant, cloven hooves, and even the magic inside of him is but a pale and poor shadow of what resides in purity in the unicorn's eyes. He hesitates and shakes, and realizes that, without her aid, he might never get up--and so he does place his arms around her neck, gingerly and carefully, with the barest of touches, lest his contact somehow mar her beauty with his imperfections.
Her fur feels light and soft at the touch, her mane almost like soft strands of silk. By her own surprise the unicorn keeps perfectly still as the strange shy wizard places his arms around her. "So you are a virgin, your touch betrays it." The unicorn comments softly as she starts to carefully hoist him up. As soon as she has the wizard was on his feet she'd make gentle movements to wrest free.
Edward's face goes a little pink, but he smiles, too, when any other man might have grown flustered or angry. The guilt he felt for touching the unicorn ebbs away enough for him to revel in and cherish the few moments it takes for her to aid him to his feet. When she has done so, he finds a new strength that solidifies his balance and steadies his knees, and takes a step away from her, only to dip into a deep bow, almost too noble to have been performed by so scruffy and so awkward and so gangly a man. "Th-thank you, my--m-m-my lady," he says.
The unicorn silently regards him with those deep green eyes as he steps away and bows, she knows what the gesture means but when he calls her 'lady' again she snorts. "I said that Xiana is my name. Lady is a word that refers to the royalty of civilisation, but if you feel the need to call me lady I shall let you, it is simply not my name." Then Xiana suddenly raises her head, looking around like a startled deer, her eyes travelling over the forest as her ears twitch at unheard whispers. "He is drawing nigh, every second, we must flee afore he catches us." The unicorns beats her hooves against the ground, restless, but it seems she doesn't want to move before Edward does.
Edward humbly lowers his eyes at the correction, and his fingers tighten on the brim of his hat. "I-I am--s-sorry, m-my la--Xi--Xiana." He utters her name with the same reverence he speaks his spells with. As she lifts her head in alarm, so, too, does he, and panic swells suddenly in him. Of course. He had all but forgotten about the other wizard who had had the audacity to lock a unicorn in a cage. He glances at her, and reads the urgency in her eyes. Knowing she could easily catch up with him on her slender, faster legs, he turns and runs in some direction, but the direction does not matter so long as it is away, away, away!
Xiana follows after Edward, going far slower then she could to stay with him. She quickly cuts in front of him and throws her head back. "The Summer Lord moves through the forest with the same grace as I, haste is of the essence. Follow my tracks." With her magic she moved tree roots, jutting them up as soon as Edward was over them, rustling the grass to erase the tracks of their passing.
Edward does so, reasonably fleet of foot, though he is certainly no creature of the forest. He might have been stumbling clumsily across the underbrush if the unicorn were not aiding him. He worries briefly about his horses, and his wagon, but he has little more than the luxury of a few seconds to afford the thought. Xiana draws his eyes to her simply by the grace of her movement, and it is just as well.
At least, after a few minutes of running, the unicorn starts to slow down as they come into a darker part of the forest. Even in the middle of the day the shadows are thick here, crops of mushrooms cover the ground like a brown bobbly carpet. The unicorn raises her head and looks into the direction they had come from, they'd turned and weaved a bit in their escape but she had an idea of the general direction. "He is not chasing us yet." The unicorn says in a soft voice, laying grim emphasis on the yet. "The Summer Lord has time and he is patient. There is no simple way to escape from him, he will follow soon and fast." Her eyes travel back to her purple dressed companion, for a moment it seems as if she's surprised he's here, as if she has forgotten she took him along, but this expression fades swiftly. "You ran with me, and you now share my lot. But if you leave now he will not chase you, he wants me more and he does not know you."
Edward stumbles, panting, towards a tree as the unicorn ceases her running. He pauses for breath there, and as he wipes his brow, he looks at her with sad disbelief, as though the suggestion had been a command, instead. "No--n-no, I-I cannot leave," he asserts. "How c-c-could I leave you?"
Xiana gives an actual smile at Edward, fluttering her ears as she looks fondly upon the wizard for the first time. "If you have taken it upon yourself to protect me. That is a noble and brave gesture." The unicorn's smile fades as she turns into the direction of the 'Summer Lord' again. "There is nowhere in this forest I can go, where he will not find me. If when the sun has gone down and come up again, if a season has passed. He will find me here no matter how long it would take." There is a solemnty in her voice, a sadness, for she knows the single sollution to her problem... and it does not appeal to her at all. Her eyes return to the wizard, and he seems a relief to her, she is glad he came along for this moment.
"M-must you then--must you th-then leave the forest?" asks Edward in innocent uncertainty, perhaps voicing the very thing that troubles her.
The unicorn nods solemnly at Edward, a certain sadness in her eyes, she doesn't voice it though, she simply looks around as if giving this very location a goodbye. "Where is it you reside? Or are you nothing but a wandering wizard?" The unicorn doesn't look at him as she talks, she instead looks up at the trees, taking in their majestic roof of leaves before she'd have to leave it all. "This forest is strong. It will live a long life, and a safe one.
Edward looks at her in amazement, for having been asked such a question, but he points, slowly, in the direction they had come from, towards his wagon, which seems so far away to him now. "I... I-I wander," he says quietly, and lowers his hand again. "I-it brings m-me great... g-great peace of mind."
Xiana dips her head in a nod. "If you wish to protect me so, I shall wander with you. Trail you through the forest.." The unicorn started trotting towards a gap in the dark mushroom covered clearing. "I must still do something before I leave here. Move on if you wish, I shall find you if you wish to be found." And with that the unicorn fades away, leaving a small patch of blossoms behind where she stood a moment ago. The only hope was that the wizard didn't get himself lost.
The clack and clatter of hooves and wheels soon comes ringing through the trees, succeeded by the sight of an unpainted wagon and the two beasts that pull it, tossing their heads and swishing their tails. There is a shine of delight in their large, brown eyes, and a playfulness that they bring to their chore, leaving the man guiding them to only wonder and muse over the cause. The lively vigor of this part of the forest is not lost upon him, for it is lifting his own spirits, too, but never before had he seen his old mare so merry, or the gelding so calm and at peace.
His horses might not remain that good-spirited though. As the purple-clad wizard moved on through the forest the lushness and sound seems to fade, until it becomes wholly silent. As if a part of the forest is holding its breath for something. Ahead the wizard might already spot a bend in the road and a clearing occupied by a tiny campsite, but with his bad eyesight the red-haired man would have to get closer in order to make out anything.
The wagon takes the bend, for there is littlewhere else to go; the campsite is intriguing, and the wizard slows the horses as he approaches it, perhaps hoping to ask just where this road would lead him if he were to continue upon it. The forest's silence resonates with some deep part of him, for, being so prone to flightiness himself, he knows well the signs of danger, but the rationality of his mind keeps the instinct in check, and he squares his shoulders as he leans over the side of his seat to try and gather a glance at the campsite and any possible residents.
The campsite seems devoid of anyone at first glance, there is a small silken-like tent with a burnt out campfire and a small chair with a table between them. At the far side of the tent there is something strange though, a large square empty cage... Still Edward might 'feel' something about the cage, something off, something that didn't add up. But strangest of all might be the reaction of his horses, they'd grow restless but don't want to run, they'd rather seem 'angry' about something, furious even.
Edward had never seen his horses change moods so quickly, and it disturbs him. As they paw the earth and snort, ears pinned and eyes suddenly full of discontent, he steps off the wagon and goes to soothe them, patting their manes and faces and saying calming things to them in Erish. He eyes the campsite, again. Surely that is the problem. Surely, if he kept going, they would calm once more. Encouraged by this logic, he climbs up again, and gets the restless beasts to move forward; they do, most obediently. But when they are nearly out of sight of the camp, it is Edward's own heart that aches, and he abruptly halts them, leaves the wagon entirely, and strides off towards that cage as though his legs were not his own. "J-just a look," he utters to himself. "A-a glance. A peek. No one will be the wiser."
The cage stays empty as he approaches it, but the energy emanating from it grows stronger and stronger. Still that is all that changes, although Edward might notice the strange fact that, although the cage is empty a heavy lock is still sealing it, inscribed around the keyhole with strange scratches that Edward could recognize as the elven script. A magical lock on an empty cage....
Then Edward gets a glimpse, it's brief but there, for a moment the cage is not empty and a strange single-horned horse-like being is staring down at him from within, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and curiousity. It is gone as fast it comes.
Edward had slowly lifted his hand towards the bars of the cage, but he abruptly retracts it to his chest and staggers a step back in surprise at what he sees, stunned, at first. He stares at the emptiness where the creature had been, mouth slightly open, astonished, disbelieving and drawn, all at once; were his poor eyes playing tricks on him? They wander towards the lock, and he wrinkles his brow. He knows enough of magic to realize that whoever had placed that lock had done so with severe purpose--and that they would surely know if it was opened. Edward finds, suddenly, that he doesn't mind. Something strong and noble seizes him, and he, in turn, fixes his solemn eyes on the door of the cage; a small and obvious place to begin, but as good as any. He shakes his sleeves from his hands, and begins to quietly evoke a spell.
The door of the cage has nothing special about it. Another glimpse comes from the cage, this time the equine thing has backed away from the door, it is obviously confused and clearly afraid too, then the image disappears again.
The spell is no short one, nor a simple one; the wizard stands there, gesturing and muttering and staring determinedly at the bars for minutes, five, ten, fifteen--but as he does, the metal of the cage's door begins to change, going first mottled, then brown with rust, then eaten and corroded, as if by acid, or centuries. As it changes, so, too, does the spellcaster, growing wearier and weaker. Something strange and black trickles from the corner of his mouth. At last, he breathes one last word, wipes his face, and then he reaches out, and touches the door. The metal crumbles beneath his fingers like sand, and falls away.
And the spell breaks to reveal the creature in full. She stands there looking wide-eyed at her 'saviour', her mane pure white as she stood under the shadows. She had been picked clean of twigs and leaves, even though Ed would not notice the difference there. After a minute of cold and confused staring the unicorn finally, cautiously, sets a few hooves forward. "You freed me? Exerted yourself to free me." The unicorn's voice is surprisingly steady, soft and clear. She speaks the common tongue well but still there is something ancient in her accent that is hard to place. "WHy did you free me. At the cost of your own health?" She looks at his weary state. "Is there some other desire you hold in your heart? Or is it you who shall claim me now?" The unicorn snorts derisively, as if he has already confirmed her suspicions.
As the illusion falls away, Edward gasps; his knees grow weak, and he falls to them, unable to do anything but gaze upon the unicorn with the timid awe of a child. Every word she speaks rings in his head like the purest note of music, and he is so enamored by the sound of her voice that he thinks he may have understood her even if she spoke no language he knew at all. "My--m-my lady," he breathes, fumbling for the brim of his hat and then pulling it off of his head to clutch it before his chest in reverence, "You--y-you are s-s-so beautiful." He answers none of her questions, but perhaps the trembling admiration he speaks with is enough to show that he has no ill intentions.
The unicorn regards the wizard curiously as she continues forward, until she is right in front of him at the opening he rusted into the cage. This man was so curious, there is something 'pure' about him, like the purity of a virgin maiden contained within a man. "You may call me Xiana." She said simply in her singsong voice, as if it was something he should know. When he said she was beautiful the unicorn pulled back her head and took a few steps backwards again. "Those words were spoken by the one who placed me here..." The unicorn snorts again, although not as derisively this time. "But you tell them differently. He told them as something he knew, you tell them as something you have learned." The unicorn looks puzzled at him for a moment, but then lowers her head towards him, for a moment it may seem she intends to stab him with her horn but all she does is bring it up next to him, an aid to pull himself up.
Edward only watches her, never daring to blink, lest he miss even a moment of the serene majesty of the most magnificent creature in the world. He had never seen a unicorn before--only heard of them, and read of them in books, with their crude illustrations and cruder attempts at capturing such beauty with something so crass as words. If she hadchosen to stab him instead, he would have only remained there, and taken the strike without wince or cry, so still and so enraptured she has made him! He stares at the shimmering horn, but he does not take it. "I-I--I dare not t-t-touch you," he says in a whisper, his voice shaking with emotion.
The forest around Edward wakes up again with the unicorns freedom, it is a slow and steady process, but birds are already singing and plants seem to becoming lusher by the second. The unicorn herself gives Edward a sideways glance. "I would wish you do not touch my horn, I do not trust you enough for that yet. But lay your arms around my neck or head and I shall hoist you back on your feet. If you saved me truly with no ulterior motive, brought upon yourself the wrath of my captor for nothing but my freedom, it is my pleasure to lend myself to aid you too." Xiana, bringing her captor back to her own mind takes her eyes off the strange human wizard for a moment to look around, but to her relief she sees no sign of him approaching yet.
"I-I d-dare not t-t-touch you," Edward says again, and yet, how could he not obey a unicorn? But beside her white coat and perfect grace, he feels so clumsy, so foolish, so mortal; his dear robe and hat are rags, the glasses an aid to a flaw, his fingers strange and silly compared to the elegant, cloven hooves, and even the magic inside of him is but a pale and poor shadow of what resides in purity in the unicorn's eyes. He hesitates and shakes, and realizes that, without her aid, he might never get up--and so he does place his arms around her neck, gingerly and carefully, with the barest of touches, lest his contact somehow mar her beauty with his imperfections.
Her fur feels light and soft at the touch, her mane almost like soft strands of silk. By her own surprise the unicorn keeps perfectly still as the strange shy wizard places his arms around her. "So you are a virgin, your touch betrays it." The unicorn comments softly as she starts to carefully hoist him up. As soon as she has the wizard was on his feet she'd make gentle movements to wrest free.
Edward's face goes a little pink, but he smiles, too, when any other man might have grown flustered or angry. The guilt he felt for touching the unicorn ebbs away enough for him to revel in and cherish the few moments it takes for her to aid him to his feet. When she has done so, he finds a new strength that solidifies his balance and steadies his knees, and takes a step away from her, only to dip into a deep bow, almost too noble to have been performed by so scruffy and so awkward and so gangly a man. "Th-thank you, my--m-m-my lady," he says.
The unicorn silently regards him with those deep green eyes as he steps away and bows, she knows what the gesture means but when he calls her 'lady' again she snorts. "I said that Xiana is my name. Lady is a word that refers to the royalty of civilisation, but if you feel the need to call me lady I shall let you, it is simply not my name." Then Xiana suddenly raises her head, looking around like a startled deer, her eyes travelling over the forest as her ears twitch at unheard whispers. "He is drawing nigh, every second, we must flee afore he catches us." The unicorns beats her hooves against the ground, restless, but it seems she doesn't want to move before Edward does.
Edward humbly lowers his eyes at the correction, and his fingers tighten on the brim of his hat. "I-I am--s-sorry, m-my la--Xi--Xiana." He utters her name with the same reverence he speaks his spells with. As she lifts her head in alarm, so, too, does he, and panic swells suddenly in him. Of course. He had all but forgotten about the other wizard who had had the audacity to lock a unicorn in a cage. He glances at her, and reads the urgency in her eyes. Knowing she could easily catch up with him on her slender, faster legs, he turns and runs in some direction, but the direction does not matter so long as it is away, away, away!
Xiana follows after Edward, going far slower then she could to stay with him. She quickly cuts in front of him and throws her head back. "The Summer Lord moves through the forest with the same grace as I, haste is of the essence. Follow my tracks." With her magic she moved tree roots, jutting them up as soon as Edward was over them, rustling the grass to erase the tracks of their passing.
Edward does so, reasonably fleet of foot, though he is certainly no creature of the forest. He might have been stumbling clumsily across the underbrush if the unicorn were not aiding him. He worries briefly about his horses, and his wagon, but he has little more than the luxury of a few seconds to afford the thought. Xiana draws his eyes to her simply by the grace of her movement, and it is just as well.
At least, after a few minutes of running, the unicorn starts to slow down as they come into a darker part of the forest. Even in the middle of the day the shadows are thick here, crops of mushrooms cover the ground like a brown bobbly carpet. The unicorn raises her head and looks into the direction they had come from, they'd turned and weaved a bit in their escape but she had an idea of the general direction. "He is not chasing us yet." The unicorn says in a soft voice, laying grim emphasis on the yet. "The Summer Lord has time and he is patient. There is no simple way to escape from him, he will follow soon and fast." Her eyes travel back to her purple dressed companion, for a moment it seems as if she's surprised he's here, as if she has forgotten she took him along, but this expression fades swiftly. "You ran with me, and you now share my lot. But if you leave now he will not chase you, he wants me more and he does not know you."
Edward stumbles, panting, towards a tree as the unicorn ceases her running. He pauses for breath there, and as he wipes his brow, he looks at her with sad disbelief, as though the suggestion had been a command, instead. "No--n-no, I-I cannot leave," he asserts. "How c-c-could I leave you?"
Xiana gives an actual smile at Edward, fluttering her ears as she looks fondly upon the wizard for the first time. "If you have taken it upon yourself to protect me. That is a noble and brave gesture." The unicorn's smile fades as she turns into the direction of the 'Summer Lord' again. "There is nowhere in this forest I can go, where he will not find me. If when the sun has gone down and come up again, if a season has passed. He will find me here no matter how long it would take." There is a solemnty in her voice, a sadness, for she knows the single sollution to her problem... and it does not appeal to her at all. Her eyes return to the wizard, and he seems a relief to her, she is glad he came along for this moment.
"M-must you then--must you th-then leave the forest?" asks Edward in innocent uncertainty, perhaps voicing the very thing that troubles her.
The unicorn nods solemnly at Edward, a certain sadness in her eyes, she doesn't voice it though, she simply looks around as if giving this very location a goodbye. "Where is it you reside? Or are you nothing but a wandering wizard?" The unicorn doesn't look at him as she talks, she instead looks up at the trees, taking in their majestic roof of leaves before she'd have to leave it all. "This forest is strong. It will live a long life, and a safe one.
Edward looks at her in amazement, for having been asked such a question, but he points, slowly, in the direction they had come from, towards his wagon, which seems so far away to him now. "I... I-I wander," he says quietly, and lowers his hand again. "I-it brings m-me great... g-great peace of mind."
Xiana dips her head in a nod. "If you wish to protect me so, I shall wander with you. Trail you through the forest.." The unicorn started trotting towards a gap in the dark mushroom covered clearing. "I must still do something before I leave here. Move on if you wish, I shall find you if you wish to be found." And with that the unicorn fades away, leaving a small patch of blossoms behind where she stood a moment ago. The only hope was that the wizard didn't get himself lost.
