The Tourney at Ashford

Arwyn had done most of her survey of the grounds earlier... now was just finding some place suitable for her family to follow their own religion. Without a Godswood it was a bit more difficult. She didn't expect weirwoods down here, but usually there was something, a tree-filled garden. So she'd gone out into the forest to search for someplace they could at least go to think at least.

Someplace she could be herself a little bit, perhaps, too. Though her habits were becoming so ingrained, it was becoming second nature to play the docile and delicate part.

She emerged into a secluded clearing, looking around in surprise. It wasn't perfect... but it was clear and peaceful and the grass was dry and wouldn't at least get her too wet and stained. She stayed alert - it was important to do in the wild forest, always - but there was something calming about listening to the sounds of the forest. Just her and the trees, no one there to impress.

If it wasn't for wanting to do her part for the family, it would be tempting to just stay here the entire time.

She sat and closed her eyes and listened to the forest around her. Some people thought you could hear the gods in the sounds of the wind and the animals and the water. Please keep everyone safe here... Let us find what we need... She closed her eyes and let out a soft breath. Whatever's going on...

There was the sound of some thing big, tromping through the wood. It was moving at a slow pace, but it was heavy. If it were a dear it was the heaviest deer she had ever heard. But it definitely wasn't a person from the sound of the gait. A few moments later, though, the source of the sound revealed itself as Davelyn entered the clearing astride Qitam. He noticed the young woman also out there and waved, approaching slowly.

"Well met, milady. Wasn't expecting to find a clearing or company. To be honest... I got a bit lost."

She smiles and looks up toward the man on his horse. "Are you in a hurry to return? I might be able to help find your way back."

"I am not. I was simply exploring a bit of the surrounding area. And I'd be glad for the company. I am Ser Davelyn Sand, sworn knight of Lord Cedric Kellington. A pleasure," he says giving a bow from horseback. "And this is Qitam."

Tapping the horse's shoulder gently, Qitam also does a bow for her.

The dark haired woman rises gracefully and curtseys to him. "A pleasure to meet you, Ser. I am Arwyn Forrester, daughter of Lord Eddard Forrester of Ironrath." She approaches the horse carefully from the side. "Qitam is beautiful. May I?" She raises a hand, indicating her desire to stroke his neck.

"Of course you may," he says with a nod. "So, were you out here exploring like myself Lady Arwyn? Or have I interrupted quiet contemplation time? If I have then I'd like to offer my apologies."

She strokes the horse's neck with a smile. "Hmm... I was contemplative, but I wouldn't say you were interrupting, so please don't apologize. This is a spot for everyone. Normally I would've gone to a Godswood for this but... well, no Godswood." She smiles. "This works well, though."

"Godswood?" he asks. He had been raised far south and in the faith of the seven, so he wasn't familiar.

"Well... Some castles even down here have a sort of wooded garden within their walls... those are what remains in the southron kingdoms of godswoods. In the North, they have great pale weirwood trees with red leaves and faces carved into them, called heart trees that are the center of the godswoods," she explains. "They're contemplative spaces, and places of worship of the old gods of the trees and wind, stone and water, who were worshiped by the First Men. Most Houses of the North still worship them." She smiles a little as she continues to stroke the horse.

"Interesting. This is the first time I've heard about them. The stormlands are as far north as I've been. Who are the old gods?" He seems to assume that they would have names like the seven.

She opens her mouth, closes it briefly, then shrugs. "They're the old gods... I don't know how to describe them more than that. They're beings of natural things and phenomena, so they don't really have names or titles like the Seven."

"Wait... so how do you identify them to make offerings and prayers?"

"We just sort of... pray in general, I suppose, rather than to any of them in particular. They're embodied everywhere around us, so we know they'll hear," she says with a smile. She closes her eyes briefly, as if listening. "Some people say if you relax and listen closely to the sounds of the forest, you can hear their voices."

"Interesting," he says, curiosity in his mind. He dismounts to the opposite side before walking around to the front.

"Show me?" he asks.

He looks at Qitam, clicks his tongue, snaps his finger, then faces his palm towards the ground, pushing down gently. The horse reacts by slowly and deliberately laying on the ground on his side. He sits with his back resting against Qitams. "Sit with me?"

Arwyn lifts her skirts a little to settle down next to him without grasd staining the outward facing cloth, settling with her back against Qitam. "I don't think it's the way humans do... or perhaps I can't hear it well... but the sounds do make a harmony and a rhythm like that. If nothing else, it's relaxing." She settled down, taking a deep breath that inhaled the scent of the grass and the horse and the forest around them, folding her hands in her lap and just breathing slowly and listening quietly to the myriad sounds of the woods.

"I see," he says.

As she breaths heavily, she can also feel the rhythm of Qitam's breathing, the contraction and expansion of his ribs causing his whole torso to move.

He watches Arwyn for a few moments. He can't help but appreciate her appearance, but she was certainly no Kaliya. But his gaze doesn't linger long. She was likely to be a powerful political match, a young lady born of the lord of her house. Something he had no expectation of ever having a chance at marrying. And even if he did, he would not seek such a match himself before he would for his lord.

Then his mind goes to the task of listening and breathing. It was relaxing. He was used to doing this with Qitam from time to time, just taking a break and sitting with him. He liked it. That he had company didn't seem to change too much other than now he was listening for the old gods, to see if they had anything to say to him.

The sounds of the forest seem to surround both of them and wrap them in its world, seeming closer for their contemplation of it. There is a sort of natural rhythm to the sounds, something that could hint as whispers, but it's gone as it's concentrated on. She finds herself sitting with her arms leaned on her knees, her chin resting on them. Listening always helped her center herself and reconnect to the world before she had to put on "docile and submissive noble lady" again.

There's a sense of determination in her expression when she opens her eyes, her shoulders a little more square, the blue in her eyes more strong like ice than soft. She glances to the side, remembering her company, and asks, "The forest, and the godswoods, if nothing else, are always a good place to think."

"It reminds me of days I would go to the beach in Dorne, and sit there just listening to the waves," he says with a smile, his eyes still closed. "Nothing but the smell of sea spray and the sound of water crashing, drowning out everything else."

She smiles and nods, looking out into the forest. "Just you and the sea or the forest. I've always wanted to visit the sea... somewhere where it's warm enough that you won't freeze trying to swim." She chuckles gently.

"It's beautiful. If you ever get the opportunity then you should take it. Especially when you wade out into the cool on a hot day. I'm no swimmer, but I definitely love the ocean."

"I hope I will... This is one of the few opportunities I've hard to travel out of the North," she says with a soft sigh. "Though my brother, Marqus, has been in King's Landing for some time now."

"I've never been to King's Landing or the north before. But I hear the north is quite expansive. I don't know if I could take the cold." He finally opens his eyes and looks over at her.

She chuckles softly. "It is quite expansive. You'd think that would mean there's enough room for everyone. My brother and I were just talking about the heat down here this morning, too," she replies with a smile. "I think one gets used to either one over time. At least, I hope that's the case."

"So I'd freeze in winterfell, and you'd bake in sunspear. I guess it's good fortune that brought us together somewhere in between. That way we can share stories of our homelands." His smile was clearly a happy and warm one. He seemed the friendly sort.

"Do you have a story of Sunspear in mind to tell?" She asks curiously.