Losing the way you found (Open)

[Avaris Malvallet]

Avaris heaved a deep, heavy sigh, and Gavin snorted in reply. "Oh would you stop it. I'm not lost." The great dappled stallion pawed at the ground, rather than pressing forward. "And what seems to be your issue?" She leaned in, breathing in his ear, which flicked in annoyance. "You are no help." she huffed again, before tossing her leg over his great side and plopping down onto the cool earth below.

The sun was soon setting and the night was sure to bring more unusual, dark shadows along with it. After all her years of solemn travel, she had finally decided to stop in Camelot. However, she had found herself quite lost. It had been years since she had traveled down The Kingsway and she was but only a young child, protected by her parents. Now, times had changed and she was alone in the world with no clear direction for anything..anywhere.

She pulled tightly at Gavin's bit and tied his bridle loosely around a branch, working at removing his heavy saddle and blanket. Once they were off, he shuddered at the cool breeze that tickled his sweating body. With a faint smile, she patted his thick neck. "Now then...you've finally gotten your way, shall we keep each other company in this new land?" He snorted his agreement and she began at attempting a fire on the wet ground.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Running a hand through his sweaty hair, Arthur breathed out a heavy sigh and grinned.
"You're not half bad boy!" He said laughing at the young destrier he had taken out this evening. For a brief moment he almost believed the horse might have been listening to him, but when it let out a exasperated whinny and shook its mane in annoyance, he decided that those who treated their horses like people were as mad as he always thought.
Still, he slid out of the saddle with considerable ease and gave the horse a rough pat. For a youngster, still a teenager in equine years, the stallion had done extremely well to keep going for as long as he had but the poor beast was clearly tired and Arthur decided to walk for a while.

The snow that the harsh winter had brought had long since gone, and although the ground had been left wet and soft, the air was warmer and summer was well on its way. Arthur loved this time of year, spring was everywhere and the smell was like no other. But something else caught his attention on the wind tonight, something that smelt like burning wood?

Remembering rumours of Gore and their attempts to infiltrate Camelot, Arthur placed a wary hand on his sword, and trusting his horse to remain where it was, he rounded the corner.

[Avaris Malvallet]

After almost 20 minutes of battling with te the flint and few small dry sticks she had found, she managed to feed a small fire. Her helmet was doing nothing for her internal temperature and she was sweating up a storm. With a tired arm, she reached around to pull the leather straps from her chin.

She had barely pulled before Gavin snorted his concern for a noise in the shadows. Avaris pulled the ties tight once more, and slid in slowly, back braced to the nearest tree. It had been a while since she had been stalked at night, but this was no throw back. She was confident enough in her skill , but her nerves still remained. She pulled her sword slowly from it's sheath and tightened her grip around the hilt, breathing slow and steady.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

To see a knight before him, was no strange occurrence for Arthur -after all he dealt with many of them on a daily basis- but this knight was not one of alliance with Camelot. As he finally reached the small clearing where Avaris had made herself at home his sword was in hand and he had drawn himself into a strong defence.

Tales of the silver knight were rife in Camelot, but they had not yet reached the ears of the prince. He was not even aware that rogue knights existed and so he had naturally assumed that this one was from Gore- Camelot's only known enemy at present. The only strange part was the fact that whoever this was seemed to be travelling alone, a strange tactic for an enemy to employ. At that he loosened his stance a little and lowered his weapon.

"State your business in my kingdom sir!" Arthur said, his voice calm and even and his sword now pointed at the ground by his side.
"I do not fear you."

[Avaris Malvallet]

Avaris wrenched her hands tightly along the hilt of the sword and called out to the mysterious voice. She exhaled deeply and edged around slowly. "I'm traveling to Camelot...on my own accord. I do not fear you either...I mean no hard and would rather not fight you. I warm you that I am quite skilled with my blade.." she gloated, trying to approach to scare him off. It was worth a shot.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur made a point of lowering his sword further, holding his left hand out to show he too meant no harm.
"I too do not mean you harm. I am merely travelling this way and wish to know who might be camping on my land. If you truly are of no ill intent then i ask that your remove your helm so i may know who i am speaking with."

He sheathed his sword, trusting the strangers words, although perhaps a little prematurely. Still he had been in worse situations that these and knew that he would be ready to fight in an instant should the need arise.

[Avaris Malvallet]

Avaris heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid I cannot do that...." She slid out in front of his line of vision, still holding tight to her sword. "I am the silver Knight, and That's all you need to know, or concern yourself with. "

Now things would get interesting. If he pressed further, she would fight for her right, and her her identify to remain hidden. All she could cling to, was the legend she had created herself to be.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

"Then good knight, I am afraid there is nothing for it." Arthur stepped forwards, his sword in his hand once more. He had no wish to fight this knight, for he truly did seem harmless. But failure to unveil himself tot he future king had done him no favours.

With a twirl, Arthur brought his sword up to his opponents face (or helmet) and waited for his first move. Should he be willing to removed his helmet now, he would accept and be on his way, but Arthur was a proud man and he would get his way, one way or another.

[Avaris Malvallet]

Avaris blocked it with the clang of her own and pressed her body weight in towards with. She sweeped and attacked again, blocking his thrust. He was a strong fighter, that much she could take in, but Avaris was far from a weak pushover. She grunted, fighting off his muscle. That was his one advantage. She sidestepped another attack and went for a vertical blow, she would soon regret it.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

The silver knight was a strong fighter, that much Arthur could tell from the get go, but it was far from worrying Arthur. He blocked her next attack, placing his blade high above his head to do so. He could feel his opponents strength as the blades met and pressed against one another and he pushed back, forcing her blade away. Perhaps she was not as strong as he was.

"You can back down at any point." Arthur said slowly, lowering his blade to show once more that he did not want this fight. Why people had to be so stubborn he just never would understand.

[Avaris Malvallet]

Suddenly it clicked, who this fated opponent was. She grinned and laughed to herself, trying to remember his weakest points, just as they were so many years ago. With a devious smirk, she side stepped once more, elbowing him in the side and tripping him to the ground.

Before he would know what hit him, she had the blade to his throat. "But what would be the fun in That Arthur Pendragon? I've never let you win and I'm not about to start..." She let him think on her words as she drew back and sheathed her sword unexpectedly.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

oof Arthur thumped onto the ground in surprise. That was unexpected, and it wasn't the norm for a knight to fight with underhanded moves. Who was this silver knight and what exactly was he doing?

Arthur had just begun to pull himself to his feet when he felt the cold sharp sting of steel at his neck. He swallowed and dropped his weapon completely. He was embarrassed at having been caught out so easily but angry at the same time. Still there was nothing he could do now.
As the knight spoke his name he felt something familiar in those tones, and was that a female voice? He furrowed his brow, before raising it as the silver knight dropped his (or her) weapon altogether.

"I know you don't I?" He started, straightening himself and resheathing his own dropped blade. He struggled to find where in his memories that feminine voice was buried.

[Avaris Malvallet]

Avaris gave a light chuckle and in one swift, almost beautiful moment, she pulled it gracefully from her face and her dirty blonde hear cascaded along her shoulders. "It's been years Arthur, and yet, I can still bring you to the ground." She extended a hand to help him to his feet. "Avaris Malvallet, our fathers were close friends, I often chose Morgana's side in bullying you though." She beamed up at him.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur's mouth fell open as Avaris pulled off her helm, revealing blonde hair that reached her shoulders. So his suspicions had been right, it was a woman hidden in all that armour. Her figure and voice had both been disguised and he felt better at knowing he had at least suspected her.

"Avaris?" He said at the same time she did. It had been years but aside from growing taller she looked much the same. Oh he remembered all too well the trouble Morgana and she had caused him.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were killed in.." he trailed off, not wanting to put his foot in it. He didn't know the details of what had happened all those years ago but it was bound to be painful for her.
"You must come back to the castle! Father will be so pleased to see you and goodness only knows what Morgana will think of having you back!" He pulled her into a rough hug and then held her at arms length, inspecting her as an older brother might.

[Avaris Malvallet]

Arthur spoke faster than she could get a word in edgewise. When he hugged her, she lost all sense of reason. She had forgotten what one felt like, and rather he not let her go, but he did unfortunately and she had to fall back down to earth. The warmth, his breath, his heartbeat. It was a sense of comfort she had missed, even if it was just from Arthur.

Come to think of it, it wasn't 'just Arthur' anymore. He had grown into his head and his face. When he pulled back, she was blushing foolishly. "I Look forward to ti." she smiled again, trying to keep from stumbling over herself.