Status: active
Air M'Aman
II
Somewhere near Abhnainn Bhat
2015
Ariela headed north, not too far from the A87 in case she would end up needing to follow that back to the inn or needed to flag someone down for help if something happened. She had left the cottage around eight or nine in the morning and hadn’t stopped or slowed Sugar down to a canter to rest. Ari knew that she had covered a lot of ground so far and decided to give the filly a breather; the two had stopped near to graze and refill canteens at what Ariela guessed to be Abhainn Bhat. Sugar sniffed around for the perfect patch of grass and weeds while Ari had half of her packed sandwich; she couldn’t really tell why she had such a little appetite. All she could chalk it down to was the adrenaline from galloping so fast on Sugar. Looking at the sky, Ariela could tell that it was around noon or a little after. The reasonable part of her was thinking of heading back now and making it to the inn in time for ‘supper’, as Tom called it. But at the very thought of going as far as she could brought butterflies to her stomach and brought a cheeky smile to her lips. Ari relaxed until Sugar had her fill of the shrubs and convinced herself to call Sugar over, moving forward rather than backward. Sugar responded dutifully and happily exhibiting her trust in Ari. Ariela had no clue as to how far she could run before Sugar had to rest for the night, but the girls were about to find out together.
Deviating more Northwest this time, Ari spent the next hour and a half really taking all the landscape around her. Among the many mounds of green, were trees switching between the Scots Pine and Oak, plateaus and meadows transform into hills and mountains that are sprinkled with loose rocks and weeds. Among the weeds were the Juniper shrubs, small Holly trees, and Hazel; Cowberries, Creeping Lady Tresses, Heather, and moss was scattered along the outlines of the hills and mountains. The grass beneath her started to verge into Balnaknock Road just before Ariela saw a cone shaped hill in the short distance. She also noticed the ground was dry and what resembled to be a walking path, suggesting a tourist attraction though Ari didn’t see any around. The path itself was faint but she followed it as best as she could regardless. She ascended along the trail and reached the peak, on her right was what looked like a split in the land that lead to an outline of a spiral made out of rocks. Ariela dismounted and let Sugar wander in search of more nomnoms. There was a hum in the air that vibrated within Ariela, it was so faint that she probably wouldn’t have noticed it if there was a crowd. Ari was alone though and even the little village nearby was not very active much. It was just her and the rocks, Ari glanced around double checking that there was no one with her. She approached the spiral thinking that most guests wouldn’t disturb the spiral or avoid stepping on the rocks if they walked across the formation. And call her silly but she thought that it would be more respectful to follow the outline of the rocks until she was standing in the very middle point of the spiral. Ariela closed her eyes, reveling in the peace that enveloped her. She opened her palms outward and felt the vibration come with a slight more force than before. Ariela felt a gentle breeze pass by as she lost her breath for a second that snapped her eyes wide open as she tried to obtain her senses. She wandered what the humming might have been and saw a bunch of bees pollinating in a patch of weeds that Sugar hadn’t gotten to yet. Remembering that she had to keep an eye on Sugar had her listening intently for any signs that Sugar might be nearby. Then she heard a snort coming from the cone shaped hill and hiked to see a lake only a few meters downslope. It was at the edge of the water that Ari spied Sugar seeking a refreshing beverage. She safely made her way towards the old girl and patted the horse’s sides as soon as Ari reached her. Ariela found that she hasn’t felt this content and in a good while, she wanted to stay this way a little while longer and hoped no one would mind if she rested for a moment. Ari lied down in the grass looking at the sky passing by and dozed off in peaceful dreamless sleep.
First thing Ariela noticed was the prickle of a chill across her face. It was cold before she fell asleep but the sun was out so she could’ve never felt it. As she opened her eyes, Ari saw the sky had turned from the periwinkle to a silvery grey. She felt her chest rise and fall with shallow breaths as she tried regain her senses and surroundings. Ariela looked around as she sat up and wondered just how long she had been asleep. Then she realized that Sugar was nowhere in her sights and looked around frantically trying to see or hear any indication the horse was nearby. She was about to call out the filly’s name when she heard hoof beats thunder over the cone shaped hill and stood up when Sugar spurred closer acting neighing nervously.
“What’s wrong, cutie?” Ari petted her nose in an attempt to calm the horse down.
Regardless of the scare, Ariela knew that she had spent enough time out and needed to get to the closest town to get on A87 back to the inn. She mounted Sugar who was not completely through her trauma but easy enough to maneuver. Ari looked in a circle trying to remember the direction of the little village she had passed coming up the first slope; she recognized the sounds of clanking metal coming from the same way Sugar ran away from. Ariela knew that she would need to ask someone for directions, so despite Sugar’s tiny protests Ari steered them both towards the sounds of living.
She stopped short at the top of the hill when she saw that the white old buildings were now brown, muddy, and completely wooden. Ari had never felt so confounded and jaded in her life; Sugar snorted as if saying ‘I told you so’. Ariela rolled her eyes at the horse and heeled into Sugar’s flanks to make her go forward. They reached the opening of the main square in trepidation, Ari felt like she had walked into a Renascence fair and considered if they can see her.
“Whoa there!”
Having her question answered, Ariela whipped her head to the voice that sounded just as surprised she felt. A group of highlanders in kilts had bundled up to Ari and Sugar, leaving a couple of meters of space for safety. Ari took a good look at the men, hoping to avoid hostility and wanting to gauge their reactions to her presence. She noticed the blonde looking uncertain about the whole situation.
“Well, you weren’t there before.” Ariela noticed a strong Scottish brogue so she figured she was in the same place. Another question answered, she scrutinized the blonde before answering. He was the only blonde of the bunch, his hair was slicked back as well as it could be without hair product, blonde eyebrows indicated that the coloring was natural, reaching the eyes that were as grey and expansive as the clouds and sky above us, and the slight crow’s feet aligning his eyes shows age and stress. His facial hair was maintained but still covered his top lip down to his chin and curving back along his strong jaw. Ari could tell he was every bit of a man and it had been long since he’d seen boyhood; she had dubbed him blondie until further notice.
Ariela furrowed her brows in confusion and lifted her left eyebrow, “Excuse me?”
Some of the bunch looked at each other in question or suspicion, probably at Ari’s accent being one they’ve never heard before. Which made Ariela think that they must be cut off from the outside world. Another one from the antsy group stepped out from behind blondie; this one was calmer but still cautious about this foreign beauty on her mount. He could tell that she was as skittish as her horse and didn’t want her run off onto MacLeod land by mistake. This man had a head full of coppery fire like hair that Ari had only seen once in her life. She instantly remembered her sweetheart’s brother with copper wires for hair and sweet brown eyes. Their mother always boasted that the family’s flaming hair color came from Scandinavian roots and not the popular assumption of Irish. Unlike her supposed brother-in-law’s eyes, this stranger had the same periwinkle colors of the sky that Ari fell asleep to. He had this sensible aurora around him that made her more inclined to trust him than his comrades. Past those tranquil irises was a straight edged nose, more for nobility, and pink thin lips with sprinkled red whiskers outlining the bottom half of his face. If it was possible ‘Red Fury’ had a more chiseled jaw than Blondie but it didn’t tone down his attraction.
Red Fury opened his mouth to speak carefully, “My… Friends and I were in the tavern when we heard some rascals bothering yer’ beautiful horse here. Alistair”, he pointed to Blondie, “and I ran them off with boxed ears each and came back to check on the filly to find her gone. I suppose it was to find her master.”
Red Fury looked pleasant enough to be civil to but that didn’t make Ariela forget about any snakes that might be slithering in the garden. Ari glanced back at the town square while deciding how to approach this daunting situation; she figured the safest route to go would be to play along until she had enough information to tell her where she was and how to get back home. And home she would go, she had a mother to get back to and she didn’t plan on leaving her mother clueless as to if she was dead or not. God only knows what would happen if her mother thought if she was dead or lost. Ariela turned back to Red Fury with pursed lips,
“I fell asleep in the glen over there and foolishly lost track of her. Thank you for looking after my horse when I couldn't.”
His eyes widened in the direction that Ariela indicated as to where she had fallen asleep and looked back at her in concerned wonder.
“Did you drink from the loch behind the hill?”
Ari scrunched her eyebrows and noticed some men reaching for the weapons that were tied to their hips. She narrowed her eyes at the specific men who were threats and backed Sugar up in the event that they might attack. Red Fury rose his arm up and shouted something in Gaelic to give the men an order to leave their arms alone. Ariela saw that Red Fury was the leader of this stoic group and looked at him again in suspicion.
“No, I didn’t drink from the water. I only fell asleep and woke to my horse gone and spooked. End of story.” Ari was annoyed that these men were about to attack her for no reason and she made sure that her tone and facial expression said back off.
Red Fury nodded in understanding that it really was the end of that questioning for now and he didn’t want to push her for more information just yet.
“My name is Doncan MacDonald and these are my clansmen; you’ve already met Alistair”, Blondie nodded as a greeting, “and this is my cousin, Caelen MacDonald.”
Ari turned from Alistair to look at Caelen and parted her lips to lick them but refrained from showing any kind of attraction as soon as it reared at the least opportune moment. Caelen was only younger by a few years but his stature was the same as his clansmen. They were warriors and Caelen exhibited the broad strong shoulders and hooded eyes of someone who has seen enough pain to last him a lifetime. His head was as full of hair as his cousin but the color was more russet and curled at the ends then the rest. It was also shorter than rest meaning that it had been cut or possibly shaved off months prior to this meeting. He had bangs that reached his formidable brow and helped in concealing his scar that cut off the edge his right brow and outlined the outside corner of his eye. His eyes were the brightest blue, almost electrifying Ariela in her saddle and more guarded than the Guantanamo Bay. His nose wasn’t as straight as his cousin’s, but flared a bit at the nostrils and showed a history of being broken. A black five o’clock shadow was displaying growth and she caught a glimpse of his lips. They were a darker shade of pink to his cousin’s and fuller, practically matching in Ariela’s fullness of lips. He nodded intently looking straight through Ari and turned abruptly towards the tavern leaving the rest of the introductions hanging flat. Doncan smiled closed lipped but still congenial at Ariela and extended his hand to help her alight off of Sugar. She looked at the hand dismounted herself to shake Doncan’s hand like any other she would’ve greeted for the first time. He looked baffled at her hand but let it slide as her entire being was a something he’d never seen before.
“I’m Ariela and this old girl is Sugar.”
Doncan furrowed his eyebrows, “Sugar? What’s that mean?”
Ari got the feeling that he’s never heard of processed sweets before but played along like she agreed to do before.
“It’s made from a root that originates from the Caribbean.”
Doncan’s eyes widened in understanding and wonder that scrunched again in confusion, “The Americas?”
“Yes. I’m American. Among other things.”
A brunette from the group popped into Ariela’s peripheral vision, “What’s an American woman doing all the way in the Scottish Highlands by herself?”
Ari didn’t like his accusatory tone, “Well, if it was any of your business I would say that it was a gift from my deceased fiancé after I completed my schooling because he knew I wanted to travel the world.” She saw the man flinch at her snapping at him, but she didn’t stop, “As to the question of why I’m alone, is also none of your concern but I’ll tell you anyway. I don’t play well with others.” That fact was true; Ari was never outgoing after her toddler years after enduring physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her father made her more recluse into her shell in case anyone decided to harm her too.
Doncan’s lips formed into an o shape in amazement at the cat bearing all her claws in a defensive stance that most young boys would cower in their breeches. Doncan saw her posture turn from relaxed with her right arm down her side and her left caressing Sugar swinging her gaze to Brody in contempt of how the stranger spoke to her with no humility expecting her to quake underneath his scrutiny. She easily turned the table on him and scathed him with her words and eyes as she cocked her right hip out and place her balled fists on their respective hip. Standing rigid Doncan caught the strength of her vibrato; he could tell that Ariela wasn’t intimidated by Brody in the slightest. And most likely her irritation overrode that tingle of caution she’d be most foolish to ignore.
Doncan smiled again trying to diffuse the situation and offered to escort Ariela to the tavern and provide her with libations. Ari wanted to refuse and find the A87 or civilization but she knew that wasn’t an option so she nodded reluctantly and kept up with his pace while Sugar followed faithfully behind her.
2015
Ariela headed north, not too far from the A87 in case she would end up needing to follow that back to the inn or needed to flag someone down for help if something happened. She had left the cottage around eight or nine in the morning and hadn’t stopped or slowed Sugar down to a canter to rest. Ari knew that she had covered a lot of ground so far and decided to give the filly a breather; the two had stopped near to graze and refill canteens at what Ariela guessed to be Abhainn Bhat. Sugar sniffed around for the perfect patch of grass and weeds while Ari had half of her packed sandwich; she couldn’t really tell why she had such a little appetite. All she could chalk it down to was the adrenaline from galloping so fast on Sugar. Looking at the sky, Ariela could tell that it was around noon or a little after. The reasonable part of her was thinking of heading back now and making it to the inn in time for ‘supper’, as Tom called it. But at the very thought of going as far as she could brought butterflies to her stomach and brought a cheeky smile to her lips. Ari relaxed until Sugar had her fill of the shrubs and convinced herself to call Sugar over, moving forward rather than backward. Sugar responded dutifully and happily exhibiting her trust in Ari. Ariela had no clue as to how far she could run before Sugar had to rest for the night, but the girls were about to find out together.
Deviating more Northwest this time, Ari spent the next hour and a half really taking all the landscape around her. Among the many mounds of green, were trees switching between the Scots Pine and Oak, plateaus and meadows transform into hills and mountains that are sprinkled with loose rocks and weeds. Among the weeds were the Juniper shrubs, small Holly trees, and Hazel; Cowberries, Creeping Lady Tresses, Heather, and moss was scattered along the outlines of the hills and mountains. The grass beneath her started to verge into Balnaknock Road just before Ariela saw a cone shaped hill in the short distance. She also noticed the ground was dry and what resembled to be a walking path, suggesting a tourist attraction though Ari didn’t see any around. The path itself was faint but she followed it as best as she could regardless. She ascended along the trail and reached the peak, on her right was what looked like a split in the land that lead to an outline of a spiral made out of rocks. Ariela dismounted and let Sugar wander in search of more nomnoms. There was a hum in the air that vibrated within Ariela, it was so faint that she probably wouldn’t have noticed it if there was a crowd. Ari was alone though and even the little village nearby was not very active much. It was just her and the rocks, Ari glanced around double checking that there was no one with her. She approached the spiral thinking that most guests wouldn’t disturb the spiral or avoid stepping on the rocks if they walked across the formation. And call her silly but she thought that it would be more respectful to follow the outline of the rocks until she was standing in the very middle point of the spiral. Ariela closed her eyes, reveling in the peace that enveloped her. She opened her palms outward and felt the vibration come with a slight more force than before. Ariela felt a gentle breeze pass by as she lost her breath for a second that snapped her eyes wide open as she tried to obtain her senses. She wandered what the humming might have been and saw a bunch of bees pollinating in a patch of weeds that Sugar hadn’t gotten to yet. Remembering that she had to keep an eye on Sugar had her listening intently for any signs that Sugar might be nearby. Then she heard a snort coming from the cone shaped hill and hiked to see a lake only a few meters downslope. It was at the edge of the water that Ari spied Sugar seeking a refreshing beverage. She safely made her way towards the old girl and patted the horse’s sides as soon as Ari reached her. Ariela found that she hasn’t felt this content and in a good while, she wanted to stay this way a little while longer and hoped no one would mind if she rested for a moment. Ari lied down in the grass looking at the sky passing by and dozed off in peaceful dreamless sleep.
First thing Ariela noticed was the prickle of a chill across her face. It was cold before she fell asleep but the sun was out so she could’ve never felt it. As she opened her eyes, Ari saw the sky had turned from the periwinkle to a silvery grey. She felt her chest rise and fall with shallow breaths as she tried regain her senses and surroundings. Ariela looked around as she sat up and wondered just how long she had been asleep. Then she realized that Sugar was nowhere in her sights and looked around frantically trying to see or hear any indication the horse was nearby. She was about to call out the filly’s name when she heard hoof beats thunder over the cone shaped hill and stood up when Sugar spurred closer acting neighing nervously.
“What’s wrong, cutie?” Ari petted her nose in an attempt to calm the horse down.
Regardless of the scare, Ariela knew that she had spent enough time out and needed to get to the closest town to get on A87 back to the inn. She mounted Sugar who was not completely through her trauma but easy enough to maneuver. Ari looked in a circle trying to remember the direction of the little village she had passed coming up the first slope; she recognized the sounds of clanking metal coming from the same way Sugar ran away from. Ariela knew that she would need to ask someone for directions, so despite Sugar’s tiny protests Ari steered them both towards the sounds of living.
She stopped short at the top of the hill when she saw that the white old buildings were now brown, muddy, and completely wooden. Ari had never felt so confounded and jaded in her life; Sugar snorted as if saying ‘I told you so’. Ariela rolled her eyes at the horse and heeled into Sugar’s flanks to make her go forward. They reached the opening of the main square in trepidation, Ari felt like she had walked into a Renascence fair and considered if they can see her.
“Whoa there!”
Having her question answered, Ariela whipped her head to the voice that sounded just as surprised she felt. A group of highlanders in kilts had bundled up to Ari and Sugar, leaving a couple of meters of space for safety. Ari took a good look at the men, hoping to avoid hostility and wanting to gauge their reactions to her presence. She noticed the blonde looking uncertain about the whole situation.
“Well, you weren’t there before.” Ariela noticed a strong Scottish brogue so she figured she was in the same place. Another question answered, she scrutinized the blonde before answering. He was the only blonde of the bunch, his hair was slicked back as well as it could be without hair product, blonde eyebrows indicated that the coloring was natural, reaching the eyes that were as grey and expansive as the clouds and sky above us, and the slight crow’s feet aligning his eyes shows age and stress. His facial hair was maintained but still covered his top lip down to his chin and curving back along his strong jaw. Ari could tell he was every bit of a man and it had been long since he’d seen boyhood; she had dubbed him blondie until further notice.
Ariela furrowed her brows in confusion and lifted her left eyebrow, “Excuse me?”
Some of the bunch looked at each other in question or suspicion, probably at Ari’s accent being one they’ve never heard before. Which made Ariela think that they must be cut off from the outside world. Another one from the antsy group stepped out from behind blondie; this one was calmer but still cautious about this foreign beauty on her mount. He could tell that she was as skittish as her horse and didn’t want her run off onto MacLeod land by mistake. This man had a head full of coppery fire like hair that Ari had only seen once in her life. She instantly remembered her sweetheart’s brother with copper wires for hair and sweet brown eyes. Their mother always boasted that the family’s flaming hair color came from Scandinavian roots and not the popular assumption of Irish. Unlike her supposed brother-in-law’s eyes, this stranger had the same periwinkle colors of the sky that Ari fell asleep to. He had this sensible aurora around him that made her more inclined to trust him than his comrades. Past those tranquil irises was a straight edged nose, more for nobility, and pink thin lips with sprinkled red whiskers outlining the bottom half of his face. If it was possible ‘Red Fury’ had a more chiseled jaw than Blondie but it didn’t tone down his attraction.
Red Fury opened his mouth to speak carefully, “My… Friends and I were in the tavern when we heard some rascals bothering yer’ beautiful horse here. Alistair”, he pointed to Blondie, “and I ran them off with boxed ears each and came back to check on the filly to find her gone. I suppose it was to find her master.”
Red Fury looked pleasant enough to be civil to but that didn’t make Ariela forget about any snakes that might be slithering in the garden. Ari glanced back at the town square while deciding how to approach this daunting situation; she figured the safest route to go would be to play along until she had enough information to tell her where she was and how to get back home. And home she would go, she had a mother to get back to and she didn’t plan on leaving her mother clueless as to if she was dead or not. God only knows what would happen if her mother thought if she was dead or lost. Ariela turned back to Red Fury with pursed lips,
“I fell asleep in the glen over there and foolishly lost track of her. Thank you for looking after my horse when I couldn't.”
His eyes widened in the direction that Ariela indicated as to where she had fallen asleep and looked back at her in concerned wonder.
“Did you drink from the loch behind the hill?”
Ari scrunched her eyebrows and noticed some men reaching for the weapons that were tied to their hips. She narrowed her eyes at the specific men who were threats and backed Sugar up in the event that they might attack. Red Fury rose his arm up and shouted something in Gaelic to give the men an order to leave their arms alone. Ariela saw that Red Fury was the leader of this stoic group and looked at him again in suspicion.
“No, I didn’t drink from the water. I only fell asleep and woke to my horse gone and spooked. End of story.” Ari was annoyed that these men were about to attack her for no reason and she made sure that her tone and facial expression said back off.
Red Fury nodded in understanding that it really was the end of that questioning for now and he didn’t want to push her for more information just yet.
“My name is Doncan MacDonald and these are my clansmen; you’ve already met Alistair”, Blondie nodded as a greeting, “and this is my cousin, Caelen MacDonald.”
Ari turned from Alistair to look at Caelen and parted her lips to lick them but refrained from showing any kind of attraction as soon as it reared at the least opportune moment. Caelen was only younger by a few years but his stature was the same as his clansmen. They were warriors and Caelen exhibited the broad strong shoulders and hooded eyes of someone who has seen enough pain to last him a lifetime. His head was as full of hair as his cousin but the color was more russet and curled at the ends then the rest. It was also shorter than rest meaning that it had been cut or possibly shaved off months prior to this meeting. He had bangs that reached his formidable brow and helped in concealing his scar that cut off the edge his right brow and outlined the outside corner of his eye. His eyes were the brightest blue, almost electrifying Ariela in her saddle and more guarded than the Guantanamo Bay. His nose wasn’t as straight as his cousin’s, but flared a bit at the nostrils and showed a history of being broken. A black five o’clock shadow was displaying growth and she caught a glimpse of his lips. They were a darker shade of pink to his cousin’s and fuller, practically matching in Ariela’s fullness of lips. He nodded intently looking straight through Ari and turned abruptly towards the tavern leaving the rest of the introductions hanging flat. Doncan smiled closed lipped but still congenial at Ariela and extended his hand to help her alight off of Sugar. She looked at the hand dismounted herself to shake Doncan’s hand like any other she would’ve greeted for the first time. He looked baffled at her hand but let it slide as her entire being was a something he’d never seen before.
“I’m Ariela and this old girl is Sugar.”
Doncan furrowed his eyebrows, “Sugar? What’s that mean?”
Ari got the feeling that he’s never heard of processed sweets before but played along like she agreed to do before.
“It’s made from a root that originates from the Caribbean.”
Doncan’s eyes widened in understanding and wonder that scrunched again in confusion, “The Americas?”
“Yes. I’m American. Among other things.”
A brunette from the group popped into Ariela’s peripheral vision, “What’s an American woman doing all the way in the Scottish Highlands by herself?”
Ari didn’t like his accusatory tone, “Well, if it was any of your business I would say that it was a gift from my deceased fiancé after I completed my schooling because he knew I wanted to travel the world.” She saw the man flinch at her snapping at him, but she didn’t stop, “As to the question of why I’m alone, is also none of your concern but I’ll tell you anyway. I don’t play well with others.” That fact was true; Ari was never outgoing after her toddler years after enduring physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her father made her more recluse into her shell in case anyone decided to harm her too.
Doncan’s lips formed into an o shape in amazement at the cat bearing all her claws in a defensive stance that most young boys would cower in their breeches. Doncan saw her posture turn from relaxed with her right arm down her side and her left caressing Sugar swinging her gaze to Brody in contempt of how the stranger spoke to her with no humility expecting her to quake underneath his scrutiny. She easily turned the table on him and scathed him with her words and eyes as she cocked her right hip out and place her balled fists on their respective hip. Standing rigid Doncan caught the strength of her vibrato; he could tell that Ariela wasn’t intimidated by Brody in the slightest. And most likely her irritation overrode that tingle of caution she’d be most foolish to ignore.
Doncan smiled again trying to diffuse the situation and offered to escort Ariela to the tavern and provide her with libations. Ari wanted to refuse and find the A87 or civilization but she knew that wasn’t an option so she nodded reluctantly and kept up with his pace while Sugar followed faithfully behind her.