[P] sympathy for the devil

[Avdotya]

She had walked these canyon trails many times and yet she still struggled at times to recall which turn led her where. Today, however, Avdotya could not afford a wrong turn; the woman had a particular set of orders to fulfill and she was not keen on falling short of anything but success. Every stride had purpose within it, like her legs were being guided by nothing else but blind determination. Her body hugged each corner she took while her neck snaked with amber eyes fixated on what lay ahead, though her focus seemed to break in a single half-second at the sound of tumbling rock. The mare immediately ceased all motion and listened intently- a flick of an ear, a minute turn of the head and she resumed her steamrolling pace. Now, though, Avdotya was tracking whatever happened to be scaling the canyon walls further up. Be it a simple sheep or perhaps a fellow traveler, she merely sought to determine whether they were a threat to her task. Her answer came swiftly, for it took only one more turn to discover the mare half-way up the stony ledge jutting out from the sandstone. She paused to study her silently, somewhat curious to know what this horse's purpose was; surely there was something worthy of the risk she now took to reach the top. "I presume you are not just climbing for fun." Avdotya called from below, glancing slightly off to the side in a moment's consideration of returning to her own assignment. Her desire to know won out. And she was disappointed with her answer. Herbs. While useful, Avdotya had no purpose for them in this particular moment. "Quite an effort for that. Do you keep stock?" She lifted a brow at the shrub that now floated beside the apparent mountaineer. Perhaps she was one of those nutty herbalists with a horde of ingredients crammed in some nearby crevice. @Seraphina av judgin' hard down here image © lunarblues