[right]Collaboration between [@Gowi] and [@rextremendum][/right]

As the Emperor called out to him—them? Pythia straightened up, though she had not lazed too much given the appearance of the Princess only moments prior. It seemed his majesty was ready to get this troupe of theirs organized and ready for the long adventure that was ahead of them, which was completely understandable given the importance of it all.

Thomas stiffened when he was addressed by the Emperor. No matter one's political opinions, it was hard to ignore the command in the voice. The idea of so much power addressing him was off-putting: Thomas was not used to moving in such circles, and was for a second gripped with worry that he would make a fool of himself and ruin his chances of going on this expedition. Thomas took a few deep breaths and steadied himself, running through the dozens of reasons he had to not be anxious as he strode over with an air of nonchalant confidence to the pack of horses, sizing them up before he took one stride. He furtively glanced to one side as he set off, looking to see if his new companion would be joining him.

It would not surprise Thomas in the slightest that Pythia had indeed been amongst the crowd who took the approach, especially considering the importance of the task at hand. It seemed like she had some previous experience with horses as she seemed to look over the bunch before quickly deciding upon herself on which one she would prefer if she dared request one. There was a small non-demanding mare in the back that caught her attention, which was easy to tell as she took to it quickly. It did concern her that she had not the foresight to plan equipment and mount beforehand—something that she should have done, but she did find word of the expedition rather late as it had only been the previous night ago.

She caught Thomas’ glimpse before nodding as a sort of reply, standing beside the mare.

Thomas watched his companion select her mount, and wondered what he should choose. There were horses of all sorts, big and small, young and old mounts of disparate breeds. He was not a great rider, and would surely be very uncomfortable on one of the large, expensive destriers, but that comfort would be exchanged for ostensible benefits. For one, he was unsure whether or not he would be allowed to keep the horses, and he expected that he could do more good with the value of one of the finer specimens than some of his other companions [brief ideas of small research expeditions funded by this animal flashed through his head]. In addition, if this farce does become too dangerous, a destrier would be his best bet on escaping a sticky situation. It was then that he looked around at the rag tag assortment accompanying the Emperor, and chided himself for thinking this expedition had even the slightest amount of danger. He would not be faced with much more than saddle sore and poorly-cooked trail food, and this black stallion would not save him from those. He also somehow doubted that he would be allowed to keep such a beast without some sort of exceptional service, to which he was uniquely uninclined. He patted the tall black beast in front of him on the nose, and turned to a smaller mount, much more fitting his capabilities.

Pythia took a light breath as she finally affirmed herself, though she saw Thomas’ own indecision as he fluctuated between a horse or three and wondered how familiar he was with the animal in question. It would be rude of her to inquire about his decision, especially in front of such crowds—though he did say to speak candidly, but in front of royalty she wasn’t completely sure if she wanted to. Instead she decided to take the advice of her liege, and mounted the humble mare she had decided upon with no difficulties in doing so as she had made sure the animal had become familiar with her beforehand and it did not seem the difficult type at all. There was still the typical reaction as horses tended to have.

[color=aba000]“Be calm… good, good.”[/color] She whispered with confidence.

Pythia’s eyes looked over to the Emperor, as she scattered her thoughts to attempt to address him. She had never directly come in contact before, of course that came with being an [i]adopted[/i] child of a small house of nobility like Heartspire. 

[color=aba000]“Your majesty, does this mare have a name? It is most precious.”[/color]