Christopher	It's cold and quiet in the halls of the monastery, as the monks and acolytes have all gone to sleep for the night, while you try to sneak away to the stables. The full moon provides illumination as he hangs in the sky with the sea of stars. You struggle with your bags and try to make it down as quickly and quietly as you can, wishing the scant few books you opted to bring with you didn't...
	Christopher	...weigh so much. Crickets provide a peaceful chorus outside the building amongst the grasses, and fireflies glow and hover in the air beyond the structure.
	Christopher	Finally you make your way to the stables, where you hear a horse huff and whinny, followed by a hushed voice. A burglar? Or perhaps some truant acolyte out of his bunk? Nobody else should be up this late! Whatever or whoever it is, it won't get in your way - your mind is set, tonight is the night you leave this dull life behind and set out to the nearest town, with a library, and so many...
	Christopher	...books you could fill up the next year or so with reading new material to make up for your past few months of boredom
	Nest	struggles with her heavy backpack filled with books and gear, hefting her small chest full of teas and such. She is carrying every item she owns with her. Nest tries to stay quiet and find the one animal in this stable that she knows won't attack her, though she is quiet, hoping not to encounter the person with the hushed voice.
	Christopher	You hear a quiet voice, one of a young male, chiding the horse
	Christopher	"Quiet, you, you'll wake the others! We have to get out of here now while we can, otherwise I'll never get away..."
	Christopher	The horse huffs in response, as the sound of leather straps and tingling metallic footholds follows
	Nest	is sure she's going to be able to sneak past to the only pony she's had experience with, she just has to stay quiet, and...
	Christopher	(roll a d20)
	Nest	trips, falling right in front of the stall Christopher is dealing with his horse in. Luckily, she manages to keep her chest full of delicate teacups safe! However, the price of safe cups is smashing her face into the straw-covered floor.
	Christopher	"What the-?!"
	Nest	takes a moment to get up onto her hands and knees, spitting out some straw. "S-Stupid stable!" she says in a hushed voice, looking behind her to see that she tripped over...her own feet.
	Christopher	the horse whinnies, a dark brown stallion with a saddle and various saddlebags already attached to it. A young boy looks down at you with a surprised expression, blue eyes staring at you from beneath messy brown hair
	Christopher	"Who're you?! What're you doing here?!"
	Nest	looks up at Christopher. She immediately starts crossing things off in her mind: It's not an adult, so she's not in immediate danger of getting in trouble. It also doesn't look like a robber, so she probably won't be stabbed. No reason to be scared. "...Who are YOU? And why are YOU here?"
	Christopher	furrows his brow and looks down at you with a stubborn expression
	Christopher	"I asked first! Are you gonna tell on me, or try to stop me?"
	Nest	is a small girl for her age: Shorter than average, thinner than average, and flatter than average. She wears a pair of sophisticated corrective-eyewear and wears her long black hair in a pair of braids. She is currently wearing her lucky pair of robes. She frowns up at Christopher.
	Nest	"You're the one trying to steal a horse..."
	Christopher	blinks and flusters a bit
	Christopher	"I...I'm not stealing him, I'm borrowing him. Ain't that right?"
	Christopher	the horse huffs in response
	Christopher	"How do I know -you're- not coming in here to steal a horse?"
	Nest	takes her time standing up. She's not used to such strenuous activity. She takes a very long time brushing the straw off of her robe, and then says:
	Nest	"Because i'm not stealing a horse?"
	Christopher	"Then what're you doing here?"
	Nest	picks up her chest. It's not very easy for her.
	Nest	"I'm stealing a pony."
	Christopher	blinks
	Christopher	"W-what? You can't!"
	Nest	"So we're both criminals. Does that mean we can stop talking now?"
	Christopher	"I'm not a criminal!"
	Christopher	moves to shove your chest down on the floor
	Nest	nods. "Yes I can." she says, before walking down the stables towards the pony.
	Christopher	scowls at you as he puts his weight down on the chest, glaring into your eyes
	Nest	tries to make sure her precious chest isn't touched by Christopher!
	Nest	"...Let go of my chest..."
	Christopher	glares at you, stubbornly
	Christopher	"No. I'll be in bad enough trouble for taking a horse, they'll just be even MORE sore at the both of us if we take two!"
	Nest	"Fine. Then you can just sit on my chest until morning and someone finds us here."
	Christopher	furrows his brow, unable to come up with a comeback to that point. He continues to glare at you, before his eyes change as if remembering something
	Christopher	"Hey, I know you - you're that bookworm girl, the one that's always hold up in the library.."
	Nest	"So? I don't care what you know about me, get off of my chest."
	Christopher	"No. You're not taking one of the ponies, and that's that."
	Nest	"Fine. I guess i'll just walk then."
	Nest	tries to pull her chest out from under Christopher.
	Christopher	"Are you crazy? Where are you trying to go anyway, and why? Don't you like it here?"
	Nest	"No, I don't like it here."
	Nest	"I don't see why I have to tell you anything else since this is the last time i'll ever see you. So let go."
	Nest	puffs up her chest and holds her breath, presumably assuming it will make a difference in her efforts to pull her chest away.
	Christopher	"Where're you gonna go? You can't just -walk- to the next village, it's 20 miles away!"
	Nest	"That should only take me 3 days. It's not a big deal. Just let go."
	Christopher	"No big deal? Do you even know how to camp?"
	Nest	"I've read books about camping, yes. Why do you care? I'm not stealing a pony so just let go of my chest."
	Christopher	sighs and grabs the handles of the chest, lifting it from the ground
	Christopher	"Reading is not the same as doing. You probably couldn't even make your tent, if you even packed one."
	Nest	"Why are you stealing my chest?"
	Christopher	"I'm not stealing it - jeeze, what do you even HAVE in here, a pile of bricks?"
	Nest	"My teaset and several doses of tea leaves and such. Please give it back"
	Nest	holds out her arms.
	Christopher	"You take that side."
	Christopher	hefts one of the handles towards you
	Nest	sighs and takes that side. "...I don't see what the point of this is."
	Christopher	leads the way over to the horse, carrying the chest with you
	Christopher	"Rupert can carry your stuff for you, I packed light. This way they won't get mad at us for stealing two of their animals."
	Nest	stops in her tracks, holding firm to her side of the chest. "I don't want to go with you. I said i'll go on foot."
	Christopher	"You'll never make it on foot, not with all this stuff you're carrying. This way we'll get there by morning and we can go our separate ways."
	Christopher	"Where're you going, anyway?"
	Nest	"I don't know."
	Christopher	"Well, I'm going to [insert town name here]. What exactly are you looking for?"
	Nest	"Libraries."
	Christopher	"Hmmm..."
	Nest	stares at Christopher for a while. Then she feels a bit shy, so she looks at her feet instead.
	Nest	"So what are you even doing? Make up your mind."
	Christopher	"Help me get this up on the saddle, the stuff inside shifts too much for me to keep hold of it, and I dun' wanna break your stuff. You said there's just tea in here?"
	Nest	"And a teaset."
	Christopher	hefts the chest atop the back of the horse, who huffs as it braces itself with the new weight
	Nest	"Anyway, just get me to Passvale. There is a library there, i'm sure that they will let me stay there."
	Christopher	"Yeah yeah, sure thing your Highness."
	Christopher	proceeds to tie and strap down your chest to the horse's saddle, making sure it's tight and stable
	Nest	"Shut up. You're the one who's insisting on helping me. So help me without being a stupid cocky jerk about it."
	Christopher	rolls his eyes behind his side of the chest, wondering what he did to deserve this
	Nest	watches Christopher work. She rubs her hands together a bit. It's cold out in the stables.
	Christopher	wears the blue and gold vestments of a squire, complete with a blue traveling cloak and leather armor. You notice a sword hanging from a scabbard on your side, tied to the horse's saddle
	Christopher	"You cold?"
	Nest	"Yes. Isn't it obvious? Idiot..."
	Christopher	shoots back, annoyed
	Christopher	"If you're cold, then why aren't you wearing warmer clothes?"
	Nest	"These are my warm clothes. Idiot."
	Christopher	"Obviously not warm enough, and my name's not Idiot, thank you - it's Christopher."
	Nest	"I don't care. Just hurry up or give me my chest so I can start walking."
	Christopher	finishes tying your chest down with one final tug of the strap, before leaning over to look at you over the saddle
	Christopher	"Now who's the stupid one? I already told you, you're not walking - you're riding with me and Rupert."
	Nest	"I know that. You probably heard me wrong. I included the word "OR" in my statement, which denotes either/or. You probably went to learn how to stab things before finishing basic grammar, right?"
	Nest	doesn't know how to get on a horse. She just continues to talk while looking up at Christopher.
	Christopher	furrows his brow, climbing atop the horse in the saddle and taking the reins
	Christopher	"Nice to meet you too."
	Christopher	clicks his tongue and starts moving the horse away, your chest with him
	Nest	follows after the Horse. "STOP! THAT IS MY CHEST! DO NOT STEAL IT." she says loudly, trying to keep up.
	Christopher	"You hear that Rupert? Sounded like some rude girl whining somewhere in the distance. Must be the wind.."
	Christopher	The horse huffs in response as it trots away from you
	Nest	continues running after, not used to running. "PLEASE GIVE ME BACK MY TEA."
	Christopher	"There it was again. Strange wind tonight.."
	Christopher	heads completely out of the stables and towards the entrance of the monastery, preparing to leave you behind
	Nest	can't keep up. She stops to catch her breath, before hiccing slightly, close to tears. "PLEASE STOP, I CAN'T KEEP UP."
	Christopher	pulls on the reins and halts the horse slowly in the trail, staring ahead with a smirk hidden on his face
	Nest	"Why are you stealing my things? Give them back please. Then you can leave. Okay?"
	Christopher	"I'm not stealing your things. Jeeze, how many times do I have to tell you before you get it through that thick head of yours? I'm letting you tag along."
	Nest	"I can't keep up with a horse"
	Christopher	"Hmm, that's a shame. If only you could ride him with me."
	Nest	"Can't I? I've seen illustrations of multiple people riding one horse."
	Christopher	turns the horse sideways and looks down at you, putting a hand on his hip
	Nest	stares. She doesn't get it.
	Christopher	"Two things. First, you stop calling me stupid. Second, you tell me your name, since I already told you yours. Even a 'cocky jerk' know about manners, and so should you, miss bookworm."
	Christopher	*told you mine
	Nest	"Fine. My name is Nest."
	Christopher	"Nest? Like, a bird's nest?"
	Nest	"No. Nest. Like my name."
	Christopher	"How do you spell it?"
	Nest	"N-E-S-T."
	Christopher	rolls his eyes and offers you his gloved hand
	Christopher	"C'mon, before somebody notices us."
	Nest	grabs Christopher's hand. Then she doesn't move. She doesn't know what to do from this point.
	Christopher	"Lift your foot and put it in the foothold."
	Christopher	's gloved hand feels warm in yours
	Nest	sticks her foot in the foothold. Then she stops.
	Christopher	lifts you with a sudden, strong pull - landing you seated across the saddle behind him
	Christopher	"Now, put your arms around me so you don't fall, and we'll get going."
	Nest	"I don't want to hug you."
	Christopher	"It's not a hug, but if you don't care about falling off, then by all means just sit there."
	Christopher	clicks his tongue, shaking the reins and kicking, sending the horse forward with a sudden lurch that almost makes you fall off
	Nest	wraps her arms around Christopher.
	Christopher	And thus you've begun your journey, the first night of many out on your own away from the monastery. The horse and its rider trot along down the path, as you hold on tight to Christopher. His body radiates warmth from beneath his clothes, as if he had a little fire somewhere inside his chest.
	Nest	holds onto Christopher begrudgingly, glad that she at least is less cold now.