"No, why?"
"Everyone else who has put a saddle onto me has always strapped it much tighter then that. You surprised me when it wasn't as tight as I expected."
Devin thought about that, then remembered what Darwin had told him, and decided to tell Forest the same thing, "Most of what people believe is wrong."
Forest gave him a sad smile and said, "I guess you're right, let's go."
The rain was streaming out of the clouds that had formed earlier. Devin stopped fixing the reins he had cut earlier, looked out of the entrance of the cave and watched it rain. The rain was cold like the day he had been forced to sleep in the bush. Being out of the rain didn't help the cold, and the fact that they couldn't have a fire in the cave, or they would be smoked out, didn't help either. He glanced over at Forest and saw that she was shivering, so he got up and went to the things he had piled by the side of the cave before it had started raining. He rummaged about the stuff for a few seconds, and then found the cloak he had bought earlier and some apples he had picked the day before.
He took the cloak and draped it over Forest's body and asked, "Would you like these apples?"
She looked at him, with a slight amount of wonder, and meekly answered, "Yes."
Once she had finished the apples she said, "You're the nicest person I've ever come across. Others that have recognized me just got on their knees and prayed, and the others, the others…." her voice trailed off, and tears came to her eyes.
Devin found that he was stroking her neck, and she buried her face in his chest.
It took several minuets for her to regain control of her emotions, but when she did she started begging, "Please don't sell me, or leave me."
"I'm not going to sell you, you're my friend. I wouldn't sell you for any amount of money, and you can leave any time you wish."
That started her crying again, and she started nuzzling him while she whispered, "Thank you, thank you."
Devin looked out over the trail trying to follow it over the hills. On the horizon was a small blemish that he assumed was the town. In back of the town was a tower, and though he couldn't see much of it, he could see that it spiraled upward and it must have been very old. Forest didn't seem to be very interested in the town, and was eating some grass off to the side of the trail. He was starting to get use to seeing the saddle on her, and the bridle even less, but he needed the bridle to keep people convinced, and the same with the saddle. But it still bothered him.
Ever since the first day he met her, when he almost got his arm ripped off, he hadn't thought that she could get any stronger, but she somehow managed to. All of her the small cuts that were leftover from her previous owner that he hadn't had enough potion to heal were gone now. Most of her bruises were also, and she moved much more fluidly then when he first met her, which he had also thought impossible.
