Post by adrienne on Mar 16, 2013 23:29:21 GMT
The world around the castle was completely silent.[/i]
This in itself was an oddity, and was probably the reason why Adrienne had been unable to sleep. She had spent the last few hours pacing her room, reading books with worn pages and practising stave dueling positions. It was not enough; her mind did not yet seek the comfort of slumber, and she was loathe to try and turn in if she didn't need to.
So she had left the castle, tossing a dark cloak over her breeches, tunic and boots, and had decided to go for a ride. There was nothing better than riding in the half-light. She was quiet as she skirted the gardens to the stable. She pushed open the pasture gate and whistled low. Her horse - a dark blue-roan named Moon - nickered at her from somewhere in the gloom. Slowly, he approached with his head down to meet her. After a brief exchange of nuzzles and murmurs, she gripped his mane, and pulled herself up onto his back. The two of them knew each other well enough that he would respond perfectly to a simple touch of her legs against his sides.
And they flew together with the lightest of squeezes, as if he could read her mind. With her grasping his mane, Moon raced through the forest at the edges of the castle, ducking branches and jumping roots. Adrienne was never fully at ease with the majority of people, but with her horse and the dark ahead of her, she felt freer than she had in a long time.
There had been word of trouble, and though she was unsure how it would come about, she was anxious to play her part. To prove to her mother that she was good enough. She had been training relentlessly over the past six months. Her illusions were near unbreakable, and her elemental control was excellent. She had yet to show Aella, and was looking forward to that day.
Moon slowed without her consent, huffing and snorting through his nostrils, his head close to the ground.
"What is it?" she asked, and was surprised when her voice came out a whisper. She cast her mind about. She couldn't sense danger, but lightning crackled at her fingertips, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.
Ah. There.
It seems I'm not the only insomniac tonight.
She had noticed the magic in the air. It was faint, coming from the gardens. Familiar - one of her sisters, though at this distance, she had no way of telling which. She pushed Moon on, though he moved slower this time, trotting gently through the leaves.
Eventually, she discerned the unknown sister to be Alecto. How strange. It had not been her first guess, or even her second. Something had to be up. Her green eyes swept the night, and she slid off the horse's back when they were enough that her sister had probably heard them.
Alecto had her back to them though. A slight smile crept up onto Adrienne's face. She watched the little lights her sister produced, marveling at the fine control she had. She had always found the smallest, more focused movements harder to do.
She observed for a few minutes, standing in the shadows with Moon's chin resting on her shoulder.
"Having trouble sleeping, sister?" she asked quietly after two or three minutes. She was unsure about even talking - if she broke Alecto's concentration too suddenly, she might set the entire garden on fire.[/blockquote]
[OOC: For the record, Moon looks like this]