The glade just outside the city had been transformed from the place people went in search of sustenance to a training ground. Though Artesia was alone now, this place had become her kingdom, her domain. The other warriors answered to she and a select few here to learn, to practice, to hone their blades. Now was not the time for teaching new techniques or how to use the weapons they had acquired, but rather to work on overall teamwork and hone reaction times. A half a second could make the difference between life and death when facing anyone's talons.
Now, however, was night. Now her fellow warriors slept, but Artesia was not the sort to sleep for hours on end. Too paranoid, too on edge. No. These days she would take a short nap every few hours and it was enough to sustain her. Fed herself on meat, building her strength for the battle on the horizon. The young bitch instead occupied herself with looking over the new weapons they had found.
With a sickly screech, the chocolate colored female ran one of her ebony bear claws against the blunt of a crudely made piece of metal. It left a faint scratch in the metal, but otherwise the material seemed unharmed. Good, good. The bear claws were well taken care of by Artesia, so anything that could withstand a slice from them without being mangled would easily stand up to almost anything. Artesia normally didn't take to protecting herself, the scars that graced her body and the loss of her eye a good notion of that. Still..she was no fool, she would be ready. She would be ready. . . Artesia hadn't lived this long to let herself be killed now.
She walked the halls of Solterra's palace with renewed vigor in her languid step. It was not in light of the recent crown of their queen, nor the change that loomed on the nation's horizon; no, it stemmed from the quiet idea that thrummed in the back of her mind. Its push was constant, always whispering of what was to come as time slipped ever onward. The desert would soon see its fierce band of wildlings return... and Avdotya would be the one to lead them to their homecoming.
It would not be one soon forgotten.
Such an arrival, however, would require numbers that the woman did not yet have at hand. It was this great need that drove her to prowl the courtyard so late at night, the sharp edges of her face alight with the moon's subtle glow as she stepped outside. There was nothing to be heard but the sound of a chilled wind dancing on the air, the caress of its bite leaving the mare with goosebumps upon her hide. For a moment, it all went silent; in the next, she could hear the faintest shriek of nail on metal. Her gaze snapped in the direction of the sound's origin, leading her to snake her way closer to the training grounds that sat at Day Court's polished doorstep.
Avdotya noted the figure standing before the rack of glistening weaponry and paused for a moment, studying the young mare until she felt her interest piqued enough. "Damaging goods, are we?" She asked coolly. The sound of ursine claw was all too familiar to her; the skin and bone upon her back was more than enough evidence to that, but her focus was not on this girl's choice of defense. It was what drove her to hang around this place at such an hour that did.
Artesia stopped in her inspection when she felt the presence of another approaching. A soft grumble in her throat, she turned her single eye to the intruder. Avdotya. Though they rarely interacted, the younger woman could respect what the other had done in their time within Solterra's walls. Her single eye watched the older woman for a moment as she contemplated her question, a mere flicker of her tail as she set the piece of metal down. She had finished looking it over and it was rather rude wasn't it? To ignore someone's question.
"Merely checking to see what the metal can stand against." She commented quietly with a small shrug of her shoulders. Turning herself to fully face Avdotya she wondered what the other was doing out here so late. Perhaps for the same reason that Artesia had been out here? She felt restless, like an itch that couldn't be scratched by merely being part of court life. "Couldn't sleep tonight?" Artesia finally inquired with a slight tilting of her head, curious as to what was keeping the Day Court Regent up so late this evening.
In the silence that lingered for far too long between them, Avdotya found herself watching the girl with a hint of interest ebbing at her mind. It was enough to keep her waiting while the girl carefully set the weapon back in its place, but she wasn't necessarily fond of wasting her time on crawling conversation. "You may check them all you wish, but their strength means nothing when handled by the inept." She offered in return, her expression - as usual - lacking in emotion. "Unless, of course, that is what you hope for..." Her gaze narrowed, although the Regent quietly hoped that this girl had a spark of malice in her bones.
Perhaps the young mare needed more than a life of fighting in a dusty circle, laying in wait until the queen deemed her talents worthy of use in times of war. Solis had graced their people with a wild and violent spirit, and yet, so many of Solterra sat dormant. How wasteful, she thought.
And then their conversation was led astray, something about sleep and its elusiveness. "Sleep is not something I over-indulge in." As a child, Avdotya had been trained to utilize her energy sparingly; the Davke rarely stopped for rest, and so her body had become accustomed to minimal hours of slumber. She had better things to do. "And you? I presume whatever captain you have would be unimpressed to find a soldier out of bed." Her eyes wandered in the direction of the barracks, then back to Artesia. Her mention of a higher-up was intentional, meant to extract a sort of reaction that could unearth something the viper was looking for...
She was silent for a moment as she regarded the Regent's question, her one good eye watching her every movement it seemed. "Perhaps a part of me does." Artesia responded quietly with a slight bob of her head. After all she was not entirely loyal to Day Court's people, only herself and those..she found respect in. If Solterra's pretty little court went up in flames, Artesia would not shed a tear. Why would she when she didn't over her own family's death? Still..she supposed she needed shelter from time to time and if these pretty garden snakes would have her she'd stay. And fight for them should the need arise.
There was a look of slight understanding when Avdotya mentioned she didn't sleep much if at all. Artesia was the same in a way, she didn't sleep much and when she did it was only out of necessity. The young woman would sleep only enough to keep her going otherwise she was awake always, either training or wandering. At the other mention of a captain she gave a loud snort, the very idea of anyone trying to tell her when she should sleep was laughable. "About as unimpressed as I am with these weapons I'd wager." Artesia replied with a slight quirk of her brow as she glanced to her Regent. "If my captain wants to reprimand me then they can tell me themselves. For now I will continue to go about where I please."