The day was windy, the air chill with a hint of autumn frost. Like the kiss of a ghost it hung in the air but left no trace of it's presence. The sky was heavily overcast, robbing the world of some of it's color and yet it did not feel like a proper storm coming. Still it played on his nerves and after a few hours this morning of exploring the keep Diarmuid had ventured out doors to work off some energy. The grass in the fields was dying, still soft under hoof but no longer standing tall to brush the legs of those who traveled it. Instead it was beginning to sag beneath the weight of the coming winter, forming a mat across the ground protecting roots and seed to preserve them until spring.
Pounding hooves created an earthbound thunder as the knight charged. Reaching the end of his imaginary lane he skidded to a stop, large hooves flinging up clods of soil and dead plants as he killed his momentum and swung his large frame around. Perhaps the agility of his turn was surprising given his size but his build was not as heavy as some who carried work horse blood, more akin to a heavy warmblood. He can feel the sweat beginning to dampen his fur, but for the moment he is fresh as he barrels back across the field towards his starting point. Again he turns, skewing around and feeling the muscles in his scarred right hind protest.
He slows on his third pass to a canter, then to a trot. When he hits a walk the movement is still quick, his energy high as he tests the protesting limb, finding that the ache is fading quickly and it does not feel particularly week. The muscle is almost filled out back to some semblance of symmetry though the scars will always bite deep into the flesh.
It is now, as the warrior slows, that he realizes the fields are not as empty as when he began. He does not change his stead back and forth, instead picking up an easy trot again. The angle changes slightly though so that he can fix his good eyes on the approaching grey shape, his one good ear flicked towards him as well. There is nothing more than cursory caution in his posture though- he doesn't think that he will come to harm here so close to the Dusk Court's stronghold.
@Arluin
