The plains were bitterly cold. As novus crawled deeper in Autumn, the temperatures dropped and the winds picked up, and in the eleutheria plains, there were no trees or bushes to break the strong gusts that swept through the grasses. That being said, it was one of the few places that one could gather herbs this late in the season, and she intended to stock the clinic as fully as she could before she passed it off to Pol.
She was still trying to figure out how to ask her. She knew her apprentice was ready, but she feared that she wouldn’t agree. That she’d turn it down, thinking it too much for her. That and… well she wouldn’t admit it but she was reluctant to give it up. She wanted to do it all, and she had worked hard to maintain her little business, but she couldn’t rule a court and run a clinic. Not unless Vega wanted to swoop down from her disappearance and give her back her immortality.
So she wandered the plains looking for the last herbs she could find, snuffling about with her nose in the grass. She could hear the footsteps of bison rumbling over the ground in the distance, the chirps of the few birds that had not yet flown away, the whisper of hoofsteps through the grass towards her.
I held an atlas in my lap, ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered where does it hurt?
She's careful, always so very careful in her steps, she hasn't adjusted to being without her brother. She's still clinging onto the hope of finding him, clutching onto the knowledge that she's got Liam to help her find Faelan. She can feel it deep in her soul that she needs Faelan still, she hates it, hates that she's constantly pulling at his metaphorical sleeve and is still trying to keep him next to her. But Elain knows she needs some anchor of family with her, it's not that she's not ready to be an adult, but that's she's scared of being alone and wandering into danger. Despite her painfully childlike innocence the young albino is anything but unaware to the worlds dangers. Growing up in Aklos, living in the ports, she'd heard many tales about what was out there but she'd never prepared herself to actually go out and face them alone.
Getting to the beach had been a feat all on its own but she's realizing that getting back to the plains is a different project all on its own. While Liam had lead her from the plains to the Citadel she'd taken the time to try and absorb all the sounds, and smells around her. This is the only thing guiding her, pausing every couple seconds to make sure she's heading in the right direction, well as right as she can be. Her walk is the same as always, slow and anxious with her steps. Elain can only hope she's taken the right path to the plains or she'll probably have to wander around until she finds someone. The moment she feels the grass hit her legs and the familiar smell hits her nostrils she feels a flood of relief wash over her, at least for this second with the knowledge that she's made it. I can do this alone, yeah. I've made it this far.
Stepping farther into the area Elain's ears swivel around in an attempt to listen for anything that could be around her. As always, she's putting every type of ''sense'' she has to work to keep herself as safe as possible. The winds on the plain cause her to shiver slightly, and pulls her tail close to her side in an attempt to keep her body from being less exposed to the cold. With the wind in her ears she misses the snuffling sounds in front of her until she's nearly on top of the other mare, now close enough that she can clearly hear the snuffling. Startled she gasps, tries to stammer out an apology, and steps back quickly and carelessly. Causing herself to trip backwards over her own tail. Elain is unsure of where she is, she knows she's now on the ground but doesn't know where she's facing or how far away she is now. "I'm so sorry, I didn't hear you from the winds until now. Are you okay? I hope I didn't scare you too." From the ground she feels like she's yelling at whoever she's almost run into.
She hadn’t been paying the footsteps much mind. Usually she did, but she had a newfound sense of safety. It wasn’t because of being queen. It had come before that, when her relationship with Israfel had become public knowledge. It was no secret that Israfel had an affinity for fire, and had few qualms with using it. If news got to her that someone had touched a hair on Luvenas head…
It wasn’t until she heard them come precariously close and felt breath on her shoulder that her head snapped up. The poor girl was already staggering backwards, and just as quickly falling over herself to the hard ground. Luvena’s brow furrowed as the girl spoke up, still facing away from her on the ground. “I’m perfectly alright sweetheart” She walked around the white mare to stand in front of her, confirming her suspicions at the sight of milky white eyes. They looked just the same way as Cavaliers had, light and unfocused. “Are you? You took quite a tumble.” she lowered her head to look her over, looking for any sign that the girl had hurt herself.
She took in the strange mare that laid on the ground. All white, with pink skin showing through, with lighter glowing spots all over. It was the stars in her tail, and the scales on her pelt that caught her eye though. She’d known only one other with stars in her hair, and she had loved a scaled man. And after years of trying to push them both out of her mind… she had run into one of them only just the other day. “What’s your name?” she asked, before offering her own. “I am Luvena Xiaoli.” she left out the queen of denocte bit. It wasn’t important right now.
I held an atlas in my lap, ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered where does it hurt?
Hearing the voice come from behind her she realizes that she's facing away from them and was talking into an empty space. Despite having just tripped over herself she breathes a sigh of relief when the other mare confirms that she's okay. Her relief is visible as well as audible, her body relaxes a bit until the other equine is standing before her and asking if she's okay. Elain's brow furrows slightly before she lifts her tail and then noses at her legs, considering these the most important parts of her body. She winces only slightly when she touches a tender spot on her knee, making a note to herself that it'll bruise. Humming in thought she nods slightly at the question. "I believe so, I might have a bruise or two but I don't think anything is seriously injured. Though in truth I've grown used to walking into things or tripping if I don't pay attention."
Elain pays close attention to the other mare, noting that this is the first time she's heard of someone else with a second name as well. Offering a soft smile she pulls herself off the ground admittedly with a bit of a struggle as she's painfully careful to try and not hit Luvena. "It's a pleasure to meet you Luvena Xiaoli, my name is Elain Giauzar and I'm from Aklos." Should she have added the last part? She's not entirely sure but the other mare had introduced herself in a way that felt formal to the young kirin and so she'd felt that she was also to match the formality.
At least, that was her best attempt at formality. She'd never had to be very formal due to living in the ports, her home had never called for such a thing. Her ears tip back slightly, a thoughtful look passing over her face with her brow furrowing slightly. "I'm sorry if that was too formal, I haven't heard anyone with a second name here until now so I assumed formality was needed?"
