Adriana opened her eyes minutes after sunset, with bits of everyone’s thoughts running through her own mind. She was catching glimpses of Draken and Klassh’s dreams, and she could sense enough that Merion was already awake. Adriana gave a little smile, impressed that he was already one step ahead of everyone for the day. Kalib and Ki entered her mind, and she furrowed her brow when she couldn’t sense their thoughts of presence. Had they ran?
“Mmmm” She groaned and turned over, her eyes widening some when her arm fell over Halt’s waist and her face softly touched his neck. Then, something strange came over her, and she gently gave his skin a brief sweet kiss before she rolled back over and stood up from the bed.
The clothes that she had borrowed out of Halt’s closet was hanging off of her shoulders, and her flaming hair was draped down her back and partially over her face. She made herself a mental note to get herself some fitting clothes before they finally left Du Weldenvarden. Brushing her hair behind her ears she gently stepped out of the room through the hole in the wall, and jogged around the dragons towards the forest surrounding the Elvin city. She needed a bath…badly.
Surprisingly, she had failed to notice Merion sitting up in a tree. Perhaps he mind was too focused on other things to take heed of his strong presence so awake and close to her.
On her way to the nearest stream, following her senses to the water, she slowly opened her mind to Draken and everyone else around her again. She could only imagine what Draken would have to say to her when he woke up. No doubt he would be filled with warnings and scolding’s about snuggling with an ally.
Draken, wake up please. I have a feeling that Kalib and Ki hit the nearest dirt road away from us. Could you scan the area for them? She figured that she might as well wake Draken up. Perhaps it would put him in a better mood, knowing that he had a little morning mission.
She only got mental grumbles and complaints from Draken, but she could feel his vibrations through the forest floor as he moved and began to walk some hundred yards away. Not long after, she finally found the deep stream she was looking for. It was perfect for bathing, with large tree’s surrounding and cool water that ran through deep ruts in the ground. Her clothes her stripped off in seconds. It took her a couple of minutes to work her way into the freezing water, but she soon got used to it and let her head drop down under the surface.
Ahh. Fresh. Cool. Cleaness. The water felt so good as it pushed against her skin and surrounded her body. Like most Elves, she didn’t need soap to smell good. All she had to do was wash away the usual smells of the world, and her natural sweet scent would shine through.
~X~
“My Lord I would like t start immediately, may I be given permission to take leave. Also is there a certain category I should start with?”
“Yes, I would like you to start out small…well, something that you may consider small…but something that will help you out immensely in the long run. I want you to go outside, close your eyes and take deep breaths. Then…when you are relaxed (Draken had a feeling that relaxation would be difficult for Mutt, considering his jumpiness) and connect yourself with the world. Take notice of the small things…until you can pay attention to everything at once.”
It was just by pure coincidence that Vanthm gave Mutt the exact same task that Halt had given Merion the day before. It was a common starting task, that most young Dragon Riders under estimate.
“I will be there soon to…surprise you.” Vanthm gave Mutt a rather…nasty smile and then he waved his hand in a dismissive manner to Mutt. He was sure that Lagian was making sure that Eclipse was being properly trained, so he decided to let Mutt relax…while he harassed a few maids.