[hider=At the break of dawn]The first, faint fingers of dawn light crawled through the room's only window.  Alisea's eyes fluttered open in response.  She couldn't make out more than the vaguest of outlines in the near-darkness.  Rather than try to rise immediately, Alisea first called up her menu.  The screen that appeared before her was lit clearly, though its glow didn't illuminate anything else.  Flipping through the options to find the friend chat, Alisea glanced at the time.  It read 5:52.  Deciding she wouldn't risk waking anyone else, the magess turned away from messaging and instead climbed out of bed to don her armor and cloak.

Walking carefully to the door, Alisea felt out the handle, pulled it open, and peeked out into the hallway.  As little light as there was in her room, there was even less in that hall.  Casting her mind to the night prior, Alisea stepped out of her room and toward the stairs slowly.  As she walked, the magess kept her hand on the wall and counted the doorways she passed.  She stopped at the third, crossed to the opposite side, and knocked softly.  [color=ec008c]"Aster,"[/color] she called quietly, not wishing to wake anyone else.

Though Aster had her share of faults, sloth was not one of them. Even so, six AM was plenty early, and she was still fast asleep at that point. Somehow, she managed to free herself from the foggy tendrils of sleepiness and roll- literally roll- out of her bed, onto the hardwood floor in a tangle of blankets. "Dammit!" she cursed softly, rubbing her hip tenderly, where she'd landed against the floor. Pain suppression was an integral part of the WaveGear, but even so, her ill-concieved idea hadn't rewarded her with a soft landing.

Aster stumbled to the door, eyes still closed in drowsiness, and pulled the door open just a crack. "Alisea. Just... one moment." She patted her sides, and realized she had slept in her cloth armor. She'd apparently been more tired last night than she'd thought. Now that she thought of it, she realized that she didn't actually know [i]how[/i] to take off her clothes. That was strange. She'd put them on easily enough earlier. Hmm. It was a worry for another time; Alisea was right there.

"Hey." She stepped out into the hallway, closing the door carefully behind her. "Um. Do you want to head outside? We can probably talk more easily there, without waking up the others." She rubbed at her eyes, finally opening them and tucking her sleep-tousled hair behind her ears.

[color=ec008c]"Right."[/color]  Alisea led the way down the stairs and outside into the growing, gray light of dawn.  The sun was still some time from being visible; yet the light was spreading quickly, coloring everything in shades of gray.  It was a time of morning Alisea loved:  the only movement was herself and Aster.  Everything else slumbered on.  The magess raised each arm overhead, one at a time, and pulled back on it to stretch out her shoulders.  Talrae wasn't a bad place to live.

[I]'As long as you live.'[/I]

Deciding the cobblestone street was a poor choice, Alisea turned onto the dirt alleyway that led behind the inn.  Stopping where the narrow path was widest--maybe eight feet between the inn and what looked like a tavern--Alisea turned back to her partner for the morning.  [color=ec008c]"Have you fought much?  Before yesterday, I mean,"[/color] the magess inquired as she started stretching her legs.

Aster kept up, though not without a bit of effort. She saw that Alisea was going through some preliminary stretches, and decided to mimic them in hopes of limbering herself up a bit for the unfamiliar exercise to come. It felt good to stretch, and she hoped that she was doing the simple exercises properly. It would hardly do to pull a muscle the first time she sparred.

"I... no. I haven't really done anything like that. I've done some dancing, though, if that's worth anything." She trailed off, blushing slightly at the admission. In a world in which survival was dictated in part by combat abilities, she was a dancer and a... well, that was a secret for another day. "I've actually never done very much in terms of active sports and all that. I... wasn't able to, back home. My parents didn't think It'd be safe for me." She looked back up to Alisea and interjected quickly "They were right, honestly. I'm not much of a fighter. But that's why I'm here!" She looked back down at her armor, which, cloth though it was, seemed excessive for the exercise to come. "Actually... do you know how to take off items? I tried this morning, but it's a bit tricky. I'm not really used to gaming mechanics."

[color=ec008c]"Hmm?  Oh, you open your menu and unequip it from the inventory,"[/color] Alisea explained absently.  Her mind was elsewhere.  Aster had learned some dancing?  [color=ec008c]"Dancing may be worth more than you realize,"[/color] the magess commented.  [color=ec008c]"As for myself, I have much more experience on a basketball court than a battlefield.  We'll do the best we can with what we have, right?  Let's start slow."[/color]

In demonstration, the magess stepped forward with her right foot and thrust her right fist toward Aster's chest.  She kept her movement slow, restrained, looking to practice her form (and allow Aster the same) more than to actually fight.

Somehow, as the minutes passed and their motions gradually quickened, Alisea felt something... off.  She was fairly sure she shouldn't be aware of some of the movements her body was making:  catching Aster's thrust and spinning it outward; dropping to her chest [I]while[/I]sweeping with her forward leg; a combination of open-hand slaps and jabs that came just a little [I]too[/I] naturally.  The magess doubted this was all coming from her own experience and knowledge; but admitting that would imply the [I]game itself[/I] was giving her this ability.

It was a question of science and philosophy, and Alisea wasn't going to let it interrupt their sparring match.  She pushed the query aside and focused on the movements of both herself and her opponent, Aster.  They weren't up to full-speed, but the snail's pace they began at had long since been discarded.  Alisea found herself, more and more, needing to devote all her attention to deflecting the next attack and launch an easy counter; if she didn't stay focused, Aster was going to out-do her.

Aster was surprised at how naturally she took to the hand-to-hand practice. For someone who was usually cautious in every motion, she found the reckless abandon of fighting, of simply relying on instinct and whatever engine in the game managed fighting, terribly relaxing.

By the end of their sparring she was sweating, and was grateful that she'd unequipped the armor. Aster raised one hand and skidded backwards a foot or so, calling out "Wait, wait! I yield!" She laughed happily, smiling at her sparring partner. "That was incredible! I've never done anything like that... I mean, fighting the boars was one thing, but this... this was so much fun! I din't know I could move like that!" She stretched, exercise-loosened muscles moving much more freely than they had before the session. "We should probably wrap it up now, though, huh? I mean, we ought to get back to the others. Before we do, though, would you mind accepting a friend request from me? If it's not too sudden, that is."

Alisea blinked several times before words could reclaim a portion of her thoughts.  [color=ec008c]"Oh, of course!"[/color] she answered quickly.  Slowly the magess straightened up, letting her battle-wariness and some of the adrenaline bleed out.  She was happy to accept the invitation as it appeared in front of her; now that the fight had ended Alisea realized she was smiling--genuinely smiling--and had been for some time.  Whether it was an endorphin release the size of that sparring match, or a strong wave of dopamine for having accomplished so much during it, she didn't particularly care; the rush was euphoric, and the magess would do it all again in a heartbeat.

But Aster's words were true.  As promised the night before, Alisea paid for Aster's bath as well as her own.  When they came out again, the morning had begun in earnest.[/hider]
Alisea still had a small smile on her face.  Just remembering the match made her feel warm.  [color=ec008c]"Your blocking was amazing, wasn't it?  You did a great job of turning my jabs outward,"[/color] she was telling Aster as they made their way into the inn's dining area.  She didn't stop to scan the entire room--something that surprised herself a little--but her eyes did note an unmistakable head of white hair alone at a table.  Reylan was already enjoying his breakfast; and Alisea was glad to know there were more early risers in their party.  With a quiet word to Aster and a nod his direction to be sure the swordswoman noticed him, too, Alisea made her way to the table Reylan was seated at.

[color=ec008c]"Already finished?"[/color] she asked the archer, sitting down across from him.  Another party member--Karma, another mage--entered, too, but she gave him a simple wave and a smile and left him to his breakfast.  [color=ec008c]"Would you accompany us for some shopping, then, Reylan?"[/color]