43rd of Winter, 516
She had left her hair exposed today. As dirty as it was, she was willing to guess that it was nearly unrecognizable as the shimmering hair of a Vantha. Her eyes, though, had been carefully dialated by Dan's concoction, hiding the majority of her irises and giving her a certain anonymity.
Going into the city now wasn't quite as big of a deal as it was at the beginning of the season, and she found herself more at ease in her disguise. Today, she felt good enough to come into the city for an almost frivolous purpose- to train.
Aladari had always preferred fighting with her hands. Although it wasn't any good for hunting or surviving out in the wilds, she wasn't much of a hunter anyway. She was a barhopper, and in the taverns, unarmed combat was the only way to go.
But after so many days outside of the city, even her brawling needed a little touching up- not to mention the fact that she had been dry for days and was craving a tall ale. So, Aladari took a turn by the harbor, pausing for a mug before making her way deeper into the city.
She carried the mug with her, taking long, slow sips to savor the comforting burn of it. She passed by one area labeled as the training grounds, but peering into it, she could easily see it was for the Knighthood only. All inside held a regal air- even the young ones- and were well-equipped with practice weapons and protective gear. Aladari couldn't enter there, and nor did she want to. She had no patience for the high and mighty knights. Instead, she carried on in further search.
Finally she came to another area which seemed reserved for training. It had wide open spaces where a few people stood sparring with various (rather real-looking) weapons, and thin mats laid out on the ground. Aladari wasn't entirely sure what the mats were for, but she knew that they would work well for her purposes, so she entered the pit and chose one.
She put her empty mug down, but left her backpack on, as she still didn't quite trust the populace. She removed her shoes for better movement, though. I need new ones anyway. She thought.
Then, Aladari began to warm herself up as she had been taught. She swung her arms around herself, legs placed in a wide stance for balance. Especially combined with the alcohol, the repetitive motion was calming, and brought her a kind of peace. She lost the feeling of a crowded city and ridiculing eyes boring into her back, and instead felt alone in her space. Aladari sighed in contentment. This was what she missed about drinking- the calm.
Word Count460
She had left her hair exposed today. As dirty as it was, she was willing to guess that it was nearly unrecognizable as the shimmering hair of a Vantha. Her eyes, though, had been carefully dialated by Dan's concoction, hiding the majority of her irises and giving her a certain anonymity.
Going into the city now wasn't quite as big of a deal as it was at the beginning of the season, and she found herself more at ease in her disguise. Today, she felt good enough to come into the city for an almost frivolous purpose- to train.
Aladari had always preferred fighting with her hands. Although it wasn't any good for hunting or surviving out in the wilds, she wasn't much of a hunter anyway. She was a barhopper, and in the taverns, unarmed combat was the only way to go.
But after so many days outside of the city, even her brawling needed a little touching up- not to mention the fact that she had been dry for days and was craving a tall ale. So, Aladari took a turn by the harbor, pausing for a mug before making her way deeper into the city.
She carried the mug with her, taking long, slow sips to savor the comforting burn of it. She passed by one area labeled as the training grounds, but peering into it, she could easily see it was for the Knighthood only. All inside held a regal air- even the young ones- and were well-equipped with practice weapons and protective gear. Aladari couldn't enter there, and nor did she want to. She had no patience for the high and mighty knights. Instead, she carried on in further search.
Finally she came to another area which seemed reserved for training. It had wide open spaces where a few people stood sparring with various (rather real-looking) weapons, and thin mats laid out on the ground. Aladari wasn't entirely sure what the mats were for, but she knew that they would work well for her purposes, so she entered the pit and chose one.
She put her empty mug down, but left her backpack on, as she still didn't quite trust the populace. She removed her shoes for better movement, though. I need new ones anyway. She thought.
Then, Aladari began to warm herself up as she had been taught. She swung her arms around herself, legs placed in a wide stance for balance. Especially combined with the alcohol, the repetitive motion was calming, and brought her a kind of peace. She lost the feeling of a crowded city and ridiculing eyes boring into her back, and instead felt alone in her space. Aladari sighed in contentment. This was what she missed about drinking- the calm.
Word Count460