Closed Building a Connection {Rahni}

[Kallian Windrunner]

Season of Spring, 10th Day, 513AV Quiet, Kallian prowled the grasses just outside Endrykas. She gripped her longbow confidently in her left hand; the other hovered over her right side, ready to pull an arrow from her quiver. Though it was hot, she was fully clothed to protect her skin: a loose linen shirt, a pair of leather pants, and softened leather boots. Her sweat evaporated to cool her body, but she felt a sudden urge to prance through the Sea stark naked. Allyria stood twenty yards ahead, grazing and unaware. They usually did this every week, strider and rider. Allyria would go off to graze somewhere just outside her pavilion and Kallian would attempt to sneak up on her. Stealth practice, she called it. The horse didn’t seem to mind too much. Kallian never actually shot off an arrow at her companion; instead, she would see just how close she could get without disturbing her. The closest had been ten yards once, but Kallian blamed that on the noisiness of Endrykas. Ever since, she had only come as close as twenty yards without the horse pricking up her ears and neighing. Today, she hoped for a different end. Her arms were tense, as she insisted on practicing with realistic form. Eyes fell down to the ground to look for twigs and rose again to check for signs of alarm. Her breathing was stifled, and she did her best not to hold it in her lungs. Stalk, she thought. Stalk. You are a predator.