Seresai:
To say that her search was not going well would have been an understatement, but truthfully, Seresai had never harbored the illusion that it was going to be easy. While Tiarnan may have gone out of his way to foster the impression that he cared little for the war craft that was taught to all progeny of Crousader’s line, no one believed for a moment that he hadn’t taken at least a little learning with him. Least of all his sister, who had gone through the exact same training.
Well, maybe not exactly the same.
She had always known, or at least guessed, that her father rode Tiarnan’s case a little harder then the rest of them. He was the son Crousader had wished for, born doubly blessed in having the wings of his sire, and the healing powers of his mother. While Seresai and her younger sister Amerlei had both been born with wings, they were female, and thus unsuitable for combat. Galahad, born at the same time as Tiarnan, had inherited their mother’s healing powers in full and was expected (by Crousader at least) to be the battle medic, but he had wandered off on his own journey not long after he and Tiarnan had finished their training as young adults. In her idle moments, Seres had often wondered if Galahad and Amerlei had been the smartest of them all, but then, she had heard that Merl rarely used her wings these days, and had become a mother. Meanwhile Galahad had joined forces with a powerful Angeni and (from what little she heard) put his life on the line regularly. The rumors were scarcely enough to base a concrete opinion on, so Seres didn’t dwell on the merits and morals of her missing siblings often, but she was quite certain Crousader dwelled on. Stewed in it even. She missed them, as did their mother, but Crousader probably just felt betrayed by them.
Which, considering how he had first dealt with Seresai demanding to be tested in the more advanced fighting techniques, followed by Amerlei and then Galahad leaving, left an awful lot for Tiarnan to bear. Yet when he was little, he had shown no sign that this type of rebellion would be in the offing. Along with his brother, the pair of them took to training like fish to water, often turning innocent games into competitions and feats of strength or daring. Even their lessons in healing we’re taken seriously, though Tiarnan was slightly less studious about that aspect of his inheritance. He’d always ask questions, good ones that their parents liked to hear, and ones Seres enjoyed answering the rare times the little colt had sought her out. He’d been such a light, shinning brightly with promise…
If only she’d realized it in time, or at least taken how he must have really felt when she’d approached him originally about dealing with their father. He might have still tried to leave, but maybe she would have been the one he came too, rather then their mother.
Shaking her head, Seres broke that thought before it could depress her, and after blinking her eyes for what seemed to be the twentieth time, decided that landing would probably be in her best interests. Darkness was sweeping in fast, and she’d left the Islagiatt Herd territory a few hours prior. Hopefully that would mean Tiarnan would slow down, but she wasn’t naïve enough to fail to take into account that whatever dangers she hoped would slow him down would slow her as well. Granted, both of them would be avoiding said dangers, hopefully, but one never knew. There was a reason for the tough security measures taken by the Islagiatt Border Guards, and she wasn’t so much of a fool as to forget that fact.
Seethe:
Ahhh, dusk.
Rousing himself with a rustling shake of his pelt and a deep flexing of his claws, Seethe climbed to his feet with the kind of grace one would associate with a predator of his age and experience. It wasn’t quite catlike, but he was utterly silent as he gently took a deep breath and took stock of his surroundings in the gathering darkness. He had chosen this particular spot well, much earlier in the day, for the sole purpose of napping until twilight fell and those that had not yet sought cover for nighttime were at their most vulnerable.
Not that his eyesight would be much better then his prospective prey, but he had honed his sense of smell for this particular type of hunt over the years, and there were times when his blood needed the carnal thrill of hunting like a wild thing. There was always a chance for injury in these types of hunts, but for the infrequent harvest moon that made this golden hour stretch longer, Seethe allowed himself the pleasure. Such hunts usually brought down large game, and he had yet to sustain any injuries, and in the case of failure, he still had the rest of the night to find more suitable prey. Usually the old looking to die, but occasionally a youngster lost in the darkness.
Yawning mightily, he briefly debated returning to his equine form and just concealing himself in the shadows of the trees, but something told him that remaining in his wolf form and laying in wait amid the long meadow grasses would likely be the best course of action. He’d had many years to perfect his technique, but he’d also learned long ago to listen to his gut.
Is gut, after all, was the whole reason behind the hunt.
Seresai:
Were it a tale, she would have had some sense of foreboding as she entered the meadow Seethe currently lurked.
The spirits were silent, however, and even appeared to be on the side of the silent predator. With the full moon shining golden, Seresai's guard came down slightly. She could see fairly well in the dusky light, and the meadow appeared to be so peaceful. She wasn't exactly confident that danger wouldn't find her, but the ambiance of the place certainly didn't lend thought to the danger that waited.
And she was so tired...
Seethe:
Seethe's initial objective had been a simple one; a little rush, perhaps ending with a good meal, nothing more. His journey to the Kawani lands had started months earlier when he first started tracking his old adversary, the dark unicorn Toujours. He sensed that he was nearing the stallion's homeland, but he had set his goal aside for the night in order to enjoy himself a little.
Fortune, however, shone down on him in the form of that golden moon, illuminating one of those precious students that damned unicorn had fought so hard to protect.
At first, he wasn't sure he believed his eyes. He'd never forget the faces of the two young mares that had escaped his grasp, but being a creature of the damned, he was not accustomed to his prey falling so neatly within his self defined objectives. He'd planned for having to hunt down those students first, long before he set his claws on their mentor.
