» 104 [ a solitary ride ]

[wise_maiden]

[Action]

[If anyone happens to be around the edges of the village, or wandering about some of the clearer areas in the forest, they might take notice of a silver-haired maiden riding a white horse, at varying paces. It's early evening in Luceti, as good as time as any for a ride. It's thankfully a fair-weather day, which makes it even more

Comments

[superskilled]

[Nash walks around the perimeter of the village twice a day: once in the morning and once in the evening. He likes to stretch his legs, and you run into the strangest people.

But wait, is that...Albert's horse?]

[wise_maiden]

[Albert's horse, and a silver haired rider. What an odd combination. They're moving slowly enough for approachability, in any case.]

[superskilled]

[He throws his hands up in the air.]

This is so confusing. I actually don't know what to think.

[wise_maiden]

[And that tone is certainly enough to catch her attention, so she properly turns her gaze to him, tilting her head.] ... Something the matter, Nash?

[silvergeneral]

[It's been a long time since he's been at it, but Sephiroth was a more than a decent tracker in his day. This is the first time he's seen hoof-prints, and curiosity is about the only thing that spurs him nowadays. Since he has his chocobo with him, saddled and ready, it's almost providential discovery. Mounted, he'll catch up with Raine eventually.]

Hello?

[wise_maiden]

[... Well, the only Chocobo she's seen before was the one that Cloud and Zack have, and one that just caught up to them was certainly not Tammy. So another mounted rider is a bit surprising for the both of them.]

... I can't say I was expecting to see another rider.

[silvergeneral]

[He draws rein as they catch up--he knows this woman, though they haven't really spoken much. What was her name? ...Ah.]

Raine. Raine Sage? I didn't know that you rode.

[More to the point, Ana's given Raine only a cursory lookover (this new flatface's crest was the same color as Master's, perhaps they were nestmates? Master certainly seemed to have a lot of those) and has her attention pinned squarely on Raine's horse. She's never seen a horse. Four legs, like the wildcats from home! She strains her head forward eagerly to investigate, but doesn't otherwise move.]

And on a... [Sephiroth's curiosity is apace with his mount's] horse?

[Which is a guess--the only one in recent memory he can remember is Sleipner, and that one has eight legs.]

[wise_maiden]

[Raine gives him a nod and a small smile to acknowledge that he was correct, then acknowledges his steed as well, before looking back up to face him. Astrid takes note of the chocobo, also seeming to study it, but not moving.]

... That's right. I've learned to ride here in Luceti. She's not exactly my mount, though - she belongs to Albert.

[Action] /placeholder for now?

[kendama_pro]

[And in one of the clearings, Raine might find someone practising a couple of his spells on some poor trees.]

Thunder Blade!

[Action]

[wise_maiden]

[... You know, it probably isn't exactly safe for Genis to practice on trees any longer, given some rumors she's been hearing lately. Raine will just have to do the sisterly thing and point that out, at some point. For now, she just slows down when she sees her little brother.]

... I wondered where you had snuck off to.

[Action]

[kendama_pro]

[That's - true, actually. To be fair, he's head some of those rumours himself, and as such, never strays all that far away from House 42 to practice.]

[He looks up in surprise when she calls his attention like that.] I needed some place to practice where I wouldn't bother anyone. Sorry, I guess I should've left a note or something.

[Action]

[wise_maiden]

It might be better if you remember to leave notes from now on. Is your practice going well?

[stringsofsoul]

[ Castor is never one to distract people from relaxing and doing their own business, even when they're riding about on weird animals he had never seen in his life. But he is the kind to always greet someone passing by, even if they are a complete stranger. ]

[ So if Reine rides past him on this fine day, she is bound to receive a friendly smile and an idle wave of his hand. ]

[wise_maiden]

[Horse and rider are traveling slow enough to return the wave. He seems friendly, although a bit unfamiliar. Then again, Luceti was rapidly filling with new feathers as of late.]

... Good afternoon.

[stringsofsoul]

Ah... good afternoon, ma'am!

My apologies. I didn't mean to distract you.

[wise_maiden]

It's fine; you hardly need to apologize about that.

[chikaidestroyer]

ring ring

[Hear that, Raine? It's your journal.]

[wise_maiden]

[It'll take her a moment to get it out, one she hears that particular sound. At least she's taking a temporary break from the ride, with Astrid using the time to graze.

... And there's Albert's picture. She accepts the call.] Hello, Albert.

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert sits back against the wall when he sees that Raine has answered. There are shadows over his face, as he's inside a skyscraper.]

Good afternoon.

[wise_maiden]

[From the shadows she can tell that he's in a building of some kind. Since the room he called from before didn't have windows, then obviously he was within the 'battle' area.] It's been a few days... how are things going, over there?