65 Frost, Year 122
[Closed - Solo]
Hilana kept a constant watch on the Forum and the Vasta. When she took a break or her lunch from work, most of the time she went for a walk around to go see what was new and what was going on. But with this time, she was looking for her friends. She knew the schedules, she knew the days, and they were bound to be by in the next couple of days. She wanted Asher's input, and it would be good to sit with her old pack. Finn was injured, Khyan was injured. Arvaelyn was livid and giving her the silent treatment. Things with Dominus Aeros were, well, a bit better but still a bit stilted. Raithen was busy and while she saw him as often as he could slip away and join her, he had his duties to His Divine Radiance, and they could not be so easily shirked. While she had made other friends here, considering her outgoing and cheerful demeanour, it was not the same as the group that she had come to consider her Solunarian pack.
She wasn't supposed to go into specifics or details with people who didn't need to know, but she could at least phrase the hypothetical to her old head wolf and see what he thought and what he might have done differently. She already knew she had screwed up, and oftentimes experience came from the mistakes and bad judgment calls that one had made. Better judgment came from the experience, and that was part of learning to do better. Asher, at least, would give it to her straight, and he could give her some insight, maybe, if she was lucky, on what she could do to improve. She was not a leader. She had never really been in that position, and frequently would have been considered a liability. Perfectly capable of following instructions and doing as she was bid, yes. But leading? Sometimes the decisiveness was beneficial, and sometimes...Sometimes her impulsiveness and her recklessness made for a problem.
She only had so long to wait. She was determined to check again at the end of the day, and the bell chimed to let her know that they had customers. Hilana looked up from her botany book, already starting her cheerful smile, but when she saw who it was, her smile was positively radiant. The Vastiana hitched her skirts and all but ran the length of the shop, darting between the rows of shelves to full on launch herself at the older man, the copious fabric of her brightly-dyed skirts flying behind her. Asher just held his arms out, and let the girl he'd raised for nearly a quarter of her life throw herself at him. "There you are. That's a greeting," he was a bit amused as he hugged her tightly. "What's wrong?" Asher wanted to know, and when he spotted Vasilei, he nodded respectfully and shifted his cloak, retrieving a letter from a pocket. "From Lady Eliana," he extended it to the herbalist, and Hilana guided it the rest of the way with gentle breezes of wind until it was in Vasilei's hand.
"Gratias. Go with him, Hilana. I'll close for you tonight," her mentor knew at least some of what had transpired, and her palpable devastation after the injuries of her friends and the damage to the relationships with their non-injured partners. She was worried about Finn and Khyan, she was terrified of Arvaelyn, and she was concerned about Aeros and his mercurial temperament. Asher was what she needed, and Vasilei could read Eliana's letter in peace and quiet without having the young woman curious to see what her Great-Aunt had written. Hilana wouldn't have dared ask, but she would definitely have wondered.
"Gratias, Vasilei. I'll see you tomorrow," Hilana peeled herself away from Asher long enough to smile at her boss, and scooped up her rucksack and her snakes. Fiya went into her carrying bag in her rucksack, and Tiaz went around her shoulders. He deliberately offered her his arm and she took it, and the two of them headed out into the light of the Sceptre of Avaerys. "It's good to see you. I've missed you," she told him earnestly, looking up at him. He was as he always was, sun-weathered, lean, and hard. There was a sturdiness to him that might not have been apparent at first sight, but once one spent a bit of time with him, well...
"I can see that. We're all waiting for you, Hilana. We'll go have dinner and catch up. I've got a couple that want to challenge you on Hayima'el," he eyed her. "And then you can tell me what's bugging you. What did you step in this time?"
She couldn't even get excited about the prospect of racing and practicing before the Derby. Whatever it was, it was definitely devastating to the young woman. "I may have upset the Crown Prince of the Umbrium," Hilana admitted glumly. Her once-guardian stared down at her as they walked, incredulous. She had to be kidding. Of all the possibilities for why she might have been down in the doldrums, Asher was not expecting that one. And he wanted to shake her, if not outright smack her upside the head.
"Did I or did I not tell you to keep your head down and your mouth shut? To avoid attention, keep your nose clean, and stick to the castes that are safe for you? And you upset the Crown Prince of the Umbrium? The Princeps Draconum?" he stopped their progress to grab hold of her shoulders. Tiaz's tongue flickered and the python actually hissed, and Asher remembered what happened the last time someone manhandled the younger woman. He let her go, and the black, grey, and white snake settled down once more, the muscles that made up his body relaxing. Well, at least he'd given a warning. The mouthful of teeth that the snake possessed were not a joke. They would have been turning around and going right back to Sweet Remedies so she could stitch him up.
"You did," Hilana looked up at him and squeezed his hand. "But I didn't know who he was when I met him. That's another long story... but to make this long story short, he's not happy with me."
Asher only sighed. "Let's go and meet the others for dinner. And then we can talk about it," he squeezed her hand and ruffled her hair. "I want to know what adventures you've found up here. Even if you did manage to annoy those we warned you about." The pair made their way to the trading office in Port Vasta, where she was able to hug and greet old friends, and start making new ones with the riders who had recently joined Asher's group.
"--and so that's the way it went," Hilana finally finished recounting the summary of their unfortunate foray abroad. She hadn't told him who had chosen her for it, she had left out who was sponsoring this affair and what the final target was. For Asher's safety and her own. The less he knew the better; Hilana did not want him in anyone's crosshairs if she could avoid it. "I did apologize to him, Arvaelyn, I mean. I've sent letters, I made him marshmallows, and tried to tell him in person--"
"Then stop," Asher told her. "Let him focus on Finn. Stay out of sight and stop trying to tell him how sorry you are. He will forgive you in his own time or he won't. Keep a low profile and stop bringing it up."
"But--" Hilana tried to interject.
"But nothing. Continue your lessons. Learn from these mistakes. Everyone makes some when you're on the road. What matters is how you handle them," he cut her off at the pass. "Learn. Do the best you can until you know better. When you know better, do better." He had a drink of the mead and sighed, resting his arm on the back of the couch and looking at her. "Would have that you could come on more expeditions with us now that you're older, as that might have given you more of a chance to learn, but we cannot change what has already happened. What you can do is learn from it. What did you learn, Hilana?"
She thought about it for a while. "That I should have been better prepared. I should have brought dragonshards for my friends to work with rather than expecting them to be equipped or have their own. That maybe I should have tried to scout first when we landed." Asher said nothing, just let her go over it again. She was quiet for a while as she mulled it over. "I didn't prepare right. I had everything else... but I didn't have those."
"You learned," the man told her. "At the same time... they could have better provisioned themselves. Finn's Amatus is the Crown Prince. Khyan's Dominus a wealthy noble of Re'hyaean blood. But next time.... next time you know, Hilana. And you will do better."
"There won't be a next time. Not until the great darkness has lifted. What I'm searching for has been put on hold," she admitted, taking a drink from her cup. For the safety of all of them, she knew it was the right choice. She may not have liked it, but it was necessary. And that was likely beyond anything she was able to do. That was the work of Gods, maybe, or the archmages. She could lend support and maybe her alchemical studies, but...
"Ah," Asher nodded, sitting back on the couch. Risdra was curled up between them, enjoying the attention and wandering scratches that came from time to time. "Which means that you study, train, practice, and prepare for when your hunt can continue. Stay sharp, or get sloppy. And while those above you may eventually forgive a first mistake in these circumstances, they may not tolerate a second. Practice, listen, and learn. If anyone can find something that has been missing for thousands of years, it will be you. I have faith in you. Find that faith in yourself and your determination to continue, and when the opportunity knocks... seize it and hold on for dear life."
[Closed - Solo]
Hilana kept a constant watch on the Forum and the Vasta. When she took a break or her lunch from work, most of the time she went for a walk around to go see what was new and what was going on. But with this time, she was looking for her friends. She knew the schedules, she knew the days, and they were bound to be by in the next couple of days. She wanted Asher's input, and it would be good to sit with her old pack. Finn was injured, Khyan was injured. Arvaelyn was livid and giving her the silent treatment. Things with Dominus Aeros were, well, a bit better but still a bit stilted. Raithen was busy and while she saw him as often as he could slip away and join her, he had his duties to His Divine Radiance, and they could not be so easily shirked. While she had made other friends here, considering her outgoing and cheerful demeanour, it was not the same as the group that she had come to consider her Solunarian pack.
She wasn't supposed to go into specifics or details with people who didn't need to know, but she could at least phrase the hypothetical to her old head wolf and see what he thought and what he might have done differently. She already knew she had screwed up, and oftentimes experience came from the mistakes and bad judgment calls that one had made. Better judgment came from the experience, and that was part of learning to do better. Asher, at least, would give it to her straight, and he could give her some insight, maybe, if she was lucky, on what she could do to improve. She was not a leader. She had never really been in that position, and frequently would have been considered a liability. Perfectly capable of following instructions and doing as she was bid, yes. But leading? Sometimes the decisiveness was beneficial, and sometimes...Sometimes her impulsiveness and her recklessness made for a problem.
She only had so long to wait. She was determined to check again at the end of the day, and the bell chimed to let her know that they had customers. Hilana looked up from her botany book, already starting her cheerful smile, but when she saw who it was, her smile was positively radiant. The Vastiana hitched her skirts and all but ran the length of the shop, darting between the rows of shelves to full on launch herself at the older man, the copious fabric of her brightly-dyed skirts flying behind her. Asher just held his arms out, and let the girl he'd raised for nearly a quarter of her life throw herself at him. "There you are. That's a greeting," he was a bit amused as he hugged her tightly. "What's wrong?" Asher wanted to know, and when he spotted Vasilei, he nodded respectfully and shifted his cloak, retrieving a letter from a pocket. "From Lady Eliana," he extended it to the herbalist, and Hilana guided it the rest of the way with gentle breezes of wind until it was in Vasilei's hand.
"Gratias. Go with him, Hilana. I'll close for you tonight," her mentor knew at least some of what had transpired, and her palpable devastation after the injuries of her friends and the damage to the relationships with their non-injured partners. She was worried about Finn and Khyan, she was terrified of Arvaelyn, and she was concerned about Aeros and his mercurial temperament. Asher was what she needed, and Vasilei could read Eliana's letter in peace and quiet without having the young woman curious to see what her Great-Aunt had written. Hilana wouldn't have dared ask, but she would definitely have wondered.
"Gratias, Vasilei. I'll see you tomorrow," Hilana peeled herself away from Asher long enough to smile at her boss, and scooped up her rucksack and her snakes. Fiya went into her carrying bag in her rucksack, and Tiaz went around her shoulders. He deliberately offered her his arm and she took it, and the two of them headed out into the light of the Sceptre of Avaerys. "It's good to see you. I've missed you," she told him earnestly, looking up at him. He was as he always was, sun-weathered, lean, and hard. There was a sturdiness to him that might not have been apparent at first sight, but once one spent a bit of time with him, well...
"I can see that. We're all waiting for you, Hilana. We'll go have dinner and catch up. I've got a couple that want to challenge you on Hayima'el," he eyed her. "And then you can tell me what's bugging you. What did you step in this time?"
She couldn't even get excited about the prospect of racing and practicing before the Derby. Whatever it was, it was definitely devastating to the young woman. "I may have upset the Crown Prince of the Umbrium," Hilana admitted glumly. Her once-guardian stared down at her as they walked, incredulous. She had to be kidding. Of all the possibilities for why she might have been down in the doldrums, Asher was not expecting that one. And he wanted to shake her, if not outright smack her upside the head.
"Did I or did I not tell you to keep your head down and your mouth shut? To avoid attention, keep your nose clean, and stick to the castes that are safe for you? And you upset the Crown Prince of the Umbrium? The Princeps Draconum?" he stopped their progress to grab hold of her shoulders. Tiaz's tongue flickered and the python actually hissed, and Asher remembered what happened the last time someone manhandled the younger woman. He let her go, and the black, grey, and white snake settled down once more, the muscles that made up his body relaxing. Well, at least he'd given a warning. The mouthful of teeth that the snake possessed were not a joke. They would have been turning around and going right back to Sweet Remedies so she could stitch him up.
"You did," Hilana looked up at him and squeezed his hand. "But I didn't know who he was when I met him. That's another long story... but to make this long story short, he's not happy with me."
Asher only sighed. "Let's go and meet the others for dinner. And then we can talk about it," he squeezed her hand and ruffled her hair. "I want to know what adventures you've found up here. Even if you did manage to annoy those we warned you about." The pair made their way to the trading office in Port Vasta, where she was able to hug and greet old friends, and start making new ones with the riders who had recently joined Asher's group.
---
"--and so that's the way it went," Hilana finally finished recounting the summary of their unfortunate foray abroad. She hadn't told him who had chosen her for it, she had left out who was sponsoring this affair and what the final target was. For Asher's safety and her own. The less he knew the better; Hilana did not want him in anyone's crosshairs if she could avoid it. "I did apologize to him, Arvaelyn, I mean. I've sent letters, I made him marshmallows, and tried to tell him in person--"
"Then stop," Asher told her. "Let him focus on Finn. Stay out of sight and stop trying to tell him how sorry you are. He will forgive you in his own time or he won't. Keep a low profile and stop bringing it up."
"But--" Hilana tried to interject.
"But nothing. Continue your lessons. Learn from these mistakes. Everyone makes some when you're on the road. What matters is how you handle them," he cut her off at the pass. "Learn. Do the best you can until you know better. When you know better, do better." He had a drink of the mead and sighed, resting his arm on the back of the couch and looking at her. "Would have that you could come on more expeditions with us now that you're older, as that might have given you more of a chance to learn, but we cannot change what has already happened. What you can do is learn from it. What did you learn, Hilana?"
She thought about it for a while. "That I should have been better prepared. I should have brought dragonshards for my friends to work with rather than expecting them to be equipped or have their own. That maybe I should have tried to scout first when we landed." Asher said nothing, just let her go over it again. She was quiet for a while as she mulled it over. "I didn't prepare right. I had everything else... but I didn't have those."
"You learned," the man told her. "At the same time... they could have better provisioned themselves. Finn's Amatus is the Crown Prince. Khyan's Dominus a wealthy noble of Re'hyaean blood. But next time.... next time you know, Hilana. And you will do better."
"There won't be a next time. Not until the great darkness has lifted. What I'm searching for has been put on hold," she admitted, taking a drink from her cup. For the safety of all of them, she knew it was the right choice. She may not have liked it, but it was necessary. And that was likely beyond anything she was able to do. That was the work of Gods, maybe, or the archmages. She could lend support and maybe her alchemical studies, but...
"Ah," Asher nodded, sitting back on the couch. Risdra was curled up between them, enjoying the attention and wandering scratches that came from time to time. "Which means that you study, train, practice, and prepare for when your hunt can continue. Stay sharp, or get sloppy. And while those above you may eventually forgive a first mistake in these circumstances, they may not tolerate a second. Practice, listen, and learn. If anyone can find something that has been missing for thousands of years, it will be you. I have faith in you. Find that faith in yourself and your determination to continue, and when the opportunity knocks... seize it and hold on for dear life."
