Heyla everyone! I'm Lydia, and this is my first fanfic on this site. I've
written plenty in my head, of course, but this is the first one that might
actually get done, hehe. Two of these characters (Daybright and Teriyel)
have been used as my characters on Valdemar RPGs in the past, and the other
three I haven't used.
Totally revamped the story. Instead of doing a chapter for each Choosing, I'm doing a chapter for morning, afternoon, and evening, telling what each of the characters is doing right then, and you _can_ count on the stuff you've already read showing up in one of those three times. =D
Disclaimer: Valdemar isn't mine, but the characters are, so lay off! ;P
Morning
~*~*~*~*~*~
On a small farm two days ride from Haven, Valdemar lived a happy family of six. Merla and Sanl, both farmers, had lived on this land for years before having children, but now they were the proud parents of four boys: Ran, Cae, Tor, and Teriyel.
Teriyel was the youngest and smallest of the boys. Even at 16, he was only 5'6" and far more frail than his older, brawnier brothers. He was also a mute.
At 14, Ter began hearing voices in his mind, and, being a bright boy and an avid reader, he figured out that they were the thoughts of his family. He traveled to a local Temple and learned basic shielding from a Priest who did not recognize the signs of developing Mindspeech in the young boy but knew of shields. After being given basic training, he returned to his family, feeling much happier now that all of that was under control.
But it didn't last forever. After turning 16, the thoughts of his brothers and parents leaked through his awkwardly made shields, and Ter began to fret about what would happen if he couldn't stop it.
But, walking outside on a clear early morning, hearing thoughts was the last thing on his mind. Rose, Beau, Winn, Vine, and Blue, the five milk- cows the family owned, were all waiting for his in the barn for him to get his chores done with. He walked in and smiled at them as they lowed quietly at him, then walked over to the bench on the side of the barn to grab a pail.
In doing so, he made enough noise to cover up the sound of bell-like tones ringing on the dirt floor, but he did realize that the cows had gone completely silent suddenly. He turned around with his bucket prepared to swing at someone, half-expecting a hostile intruder-
-and was astonished to see the most beautiful horse he'd ever seen in his life trotting calmly towards him. Her coat was the purest of white and her hooves were silver and made bell sounds on the floor. Even the cows had been caught in the spell the horse had wrapped around them.
But Teriyel realized quickly that this amazing creature was no horse, as he'd first assumed. In fact, it was quite clear when he looked into her eyes...
:I have found you!: he "heard." :You, Teriyel, you are the one that shall be mine! I Choose you, and neither of us shall ever be alone again!: Ter was almost overwhelmed by the joy and love that came to fill an empty place in his soul that he'd never known ached, and he knew that the Companion - his Companion, Luna - was feeling this same incredible emotion. Overcome with joy, he wrapped his arm around her smooth, white neck and knew that he was happier than he would ever be in his life.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Daybright woke up to the sound of a bondbird shrieking.
"Calm down, Aszre," her father's voice said, sounding stern, but not angry. "You'll wake up Daybright!"
"Too late," she called out, groaning and turning over onto her stomach.
~It's too early to get up.~ she thought with a sigh as she squeezed her eyes shut to block out the light coming in through her window. Her stomach rumbled, ignoring her protests. ~Well, I guess it's not _that_ early.~
She heard footsteps getting slightly louder as someone approached her room, and judging from the sound, it was her father. "Sorry, beloved," Nightsong said with a quiet chuckle as he reached down to tousle her hair.
Daybright mumbled something unintelligible, and her father chuckled again and left her alone. She heard Aszre hooting softly in the main room, making her thankful again that she didn't have a Bondbird.
~I give up,~ she thought, struggling out of her hammock and onto her feet. ~I'm hungry, anyway. And Deerfoot and Starsong and I have plans for the afternoon!~ Daybright laughed aloud, feeling awake and functional, as she stripped off her night clothing and pulled on some comfortable scouts' clothes for breakfast.
"Morning, father," she called out as she walked past him. "Is mother still asleep?"
He grinned and rolled her eyes. "Of course. It'd take the ekele falling down to wake her this early!"
Though Daybright was a full member of k'Valdemar Vale and had been since birth, she was in truth only half-Tayledras. Her mother was a Valdemaran Bard that had traveled to the Vale for her Journeywoman period, and had fallen in love with Nightsong while she was here. Nightsong was a Healer and singer.
~They're such hopeless romantics,~ she thought with a grin as she descended the heights down to the ground level.
"Morning, Setna!" Daybright called out cheerfully to the head hertasi of the Vale as she passed by her. "How are you on this beautiful morning?"
Setna grinned and bowed slightly. "I am perfectly fine, Daybright. Did your father wake you up?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, him and that silly owl!" she laughed. "Do you know if Deerfoot is awake?"
"Yes, she is," Setna replied. "She was waiting for you, actually - she said for me to tell you she picked up some food for you and she's at her ekele."
"Great! You're the best, Setna." With that, the young woman jogged off towards her best friend's house.
She arrived only a few moments later - Deerfoot lived with her mother, whose ekele was very close to Daybright's. She clambered up the ladder Deerfoot loved and entered to see her friend sitting in the main room.
"Daybright, heyla!" the scout grinned. "What miracle got _you_ out of bed at this hour?"
"Aszre, of course." She grinned right back. "Are you ready for The Master Plan this afternoon?"
"Erm, not really," Deerfoot admitted. "Should we get Starsong over here too?"
She nodded enthusiasticaly, and Deer's red-tailed hawk Bondbird Hrei immediately chirped, hopped from his perch to the window ledge, then leaped out the window.
"He'll get her," Deer said. The two girls started to eat as ravenously as only teenagers can, and Starsong entered a few minutes later, holding Hrei on her arm.
"Is this yours?" she asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow. Starsong looked beautiful, as always. She was clad in some comfortable, but very nice-looking mage robes, and her brown hair, currently bleaching white, was put up in the back with two intricately carved wooden rods.
Deerfoot simply nodded, her mouth full of food, as Starsong let Hrei off onto his perch and she sat down next to them.
"I assume this is about the plan?" she asked with a grin.
"Of course!" Daybright grinned, and she proceeded to outline it for them.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Akilah had been up with the sun that morning, just as she was every morning. As the main slave of Mistress Ailasia Odilissa Kedilim, wife of Master Delann Kedilim, she had to make sure everything was just the way her Mistress liked it, or else she would pay for it in lashes across her back.
The young woman sighed mentally, not daring to sigh aloud, as she quickly chose the jewelry that would best match her mistress' outfit and arranged it on the table in front of the mirror. The mistress always liked to see how beautiful she looked immediately after putting on her jewelry.
After arranging everything and making sure there were no tangles in the necklace, missing charms on the bracelet, or bends in the ring, it was Akilah's duty to assist in the kitchen. Though she didn't have to cook any of the food, thank goodness, she had to help out the ones that _did_ have to cook in any way she could - fetching more wood for the ovens, stirring soup, and other menial tasks that didn't require much skill, if any.
"Akilah! Get over here and set the table!" Head Cook Rella shouted as she checked on one of the many breakfast dishes. Even breakfast was an enormous deal at the Kedilim estate.
"Yes ma'am," Akilah replied, doing her best to sound meek. One did not wish to sound grumpy, overenthusiastic, or even kind - the Kedilims liked their servants quiet, and they did not like it when they were reminded that the servants were humans, too, by seeing that they had distinct personalities.
But she tried not to really think about that very often.
She hurried over to the table and took the napkins, first putting them through the rings, then laying them at the sides of the dishes that Cook's servant Valini was setting out. The two of them finished quickly, and just in time - the first member of the family, Celia, came into the dining room and sat down at her place.
"Good morning, Lady Celia," Akilah said quietly. Celia was the kindest member of the family. As the second child, she held a bit of sway, and she and Akilah had actually had a conversation once or twice.
"Good morning, servant." Though Celia was kind, she couldn't risk her own neck by pretending like she even knew Akilah's name - it could be portrayed as favoritism and consorting with those of a lower class, which was not allowed.
Lady Gilliana was the next to arrive. She was nearly as cruel as her mother was, and she was the eldest child.
~Oh, I hate her,~ Akilah thought angrily as she stood silently next to the wall in the dining room, awaiting her mistress' presence so she could help her with anything. ~She'll do everything she can to get all the servants punished - it's like she enjoys seeing us in pain! What a horrible person.~
Lord Tiard, the only boy and the youngest of the three children, was next. Only 12 years old, he wasn't really cruel yet, but was beginning to show signs of a love of power and a ruthless nature.
~I hope to Vkandis that I am not here when that one grows up,~ she thought, ~or when Gilliana takes over. That would be. unpleasant.~
At last, Master Delann and Mistress Ailasia entered the dining room, arm in arm with small smiles on both their faces. All the servants in the room bowed low, and Akilah immediately scurried over to pull her mistress' chair out, as did Ceigan, the Master's servant.
Conversation was minimal during breakfast, and Akilah leaned back against the wall, watching and waiting for her mistress' next command, hoping that she could survive another day with the horrible family.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Cira was sleeping in the early morning, and she slept until about four hours past dawn. When she _did_ wake, however, it was slowly and in a very relaxed fashion.
~Mmm. a good night's sleep for the first time in ages!~ she thought with a smile as she sat up and stretched. She pulled her fingers through her tangled hair, trying in vain to tame it even a little bit before she got up and faced her friends.
~Well, not all of us are really _friends,_~ she thought to herself. ~Partners, more like.~ Cira was the fighter in a group of six thieves, or thief-types, anyway. The six of them now all lived together in a grubby little apartment in the dirtiest section of Haven, but it was theirs, and it was as safe as they could make it.
Since there were only two girls (Cira and Brina) and neither of them wanted to sleep with the boys, an entire room of the two-room "apartment" had been deemed "the girls' place," so she and Brina had plenty of space to sleep.
Cira threw her legs over the side of the chair she slept in and stood slowly, stretching out every vertebrae in her back as she did so. Brina was not in the room - it must be later than she thought.
The first thing that Cira did was grab the weapons she hadn't worn to bed last night and strap them on for easy access. A knife went into each boot, three throwing knives up her sleeves, and Faithful, her longsword, went at her side.
Since she didn't really have any other clothes to change into, Cira left the girls' room and went into the main room, where three of the others were lounging around on the chairs. A chorus of "good morning!"s greeted her as she entered with a smile.
"Hey guys," she said, sitting down. "What's going on with ya? Where are Licyn and Myran?"
Ty, her best friend, grinned and rolled his eyes. "Licyn? Please. You really think we have _any_ idea?" he laughed. "Myran's out and about, too, we're not sure. Both of them were gone when we woke up."
"We just finished off the last of breakfast, actually," Brina said apologetically.
She shrugged. "That's fine. I'll head out to the market and grab something. See you guys later." With that, Cira stood and left the apartment to go off to the market for some food.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Morning was not a peaceful time of day for Aran Smallspring. He was a night-owl, and was often up late reading or practicing with his sword or thinking. basically anything but sleeping. But his Ashkevron cousins felt that morning was a time to get the day started and be as loud as they possibly could about it.
He chuckled mentally as he heard the door to the bachelor hall open up and two sets of feet enter.
"Is he still asleep?" someone asked in a loud whisper. It was his cousin Merral Ashkevron, a 16 year old that acted about five years younger than Aran did, not just one year.
"I don't know. It doesn't really matter, he's missing breakfast!" another replied. This was Aleid, another 16 year old.
He heard them walk over to his bedside, and felt someone roughly shaking him. "C'mon, lazy! Time to get up! You're missing breakfast, and Da says you're to work with Wind today, anyway, and we all know you won't want to miss that." This was said with a hint of jealousy, and Aran could easily understand it.
~Wind? Really?~ he thought to himself, very surprised. ~She's the fastest horse I've ever seen. I- I can't believe they trust me enough to let me work with her! This is great!~
At last, at long last his dreams were finally starting to take shape. Aran had wanted to work with the horses for the Ashkevrons for years. He'd been fostered over here when he was 14 and had immediately started working with the horses, and though they'd all been fairly easy up till now, letting him work with Wind showed that they really were starting to trust his skill with the horses they were so famous for.
He knew that these cousins, at least, wouldn't be lying and just trying to get him up out of bed. Aleid and Merral combined had less imagination combined than anybody else here had alone, and that was saying something.
"Okay, okay," he said, hiding his excitement behind his sleepiness. Aran struggled out from under the covers to see his cousins grinning widely at him. "What?"
They shrugged, grins fading. He sighed and stood up, then went over to the dresser to grab some clothes appropriate for the riding and training he'd be doing today, then shooed his cousins out with a grin and changed quickly.
Aran practically skipped downstairs in his excitement for the coming day, and met his older cousin Cayr on his way. Cayr was one of his relatives that he really admired and looked up to, and the two of them had quickly become friends, and despite the fact that Aran was two years younger, Cayr still seemed to really enjoy his company.
"Morning, Cayr," he said with a grin.
"Morning, Aran. What's the plan for today?" he asked, returning the grin.
"Not sure," he replied, not wanting to say that the others had told him about Wind until he found out for sure. He didn't want to seem like he was bragging, anyway.
"Well, _I_ know what you're doing," Cayr said, sounding a bit jealous as well. "Da says you get to work with Wind today."
Even Cayr knew? Did _everyone_ know? "Really?" he asked, sounding very surprised. "Aleid and Merral had said something like that, but I didn't know whether to believe them or not."
"Trust me," Cayr said with a small sigh, then a grin and a look of amazement. "You're so lucky, Aran! You're a natural, and now everybody's finally realizing it." He grinned and flushed slightly with the praise. His idol, praising _him_? It almost made his head spin with pride!
The two of them continued down the winding stairs towards the dining hall, and they grabbed some food and sat down. Aran was too nervous and excited to eat. He picked at his food, then finally buckled down and forced himself to eat some fruit.
Cayr finally finished, and the two of them left the hall and went outside. They'd just started walking over to the stables when they heard a big commotion from near the entrance to the Holding. They looked over with alarm to see practically everyone, especially those their age, going over in that direction, all looking surprised and anxious. The two cousins looked at each other, shrugged identical shrugs, then began walking over there, as well.
They arrived, and everyone was talking quite loudly. "What's going on?" Cayr asked Merral and Aleid.
"There's a Companion here!" they replied simultaneously.
"Did it Choose someone already?" Cayr asked.
"Nope," Merral replied. "Not yet. That's why we came over, so it could maybe Choose us!"
Cayr and Aran grinned at each other, then were surprised to see the crowd parting in front of them, making way for. the Companion to step forward.
It was the most beautiful creature Aran had ever seen. She was smallish for a horse, and her coat was the purest of white, her mane and tail like liquid snow falling over her. She stepped forward towards himself and Cayr, and he looked into her eyes.
.her eyes caught and held him, and he felt - something, like she was judging him, weighing him against some unknown standard. And then he knew that he had passed her test when he felt unbelievable love flowing over him, and he returned all of it and more as his eyes filled with tears of joy.
:Aran Smallspring, I am Nianu,: a songlike feminine voice said. :I Choose you, and I love you.: He practically fell forward to hug her.
"I love you too, Nianu."
Totally revamped the story. Instead of doing a chapter for each Choosing, I'm doing a chapter for morning, afternoon, and evening, telling what each of the characters is doing right then, and you _can_ count on the stuff you've already read showing up in one of those three times. =D
Disclaimer: Valdemar isn't mine, but the characters are, so lay off! ;P
Morning
~*~*~*~*~*~
On a small farm two days ride from Haven, Valdemar lived a happy family of six. Merla and Sanl, both farmers, had lived on this land for years before having children, but now they were the proud parents of four boys: Ran, Cae, Tor, and Teriyel.
Teriyel was the youngest and smallest of the boys. Even at 16, he was only 5'6" and far more frail than his older, brawnier brothers. He was also a mute.
At 14, Ter began hearing voices in his mind, and, being a bright boy and an avid reader, he figured out that they were the thoughts of his family. He traveled to a local Temple and learned basic shielding from a Priest who did not recognize the signs of developing Mindspeech in the young boy but knew of shields. After being given basic training, he returned to his family, feeling much happier now that all of that was under control.
But it didn't last forever. After turning 16, the thoughts of his brothers and parents leaked through his awkwardly made shields, and Ter began to fret about what would happen if he couldn't stop it.
But, walking outside on a clear early morning, hearing thoughts was the last thing on his mind. Rose, Beau, Winn, Vine, and Blue, the five milk- cows the family owned, were all waiting for his in the barn for him to get his chores done with. He walked in and smiled at them as they lowed quietly at him, then walked over to the bench on the side of the barn to grab a pail.
In doing so, he made enough noise to cover up the sound of bell-like tones ringing on the dirt floor, but he did realize that the cows had gone completely silent suddenly. He turned around with his bucket prepared to swing at someone, half-expecting a hostile intruder-
-and was astonished to see the most beautiful horse he'd ever seen in his life trotting calmly towards him. Her coat was the purest of white and her hooves were silver and made bell sounds on the floor. Even the cows had been caught in the spell the horse had wrapped around them.
But Teriyel realized quickly that this amazing creature was no horse, as he'd first assumed. In fact, it was quite clear when he looked into her eyes...
:I have found you!: he "heard." :You, Teriyel, you are the one that shall be mine! I Choose you, and neither of us shall ever be alone again!: Ter was almost overwhelmed by the joy and love that came to fill an empty place in his soul that he'd never known ached, and he knew that the Companion - his Companion, Luna - was feeling this same incredible emotion. Overcome with joy, he wrapped his arm around her smooth, white neck and knew that he was happier than he would ever be in his life.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Daybright woke up to the sound of a bondbird shrieking.
"Calm down, Aszre," her father's voice said, sounding stern, but not angry. "You'll wake up Daybright!"
"Too late," she called out, groaning and turning over onto her stomach.
~It's too early to get up.~ she thought with a sigh as she squeezed her eyes shut to block out the light coming in through her window. Her stomach rumbled, ignoring her protests. ~Well, I guess it's not _that_ early.~
She heard footsteps getting slightly louder as someone approached her room, and judging from the sound, it was her father. "Sorry, beloved," Nightsong said with a quiet chuckle as he reached down to tousle her hair.
Daybright mumbled something unintelligible, and her father chuckled again and left her alone. She heard Aszre hooting softly in the main room, making her thankful again that she didn't have a Bondbird.
~I give up,~ she thought, struggling out of her hammock and onto her feet. ~I'm hungry, anyway. And Deerfoot and Starsong and I have plans for the afternoon!~ Daybright laughed aloud, feeling awake and functional, as she stripped off her night clothing and pulled on some comfortable scouts' clothes for breakfast.
"Morning, father," she called out as she walked past him. "Is mother still asleep?"
He grinned and rolled her eyes. "Of course. It'd take the ekele falling down to wake her this early!"
Though Daybright was a full member of k'Valdemar Vale and had been since birth, she was in truth only half-Tayledras. Her mother was a Valdemaran Bard that had traveled to the Vale for her Journeywoman period, and had fallen in love with Nightsong while she was here. Nightsong was a Healer and singer.
~They're such hopeless romantics,~ she thought with a grin as she descended the heights down to the ground level.
"Morning, Setna!" Daybright called out cheerfully to the head hertasi of the Vale as she passed by her. "How are you on this beautiful morning?"
Setna grinned and bowed slightly. "I am perfectly fine, Daybright. Did your father wake you up?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, him and that silly owl!" she laughed. "Do you know if Deerfoot is awake?"
"Yes, she is," Setna replied. "She was waiting for you, actually - she said for me to tell you she picked up some food for you and she's at her ekele."
"Great! You're the best, Setna." With that, the young woman jogged off towards her best friend's house.
She arrived only a few moments later - Deerfoot lived with her mother, whose ekele was very close to Daybright's. She clambered up the ladder Deerfoot loved and entered to see her friend sitting in the main room.
"Daybright, heyla!" the scout grinned. "What miracle got _you_ out of bed at this hour?"
"Aszre, of course." She grinned right back. "Are you ready for The Master Plan this afternoon?"
"Erm, not really," Deerfoot admitted. "Should we get Starsong over here too?"
She nodded enthusiasticaly, and Deer's red-tailed hawk Bondbird Hrei immediately chirped, hopped from his perch to the window ledge, then leaped out the window.
"He'll get her," Deer said. The two girls started to eat as ravenously as only teenagers can, and Starsong entered a few minutes later, holding Hrei on her arm.
"Is this yours?" she asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow. Starsong looked beautiful, as always. She was clad in some comfortable, but very nice-looking mage robes, and her brown hair, currently bleaching white, was put up in the back with two intricately carved wooden rods.
Deerfoot simply nodded, her mouth full of food, as Starsong let Hrei off onto his perch and she sat down next to them.
"I assume this is about the plan?" she asked with a grin.
"Of course!" Daybright grinned, and she proceeded to outline it for them.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Akilah had been up with the sun that morning, just as she was every morning. As the main slave of Mistress Ailasia Odilissa Kedilim, wife of Master Delann Kedilim, she had to make sure everything was just the way her Mistress liked it, or else she would pay for it in lashes across her back.
The young woman sighed mentally, not daring to sigh aloud, as she quickly chose the jewelry that would best match her mistress' outfit and arranged it on the table in front of the mirror. The mistress always liked to see how beautiful she looked immediately after putting on her jewelry.
After arranging everything and making sure there were no tangles in the necklace, missing charms on the bracelet, or bends in the ring, it was Akilah's duty to assist in the kitchen. Though she didn't have to cook any of the food, thank goodness, she had to help out the ones that _did_ have to cook in any way she could - fetching more wood for the ovens, stirring soup, and other menial tasks that didn't require much skill, if any.
"Akilah! Get over here and set the table!" Head Cook Rella shouted as she checked on one of the many breakfast dishes. Even breakfast was an enormous deal at the Kedilim estate.
"Yes ma'am," Akilah replied, doing her best to sound meek. One did not wish to sound grumpy, overenthusiastic, or even kind - the Kedilims liked their servants quiet, and they did not like it when they were reminded that the servants were humans, too, by seeing that they had distinct personalities.
But she tried not to really think about that very often.
She hurried over to the table and took the napkins, first putting them through the rings, then laying them at the sides of the dishes that Cook's servant Valini was setting out. The two of them finished quickly, and just in time - the first member of the family, Celia, came into the dining room and sat down at her place.
"Good morning, Lady Celia," Akilah said quietly. Celia was the kindest member of the family. As the second child, she held a bit of sway, and she and Akilah had actually had a conversation once or twice.
"Good morning, servant." Though Celia was kind, she couldn't risk her own neck by pretending like she even knew Akilah's name - it could be portrayed as favoritism and consorting with those of a lower class, which was not allowed.
Lady Gilliana was the next to arrive. She was nearly as cruel as her mother was, and she was the eldest child.
~Oh, I hate her,~ Akilah thought angrily as she stood silently next to the wall in the dining room, awaiting her mistress' presence so she could help her with anything. ~She'll do everything she can to get all the servants punished - it's like she enjoys seeing us in pain! What a horrible person.~
Lord Tiard, the only boy and the youngest of the three children, was next. Only 12 years old, he wasn't really cruel yet, but was beginning to show signs of a love of power and a ruthless nature.
~I hope to Vkandis that I am not here when that one grows up,~ she thought, ~or when Gilliana takes over. That would be. unpleasant.~
At last, Master Delann and Mistress Ailasia entered the dining room, arm in arm with small smiles on both their faces. All the servants in the room bowed low, and Akilah immediately scurried over to pull her mistress' chair out, as did Ceigan, the Master's servant.
Conversation was minimal during breakfast, and Akilah leaned back against the wall, watching and waiting for her mistress' next command, hoping that she could survive another day with the horrible family.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Cira was sleeping in the early morning, and she slept until about four hours past dawn. When she _did_ wake, however, it was slowly and in a very relaxed fashion.
~Mmm. a good night's sleep for the first time in ages!~ she thought with a smile as she sat up and stretched. She pulled her fingers through her tangled hair, trying in vain to tame it even a little bit before she got up and faced her friends.
~Well, not all of us are really _friends,_~ she thought to herself. ~Partners, more like.~ Cira was the fighter in a group of six thieves, or thief-types, anyway. The six of them now all lived together in a grubby little apartment in the dirtiest section of Haven, but it was theirs, and it was as safe as they could make it.
Since there were only two girls (Cira and Brina) and neither of them wanted to sleep with the boys, an entire room of the two-room "apartment" had been deemed "the girls' place," so she and Brina had plenty of space to sleep.
Cira threw her legs over the side of the chair she slept in and stood slowly, stretching out every vertebrae in her back as she did so. Brina was not in the room - it must be later than she thought.
The first thing that Cira did was grab the weapons she hadn't worn to bed last night and strap them on for easy access. A knife went into each boot, three throwing knives up her sleeves, and Faithful, her longsword, went at her side.
Since she didn't really have any other clothes to change into, Cira left the girls' room and went into the main room, where three of the others were lounging around on the chairs. A chorus of "good morning!"s greeted her as she entered with a smile.
"Hey guys," she said, sitting down. "What's going on with ya? Where are Licyn and Myran?"
Ty, her best friend, grinned and rolled his eyes. "Licyn? Please. You really think we have _any_ idea?" he laughed. "Myran's out and about, too, we're not sure. Both of them were gone when we woke up."
"We just finished off the last of breakfast, actually," Brina said apologetically.
She shrugged. "That's fine. I'll head out to the market and grab something. See you guys later." With that, Cira stood and left the apartment to go off to the market for some food.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Morning was not a peaceful time of day for Aran Smallspring. He was a night-owl, and was often up late reading or practicing with his sword or thinking. basically anything but sleeping. But his Ashkevron cousins felt that morning was a time to get the day started and be as loud as they possibly could about it.
He chuckled mentally as he heard the door to the bachelor hall open up and two sets of feet enter.
"Is he still asleep?" someone asked in a loud whisper. It was his cousin Merral Ashkevron, a 16 year old that acted about five years younger than Aran did, not just one year.
"I don't know. It doesn't really matter, he's missing breakfast!" another replied. This was Aleid, another 16 year old.
He heard them walk over to his bedside, and felt someone roughly shaking him. "C'mon, lazy! Time to get up! You're missing breakfast, and Da says you're to work with Wind today, anyway, and we all know you won't want to miss that." This was said with a hint of jealousy, and Aran could easily understand it.
~Wind? Really?~ he thought to himself, very surprised. ~She's the fastest horse I've ever seen. I- I can't believe they trust me enough to let me work with her! This is great!~
At last, at long last his dreams were finally starting to take shape. Aran had wanted to work with the horses for the Ashkevrons for years. He'd been fostered over here when he was 14 and had immediately started working with the horses, and though they'd all been fairly easy up till now, letting him work with Wind showed that they really were starting to trust his skill with the horses they were so famous for.
He knew that these cousins, at least, wouldn't be lying and just trying to get him up out of bed. Aleid and Merral combined had less imagination combined than anybody else here had alone, and that was saying something.
"Okay, okay," he said, hiding his excitement behind his sleepiness. Aran struggled out from under the covers to see his cousins grinning widely at him. "What?"
They shrugged, grins fading. He sighed and stood up, then went over to the dresser to grab some clothes appropriate for the riding and training he'd be doing today, then shooed his cousins out with a grin and changed quickly.
Aran practically skipped downstairs in his excitement for the coming day, and met his older cousin Cayr on his way. Cayr was one of his relatives that he really admired and looked up to, and the two of them had quickly become friends, and despite the fact that Aran was two years younger, Cayr still seemed to really enjoy his company.
"Morning, Cayr," he said with a grin.
"Morning, Aran. What's the plan for today?" he asked, returning the grin.
"Not sure," he replied, not wanting to say that the others had told him about Wind until he found out for sure. He didn't want to seem like he was bragging, anyway.
"Well, _I_ know what you're doing," Cayr said, sounding a bit jealous as well. "Da says you get to work with Wind today."
Even Cayr knew? Did _everyone_ know? "Really?" he asked, sounding very surprised. "Aleid and Merral had said something like that, but I didn't know whether to believe them or not."
"Trust me," Cayr said with a small sigh, then a grin and a look of amazement. "You're so lucky, Aran! You're a natural, and now everybody's finally realizing it." He grinned and flushed slightly with the praise. His idol, praising _him_? It almost made his head spin with pride!
The two of them continued down the winding stairs towards the dining hall, and they grabbed some food and sat down. Aran was too nervous and excited to eat. He picked at his food, then finally buckled down and forced himself to eat some fruit.
Cayr finally finished, and the two of them left the hall and went outside. They'd just started walking over to the stables when they heard a big commotion from near the entrance to the Holding. They looked over with alarm to see practically everyone, especially those their age, going over in that direction, all looking surprised and anxious. The two cousins looked at each other, shrugged identical shrugs, then began walking over there, as well.
They arrived, and everyone was talking quite loudly. "What's going on?" Cayr asked Merral and Aleid.
"There's a Companion here!" they replied simultaneously.
"Did it Choose someone already?" Cayr asked.
"Nope," Merral replied. "Not yet. That's why we came over, so it could maybe Choose us!"
Cayr and Aran grinned at each other, then were surprised to see the crowd parting in front of them, making way for. the Companion to step forward.
It was the most beautiful creature Aran had ever seen. She was smallish for a horse, and her coat was the purest of white, her mane and tail like liquid snow falling over her. She stepped forward towards himself and Cayr, and he looked into her eyes.
.her eyes caught and held him, and he felt - something, like she was judging him, weighing him against some unknown standard. And then he knew that he had passed her test when he felt unbelievable love flowing over him, and he returned all of it and more as his eyes filled with tears of joy.
:Aran Smallspring, I am Nianu,: a songlike feminine voice said. :I Choose you, and I love you.: He practically fell forward to hug her.
"I love you too, Nianu."