In the many skirmishes among the military students, it was either fight or flight, and risk ridicule later. This was what a young member of the tribe named Amythest had learned. Flight; that was what she had chosen. It would not go well for her later if one of the masters found she'd run… The young Laguz moved swiftly through the halls of the palace, her sandaled feet making quiet shuffling sounds. Twin black, feathered wings produced from her back seemed the only mark of her tribe, however. The first reason she didn't seem like a Crow Laguz was because she was running. The Crows NEVER ran, they always flew in such a way that their luxurious raven wings could be seen. They also chose to dress in darker colors, ones that closely matched their wings. The white marble of the palace hall made them stand out, since most chose to wear dark greys and blacks. Amythest on the other hand, was currently clothed in an almost blinding shade of pink. The dress ran below her feet; since the Crows didn't run, why bother wearing things that wouldn't restrict the movement of your feet? Granted, their clothes were extravagant, but slightly impractical.
Amythest's pale hand snaked up to the throbbing stitch in her side, and she finally made it to her destination. The hall she had been running in had many large, oak doors that lead to the private chambers of the nobles. Amythest leaned against one, and stood there panting for a moment. Finally she let go of her side and tried to get her mussed, dark green hair into some sort of order by finger combing it. At least her hair took after her tribe's traits, most of the Crows were dark haired. Amythest shook the wrinkles of her flamboyant dress out, then turned to face the door. Her purple gaze, which had earned her her name, scanned the ornately carved face of the door. She'd seen in so many times that she's likely know it in an instant with her eyes closed. Amythest knocked twice, then entered the room.
Amythest was greeted by a long red carpet, that moved it's way up to the small throne at the opposite end of the room like a river of the blood Naesala had spilled. A man hovered on his tribe's namesake wings, not far from the throne. He was bent over a table covered in maps of the continent, seeming to study them. His back was turned to her, but Amythest knew him almost as well as he knew her. Without looking up, the man said, "Aren't you supposed to be practicing?" Amythest gave a slight nod at that, and sighed quietly as the man turned to look at her.
"You've been running," her brother's accusation came. As if on cue, Amythest flexed her wings, then rose to hover a few inches off the ground. Amythest shifted uncomfortably under her brother's keen blue gaze, the gaze that was so much like Naesala's. His hair was as black as his wings, though there were several odd blue streaks running through it. "Well?" he demanded.
"Yes…" Amythest said meekly as she flew over to him.
"And you've gotten into a fight," her brother added with a sigh, as he saw the slowly bleeding split lip Amythest had gained not to long ago. Amythest only nodded again. The man produced a handkerchief and wiped away the blood, then gave it to Amythest to hold to her lip.
"I won't ask about the fight, that's your business if you want to tell me," he said.
"It wasn't my fault Cree, it was them again… They're always picking on me…" Amythest grumbled, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke around the handkerchief.
"You're not supposed to complain about all that you know," Cree responded with a small sigh. Amythest nodded in response.
"At any rate, why were you running?" he asked next.
"Errrrr…."
"Spit it out….." Cree prompted.
"I like it," Amythest mumbled. Cree shook his head and replied, "You KNOW you're not supposed to, what if someone saw you? You'd be the death of us all, especially if word reached Naesala's (may-he-live-forever) ears!"
"Sorry," Amythest said meekly.
"Sorry's not enough you know. You should be punished," Cree said, frowning slightly. Amythest looked pleadingly up at Cree, not because he was taller, but because he was hovering higher than she. Cree caught the look and scowled down at his sister. She was very good at a vital skill needed among nobles to keep alive: sucking up to those who rank above you.
"Well, we can think about that later I suppose. Right now, you should come with me," Cree said in a much more brisk tone, as though this hadn't happened. It was all Amythest could do from clapping her hands gleefully and muttering proudly to herself…
"Where are we going?" she asked her brother.
"To our territory's borders. All the young ones are supposed to help patrol the borders, it's one of their first tasks. If you don't know what our borders are you won't know what to patrol," Cree said with a simple shrug. Amythest gave an eager nod, it wasn't often she could get away from the palace, much less the training grounds….
"But you're not coming dressed like that. Someone would see you from miles off, especially those cursed Hawks with their eyes…" Cree said shortly. Amythes gave another nod, and sprang into a door on one side of the throne to her room. Cree's room was past a door on the other side, this small main hall of their quarters were used mainly for official purposes. Cree wasn't long in getting a cloak, the weather had turned chilly of late. It took Amythest a good deal longer to change into a dark shaded dress. The dress wasn't black or grey however; there was still a mischievous bit of color here and there. Cree glanced over as she exited her room, and an amused smile that threatened to take over his mouth was quickly stifled.
"Come, there's plenty of time before dark, and I plan to use it," Cree said sternly. Amythest grinned at him, knowing him well enough to see that he was amused. Cree flew from the room in a way that made his cloak billow out behind him; another trick most Crows knew. The crows were very vain, but very, very violent. Amythest seemed to be the exception here, as she was in many cases. She knew well enough that if she tried her brother's flourish, she'd end up tangled. Her exit was much simpler than Cree's, but it accomplished the same thing. Soon the two were flying towards the North Eastern border of the Crow's territory.