IoM: On the Road to Villnore
Jul. 20th, 2006 12:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runicloreI can't bloody write anything right now. :P Haven't felt like it since AX, and it's kind of annoying! So I tried anyway.
Eventually I'll write real VP fanfic, but it'll have to happen when I feel more creative than this. :P
They left Lassen before the sun was more than a sliver above the treeline to the east. Villnore would complete their circuit of the continent and their journey would end in Solde, on the northern coast, just in time for winter to cast its icy gaze upon the land. A southern town would have been preferable, but there were places worse than Port Solde to spend a winter - Berri came to mind.
The road was deserted, and the air still biting cold, unwarmed as yet by the weak light of the sun. Claira attempted to stay alert for the first hour, but the road was deserted and Ashlin, ever attentive, had already proven that she didn't need help in maintaining their safety. She let her mind wander farther and faster down the road than her horse could carry her until she barely noticed the wind.
"You've been quiet all morning. What's the deal?"
Ashlin's inquiry made her jump, and her horse tossed its head. She leaned to stroke its neck. "Nothing. I didn't sleep well."
"No kidding." The other woman cast her a sidelong glance. "So?"
"Honestly." Claira straightened. "I was thinking too much. It was very late before I lost track of it all."
Ashlin was quiet for a few moments. "Thinking too much about valkyries and gods, oh my?"
"What--" She narrowed her eyes, watching the shimmer of Ashlin's hair in her peripheral vision. Her companion might be perceptive, too much so after nearly a year of traveling together, but that guess was too close to the mark, and she hadn't mentioned it at all. Claira sighed. "You were awake?"
"I wasn't, actually. Until you yelled and fixed that." Ashlin laughed and pulled her horse back, even with Claira's. "I'd have kicked you, but..."
"Hm." Claira rested her hands over the pommel of her saddle, reins held loosely. "That girl we sent to Flenceburg, Alisha..." She pressed her lips together for a moment. They'd spent longer in Gerabellum than she'd wished to convince the child's owner to send her to the academy. Normally she wouldn't have wasted the time, but when she heard the girl's name called... "She reminded me of something. I don't know what - something from my school days, perhaps?" She shrugged. "It must have unsettled me."
"And you dreamt of valkyries." Ashlin snorted. "Well, they did have that statue in their courtyard, and it was pretty ugly. I'd have had nightmares too."
Claira laughed softly, but swallowed her mirth. "Satisfied?"
"Maybe." Ashlin snapped her reigns and took her place ahead once again, throwing over her shoulder, "It's just that 'Silmeria' always catches my attention. Can't help it, sorry. I kind of miss the place."
For the hundredth time, Claira wondered why Ashlin didn't go back, if she missed the temple so much. Better not to ask, though. Perhaps they both had unpleasant pasts to bury.
. . .
Word: fatigue
Time: I don't know, half an hour? Longer than it should've been, whatever it was.
Eventually I'll write real VP fanfic, but it'll have to happen when I feel more creative than this. :P
They left Lassen before the sun was more than a sliver above the treeline to the east. Villnore would complete their circuit of the continent and their journey would end in Solde, on the northern coast, just in time for winter to cast its icy gaze upon the land. A southern town would have been preferable, but there were places worse than Port Solde to spend a winter - Berri came to mind.
The road was deserted, and the air still biting cold, unwarmed as yet by the weak light of the sun. Claira attempted to stay alert for the first hour, but the road was deserted and Ashlin, ever attentive, had already proven that she didn't need help in maintaining their safety. She let her mind wander farther and faster down the road than her horse could carry her until she barely noticed the wind.
"You've been quiet all morning. What's the deal?"
Ashlin's inquiry made her jump, and her horse tossed its head. She leaned to stroke its neck. "Nothing. I didn't sleep well."
"No kidding." The other woman cast her a sidelong glance. "So?"
"Honestly." Claira straightened. "I was thinking too much. It was very late before I lost track of it all."
Ashlin was quiet for a few moments. "Thinking too much about valkyries and gods, oh my?"
"What--" She narrowed her eyes, watching the shimmer of Ashlin's hair in her peripheral vision. Her companion might be perceptive, too much so after nearly a year of traveling together, but that guess was too close to the mark, and she hadn't mentioned it at all. Claira sighed. "You were awake?"
"I wasn't, actually. Until you yelled and fixed that." Ashlin laughed and pulled her horse back, even with Claira's. "I'd have kicked you, but..."
"Hm." Claira rested her hands over the pommel of her saddle, reins held loosely. "That girl we sent to Flenceburg, Alisha..." She pressed her lips together for a moment. They'd spent longer in Gerabellum than she'd wished to convince the child's owner to send her to the academy. Normally she wouldn't have wasted the time, but when she heard the girl's name called... "She reminded me of something. I don't know what - something from my school days, perhaps?" She shrugged. "It must have unsettled me."
"And you dreamt of valkyries." Ashlin snorted. "Well, they did have that statue in their courtyard, and it was pretty ugly. I'd have had nightmares too."
Claira laughed softly, but swallowed her mirth. "Satisfied?"
"Maybe." Ashlin snapped her reigns and took her place ahead once again, throwing over her shoulder, "It's just that 'Silmeria' always catches my attention. Can't help it, sorry. I kind of miss the place."
For the hundredth time, Claira wondered why Ashlin didn't go back, if she missed the temple so much. Better not to ask, though. Perhaps they both had unpleasant pasts to bury.
. . .
Word: fatigue
Time: I don't know, half an hour? Longer than it should've been, whatever it was.