An unwelcome shaft of light snaked its way through the shuttered windows of the stable and blasted itself against his eyelids like a lightning bolt thrown by a particularly vengeful deity. Kasrjin tilted his head to his left to move his eyes out of the sun before blinking unsteadily. He'd never considered the sensation of wakefulness to be a pleasant one, a notion belied by his usually alert appearance. An emerald sheen could be seen as his eyelids fluttered open and his cognisant functions returned. The steel of his sword had chilled considerably during the night, though the hay was surprisingly pliable. He glanced over to Roen to see his companion still resting; she would wake up on her own, he supposed.
The Xaela set about affixing his armour back onto his person, doing so as quietly as he could. A part of him winced at the light jingling of the mail hauberk and the occasional clank of the iron sabatons impacting one another, but he managed with little trouble. Kasrjin was just about to set the greatsword in its harness upon his back when the noise from outside the stable caught his attention.
Metal. The characteristic warbling of chocobos. There were...commands being shouted. Tailfeather was a hunter's lodge, so some activity was expected, but judging from the amount of noise alone, it must have been some kind of cavalry unit. He glanced at Roen again, whose chest rose and fell gently in rhythm. She was either more exhausted than she let on or a remarkably heavy sleeper. Or perhaps the Au Ra was simply more sensitive to noise.
He crept toward the entrance of the stable, careful to keep from moving the door too much--it had a poor habit of creaking on the hinges, which was useful for alerting him to intruders, at the least. The hunters had affixed a simple bar at the front of the stables, but the gap between the doors was sizeable enough for him to reach a hand through and lift the bar if needed. The gap also enabled Kasrjin to spy outside.
The position of the sun indicated that it was but a few bells after dawn, with the blazing light just beginning to crest itself over the mountainous terrain of Dravania. Assembled in the common yard of Tailfeather were a group of Ishgardian knights and their mounts. Kasrjin nodded to himself. Nine...twenty...thirty? It was a sizeable force, comparable to a warband. The men and their birds both were lightly armoured, which meant that whatever endeavour they were engaged on required speed.
Pursuers? No, it was unlikely that whatever authority intended to harass them in the city would commit so many men to two individuals. Kasrjin leaned against the door to expand the gap, allowing him to observe more of the knights and their mounts. Some of the chocobos had some kind of rope lattice attached to the saddlebags. Nets? The men were all armed with bows and lances. Some dried blood could be seen caked on their faces. One man stood in a knight's uniform of plate armour, directing the men's efforts to something Kasrjin couldn't quite see. Judging from their state, they were returning from...something. A battle?
The armoured knight suddenly made a jabbing pointing motion at the stable.
Kasrjin quickly retreated as silently as he could, making his way into the stable where they had spent the night and shaking Roen rather violently. "We must leave," he urged. The Xaela moved to the opposite side of the stable and began checking the birds. Karadwyr warbled in annoyed agitation as the saddlebags were affixed to the destrier again.
They were here for something, but if it was them, he would rather not give them something to find.
The Xaela set about affixing his armour back onto his person, doing so as quietly as he could. A part of him winced at the light jingling of the mail hauberk and the occasional clank of the iron sabatons impacting one another, but he managed with little trouble. Kasrjin was just about to set the greatsword in its harness upon his back when the noise from outside the stable caught his attention.
Metal. The characteristic warbling of chocobos. There were...commands being shouted. Tailfeather was a hunter's lodge, so some activity was expected, but judging from the amount of noise alone, it must have been some kind of cavalry unit. He glanced at Roen again, whose chest rose and fell gently in rhythm. She was either more exhausted than she let on or a remarkably heavy sleeper. Or perhaps the Au Ra was simply more sensitive to noise.
He crept toward the entrance of the stable, careful to keep from moving the door too much--it had a poor habit of creaking on the hinges, which was useful for alerting him to intruders, at the least. The hunters had affixed a simple bar at the front of the stables, but the gap between the doors was sizeable enough for him to reach a hand through and lift the bar if needed. The gap also enabled Kasrjin to spy outside.
The position of the sun indicated that it was but a few bells after dawn, with the blazing light just beginning to crest itself over the mountainous terrain of Dravania. Assembled in the common yard of Tailfeather were a group of Ishgardian knights and their mounts. Kasrjin nodded to himself. Nine...twenty...thirty? It was a sizeable force, comparable to a warband. The men and their birds both were lightly armoured, which meant that whatever endeavour they were engaged on required speed.
Pursuers? No, it was unlikely that whatever authority intended to harass them in the city would commit so many men to two individuals. Kasrjin leaned against the door to expand the gap, allowing him to observe more of the knights and their mounts. Some of the chocobos had some kind of rope lattice attached to the saddlebags. Nets? The men were all armed with bows and lances. Some dried blood could be seen caked on their faces. One man stood in a knight's uniform of plate armour, directing the men's efforts to something Kasrjin couldn't quite see. Judging from their state, they were returning from...something. A battle?
The armoured knight suddenly made a jabbing pointing motion at the stable.
Kasrjin quickly retreated as silently as he could, making his way into the stable where they had spent the night and shaking Roen rather violently. "We must leave," he urged. The Xaela moved to the opposite side of the stable and began checking the birds. Karadwyr warbled in annoyed agitation as the saddlebags were affixed to the destrier again.
They were here for something, but if it was them, he would rather not give them something to find.
