Familiar Territory

[alamea]

Endless fields of yellow and green, thats all Alamea saw as she went for a ride in the farm area of Avaren. This was the closet thing the apprentice mage could get to her old home. For today she had removed her apprentice robe and wore riding breeches and a snug shirt. The brown hair she usually wore down was held up into a bun to keep it out of her face. Beneath her, a chesnut mare called Evaline pawed at the ground impatiently, ready to continue on their ride.

You didnt get much of a view in the city. Sure it was beautiful, but Alamea had grown up a farmer's daughter. Poor and young, working. Her fate had been set at 12 to be a tavern worker in her small town, so that she could do something for her family. But while working there, some strange things had happened and the girl had been identified as having magical ability. It was the proudest day of her parents life. So the young girl had packed up her few possesions and went to live in the Mage Academy.

Now it was good to be out in the fresh air, in farm country. Where everything was pure and natural. How her heart longed for the days when she lived on land like this. So with a deep breath and a loud woop, Alamea let Evanline into a gallop, kicking up dust and other things as they rode on the roads around the fields and into them themselves. After a while riding around and enjoying the air, the girl slowed the mare down into a trot and allowed herself a short rest. Her clean clothes were now caked with dirt and dust and sweat from riding so long, but it was nothing new. When she worked on a farm, this was everyday life. She wished she could go back to that, rather than living this stressful mage life.

[Camilla]

It was amazing how much time Camilla gave herself to be alone, when she was such a serious student. Then again, what was life if none of it was even vaguely enjoyable?

Camilla liked the farmland, not because it held any sort of familiarity, but because it was peaceful, green, and the people were pleasant and understood the meaning of hard work.

The trek out to the farmland took a while, for certain, as Camilla was too impoverished for a horse of her own and was too shy to ask to borrow someone else's, but the apprentice had always had a certain appreciation for nature and solitude, and thus, contented herself with examining the various trees and plants that she encountered down the beaten dirt path.

When she was significantly out of sight, she walked carefully toward the side of the road, then stood still, resting part of her weight on her staff. Focusing on the road, her eyes found a stray stone, one small enough for her to affect.

Her brow furrowed slightly, and her green eyes became intense with concentration as she unblinkingly stared at the stone. After a few moments, the stone began to rock back and forth slowly, and finally, with a final jolt of concentration on the magic energies that pulsed within her, Camilla lifted the stone clearly off the path. Her face broke into a grin at her own practice induced ability, but before she could experiment more with her abilities, the faint beat of hooves met Cam's ears, and she calmly let the stone down and walked off the road, hiding behind a large, ancient, gnarled tree.

She observed, by way of hearing, the horse slow down to a trot, and she peeked around the tree to see a girl who was younger even than herself. Pausing to think for only a moment, she came from hiding and walked toward the path calmly, then walking in the direction that the girl was going as calmly as if she had been there beside her all along.

"Hello," she greeted calmly, now a couple yards behind the girl on horseback. It was perhaps not loud enough to catch her attention, but if it wasn't, at least then Camilla could simply return to what she'd been doing.

[alamea]

Pulling Evaline to a halt, Alamea turned the horse to face the newcomer coming to see her. Wiping some of the sweat from her face with cloth she spoke to Camilla in a very tired voice. "Hello there." She greeted, sliding down from her horse with sore limbs. The apprentice had been out here so long, horseback riding wasnt easy on the body. In a way she wondered what another person out here would be doing, in the middle of the farmlands, but maybe they enjoyed the fresh air just as much as she did. With careful blue eyes she saw the staff Camilla carried, and a smile spread across her face.

"Im Alamea, pleasure to meet you. Im an apprentice too." The girl said calmly, motioning to the staff the girl held. In truth she was a little bit frustrated to meet a connection to that Academy, but overjoyed to actually meet someone new. "I would offer you a hand to shake, but Id rather not force you to shake it after riding." Alamea said sheepishly, motioning to the fact that her hands were sweaty from gripping the reins of her horse.

Resting an arm against Evaline's back, the apprentice was catching her breath before speaking again, addressing her first concern. "What brings you out to the farm lands."

[Camilla]

"Pleased to meet you, Alamea," she replied pleasantly, approaching the girl and switching her staff to her other hand, so that she could offer it to shake.

"I don't mind, really. I grew up in a fishing village, and after you've gutted enough fish, it's really hard to be severely opposed to touching anything, especially if it's something as minor as sweat and dirt." Camilla's face, while implying the emotion that would usually cause a smile, was still completely straight and cool.

Asked about her reason for coming out to the farmlands, Camilla looked unnerved for a split moment, as if questioning whether or not it was okay to tell this girl why. Where she came from, magical ability was misunderstood and largely taboo, and while her parents embraced the knowledge that Cam was somehow special, it didn't appear that anybody else did. Finally, however, rational thought took over and she realized that this girl, also an apprentice, was not someone who would reject her for her abilities.

"I was just practicing moving objects, a bit, before you rode by," Camilla admitted at last, a slight rueful smile gracing her features. Of course it would seem strange to the girl that she was practicing here instead of at the academy, and would probably provoke more questions. To distract from this, Cam decided to ask her own.

"I would assume that you're out here to ride that horse of yours, no?"

[alamea]

With a grim smile Alamea shook Camilla’s hand, happy she wasn’t too offended by the state of it. Keeping her face cheerful, the apprentice felt a pang of concern when she saw that Camilla was uneasy at her question. For a second she bit her lip, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. “I’m sorry if that wasn’t the best question, curiosity got the best of me.” An apologetic look was on her face, for she truly was sorry.

But that look went to embarrasment at the mention of Camilla practicing magic. Alamea was learning and getting better, sure. But it still took forever for the girl to do anything, no matter how small. Apprentices usually werent good right off the bat, it took time before they learned the basics. But she was slow even for an apprentice. With a smile she nodded at the fact Camilla accepted her magical powers. That was good for an apprentice.

With a glance at Evaline now standing patiently, waiting to begin again, the girl smiled. "Yes, I came out to ride her. With all my work as an apprentice, I rarely find time. But I made it today, sometimes you need to get out into the nature. The city is just too crowded sometimes." Alamea said with a wry smile.

OOC: Sorry for bad and short post

[Camilla]

"That question was fine," Camilla said with a dismissive smile and a shrug. She was getting used to life at the Academy, and beginning to understand that here she was accepted. She changed her stance slightly so that she was more comfortable on the uneven terrain, and brought her cloak closer about her shoulders, feeling the Autumn chill through the now threadbare garment.

"Aye, I understand what you mean about the city. I'm from a fishing village, myself, so I'm not quite used to this many strange people. Where I come from, everyone knows everyone, but here, you're only the second person I've spoken to longer than in passing." Camilla paused for a moment, realizing that she was saying a bit too much, perhaps, but her face didn't portray her emotion, nor did it pinken more than it already had from the cold.

"I'm a fan of nature, as well," Camilla said, nodding as if agreeing with herself. "I don't mind the solitude, either. It gives me time to think that I don't have back at the Academy." The apprentice pulled her hand inside her cloak to warm it for a moment, meanwhile staying eerily focused on the girl and her horse.

"Speaking of which, how are you liking it at the Academy?"

OOC: Don't worry about it. Your post was great, and plenty long.

[alamea]

“Are you alright?” Alamea asked with concern, seeing how cold the girl was. She was used to the chill, being a farmer’s daughter she had slept through many cold nights. But even so she recognized the cold in the face of the girl. Those comment about the city brought her back to focus and she smiled a bit. “I understand, I don’t speak to many people too. At the Academy, most people only have time for themselves, not to help each other.” The girl said quietly, keeping her head down a bit. She loved being around some people, a couple at a time, but it was lonely at the Academy.

A look of mixed emotions crossed the her face as Camilla asked her about the Academy. "Its...interesting...ok, in truth is rather stressful. So much work to do, always trying to learn. I so desperatley want to become a good mage, but its hard. I grew up at a farm, around nature and hard work. Now I find out I have these powers, and everything changes. I am forced to long hour days and lots of work. Its just....rough..." Alamea said with a sigh of frustration. She knew it would get easier once she wasnt an apprentice. Still, it could be annoying sometimes.

"How are you enjoying it? An Academy is a lot different than a fishing village." the girl said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood a bit. It was getting uncomftorable, and she hated to rest on saddening points. Being cheerful was so much more fun.

[Camilla]

"I'm fine, don't worry," Camilla said, finding herself again reassuring the poor girl. She looked a little young to be a mage apprentice, in truth, seeing as, as far as she'd seen, the Academy housed more apprentices who were in their late teens if not early 20's.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Camilla said, trying her best to be encouraging, though it was difficult seeing as usually her responses were witty and sarcastic, something which she found herself apologizing over a lot. She felt bad for the poor girl, who appeared to have having somewhat of a tough time. "Practice makes perfect, after all." Camille fell silent for a few long moments, not wanting this conversation to be so saddening for the both of them. Perhaps this girl would have been better off if she hadn't bothered to catch her attention...

At Alamea's question, however, Camilla's eyes brightened, though as usual, her face remained stoic and firm. She almost spoke, but then paused a moment, realizing that maybe if she seemed too happy it would only make the other apprentice feel worse.

"I really like it here, actually. It's a lot better than being a fisherman's daughter in a port village, trust me." Camilla smiled, paused for a moment, and laughed quietly, a sound that seemed very out of place somehow coming from the girl, the sound echoing almost painfully in it's unnatural tone.

[alamea]

Alamea forced a smile at Camilla’s comments, knowing they were supposed to be cheering. The girl just couldn’t find it in her heart right now while she talked about the Academy. Sure, she was there young, but the mage who had sent her had promised, sworn, that Alamea belonged there. That one day she would be strong if she studied hard. But every day that promise seemed wrong. The apprentice felt like she would never be an alcolyte. So many other students went there, didnt train hard, and were quickly moving through the ranks. But it seemed she was stuck where she was.

Shaking her head to rid herself of unwanted thoughts, Alamea focused again on Camilla. Hopefully she wasnt making the girl feel too bad, Alamea was just sensitive was all. It was hard being ripped from a life you knew and loved and placed into one more difficult. With a smile, she thought about her statement. "A fishing village? Why is that so bad, sounds so interesting. Has to be near water, I love water. And I mean, a fisherman's daughter cant be much more different that a farmer's daughter, and Im rambling arent I? Darn it..."The apprentice ended with a chuckle that sounded as awkward as Camilla's laugh.

OOC: Sorry for short post, Im just not into it right now