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These mid-darkening awakenings would bring bags under her eyes if left unchecked, and Amelia was taking a mental note to apply sliced zucchini the next morning, when surprise filled her heart upon seeing the carriage; the kind of surprise you get when something breaks your daily routine. No, this was definitely uncommon - Shiandi, she remembered, was a good walker, having marched all the way from Juju's house in the docks to her manor in the Jasmine District without breaking a sweat. Night crime hardly posed a challenge to the Outlander, so for her to use a carriage, the destination had to be quite far away from the manor. She looked at the driver for an instant before jumping on with two graceful steps, somewhat glad that she wasn't wearing a skirt.
Her first carriage ride. Having been a Cinderella back at the village, Amelia had dreamed many times of becoming a noblewoman with her own carriage, but admittedly, not even her fantasy could have imagined that her first ride would be like this - with a blood-painted foreigner across from her seat. That Shiandi looked... different tonight she had soon realized, though the cause of it the young Vagar couldn't begin to fathom. It had been only a few brightenings since the sneak attack on Nexus, and maybe that could explain why her mentor seemed uneasy. She hadn't forgotten, either - the pirate called Snake had mentioned the black witch. Could Shiandi have been involved in an attack upon her own city? To even entertain such thoughts seemed absurd...
Yet, Amelia considered, Nexus wasn't really her city. Just like the Half-elf, the Outlander had come from a distant land. So... was that such a far-fetched thought? Blue eyes peeked through the curtain and watched as the driver bought their exit from the city. 'Where on Telath is she taking me...' her body tingled with nervousness for a few instants, she hadn't left Nexus ever since she'd walked past its gates. She really didn't want to know about this scary woman's agenda... and yet she did, because it would end up shaping the Outlaw's future.
'And why the blood? ... why the luggage? How long is she planning to stay?' Having honed her observation skills well beyond what they used to be, such details now stuck out more easily than ever before. Life in Nexus tended to do that to people, a ground of survival of the fittest. This, though, wasn't Nexus anymore. The holt - she'd probably sighted it just before entering the city the first time, but she hadn't been in the right frame of mind to notice it. What business Shiandi could have in this place, and especially what business involving her student... Amelia knew she would find out soon enough.
The air seemed to sting even more bitterly outside the walls. She stepped off cautiously; the sight of woods would have been a welcome change in daytime, but now they just made her nervous. Many beasts probably lurked here that wouldn't mind treating themselves to a maiden's flesh - and despite Juju and Nei's remarks there was a decent amount to be had. Still, she didn't really have a choice, did she? Picking up Shiandi's heavy looking luggage, she realized with horror that the snow reached to her knees. Of course no-one bothered to shovel it daily around these parts. That was it, then, a guaranteed cold. Just great.
"Yes," she said in a misty cloud of breath, one bag in either hand and one flung over her shoulder. Following Shiandi's fleeting silhouette as best she could, it wasn't long before she found herself panting and, naturally, chilled. Wondering briefly if Father could feel the same cold, a single thought monopolized Amelia's mind. 'This is only going to get worse...'
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