3rd day of Spring, 513 AV Fifteenth bell of the day Snow crunched beneath the heavy strides of a lethargic looking figure. Half of his face was hidden within layers of a thick scarf and cloak, his hands were deep in his pockets and he slouched miserably as he walked. Large bulky saddle bags adorned the broad of his back and some of its contents were peeking out, indicating his haste upon packing. The rest of his face revealed a deep frown. He came from the direction of the White Elk Stables and with a heavy heart he started walking towards nowhere in particular. Avanthal wasn’t the kind of place he’d prefer getting lost in but the pathless streets looked the same to him, flat, bleak, and immensely cold. And it felt even colder now that Hassan wasn’t around. He’d been blaming himself for Hassan’s illness but he couldn’t bring himself to give away the horse. Parting with Hassan was not an option, but improving himself was. Yousef’s frown deepened as he walked further into Avanthal, lost in his thoughts. The Benshira didn’t even bother looking around him; else he’d have noticed the increasing number of people along the way. He did look up however, once he heard a series of high pitched giggling coming from behind him, a group of children rushed passed him throwing snowballs at each other. Only then did he realize that he’d arrive at Mirror Lake. He overheard a few locals talking about this place with excitement, but he wasn’t sure what they were so excited about, everything looked the same, cold and covered in snow. He sighed deeply as he placed his saddlebags on the ground then he propped himself next to them, facing the lake which was full of people skating. Idly, he began taking large clumps of snow and padded away at them, this reminded him of the days he spent alone in their tent molding a piece of clay. Often the shapes came out odd and irregular, but his sisters didn’t mind. Yousef was never good at sculpting but it kept his head off of things. |