The Grey Tower

The day had the outlook of becoming a nice and warm one. The morning was grey and chilled, perfect for a long run, and streaks of blue sky were spawning on the horizon, bringing the promise of a late summer sun. A beautiful day indeed to be out of the office, out of the Tower.

Saddlebags over one shoulder, Amayani was walking towards the stables, dressed for a day riding out in the forests. She had decided to take Ubriel's advice of riding when she had the chance, to get to know the mare she used to ride better. Maybe one day she would be comfortable enough on horseback to fight mounted, and fight well. But that was not the main goal of today's ride.

No, today she was checking up on an old acquaintance. A friend, she hoped she could call her old instructor that. Recently returned to the Yards, the man was quite troubled, bordering on wild. And if there was one thing the Yards could do without, it was a wild wolfkin running around on their grounds. So to keep the man sane, stable, they had allowed him to remain bonded to the novice he'd returned with. And even allowed the girl to take residence in his quarters in the Barracks. Though, in truth, it was more ignoring the issue than outright allowing it. At least until the man was stable enough to safely separate them.

Yani suppressed a sigh and pushed the issue out of her head. She would not dwell on the administrative problems right now. Besides, she had set Ruben to keep an eye on them, for their own safety; having a girl, and a Novice at that, living in the men's section of the barracks was bound to cause some tension among the trainees. So far there had been no problems, and surprisingly few questions.

Arriving at the stables, Yani headed towards her mare, wondering if Garren was there already. Or if he would show up at all. She had had the summon delivered to his rooms early the day before, and had made sure the summon was of an informal type, not the summons of the Mistress of Arms, but of an old acquaintance, who just happened to currently be the head of the Yards. In truth she hoped it would be read as an invitation for a day out of the Tower, a ride in the countryside, and some friendly conversation.

She also wondered if the man would remember her, given the fact that she had only been a trainee still when he had left.

Garren had indeed received the summons. Though the language had been casual (that had been so hard for him to distinguish, so many years ago!) he knew that it was not just the request of a friend wanting to meet with an old teacher. Amayani was the Master of Arms now, and he knew it was her job to make sure he wasn’t...out of control. If he failed to attend, there could be a price to pay, and it was likely that he would be taken away from Angel altogether. He could not afford such a thing, not now, and not in the future. He would not be separated from her again.

So that morning he had risen when he always did. After bathing, dressing, eating, and going through his morning forms, he had finally left his barrack and headed towards the stables. Within them, he had the stallion he had possessed for years. The son of the one Caden had arranged for him so long ago, it now it’s own son, a young colt that had been born since coming to the Tower. It would be years before Garren could ride this colt, but the training to be able to stand the wolfkin’s smell started nearly from birth.

When Amayani arrives and brings her mare out of the stables, she would find Garren in one of the pens with both animals. Each an equally deep brown, nearly black unless the light shone upon it, he was slowing taking the younger colt in circles around the pen while the father, already in his tack, watched from a nearby patch of grass growing under the fence. For the moment, the wolfkin’s focus was upon the horses, and Amayani would get a rare look at Garren distracted. For the most part, he looked tired, his eyes a little harder and a little further away than they had been all those years ago. But there was still the hint of smile lines around the eyes...they were just hidden beneath the lines of worry that hadn’t been there the last time they had met.