Homeward Bound

[Valeriya]

Accepted Elsae

Huh. Nythadri was pretty flustered. Huh. That's weird. Elsae tipped her face first one way, her eyes roamed over the kalediscope of Nythadri's expressions brief as they were, then it tilted back the other way like she were unsure if what she was looking at was something she recognized or not. Nythadri was cool as an ice pepper usually. She had that heavy lidded impatience that girls tended to glare when waiting for some silly nonsense erupting around them to die back down. Nythadri paled a little, if someone could say the moon could turn a shade crisper, the moment the wheels turned over. You do know him. Well, that much was to be expected. If he knew her, it was only logical that the knowing was mutual.

Elsae did seriously consider Nythadri's question. It was a surprisingly good one too. Had she thought to ask his name? Did his name matter? She shrugged and turned sideways as Nythadri snaked past, shift fluttering, and retrieved a dress. Nythadri dressed in silence, as Elsae only crossed her arms and blatantly watched the bands of color get pulled over her head and down the rest of her.

Nythadri appreciated it? Twice said. You are flustered. Why? It was almost as interesting to see evidence of Nythadri - the Nythadri, the one of them who was the most composed, the most chilling, and most smartwitted among them - crack her stoney exterior than it was to wonder what it was chiseling away at it. Everyone knew Nythadri was high born back in Andor. It was no secret she'd been a noblewoman. There were a few of them floating around in white. Technically Elsae herself was one too, though she quickly learned to stop talking about her mother's house. Besides it was too little known to prick more than the most nosy of Gray ears and nobody expected an imp like Elsae to have ever come from anywhere in society. Nythadri though, she was definitely a noble's daughter, from glare downward. It was funny then to see such roles reversed among them.

She shrugged again at the request, unbothered by the semantics of a favor versus an order. She did however quirk a little smile at the addendum to the request. Stay or listen. Not that eavesdropping would even cross her mind. Not with the One Power anyway, and her rooms were too far away to know if anything happened. Alida was next door to Elsae, and as far as Els was concerned, neighborly circumstances just tended to lend itself to some things. Like Byron's door. The gaidin kept it locked, which Elsae did happen to check on at a semi-regular schedule. So therefore he must not wish anyone to wander inside.

Els stifled a yawn about then and rubbed her eyes. She'd lost track of Nythadri those last few moments, and blinked herself warm wetness across her eyes to wake herself back up. She was pretty tired too. Nythadri was at the door looking out. She didn't say anything. Is he still there? Then the door widened and nobody seemed anxious to move.

So she twisted sideways and slid past Nythadri. She glanced up at Jai, getting a good look at what he actually looked like, as someone might who wanted the knowledge to reproduce a decent sketch later at will. A few steps down the hall her voice carried back to them, though she didn't turn to let them see the small smile across her lips. Not even so much as a glance when she disappeared behind her own door. "You're welcome."