The wind whipped through Lei'lira's hair as she urged her mare into a gallop. Star wanted to run, and Lei'lira could feel that desire through every movement the mare made. That desire made her own nerves tingle, and she found herself wanting to feel the wind whipping through her hair as much as Star did. So she gave Star her head, and bent low over the mare's neck so to decrease her wind resistance. As they galloped along, Lei'lira felt as if she were the one who was running, and she reveled in the feeling. It was a sign that she and Star trusted each other completely; so much so that it was as if they had become one.
The wind picked up speed, as if it knew that Lei'lira and Star were racing it. Lei'lira urged her mare into greater speed. Racing the wind was fun. It stirred up a rare competitive spirit in her, and she wanted to win. As Star obeyed her request, Lei'lira shifted her body to match the mare's movements. Balance was important when riding at all times. Losing it could mean a nasty fall, especially at high speeds like this. But Lei'lira was skilled enough as a rider not to make such a mistake.
When she felt Star begin to slow, she knew that the mare was starting to tire. She urged her to fall back into a walk, and she knew that she was right when Star offered no protest. Lei'lira brought her to a stop and dismounted. Then she walked the mare to cool her down before giving her a through grooming, and returning her to her stall. Then it was time to choose another horse to exercise.
Instead of one of the horses, she chose one of her Scalvwing Steeds. She and the mare had begun learning to trust one another, and she wanted to build on that trust with a good ride; riding an animal was a great way to build trust with them because it allowed rider and animal to get to know each other. With any luck, the mare would learn to trust her enough that she would be willing to fly with her soon. Lei'lira had found that she liked heights as much as her cousin did, and she was really looking forward to the trial when she would be able to fly on one of her Scalvwing Steeds.
For now, though, they would have to stick to the ground, and Lei'lira was happy to do so until she had earned the mare's trust enough to deserve more from her. Riding the mare while she was on the ground proved to be just the same as if she was riding a horse instead of a Scalvwing Steed; she just had to be careful of the mare's wings as she rode. Both responded to the dame commands and cues. That gave her confidence, and that confidence helped her to trust the mare more. The mare responded to that trust in kind, and relaxed under Lei'lira's direction.
After they had been riding long enough to give the mare a good workout, Lei'lira guided her to a stop near a series of hay bales she had set up before hand. She had started to make some progress with her lessons with her bow, and she wanted to practice on her own for a bit. She was feeling somewhat daring, so she had decided that she wanted to try firing her crossbow while mounted. If she could learn how to manage that, she felt that it would be a huge help. Being on the back of a horse did great things for her confidence, and she needed every scrap of confidence she could get while learning the use of one of her chosen weapons.
But using the crossbow while mounted was quickly proving to be completely different than trying to use it while standing still. "Still" was the key point; she had managed to hit her target a couple of times if she was standing perfectly still while she took aim, and the wind wasn't blowing. Everything had to be perfect. But while mounted, even if her mare wasn't walking, she wasn't perfectly still. She would shift her weight as she changed positions, or stretch her neck to reach for a tasty looking clump of grass. They were slight movements, and Lei'lira had the feeling that a skilled archer would be able to ignore them. Unfortunately, she was far from being a skilled archer.
Lei'lira gave up after a few more tries. She nudged the mare into a walk, and used the trip back to the stable to cool her down. When they arrived, she dismounted, and gave the mare a good grooming before she led her back into her stall.
When she turned to leave the stable, she froze, eyes wide with shock. The door was gone. In its place was a dark gathering of rippling shadows. They were far from ordinary shadows, even aside from the fact that they were hovering in the air starting at knee height, and going up to the ceiling, filling the area that had once been a perfectly normal doorway entirely. These shadows were onyx in hue, and had flecks of violet starlight drifting in them. They had a slick surface that looked almost like liquid...sort of. But no liquid she had ever seen had looked even remotely like this. Through the...whatever it was, Lei'lira could see what looked to be a moss covered pine forest, and a cave in the middle of it all. Was this shadowy thing supposed to be a mirror of sorts, showing her the reflection of some strange land? Or maybe it was a gateway to the forest she could see through it? Was it even real at all? She had been feeling tired the last couple of trials...had she fallen asleep, and was dreaming all of this? That seemed like the most likely possibility of all.
The only thing that she knew for certain was that is was spooking her precious horses. The ones whose stalls were close enough to allow them to see the mass of shadows were terrified of it. And the rest were anxious as they picked up on the fear of the others. Lei'luna was snarling at it, her hackles raised warily. It was obvious that she was as spooked as the horses here. So she had to do something. Lei'lira looked around for anything that might help her. She had her crossbow with her, of course, and a quiver full of arrows. She hastily grabbed a lantern, a hoof pick, a pitchfork, and one of her large waterproof canvas sacks. Then she felt for the seashell necklace that U'frek had given her a couple of arcs ago. She had found out by accident that it made her invisible to Lei'luna, so it clearly had some sort of magic about it that affected spirits. Lei'lira didn't like to wear it because Lei'luna got nervous when she couldn't see her. But she was in the habit of carrying it around with her in her pocket just in case. After being attacked by those shadow beasts a couple of arcs ago, she felt it was better to be safe than sorry. And if the necklace might offer some form of protection against the shadow beasts if they ever attacked again, what harm was there in carrying a necklace around with her? Besides...this shadowy thing that felt both threatening and inviting at the same time reminded her of those shadow beasts, so she took comfort in having the necklace with her.
"We have to go through that thing, don't we, Lei'luna?"
The wolf familiar nodded.
::If we don't, then we'll be trapped in here until it goes away...if it does. And what if more of them have appeared in the house with the kids?::
That thought was enough to give Lei'lira the strength to approach the mass of shadows, and after a trill's hesitation, enter them. Nothing was going to threaten her family if she had anything to say about it.
Off Topic
This is the necklace mentioned: A gift from U'frek: Seashell Necklace that makes you invisible to Dangerous Spirits, Wisps, Shadow Creatures, and Familiars when worn earned
here 
