"This morning is going to be rather busy."
The Princess of Massacre's eyes flashed menacingly, narrowing in tempered irritation at the sluggishness of her group. Kachinonai was the first to voice his awakening, or rather his acknowledgement. Just as she was about to drop an insult on the masked man, Yuna made her bloodstained appearance, weaving her way through the sleeping bodies with perfect grace, and for a moment Adrienne believed the elf had conquered her clumsiness.....until the girl tripped over her two feet once again.
Momentarily, a flash of red hair appeared in the corner of her all seeing eyes. On reflex she reached for a knife that was not there. At the same time she had learned the owner of the head of hair was Vern and though darkly how many times she had almost killed the former assassin on this journey. "No. Nothing particularly important." She stared pointedly at the male for a few more moments before the ethereal appearance of her contractor captured her attention. Mild curiosity filled those crystal eyes, watching Agrona make her way to the sleeping form of the pastel-haired devil. For a long time, Adrienne had ponder their motives for caring for her in the beginning. She was a burden to them, yet they continued to follow her, protect her, and befriend her.
Her contemplation did not last for long though, a sudden spike in pulsing from her crushing grip brought her back. Lowering her head steams of snow white hair cascaded downward in a thick veil. With a surprisingly gentle touch, Adrienne cupped the feather in her hands and pressed it to the center of her bosom. Her body nearly doubled over and a low hiss escaped her lips, feather to skin contact sending ripples of ominous energy throughout her powerful frame. Memories sank into her mind, filling in blank spaces, and flashes of blood, screams, laughs, bombarding her senses all at once. Raw energy spiked and dug into her battle worn muscles, returning a long forgotten strength to a beast chained to the depths of the Princess's mind. In the midst of all this, a sweet feeling of release teased her emotions toward the darker side.....
The process, as complex as it was, took a mere 10 seconds and with her control, did not give any clues to what was occurring behind her silken waterfall of hair. Only a heavy sigh and a deep, ragged intake of breath would alert her companions of the ordeal she had just gone through, if they noticed at all. With her left hand she pushed her long locks back and gazed around at the group once more. Surprisingly, the dark urges that occurred when she finished the feather absorption process weren't there...perhaps she had finally controlled them. Or my mind has finally succumbed to the darkness. She would save that debate for another time.
Lyon had finally returned to the group and she spent a second to nod in greeting. He and herself were similar in the way that both had a contract of a sort, but it was only just that. Why she had helped him? A sudden bout of pity? At the moment this was unimportant, the absence of the kelpie soon occupied her mind. Terms were between herself and the water horse to keep peace, but staying quite a distance away from the group's camp seemed unnecessary.
Adrienne rose to her feet again and began making her way towards the horse's resting place. She found it convenient that the earth was soft and loamy. Clear as day, the horse's hoof prints from the night before were still visible. Even more convenient, the trail of hoofs took her directly past the masked cripple. And, somewhere in her mind a switch was flipped. Lightly, she tapped on Kachinonai's mask and gave him a twisted grin. "Perhaps you will find the answers to your questions in time. If you manage to keep up, my devoted Cripple." An icy coldness settled in her pale orbs and they lingered for a second on the man's cane. It could give a nasty shock if he retaliated, but she didn't worry to much. Leaving her incapacitated would prolong the group even more and they would have to wait a few more hours before leaving. She smirked in satisfaction with the situation and gave Aku one last piercing glare before resuming her quest to find the Kelpie.
She found her tethered to a tree, same as the night before. She noted the slight hostility when she approached, though the water horse tried to seem docile most of the time, it was clear she did not enjoy having her own freedom withheld. Not that Adrienne cared. She only kept her around for her usefulness as a pack mule. "I see you're awake. We've some distance to go today." Her hands began working at the intricately tied knots, silently cursing the fact she didn't have a knife. Though she soon picked the knots apart with nimble fingers and was leading the horse back to the group. Around them the scenery of the forest sang out a lullaby of peace through birdsong, the sound the wind, and the gurgle of a nearby brook. It were times like these the Princess of Massacre wished she could abandon her quest....
Still, it seemed just to quiet this morning and a penetrating gaze seemed to be boring into her back. Every so often her eyes would lock on to a shadow shifting in the corner of her eye, only to find if had disappeared. "It would see we have some unwanted guests this morning." She murmured beneath her breath. Though a microscopic feeling of worry sparked in her mind, did everyone else know? Where they okay? Her pace quickened and she crashed through the underbrush once more, into the crowded clearing....to find everyone tending to their own business from a few minutes before. Why was she getting so worked up?
It was annoying. That penetrating gaze was still boring into the back of her head.