The Tournament of Blades (Private rp with Abbster)

[mainehorse]

After Kennedee had left the arena, Cass discounts, tying the stallion's reins to a nearby post. Mounted combat wasn't the only part of a knight's life, far from it. Being prepared to fight on foot was equally important. Of course, without any other knights present now, she would have to settle with a training dummy. But that would do for now, she mused as she went to collect one. She'd practice for an hour or so with that and then return Bayberry to his stall. Her sword was newly sharpened, and she was ready to test it out against the straw filled dummy to see how it did.

[Abbster]

Isabelle watched the other knight for a while longer, until her little sister, McKenna skipped into the arena and up to her sister. "Hi, Izzy!!" McKenna said. Isabelle looked over at McKenna and sighed a bit. "Aren't you supposed to be doing school right now, Kenna?" Isabelle asked. "Well.....yea....but mother said I could have a break!!" She said. "I be father told you not to bother the training knights though" Isabelle said. McKenna looked down at the ground and then back up at her older sister. "Well....yea.......but I'm not bothering them! I'm bothering you!!" She said. Isabelle sighed, this child could really get on her nerves. A few moments later, the queen walked into the arena. "McKenna, I thought your father told you not to watch the knights train" She said to her youngest daughter. "He did...but" She was caught off by her mother. "Back to the castle young lady, we have more school to do" Queen Maria said. "Yes, mother" McKenna said, following after her mother. Isabelle laughed and then whistled for her falcon before following her mother and sister into the barn

[mainehorse]

Upon concluding her training for the day, Cass slips her greatsword back into the scabbard on her back and unties Bayberry's reins from the post. She leads the stallion out of the arena and towards the barn. She knew that in the past, she had unintentionally frightened children, so she would need to be mindful to steer clear of the little girl just in case. She had her rougher edges, and her resting expression was rather harsh. And the large scar cutting through the right side of her face probably didn't help matters, nor would her height or general manner in which she carried herself. She doubted it would go over very well if she frightened the youngest princess, whether it was intentional or not.

[Abbster]

Isabelle
Isabelle was walking behind her mother still as she passed the other knight with her horse. Her mother smiled at the knight as did her sister, so Isabelle smiled at her as well, continuing to follow her family inside.

Kennadee
Kennadee felt herself look away from Shadow, and she smiled briefly at the royal family before going back to his brushing. Eventually, she saw Cass and she headed over to talk to her. "Ok." Kennadee said. "What I said earlier, I wasn't thinking you would make a fool of yourself, I guess I was just paranoid because I totally made a fool of myself in front of the princess earlier, which was absolutely the worst thing ever." Kennadee said. "Basically, she walked into the barn, and I didn't realize she was the princess until after I had spoken to her....long story short I had managed to catch her off guard, which of course made everything worse, ya know?"

[mainehorse]

Cass quirks an eyebrow slightly as she listens to the other knight speak. "Paranoia will only beget more problems in the long run. I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. But it would do you good to learn not to get worked up over something like that. You let it get to your head enough and it will affect your performance out there. Nobody is infallible, not even the princess. We all slip up from time to time. No sense in dwelling on it" she says. She might have initially taken some offense to statement since it came across as being viewed as incompetent. But clearly it was simply a misunderstanding and there was no use in holding a grudge over it.

[Abbster]

Kennadee looked a bit surprised. "Oh....yea....oddly enough, you're right" She said. "Thanks" She said, before turning and walking away. She called Glimmer over to her, who landed swiftly on her shoulder, then she walked to the bird training area, which was an indoor area with multiple different perches for the bird to go to. "Alright, Glimmer" Kennadee said. "Time to get to work" She told him, rubbing his head and then lifting her arm up so he could take flight.

[mainehorse]

"Not entirely certain what you're thanking me for." Cass says as she gets Bayberry settled into his stall. She'd probably collect Falcon from outside and head down to one of the taverns for a drink and maybe a bite to eat, since she had run through her daily training regiment for the moment. First she would go ahead and feed Bayberry and Falcon of course. She always saw to their needs before her own, since they depended on her to have their needs met.

[Abbster]

Kennadee looked over at Cass as she spoke. For some odd reason, she wanted to get to know that woman better. She sighed a bit and then whistled for Glimmer. When he swooped down towards her, and landed on her shoulder Kennadee had to think of a new trick for him. "Ok, Glimmer." She said. "Do your 360 spin in the air" She told him, lifting her arm up and letting him fly off and into the air where he did his 360 spin. Kennadee smiled as she watched him do his own tricks.

[mainehorse]

Cass closes the stall door and turns to head over to feed room to mix up Bayberry's feed for the afternoon. She could hear Falcon circling outside above the barn, waiting for her to come back out. The young peregrine falcon never flew far, despite her attempts to release him when he was a fledgling. By now she figured that he was better suited to the life of trained hunting bird. He could technically hunt for himself, but she still was most often the one to feed him since aside from when she took him out hunting, he didn't really do so. She exits the feed room with a bucket of grain and some hay, making her way back over to the blood bay stallion's stall. He sticks his head out, nickering in greeting as he saw her approaching with his food. She sets the bucket down to open his stall door, and steps inside.

[Abbster]

When Kennadee finished up with Glimmer, she headed back to the barn to give Shadow lunch. Walking over to the feed room, she lets Glimmer do whatever he wanted at the moment, and then she put his grain into his bin. Picking it up, she headed over to his stall, looking over at Sunrise on the way. She knew she wasn't supposed to touch the mare, as said the sign, but oh she wanted to. She always did. Forcing herself to walk away from the palomino mare and over to Shadow's stall so she could feed him. "Here you are boy" Kennadee said, dumping the grain into the food bucket that was inside his stall.

[mainehorse]

Cass steps outside the barn once she was satisfied that her stallion was settled properly. She whistles sharply to call Falcon to her. Upon hearing her call, the falcon turns sharply in the air to fly towards his owner. She lifts an arm up, providing the bird a spot to land. He lands gracefully on her arm, his sharp talons gripping the leather glove on that arm. He folds his wings neatly over his back and turns his head to look over to Cass. Peregrine falcons were typically quiet birds, and Falcon was no exception. But sometimes, when it had been a bit since he had last seen her, he would greet her with that raspy call that could sometimes be heard from a peregrine falcon sitting on its nest. Cass reaches into her pocket, pulling out a small bundle of meat wrapped in cloth. She opens it up and holds it up for the bird to go ahead and eat his fill.

[Abbster]

A fancy horse and carriage rumbled up the gravel drive. Isabelle stopped and looked confused. When the car stopped, and a 24 year old woman got out of the drivers seat, Isabelle smiled. "CHARLOTTE!!" McKenna squealed, racing towards her oldest sister, and jumping into her arms. "Hey there Kenna" Charlotte said, kissing her littlest sister on the head. Isabelle walked over to her older sister and hugged her. "What are you doing here?" She asked. "Mother didn't tell you?" Charlotte asked. Isabelle looked at her mother. "Tell me what, mother?" Isabelle asked. Queen Maria laughed. "Well your father and I knew that Charlotte was coming for the first day of the tournaments, but we wanted to keep it a surprise" She said. "Don't you have school to be doing Kenna?" Charlotte asked her littlest sister. McKenna looked down. "Uh....yea" She said. "Then get back to it, I'll be here for a while" Charlotte said, as she walked over to Isabelle. "Do you want to go to our tree and catch up?" She asked. Isabelle looked at her sister. "Really? Our Tree?" She asked. "The one by the garden, and the barn?" She asked. "The only tree we ever went to sis" Charlotte said. "Yes!!" Isabelle said as she took her sisters hand and walked to the tree with her.

(the rest of the royal family is mainly NPC's, but i will be playing them)

[mainehorse]

Once Flacon had eaten his fill, Cass returns the cloth to her pocket and lets the bird climb up onto her shoulder. She would start heading over to the tavern now to go ahead and get a drink or two. Perhaps she'd even run into Gale. She didn't have many people she would actually consider friends at this point. Her prickly demeanor and tendency to keep everyone at arm's length deterred most people from trying to get to know her. But the other knight had been persistent and had eventually wormed his way into her heart, and now she would consider him a friend. He didn't push for her to open up further than she was comfortable and was respectful of her boundaries, even early on when he had first been trying to get to know her. Aside from Lord Barris, whom she had trained under, he probably was one of the few people who genuinely new her best at this point in time. Seeing him around did occasionally cause a small crack in her hardened outward demeanor.

[Abbster]

Kennadee

Kennadee left Glimmer in the bird housing and she headed back to the barracks. When she got there, she opened the door and headed inside. It was filled with candlelight. The common area had a bit of a glow about it. Heading up the stairs and to her room, Kennadee grabbed a book off her shelf and then headed back to the common area, sitting down on one of the couches and beginning to read.

[mainehorse]

Upon reaching the tavern, Cass pauses outside, seeing how busy it was. Not being in the mood to deal with such a crowd, she turns to head back towards the palace grounds. There would probably be something available for a drink in the barracks. Falcon sat perched quietly on her shoulder as she made the walk back. Upon reaching the barracks, she opens the heavy wooden door and steps inside. The common room seemed quiet at the moment. At the small bar, she could see the tender behind the counter, cleaning out a goblet. She takes a seat on one of the stools and reaches into her pocket to pull out a few gold pieces, and she places them on the counter. Falcon had begun to preen himself on her shoulder, occasionally looking curiously around the common room.