Finally taking flight

He wondered if he'd ever get over the loss of his daughter and at this point he just hoped that maybe the sting wouldn't hurt quite as bad as time went on. Moving on from Azariah had been hard, but it didn't feel impossible. He remembered how devastating his father's death had been on his mother, how it had crippled her to the point of not being able to care for herself much less them. He often wondered if Azariah had ever been the right one for him if he hadn't broken down the way his mother had. Had he only fallen for her because of how deep his loneliness had run and how sure he had been that he'd never find love? His thoughts seemed to battle themselves constantly, but a bit of tension fell away from Ulric's shoulders when Eska leaned into him with her cheek on his neck, his expression softening with gratefulness at her comfort. It was difficult to let himself share his troubles and worries with anyone else, but with her it seemed easy. There was no fear of ridicule and even though she was sympathetic she wasn't over bearing with her condolences. They each knew what loss felt like and shared it together. He found himself leaning back into her touch, tipping his head down so he could thankfully nuzzle the top of her head. "I appreciate it," he said softly, standing there with her like this for another moment before finally leading her back out of the castle and into the courtyard.

"This is a training yard I set up," he told her, leading her past a few large rectangles marked off on the ground with rocks with a shed that stood off to the side. "There's all kinds of training dummies, a few weapons and spare pieces of armor in the shed there so feel free to use any of it whenever you wish." He nodded to the wood and glass structure against one side of the castle and added, "That's a greenhouse. I think the healers are hoping to get some plants growing in there now that the weather is finally starting to warm up. We moved into the castle in winter and it's been cold ever since so we haven't had a chance to take advantage of the greenhouse yet." A thought occurred to him and he glanced down at Eska again with a curious look. "I just realized I never asked what your interests are. We have ranks loosely broken into fighters and hunters or healers and crafters. Anything in particular you prefer?"

Ulric Adravendi