She awoke while the room was covered in darkness; the dreams having finally released her mind from their grasp. Her eyes adjusted to the shadowed room, only lit by the moonlight that reflected off the snow. Reaching down instinctively to her boots, she slid up her pants leg enough to tell that the knives were still in the sheathes. Looking down, she saw the other girl on the floor, passed out cold.

What kind of fighter was this female? She hadn’t even checked and removed her weapons. Maybe she didn’t view Jasmin as a threat; there was that chance. Or she thought herself strong enough to deal with just another female. Though she could just be pretty stupid; all brawn and no brains. That was probably it. More than likely…

Slowly her conscious thoughts slipped away and she laid back on the bed, letting relaxing and deep sleep come to her. Getting some rest for her body. It had been a while since she had been able to sleep on a bed.

Just before dawn, she awoke once more, eyes looking about first this time before she sat up, making sure the other girl was still asleep as she softly whispered under her breathe, her body lifting into the air and slowly setting her down upon her feet. Commanding the air about her, she kept the sound of her footfalls from traveling to reach the girl, turning when she reached the door to look back at her.

Magic…there is some magic in this one.

Shaking her head, not wanting to consider the facts of an expert swordswoman combined with magic, she slipped out of the room quietly, moving down the stairs as her thoughts awoke with her body; the train of them quickly moving faster and faster as the sun rose above the horizon.

It seemed to have been only luck that Jasmin has not been forced to use her own magic last night. Her patience had almost been at its end when the traveler had stepped in. If she had used her magic, it easily would have been found out that she was a mage, and from what she had learned about this world already was that ordinary people loathed mages of any kind, whether they were good or ill. Even if she had had a hold of her magic and someone had looked into her eyes, it would have given away that fact. The man wouldn’t have been the only one after her then; most of the pub would have been.

Not that it mattered much. The drunk, meager crowd would be no match for her if she chose to fight. Though stories may spread and it might become more of a troublesome tale to deal with later.

As she stepped past the empty counter where the innkeeper might be in an hour or two later, she ran her hands through her hair once more and slipped out the door and into the cool, crisp winter air.

She loved winter. It was one of the most beautiful seasons ever witnessed. Perhaps it was a bit of a skewed view of the season, as its cold touch did not touch her. The thought of running around stark naked amid the white dunes was exhilarating to her. The wind loved her and protected her from the chill of winter and the heat of summer. It called air from other lands or simply moved fast enough to heat up and warm her. She was its child, and one of the few who it had captured to keep until it chose to release her. Jasmin loved the wind, but it was a bitter love. The freedom it gave her also came with the price of following its wishes.

As she made her way down the only road of the area, she allowed her hair to blow freely in the breeze that surrounded her, feeling as if she were simply out for a stroll through the freshly fallen snow. She walked through what was left of the ramshackle town and onto the path that led to the next city.

Coming to a fork in the road, however, she paused for a time before making any decisions, surveying each path. Looking first down the path that led straight, it was wide and well worn; appearing to be the most traveled. The next city lay down that path, and not down all that far it seemed, as people appeared to make the trip frequently. Pulling an apple from a pocket inside her cloak, she continued to let her gaze rest upon this path while eating her breakfast.

Then, she turned and let her blues fall to the east, where plains stretched away for miles and miles. Far in the distance, she could see a mountain peak rising just over the horizon. That was far from her favorite path; she hated the mountains. Rocky and stagnant, they portrayed a sense of not caring and lack of feeling. They were already dead and left nothing for a traveler to discover about their history or story. She definitely did not wish to go that way.

The last past led west sloped downward and led into a forest. Jasmin already knew this was the way she would be going. The forest was her home, or at least it always felt that way. She could easily make her way here and find food and shelter. It would also give her a chance to let her thoughts wander, to think of home, to try and remember what she could. Each day it felt like more of the memories seemed to be slipping from her mind.

With one last bite of the apple, she threw the core of it far up the straight, well-trodden road, hoping the slight deception would lead others that direction. Turning to the western path, she began to walk light-heartedly. The wind was already at her back, sweeping left and right to push the snow back into her tracks to leave no message of her presence. The other girl would not be able to follow her, not when Jasmin was in her element.

~*~*~*~*~