Post by a1ko4 on Feb 17, 2015 23:20:51 GMT -5
Tessa woke to the soft mumbling of voices. The hayloft did a decent job muffling sounds, but she could still follow the conversation, had she been interested. She lay in the hay for a minute, contemplating all that had happened in one day, as well as her embarrassing breakdown during the storm earlier. She hadn't been able to help it, as much as she wished she could stop herself. She still shook slightly, her episode of panic had brought back bad memories that had surfaced in her dreams. Well, some memories, but her nightmares were more imagined than anything. She shook her head, not wishing to dwell on her fear.
She shifted toward the ladder, peering down at the people conversing below. "We should probably wake Tessa up and get ready to head back to Araluen Castle," Ahhh, yes, Araluen. No doubt she'd be in trouble for staying out so long. It was long past dinnertime and they would be getting worried. It wouldn't be the first time Tess had stayed out late, but she'd never been this late. She sighed and flopped backwards, landing softly in the hay, a long lecture was definitely waiting for her back in the ward. She probably wouldn't be able to get outside for weeks. Tess covered smoothed her hair back, rubbing her eyes alone the way. Well, no reason to wait up here, she thought to herself.
She sat up, listening to the rainy drizzle. At least the storm seemed to be over. Though her terror was still fresh in her mind, she had calmed considerably since she fell asleep. The stress of the day had caught up to her earlier, causing her to loose control of her emotions. Most of the time she could control herself enough to not panic, but she just couldn't contain it earlier. She closed her eyes and started to breathe slowly, letting her muscles loosen and the tension to slide away. Years ago, back when she was still a small child, a farmer boy had helped her contain her fear. He'd taught her a little trick that he used; the boy was admittedly afraid of fire; and whenever he got scared he would imagine a box in his mind. He told Tessa that he'd stuff all his emotions and his fear into that box and then lock it up tight, keeping the terror where it couldn't get to you. And that's what she did now. The box she imagined was less a box and more of a vault. A large, black building with a huge padlock on the handle of the door. And without hesitation she let her fear flow through that door before quickly locking it and shoving it into the back of her mind. And when she opened her eyes, she was totally calm, not a tremor left in her body.
Tess moved toward the ladder and began to climb down, only pausing slightly before stepping onto the still-wet floor. She turned toward the group with a rather lousy attempt at a smile, "Are we leaving soon?"
She shifted toward the ladder, peering down at the people conversing below. "We should probably wake Tessa up and get ready to head back to Araluen Castle," Ahhh, yes, Araluen. No doubt she'd be in trouble for staying out so long. It was long past dinnertime and they would be getting worried. It wouldn't be the first time Tess had stayed out late, but she'd never been this late. She sighed and flopped backwards, landing softly in the hay, a long lecture was definitely waiting for her back in the ward. She probably wouldn't be able to get outside for weeks. Tess covered smoothed her hair back, rubbing her eyes alone the way. Well, no reason to wait up here, she thought to herself.
She sat up, listening to the rainy drizzle. At least the storm seemed to be over. Though her terror was still fresh in her mind, she had calmed considerably since she fell asleep. The stress of the day had caught up to her earlier, causing her to loose control of her emotions. Most of the time she could control herself enough to not panic, but she just couldn't contain it earlier. She closed her eyes and started to breathe slowly, letting her muscles loosen and the tension to slide away. Years ago, back when she was still a small child, a farmer boy had helped her contain her fear. He'd taught her a little trick that he used; the boy was admittedly afraid of fire; and whenever he got scared he would imagine a box in his mind. He told Tessa that he'd stuff all his emotions and his fear into that box and then lock it up tight, keeping the terror where it couldn't get to you. And that's what she did now. The box she imagined was less a box and more of a vault. A large, black building with a huge padlock on the handle of the door. And without hesitation she let her fear flow through that door before quickly locking it and shoving it into the back of her mind. And when she opened her eyes, she was totally calm, not a tremor left in her body.
Tess moved toward the ladder and began to climb down, only pausing slightly before stepping onto the still-wet floor. She turned toward the group with a rather lousy attempt at a smile, "Are we leaving soon?"