KChan

It was only years of experience on the sea that kept Eliza relaxed in the saddle. The motion of the horse underneath her was, strangely enough, both familiar and unfamiliar; there was something unnerving about knowing she was riding an intelligent creature that could decide whenever it wanted that it was done with her. But Kylie at least didn't seem particularly inclined to throw her off, or really to be in any way disagreeable at all, and in a way, it reminded her of her first trips out onto the water with Uncle Nat. Relax, Little Liza, he'd told her. Let the waves carry you how they will. If you fight them, they'll dump you on your head. And that's if you're lucky. Move with them if you want to keep your feet underneath you. It was Uncle Nat's advice that guided her now, and sure enough, letting herself move relax and move with Kylie instead of trying to fight her movements left Eliza feeling much more secure.

At least, until she saw a smartly dressed woman in all black flying through the air on the most majestic creature Eliza had ever seen. Her movements and the horse's both were fluid and effortless, graceful and confident in ways Eliza had never conceived of. She had thought herself properly in command on the decks of pirate ships, but compared to this display, she felt like a clumsy girl of 10 once more.

"Axelle," she said quietly, watching the woman go about again, "I want to do that." She paused for a moment, then cleared her throat and continued in a much more reasonable tone. "Not now, of course; I'm not that stupid. One day. When I'm ready to learn how without breaking my neck."

And then the woman was waving at her. It was surprisingly stiff, after the natural grace she had just witnessed. Was she caught off guard by being watched? Eliza hadn't meant to intrude, but looking anywhere else would have been impossible with a display like that. Either way, she had been noticed, and now to not return the other woman's greeting would be horribly rude.

And so Eliza put on her most genuine business smile and gave a friendly wave back.