[Midnight]
Philip's POV
The leather saddle creaked as I swung onto my stallion, the familiar weight of my travel bags secured behind me. I ran my hands down the horse's neck, checking for any lingering sweat from the earlier skirmish. As I adjusted the reins, the mission's completion leaving me with an odd mixture of satisfaction and restlessness.
Ace's footsteps crunched deliberately across the dry earth before he came into view. His silver hair caught the moonlight, but his eyes remained shadowed, giving nothing away. He stopped just within arm's reach, the faint scent of pine and steel clinging to him.
"Where are you going?" His voice carried that particular flatness he used when asking questions he already knew the answer to.