Freedom [Khal]

The spare time Morgana had after graduating Hogwarts and getting a job in the ministry wasn't much more than it had been at the school. But it was much better spent. She could do whatever she wanted, go wherever she felt like going. It was an unspeakable freedom that made her feel lighter than she had in years. Of course, lighter didn't mean happy. Morgana wasn't happy. But then again, she never really was. Sometimes she wondered if her life was truly as miserable as it would sound if she were to speak her emotions. But then she would remember; she was one of the few people who saw the world for what it truly was; a show.

And instead of being a puppet or even a puppeteer in this show, she was a director. She never let anyone tell her what to do, she told them what to do. And most people found her so rude they would leave her alone. Which was perfectly fine with the darkhaired woman. Of course, she answered to her boss, she answered to the law, but not at all in the way people deemed proper. This had of course been noticed, and her work had given her assignments she could handle with ease due to this -in Morgana's eyes- strength.

She had just finished off a rather busy day, and decided she'd go somewhere to get some energy spent. And what better way than a long trip upwards? Disapparating, she soon found herself at the foot of the Lone Peak. She quickly started walking, planning to exhaust herself before she reached the top. That was the only way she could get physically stronger. For some weird reason, Morgana had started thinking about working out more. Which she didn't really like, as this meant that she was becoming... what was the word? Mainstream? And that was just dull. Of course, there was no truth to this, and she didn't care what other people thought about her. She'd work with Mordred. It'd fine then. He had way too weird ways of training to be called mainstream.

Her breathing laboured, Morgana paced on, looking up. She'd been walking for an hour now, and she was closing in on the top of the mountain. Without a break. She smirked and continued on, sweat trickling down her face. She enjoyed this. This was exhausting and exhilarating. Her feet falling harder to the ground, her arms pushing up from her knees when there were big strides, and then she was at the top.

There wasn't a cloud in sight. The sun was setting. The wind blew her hair. Morgana stood at the very peak of the mountain and looked around. This was beauty. This was freedom.

As James had finally become a wanted man in face, Khalidah was taking more care to not be recognized. Of course, this wasn't much of an issue; the only time she had been seen was that one time in Hogsmeade, and the descriptions of her there were painfully daft. They had only caught her red hair right, and no one in their right minds would go around being wary of every redheaded girl they saw. So when Khal decided to take a trip, she didn't bother changing up her hair. She disapparated from the edges of a forest and apparated to the lone peak.

She had landed a bit below the top, deciding to actually walk for a bit. She didn't mind mountainhikes, but today, she just wasn't in the mood to walk all the way. She couldn't say if she was in a good mood or a bad mood, but as Khal hadn't had her daily cup of coffee, she didn't feel like a giddy, awake person, more like a moving corpse. Maybe she was in a bad mood?

As she didn't meet any other hikers, she felt herself relax more. People did tend to take this trip, but only during the mornings. It was late afternoon, and the sun was starting to set. Khal smiled a bit; she liked the sunset. It was much better than the sunrise. It was a call for darkness to come, and Khal loved the dark. Her eyes rose to the sky, watching as it, in the distance, was starting to grow darker. As her eyes fell again, she spotted a silhouette at the very peak of the mountain.

Khal smirked and picked up her pace, only stopping when she was around ten feet away. The girl on the top was younger than her. She didn't know by how much, but she definitely was. Her black hair was blowing in the air. And Khal was sure she'd taken notice of her, just decided to ignore her. For a moment, Khal wondered if she was a witch. Sure, most muggles stayed clear of this mountain, but there were occasional muggles here. One thing was hiding a forest or a lake. A mountain was a bit harder. Glamour, sure, but sometimes muggles looked past that.

"Enjoying the wind?" Khal said loudly, making sure her voice would reach the girl.

Morgana enjoyed the wind, but she enjoyed it less when she felt someone else nearby. She heard the footsteps, the cracking. Even in the roar of the wind, it was obvious that someone else was there. Deciding that she'd ignore them for now, she kept her eyes closed and tried to enjoy the wind as much as she'd just done. But the knowledge of another person was too disturbing. She could feel the eyes on her. And just as Morgana was about to turn to face this intruder, she spoke. Enjoying the wind. How ironic.

Opening her eyes, Morgana turned around and took a step off the rock she'd been standing on. The woman was older than her. And she'd never met her before. But something about her made Morgana think twice before insulting her. Because though Morgana never intentionally insulted people by being very frank, sometimes, there were people who just annoyed her beyond belief, and she deliberately insulted them. "I am," she merely stated, studying the woman with curiosity. Who was she, and why had she bothered to interrupt Morgana? It wasn't exactly normal. When strangers could ignore, they did.

"And yourself, what brings you here?" she asked. It was easy to tell that the girl hadn't walked from the slopes of the mountain. In other words, this was a witch who had apparated. It was the first time that Morgana had come across a person she couldn't openly read. It was strange, as if the woman in front of her had lived being something people weren't. Like herself. There was nothing ordinary about this person. Of course, she looked like a normal woman, with cascading red hair, who took to the mountain for trips. You could classify her as just another twenty year old woman. But she wasn't. The way she spoke, the fact that she had spoken, the way she was standing. She reminded Morgana of herself.

"Who are you?" she asked. She didn't care if she was rude, but this person was terrifically interesting to Morgana. And if she was, it was pretty obvious who she was; a Dark One.

Looking at the dark haired woman, Khalidah frowned a bit. There was something calm about her. Too calm. Now, Khal was used to people like James, who just went with whatever he wanted to do, but this girl was what Khal had always imagined Voldemort was like. Calm, calculative and cold. It made everything so much more interesting when Khal knew that she'd need to be careful of what she did next. Much more thrilling. Khal gave a random look around herself at the woman's question. Why was she here? Freedom. She looked back and locked eyes with her. "Do I need a reason?" Khal asked with a shrug.

Khalidah laughed. "Who am I?" she asked, her voice light. But the question was so rude and blunt that Khal would only expect it from a ten year old or younger. But this woman had asked her it, and that said something else; she was suspicious of something. If this something was the fact that Khal wasn't exactly on the right side of the law, then she'd be correct, but she couldn't imagine that this girl had found this out by just that one question Khal had asked her. No one was that perceptive.

So Khal took a few steps closer and stood next to the rock that the girl had been standing on. She looked at the view as her mind drifted. The woman did find her fascinating, she had understood that. This person wasn't just someone who would use her time on people who weren't worth it, it was obvious. So what was it that the girl found so interesting about Khal? She looked to the girl again. "I'm just a shadow," she said dramatically and then grinned as she looked back to the view. "The name is Khal. And who are you?"

Morgana raised an eyebrow. The girl might be older than her, but who did she really think she was? However, despite that fact, Morgana could also see that the girl was on guard. Something about the way she held herself, as if she wasn't sure what to expect of Morgana. A wise choice. Expecting Morgana to do something, was incredibly stupid, unless your name happened to be Mordred Gaunt. And even then, mistakes could be made. "Of course not," she merely stated. No one needed a reason to walk up a mountain. But she was certain it was something of the same story as with Morgana herself. She had come her to find some peace and quiet, in beautiful surroundings. Nature happened to provide that, especially a nature's view. And the view from the Lone Peak was exceptional.

It was easy to understand that this girl underestimated Morgana. She had the same grin, the same leer, as all the other superiors and office workers Morgana had met the last year in the Ministry. Well, it was too bad. Underestimating Morgana was one thing in an office where there were too many eyes, too many people. But underestimating Morgana on the top of a mountain, far away from civilization was not a great idea. Especially as the girl had intruded her peace and her quiet. Morgana did not condone that. The girl laughed at her question, which only fueled Morgana's distaste for her.

As the girl walked closer to Morgana, she didn't react, but Morgana never let her guard down. Her wand was a mere inch away from her fingers, but she was certain this was the same for the woman beside her. Morgana looked over at her as she did. Just a shadow. Morgana gave her a cold glare as the girl looked away. Khal. What kind of a name was that? Morgana found it annoying that Khal wasn't looking at her as she asked who she was, but she decided that this was too small an insult to be offended or annoyed. There was only one person in the world who could annoy her with puny insults like that, and she was more than happy to say that she hadn't seen him in three years. "Morgana," she said, her voice dull. Not really feeling like playing games, Morgana turned fully towards Khal. "And what do you do for a living, Khal?" she asked, leaving no room for anyone below intelligence to misunderstand what she was hinting at.