Lara walked along silently behind the group, an almost forgotten shadow. She like Lightening had heard the monk's attempt at conversation but was unable to respond being in the form she was. Though it was unlikely she would respond at all were she not. As they neared the shattered gate's of the castle, the Drow shifted back to a less intimidating form...well, if one considered a Drow in hide and fur less intimidating than a wolf. The guards eyed her warily like she may snap at any moment but she ignored them as she did most people. The moment she stepped through the gates she shivered, the deeper they went into the castle the less she could feel her connection with nature. It made her incredibly uncomfortable to be surrounded by carved stone and wood of human dwellings and a castle this size was positively oppressive.<br/><br/>She barely saw the lavish decor as Lightening led them to the private wing where they would reside for the night. She was focusing as hard as she could on any form of nature she could sense. As she entered the hall she could tell from this sense that one side of the hall faced a court yard of a kind, like an inner park. It was as close as she could get to comfort here. As her new companions picked rooms she beelined for one of the rooms facing the inner yard, without pausing to even look at the furnishings around the room she went out the balcony door and let out a sigh of relief.<br/><br/>Below her was a surprisingly large courtyard and it had been styled to appear as natural as possible. Small ponds, groves of trees, sprawling beds of wildflowers...wildflowers? Well that was even more surprising, some kind of Druidic magic was keeping the small park green year round. The king here must have done something to earn the respect of the Druids, they would never bestow such a gift. Lara stared pensively at the lush gardens. Someone was caring for this garden quite seriously as well.<br/><br/>Lara wandered down the small set of stairs connecting the rooms to the court yard and walked among the trees. They made her feel much more at home, much calmer. Settling down under one of the larger trees, she braced her back against it and relaxed. Being Drow meant sleep was not required, instead she would meditate and add a bit of her own power to this place to keep it strong and healthy.