Daniel looked out the glass window of his room, drumming his fingers against the sill and sighed. He could understand why his mother was upset with him, but what he couldn't understand was why she didn't understand why he did it.

No matter how many times he tried to explain she would refuse to listen and would do everything in her power to try and stop him from doing it again. Yet no matter how many times she tried he always managed to find away to get out of the castle and into the forest in the middle of the night.

He liked the forest. The moon's light shining down and casting everything in a perfect glow, the shadows dancing with the trees as the wind blows through their branches. But it was oh so dangerous to be out at night, which is another reason why he does it, which is why he constantly goes despite what anyone says.

Daniel Treaty wanted to be the first person to see a Nightrider up close. There was something about them that made him feel like they were more alike than others thought. That there was a secret that was hidden with them and was begging to be discovered. Daniel wanted to be the one to find it, to learn about them and understand them and why they do so many terrible things, maybe even stop it like his dad stopped the Skandian's from raiding SeaCliff fief when he was the Ranger there.

He stopped tapping as he heard the door of the room next to his open then close and not a second later his door opened quietly and his mother stepped in. She walked over and sat down in the chair by his desk which was littered with maps and rolls of parchment containing a log of what he found in the forest each night. None of them had anything to do with a Nightrider since he had never gotten a lead.

Silence was the only thing said until his mother broke it. "You were out in the forest again, weren't you?" Her voice was quiet. He looked away from the window and at Alyss, noticing how tired she looked even though she was a master at hiding emotions.

After a pause, Daniel nodded not meeting her eyes, ready for the explosion he knew was coming. It didn't happen.

"Why? Why do you go out into that forest each night when you know of the danger that's in it?" her voice sounded almost pleading. Daniel heard it and realized that she must have been tired of the whole situation. Daniel couldn't meet her grey eyes and shuffled his feet a bit and mumbled something unrecognizable. "What did you say?" she demanded.

"I just want to see one." he said louder, knowing it was a lame excuse once it was said out in the open. "I just have this feeling that there is more to them than we know. That there is something to their doings that has more meaning, a-a warning almost. They are trying to communicate and no one is out there to listen..." he explained hurriedly, but slowed down as he had went on.

Alyss looked at her son and for the one billionth time saw how much he was like Will. He had is fathers hair, though it was blonde like hers it would never look neat. He was small in height and was thin, but made up for it in agility and his quick thinking. His curiosity and the love for the out doors is what always got him in trouble, not to mention the impulse to climb up to impossible heights. What completed the look were his brown eyes. The were a dark, rich brown that had a gleam of humour and curiosity, and a look of warmth that never failed to maker her heart melt.

Standing up she walked toward him and lifted his chin so he would look her in the eye. "I know Daniel, I just can't bear to loose you too." she whispered. He understood as soon as she said it. Why she was so strict with him and his trips to the forest. He stepped forward and hugged her tightly, "Your never going to loose me." he promised, voice muffled by the folds of her dress.

She ran a hand through his already messy hair, "I know."