Horizons

[Azmi Etui]

He'd put up posters, talked to people one-on-one, built it up to make it as public knowledge as he could. The bigger his group, the better. Azmi roamed the crowded streets of Kelacia, nervous for the hour at hand. He reviewed everything in his mind, his life, his objectives for this trip, everything as he walked. He saw every once in a while a poster, promising excitement and fame for those willing to explore the lands thus far unseen. He made those posters, he'd put them up.
Before too long, noon had arrived without warning and he was upon the tavern he'd advertised for people to gather at in his posters. Upon entering, he quickly scanned the crowd of patrons, hoping that they were there for him, to answer his posters. Azmi had made an agreement with the owner of the bar, also the barkeep, and the keep had noticed Azmi's arrival.
"Listen 'ere," the burly bartender shouted to the rest of the patrons with a rather angry tone. "This man 'ere," the keep gestured to Azmi, "Is lookin fer some 'elp 'splorin' tha land. Give 'im yer ears fer a minute."
Azmi wasn't quite ready to give his speach. But, it was best not to seem so. When the crowd turned to the man gestured to, they would see a tall, slim figure with bright red hair, bangs covering his left eye. Orange fur with black stripes covered his body, hidden only by some loose, almost colorless grey clothing. Azmi's voice was low, though loud and not lacking power.
"I have been given orders by the governing body of our land, the King Himself, to arrange a group of brave souls to explore and map this land beyond the Ilrion Forest." Azmi paused for a moment before finishing. "Any takers?"

[milliehiggins]

Millie gave a soft hum as she held the empty glass in her hand. At first, one would think that the short creature had too much to drink, but if they actually paused to look, they would see that she was perfectly aware of every little thing that was going on. That was the problem. Why she entered the tavern, she would never know. But she regretted it as soon as she took a sip of her drink. The noise was just too much to handle. Thus, the humming. It was a way to drown everyone out while she waited for the chance to pay and leave.
Her short, round ears pinned against her skull. Her face twisted into a scowl as the barkeep yelled about getting help to search the land, or something. She couldn’t really catch the whole speech, with her humming and all. Then, like a prayer answered, the crowd became quiet. All of them faced a figure with red hair. Heck, if he could get all these people to shut their mouths, he was a hero in her books. That’s probably why she was one of the first ones to raise her voice after his proposal. Well, maybe that and the fact that it was almost a perfect ticket out of this noisy city.
“I’ll come with ya.” She yelled, making her way to get a better look at the man. A large dragging sound was heard as her body disappeared into the crowd, only to pop up almost infront of him after she escaped the maze of bodies. A sharp glare was passed to a man stepping on her tail before a sweet smile was passed to Azmi. “That is, if you don’t mind me coming an all.”

[Azmi Etui]

Azmi's calm demeanor disappeared only for a short second when he suddenly found the young creature much closer to him than before. A few murmurs rose from the crowd and soon the bar was back into swing, with a little talking and babbling and whatnot about Azmi's small speech. Everyone was quite wary of entering the Ilrion forest...
Azmi addressed the woman before him. "Well, it seems as though you're the only one brave enough to come..." Azmi took another pleading look over the crowd. Azmi's voice was low with a bit of a rasp, and the strength of tone from before was gone as he spoke to Millie one-on-one. "Come," he said, and led her out of the tavern and onto the streets.
"I appreciate any help I can get," he told her. "My name is Azmi, by the way. Our objective here is to draw a finalized map of the lands we live on from shore to shore. Our reward will be a sum of money larger than you could ever need, and it will be given to us upon our return to WingSpire." he paused here, considering his next senetence. "This has been attempted a few times already, and no one has yet to return to claim their payment. We may both die on this trip."

[milliehiggins]

Millie quietly followed Azmi out the door and onto the streets. Her face was twisted into a look that was caught between disgust and disappointment. Surely she wasn’t the only one? She heard some young fellows chatting about going on such an adventure inside the tavern, in fact. But, why did they refuse? Millie’s steps slowed to a stop as she came to a conclusion: This town was made to annoy her.
A small jump escaped Millie when Azmi started talking again. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she completely forgot about the man beside her. With ears flicked forward, she listened to the objective. Funny, you would think that a map would’v-Wait a minute. Die? She could die!? Oh, what a lovely thought indeed.
With arms crossed against her chest, Millie started weighing the pros and cons. A few moments passed and, occasionally, her lips would move as she would mumble a fact to herself. She bit her bottom lip when the pros won. “I said I would help you and I will.” She stated, placing her hands on her hips, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “So, it’s nice to meet you, Azmi. I’m Mille. Now that introductions are over and done with, what’s first? Do we gather supplies? Say good-bye to loved ones? Or, do we start walking from here?”

[Azmi Etui]

"I've already gathered supplies," Azmi said with little bit of disappointment in his own voice. "I was expecting more people, but...everyone is scared, I guess." Azmi shook his head. It was disappointing: he knew that the more people that he was able to bring along, the better the group had a chance of surviving, the better their chances of success.
He stopped on a street corner, and really noticed Millie's height for the first time. Azmi was a full foot taller than her. Looking down at his only companion, he said without emotion, "You may do what you will for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow, we set out. We can meet wherever is convenient for you. We can't carry much because we'll be on foot, but you can bring whatever you can handle, and I'll bring some food and some tools for both of us."
Millie may have noticed something odd behind Azmi's eyes when his met hers. Some motive was missing. Some level of emotive response was gone.
"If you need something specific, ask and I'll get it for you," Azmi added as an afterthought.

[milliehiggins]

There was no mistaking it. She was getting out of here. Out of this noisy place and into the woods where she belonged. To be honest, Millie wasn’t really sure on how she should react to this. Should she be happy to leave? Should she be depressed about leaving her family behind? Even with all these questions, the odd glint in her eyes was strong. Crossing her arms, she looked up at the man. “Ah, it’s okay if it’s just the two of us. We might be able to pick up some people on the way or something.” She stated, giving a soft chuckle. “Plus, I’m sure that we might meet some good souls willing to help us out along the way. I’ve seen it happen before.”
Millie’s optimistic personally changed as she heaved a sigh. “Well, I’ll head back home and tell my family about the journey. They aren’t going to like that.” She stated, her lips a faint smile. She placed her hands on her hips and closed her eyes, preparing for the argument that just waited for her at home. Her family is very protective of her and is determined to see her live in a city life. Of course, that really didn’t go over to well with her.
“Okay. So, we’ll meet back at the tavern? Who knows, maybe we can get some recruitments at the last minute.” She asked, her smile returning. Her gaze met his and she noticed something odd about them, but, she didn’t pry. But, there was also something lacking in her eyes too: Fear.

[Azmi Etui]

Azmi looked around for a second, knowing this may well be the last time he would have the chance to do so. He really didn't like to see her disappoint her family, but, to each his (or in this case, her) own. And, he was glad to see her optimistic. All the better for them.
"Alright. Tomorrow, bright and early, at the door of the tavern," Azmi agreed, and walked off into the crowds in the street. He sincerely hoped that her family wouldn't hold her back from coming along.

[milliehiggins]

“Alright. See you there, then.” She stated, turning on her heel and walking the other way. Millie made sure that she took a few extra steps before falling into a full slump. “The morning!?” she sighed, her tail making a soft ‘thump’ as she jumped up onto another street.
The shortcut to her house consisted of many twists and turns, added in with the one or two escapes from angry pets or annoyed neighbors. So, when she entered her house, she was immediately drowned with questions of where she has been and what exactly what she was doing due to her muddy clothes. They were answered with a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek…It’s needless to say that there was a ruckus at the Higgins’ house that night.
Millie decided to leave the house around four that morning with her things packed and ready. She was quite proud of how she left, too. Millie threw her large back out of the window and watched it fall onto the ground below. Her window wasn’t that high, so it was easy for her to jump down with as little noise possible.
She glanced over her shoulder at her large bag. It was almost as big as her! But, yet, she was able to swing it over her shoulder like a usual woman could do with a purse.
“Bye-bye everyone. Love you all.” She whispered, waving to the dark house as she headed towards the tavern.
She arrived a bit earlier than what she thought she would that morning. She passed a drowsy look to the streets, giving a yawn. There weren’t very many people out…So, she guessed it would be okay for a nap. She pressed her back against the wall and began to slide down. When she actually hit the ground, sleep had already claimed her.

[Azmi Etui]

Millie would wake to a soft shake from an oragne-furred hand. "You should really reconsider where you sleep, Millie," Azmi told the young creature softly. Today, he seemed a bit more intimidating in appearence, carrying two swords, one on either hip, less relaxed, rough clothing of a darker color than the previous day. Yet, his demeanor seemed softer.
"I'll get you some breakfast," he offered her his hand to help her up. It was even visually rough, perhaps from a constant handling of the swords he now carried.
A nice breakfast at the tavern was the least he could do for this woman who had offered her life for his purpose without much question. She'd abandoned everything for him, possibly to never return to it, and that was something he'd never heard of. Needless to say, it struck something unfamiliar in him.

[milliehiggins]

Millie slowly let one eye flutter open, quickly followed by the other one. She scratched the back of her head as she took his hand. Even though her eyes were open and she was standing, one could tell that she wasn’t really awake. “Breakfast..?” she mumbled, giving another yawn. Somehow, the mentioning of food gave her a small boost to get moving. “Sure….As long as you’re paying.” She stated, slowly grabbing her bag. For the moment, the hair that was sticking up at the back of her head went ignored. She wasn’t one to fuss about bed head. “You look much more…frightening today.” She added, opening the door. She wasn’t sure if the look was intended or not, but she felt the need to point it out. “Good job”