She would admit sitting where she was, was rather boring. The hours provided 0 entertainment as she thought it would. "Where are the others, there should be more, shouldn't there?" She took out the map again, seeing if she was mistaken. Nope, the other dots where closing in on her position. After relocating her own dot that had reappeared to her, she noticed another dot. One that was exceptionally close. Popping her head up she gripped a dagger. She didn't know who it was, or even if there was someone there at all. In one hand she tightened into a fist, clutching the ring Esthyores gave her.

Her heart was up when a voice called out friend or foe. It came from the general direction that the dot was in. She tightened the grip on the handle of the blade. "I suppose that question would be better answered if you came from your hiding spot." She knew she was being bold, a little rude even. To her however she had a fair point. If they could see her, why wasn't she allowed to see them. Glancing to the horse who's ears where now perked and head was looking in the direction of the voice now she was certain she wasn't alone.

Taking more steps back to create space between herself and however was over there she remembered what her brother said, just in case it was needed. Breath slowly, focus, and always expect dishonesty from an adversary to be. Take measures to protect yourself, fight only if necessary. She took a breath to calm herself a little. And the shocking part was it was actually working.

~~~~~
So Azalea had stolen the horse. Big deal. The man had deserved it. No one asked Azalea to sit on their lap and got away with it. Besides, Azalea needed the horse more. Apparently, Azalea had gone the wrong way, and had ended up in O'rein, farther away from where she needed to go.
The little grey mare was strong and had proven her worth. Many other horses would have slowed by now, but not this pony. Azalea had been lucky that she had chosen the mare, and not some other horse. Azalea wasn't sure whether her luck was related to her god, or if it was simply coincidence. Azalea didn't really care.

~~~~~
Eventually, Azalea stopped to let the pony rest, and to eat a small lunch. Azalea was still a few hour's ride away from the Nannet Plains, but she would at least make it there by nightfall. Azalea ate her lunch of hard cheese and bread, and filled her canteen in a nearby stream. Then, Azalea was on the move again.

~~~~~
Azalea reached the plains earlier than expected. Yet again, she had pushed her mount as fast as it would go. Azalea approached a stream, prepared to jump over it, but the pony stopped. Azalea almost fell of the mare, but managed to stay on.

~~~~~
"What's wrong?" Azalea scanned the opposite side of the stream, looking for a reason why the pony didn't jump. Azalea saw nothing, and simply assumed that the mare had spooked at a chipmunk or something else inconsequential. Azalea turned the mare around, and tried the jump again.

~~~~~
Azalea was again met with the mare stopping. However, Azalea was ready this time, and stayed firmly on the pony's back. Now frustrated, Azalea dismounted and walked the mare towards the water.

~~~~~
Halfway across the stream, Azalea realized why the mare had refused. Hidden behind a tree was a man, soundly asleep, guessing by the snores that Azalea could now hear. Azalea dug threw her saddlebag, pulling out her scroll. Sure enough, a red dot was next to the dot Azalea had come to realize was herself.

~~~~~
"Who's chosen are you?" Azalea said this much louder than she meant to, and was accompanied by her pony letting out a loud whinny.

Kiran was a little surprised at the boldness of this girl, but remained cool. "Haha. You have a fair point there." He stepped from his hiding place. "Now will you answer my question? I'm Kiran by the way." He kept the antler at the ready, hoping it would be of use if the girl attacked. He wasn't particularity sure of how it worked, but he could probably defeat this girl in a fight.

-

Though Kiran thought he would would have an obvious advantage since they were in a forest, but you never know what your opponent has up their sleeves. Then again, this may be an ally. A teammate if you will.

(Sorry for the short post. I don't know what to write before the reply)

Bumping into her borrowed tied horse a man came out of his hiding spot. She looked him up and down and when he pulled up what she thought was a weapon she had her dagger at the ready, every muscle just waiting for the que to go. Drawing a breath she held firm, never loosing eye contact and she kept her ground. Hoping he got the message she wasn't going to back down. At least not so easily. "You name is worthless less I know your intentions. Lass I am hear on service." She didn't want to give to much away to this Kiran person. "Seeing However you have offered yous up, if it pleases you to know, Im Mallorie." At the very end she gave a specific smile she had practiced. One that was both light and kind, but also slightly flirtatious.

She kept glancing at him up and down. From head to toe, and focused slightly more on his apparent weapon before deciding to relax and put hers away. Seems harmless. She grabbed her bag off the horse and threw a thicker cloth on the ground before falling effortlessly onto it. She didn't want to give anything away so she left the ring and map alone while she took a drink from her canteen. "Heads up." She three the other at him. Finding herself bored with lack of anyone else for company.

Azalea Tonorios || female || 20 || key || M: Aurelien
~~~~~
How dare this man! If Azalea wasn't certain that Aurelien was a teammate, for lack of a better word, she would have knocked him on his ass.

~~~~~
Azalea decided then to play Aurelien's game, for now. She dismounted and led her pony closer.
~~~~~

"I asked, who's chosen are you?" If the man had no idea what Azalea was talking about, she would have her answer, and have to come up for another reason for the dots on her map.

A title! The man expected her to have a title!? And what was with that grimace when he asked for her name?! Alright, Azalea was done playing nice.
~~~~~

"Am I supposed to know what Thibaut means?" Azalea plastered the best fake smile she could manage on her face. It was painfully obvious that Azalea didn't mean it.
~~~~~
"My name is Azalea Tonorios, daughter of Gage Tonorios, the local miller of what used to be Atella." Let the man think about that for a minute. Perhaps she will finally see Azalea as a warrior, not a lady.

Aurelien Chevalier Thibaut || Male || 22 || Golden Ring || Cekena || Mentions: Azalea

He smiled as sweetly as he could muster as the woman slipped off her steed and approached him. He began to bow again, before she talked, her voice venomous. Taken aback, he stuttered slightly. "I- Chosen? What do you...?"

And then it hit him. She must be one of his team members! Of course! Why else would she be dressed in such adventurous gear? He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "My apologies, I did not realize you were like myself. I'm the Chosen of Cekena," he said, before regaining his more prideful side. "Perhaps you have heard of her?" he added smugly, running his hand through his curled hair, before smirking at her. Surely, being nominated by the original goddess would be both intimidating and awe-inspiring by this headstrong maiden.

He felt a burst of pride at the expression of the woman's face, before blanching in surprise as she said sweetly, "Am I supposed to know what Thibaut means?"

What.

"How... how do you not know my family's name?" he sputtered, awfully confused. "We are one of the noblest families in all of Aqela's history! My father is the right-hand man of the king of Ukote!" He waved his hands as he talked, trying to express how important he was. How did she not know?! He hated this feeling, this ache of someone not knowing who he was. Not knowing what influence, what power he held, just by sharing the same blood of his father. Surely, she was jesting.

Her next words sent him into a full-blown tizzy. A local... local MILLER?! By the GODS, Aurelien would've assumed that the gods would've chosen people more, oh, he didn't know, more important?

He had never even heard of this woman's family, much less her as an individual. His shoulders scrunched as he stared at the ground, rethinking his decision of following Cekena's order. Was all of his other teammates to be of such lowly stature? Would they have dirty blood as well?

Would he, Aurelien Chevalier Thibaut, son of a revered nobleman, be stuck with a stableboy? Why not throw in a drunkard as well? Or, perhaps, he would be traveling with a crazed person!

The daughter of a miller. Gods, why must they be so confusing. Why not just choose the most powerful, strongest warrior to fight the Minobrei, not some woman who most likely had nothing going for her except for her looks.

He looked away from the woman, growing silent. He needed to think. "Well," he said solemnly, trying hard to hold back the agitated tremble in his voice. "It's a pleasure to make your... acquaintance."

He shifted his weight to the other side, glancing behind him. He wanted nothing more than to just go away from her. He shuddered to think of the filth she most likely wallowed in. After all, her family surely wasn't paid well, if at all. She most likely lived in squalor. "Allow me to gather my belongings before we partake in travel," he said, turning to his resting place. His boots and bags were still sitting by the stream, enshrouded in shadows. He hurried over to his possessions, no longer wanting to talk to Azalea. The farther he got away, the better.

He reached into his bag and pulled out the scroll. "Please, please, please don't be a Chosen. Please let her just be some crazy test from the gods," he mumbled to himself, unrolling the scroll hurriedly. Sure enough, however, another dot resided behind his own. He tapped it, and a small name reading "Azalea Tonorios" appeared, before fading back into nothing. He inwardly groaned.

Putting his boots back on and slinging his satchel over his shoulder, he turned back to the woman, giving a grin. However, it really looked more like a grimace. "Shall we await the arrival of our comrades, or continue on to the Plains?"

This man! How dare he assume everything based on a name! Then, it all made sense.

~~~~~

"Ukote, that explains it." Azalea had never been to Tatuaniki before. Only Diadema and Phyrisha; and that was only on two occasions - when she was four, and now. "And, you know, you don't need to sound so proud of Cekena." The whole world worshiped Cekena, but Azalea found that Cekena was the goddess of things Azalea didn't care about. Mostly domestic, womanly arts. Azalea didn't understand why she felt the need to snap at the boy whose god was so soft, but she did.

~~~~~

And then the boy showed her why. Suddenly, it was as if Azalea had some sort of foreign disease. Now, Azalea really felt the need to get on this boy's nerves. Aurelien walked off to gather his things, and Azalea followed him.

~~~~~

"My god is Ynmos. I do hope he chose right in choosing me. After all, I am a simple peasant girl. It was a wonder Ynmos wasn't chased away with my dirt and stench." Azalea said all of this with exaggerated concern and innocence. When Aurelien asked about where to go, Azalea mounted her pony. "The gods told us to go to the plains, so that's where I'm going. If you want to tag along, be my guest. But know this. I am not someone you want to underestimate because I'm a girl." Azalea let her voice grow soft, deadly, cold. Let her voice back up her threats. Then Azalea let out a dry laugh. "I could whip your ass if I wanted to." With that, Azalea spurred her pony into a fast trot, forcing Aurelian to either chase after her, or wait.

Cam Aston || female || 16 || raven feather || Mentioned: Erebus Zuko

.
There was one thing for sure: Cam was going to never, NEVER again ride on that rude horse. Her adventure with mare was definitely done after animal running into the tree. Both rider and white mount was sore and bruised. Fortunately, there was actually nothing dangerous to them because of this accident, but girl decided to go on foot.

She looked nervously at the slowly moving point on her map. The merchant's daughter sighed softly. She still couldn’t understand what was actually going on. First the problems at home, then the appearance of a stranger, now something like a incomprehensible mission. Really, was there nobody who could explain it? Some time have passed and Cam was actually very close to the marked destination on the map. But was at the same time very tired and weary. Thought young horse had still lot of energy, the distrustful owner still didn’t consider as an option riding on her.

The whole trip was slowly becoming less pleasant; the abrasions was still hurting, the forest became as if less friendly in her eyes, and who knows what could be living in it?

But then she saw someone at a distance. On a fallen tree was sitting a man. A glimmer of hope appeared in the girl's eyes. Maybe he knew the area and was aware of any obstacles? Such advice could help her get to the right place on the map…

There was only one way to find out. Aston headed towards the stranger. However with each step, girl began to feel more and more unsure. She didn't like something about this guy. Maybe it was nerves, maybe fatigue. But what if he was a dangerous person? More than once she heard about attacks on travelers in forests. In fact, everyone could came to this place with their own different intentions. Besides, in the event of an attack, it was unlikely that she would be able to defend herself from him.

Curiosity was stronger than a common sense. She finally decided to approach him. Still keeping distance Cam started hesitantly.

“H-hello?”

Girl stayed quiet for a few seconds trying to get right words. Then she asked stranger again; “Do you know how much left until a plains?” She tighten her black scroll and reins in her hands like as if she didn't want someone to take it away from her.