(Collab with
@Sanguine Fox )
Lux smiled softly as she hugged the other Aspect back. The fairy was ecstatic to find a familiar face so quickly, it settled her previous nerves of being in the town quickly enough. Though feeling the looks of the townsfolk kept her slightly on edge. "
Its so nice to see you, Imani!" Lux stepped back, putting space between them as she continued,
"I am surprised to run into you, I didn't think I would see anyone till I reached the meeting point."
Lux paused a moment in thought before turning to look in the direction she previously observed the message from. A thoughtful hum passing her pursed lips before she spoke, "
I have a rough idea of the location, I was planning to get outside the town then fly the rest of the way."
Imani scrunched her face slightly, "
I can't fly." For a moment the girl imagined what it would be like to have fairy wings. She concluded that it must be a very freeing thing, to be able to fly wherever you like. Brushing some of her brown hair aside, her curious eyes swept across the townspeople. "
If only I had the money to borrow a horse from someone," She thought out loud. At that moment her stomach growled lowly, reminding her of her hunger. "
Or, buy some food."
Lux only smiled softly, before reaching around to drag her backpack from her shoulders once again. "
I'll travel with you anyway - I'd rather travel with someone than alone…you never know what could happen," the fairy mumbled, shoving her hand in to pull out the bag of food that had been hurriedly shoved into it. "
I have some food though! I wanted to make sure to have some for when I met up with everyone." She explained, passing the food over to Imani. "
I have some money as well, if that helps."
At the sight of Lux's bag of food Imani's eyes lit up. Eagerly, she grabbed the bag and pulled it open. "
I'm so glad I ran into you," Imani said excitedly. Leave it to Lux to be properly prepared. "
How much money do you have?" She asked curiously, trying to gauge what exactly their options were.
The fairy smiled softly before rummaging once again to pull the coin purse from her bag. It was still, to her luck, mostly full. Lux was happy that her money had collected up while she secluded herself in the past. "
I haven't had a chance to count it all to be honest," She replied, handing the purse over. "
Be free to use it how you want."
Imani opened the purse, peering down inside of it. Definitely enough for a horse… but, she wasn't sure she wanted to spend it all at once like that. What if they needed it later? "
Let's start with a map, figure out how far we have to go," Imani decided, looking up and around at all the shops. There weren't any nearby that looked like what she needed, so she walked a little further. As the two strode down the rode Imani began to hum, feeling overcome with happiness.
Only a handful of minutes passed by before Imani saw someone exit a shop with something that looked similar to a map. "
Let's go in this one," the druid said eagerly, grabbing Lux by the hand and pulling her along.
Stunned by suddenly being pulled along, Lux briefly let out a short gasp of air, her eyes having widened. She had not expected that - causing her steps to stumble slightly as she was pulled behind Imani. "
Coming, coming," She muttered, following the Aspect into the store where she glanced around curiously. Seeing that it was mostly empty at the moment, her fears abated. Turning to the man leaning on the counter, she pulled a small, polite smile onto her lips.
"
Sir, do you have any maps we can buy?"
Imani studied the old man, who smiled back at the pair widely. She took note of his little shop, the walls mostly barren. Was this how most shops were nowadays? Or, maybe he had just recently opened up? She decided it really wasn't worth her concern, and focused solely on the man. "
What kind of map you ladies looking for?" He inquired, his voice as gentle as his face.
"
We're trying to get to the mountains near Liones," Imani explained.
"
Let me see," The man responded, kneeling down to rustle through some items he had behind his counter. Imani raised up on her tippy toes, trying to peer over the counter in curiosity. Soon, the man stood up, a rolled up map in his hands. "
Perhaps this will do?" He questioned as he unrolled it and laid it on the counter for the girls to look at.
Lux curiously peered around Imani, a soft, contemplative hum escaping her as she nodded her head. "
I think this should be okay. From what I can tell it is what we are looking for," The fairy muttered quietly, her gaze still scanning the details of the map carefully.
Reaching over, Lux plucked the purse of coins from Imani and shoved her hand inside, plucking a small handful of the coins that she quickly let collapse onto the counter. "
Would this be enough?" She asked, wanting to leave and get to the other Aspects quickly. The old man took a glance before nodding, prompting Lux to smile softly and gather up the map. "
Thank you sir," Lux hurried added, taking Imani's hand and escaping the shop quickly.
"
We need to hurry and leave - we need to reach the others."
Imani kept pace with Lux as they exited the shop hand-in-hand. Once outside Imani pulled them to the side of the building, and took hold of the map. She laid it out on the ground, scanning its landmarks. As the starting point, she found where he temple would have been on the map, if it had been marked. From there she was able to estimate what town they were in. She eyed the distance between the Liones mountains and where they were, smiling brightly. "
Doesn't even look like half a days trip!" She said excitedly.
Imani looked to the sun to figure out which way was direction, and then back down at the map. "
This way," She decided, turning left and walking at a steady pace.
The blonde's nerves settled the further they got from the town till eventually, her wings were once again at her back and she no longer remained in contact with the ground. She had not spent so much time walking since her time spent living with the humans so long ago. She smiled slightly, turning to Imani, "
I am excited to see everyone - despite the circumstances of us all meeting again. How about you?"
"
Me too!" Imani agreed cheerfully. "
Though, I don't mind the circumstances. I love kicking some evil-doer butt!" Imani threw out her fist as if she was punching someone, laughing lightly. No one could say she didn't love her job.
Lux chuckled softly, nodding along contently. "
I'm not ecstatic to fight anyone…It's really not my specialty…" She mumbled, shaking her head to remove the image that her words conjured. "
I'm completely sure you will kick some 'evil-doer' butt though." Lux added before her words trailed off into a pause. "
Do you think the others have reached the meeting point first?"
Imani thought for a moment, "
I'm sure at least some of them have." From her estimate, it had already been a few hours since she received Thassil's message on their meeting point. "
Ooo, maybe they'll have food ready when we get there!" She added hopefully.
The two continued on their path, making small talk and laughing along the way. Imani had always liked Lux, the fairy was easy to get along with. Not to mention, she was always entranced with how the sunlight played with her wings. Surprisingly, they saw very few people on their journey through the woods. Imani quite enjoyed the hike and the terrain, it reminded her much of home. She always felt more in her element in the forest than she did with any human civilization.
As they neared the mountains of Liones they could feel the undeniably powerful presence of the other Aspects. However, something felt out of place for the young druid. "
How strange," She said, furrowing her eyebrows and looking to Lux as they climbed the mountain. "
I sense a power that's unfamiliar."
Lux had been staring at a few familiar plants nearby when Imani's voice stole her attention. She twisted within the air, wings fluttering behind her as she shifted her attention to the familiar presences that lingered near by - except one. Lux had seemingly forgotten to stay alert, comforted by the familiar presences of her comrades that slowly grew closer. Quickly enough, a frown marred her features and her gaze regretfully steeled.
"
I don't recognize that one either. An enemy?" She asked, her voice a bare whisper as she glanced to Imani. With a small huff, Lux planted her feet once again on the ground, wings quickly vanishing. "
I doubt it with the others but…lets hurry anyway." That was all the fairy added before hurrying forwards with her steps. It didn't take her much longer to reach the top of the pathway up and when she finally reached the other Aspects, her expression bore her worry clearly. Her gaze immediately searched for the unknown and settled there until she briefly glanced at the others to address them.
"
I uh…apologize for how late we are…"
Right behind Lux, Imani studied the stranger carefully. She didn't sense anything evil about him. She focused in on him, using her True Sense ability to figure out whether his intentions were good or evil, feeling nothing but good coming from him. Instantly the girl relaxed, a smile curling on her lips. As far as she could tell, there was nothing untrustworthy about this man. "
Hi," She said cheerfully, walking past Lux to join the group. "
I'm Imani!"