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Dakota sighed at two facts. One, Akari could have at least known her name and two, the time for her trials was still another month away. "Yes Akari it starts with a "D" and it's Dakota for crying out loud" she said with her snarky attitude and then looked to Rusty along with Akari once more. Every year or at least close to that all of the seventeen year-old anthros gather for a day of celebration before their trials began so she had to find a date before then. "Alright boys any of you guys going to that celebration tonight I need a date" she said cooling her tonfas and touching one of them to her head before storing them in her holdsters.

Akari bowed slightly when she revealed her name. "My apologies, Dakota, names have a habit of slipping my mind when I need to remember them most," he said.

Upon hearing the whole deal with "I need a date," Akari's eyes widened. "Klaginto, slath malteth..." were the first words that came out of his mouth, subconsciously. It was part gibberish, part wolf language, and meant absolutely nothing, but sometimes it was a way of portraying shock. "Gee, I, uh, was honestly planning on going solo... but I dunno..." he said, scratching the back of his neck. These kinds of questions basically put the emergency brakes on in his train of thought. The celebration had been in the back of his mind, but now it was forced to the front, and it also required him to think quickly. The last thing he wanted to do was insult Dakota or possibly worse.

After thinking for a good ten to fifteen seconds, an idea hit him that he was at first solid on, but then became slightly wary of. "Um, oh! How's this" he suggested, "we all go, you know, together, but as, I guess, just friends, maybe...?" His mind braced for the worst.

While Sissmuth rocked to the ever-swaying rhythm of the boat, most of the idle time he had was spent meditating. In no time, the topazes were back to their original gleam and he felt more recharged and ready than ever. He was careful not to show it off to the captain, though. In the middle of the sea, his magic was practically useless.

With every minute he had nothing to do, Sissmuth felt more and more ancy -- even irritable. To calm himself down, he thought of the things he'd do upon his arrival. He reckoned the anthro trials were still active, as it was a common tradition in all of Ekleron. Maybe he'd investigate and see what kind of obstacles they had to overcome.

For him, it was quite easy, and Sissmuth had been quite disaapointed with his own trial's setup. A magical demonstration, competitions, and petty tasks all overseen by the Elder were all he had to do. Surely, it couldn't be any more difficult (or boring) in other parts of Ekleron, he thought silently to himself.

He bit into a Ba-ugan pod and the spiciness exploded inside his mouth. It was enough to hold his attention before the captain rounded a corner and called out to him, "Oy!! Land ho, mate!! Prepare to dock!!"

Sissmuth's gaze snapped forward as he scampered to the other side of the ship and gazed in marvel at the gargantuan landmass that was steadily only getting bigger. He dropped the Ba-ugan pod and it fizzed as it hit the water. But he wasn't concentrating on that now.

Soon, he though. Very soon, I'll be there.

Rusty was surprised by the sudden question as well. It wasn't uncommon for dates to be formed in advance for the celebration; he knew that. How far in advance, he wasn't sure, though Dakota kind of smeared the answer to his face just now.

He crossed his arm and stood there feeling uneasy (these questions always did that), unsure how either answer would affect the outcome of the whole thing. His biggest fear was having to deal with emotions if he screwed up somehow. He guessed it was from inexperience, but every time the opportunity presented itself the same fear drove him away.
Though, thinking back on it now, Rusty realized he was more curious about it than ever before...
He took a breath and sighed. He hoped that he wasn't going to regret anything.

Another breath...

"I'll be your date for the celebration, Dekota," He offered, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible, almost cutting Akari off in the process.

Akari half sighed from relief, half wondered what drove Rusty to do that. He decided he'd ask Rusty later. He did, however, want to tell Rusty something. He'd been on one date before to something entirely different, so he was a little more experienced with this than Rusty was, and wanted to give his friend some advice. However, it wouldn't be so nice to do so in front of Dakota, so he decided to do it later. "Well," he said, "I guess that settles that question, then!"

He paused for a moment, and looked at the others.

"Um, carry on, then?"

Sissmuth staggered out of the boat, keeping a hand clutched over his snout and the other arm bent over his stomach. Maybe he should've laid off on those Ba-ugan pods. He'd have jumped into the water and swam to shore, if it'd have gotten him there any quicker.

But then Sissmuth remembered he couldn't swim.

His shoulders sagged as he tried to stand up straight, but he still felt pretty woozy from the boat ride. Never again, he thought to himself bitingly. He leaned over and retched over the side of the docks. The captain glanced at him, then chuckled. "Welcome to Astrainia," he smiled.

Sissmuth coughed and wiped at the side of his mouth before standing up again. "What is this place, he asked."

"Tyran. At least, the riverside of it. The actual city isn't too far away. It's a nice place, but if you want sights, you should try Asper, farther north. If I recall correctly, the Anthro trials celebration is set in that town. Heck of a party, I hear."

He thanked the captain for his service, then threw his cloak over himself, starting forward. He couldn't get enough of his surroundings, but perhaps he'd take the captain's advice and start north, towards Asper. On the way, perhaps take in the environment of Tyran as well...

Dakota almost lost all feeling in her body when she heard Rusty actually wanting to go on a date with her. Her feelings ran deep for Rusty, they have trained together and in some cases protected their back but she hasn't seen much since he's been around Akari for a much longer time than she ever has. It felt great but, she then realized that she was blushing and for an Artic wolf that would soon become blantantly obvious. She turned around facing her back to the three hiding her face. "T...thanks Rusty I really appreciate it um... have you guys ever explored outside of Asper maybe on the Astrainian Peaks or at least the base they make good traning grounds" she said and then did a rare thing. She actually took off her hat actually letting a softer side of her show

Sissmuth pulled the cowl farther down his face. Unable to keep back a small grunt as he gritted his teeth down in frustration.

...This is the LAST time he would take touring advice from a sea captain.

The cowl covered the top of his eyes, and without warning, he shouldered a middle-aged human walking in the opposite direction. In his panic, he let his cloak slide off a little and he fumbled to cover himself up again as the man spun around at him. "Watch it, you old, lug-headed bafoon!"

It took an effort not to soften the earth beneath the man and have him screaming as he slowly got sucked down. He immediately brushed the fantasy away and pulled his cloak tighter. "My sincerest of apologies," he said, his teeth still gritted.

The man narrowed his eyes. "You don't look like you're from around here."

"You haven't seen my face. How could you possibly know?" And with that, he quickly turned and scampered forward.

Tyran was nothing like the sea captain led him to believe. He expected bazaars full of Anthros and people on their merry ways; foxes, tigers, wolves, and maybe even a few other Lizardfolk he could share a drink with. But none were present. Instead, the place was packed with people -- humans, of every shape, color, and sort. He never knew there could be so many of them. It didn't take much to know that Anthros were frowned upon here. For two hours, he'd been walking through Tyran's streets, and he'd only caught a glimpse of maybe one or two. He was hunched over, pretending to act like an old man, and using his staff as a walking stick.

Sissmuth wanted badly to look up at the buildings, but doing so would mean he'd have to drop his cowl. It felt rather strange, being here... right where he wanted, in the midst of everything unknown to him. This was what he wanted. This was what he left for.

So why was he feeling so anxious to get out?

The buildings, the customs, the fancy clothing, the accessories, the people (well, maybe not the people) were all fascinating, but this modern world brimming with technology and sights we wasn't used to came to him like a kick in the stomach. He wasn't ready for it. Like a cave dweller dropped through time, some hundred years later. That's what it felt like. He was confused, and it was only by following the crowd that he avoided squinting eyes.

Just keep heading north, he kept telling himself. North, to Asper.

Apples. What was an apple? Some sort of fruit, he supposed. Soda pop? What magic did these humans possess that could make dark water fizz and bubble so? And how can buildings be so large that they touched the sky? What was a gun? Why is everything so NOISY here?

Questions, questions, questions, Sissmuth had no choice but to brush away as he continued on, hobbling old-man style, slowly but steadily through the city.

But Sissmuth was being followed. He could tell. There were vibrations running through the ground, and he sifted through them to find that some pairs of feet remained a steady distance away from him. He'd turn one way, they'd turn as well. He'd stop, they'd stop too. He pretended not to notice, but he had to loose their trail.

Some way. Somehow.

Rusty went wide-eyed at Dakota's sudden change in personality, especially when she doffed her fedora, his eyes followed the hat in her hands all the way down to where she held it. He realized just how rare it is to see her without it on, considering this was the first time he ever witnessed the event.

Gradually, his eyes went up to catch Dakota's hatless head. What he saw was not Dakota. Well, it was but... Wow, he thought to himself.
Without the shade from the fedora over her face, Dakota's white fur and black locks where brilliantly highlighted even in the cloud-filtered sunlight. Even her fake arm seemed less of a handicap as is gleamed with the with Dakota’s fur and not against it.


“Being a cartographer, I have been all around Asper,” a voice made itself present, interrupting the moment. It was Jollanel. He had been off side, silently observing what was unfolding, but now he stood behind Rusty. “Rusty has too, since he helps me with my job, but we haven’t been all the way to the base of the mountains yet. In fact, this morning Rusty and I were headed to the north to survey more of the area closer to the mountains.”

Jollanel adjusted his pack and started walking in the direction that he and Rusty were originally traveling. He turned his head and hastily announced: “Let’s go, Rusty. Akari, Dakota, you may come with us.”

Rusty shrugged. He leaned down and picked up the case he had dropped. He started to trail Jollanel but his eye caught Dakota again. He smiled at her and then continued to follow Jollanel.

Sissmuth hurried his pace. People pitted left and right, as if they'd never seen an old man hobbling down a street before, making him seem all the more awkward. The footsteps were still behind him, but farther away now. It was getting harder and harder to detect them, which, he forced himself to believe was a good thing. The hustle and bustle of city life was not the ideal place for him, he decided. He was sure there would be more places like Tyran throughout Ekleron where he didn't have to conceal himself. The sooner he got out, the sooner he could go out and see them.

Effortless walking. Sissmuth didn't mind walking so far, but he didn't suppose summoning another golem would help the situation to get any better. After a couple more hours, he was at the countryside, which was a lot more rural and manageable to stroll through. By now, the footsteps had stopped and he didn't think to ponder their origin any further. He slid off the cowl and threw his cloak behind himself. By night or latest, tomorrow afternoon, he'd be in Asper. A welcoming place for someone of the likes of him.

He took a deep breath, inhaling in a lungful of fresh air and continued forward.

Dakota smiled at the reaction of Rusty knowing that it would be all that she was expecting from her friend. When Dakota actually felt like it, she could be one heck of a beauty but in her own mind it just made her look ditzy and all about her body and face that it wasn't even worth it to her.

She decided to actually try something a little different than walking or running through the trees as she pack away her excess clothing leaving only her crimsion tank top and broke apart her necklace into two halves. This allowed her to wedge them into a special harness in her back and with a little heat and water she crafted them into wings. Unfortunetly, it caused severe pain in her back but that was nothing as she fluttered off the ground above her friends. She looked down to Rusty, Akari, and Jollanel and started talking to them: "You guys sure you want to do this, the moment you start to climb you will be at least susceptible to altitude sickness". Dakota didn't want to see anyone collaspe while she was around.

It was hard to act chipper.
"I'll call you as soon as I get to Desdon. Love ya Dad." said Cyrus, turning the door handle. He turned and met the gaze of his smiling father, who was now standing taller then Cyrus believed he had ever seen him stand.
"Love you too son." was the reply, but there was so much more behind the glimmering pride in his father's eyes, his warm demeanor and ridiculous outfit decided on the spur of the moment to be worn this morning. His son was leaving for longer than he had ever left before. Cyrus found his father's attempt at formality humorously thoughtful, his dad standing by his seat at the dining room table in a brown, crooked suit with his hair combed straight down. Tidy and Blacksmith don't blend too well.
With as natural a grin as he could muster, Cyrus faced front and pushed open the creaky wooden door, letting the warm breeze enter and push aside the ever present smell of burnt wood that ruled the air in that home.
"Wait! I almost forgot this, holy crap." said the brown suited craftsman as he rummaged through his coat pockets. He pulled out a crinkled envelope and walked it over to Cyrus.
"I'm supposed to give this to you today. Read it on your own time. Good luck." he said in a simple but ambiguous tone.
With a puzzled look Cyrus took the letter and decided not to ask questions. It would make this moment a bit quicker. After stuffing it in his pocket it was one more quick, strong hug, then he walked out the door with his father watching.
He called out to his son, "Don't worry. Sometimes I feel it too. You'll find her." A wink and a nod.
Cyrus waved and then turned toward the road.
"I'll do my d***dest." he muttered under his breath, and with a determined air about him, set out.

Akari was somewhat confused at this entire change of personaity thing. It was strange to Akari to see someone's personality change with a simple thing such as removing one's hat. There's definetely something going on here that I don't know about... he thought. But then again, I don't ever remember her not wearing that hat... maybe it is the hat. He shook his head. Maybe he'd ask Rusty about it later.

"All right!" exclaimed Akari as the base of the mountains was mentioned. He loved going to new places, and this was one place he'd never seen before.

Dakota, upon creating the wings on her back, was a wonder to behold, to put it simply. He'd only heard about how the avian anthros had wings on their arms, but this was something else! She looked almost angelic to Akari. "You know, I should start spending more time around you, Dakota! That's awesome, you know that?" he proclaimed, smiling. "And don't worry about altitude sickness. I've been to Gath Hallow once, and I recall feeling fine at about twice this elevation!"

Seventeen years in that same house. Now he was leaving.
Cyrus thought to himself as he walked down the dirt path. The early, white sunlinght was breaking through the pine needles above and scattering onto the road and everything around it. Cyrus tilted his head back and took a deep breath. That was something he had always loved about Asper, it was never stale. Even on hot summer days the air was crisp. Are there any other places this clean? He wondered.

Cyrus couldn't seem to get his father's image out of his mind. He had seen so much of him in his life, it would be weird for a while being away, expecting him to walk around every corner in his shabby apron, his entire body blackened by smudges and smoke. His dad had always been obsessed with his work, crafting ornate swords for ceremonies and designing custom weapons for Anthro warriors.

Smithing had never been all that interesting to Cyrus, but he did get his obssesive tendencies from his father. Ever since he was really young he had been enthralled by magic and had dedicated the vast majority of his free time to studying and expanding his abilities. Another person came to mind.
He was going to miss Regulus.
The old rabbit anthro had been a great tutor. On weekends Cyrus's dad let him go off to train with Regulus, and he had become quite the figure in Cyrus's life. Images flashed in his memory of the robed creature sitting on his little stool, bashing his student for his errors as Cyrus darted around the room practicing spell combinations and focus enhancing techniques. Often times Cyrus would be in mid-excecution when he would hear Regulus deliver some witty line, freezing him in his stance, and soon the laughter won over his mind, causing the spell to burst from his hands. Often times he was actually knocked over, and quite a few things had fallen from the walls to meet a shattering doom. "Dam-it Ringface!" The rabbit would always yell.

Now was not the time to think about these things though. Time to look ahead.
The supplies and the book he was lugging around in his backpack would probably become quite an annoyance later on, he thought. Four water bottles, a substantial amount of money and a bunch of snacks. That would probably hold him over until he reached Desdon, he knew one could never be too careful. Or could they?
Exhilerated by thoughts of adventure, Cyrus went along at a quick pace, passing house after house and soon coming into the the hub of the town. He wonder what he looked like to other people, strolling along in his white robe and a backpack smashing down his cape.

"HAALLOOO!!!" yelled a man as he literally jumped in front of Cyrus.
Startled, Cyrus took a step back and examined the man with widened eyes. He was a short and portly fellow wearing a buttoned up collared blue shirt that was tucked into black dress pants, pulling skin tight against his bulging gut. He had a rough, unshaven face and stared at Cyrus with brown eyes set like stones in his black haired head. He had an exaggerated toothy grin swooping across his face, his eyebrows unmoving. "Want to trade your gem for one in my precious collection?" He opened up a black briefcase and held it up close to Cyrus's face, revealing a lined up set of sparkling blue sapphires.

"Um, no thanks,I would never trade this necklace- it's pretty important to me- Sorry." He replied , trying to seem distracted by something in the distance. He tried to brush past the man, but was stopped by a stubby hand reaching up and grabbing his shoulder.

"Can I at least see?" grunted the man as he turned Cyrus back around. Quickly and without letting his hands off of it, Cyrus gripped the part of the chain holding the stone on both sides and lifted the crystal a bit to show the stranger. Then he tucked it into his robe.

"Ah, a good one indeed." the trader remarked, staring for a good two seconds before nodding and going back to his buisiness. Seconds later he was scaring another passerby with his jumping antic.

Cyrus sighed in relief and walked away. The town was getting quite a bit of publicity with this whole proving ceremony idea.

Sissmuth sighed.

Lizardfolk were accustomed to walking long distances, but even he had his limits. Finally arriving and seeing Asper reminded him of just how far he'd gone and of course, how tired he'd become. He trudged through the grass, and it seemed as if no one even noticed him upon arriving at Asper. He blended in well with the crowds... well, almost. Some Anthros still gave him looks with his cloak and staff, but he only snorted at them and continued on his way.

He had to stop. He was exhausted, a little thirsty, and ravenous. The Ba-ugan pods had him burping all throughout his trek through Tyran, and now, he began looking for something a little more solid.

The people here were friendlier too. Somehow, he managed to find a local pub, where he tiredly plopped himself on a chair. It squeaked when he sat on it. It startled him. Sissmuth cocked his head and got off the chair. Then he jumped on again.

Sqeeeeak.

The sides of his lips curled in a smile. He got off, then did it again, and again, and again, and --

"May I help you?"

He looked up. There was a fox behind the counter; a female, with one of her eyebrows lifted at him. She was chewing gum and holding a pad of paper.

Sissmuth felt himself grow hot as he nervously clearned his throat and took his seat again. "I-I'll just have an ale," he said.

The fox bartender blinked at him, then turned around to get him his drink as Sissmuth fished out the gems from his sash to pay for it. The liquid felt cool down his throat, and in no time, he'd finished it. He ordered another.

"You might wanna save it for the festival," she said, pushing a full glass toward him. "The trials celebration is tonight. Everything's set up; once sundown hits, this place will be filled!"

Sissmuth's snout caught in the narrow mug and he coughed, spraying ale all over the counter in an attempt to yank it off. It came free with a pop. "Tonight?!" he gasped.

The bartender was five steps back, looking down at her stained shirt. "Yes, tonight," she snapped at him. "Why, when did you expect?"

Sissmuth lowered his head. Finished his drink, then stood up. He thanked the bartender and walked briskly outside.