Heading into town...

[ada]

With the sincere belief that the sky was the limit, Ada Belmere had set off to see the world with tears in her eyes but her head held high. She had said goodbye to her family, armed with wise advice, good wishes, and a haversack of supplies. She had traveled all over the place; the snowy mountains of the North, the warm tropics of the South, and everything in between. She had left thinking the world would offer opportunity, experience, and kindness. And she had been disappointed to find that the world was not such a great place after all.

That had been six years ago. Now the hedgehog was eighteen years old and, despite years of traveling, she was a homebody at heart. She was still oblivious to the true terrors of the world; she knew nothing of war, hunger, or oppression. But she had seen enough to know that there was no place like home. Still, something deep down prevented her from going back just yet. Maybe the world had something more to offer; maybe there was something better in store.

So Ada kept walking, and today she was walking on the dusty path toward town. Her paws crunched softly on a few leaves that littered the ground. Autumn was just around the corner and the wind had a cool bite to it. The hedgehog wore a faded green habit and, over that, a similarly faded blue cloak. There was a sturdy stick in one paw, something just picked up casually. Her haversack was slung across one shoulder, and it looked pityingly vacant.

The hedgehog trundled along, enjoying the day. The town ahead was fuzzy in her warm brown eyes; she had terrible eyesight. But that did not seem to matter. It was a town and she needed to stock up on supplies. Maybe it would even turn out to be a nice place. Ada had been thinking of finding somewhere to stop for a while. Traveling certainly took its toll on a beast. But right now she was only thinking of the beautiful day. It would be winter soon, and she would dearly miss days like this. It was nice just to walk under the cloudless blue sky, knowing that it would still be there if she closed her eyes.

[Rowtag Shadowblade]

Rowtag silently watched the hedgehog from the side, examining the beast like he did every other. He sprang toward her and followed her at a slow trot. Rowtag caught up with her and studied her out of the corner of his eye. "Hello, mate. Name's Rowtag Shadowblade. Your's?"

[Chicory Rue]

Rue, also, was heading into town, but for a quite different reason- she was going to pick up a parcel, of such sort as she had never beheld for many a season. She had been notified of the arrival by the shrew-ish chap that ran the post- an anonymous present. Pleased and curious (in all her long seasons at the Horde, Rue had never received even a letter from outside, much less an entire parcel), the badger had departed for town as soon as she was able to get time off duty.

She trundled light-heartedly down the dusty path with a grin on her face and a spring in her step, her breath coming in short, exuberant bursts. Her eyes were traveling busily, resting on each item before her for a few seconds before moving to the next: the trees, the path, the sun, the open sky. And such a sky. The sun was hanging most merrily in the heavens high above, and she had never seen the sky so blue before- and not a cloud in the sky, either! Truly today was to be a day of agreeable fortune. She even began to hum a little ditty under her breath, swinging her arms by her sides as she walked.

Such was her preoccupation with nothing at all that she almost collided with the hedgehog maid who was traveling in the same direction as she, albeit more slowly, which was why the two had met. Covering her mouth with a paw, Rue hastily offered an apology to the maid, her cheeks brimming a bright pink in embarrassment.

“Oh, my dear! Do, do, forgive me- I didn’t see you there for a moment.”

There was some sort of wolf wearing a bright red bandanna lurking close by, but Rue took no notice. All her attention was focused on the hedgehog maid as the badger matron looked her up and down. She was pleased by what she saw- the young maid certainly seemed friendly and vivacious enough, anyhow.

[ada]

The hedgehog jumped and gasped out loud when Rowtag suddenly appeared beside her; she had been quite lost in her own little world for a moment. She squinted carefully at the creature, identifying him as a wolf. But she was a trusting, friendly beast, and although those qualities were apt to get her in trouble one of these days, she was not about to change. Ada smiled pleasantly at the wolf, stopping her casual stroll long enough to curtsey. "Hello, Mr. Shadowblade! My name is Ada Belmere."

Ada had barely finished speaking when another beast approached, and she was no less surprised this time, as the creature nearly crashed right into her. She did not have to squint this time to know that Rue was a badger. The hedgehog offered another cheery smile and curtsey. She had been awfully lonely lately, and it was a real pleasure to have encountered such (apparently) kind creatures. "No trouble at all, marm!" she said to Rue. "I wasn't paying much attention myself. It's such a lovely day."

The hedgehog beamed at her new acquaintances, all innocence and kindness. The day was turning out to be even better than she had expected.

[Rowtag Shadowblade]

Rowtag looked slightly surprised. Mr. Shadowblade. Nobeast had ever called him that. "Call me Rowtag." Turning around, he bowed to Rue. "So you two heading to town?" He mentally chided himself. Of course they are! That's the only was there. He grinned happily at them, and continued walking.

[Chicory Rue]

Rue beamed back. It was quite nice to meet such an energetic and pleasant youngster after so long being used to the opposite extreme- especially one with such beautiful manners. Such a pretty little curtsy! The badger matron took a instant liking to the young maid, and a gracious smile appeared on her lips, her previous embarrassment quite forgotten.

“A lovely day indeed, miss. How come ye to be on such an obscure road, this time of season? Seeming, twould’ not be a regular haunt of a young maid such as yourself, begging your pardon. Prithee, what is your name?”

Distracted by the sound of another (this one a male) voice, Rue turned directly into the wolf, who happened to be standing only a few short paces from her. A surprised look crept into her eyes- she had only seen a wolf close-up once before in her entire lifetime. Her first and natural badgerly instinct was distrust, but she immediately quashed it- after all, you should never judge a book by its cover, no matter how daunting it looked. He certainly seemed pleasant enough, anyway. He even gave a short little bow to he before erecting himself upright once more. Greatly surprised, Rue bowed back, grinning, the sun beating gently down upon her back.

A happy little warmth danced in her chest- what a lovely day indeed it was turning out to be.

[ada]

Ada trotted along happily with her newfound friends. Her thoughts were quite similar to Rue's. The hedgehog had met quite a few beasts in her travels, and it was not often that they were as nice as these two. The badger especially reminded her of home, and the beasts she left behind. The memories were bittersweet; she dearly missed her old friends and family, but she knew there was still much to see and learn away from home.

In response to Rowtag, Ada nodded and blinked at the town ahead, which was closer now but still very blurry in her eyes. One positive aspect of having terrible eyesight was that her hearing was excellent. She could just hear the sound of water from the direction of the town, and that was very pleasing; she loved the ocean.

The hedgehog smiled politely at the badger. "My name, marm, is Ada Belmere. I've been a traveler for several seasons now. I saw your fort from a ways off," she said, pausing long enough to point back at the fort, "and I'm awfully in need of supplies and a good long rest." She smiled again, squinting her beady brown eyes. "I've not seen much of it, but I like this place already. May I ask your name, marm?"

[Rowtag Shadowblade]

Rowtag grinned happily. He had just made two new friends! "So mates, where'd you come from? I'm a former corsair. Rolling seas and blowing winds are what I prefer, but this here land stuff is mightly nice."

[Chicory Rue]

A small smile played about Rue's lips, and she adjusted her stride to match the hedgehog's (for hers, of course, were far more far between). Her footpaws tread a steady beat through the heavy dust that lay thickly upon the path, and every so often a tiny cloud of dust and debris would spring up, kicked up by the badger's heel. Rue fell to becoming absorbed the patterns of dust being forced up, each one different; the badger was of a simple mind, and therefore easily distracted. Thus, she nearly missed the maid's question, and looked up to answer rather belatedly.

"My name is Chicory Rue. Although, you can just call me Rue- everybeast does, everybeast does. And what, prithee, is yours, miss?"

This time around, Rue caught the question (this time from the wolf) with perfect clarity. She paused a moment before responding. "I'm from the Western Plains myself- rather a marked change from the Horde, eh? Where are you from?"