Tea is Best Served Hot

Maya closed her eyes. "Won't happen again," she said as she followed his instructions, feeling her muscles unwind and the slouch I her shoulders was a little less tense. She took even breaths, recalling his instructions and the ones her father had told her years ago at the temple. Things were somewhat less stressful back then.

Dororo settled down next to her, legs crossed and eyes shut.

Occasionally... Things slipped into the forefront of her mind. Nerves about finding her aunt, her dead parents, the destroyed temple... Regigas... She took a sharp breath and forced the thoughts back. Her breath evened out again.

Zandrophin sensed Marcus' return from the post office. Without saying a word, he silently stood up, walked over to behind Maya and knelt down. He placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and whispered gently into her ear,

"Miss Maya, it's time to come back. Our stalwart leader is here to guide us on our path to a new adventure."

As Maya stirred and tried to come back to reality, Zandrophin walked over besides Marcus, arms crossed, and muttered out of the side of his mouth,

"Mentally, she's a lot more loosened up. No need to thank me, but she may be more willing to cooperate with your brand of small talk. I'm still not sure if I have much interest in getting to know her, so I'm not planning on talking much to her. Your ball game now, Chief."

Speaking loud enough so the entire group could hear, he continued,

"So, Chief...did you learn anything? Do we have some semblance of an inkling of a rough idea of a direction to go?"

Zandrophin nodded...at least now there was an objective, a waypoint.

"I'm not too concerned about not knowing where we're going...and I'm curious as to why you are, O great leader...you struck me as the adventuring type...this should be right up your alley. Are you really so worried about getting lost that you're not going to enjoy the opportunity to explore a relatively-uncharted area? I thought the excitement of braving an inhospitable area was the paramount of such endeavors...Still, you're the boss. I'm just here to follow along."

You're pushing your luck with him, Sir.

I am well aware...I am testing his resolve and his control...all part of the plan.

How quick he is to jump to anger, Sir.

It's always so amusing when that happens...

Zandrophin shrugged and jogged after Marcus, he spoke quietly so Maya wouldn't hear,

"Be careful what you say, old boy...jumping to conclusions about people's character is dangerous...you may jump too far."

Zandrophin fell back and took up the rear for a while. He'd figured Sofa would have the vanguard position, and decided it would be best to alert the rest if danger were to come from behind.

Somebody has to watch his back...because he sure as hell isn't...

Marcus headed out of town with his party in tow, making his way up to the southern-most part of the forest. "You smell anything, buddy?" Marcus turned towards Sofa, already smelling around for a scent to follow. Suddenly, he had a breakthrough and wandered west, just in front of the tree line. As he came to a stop, a clear, wide path led into the forest, definitely broken in and walked often.

Marcus turned back to face the rest of the group. "You can still turn back now. No one is forcing you to. This will be dangerous. This may be our last chance. Make your decision now."

Yup this is how she thought it would go as she followed after them some distance behind. Back and forth banter and power struggle. She spent most of her time trudging after them, murmuring and speaking with Dororo who sat on her shoulder as per usual. These two were most amusing at times though. Maya thought she might have seen a tv show similar to this...

"I really have no other choice and have no intention of backing down," Maya said. "You can't scare me out of a plan once I start going. I stick to it. I say lead on."

"Froak!" Dororo said confidently and pointing ahead.