Zelya & Calypso - Recruit Mission - HM

The air in Tartaros was rather strange on this day. While there were many of the same sounds as any other morning, something was causing Zelya's ears to twitch and turn. While smelling a bouquet of flowers, Zelya couldn't ignore the sensation she felt. Her instincts were telling her that something had happened, but she hadn't known what it was. Suddenly, the pseudo kitsune felt something bump into her leg that caused her to get distracted from whatever 'it' was. She looked down to see a small girl looking up at her with bright blue eyes. Zelya passed the bouquet back to the merchant and kneeled down to meet the child at her level. "Well good morning." she said with a bright smile and cheery voice. The girl seemed to seize up, having lost her former confidence. It was common for humans to be like that, even adults. They have so much anticipation and plan every move out, but when they step up to the counter to order something, they forget what they wanted. "Normally this is where you say 'good morning' back." Zelya said while poking the little girl, causing her to return to reality. "G-good morning..." she said in a soft, shy voice. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" The little girl shook her head while avoiding Zelya's eyes.

Zelya took the girl's hand gently, causing the child to look up with red cheeks. "Where's your parents?" she asked in a gentle tone. The little girl points to a couple sitting on a nearby fountain, who waved when Zelya looked at them. It was common knowledge who Zelya was. Not many people could miss a kitsune with fiery hair. What's more, she was the leader of the magic guild 'Solar Phoenix' that was stationed in Tartaros. The same guild assisted the High King from time to time, and protected the city from threats that the guards were unprepared for. "Was there something you needed?" Zelya asked the child with curious eyes. The little girl looked at Zelya's ears, but began getting nervous. Even the child knew it was a strange request. Zelya let out a small giggle and gently guided the child's hand upwards while lowering one of her ears.

The little girl's eyes lit up and she began moving her hand of her own accord. "Is it soft?" she asked, the little girl nodding while gently rubbing the ear more. A rather elderly woman had begun pushing past people in the crowd. "Where is she? I was told she was here, please move out the way!" she exclaimed frantically while shoving people out the way with unexplainable strength. Zelya gently picked the child up, supporting her back and bottom with her arms and letting her play with her ears more. One of Zelya's ears stayed straight up, while the other was being held down by the child enjoing how soft her fur was. "Excuse me, miss. Who are-" "OH THANK GOODNESS! Miss Guild Leader, please, you must help." was all Zelya could hear before the woman began rapidly throwing information at Zelya. "Slow down or I won't be able to help" she said, causing the woman to stop completely. She had tears in her eyes that had formed streams on her face, and a look of desperation that Zelya didn't have the heart to ignore. "My husband... he went out to the Grasslands and hasn't come back. (crying resumes) It's been three days!"

Zelya placed the child on the ground and told her to go back to her parents. The little girl nodded and ran back to them feeling happy after touching the fox lady's ears and confirming they were real. "I can't guarantee I'll find him, but I'll try. It'd be easier if I had a partner, but I don't have time to run back to HQ to grab someone. Please wait at your home, I'll come back when I find him." Zelya said calmly, the woman beginning to thank her while forcing a hug on the kitsune that she honestly couldn't refuse.

Zelya was approached by a girl with orange-brown hair. While she was a bit taller than Zelya herself, the psuedo-kitsune's ears gave her a type of life hacks in terms of height; adding another foot to her total height. The ears twitched slightly as she spoke, a look of curiosity coming over Zelya's eyes as she mentioned that she heard what happened. Zelya's ears perked straight up when the woman said she'd come along as a miniature team. She gave a bright smile and said "I'd love to have you along!" with high levels of exuberance. While Zelya did have her armour with her, since she wore it pretty much everywhere; she didn't have her weapon. On each side of her hips were a pair of rusty daggers, but if she were going up against wild animals she'd need something with a bit more power.

Zelya began looking around, her tail swishing behind her as she seemed to be looking for something specific. Upon seeing a hawk in the air, and tracking it as it landed, she found where to go. "I need to send a letter out quickly, then we can head out." Zelya said calmly while making her way to the falconry site. Upon arriving, she quickly began scribbling a message on a sheet of paper. She rolled it up and moved over to one of the hawks, a pure white one that even had white eyes. It looked at her with fierce, intelligent eyes and coo'd at her while leaning forward to give her access to the tube on its back. Zelya popped the top open and slid her message in it, closing the top and telling the hawk to take it to Solar Phoenix.

After the hawk was off, Zelya would walk with Calypso to the edge of Tartaros where the grasslands began. "Since we're talking about an old guy, he wouldn't have gone too far out into the grasslands. There aren't many predators since the guard do regular patrols out there, scaring off most of the easy game- so all we have to worry about are bandits, rhinos, and maybe a bear or two." Zelya would say calmly, looking out across the grasslands as they expanded before her. A nearby stable belonging to the guard had a set of steeds tied up, all looking quite healthy. "Give me a couple minutes, I'll see if we can borrow the guard's horses." Zelya said before walking inside the guard post.

"Well, well... looks like furball decided to show up!" a deep, gruff voice hollered from across the room. "I see you haven't left your shack you dirty hermit!" Zelya joked back with a wide smile on her face. "Hey! That's dirty, OLD hermit to you fuzzy. What'd ya need anyways? I don't think any drakes have shown up yet, so I know that's not a problem." "I was wondering who's horses those were outside, and if I could borrow a couple." A man walked out of a dining area and faced Zelya, providing a polite and courteous bow. "I thought I'd gone mad when I heard a woman gracing these halls. Not only a woman, but one of the finest in all of Tartaros; it'd be an honor to lend you our horses Miss Cisti." the armoured man said humbly. Judging by the crest on his shoulder guard, he was one of the knights of Tartaros; a higher rank of guard. "Thank you!" Zelya exclaimed with a warm smile that made the knight turn slightly red. Upon going outside, she'd tell Calypso to choose any horse she wanted while going for a black horse herself, one that had beautiful brown eyes. "If you don't know how to ride, hop the the back of mine and hold on." she would say with a friendly tone.

Words: 637
Total: 1,327
DP: 118