Back to Ynnisi!

Holland had been settling into Azzaru nicely, she missed the coast but this new place was amazing in its own way. She was currently staying in the newcomers cabin but eventually she would be building her own home in the hills once she had enough saved for a small parcel of land. She was sure the rest of the townsfolk would appreciate getting their peace back. Not that Axis was the sole perpetrator of all the mayhem happening, but he certainly contributed his fair share of it.

But now she had received word of an expedition starting up in Ynnisi. This was too exciting to pass up! She had packed her bags as soon as she had heard. A traveler had come off the steam carriage with a flyer regarding the expedition and she was never more grateful for Axis' rebellious ways as she had been when he'd grabbed it out of the poor guys hands and run to her like he'd done something amazing. Which, in a way he had. That traveler hadn't been coming to tell her about it after all, he was meant to go by a surveyors office with the information. But now that she knew, there was no way she was staying in Azzaru. She had sold one more brilliant parsage and purchased a ticket right away, Tilt and Axis trailing along beside her (Axis in a very begrudging manner, but even he could sense the excitement in the air.)

They boarded the carriage and Tilt once more took her preferred place beneath the benchseat, and true to form, Axis flailed on the floor chewing his leash before giving up and jumping in her lap. The ticket master who came was the same one she had met on her last trip and it was with a bit more care he took her ticket. Although he needn't have worried, Axis didn't deem him worthy of the gift of his sneeze this time.

"Aren't you being a gentleman this time Axis." Holland ruffled his fluffy ears. "We're going back to the coast, are you excited to see your friends again? Maybe they'll be going on the expedition as well?" Axis merely looked at her lazily and then looked away, deciding to nibble a button off the cuff of her sleeve.

Gradually throughout the day, the air shifted from the scents of the Azzuran area to that of the temperate rainforest inland of Ynnisi. Axis seemed to perk up as if he knew they were getting close. Although, Holland mused, he probably did know. He had grown up on the coast so of course he would recognize the area. She wondered briefly what his life had been like before she'd found him. Had he traveled far? Who knew.

She looked out her window at the passing forest, and wondered about animals she hadn't had a chance to see while she'd been in Ynnisi. The Berdir for instance, although she'd heard they were common to Azzaru as well. What other animals inhabited the forest and hills? She couldn't wait to find out more about this amazing land she'd ventured into!