Completely and Utterly Lost

[Mia]

The streets, oddly, appeared uncrowded. In fact, it seemed that Mia was the only person there. Why was everyone gone? In Avaren, there were supposed to be people; as in, the streets weren't supposed to be so lonesome and desolate. The streets lied near-empty with some bugs and rats scurrying around. Hopefully, they weren't the only citizens here.

Maybe I came to the wrong place? she pondered in un-entertained fashion. Now, why would she have done this incorrectly? Just because she had been lost and wandering for a few days before she managed to find someone and ask directions, she might have once again gotten herself lost with particular ease. Unfortunately particular ease. Now, why did she always get lost? It was completely unfair! The only difference between her and other people was that she didn't pay so much attention to receive every word of her instructions and implant it into her mind. Actually, that might just be the actual reason... The girl gently blushed as a pale pink tinted her light cheeks for a few seconds.

Or, perhaps, there was just a festival in the middle of nowhere that no one told me about? she questioned more hopefully. Too bad she didn't know where the middle of nowhere was--not that that was a bad thing, it was just at a rather inconvenient time. In all honesty, did they expect her to know where to go for this? Probably not, since she didn't exactly inform them that she was coming...

Wow, isn't this fun? the girl moped silently, though her face quite easily showed her remote feelings. Her red eyes quietly moved over the road, drifted over some of the motionless stands, and gazed up into the serene sky. A few white and gray clouds patiently drifted under the merciless blue in their cycle of precipitation and all that other stuff dealing with water droplets and other some-what interesting liquids that had mixed molecules and atoms causing them to be chemically combined together making... Mia's eyelids suddenly came pressed together as she tried to avoid the several thoughts entering her mind. She could think about rain later, but she really needed to somehow get herself un-lost and focusing would most likely help.

Next, she opened her eyes, and allowed the red reminiscence peek out. As she looked over the market once more, she realized that not everything had cobwebs, and some stands and buildings were very nice in appearance. Slowly, her russet gaze turned toward the ground, and she noted that there were some foot and shoe prints that would have been there if the town had been abandoned.

[Gilsworthy]

Among the mice pitter-pattering around the unpopulated area of the Market was quite an oddity; a mouse with blue fur. It darted quickly to the middle of the street before hopping up onto it's hind legs and addressing Mia with bright eyes and a twitch of it's whiskered nose. Almost like it was asking her a question.

It did a little turnabout and skittered a few feet before turning back to Mia and twiddling it's nose again. Among the dingy grey rats and spiders he was like a beacon, not easy to pass over. The blue mouse continued to look at Mia, waiting.

[Mia]

After a few more glances around the un-peopled area, Mia noticed something rather peculiar; even more peculiar than the emptiness of the town. Her red eyes quietly gazed down on the creature before her. At least the entire day hasn't been a waste.. she silently thought. After all, the most intriguing things most certainly made the most entertaining days.

Quite literally, a blue mouse stood in front of Mia. It was on its hind legs looking up at the red-haired girl. Mia noticed something different about this rodent that didn't involve its color. Apparently it knew something that she did not, along with other knowledge. The mouse's color could always be changed with an enchantment of some-sort, but its intelligence was something else. Quizzically, Mia watched.

The mouse turned its delicate body around, and moved its little legs quickly causing its distance from her to increase by a few feet. Then, the organism turned toward her once more and wiggled its nose. Was it trying to tell her something?

Curiosity was one of Mia's strengths, thus making it one of her greatest weaknesses. Then, there was her daring to do a lot of different things, which seemed to get her into quite a lot of trouble. Next, that trouble caused even more excitement and enjoyment for her, so she saw little reason to go against her thoughts.

Patiently, Mia steadily gazed at the mouse. A few seconds passed by, and she made her decision; she was going to follow the blue rodent and see what it wanted. After all, what was there to be lost? Her footsteps made gentle sounds on the street as she approached it. About one foot away, she paused and waited for what it intended to do next.

[Gilsworthy]

It cleaned it's whiskers with a few swipes of it's paws, then, after looking one more time to make sure Mia was actually paying attention, he moved swiftly away down the street.

His tiny feet made a soft pitter-patter that was drowned out by the much heavier footfalls of the girl following. Soon it turned a corner, went a block or so then turned another. It didn't stop to see if she was still behind, but it did slow up it's pace once or twice and twiddle it's nose. Once it came to a full stop at an intersection, lifted it's head high and sniffed, then darted off again.

The environment slowly changed as well, the dusty roads giving way to clean swept streets, the houses looking more lived in, bright curtains adorning many and the sounds of activity increasing as the two approached the center of town. At length, the blue mouse skidded to a halt, made sure Mia was still there, then padded into a narrow alleyway, which looked totally abandoned, where it began munching on a discovered piece of cheese.

[Mia]

The blue mouse calmly cleaned its whiskers, looked up to Mia, and raced down the road. It was most certainly an interesting creature, and Mia had been right on her guess about it. The rodent's thin, hairless tail trailed behind it, and the girl realized it was leading her somewhere.

Well, there wasn't much other option, now was there? Adventures were usually fun, anyway. She really wasn't going to turn away from the mouse; she dreaded the boredom that was poking her with its dull and useless blade. Intrigues were the threads of the mind, so why not follow those sleek and slender strings?

Mia's legs quickly moved into action, and she gripped the mostly empty bag hanging over her shoulder tightly. Though her possessions were few, it hadn't been too hard for her to convince the older people to give her the books useless to them. Occasionally, she had to work for them. Other times, they were presents on holidays and birthdays for her. Other things in her bag were clothes and other daily items of little notice. Still, those things were all she decided that she really wanted to take with her, except for a picture of her family, but they didn't have that.

She ran after the quick mouse, and with him through several more paths. As she ran, Mia couldn't help but notice that her surroundings changed as well; there were actually some people there. This part of the city was much nicer looking and more well-kept, as well. It would seem that Mia had only gotten a little confused with the directions, and not as much as she had originally thought.

Next, the mouse scurried into an ally. How nice. Finally, she had made it. After becoming lost so many times, getting bad directions, and being without a map, she was in Avaren; the place she had come to to learn at. Now, she could continue to study and practice what she had come for. Of course, she was most thankful to the odd blue mouse, and seemed to have gotten herself into a dept, not that she minded any.

Mia followed it into the alley. There was so much she could say, so much she could choose to say, but speaking was something she chose to do little of, as she found that it tended to be rather dull and boring. Her voice quietly and cheerfully escaped her lips, and she made a light bow, though not a proper one, as she was really doing this movement as a joke. "Mouse, you're my savior." Her expression was of hidden bliss, and she seemed to mean her words. Of course, how would her little companion respond? After all, she would have to leave soon in order to sign up at the school and such.

[Gilsworthy]

"I see you've met my mouse."

At the voice that came from the end of the alleyway, the mouse perked up and tilted it's head, squeaking delightedly and scurrying between Mia's legs. It came to the feet of a man dressed in a long dark overcoat and climbed quickly up his side to rest on one shoulder where it snuggled against his neck. The man grinned and patted the mouse on the head before running a hand through his messy shock of black hair and looking at the girl before him.

"It's not like you just run off, little guy, but it looks as if you've brought me something for it." he commented dryly, moving a bit further into the alley to stand in front of Mia, "I hope he hasn't made you go in too many circles, for a mouse he can be quite mischievous." he chuckled, before thrusting out a gloved hand. "I'm Gilsworthy, and the sly little rat is named Niccolo." he said, at which Niccolo gave an indignant squeak. Gil had gotten somewhat used to these escapades by his rodent friend, but they never got any less strange.

[Mia]

"I see you've met my mouse."

A voice came from behind Mia, and she curiously turned to look. He was taller than her, and apparently older as well. His raven colored hair was in a wild and rather messy formation. The rest of his clothes were also somewhat sloppy, and definitely not in royal fashion. He was also wearing fingerless gloves, things that can be used to protect your hands but remained skilled and dexterous with you fingers, and he was wearing a long overcoat, something usually used to hide things under or it.

Mia's first thoughts upon his impression was that was thief; thus, the gloves would let him continue to work skillfully, and he could easily hide what he had taken. Judging by the boots, she surmised that he could probably fight well and tended to get into a lot of them; being kicked or stepped on by boots generally hurt more and were more effective than regular shoes. Judging by the way he was dressed, he was pretty experienced with thievery, or he had a tendency to find odd accessories for his wear. Quite honestly, what other reason was there to dress like that?

Yet, Mia couldn't complain; she was only wearing rags. Actually, they were regular clothes, but were kind of dirty from her trip and had a few small holes. Her outfit was also kind of strange because she wore a skirt that was longer than her shorts. She really didn't understand why people would wear skirts with nothing under them; they restricted your motion by so much that she considered them a waste. To her, that was a reason shorts were invented.

Though, Mia didn't have much useful things that could be stolen, so she was not afraid. Besides, there was nothing about him to upset her, and she didn't mind thievery all that much because it could provide some interesting scenarios. She had even thieved a few times, but only to cause some excitement. Later, she always gave the items back, or she had actually taken them for good reason and they weren't returned. Usually, she was just so entirely bored that something had to happen to wake everyone up. During the rare times she had actually stolen things, she usually didn't like who she was "borrowing without permission" from.

Soon, the blue mouse gave a short squeak, and ran between Mia's legs and darted up onto the man's shoulder before cuddling onto his neck. The mysterious figure grinned at the rodent's antics, pat the mouse's head, and messed up his hair even further. It was now that his eyes turned to the red-eyed girl before him.

"It's not like you just run off, little guy, but it looks as if you've brought me something for it." Did he just call her a something? Mia pondered this question, but continued to pay attention. He moved a little closer, and continued talking. "I hope he hasn't made you go in too many circles, for a mouse he can be quite mischievous." He held out his hand. "I'm Gilsworthy, and the sly little rat is named Niccolo."

This guy, Gilsworthy, seemed pretty nice and rather interesting. Still, it wouldn't take too much to for Mia to happily talk to someone, even if she didn't talk a lot in the process; words remained words, so speaking was speaking. Then, Mia decided that this guy acted pretty cool, so why shouldn't she?

"I don't think there were very many circles involved. Niccolo was very kind; it would have taken me hours to actually find my way over here." Her red eyes happily glimmered as she shook his hand. "I'm Mia. It's nice to meet you Gilsworthy and Niccolo." Very nice, indeed.

Now, she wasn't stuck and wouldn't be aimlessly wandering through the roads, not even sure if she was heading in the correct direction. Finally, she was at her destination! Well, sort of... She still needed to sign up at the magical school there and practice. Still, she was much closer than she had been earlier, and it seemed that she wouldn't have to wander for hours on end trying to find Avaren, as she had already found it. "Thank you so very much," came her voice to the two of them once more.

[Gilsworthy]

He took the thanks with a curt nod of the head, and somehow, like he had understood, the mouse nodded it's head as well. There was nothing about this girl to differentiate her from the rest of the people he'd seen pouring into Avaren, save perhaps the red eyes, yet Niccolo had found her and he wasn't going to simply leave with all the introductions done. "Please, call me Gil. Most people do." Screwing his face into a look of mock severity, Gil took the mouse in his hands and held it up in front of his face. "You've put me in quite a situation, you little rat, don't you realize? Now that we've met Miss Mia there's no stock in leaving her out in the cold. What do you propose we do now?!"

As always, Niccolo, sat and cleaned his whiskers innocently and commented not at all. Gil gave a sigh, and said dryly, "If you could talk, I'm sure you'd write volumes. Back in your pouch." he said, holding the mouse near an open bag at his side. Niccolo leaped inside and Gil closed it with a drawstring, patting it lightly. That done he looked back to Mia and thought for a moment. "Where is it you're headed? I haven't been here long myself but I think I know my way around enough to help." She seemed kind, and genuine, that was something sorely lacking in most of his... acquaintances. She would be nice to talk to, for a change, and if Niccolo thought she was worth saving then Gil would do his best to help her out.

[Mia]

The man politely nodded his head at Mia's response. The black locks unnoticeable waved in the motion. Oddly, the man hadn't been the only creature to do so; the mouse Niccolo did the same. It was as if he were human. Mia knew he really wasn't a human, but she didn't know how the rodent was so abnormally intelligent.

Of course, the mouse was blue, so there had to be magic involved somehow. It was quite possible that he had been experimented on with a potion used to turn an organism blue with a side effect of increased intellect. It was just as likely that he had taken a potion used to make him smarter with the side effect of turning his fur blue. Either way was surely possible. Yet, a spell may have also been used, or this was a breed of some super-rodent-thing. Mia didn't know why anyone would want to breed a group of super rodents, but she thought that she really didn't want to know the answer. Most likely a spell or potion had been used, even among the many possibilities.

Now, the man spoke once more. "Please, call me Gil. Most people do." Gill, as he was to be called, then lifted Niccolo, and said to him, "You've put me in quite a situation, you little rat, don't you realize? Now that we've met Miss Mia there's no stock in leaving her out in the cold. What do you propose we do now?!"

Gill cared enough to help Mia get to some shelter before simply leaving her? They had already helped so much, after all. If it wasn't for Niccolo, the girl would have wandered around much, much longer than she really wanted to, even though she had already wander far too much for her tastes. It was also nice for Gill to do such a thing, though it was out of his way immensely. Still, Mia wasn't probably going to turn down the offer if it came.

Niccolo's reply was silent, and all he really did was clean his whiskers like a normal mouse., sat and cleaned his whiskers innocently and commented not at all. After a few patient moments, Gill said, "If you could talk, I'm sure you'd write volumes. Back in your pouch." Niccolo jumped into the pouch at Gill's side. "Where is it you're headed? I haven't been here long myself but I think I know my way around enough to help."

So he had decided to offer to aid her. If he hadn't of chosen to help, Mia probably would have ended up sleeping outside for the night. Of course, she was kind of used to that, anyway. Her family had a small house, but, sometimes, on her little renegades, she would end up sleeping outside, away from those still chasing her. Normally, that didn't last so long, but some people were just too stubborn; how could people be happy without excitement in their lives?

She was most grateful for her new companion's offer to help, and her voice clearly showed that as she gave her reply. "I'm going to the Academy of Magic that's here, in Avaren. Do you know where that is? I still need to sign up."

[Gilsworthy]

"Oh." said Gill, leaning back slightly to look out of the alley and down the street. Another mage? How many mages had he met so far? If he didn't know any better he'd say this place was a breeding ground for them. Either that or this Academy was a lot more famous than the well-traveled thief thought. At any rate he barely wished to entangle himself further with those of the magical sort. It just always led to trouble for a guy like him.

'Sorry miss, no, can't help you there. It was fantastic meeting you, though, maybe we'll run into each other sometime again. Well, I really must be going got so many important things to do, bye!' In a flash and a slightly comical cloud of dust, Gilsworthy was away as fast as his feet would take him, as was always the best approach when dealing with wizards and sorceresses. He had no regrets, surely the girl would find a place to sleep on her own. She'd gotten this far right? Without a second thought Gil turned a corner and melded into the crowd.

Realizing he was daydreaming, and being quite rude, Gil looked back to Mia and blinked slightly dazedly. There was no way he would just fly away like a raven in a high gale. She might be a magic user, but so far she had been nothing but nice to him, and he would make sure he returned the favor. He might be a thief, but by golly he was a thief with morals!

"The Academy? Yeah, I've passed it a few times. I could show you there, but I can't make any promises that I'll go inside. Magic and me just don't mix." he said truthfully, grinning like a fiend. His last encounter with magic had been somewhat painful, and he certainly wasn't looking for a repeat episode. Sticking his hands in his pockets, Gil turned and started walking out of the alleyway, then turned to see if Mia was following him.

[Mia]

Mia's red eyes gazed at him curiously as a small, "Oh," slipped through Gill's lips. Apparently, the thought of her being a mage wasn't too pleasing of a thought for him. In fact it seemed to make him rather nervous. Gill gently moved his form so that he was able to look down the street.

Perhaps he was deciding whether to run? If he was afraid of Mia, there was no reason to be. After all, she only occasionally did things oddly. Then, when she actually did, nothing exceedingly remarkable ever happened. If he was choosing to run just because she was wanting to study magic, then he was probably more suspicious of people like her. Of course, he did have reason to be, right? After all, he was dressed rather interestingly giving Mia the idea that he was a thief, and it was easier for thieves to deal with non-magical people rather than magical people.

If he was a thief, then he could easily be worried that Mia could use magic on him to take items. Yet, he could also be concerned about how she could possibly possess him. Quite simply, the girl was in no way strong enough to do such a thing, so he was, for the most part, scared for no reason. Then, he might be nervous about her knowing what he was stealing. Actually, there was a chance she could catch him in that manner because she was also some-what experienced with it, but there was little to steal.

If he wanted to avoid her her because of what she had come to study, then she'd just have to find her own way be herself. Still, she wasn't feeling any bad emotions toward him, but it looked like he was having complications. After all, he was in an interesting situation. To trust or help a student of magic or to run for safety?

Oh, well, thought Mia. That would be okay. Not taking her to the academy, after all. Now that she was inside the city, the school shouldn't be too hard to find, right? Hopefully, she'd be capable of using signs and asking other people for direction; then, of course, be able to follow them correctly. Of course, she was hoping that she wouldn't follow the directions like with what had happened earlier when she had tried to find Avaren.

"The Academy? Yeah, I've passed it a few times. I could show you there, but I can't make any promises that I'll go inside. Magic and me just don't mix." She looked at the more muscular and taller figure. His wavy black hair was mostly kept back by itself, but some of the locks were closer to his face, and the ragged look of them didn't allow one to really tell if his hair was like that on purpose or if he just let it do as it pleased.

"Really? Thank you very much, Gill." Generally, Mia wasn't one for formalities, but she tried to be nice when someone was helping her. She really didn't trust her own abilities when it came to finding where she was supposed to be and actually ending up there at the right time. Of course, after she explored Avaren for a while, she would probably be able to know where everything was immediately. Her soft red eyes gazed over at him happily, and she quickly began to follow him.

[Gilsworthy]

She could keep up, at least, that was nice. Some of these mages walked despairingly slowly, like they expected you to carry them. Or their servants. It was a logical connection that many mages came from royalty or royal societies, though he'd met a few that came from the country, and Mia seemed to be among them. They were generally nice people, just with a strange... gift. Gil was personally happy he didn't have magic, though once in a while he felt like it could come in handy to make him disappear. The academy looked to be just ahead, and a nervousness came up inside of him. He didn't have to go in, that was a relief, maybe he should just stop here and point and run. 'Don't be rude.' said a voice in his mind, and he agreed. He'd been nice so far, so why should he stop so suddenly?

((I'll post in the Academy, I suppose.))

[Mia]

OOC: Yeah, go ahead. I suppose we can continue from there.