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Aoi Hyacinthe wandered through the woods, looking for something to eat. She had found some different fruits, but they had all been inedible in some way or another. Under-ripe bananas, sour strawberries, and rotten oranges were scattered across her vision, making her dizzy. She finally stopped and rested beside a large tree, exhausted. "If only I could find some food...." she moaned almost unintelligibly. She thought she saw some orange clouding her vision as she drifted into unconsciousness, but the sliver of a rational mind that she had left reasoned that it was just another rotten orange conjured up by her exhausted mind.

Aoi stirred somewhat as an pinkish-orange mare knelt down next to her and offered her food. "Thank you...." she replied weakly, then took a bite of an apple in front of her. She then ate a good portion of the rest of the different fruits before her. Apple, orange, peach, pomegranate... she couldn't name all of the different fruits. All of the fruit were perfectly ripe, and restored her strength enough to speak.

"Forgive my manners... I was just so hungry that I forgot etiquette...." she stated to the mare, sounding slightly embarrassed. She didn't want to be rude to this Azrein after she had helped her. Even if she hadn't saved her, she wouldn't want to be rude in any way. "I'm Aoi Hyacinthe. You can just call me Aoi, if you wish." She was pleased that she was rescued by someone so kindhearted, as shown by her actions. If shedidn't know anything else about the mare in front of her, she wanted to know the name of the Azrein who saved her. "What would your name be?"

Aoi was thankful that Alyssa, as she now knew her as, didn't mind that her manners weren't being properly used at that moment. She ate the rest of the fruit in front of her, and was happy that her stomach was satisfied. It was nice to know that there were caring people like this in the area, especially towards strangers like herself. She felt extreme gratefulness towards this mare, and wanted to express it in any way she could. But first, I have to get back into a healthier state, she thought, almost depressed that her body couldn't keep up with her travels as well as she wished it could.

Aoi then turned her attention to Alyssa's question. Why was I so hungry.... she mused to herself. She had been so busy eating that she hadn't stopped to try to remember why she had been so hungry in the first place. "Well you see, I was traveling through the area, and was hungry. I came into this forest to see if I could find any wild fruit to eat, but there was only rotten and under-ripe fruit around. I guess the dizzying sight of all the rotten fruit nauseated me, along with the fact that I was absolutely famished. That's why I passed out," she explained. Then she added: "That's the reason that I can't be grateful enough that you came along with food for me to eat. Thank you." She stated this humbly, bowing her head in thanks to the mare.

Aoi didn't understand why Alyssa thought it wasn't a big deal that she had helped her. She had been all over the island, and most people she had met hadn't treated her kindly, and even those who had seemed somewhat kind would never have helped a total stranger like herself. I guess that's what happens when I've been around the southern part of he island too long.... she thought to herself.

Aoi had satisfied her hunger, and didn't want Alyssa to have to go all the way out of the woods to get her more, so she politely refused the offer. "I don't need any more food, but thank you for asking." She then thought about her offer of helping her out of the rotting forest. "Getting out of this area sounds great, though. Being around these rotting oranges is quite nauseating." She got up off the ground and dusted herself off. Her mane and tail still had a bit of dirt in them, but it would come out as she walked around a bit.

She then turned her attention to the question of why she was traveling. "Well, I was trying to get out of the south. I had found myself wandering too far down there, and it's not a very pleasant place to be, for the most part. I'm just trying to see if I can find a few Azrein I've heard of. I know the general location; I just need to get out of this forest," she answered. She was trying to get towards the area where Harmony Storm lived around, since Harmony was the only Azrein that she knew in the north. Harmony was nice enough, so she figured she could stay with her until she found somewhere for herself in the north.

Aoi smiled at the selflessness of Alyssa. Kindness was not the most common thing in the south, so it was a relief to find such a considerate Azrein. "No, really, I shouldn't eat more. If I eat more, then it would probably upset my stomach. But the food was good, so thank you. It definitely helped me out." She started to follow Alyssa out of the forest. She was glad she was following someone who knew where she was going, since if she was around these rotting fruits any longer, she would probably pass out again.

Aoi listened to Alyssa's offer of helping her find Harmony. It was an tempting offer, but Harmony probably wouldn't take kindly to another Azrein coming back with her. After all, she hadn't taken kindly to her when she had first showed up where Harmony lived."Thank you, but if you can just point me in the direction of where Lady Dea lives, then I know where to go from there. I know where to go from there."

Aoi relented to the fact that Alyssa probably wouldn't understand that helping people wasn't as common as it seemed. In the neutral lands on the island, you had to hope that the Azrein helping you was nice. In the south, you had a very little chance of someone helping you if you needed it. She followed Alyssa as they started on their way out of the forest. She was grateful that Alyssa didn't go too fast, as it was hard to walk quickly with the rotten fruit everywhere.

Aoi smiled apologetically. She knew that Alyssa probably wanted to help her further than the forest, but Harmony wouldn't look kindly on unwelcome visitors, and she didn't want Alyssa to get yelled at because she helped Aoi further than she needed to. "Thank you for helping me get out of here. And don't worry, I know exactly how to get to where my friend lives. She'll be expecting me," she reassured Alyssa. I think, she added in her thoughts. She wasn't sure if Harmony was still living where she had been when she had first met her, but if she wasn't, she was probably near Lady Dea's realm still. Aoi kept a straight face, making sure that Alyssa couldn't see her sliver of doubt. After all, Harmony had told her a list of places she could be when Aoi got back, so she would find her eventually.

Aoi was grateful for Alyssa slowing her pace somewhat to allow her to keep up. She was still a little weak from all the rotten fruit, but she was thankfully able to keep up with the somewhat slower pace. She felt a little bad that Alyssa really wanted to help, but she wasn't allowing her. Knowing Harmony, though, she would be really annoyed with another Azrein around. It was hard enough to become her friend....

Her thoughts trailed off as Alyssa offered to give her some supplies and locations of water sources. "That would be great, thank you," she told her, relieved. It would be nice to not have to worry about food and water for once. With all of the traveling she had done for the past while, she had forgotten how nice it was to not have to worry about such necessities.

Seeing Alyssa happy made Aoi happy too. Knowing that she was not only not being too much of a burden on her, but was also making her happy made Aoi overjoyed. As she walked along with Alyssa, Aoi blew her bangs out of her face as she talked to Alyssa.

"You're too amazingly modest, Alyssa. It's a huge help to not have to worry about food and water." Aoi laughed a little to let Alyssa know she was joking around. Alyssa was very different from Harmony in that way. Harmony would tell it straight as it was, instead of trying to make something seem like it wasn't a big deal. Aoi still appreciated how Alyssa was, since it made her feel like she wasn't being as much of a burden.