The familiar Road

Rin wandered, parched and frustrated along the dirt path. She had been wandering since early morning and now, approaching noon, was expecting to see signs that she might be reaching her destination soon. Rinik took a gulp of the remaining water in her canteen and decided that she would save the rest just in case. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she squinted as something appeared in the distance. As it got a little closer, she saw that rather than something, it was someone. Her eyes lit up and she darted after the figure.

"Excuse me, sir," She began rummaging through her rucksack for her map. "Can you tell me if I'm heading in the right direction? I'm headed for the harbor and I really don't want to miss my ship," Rin explained, somewhat frantically to the stranger.

Rin kept her eyes glued to the spot that the man was pointing to. He was right, she was a good ways out from the coast. She had been naïve to think that she could make it to the ports in a day.

"Thank you, sir," Rin thought for a moment. "Sorry to ask more questions but...Do you know if there is a town ahead that I may be able to stay for the night, if it's not too far out of the way?" Her curious eyes looked up at the man. "My name is Rin, by the way," She should really know better than to tell a stranger her name, but he seemed friendly enough. Rinik stuffed the faded map back into her leather bag and flung the straps back onto her shoulders.

"Oh..okay," Rin was not used to camping in any way, shape, or form. She was willing to pitch her tent and break out the sleeping bag but, coming from a middle class family, was used to an extravagant bed. "Thank you so much!"

She was bummed about having to wait another day to board the ship to the Northern Water Tribe but quite eager to be with Rafe. He seemed like he was a well traveled man with exciting stories.

"I really appreciate you helping me out! I hope I'm not causing too much trouble," she really didn't want to impose herself and hoped the man didn't feel it a chore to guide in the right direction. "I never caught your name,"