A wide, verdant countryside of green hills, cool forests, clear water and distant mountains. It is rustic and peaceful in places, but steeped in ancient magicks that keep the daily lives of the sometimes backward citizens interesting. Like New England, the temperatures here range prettily by season, reaching extremes in summer and winter.

---

A soft flash of light heralds the arrival of Alouette and Yin, a half mile outside of a decidedly backwater cabin village. It's cool, but Alouette can't help but marvel at the endless fields of greenery in all directions. Birds sing overhead, and the sun stands high in the noonday sky.

After a few moments, Yin puts her phone down, and turns it off. "No signal, not even a weak one. He did warn that he may need a few tries and that the teleporter is locked onto us, but...where's here?" Squints a little, and pulls her hat low over her eyes. Ugh. Cheery.

"Well... did he say how long it might before he could try again?" Alouette peers down the road, which is quite the dirt road.

"I was just about to ask when it became impossible." Nice. "Well...for a walk, then?"

"Sure." Alouette smiles a bit more brightly. "I just hope they speak a language we know."

The path turns out to be a touch longer than it looks, due to the flatness of this section of land. The town gates are strong enough, and littered with charms and mystic-looking marks. An enormous, barbarian-esque door guard sleeps at his post at the town's entrance, which is one end of a four way intersection in the road.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Yin observes absently. "Cringe. And I think your next pun is waived by that awful cliche." Snickers as they approach the guard, and looks up at the gates to see whether they're locked during the day.

They are. And the guard - girnormous battle axe over his shoulder - is sound asleep.

Alouette looks him over. "Muscly. Bet he has a dick like a hummingbird."

Yin grins at her sidelong, before looking to the guard. "Excuse me, sir?" Pause. Pokes his knee. "Sir?"

With a snort and a tipping of his horned helmet over his eyes, the guard snaps awake.

"Apple flakes!" He hefts his axe, looking dimly to both sides. "Oh. Hello girlies."

Alouette lays her fingertips to her forehead.

Yin's amused by her companion, but just smiles. "Hello. Can you tell us what town this is?"

"Ah. Oi can cehtanly do thet." He looks at the door. "This 'ere's Grimoire. Ah you two lost then?"

"You could say that." She looks to Alou, a question in her eyes. She's never heard of it, how about him?

Alou shakes her head. "We must have taken the wrong road. Can we go in?"

The barbarian hefts his axe again. Looks at them both. "Yah not witches, ah ya?"

Witches? "No, of course not." Yin smiles her best "innocent pretty girl" smile at him...a look that's gotten plenty of practice over the years.

"Okay. Then yah cen go roit in." He reaches up, smiling at them, and pushes on the door. It doesn't open. He scratches his head, and pushes harder. "Wot the 'ell?" 

Alouette is doing her best not to laugh. Finally, the barbarian gets the brilliant idea to pull the doors open, and the swing wide to reveal a very quaint olde English style town.

"Thank you!" Yin beams at him. A few seconds into the gates, after they close, she cracks into a withheld laugh. "You have such a great face when you're trying not to bust a boob laughing."

Alouette's giggling, absolutely girlishly giggling. Mercy put a lot of effort into the new voice box. She's laughing so hard that a passing farmer, who is the absolute stereotype of a hard working man of the fields, stops his hoeing to look at her. As do a bevy of children who are sitting around a stump, upon which a man in green sits, playing a pan flute.

Yin has to smile, and folds her hands behind her neck, looking around. Wow. They really stick out here, in a big way. She's only woman in pants that she can see, for one, and both their outfits are completely outlandish. Hence the "witch" question, she supposes. Best to keep her hat on. The horns could really, really get them into trouble. "Where do you suppose 'here' is?" she muses as they walk aimlessly. "I've never heard the name before. And this is so...anachronistic. I didn't think that any human villages this backwards existed." Pause. "Okay, the fact that I just used the word 'village' instead of 'town' goes a long way."

"I don't know. I've never heard of it, but this really looks like a scene from Braveheart or something." Alouette wanders along beside her. She's just glad the sweater's thick enough to hide her nipples, here. The men are pretty open with their leering. "And..." she sniffs the air. "God. It smells like B.O."

The piper waves at them, and the children wave as well. "Good morrow, ladies!"

Alouette blinks.

"Good morrow, sir," Yin smiles in return. Quietly, to Alou: "Old English. You hear some of it when your bosses are millenia old."

"Oh." She smiles at the piper. "Good morrow."

"Will you ladies join us for a song?" The piper makes a wide gesture with his empty hand, passing over the dozen children. "We're having a lovely time of it, aren't we?"

"I'm not much of a singer, sir," Yin admits. This is true. She's not bad, good enough to entertain a room of half-drunk fellows anyway, but her sister had gotten that talent. She's the instrumentalist.

"Then have a listen?" The piper holds the flute up to his lips and begins to play. He's not without bravado, but his talent blows even Alou away as he runs up and down scales and dances at the same time. It's a jovial tune with a very steady rhythm, and it takes Alouette a second to realize that the piper has castanets attached to his shoes.

Yin has to smile a bit, and just listens. They don't have anywhere to be, anyway, right? This is her justification, and applauds when the fellow finishes. "Lovely, sir."

"Very much so, yes, you both are." The piper takes a little bow. "So children, back here tomorrow at noon, eh?"

The chorus of yay and yes is his answer, and the little urchins scatter, quick as a hiccup. Alouette wonders at the suddenness of it. It's very choreographed.

The piper, a dark haired man with a clean face and inviting brown eyes, provides them his full attention. "My ladies, you dress so strangely I can't help but wonder if we might take tea together and discuss it."

Yin glances to her companion. "What do you think, Alouette? Do we have the time?"

"I don't know where else we could go," she admits. Another farmer passes, and Alouette steps a little closer to Yin. "Plus these burly guys are staring at me harder than I want to tolerate today. I don't think the leg hair will deter them here."

The dragoon snickers, and looks back to the piper. "Then we would be honored to accept your offer, sir."

"Lovely, lovely! I have a secret spot, you see. Follow me." The piper turns, and begins to dance his way down the road, snapping castanets and playing all the way. Alouette stares after him, starts to step, but stops.

"Yin. Look." She points at the road, where a mouse is walking. Following the piper. And then another. And five more.

One pale eyebrow arches. What...in the hell? Pied piper? she mouths, knowing Alouette can read lips. What the fuck? "Very queer," she acknowledges. "At least we aren't the skittish sort."

"Wait," Alouette pauses at this. "Are you still speaking in old English?"

She blinks. Her diction's a little off, but it always changes in weird situations. "No? Not really, anyway. Why?"

"I just wondered if you meant he was strange or liked boys," the barbie doll-esque Alouette answers, honestly. "C'mon. Let's see where the mice are going."

Yin snickers. "Fair enough." Doesn't clarify the "queer" issue...just follows along.

The piper leads them along, just past the rear gate of the town where a smallish cabin sits with another convenient stump in front. The mice charge past the piper when his tune changes, dashing into the woods beyond the town.

"Ah, my ladies, my apologies for the rodents," he laughs, "they are but hungry travellers, you know. And you?"

"Merely very confused ones," Yin admits with a sheepish laugh. Oh yeah. She's really going out of her way to play the "girl" role and avoid getting them in trouble. "We seem to have taken the wrong path at some point. We had never heard of Grimoire until moments before passing its gate."

"That is unusual, madams. Please have a seat wherever you like as long as it's on the grass, and I'll have your tea, but speak, but speak! I want to hear about your travels, eh?" He practically prances into the house, gathering two already-poured teacups and a cider jug.

Alouette sits, tucking her legs. Very prim, very girly... almost too much so.

Yin seats herself too. Revilier's earlier observation of her had actually been more or less right, and comes out in how she folds her legs and sinks smoothly now that she's watching how she's acting...certain aspects of her manner--though certainly not her overall personality--have changed in recent months as she's gotten used to life as an ambassador and sometime dignitary. Even so, and despite posture that's better than the previous "pretty good," she's relaxed.

"There's really not much to tell, sir," she admits. "And we're grateful for such. Our travels have been blessedly unevenful. We've yet to run into serious trouble at a moment we didn't have protection." In the form of 'we kick ass' she mouth-grins at Alouette.

Alou smiles, almost embarassedly, and looks down to the ground. The piper just beams, and comes out with their drinks.

"Where did you come from, if I may ask? You seem so clean, and unusually talkative for ladies of the continent." He sits, and takes a tug from the cider.

"I'm from an unnamed town on Baffin Island. Alouette and I met later in a township called Julen...hence our differing accents." Yin fixes her hair...really, this is just a cover for checking that her hat's still solidly on.

"I'm unfamiliar with those places." The piper sips again. "You'd better watch that story. Folks whisper tales of witches and if were a guessing man I'd guess you're more than you appear, eh?"

Mm. May be a trap here. She doesn't think so, but in either case. "Most people are, I think." Yin is pretty adept at keeping her fangs from showing when she speaks when she needs to. It's not perfect, but it would take someone perceptive to spot them when she's being carefully and they're partially retracted. "But we aren't witches."

"Oh, I am quite sure of that. There's no such thing. I do think you might be servants from Hamartia, though." 

Alouette looks up from her drink. It's fruity, and she likes it. "Beg pardon?"

"The mansion over the hill," he answers. "Past Hubris, yonder forest."

Yin sips her drink once, for good measure. She can't have too much of it, of course...she'd get sick from a full glass. Damned lack of a stomach. Shrugs a little when Alou glances her way...actually, mostly so their piper friend sees it. "We approached from the other direction, so we didn't see it. We really are just lost travellers. From your tone of voice, I will infer that Hamartia isn't a favored corner of the land...but we've never heard of it before. We just want to get back to Julen, and would if we just knew which way to go."

"I wish I had something tell you. You know, the Grand Mother might know... she knows a bit of everything." Another sip. "She lives on another side of Hubris. It's a walk, but strapping ladies of your caliber should be safe, or can coax a man into helping out."

"We should be okay. Where we're from, women receive some rudimentary training in weaponry, for purposes in self defense. It's why we travel unescorted." She knows this will also debunk the "servants of Hamartia" thing a little, too, by explain a serious discrepancy. Looks to her companion. "What do you think, Alouette?"

"Well. If we can't get ahold of Kaz, then we might as well see if we can find this Grand Mother." She sips again. Coos. "This is so good. What's it made from?"

The piper smiles a little. "Sugar and spice, my lady."

Yin's eyes sparkle as she sips her own. Hopefully hers has a little extra spice.

Alouette gazes at him, thinking. "What kind of spice?"

"It's called Charmroot," the piper explains. "I have no idea why, but I think enough of it can settle one to sleep. Hubris is a dangerous place, you know. You must be careful to leave a trail, or else you'll never find your way back."

Yin nods a bit. "It's that winding?"

"It's a shadow forest," the piper purrs, "full of magic and illusion. Or so I'm told. I lack the gall to venture in myself."

Yin's brow creases a little. That may be a complication, just to secure a contingency for Kaz failing to find them. "Is there a long way around to get to this 'Grand Mother'?" she inquires.

"Indeed, ma dame," he laughs, and points. "You can sail, if you have no fear of kraken. Or, you could walk around the woods, but the trip would take a fair month."

Yin nods a little. Looks to Alou. "I'm inclined to vote for 'through the woods,' but what's your thought?"

"I trust you," Alou's quick to answer. "And I don't think I have no fear of kraken, if they're what I think they are." She purrs quietly, eyes widen, and immediately stops. "Through the woods it is."

"Right, then. Just start by going over the river in front of town." The piper nods. "There's a bridge troll, but he doesn't hurt women."

"Good to know," Yin chuckles. "Thank you for your help, Mister...actually, I don't believe we caught your name." Looks up to him.

He smiles a broad, showman's smile. "Pious," he declares.

"Oh my God," Alou can't help but groan.

"Yes. Just like your last boyfriend," Yin covers seamlessly...mostly because it's fun, and not from necessity. Smirks at Alouette. Looks back to...the Pious Piper. "Well. Thank you again. We probably should be on our way if the road's as difficult as you describe."

"You should take some provisions. Tell the shopkeeper where you're going, and he'll give you some bread and cider." The piper rises, smiling, and gives his castanets a click. "My ladies, I'm honored to have met you! May I have your names?"

"I'm Ellen."

"I'm Alouette," the former spider-man chirps. There's no reason to hide anything that she wouldn't be hiding from anyone else. "Thank you for the tea and the song."

"You're very welcome, my dears." He beams. Just then a mouse scurries past them, and back into the town. "Ah, bother. You know, if the villagers really wanted rid of the mice, they would stop leaving food about."

"That would be entirely too logical," Yin observes, amused, as she rises. "Shall we, Alouette?"

Alouette nods. She's not quite accustomed to her new physiology yet, and the sleepy factor in the tea seems to be affecting her more than she had expected. Still, her lucidity remains.

"Take care, now, and don't forget the trail," the piper reminds them as he scurries after the mouse, flute in hand.

Yin nods. "We won't. Thanks again." Looks to her companion as they start walking. You okay, Alou...ette? Is that stuff in the tea affecting you?" She'd only had a sip, after all.

"A little," answers the former owner of a flat chest. Her steps remain fairly even, though the tiredness in her eyes darkens her expression markedly. "I was kind of tired anyway. I didn't sleep last night."

Another farmer passes them, rake in hand, and gives them both a long look. And another, this one a shopkeeper with meat drippings on his smock.

"Ugh..." Yin murmurs while they're out of earshot, though she smiles as though she's saying nice things. "I've occasionally wished to be living back in the dark ages, when dragoons were still important people. I'm cured of that now." More loudly, once they're in earshot, "Good morrow, sir," she notes as close to meekly as she can get--not all that much, really, but she's trying--"but if I may so bold as to inquire, are you the shopkeeper for this town?"

"Ahm the butchah," he rumbles, heavy brow crinkling a little bit. "Wheh ah youh husbahnds, in the middle of the day?"

"Oh." Yin takes Alouette's arm, and smiles. "We're travellers. Where we're from, women marry each other."

Alouette's cheeks blaze, though she stays quiet. The shopkeeper tilts his head.

"Witches?"

"Oh, not at all." Yin shakes her head. "Witches are awful things. There just aren't very many men back home. It's why we're travelling, you know. If we can both find lovely husbands, it would be a household of four! Wouldn't that be just lovely?" Yin beams an "I'm almost as stupid as I am hot" face this whole time. "But in either case, good sir, we do need to seek provisions for the rest of our journey. Might you point us to the proper door?"

"That depends on what yeh need, love. Ah sell meat. Theh's a bake-uh down the street two doohs. Yeh moit esk the cahpenter, ah fink 'e 'as two sons need good guhls loi' you two." The butcher points towards an in-progress house, where a line of young women stand with baked goods and household crafts, ready to present. It's almost comical, really. 

The humor definitely isn't lost on Yin, who smirks a little when she glances that way. It eases back into a bright, stupid smile when she looks back to the butcher. "I think the baker is who we need to see. Thank you very much, good sir!" And she turns that way, spider still on her arm. "I," she purrs, smirk back in full, "feel much better now." Snickers.

"Me, too," Alouette nods, holding gently onto Yin's arm. Eh. Girls get close all the time-- perhaps this is just an unforeseen perk of the process. "I don't have any money, though, Yin. I doubt these people accept paper."

This said as they approach the bakery, where the warm, yeasty scent of rising dough fills every corner of the air. The baker himself, a wide-shouldered man with a build and shape similar to every other man here, offers them a wide smile through his shop window.

Yin smiles back at the shopkeeper. "Most older dragons don't like the concept of credit cards...or checks, or an economic system based on trust. The hard currency is all precious metal, no paper. I have a little in my purse. I don't know if he'll accept it or not, but it's worth a shot. Anyway, it will be a perk, but not vital...we can hunt for food for you easily, this will just give you some variety." The last part as they step into the store.

"Good morrow, ladies," the shopkeeper greets them in clear, modern English. "What can I do for you today?"

Alou looks him over inquisitively. This one, though built like all the others, cannot be over twenty years old. He looks entirely too clean to be a baker, and somehow Alouette cannot help but think that there's some kind of trial involved with marrying him, waiting to be sprung upon them.

"Good morrow, sir." Yin smiles. She's a little more alert, too...something's very different about this guy. "We need to secure some provisions for travel."

"Oh? Where might you two visions be going?" He's staring a hole in Alouette's face. Yin's appearance, while certainly more glamorous, sexy, and exotic, might very well be too much for him. Alouette looks normal, more or less. 

Alou, of course, is practically hiding behind Yin.

Well, of course. Yin is hot. She's the kind of girl you want to throw on a bed and have a smoking one-night stand with. Alouette is pretty. She's the kind of girl you want to hug, give flowers to, and keep forever and ever.

"We need to travel through Hubris," Yin responds, still smiling as though this is perfectly normal.

The baker looks away from Alouette, to a quiet sigh of relief.

"Hubris? Oh. You want this then?" He holds up a canister labelled 'bread crumbs', beaming.

Yin blinks, and takes it. Bread crumbs...? What...? Wait. She remembers this story. "Won't birds, squirrels, and that swarm of mice pick apart a bread crumb trail, though? We're thinking more of something to eat." She smiles, holding up the canister to return.

"Oh, no," the baker laughs, "the bread crumbs are laced with Owlwort. They smell so strongly of owl that nothing that would eat them will come near them. These are entirely for trail-leaving purposes." He turns away from the canister. "I have plenty of good bread for eating, though. What would you like?"

Alouette glances at the wall. There are some confections that are practically making her face catch fire from want right now, but... not on Yin's dime. "Just plain bread," she meekly, especially for Alou, suggests.

"One of those small cakes in the window would be lovely, too," Yin purrs. Winks at Alou, smiles. "Caughtcha looking." Looks back to the baker. "I should ask first, though, good sir...since we are from out of town, we aren't affluent in whatever the local currency is. Will it be possible to pay in silver and copper?"

"Copper is fine. Silver is a little more precious than I could charge, since it's such a powerful witch-charm." He sacks up a fat pair of hefty loaves, and wraps the cake carefully. All three of these he sets into a burlap sack, and holds them out to Yin.

Yin smiles, accepts this, and hands them off to Alouette to free her hands. "Would you mind, dear?" Once she can, she fiddles through her purse, and finds a copper coin. Huh. Only has four, great. She holds out one of these for him to test the weight and metal to his satisfaction and gauge what they're worth. "How many of these woul I owe you, sir?"

The baker takes the coin, as Alou shifts the bread until she's comfortable holding it. Damned wonderful breasts. 

"This should cover that and more," he blinks, "this is real?" He weighs it. Feels real.

Yin nods, relieved. "Quite so, sir." She smiles, closing her purse. "Thank you for your help and the owl-ish trail makings." 

Pleased as punch, the baker pockets the coin. "I am glad to do business with pleasant people. Do come back, would you? This village needs more lovely faces to admire." 

Alou turns his eyes away. Dammit.

Yin just smiles. "We'll see how our lives guide us. It's possible. Have a lovely day, sir. Ready, Alouette?"

She nods. He's still looking at her, so she takes the initiative to head out the door first.

"So. Let me recap," she quietly sighs, walking slowly towards the gate. "We're going over the river and through the woods, to Grand Mother's house. We just met Pious Piper. We have a can of trail-crumbs. All of these yokels have gimme-marry children. There are apparently witches about. Have I missed anything?"

"Yes. You missed the fact that I was going to use the 'over the river and through the woods' punchline when we tangle with the bridge troll." Yin folds her hands behind her neck as they walk, though. With them on their way out anyway, she's beyond caring about keeping mannerisms period. "I've figured it out, though. What's going on."

People stare, of course. Of course they do, look at her hair! It's white!

"Really? By all means, enlighten me." Alouette shifts the bag again. God, little things weigh so much more these days.

"There really was a nuclear holocaust. You are merely a figment of my imagination. I'm a coma and someone just cranked my medication way the fuck up. Need help with that?"

Alouette looks at Yin, searching her expression. "No," she insists, "I've got it." Shifts it again. "Well, if I'm a figment of your imagination, you really are a lesbian and won't admit it."

Yin chuckles. "Well, spontaneously becoming wives was the highlight of my day." Expression fades as they walk, eyes on teh gates ahead. "I'm joking about the coma thing, of course. Well, mostly joking. This is crazy, it's a lot to absorb. Honestly, unless this is some insanely elaborate practical joke, I'm not even so sure we're on our own world anymore...though that really is taking a turn for a psychotic theory. Kaz said he'd be able to bring us back, and told me to 'not freak out if we were in the wrong place at first,' but I assumed, oh, Sahara Desert. I hope he's still right about that. Or if he's not, that we can figure a way to get ourselves back before the big bad damned wolf gets hungry." She doesn't add that Alou being a girl adds heavily to the surreal atmosphere.

Alouette stops walking. "We're about to go into a forest en route to a Grand Mother's house. There's going to be a goddamned wolf!" Her voice rises quite a bit when she's excited or freaking out, enough that she's almost shrieking. The door guard rises from his sleep again, looking around at the noise.

Yin blinks. Twice. Okay. Alou's really out of sorts. He...she...knows better than to raise a commotion. "Yeah, probably." Taking her arm gently, trying to signal not-too-urgently to quiet it a bit. "An ordinary wolf we could take, though I know 'normal' is up in the air. Listen, if you think it will be a problem...we can just take the long way around. Kaz will probably bring us back before we take the whole month's trip anyway. There should be plenty of fish or small animals or whatever for hunting on the way, so there will be plenty for you to eat."

Alouette does calm at the touch. Looks at Yin. "I'm sorry," she softly says, "I don't know what came over me. I'm stronger than that." Shifts the bag again. "We can handle whatever some fairy tale forest throws at us. And I'm not sure Kaz can even reach us right now."

Yin nods, though she's still concerned. "I agree, on all counts. You going to be okay, though? I'm not sure how long we can stay in town before the pitchforks and torches come out, but I'm sure we can make a quiet camp somewhere to get our wits together."

"I should be alright. I don't know what happened just now." She smiles then, prettily.

Yin has to grin a little. "It's called 'being sentient.' It happens the second you start getting out of practice with teh superspy thing."

Again, the bag shifts. Alou's wrists are starting to hurt a bit. "Just the same, I think I'd rather move along today. As much as I hate to say it, I'm kind of interested in this place."

"Seconded. And would you mind if I carried half of that?"

"I've got it." She's still got a male mindset, for the most part. "So, we go over the bridge?" Alouette peers across a river half as wide as the Mississippi and quite a bit cleaner, sparkling and sweet-smelling. The bridge, though wooden, seems sturdy enough. "I don't see any troll."

Yeah, yeah. She'll ask again in an hour. "I guess so. I'm sure if he's there, he'll let us know it." Heads that way, looking over the water. "Pretty river." She doesn't mention that she's afraid of bridges. But that's fairly understandable.

Alouette steps onto the bridge, kicking the foundation once to see if it's sturdy. When the entire thing doesn't collapse, she steps onto it and begins to cross, not trying to get too far away from Yin.

It takes about two steps for a shadow to springs from underneath the bridge, landing spider-like on its surface. 

"Holy fuck," Alouette murmurs, staring at the half ton of fat-muscly, hairy beast man before them. It's wide ears whiffle back and forth, nostrils whuffing noisily as its dark, feral eyes examine them.

"Who dares cross my bridge?" it growls.

Yin tilts her head. God help her, but she's amused as heck. They're in a fairy tale. "Just two girls trying to head home. Except there's a large fellow blocking our way."

"Girls? Are you sure?" The troll rubs its eyes, taking a lumbering step towards them. "Something feels wrong about that. You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" He looks at Alouette.

Yin blinks. "Of course I'm sure, sir, certainly." Holds her hands to either side of her chest. "I have two witnesses right here. What's wrong?" She's actually is curious, though of course borderline defensive...how could he have identified Alouette as...Alou? Smell?

The troll's nostrils whuff again. Alouette shifts the bag again, a little nervous. She's having the same thought. After all, Mercy couldn't very well change out her sweat glands, even though they were tweaked and Alouette wears a pretty potent deodorant. 

"I guess I'm getting old," the troll mutters, stepping aside. "Be careful in the forest, now."

Yin smiles a sweet smile at the troll. "Thank you, milord...we will!" And she wanders off that way...keeping pretty solidly to the center of the bridge.

Alouette walks past the troll, trying to ignore his snuffling of her. She shifts the bag, but is beginning to lose feeling in her arms.

"Yin," she mutters just as they cross the bridge, a touch of stung pride pinking her voice, "I need help with this bag."

"Sure, no problem. Set it on the ground a moment for me?" She makes no more mention of this or jokes or "I told you so."

Alouette tilts her head, but bends to do as Yin suggests. Her arms immediately feel better, but she shakes her head anyway.  That bag is a lot heavier than it should be.

"I don't have enough room in my purse for much of anything," she explains as a thin blade of ice manifests over the back of her hand, a short version of her favored wrist blades. "But it should be easy to cut this one in half and make two parcels out of it." Takes an edge. Blinks. "Does this seem...heavier than a few loves of bread, a cake, and a tin should be?" Sets to pulling things out and setting them lightly on the grass.

Bread, bread, cake, tin... Alouette tilts her head when Yin removes a startingly heavy sphere from the bottom of the bag, attached to a note that reads 'Sylph water: don't sleep away from this in the forest'.

Yin reads the note aloud. "Huh. Well, that explains that, anyway. I think I can..." shuffles a few things around in her purse. One bulbous, unzipped bag later, the deed manages to be done. "Well, it's not winning any fashion awards, but that should work." Yin smirks, and adjusts the strap so that she can carry the weight more easily. "That bag should be plenty lighter, now."

Alouette lifts it, and practically purrs at how much lighter it actually is. "Thank you, Yin," she nods.

The forest, Hubris, looms just in front of them. Alouette can see where the woods begin, and is reasonably sure that the darkening sky, beginning only above the woods, is somehow related to it.