It's mid-day now after the Market Day meeting. Amy has fortunately managed to sneak away from his 'poodleness' and taken care of a few errands she's left with for the day. As she heads down the road towards the Sniffler territory, she spots an unusual sight … a Kadie-shark. Or in other words, a Kadie's tail sticking out of the weeds on the side of the road, moving slowly alongside it as if hunting.

Amelia Blacktail was on a mission: a mission to make sure she wasn't the only girl to have to wear a costume on Market Day. To this end, she was heading towards the swamp, to try and recruit Midge Sniffler to be a 'Frog Maiden' alongside her. She lightly taps her staff against her shoulder with each step, having just come from militia practice, and isn't really paying much attention to her surroundings as she builds up a list of likely girls in her mind.

The tail stops and pivots around. It's almost like it's watching Amy. It's path diverts and the Kadie-shark makes its way through the weeds towards Amelia. "Don't move!" it shouts … sounding suspiciously like Gunther Kettenrad.

Finally coming out of her reverie, Amy turns to face the approaching Kadie. "Don't be silly," she replies, still holding onto her staff casually. "Why shouldn't I move?"

Gunther's head pops out of the weeds. "Oh, it's you," he says, sounding disappointed. "I thought you were one of those gypsies that have been skulking about."

"Gypsies?" Amelia asks, then says, "And get out of those weeds! Your fur will get full of burrs if you crawl around like that. And someone walking down the road in plain sight isn't skulking, hiding in the underbrush is skulking."

"Yeah, but they're sneaky like that," Gunther retorts and climbs out of the weeds. "If they're walking down the road, no one will suspect them. But I know better. And wait, since when can you tell me what to do?"

"Since I'm bigger and older than you," Amelia replies. At least she's somewhat bigger still. "And Gypsies are harmless, usually. What kind are they, boat or wagon?"

"Yeah, well, Zahn's bigger than me, and older, and I don't listen to him. So, I don't think I should have to listen to his girlfriend either," Gunther replies and sticks out his tongue. "As for the gypsies, they're wagon travelers. What a sneaky assortment, too. Skreeks, vampire bats, and even a spooky black Khatta demon!"

"A demon?" Amelia asks, sounding skeptical as she starts on her way again. "You've seen them then, I guess. How many families and what clan do they belong to?"

Gunther errs. "I don't know," he admits and walks alongside Amy. "And yes, a demon. She was all glowy and indistinct."

"How can you be sure she's a Khatta then?" Amelia asks, and shakes her head. "You have a lot to learn about spying on people, Gunther. The point is to observe and gather information, not jump and go 'boo' afterall."

"I got a good enough look," Gunther insists. "And she purred. Khattas purr. I found her drawing some sort of magic circles and chanting. It was creepy, reminded me of the witches."

"Witches aren't creepy," Amy snaps, then sighs. "Okay, maybe you'd better show me these Gypsies so I can get some real information about them." Midge could wait… and besides, she probably shouldn't expose Gunther to likely-naked otter girls.

"Witches are very creepy," Gunther insists and puts his hands on his hips. "The gypsies have already bewitched Olivia too. She's been way too chatty with that vampire girl." Gunther considers something, then asks, "So … if I show them to you, will you finally teach me to really use a spear? It's not like I'll ever learn that from my clan." He grumbles.

Amy twirls her staff around in one hand, and considers. "There's a lot more to learning to use a spear than just… uh… using a spear," she says. "You'll have to learn some discipline and self-control too… but I can see about getting you into a training group, if your parents say it's okay."

Gunther opens his mouth to say something, then stops. After a moment, he sighs and says, "They won't." He stuffs his hands into his pockets and glowers, "Come on anyway. I'll show you to their camp."

The older Kadie tousles Gunther's hair, partly because she knows it'll tweak him out of feeling down… and partly because she always wanted to have a little brother to torment.

It really just makes Gunther look more frustrated than anything. "I'm gonna stop and get something along the way, though," he says grumpily. "You'll have to wait a ways away, though. I don't want people finding my place."

"Sure," Amelia agrees, automatically respecting the secrecy of another Kadie's cache.

Gunther leads Amy off the road and out into the woods. The path he takes is anything but obvious. He winds, twists, and very likely doubles back a few times. "Okay, wait here," Gunther says once they reach an old, huge, and dying tree. "No one knows of my place out here, not even Zahn." The smaller Kadie then launches back into the woods. Seconds later, he's out of sight.

Amelia leans on her staff and waits, hoping she can find her way back out if Gunther doesn't come back. "It'd be just like that little runt to try and get me lost out here," she thinks.

Gunther is gone for perhaps fifteen minutes, maybe half an hour. Perhaps he did intend to just get her lost… But, at long last Gunther comes marching out of the woods again, a strange contraption resting on his shoulder and a pouch at his side. "Good, you didn't try to follow me," he says.

Waking up from her daydreams, Amy blinks at the thing on Gunther's shoulder. "What is that supposed to be?" she asks.

"Zahn isn't the only one good with machines," Gunther replies with a shrug. He lifts the contraption off his shoulder and yanks a lever on the side. The top part swivels around and settles itself perpendicular to the main piece. He digs into his pouch and pulls out an odd triangle shaped block with something Amy can't quite make out attached. He tosses it at Amelia and says, "Catch!"

Amy reflexively makes a grab for the tossed object.

And Amy finds herself holding a triangular block of wood, about a foot long. Along each segment sits three arrows secured down by a wood band. Gunther meanwhile flips another lever out and starts cranking on it. The front bit starts bending back … in three segments. While Gunther pulls out another of the triangular blocks from his bag, Amy recognizes the top bit of the device. It's some sort of mutant crossbow.

"You made a miniature three-arrow ballista?" the girl asks, sounding more impressed.

"Not exactly. And uhm you might want to move away from that tree," Gunther says as he snaps in the block into a hollow spot along the base. He brings the 'crossbow' to bear and aims it right at the tree.

Amelia steps aside, then after a moment of thought moves behind Gunther.

Gunther puts one foot back some to brace himself and grits his teeth. He then yanks back a trigger on the side and it springs to life! The first bow fires, sending an arrow into the tree and the bolt shatters into bits. Not more than a second later, the second bow fires another bolt … but the top bow cranks back halfway from the firing force of the second. Then the third fires, and the top bow cranks back fully, the middle halfway. The block in the gun swivels and the device repeats the performance. After shattering nine arrows into the tree in about 7 seconds, it stops. Gunther grins and says, Let anyone try to invade now. Hah." It's about then one of the strings breaks with a twang. "Aww, man… "

The Kadie girl is struck speechless for a moment. "That was very… nasty," she finally concedes. "A repeating, self-cranking crossbow," she mutters, and tries to come up with something nice to say about it. "It… would be useful for stopping a boar, I suppose."

Gunther goes about releasing the tension from the remaining bows. "Yeah, well, it was a pain to get the timing right. Plus, I had to borrow some stuff from Zahn to finish it. I think he still blames the otters for some missing parts," he says. He gets it back into its disarmed state and hefts it back into his shoulder. "And don't tell Mom or anyone about it. I know they wouldn't want me having it," he warns.

"Err, right," Amy says, smiling. "You don't plan on ever using that thing against someone though, do you?"

"Only if my clan is in trouble," Gunther remarks and glances over at Amy. "Why? Wouldn't you?"

"Well, to be honest… no," Amelia says. "You couldn't move for seven seconds because you had to brace yourself. You'd be dead in a real combat situation with that sort of handicap. This thing might be effective if it was mounted on a building and you only had to worry about firing in a limited arc though… "

"It's intended for firing from cover, to disrupt a charging horde," Gunther says in a huff. He spins and marches back off into the woods. "Gypsies this way."

"Oh, well, a horde… " Amy says, trying to mollify Gunther's feelings a little. The chances of a horde of anything attacking Stonebarrow where… oh yeah, there are monsters underground, she nearly forgot…

"Besides, think about a group having to move along a bridge. Nowhere to dodge and it would fill the area," Gunther grumps. The Kadie then goes quiet and leads Amy again on another winding path. After a half an hour, they end up at the edge of a clearing, looking out into a grouping of battered and worn wagons.

"They don't look very dangerous," Amelia says, taking in the condition of the wagons.

"Ooo, ooo, can you be so sure, though?" comes a feminine voice near Amelia's ear. "I know, I know, it's a disguise over their war wagons of doom… " Whomever it is giggles.

Amy nearly jumps at the voice, and grips her staff with both hands. "Who's there!?" she demands.

An upside-down face swings into view and Amy finds herself looking into two glowing red eyes. Black hair dangles down, shimmering with blood-red highlights and streaks through it. The bat smiles fangily at Amelia and asks, "Isn't that a bit big to go staking vampires with?"

"Oh great, it's her," Gunther grumbles. "The one that's bewitched Olivia."

After jumping backwards a few steps, Amelia gets a hold of herself. "It's not nice to try and scare people," she says to the Eee. Then she looks to Gunther and asks, "Bewitched Olivia? What are you babbling about this time?"

"It's not nice to sneak up on people armed, either," the Eee points out and waggles her eyebrows.

"She and Olivia were talking like they were friends earlier," Gunther says as he watches the Eee warily.

"That's because ve are friends, scardy-squirrel," the Eee remarks.

Amy stares blankly at Gunther for a moment, and is so tempted to ask him how he'd know how friends act, but the urge passes. "Olivia is a friendly person, Gunther. And you can see how she and… what's your name, Miss Gypsy?"

Liliana Derisinadrovinia," the Eee says and then both winks and sticks out her tongue at the same time. The Eee releases the branch she's gripping and then flips, landing upright. From this angle it's rather easy to see she's wearing little in the way of clothing. Mostly colored scarves wrapped and tied around her body. A wide one is acting as a skirt. "I met him the other day when he was snooping around," she says and points her thumb at Gunther.

"… how she and Liliana here might share a similar artistic flair," Amy concludes to Gunther. Turning to face the Eee again, she says, "I hope he didn't cause too much trouble. Is this your first time through the Stonebarrow area?"

Liliana shakes her head, ears jingling. "Na, he didn'," she says. "And yes, it is. Trouble further south made us divert off our normal roads. Seems safe enough here, though, yes, yes?"

Gunther raises his hackles at the bat, then goes to just glowering.

"I'm Amelia Blacktail, by the way," Amy says, and offers her hand. "Junior Militia Officer. If you haven't been here before, I'll need to tell you about the places to avoid."

Liliana takes Amelia's hand in a delicate grasp and shakes it. Along the back crisscrosses some stylized red patterns as well and they seem to go all the way up her arm. "Officer? Sounds like work, ew. I'm jus' a dancer. Oh, vell. You should talk to Madame Natasha, then. She's our leader," the Eee says.

Gunther cringes and whispers to Amy, "Natasha is the demon!"

Whispering back to Gunther, Amy assures him, "Don't worry, I'm trained on how to handle demons."

"Oh poo, she isn't a demon," Liliana remarks, obviously overhearing the whispers. Bats are bad to whisper around, afterall. "She is a bit, oh, stern. And maybe if you offended her you'd find yourself very, ah … unlucky, but! She looks after us."

"Because you'd be in bigger trouble if you didn't let her lead you?" Amelia asks with a grin, knowing a thing or two about witches.

"Oh, sort of! I don' know much about her, really. She's been with us for as long as I remember, but … she doesn' say much about her past," Liliana says, her head canted a bit and one of her fingers tapping on her chin as she thinks. "She's sure helped when ve've had some rough scrapes, tho. There was that time ve ran into that wandering gang of und… Oh, you don' wanna hear about that. Pish, I'm sounding like an ol' woman, tellin' stories."

"You wait here, Gunther, and stay out of trouble," Amy tells the other Kadie before following Liliana. "Is your family here, Liliana?" she asks as she keeps an eye out for children and other signs of families in the group.

"I don't get into trouble!" Gunther insists as Liliana leads Amelia further into the camp. Amy can see quite a mix of species in the group, Skreeks, Korvs, even a few raccoons playing with a child of probably three to four years of age. They all look rather tired, and a bit on the thin side, so times must not have been good for them lately. "My family? Yah, dey are. But they're more concerned 'bout my little brother den me. I'm considered an adul'.

"I have all older brothers myself," Amy says, noting the condition of the clan. Not bad off enough to be truly desperate, she figures, since they haven't sold their children yet. But definitely in need of a chance to recover before moving on.

"Anyway, I'm been chattin' too much," Liliana says as she leads Amelia to one of the wagons. "Dis here is Madam Natasha's place. She be inside right now. I'll intro… "

"No need, Liliana," comes a lilting voice from the inside. The door swings open and inside a singular wisp of a light flickers from a central crystal ball. "Please, come in, Miss Blacktail."

"You have very good hearing, Madame Natasha," Amelia says as she waits for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the wagon. "To have heard my name when I introduced myself to Liliana, that is."

"I didn' hear her, or vou," a shadowy shape across the table says in a melodic and calm voice. As Amy's eyes adjust, she can just make out a black-furred Khatta sitting down. Her amber eyes glint as she blinks, watching the Kadie with tired curiosity. "My … sources are not so physical, daughter of Achilles. Please, sit." She motions to a chair near the table.

Setting her staff aside (but not out of quick grabbing range), Amy has a seat across from the Khatta, and frowns at the crystal ball. "You're using spirits?" she asks.

"Listening to. I do not vouse. Dere is a difference, child," the Khatta says and waves her hand lightly. Wispy tendrils of light uncurl from her hand and settles inside the ball, lighting up the room very slightly. "I listen to dat which has gone from dis world to learn of the places ve travel."

Amy scrunches down a bit in her seat, and asks, "You mean… there are ghosts gossiping about me?"

The Khatta laughs lightly. "No, nothing like dat. The impression vou have left on those that have left this world remains. De one that described vou remebers vou as a child of maybe seven, or eight. But den, that poor soul died many vears ago," she remarks and shrugs slightly. As Amy's eyes adjust a bit more to the light, she can make out the Khatta is probably in her mid to late thirties, thin, and tired looking.

Regaining some of her composure, and not thinking too hard on who Madame Natasha contacted (mother?), Amelia says, "Well… since you're the leader, I need to tell you about the dangerous areas to avoid while you're here, and where it's safe to set up your camp if you want to move in closer to town. That is, if you're going to be around for awhile in the first place… "

"And find out if ve are a threat, no?" Natasha says and leans in to peer at Amelia. The flickering light casts eerie shadows over her face, making her look even more gaunt and haunted. "Vour family is the protectors of the town, no? You came here armed, no? It is not so hard a leap of logic to determine why vou came." The Khatta smiles, breaking a bit of the creepiness the light was creating.

Amy can't help but pull back a little from that smile. "Well, yes, I suppose that too. So far… um, you don't look like a threat, just… tired and hungry."

"Yes, vell, times are hard," Natasha says and sits back. Her chair creaks. "Vell, I can assure you ve are not a threat to your town, no matter vhat you may haf heard about us. The Shadowsvalk have had … the south is in turmoil, Miss Blacktail. Our travels have not been … easy." The Khatta looks considering at Amelia for a moment and offers, "Vou say vou can tell of safe camps and vhere we can move closer? Vhat do vou vant in exchange?"

"That you remain non-threatening, I suppose," Amelia says, and smiles. "Our Market Festival is coming up, and there will be people from other towns attending. I'm sure you'll have goods and skills to barter for money and supplies, and are welcome… so long as you don't cause trouble. I mean, it'll be hard enough keeping the younger Akwavi from picking the pockets of strangers… "

"Oh, so vou see us as sneak-thieves, den?" Madame Natasha asks, watching Amy though half-slitted eyes.

"I'm saying that we don't want any trouble," Amelia says, meeting the woman's gaze. "You don't seem desperate enough to have resorted to crime, but hard times can make one… prone to temptation."

The Khatta sighs and rubs her temples. "Miss Blacktail, vour future has trouble in it," she says and shakes her head slowly, as if exasperated with a small child. "More den some pittance of coin, too."

"Oh, I know I'll find trouble," Amy says, waving a hand. "And we don't exactly have a cash eco… eco-gnome-nanny in Stonebarrow. But we're going to a lot of trouble to bring in outsiders who do use cash, and we don't want them going home thinking they were cheated or anything. I just want to be able to tell my father and the others that they don't have to watch your people along with the out-of-towners as well."

"Ve do not steal, Miss Blacktail," the Khatta says, "Do ve look like ve have an abundance vith us, hmm? I do not tolerate such behavior among my people."

"Good, I'll take your word on that," Amelia says, smiling a little more genuinely. If the head witch says her people will behave, then she knows they'll behave. "Now, you probably don't want to stay here in the swamp. The caravan campgrounds are to the west of town, across the bridge over the Milk Run River – there's a public well there for drawing drinking water, never trust the water from the Milk Run, it's full of chalk and other stuff. The Mint River is on the east side of town, and easiest for you to get to from here. The road across it will go through town to the campgrounds. Never go into the trees to the east of the Mint River Road, or you'll risk being attacked as trespassers. Stay clear of the dam to the north as well, because they're crazy. The hot springs up there are safe though. The town and the roads are the best places to stick to, and don't go onto any barges unless you're invited by an otter."

Natasha listens quietly, the movements of her ears almost an indication of each point Amelia makes. "Mmm," she says and interlaces her fingers. "Those dat run the dam are crazy? Interesting. Dat may explain much."

"Well, not all of them, but they can be unpredictable," Amy says, then snaps her fingers. "Oh, yeah… do you have any Lapis in your group?" she suddenly asks.

Natasha looks at Amelia oddly. "A few, yes. Do not vorry, dey will not seduce vour males," she remarks and waves her hand.

"What?" Amy asks. "No, that's not a problem, our own Lapis do it all the time. It's just that the local Lapi clan, the Chalks, can be very aggressive about trying to recruit new blood. It probably won't be an issue with any bucks you have, but warn the does. If they don't want to settle down and have lots of kids, they shouldn't go into the warren."

"Ve are a family, Miss Blacktail. De Lapi vith us won't leave us," the Khatta says, sounding unconcerned about the whole matter. "Besides, ve only have four. Two are dancers vith Liliana, the others are crasftsmakers."

"Okay, I'm just letting you know what to watch for," Amelia replies. "Also… the baker gives away any unsold stuff baked in the morning to children who come by in the evening, since he doesn't believe in offering day-old goods."

"Mmm, good to know, dat," Madame Natasha says with a nod. "Now, is dere a repair place around here? Our vagons have suffered much on the journey and much needs repair."

Nodding, Amelia says, "The Cartwrights, on the east edge of town handle that. Most of the heavy industry is in that area, near the Mint River. There's also a dock area behind the tannery that the Akwavi like to use for partying, including a dance club in an old abandoned boat house. They have some… unusual forms of entertainment though."

Natasha's ears flick and the Khatta leans forward again. "Do tell, Miss Blacktail," she says. "What sort of entertainment?"

"They have a jug-band," Amelia says, whispering it as if where some sort of unholy ritual. "And something called 'muck wrestling' and other games that I think they just make up on the spot."

"Pfft, we could bring dem better music den dat," Natasha says, looking as if the idea of a jug band is a curse to all that live. "As for muck wrestling, vell, dats not so uncommon, really. I know some of de younger generation enjoy such things."

"I have to wonder about a sport where after a few minutes you can't tell one wrestler from the next," Amy says, shaking her head. "But then, they aren't very big on the whole winning-and-losing part of competition anyway."

"Vell, it's a game best played vith someone you really like, Miss Blacktail," Natasha explains and waves her hands lightly. "Vou get to know dem quite … vell, and I should not be telling you such things. Tsk, manners."

"Well, I think that about covers the important things," Amelia says, scratching at her cheek. "Do you have any questions? Oh! I suppose some of you eat meat, right?"

"Yes, some of us do," Natasha says and nods slightly. "Ve have a Jupani vith us. He does. Vould you care to meet him?"

"Alright," Amy says. "Is he the one that handles the hunting and such for you?"

"Dat, and some defense, yes," the Khatta agrees and reaches over to retrieve a cane. She raps it against the flooring loudly. A minute passes, and the door opens again and what steps in has to be one of the biggest dog-like creatures Amelia has seen. It's a muscular Jupani, probably near seven feet tall, broad shouldered, and stern looking. "Ah, Madame Natasha, vou called?" he asks, then glances at Amelia. "Vou know vou shouldn't be having guests, not after your exertions dis morning."

Amy feels suddenly smaller than usual. "Wow… you're even bigger than that white one that passed through," she says in hushed tones.

"And dis be Bravil," Natasha says and glares at the wolf. "Who worries more den he should about me. Really, Bravil, I am not so dottering and old that I cannot handle a few rituals, vou know." The wolf opens his mouth to reply, then just sighs. "Sorry, Madame," he says and offers her a sad smile. "Vou know … " Natasha swipes her hand across quickly and says, "Not here. Guest."

"Hello, Bravil," Amelia squeaks, and offers up a hand to the giant wolf, half-expecting him to sniff it.

The wolf takes Amelia's hand. It's obvious he's being careful from squeezing too hard. "So, are vou the one?" he asks bluntly.

Wide-eyed, Amy asks, "The one what?"

"De one Natasha saw in her vision," the wolf says flatly and looks over at Natasha. "I haven't said much about it, Bravil," Natasha remarks calmly and shrugs. "She hasn seemed interested."

"Errr, vision?" Amy asks, turning back towards the Khatta. "What is he talking about, Madame Natasha?"

"I said trouble was waiting for vou, Miss Blacktail. De future is a mass of possibilities, you see," Madame Natasha says and curls her fingers over the crystal. "Intersections of vhat could be. Vhat could be for vou soon, vell." Natasha sighs and says quietly, "I am sorry, Miss Blacktail. but vhat I saw dis morning was that the daughter of Achilles vill lose someone close to her. It is vhere the fates currently head."

Grabbing her staff and clutching it with both hands, Amelia asks, "What? How? HOW do I lose someone?"

Bravil grabs onto the staff firmly. "Put down vour weapon in her presence," he growls. Natasha says, "Bravil, let her go. Dis is expected." The Khatta draws a breath, then says, "I know little, save dat when vou mentioned de dam, it was part. Something happens there. I saw de shades of someone dying dere. Friend of yours, perhaps. He said vour name."

"No!" Amy says, sounding distressed. "No, no NO! I don't… when? Do you know when??"

"Miss Blacktail," Natasha says, trying to sound consoling. "Remember what I said. De future is not set. It is a cloud of possibilities. I am sorry, but, I cannot give you de day or time. Just that fates were walking dat way. I can say it was a night, and de wind was howling. You see, I see those in the visions as shades and shadows of their real selves. A reflection, if vou will."

Amelia opens her mouth to say something, then pauses. "Wait… could this have been in the past, and not the future?" she asks.

"Did somevone in the past know you, and die dere?" Natasha inquires.

"Well, no," Amy says. "But there was a storm, and I helped a friend secure the dam, and he got hurt," she explains, hoping that's what the Khatta really saw.

"Vou weren't there in the vision. Only him, and I saw death come for him," Natasha says, then looks away. "I am sorry, Miss Blacktail. It is only a possibility." Bravil releases the staff slowly and says, "But, vou have never been wrong befor… " The Khatta looks up, her expression suddenly becoming angry. "Bravil, enough" she says forcefully, the light in the crystal flaring brightly momentarily. "Dere is always flux in de future. De past does not dictate I vill always be right in de future."

With her claws trying to dig into the oak of her staff, Amelia says, "Well, this time you'll be mistaken. I'll make sure."

"I … hope so," the Khatta says and slumps in her chair, looking very tired. "I … I'm tired of having to give people this sort of news. People vant to know about dere loves, dat de'll be rich. Dat sort of thing doesn't make the ripple the tragedies do. Often, all that shows are de bad things." Bravil takes a step towards Natasha and kneels down beside her. "Just because you see it does not make it vour fault, my … " he stays to say. Natasha waves her hand again and he stops.

Turning resolutely to the Jupani, Amy says, "You're coming back to town with me to look over the campgrounds and meet with the meat supplier for the town, okay?"

"No. I do not leave de side of Mada," Bravil starts to say and is cut off again by Natasha. "No, it's okay, go with her, Bravil," Natasha says tiredly. "Perhaps it is time I sleep, no?"

Bravil looks between Amelia and Natasha. He lets out a loud sigh and nods, "Yes, Madame."

"My company isn't that bad," Amelia says to the Jupani. "Besides, you might even be able to handle Gunther."

"I do not like leaving Madame Natasha," Bravil replies gruffly. The Khatta, meanwhile gets up from her seat. "I wish you luck vith affecting the fates, Miss Blacktail," she says and heads towards the back curtain.

After the Khatta vanishes, Amy whispers to the wolf, "Is she okay? She isn't very old to be acting so… old."

The wolf heads out of the wagon. "She has had a hard time lately," the wolf remarks and looks back. "How vould you feel after holding off a maurading group of undead for two days straight, and haf to endure visions of darkness dat always come true? Her life has never been easy. She von't speak of what it was before she joined the tribe. She vas seventeen or so at de time, if I remember right. Couldn't even speak de language."

Amy looks back into the dark wagon before stepping out. "I guess you wouldn't have gotten very far without her. But she isn't exactly fragile, if she's survived all of that and still goes on."

"No, she is not," the wolf agrees. "She is just tired. She spent much of the early day doing some complex ritual" He then shrugs and says, "An' she won' exactly let anyone help her, either. Not even those… Bah, we should go." He spins and fins himself facing a gaping Gunther.

"Bluh," is all Gunther says.

Amy leans out to look around the wolf. "What, you actually stayed put for once, Gunther? This is Bravil, and he's a very busy man, so let's get back to town with a minimum of wandering about, okay?"

"Bluh," says Gunther.

The wolf eyes the younger Kadie. "I think he broke," he remarks.

"And he isn't a horde Gunther, there's just the one of him," Amelia points out, then waves a hand in front of Gunther's face. "Well, we could carry him, I suppose. You're a hunter, Bravil, so you can backtrack our path, right? Unless someone who's already been to town wants to lead us."

"No carry!" Gunther blurts out. He spins and heads towards the woods, quickly. "This way!" The wolf rolls his eyes and mutters something about small crazy creatures.

Amelia hmms at Gunther's reaction, and follows along. "Have you ever thought about becoming a babysitter, Bravil?" she asks, smirking a little.

Amelia can almost feel feline eyes watching her from the wagon she just left. Bravil looks back at the wagon, looking almost … anxious. He sighs again, then just heads on after Gunther and doesn't bother replying to Amelia. As Amy leaves, she gets another good look at the group and the haunted tiredness she saw in Madame Natasha seems almost more pronounced in the others of the group. Sure, they move about, and some of the younger ones in the group are laughing. But … it all seems worn and thin, like cloth that has been laundered too many times. The journey here must have been rough, indeed.