The smell of cooked rabbit hangs heavy in the air as Olivia approaches the strange man-bird with her measuring string, and the string isn't the only thing that measures. Axel's eyes fix on the string with a kind of focus that might make the Skeek wonder if he's considering interference. Then again maybe he's never seen a string before. The Lapi that just ran after dropping off the food had certainly never seen an Axel before. If that is his real name.

Olivia follows Axel's eyes back to her measuring tape and it suddenly dawns on her that it could be taken for the string that Isolde said he liked so much. "Um, I know you might want to play with this and all, but try to keep as still as you can. If you move around a lot the measurements won't be correct and your new clothes won't fit properly." Then she sniffs the air. "Unless you want to, er, eat first?"

Axel looks between Olivia, the string, the food, and back again several times. Then he fixes his eyes on the Skeek and takes on a vaguely overwhelmed expression. "Croo?" Then he shrugs, head tilting.

Olivia sighs as Axel lapses back into his bird-talk. "Okay, let me try again and make this simple: are you hungry? If you are, then you should eat first. Measurements can come later."

"Oh." The man returns to looking at the food before he lifts one of his hands, gives it a funny look as if he's never seen it before, then rests it on its stomach. By the looks of him it would seem he hasn't had a good meal in a while. Skinny, even emaciated would describe him. Judging by his bone structure and that shallow cast to his eyes it also seems he used to weigh more. "I think I'm hungry," he concedes slowly. "The wind isn't enough."

Olivia nods and winds the tape measure around her fingers, then puts it back on her desk. "Then food is first," she says, going over to the basket that Mandy left for him. She picks it up and sets it before the bird-man, then opens the cover to see what's inside – other than what the Lapi hurriedly described for them before running away again.

A few rolls and a small crock of butter complete the gift basket. Axel peers at the food curiously, then reaches to pick up a roll and begins to eat it unbuttered. In between a bite he asks, "Olivia all alone? Why did the big eared woman run away?" He takes another bite and explains, "A lot of people run away."

Olivia tries to think of the most delicate way of answering. "Ummm, well, it might be because she hasn't seen a winged man like you before. Sometimes people get nervous when they encounter something new. It takes them a while to adjust." She then reaches over and breaks another roll into two pieces, butters one of them, and offers that to Axel, too, just to see if he likes butter. For all she knows, he may never have eaten any before.

Axel accepts the other rolls so that now he had a roll in each hand. He considers them both, then alternately takes a bite from one, then the other, and back again. "A winged man," he repeats dreamily and distant. His eyes close and he tilts his head back briefly. "Is that what I am? I who am me, and me again, not like before? I have never met a winged man." His head lowers again and his eyes open, then he takes another bite and adds, "Either," as if connecting himself to others seemed a beneficial addition.

Olivia reaches out very tentatively to touch one of Axel's brightly colored wings. "This you has wings, at any rate," she says gently. "I'm not sure about the you who isn't you."

"The you – the me who isn't me isn't me anymore," Axel explains. He finishes off his previous roll, licks his lips to get a bit of butter, then leans forward to squint at the meat. "There's just me. Us? Us, and me, together." He frowns briefly. "I'm not sure about the me who is me. Either."

Olivia grins a little at all the round-about talk. "Then that makes two of us. Or is that three of us?" She pulls a covered plate out of the basket and lifts the heavy cloth from it. Roasted rabbit meat sits there, its savory steam rising. "Want to try some of this next?" she asks Axel.

Axel uses his free hand to count. "One who is Olivia all-alone. Two who is two, one and one, together. One and a half?" He blinks confusedly, rather as if the math broke something in his head. He shakes himself, puffing what feathers he has out, and then resumes focusing on food. "Meat," he declares, perhaps the simple realization of a simple thing helps his focus. He reaches over and picks up a slice.

Olivia puts the plate on the floor and hands Axel another stray scrap of cloth. "You can use this to wipe your face if you get any food on it," she explains.

Axel looks at the bread in his hands, looks at the meat, then looks at the napkin. Something has to give. He carefully puts the half eaten roll in his lap before accepting the napkin. At least he doesn't try to eat it. He does try the meat, though. It gives him a peculiar expression which relaxes quickly. "You're nice, Olivia," he says after a moment of nibbling.

The insides of the Skeek's ears turn slightly pink at this. "Thank you," she says simply. Then she scratches the back of her neck for an uncomfortable moment while deciding what to say next. "So, um, were you born with those bright wings of yours, or did something happen to you later? I'd always thought that humans didn't have such things as fur or wings, either. If that's not too much of a personal question?"

Axel studies the reddening Olivia curiously until she asks her question, then he studies his own wings with the same curious expression. After nibbling a bit more meat and studying them a bit he answers, "I should have wings … because I am a bird … but I'm not … a bird … even though … I am." He blinks, frowns, and tries again. "They are … were … from … " His brow narrows, and his concentration causes the slice of meat to almost slide form his hand. "The … time after before, the … together time. When I was born? Again? Again, twice, and once."

Olivia looks at Axel in a puzzled way. "So you got them when you met the you who isn't you, and were born again? Hmm, I didn't know such things ended in wings, but then I haven't been out of Stonebarrow, either. Maybe the you who isn't you is magical! That might explain how your wings just, er, occurred."

"Magical?" He thinks seems to think on that, too. "Magical. Magical. Supernatural. Ghosts, spirits, were-creatures, possession. Magical. Ghosts? Spirits, were-creatures, possession. No. Yes. Maybe? Maybe: magical possession." He nods. "The gypsy leader – magic gypsy leader? – and the pointy hat woman said I am possessed." He nods again. "Possessed, and possessed of wings. But which is the me that possesses and which is the possessed?" Then he takes a bite and chews thoughtfully.

Olivia raises an eyebrow at the last question. "That does seem to be the conundrum, doesn't it?" she says dryly. "So both Isolde and Madam Natasha think you're possessed, hmm? I do remember Isolde saying something about spirits wandering around and creating ripples. Perhaps one of you is possessed by such a spirit. Yet if so, then the question becomes, why choose to possess you?"

"Why me?" The man rolls his eyes such that upwards, towards his forehead, rather as if he were trying to look in his own mind. His eyes close and he rocks from side to side gently, meat slice swaying in his hand. "Why, why, why," he repeats as a mantra. "Because," he answers himself uncertainly, " … because I was there." His eyes open and he repeats, "Because I was there."

"Wait, that's not it," Axel says suddenly.

The man focuses again, looking inward. "Not it. Not all of it. I was there and I was … " he waves a hand at you vaguely, " … needing. There." His eyes open.

"You needed something and a spirit possessed you?" Olivia asks, trying to clarify. "So, where were you then? I'm guessing it was at the place where the violence occurred. This… war you talked about?"

Axel looks around the room searchingly as he speaks. "The war? War, was that what it was? I don't like to remember." He shudders, then hugs himself – meat and all. His wings, too, wrap around him as he seems to shrink from the memory. "I was … lonely … and I was … in need." His brows narrow in focus, and he rocks back and forth a little as he simultaneously huddles and thinks. "My memories are … not there. They are … " His searching gaze lands on a tattered garment, and he nods towards it. "Broken."

Olivia thinks this over. "Well, it's not unheard of to bury the memories of traumatic events deep in one's mind," she murmurs, more to herself than anyone. In a slightly louder voice, she adds, "Still, as I've said before, bad memories have a way of coming back at you, regardless. I just wish I knew more about this spirit that lies within you, if spirit it be. Isolde seems to believe that, anyway, from what she's said."

"Want to know more? Don't you know? We're talking, Olivia all-alone," says Axel. His wings loosen and he lets them slide back. That meat slice clutched to his arm, though, that'll have to go. "Me, and me, both together. I wonder now which is me, Olivia, and which is the other me. Sometimes I know. Sometimes I can't tell. Even then I'm not sure which one I am at the moment. I wanted to be mad when I knew, but I was also sad. Sad at me. Mad at me." He shrugs a little, then seems to notice the meat. He frowns and puts it down.

Olivia seems taken aback at Axel's outburst. "All right," she says finally. "I don't know how much good it'll do me to ask directly, since you seem to be confused about a fair number of things, but here goes: what spirit has possessed you? Can you name it? Can it show itself?"

Axel gives you a funny look as if you were the crazy one. "Can you tell who is who in me, Olivia? Which is one part, which is another? Which was one apart, and one apart from the other? I don't think I can," he answers patiently. His expression becomes slightly worried and he quickly continues, perhaps fearing he'll upset the woman. "I'm sorry Olivia."

Olivia sighs, long and heavily. "About what I expected," she mutters, "but I had to try." Then she looks back at the winged man and says as gently as she can, "I can't tell your one self from the other without some help, Axel. That's why I'm asking so many questions. Perhaps I should ask someone else? Such as the magic gypsy you mentioned." She digs into the basket and looks around for the jerky now. "So… are you still hungry, or should we go ahead and measure you for clothes?"

Axel eyes the jerky. "Can I eat while you measure? The string makes me hungry," he admits. Then he blinks. "I don't know why."

Measuring Axel turns out to be tricky, but not, perhaps, more than is expected. At several points while being measured the bird-man becomes fascinated by the string, clutching it, then admitting to being uncertain why he wanted to horde it at all. He even giggles when you measure just below his wings. THAT took several tries until he could stop squirming. Eventually though the deed gets done, and the two stand now wondering what next to do.

Olivia goes to her desk and searches for a clean-ish scrap of paper on which to write Axel's measurements. As she scribbles, she says, "Well, that's finally done. And now that I have an idea of what your favorite colors are, too, I can make you a replacement set of clothes." She eyes his dirty and worn ones. "I'm afraid what you have on is just this side of decent. If I take you into town at any point, you'll need this new set."

"Towns are full of people," Axel says pleasantly. "I like people, even if I'm not sure they like me. It would be nice to meet more, and thank you for your clothing so that I may do so." He smiles, then ducks his head politely. "Where am I anyway?"

"A little place called Stonebarrow," Olivia replies. "No other humans here, unfortunately, so you may get a lot of stares. And, uh, try to keep away from the otters if possible. If you're confused now, you'll be extra-confused and probably out of all your money by the time you've finished talking to them!"

Axel turns and looks towards a window. "Stonebarrow. I see. Otters. I don't see, but will be careful. I never knew otters were so dangerous. Otters from … ," his brow crinkles, " … north, somewhere. Lots of buildings. Lots of people. But distant, distant people. Like islands far away from me. It was different in the south before they left me. Be-" The man's sentence is broken by a sudden, large yawn. He suddenly just sits right down on the floor. "I'm tired and my wings feel funny."

Olivia grins. "It has been a long day, hasn't it? All right, let me get a cot out of the storerooms. Once I fit it up with blankets and pillows, you'll be all set." She goes to the door, then turns with one hand on the doorknob. "Just, um, don't fall asleep until I get back, okay? It'd be kinda hard to lift you if you went limp on me!" Then she goes out.

---

The nice thing about half-starved, half-exhausted guests is that they sleep very soundly after being fed. Axel barely stirred throughout the night and morning, much to Olivia's relief. The constant interruptions as fellow Weavers brought in things for her to work on alongside the new set of clothes for Axel were a bit less welcome. For one thing, it didn't leave her with any excuses to go outside. It's nearly noon already, and Axel is still snoozing, when yet another knock comes at Olivia's door.

Olivia rubs her tired eyes and puts down the shirt she'd been working on for Axel. It's been giving her a few problems since its construction has to take in the fact that he has a set of oddly-shaped wings. Stretching, she goes to the door and opens it.

The few times Axel stirred during the night all seemed to be caused by his sleeping on one, or both, wings. It seems he finally got comfortable several hours ago when he rolled over to sleep flat on his stomach, wings askew, making him look like some sort of feathered shell with feet sticking out.

"Hi Olivia!" squeals the golden-furred Akwavi girl at the door. It can only be Midge Sniffler, since no other otter has fur as light and shiny. She's wearing the typical leather vest and shorts, as well. "Wow, I'm lucky to catch you in your room!"

Olivia quickly squeezes through the door and closes it so Midge can't see Axel. "Err, hi, Midge. Yeah, I've been given a lot of sit-down sewing work today so I thought I'd be more comfortable in here. Can I help you with something?"

Axel makes what sounds vaguely like a warble as he snuggles in to a pillow. It's a soothing sort of sound. Peaceful and gentle. At least he's comfortable in this situation.

Twirling her hair around one finger, Midge yammers, "Wow! Like, you won't believe this… or maybe you will, I dunno… but like, Amy Blacktail came 'round with this big hunky wolf… and I mean BIG… and said they're gonna do something special for the Market Festival thingy, like… with costumes and hostessessessess and such." Deep breath, "And she asked me if I wanted to be a Frog Maiden, and I said 'Ohmigosh, sure!' and then she asked me to find a Skeek to be one and mentioned you so here I am!"

Olivia claps one hand to her forehead. "Whoa, whoa, slow down, Midge!" she says. "Let's take this in pieces: who is this big wolf? Why is he here? And what's this about, er, hostesses for the Market Festival?" she adds, placing a slight emphasis on the correct pronunciation of the word. "It's the first I've ever heard of such for that event."

Axel stirs, then groggily rises to his knees. He stretches his wings fully against the morning tightness – and then leans over to pick up the spools of thread he knocked over. "Olivia?" he asks as he looks around, clutching the spools. "Olivia which order shou- … oh." He eyes the door curiously, then begins that way.

"Well, it's the first time we've had one," Midge says, bouncing on her heels. "Like, the poodle guy, Erik? You know him? He went to Trollhaven and talked up our regular market day into something big, and like, people are coming for it from out of town!" she says, putting a conspiratorial tone on the last words. "So like, it's going to be a festival instead, and the Frog Princess is going to be paraded around or something, and that's Amy you know, and she decided that maybe there should be maidens from like all other races here since only a Kadie gets to be Princess and it's not really fair. And we'll have these cute outfits too!"

Olivia eyes Midge with a mixture of disbelief and suspicion. "Um, outfits?" she asks. "What kind of outfits?"

The bird-man pauses at the door and stares at it groggily. "Hello? Erik? A Festival? I don't know about that, door. Have you seen Olivia?" He blinks, squints, then reaches out and prods the door with a finger. "Hey." The door gets a suspicious one-eye glare. "You're not talking," he tells it with certainty. He carefully edges to the crack in the door, then suddenly sticks his head outside.

"Well… not really sure, but Amy promised they'd be cute," Midge says. "And we'd get to wear tea-lalalas on our heads have a flag onna stick to wave around maybe. And they'd be green."

Once she gets her breath back, Midge covers her muzzle at the sight of Axel and muffledly says, "Ohmigosh, you've got a guy in there, Olivia! Did you know? Is he your boyfriend? What happened to all of his fur?"

"… and what did you do to your ears?"

Olivia tries to wrap her head around Midge's use of 'tea-lalas' until she finally recognizes it as 'tiaras.' "Green outfits and crowns on our-?" She squeaks and breaks off to see Axel's head poking around the door. "He's not my boyfriend!" she says with a little more frustration than she had intended. "This is Axel. Isolde asked me to look after him for a few days, that's all!"

Axel blinks down at the girl, then twists to look towards Olivia questioningly. "Am I your boyfriend Olivia? What's a boyfriend? What happened to my fur? And what did you do to your ears?" he rapid fires, mimicking Midge. Then by way of greeting he tells the girl, "Hello! I'm possessed!"

"Wow, really?" Midge asks, suddenly fascinated with Axel (for at least 5 seconds anyway). "So you're a zombie or a demon or some sort of monster? That's like, so cool! Are there more like you?"

Olivia rubs her temples as Midge tries to figure that one out. "Yes, thank you, Axel," she says finally, reaching up to gently push him back inside the room. "I'll be right back. You just stay in there while I talk to my visitor, okay?" Then she shuts the door firmly.

The rapid Midge seems to draw Axel's attention away from his questions just as he draws the Sniffler's. "I might be! I'm not sure! It's hard to tell sometime wi- " he keeps talking as he's pushed back, and his voice trails off as he vanishes inside, "withallthegoingsonandsuchandbye!"

"You know, you better not let Gunther see this little gathering. It looks like you do have a horde," comes the familiar voice (to Olivia, anyway) of Zhanrad from the side. "And apparently, you have a guy. Never thought you were that type, Olivia… " Today Zhanrad looks very … white. Either he's been sanding the white object he's holding or he's had a fight with a demonic baker. In Stonebarrow, you can never be too sure…

"Ohmigosh!" Midge says, seeing Zahn. "Like, you should see the witches about that, before all your skin flakes off or something! Like… like… wow, maybe that's what happened to Olivia's half-naked monster-guy! It could be spreading!"

Olivia just stares at the white-covered Zahnrad, too stunned to answer any of his questions. "What happened to you?" she asks incredulously.

"It's dark in here and there aren.t any people to talk to Olivia," Axel says from inside. "Can I see the people? You have more people? Olllivia."

"I've been working, of course. Finishing up the repairs on Doctor Pike's sound thing. I had to sand down the chalk-resin paste I out on it yesterday to smooth out the fabric-repairs I used to piece it back together," Zahnrad says, looking between Midge and Olivia with an odd expression. "Then I decided it looked bad all white and blotchy. Figured you could paint it." He holds up the repaired horn. Sure enough, it's sort of a mottled white and gray blotchy mess … but it's very smooth at least. And, hello Midge."

Olivia turns back to the door and says, "Light a candle if you have to, Axel! Just don't burn my room down!"

Olivia ohs! and takes the horn from Zahn, looking it over. "Sure! What color would you want it to be, though? I know you wouldn't trust me to pick it out," she teases.

Suddenly, midge thrusts her arm and points at Zahn's nose. "I know you! You run the otterpult up at the dam! I had a crush on you when I was twelve! You're Jean Rad!"

There's some noise form inside, rattling, shaking, then a sudden thump and a fluttering of wings. Suddenly Axel calls, "My finger is on fire Olivia!"

Zahn sticks out his tongue at Olivia, then is promptly looking cross-eyed at the finger pointing at his nose. "Er, what, huh? You, where, who? My name is Zahnrad, not Jea… " he says, then looks at Olivia's door. "Olivia, are you sure it's wise to have whatever it is in your room?"

Olivia arrrghs and says to Midge and Zahn, "We'd better talk inside before Axel kills himself!" Then she opens the door and hurries in to see if the bird-man really has set himself on fire…

Sure enough Axel is on fire, or at least his finger is. It smolders at the tip of his right pointer finger while the man stares at it cross-eyed in a mix of fascination and horror. Beside him on a table sits a candle and a closed box of matches. He says, "You know I think I can learn a lot from this."

Olivia looks from the matches to Axel's finger and then back again. In astonishment, she asks, "How did you hurt your finger without striking a match?"

Axel scratches his head at the question. "It's not supposed to do that?" Unfortunately he scratched his head with the flaming finger, so now he has specks of flaming hair, too. He looks up briefly to try and see it, he certainly must feel it then, but is quickly distracted by the newcomers. "Hi! I'm Axel Nadyenka. I'm possessed. Olivia is nice."

Zahnrad peeks around the door at the two inside. "You know, the idea about golem wings is probably a bad idea," Zahnrad says as he spies Axel. "Yes, a very bad idea. What did you do to that poor thing, Olivia?"

"She made him sleep on a cot, see!" Midge says, poking in around Zahn and pointing.

"I didn't do anything to him," the Skeek snaps at Zahn, reaching for the basin of water on her dresser so that she can clean Axel's burned finger. "He was like this when I met him! And he's not my boyfriend! Isolde just asked me to look after him for a few days. Apparently he's got something to do with witch business. Although why I got asked to take care of him is still a mystery to me… "

Zahnrad, in his usual attention switching fashion, remembers what Midge said a few moments earlier and looks back at her. "And wait a moment, you said you had a crush on me?" he asks suspiciously.

"Well, yeah, for nearly that whole afternoon," Midge says, meeting Zahnrad's eyes. "Emmett said he could get you into the water for a favor, but I was starting to get hungry then and forgot about it until now."

Zahnrad looks at Midge funny. "Get me into the water? Why?" he asks, then shakes his head. Otters are strange.

Olivia takes one look at Axel's sparking hair and does the first thing that comes to her mind. She dumps the whole basin of water over his head! "There," she says in a tight, exasperated voice. "Now it's out."

"Now I'm wet," Axel declares sadly. His feathers largely repel the water but the rest of him isn't so lucky. He stands there, soaked, and folds his hands behind his back. "This happens a lot," he mentions wonderingly. "Is this a custom? Are you a gypsy Olivia?"

Olivia puts the basin back on the dresser and gets a bit of the softest cloth she can find to wind around Axel's finger. "Well, I've been told I should be one because of the way I dress," she says to him, treating his burn as best she can while standing in a puddle of water.

"That's why, see!" Midge explains to Zhan, pointing at the now wet Axel. "But anyway, do you want to be a Frog Maiden, Olivia? Cuz otherwise I gotta go ask Heather Cartwright, on account of she's tall."

Zahnrad runs his hands through his hair and sends a cloud of white dust everywhere. And people think he's strange? "Anyway! Back to why I'm here, the sound horn. Maybe something girly, like pink. You remember seeing the weird clothes she had on her clothesline, right? Or, well, I'm not sure you have time. Just loan me your painting supplies and I'll do it," Zahnrad remarks.

Olivia now gives Zahnrad a look of absolute horror. "Let you use my paints in that shop of yours? No way! They'd probably get blown up or something. I'll paint it later this evening, when I finish Axel's new clothes. I think I'll have enough time… "

Zahnrad looks skeptical. "Well, all right. But I need to return it pretty soon. I want all the things I've done for her completed before the Market Day. Since everyone will be occupied with that, I'll have quiet time to work on my engine design. I don't want anything hanging over my head," he says.

Axel watches Olivia administer to his finger with the same curiosity he gave the strangers or his finger when it was on fire. "A Frog Princess Olivia? You should be a Frog Maiden. It sounds like fun. I like fun, and so did they, it makes people glad. I remember the gladness." Then he frowns. "Would you have to marry the Frog King? Or a Frog Lord."

To Midge, Olivia says, "Well, I guess I'll be a Frog Maiden, if only for Amy's sake. But she is going to owe me one HUGE favor for this!" Then she notices that Axel's finger isn't even hurt at all. Eyeing the bird-man, she remarks, "There is certainly more to you than spirit-possession, I think. Is there any profit in asking how you're not even singed?"

Axel answers Olivia with, "It wasn't very hot fire."

"Ask him if he bathes in the blood of virgins to make his wings all red like that," Midge suggests, clearly thinking an answer of 'yes' would make the bird-man even cooler.

"Well, I'll let Amy know you.ll be a frog maiden then, Olivia!" Midge says. "And it was nice to meet you, mister monster, but I need to hurry home for lunch or all the clams will be gone! Good luck with your funny hat thing, Mr. Rad!"

Axel shifts his attention to the girl, and answers, "The blood of virgins? That's disturbing. I don't like blood. Bye!" He flexes his finger which is, indeed, not hurt. It does look a little sooty though. Then he seems to get an idea, for he suddenly brightens. "Can I go to Market Day Olivia? I'll be a Frog Maiden, unless you have another me."

Olivia looks relieved to have to deal with one less person right now. "Bye, Midge! Tell Amy she owes me one!"

Zahnrad looks at Midge again, then shakes his head. "You are really strange. Really, really, strange," he says flatly. "Anyway, you tell Emmett to stay out of my stuff and business, eh?"

"Okay!" Midge says as she scoots out the door. Not once during the encounter was the otter ever still.

"I think you'll have to come with me, Axel," the Skeek says. "I won't be able to keep an eye on you otherwise. Although how I'm supposed to do that when I have to be this Frog Maiden thingie, I dunno… "

"I could have Deirdre tie him up," Zahnrad offers. "It would take him a month to get undone."

"That is a problem," Axel agrees with an air of someone who has no idea what he's talking about. He frowns at being tied up. "Don't tie me up Olivia!"

Olivia grins at this. "While that is an amusing offer, I don't think Axel or Isolde would like that! Hmm, I may have to get Amy to help me watch him during the festival. She does owe me now, after all! And two pairs of eyes are definitely better than one."

"All right. Well, I think I'm heading to the springs to get a bath. I'm tired of looking like a baker," Zahnrad remarks and shakes his tail. Olivia's room gets treated to another cloud of white dust.

Axel smiles at not being tied up, and he flutters his wings causing the feathers to poof slightly. "Do I get a costume? What's a frog?" His eyes watched the white dust fall. With a hand he wafts the dust around and grins amusedly.

Olivia wrinkles her nose in disgust at all the white stuff now floating around her room. "You do that," she agrees. "And I'll get back to finishing this shirt of Axel's so I can paint the sound horn later. Thank goodness the pants and sash were easy to make!"

"Right. And Olivia … that thing really isn't your type, you know," Zahnrad says, then grins, winks, and runs out the door. He leaves a nice trail of white dust in his wake.

Olivia coughs on all the dust and calls after him, "I will get you for that, Zahnrad Kettenrad!"

"Bye," calls Axel after the fleeing man. He waves a wing much like you might wave a hand, and it, too, causes dust to go everywhere. To the irate Olivia he says, "It's good to be in a town again. Familiar." He blinks at her irritated face and offers, "I can … sweep?"