Road Trip: We Took the Right Turn at Albuquerque

    After traveling around and somehow reaching the Westelandes (which is odd cause that is where they were really trying to go), the group spends the night in an odd patch of forest, not far from Breg Epona. Other than a high-spirited meeting between Elly and some nomadic people, it has been a pretty calm voyage. Thus far.

    The sun has crested the horizon and it promises to be a normal scorcher of a day. This does not seem to trouble the baroness, though. She's dressed in gauzy, white clothing from head to toe. The Right Clothes know what they are doing.

    The weather also does not trouble a small group of wild pekos that is poking about the area around the wagon. The creatures are generally pretty skittish, but at this point they have sagely determined that the adventurers pose no immediate threat. Also they are clearly fascinated by Gwenty's dazzling styles of the day. Elly has been providing her with a new dress every day. It is perhaps an odd hobby, but it is quite fun.

    "I wonder if I can find a pair of sunglasses for her," Elly muses to herself.

Dosbox is on top of the wagon, on the lookout for any monsters. Uta is currently sleeping in the Wagon, and they have taken, in the days since the road trip (WHOO!!!) has started, to doing watch in shifts. A Dire wolf, at one point, begins its stealthy approach, intent on having a peko-feast. It suddenly is launched into the air by an Earth Pillar and howls as it briefly eclipses one of the moons before disappearing out of view into the forest. DosBox snickers to himself.

Looking down at the Baroness, and addressing her question, DosBox says, "Sunglasses are pretty easy. Add some smokiness to some glass, and you're all set. I could probably make a set if you want."

    Elly looks up to see Dosbox. She cannot help but think of him as a barrel-rider. It is all June's influence. Everything is a Tolkien moment.

    "Just add.. smoke to glass?" She sounds confused by this guidance. But, more importantly, Dosbox says he could do it. "Oh, you could? That would be wonderful! They have to be safe, though. Gwenty is a working woman, after all."

    She turns her attention back to the dire wolf. "Odd. I thought it was a cow that jumped over the moon. The dog is supposed to laugh. That dog is trying to steal bovine jobs."

    Elly has been spending a lot of time with Uta lately. It is perhaps to be expected.

Dosbox looks at the ground with a slight frown, "Well, I might not be able to make them HERE. In order to make glass, I need sand. This place is mostly dirt. I could probably pull some up from underground, but it would be more energy efficient to wait until we are near a beach. Or a desert. And it's not adding smoke literally. It's adding smokiness as a metaphorical concept. Magical crafting is different from physical crafting because you, Ah..." DosBox realizes he's getting impassioned. "Ah... So yeah. I get excited sometimes."

    Elly looks up at Dos, looks off in, well, every single direction. Past the immediate area, it is, literally, all desert.

    "So what you are saying is, if I go get you some sand from the desert we're surrounded by, you can make me sunglasses?"

    It occurs to her that Dosbox and Uta may share some characteristics. This would explain what she calls the forest-for-the-trees effect.

    "Oh, are you going to be up there for long? I think we are going to get to work on breakfast, soon."

    Indeed, about the time this is said, the fourth member of their little party returns. Tae is, for the record, Elly's adventurer wife. Over the course of the trip it has become clear that they knew each other before they got stranded here and have been married for less than a year. Tae is, fortunately, the one who is cooking breakfast. Elly can only produce cautionary tales about using fire near food rather than something with nutritional value.

    Oh, Elly can start the fire, though. Which is what she was working on. Sorry. What she was supposed to be working on and now quickly gets achieved.

    "So the area is a bit sparse on great ingredients, but I managed to get several peko eggs. So we won't be wanting for protein! And there are some lovely roots and herbs that grow in these areas."

    Flicking her menu open, Tae gets right to work. It appears that the peko eggs are going to be scrambled today. She has other food with her, which is why there will be a creative take on French toast, as well.

Dosbox blushes at the desert idea, "Well, yes but we would have to leave this small forested area is what I am saying. And I usually work with BEACH sand, so I would... Er... Yes, we could use that sand. As soon as I am off watch, I will go grab some. Heh." He looks down at the breakfast and begins to salivate, "Ah... And breakfast will have to wait too. I am not too focused when I am eating..."

    "Let the rest wait for breakfast," calls out Tae. "This is the Westelande and we're near the city. A few weak dire wolves aren't going to cause any trouble. Besides, half of this group can reduce them to a fine powder if they get too close."

    Elly would really rather not powderize doggies, but she is one of the aforementioned ash-sculptors, she supposes. Rather than do that, though, she will sit down and lazily consult on some business while the food is getting ready. Or she will try. As soon as she takes an obvious 'chim pose', Tae sets her to work. Elly is remarkably good with a knife, so she can chop like nobody's business!

    "So you want to get a makeover from Gwen, basically? Is that the plan, Dosbox?" Tae can't help but feel weird calling anyone 'box', but that's what his name is, apparently. She does her best to constrain herself to a smile and avoid giggling when she hears that.

Dosbox frowns at the idea of abandoning his post, but moreso, the urge to do what he is told wins out. Creating a small earthen stairway out of various levels of Earth Pillar, Dosbox descends to join with the Baroness and her companion, "You can call my Borywick if you prefer. It's... My character name. DosBox is my gamer tag. I don't really have that much of a preference."

The gnome runs his hands through his beard for a few seconds before continuing, "I... was trying to meet with Haru in order to become his apprentice, if he was willing. Uta... She saw me, and took me on as a charity case. I assume she saw me and decided I didn't stand a snowball's chance in Hell if I looked like... Well, what I look like. Pela, the owner of the Maid Cafe next door, gave me a letter of recommendation to see this Gwen, and Uta offered to take me there." He rubs the bridge of his nose, "I don't know where we are most of the time..."

    Tae lets Elly stay busy with her work. Which is currently chopping some kind of bright orange root and will next involve cleaning the peels of some murasaki sweet potatos. Tae is going all-out, obviously.

    "Borywick. That works. You can call me Tae, or Taeyeon. Whether here or out in the real world. Not terribly creative, I know." With casual ease, she's whisking the eggs, adding pepper, a touch of salt. A simple and clean approach. A bit of milk that they picked up in trade from the caravan and soon the magic is happening.

    "So you want to make jewelry, then? Haru is the best. I can see why you'd want to work with him." She grins, pausing to show off a hand. "He made our rings, among other things. As for right now, you are in the Westelande, near Breg Epona. It's a very formal place, you might say. And we are on serious business, I suppose. Becoming an adult is a big deal, especially here."

    

Dosbox nods twice with a weak smile, "I suppose if I knew what becoming an adult meant, I could agree. I was already working when I was a child, so when I left school, it was just... More of that. I can't really say that I noticed a difference between being a child and being an adult."

He lets out a sigh, "Yeah, Haru seems... Pretty amazing. I have heard so many great things about him since I started, and... It's starting to get a little intimidating. I mean, if he's so great, why would he give me the time of day, you know?" He gives a nearby rock a kick, which flips it over once. It doesn't really go very far. He's pretty weak.

    Tae works quite efficiently. She sinks right into the role of camp cook with total comfort. Dosbox's praise of Haru at first is met with a smile and small nodding, but eventually draws a bit of a concerned frown from her.

    "Haru is very good, of course. But he is still just one person. Don't get too caught up in the legend. He has no one else trying to be his apprentice. At least not that I've ever seen. Which means it's still possible. Be clear about exactly what you want and why, look him in the eye, and tell him in a respectful tone. It's not that hard, really."

    She has a plate ready a moment later, which is handed to Dosbox, as well as pair of chopsticks. "Here, eat your fill. An empty stomach is horrible for your confidence."

Dosbox receives the plate, creating two height-varied Earth Pillars; he sits on one and puts his plate on the other. "Looking people in the eye is... kind of hard for me. I have kind of been Pavlov'ed out of it..." He begins to eat slowly, making sure to swallow before speaking, "I can do respectful. I have had a lot of practice in that. As for what I want... Well, you're right. I have to make it clear what I am after. And having the words already in my head will make it easier to put them out there when I need to." DosBox stops eating for a little bit, being struck by a thought. He'd been talking a lot about himself lately. He hadn't necessarily been trying to steer the conversation in that direction, but it kept ending up there anyways... Why is that? He pushed the thought to the back of his head for now. Right now, he was enjoying eggs.

    Tae and Elly are used to talking about others. It helps ensure they do not end up dwelling on their own work. Which gets a bit tedious at times, honestly. New people are fascinating.

    Tae has everyone (yes, Uta too, trust the narrator) served when she settles down to eat, as well. She has no earth pillars to hold her up, but relies on a simple camp stool pulled from her inventory.

    Tae lets the silence linger for a time. Since Elly has no more cooking work to do, she is focused on her chim. Messages to relay. Most of which make not much sense at all, since half the context is missing.

    "Have you made much jewelry yet, Borywick? It would be helpful to have another person to bother when I want to get new earrings. Just simple, pretty earings. Oh, and some studs, as well."

Dosbox lets out a shy chuckle, "Believe it or not, I've made a lot of, ah, Cat-themed jewelry. I... Love cats and anything cat-related. Early on in my Elder Tale Online career, I was known as the Crazy Cat Guy because I would give away cat-themed jewelry to random Feline Cait Sith and Werecats because I wanted them to know that they were appreciated. I might have had... a bit of a reputation for a while. But yes, I have made earrings and studs before. I've gotten really good at making things in the shape of a cat's paw, but I am an all-purpose jeweler.

    "Well, we all have things we like, don't we?" replies Tae. She laughs softly and says, "I'm fond of music and dogs. My jewelry isn't inspired by these things, though. I would like some more variety in the gems, though. I've been using these diamonds since we got stuck here. Maybe I could get some sapphires or emeralds? Maybe a blue topaz. Or an aquamarine. White gold or platinum are my favorite metals."

    Not that she's making an order, exactly. But she is probing to see just what Dosbox might be up for. "It might help to show up with proof of your current abilities. Like, for instance, if you made some earrings for me."

    She laughs after a moment. She can't help it. "If you are interested in making them, anyway. I have a few gems that could be used, though."

Dosbox smiles softly, taking his hat off and giving a bow at the waist, "Well, if you don't mind ME being the one, and you have the materials, I would love to make you something. As payment for being such a wonderful conversation companion." He returns his hat to his head with a snug tug. "Do you have any specifications?"

    "Not exactly. I like modest things, generally. Simple. I wear studs in my piercings and you will notice the gems are very small. I have, quite shamelessly, been collecting these for a while, hoping to get two new sets of jewelry for myself."

    She accesses her inventory and pulls out several gemstones. One set of little green gems and another of watery, blue stones. All are, as mentioned, very small. In fact, they are easy to misplace or lose. Thankfully inventory manages that for her.

    "I have my lobes, two more cartilage piercings on the right side, and of course, this one." She taps on the right side of her nose.

    "But beyond all this work stuff, what do you like to do for fun? Surely you didn't spend the last two years just hanging around, right?"

Dosbox flinches when she mentions the last two years. "Ah, yes. Those, I spent sort of... Well, let's say I was acting as an adventure in a supporting role. I didn't have much time or capital to work on my own things." He shrugs with a guarded smile as he looks at the small gems with a critical glance, "But now I am focused on what -I- want to do with my life. I'm doing actual adventuring rather than just... ah hanging back, and I'm earning enough to start really dedicating myself to my craft." He gives a brief nod. "I think maybe a teardrop cut for the blue and a square cut for the green. We could cut down the gems to have them be a decoration to the stud or we could keep it closer to its original size and have the gem be the showcase. It really depends on if you like the look of the metal or the gem more. Do you have a preference?" DosBox asks. In his eyes, he is doing a terrible job of hiding the fact that he really thinks you should showcase the gems because GEMS!!!!!

    "I worked quite hard to get the gems to match colors in these sets, so I would much prefer that be noticed. The metal is just there to hold them, really." Tae pauses, looks down, and laughs at herself. "Apologies. That is what I think. I am not a jeweler. I simply find the gems lovely. Metal has its place. I rather like it when Elly wears a necklace made of silver. But when it comes to me, I prefer the gems to add a sparkle and in this case, a dash of color."

Dosbox looks positively relieved with Tae's decision, holding out his white-gloved hands to receive the gems, "I admit that I 100% agree with you. I have a strong fondness for gems as well. So much so that it has started having an affect on the appearance of my magic. Not that I am complaining. After all, I like gems a lot."

    "Ah, in that case, you can always trust me to prefer gems showing than metals. I am looking forward to what you do! I tend to wear round gems, but I'm curious about trying other shapes. Please select what you think will be best for me."

    In other words, she is leaving that choice in more capable hands. The craft is more than just cutting and setting gems, after all.

    A slight rise in the west wind then kicks up, forcing Tae to very carefully shield the food. It lasts just a moment, but it is enough to keep everyone's food safe from sand.

    "What is like, being in Scale Emblem? Have you been to a bunch of tower clears? You mentioned you are adventuring more now. I'm curious what you've seen."

Dosbox gives a soft smile, "At first, I didn't really think much of Scale Emblem. It kind of felt a lot like work, you know? Work Work Work, sleep, wake up again." DosBox's ears twitch. That's a bad dream now. He's not stuck there anymore...

"Lately, though, I've realized that most of the people in Scale Emblem are great people willing to help their allies with whatever they need. I guess I was... Have you ever heard the phrase, 'a frog in a well'? Since then, I've been all over the place, and that's even before Uta picked me up for this road trip. The place with the big plant was super swell. And all that fire..." DosBox does seem like he could go on about his adventures, but he seems to hesitate. "Well, it's really only been a couple of weeks since I started really exploring this world we're in, so I would say that I haven't seen a lot, but I HAVE seen more than I would have expected in this short period of time."

    "I am not familiar with the frog in the well, I'm afraid," admits Tae. "But it sounds like you've seen so much! I admit, I tend to get a bit jealous at times. There's so much out there to see! And yet... hm. I love the mountains, I love our home, and there is no bed as comfortable as my own. Ideally with my baroness curled up with me in it."

    She turns to survey the surrounding land. The desert gets a laugh from her. "I imagine the people here love this, too. Somehow. You'll never get a flake of snow here, nor even much rain. There's no waterfall. Home has everything I need and generally everyone, as well."

    "Have you faced many dangerous creatures? Since you are with Uta, I imagine you've seen plenty of slimes."

Dosbox strokes his beard pensively, "The frog in the well. It's a very popular idiom. Imagine, if you will you are a frog at the bottom of a well trying to describe the sky. From where you sit, you can only see a small portion of the sky, and to you, that is all there seems to be. However, if you were to leave the well, you could see the WHOLE sky, and understand how truly vast the world is..." DosBox gives a shrug. "It's... basically a saying to describe how sheltered people can't comprehend how vast the world is."

"Believe it or not, I can't recall Uta showing me any slimes. Why? Is she a fan?"

    Tae listens attentively to the explanation, nodding. She laughs at the thought of the whole sky being a view from the bottom of the well. It draws a sigh after she's done with the outburst.

    "Well, now we are frogs in the well, seeing only what is projected in our mind. Which I suppose is... better?" She shrugs that off. She is no philosopher. That's Elly's kind of thing. It's just as well that she's still too busy with chims to chime in on this one.

    "Regardless, here we are. And I've decided to focus on living. There's a lot of good things to be done, songs to sing, meals to cook, and wonderful company to share. Like now! Here, in the middle of a desert. It's really crazy when I think of it. I had only been to a desert once in the past. To make a music video in Morroco."

    The slime comment catches her off-guard. "Wow. She loves slimes, of course. They are her favorite monster and she really appreciates them. Elly has even contributed. And Elly is horrible with monsters."

There is a rustling sound from within the traveller's wagon.

And then another.

A few noises later, the door opens, and out steps Uta, rubbing her eyes; Hunched over, sleepy, with messy hair and still wearing slippers; fuzzy slime-themed slippers, of course, to go with her (very modest) nightie, an opaqe long-sleeved affair that covers her whole body from head to toes. Yes, it has a slime pattern too.

She stops at the threshold of the wagon, scratches her side while clicking her tongue, all while mumbling something unintelligible, carefully removes and places her slippers at the entrance, and slowly descends into the camp.

Yawn, stretch.

Dosbox goes completely silent when he hears Uta begin to rustle. After but a split second hesitation, the Earth Pillar he was sitting on launches him into the air, and a quick burst of air sends the gnome rocketing towards the wagon. Then, as if he were to collide with several invisible clouds, DosBox comes to a controlled stop right above the wagon, land ing on top in the exact spot he had been sitting when the Baroness summoned him down for breakfast. When Uta breaches the threshold of the wagon, he greets her with a cheery smile, "Selamat pagi, Uta."

    By this point, Tae has seen it all. A flying gnome is downright tame, really. She turns a smile towards Uta as she emerges and offers a little wave. "I have a plate for you, if you are hungry, Uta."

    It's Tae. She always has food for everyone. She might be able to cater an entire festival with the contents of her inventory. One never knows.

    Elly is sending off a few last chims that make entirely no sense. "Yes. Yes. No. Yes. Please go with the spriggan. Yes, I am aware. Yes, this will hopefully change that. Thank you." A brief pause, and then. "It is Elly. Yes, about that... get the beds. I will get the gold to you presently. I have someone who owes me a favor nearby and they can cover the costs and make a few more beds. Oh, and of course they can fix the leak in the roof. Oh, she does? Relay the message." A long pause, then. "Awww. That is so sweet. Tell her I will make my way there in a few days. I would be delighted to see what she made for me." Another pause. "Oh, certainly. I can manage that. Three melonpan, you said? No problem. See you in the next week or so!"

    Elly then can turn her attention back to her surroundings. She spots Uta and hops up to her feet, making her way towards the slime-enthusiast.

    "Did you sleep well, dear?"

Uta, with her eyes still squinting so hard her irises aren't even visible, produces a string of unintelligible mumbling sounds in response to everyone's greeting. Language centers still loading. Operate at your own risk.

Among the few words one can possibly discern(?), but so garbled there's plausible deniability, one can list "...mumblegrumble... ambulance siren... mumblegrumble... can gnomes go wee-woo-wee-woo-....mumblegrumble...call Asuna...mumble...sea travel...mumble Capture Siren...mumblegrumble..."

Stop.

Uta freezes in place, sniffs the air.

Her bare feet conspire to snap her to point towards wherever Tae has set down food, nose still twitching while she follows the trail of deliciousness.

"Selmat pagi...slept well... thanks...", she says, each bit likely directed to someone different. First hint that she might begin to be consciously aware of the world around her (the food sniffing might or might not be attributed to instinct). "...you folks?"

Dosbox blinks a couple of times from the top of the wagon, "Ah... I have been on watch. The whole time. No sleep for me. How about you, two?" Gnome looks to Tae and Wake, shooting a wink to the two of them. Dossy is a terrible liar.

    "Yes, Borywick has kept us safe from, ummm.." Tae looks out at the emptiness. "Well, I think he did throw a dire wolf into the sky." She will wait for Uta to take a seat (she has set down camp stools, cause of course she has them) and then give her a plate. Tae's take on french toast, with a nice hash of local vegetables, roots, and some bacon. Don't tell Gwenty about its likely source.

    Elly settles herself back near the fire, as well. She won't pile on more questions. Uta obviously needs more time to fully load up for the day. Instead of more questions, she will idly play with light magic. She makes little sparkling lights. Tae notices this, then starts to respond with bits of dancing darkness. What follows is either a competition or a dance. Or both at the same time. Whatever it is, they've done this before.

"You should.. *chomp chomp* rest a bit *chomp chomp*", Uta advises Dosbox. "Sleep is fundamental for proper Adventuring performance. It's also essential to keep the immune system in working order."

And there it comes! Visual entertainment! Uta is, predictably, easily distracted, especially in her current state. She goes silent and watches the pretty lights (and darks).

Dosbox smiles nervously, scratching the back of his neck, "Oh, it's alright. You know how it is. Stupid people don't catch colds, so I am fine." It probably had something to do with the fact that, if he gets ill, he can literally light himself on fire to burn out the illness. But he wasn't going to mention that part. It was funnier this way.

    Elly says nothing for a time. She is rather focused on this unusual take on a video game. Or chess. Or light brite. Whatever it is, it leads Tae to playfully ask, "So... usual bet?" Elly answers with a grin, "Sure."

    "Remind me again, what was the usual bet?" Tae's smirk grows as she asks this question. The darkness seems to be winning. Maybe. There are no obvious rules. "Not in front of the kids, dear," Elly replies. Whatever the rules (or the bet), the light is suddenly swirling more aggressively.

    "I sense desperation in your tactics, darling baroness," notes Tae. "You are trying to distract me," replies Elly.

    For the moment, these two are rather focused. But they are still paying attention. In fact, after that exchange, in perfect unison, they both say, "You are not stupid, Borywick!"

    "Jinx!"

    "Oh god, please do not say that.. we are not children."

Dosbox chuckles at the antics of the two love birds, letting a nostalgic smile appear on his face, "The two of you... Remind me of Momiji and Koyo... My... I suppose you could say they were my subordinates. At work. They got married just before... Well... The Apocalypse." DosBox strokes his beard, looking up at the sky pensively, "You should take that as a complement, by the way."

    "We are cute, doesn't that make you happy, Elly?"

    "I know what you are trying to do, my little songbird.... and it is going to work."

    "Always does. It's funny, it's almost like you enjoy losing."

    "I hate losing."

    "Then why are you throwing the match?"

    It is at this moment where Elly uses alternative tactics. Okay, she simply cheats. With remarkable grace and poise, she is sitting one moment, then has her wife pinned to the ground the next. The baroness sits casually bestride her wife and is leaned over her, holding her in place easily with her right hand.

    "You are so disqualified," Tae notes, smirking.

    "Maybe, but I have you right where I want you!"

    "Not in front of the chilDREN-!!"

    What follows is a silly scene where Elly (the legendary baroness, master of etiquette, orphan mom, and priestess) and her wife (former kpop star, chef extraordinaire) elevate tickle fighting to an artform. It does go on for a few minutes before a truce is called on account of breathlessness.

Dosbox's smile grows bigger as he turns his head to the side and covers his eyes with one hand, peeking between two fingers. With a flick of his hand and a spin of his finger, a steamy veil of air forms, obscuring the couple. "For the record, I am 33. I'm not, like, old, but I'm not exactly a child."

    In the end, Elly has herself settled back on one of the stools, with her lover settled comfortably in her lap. Somehow, with just a few casual strokes of her fingers, she has set right Tae's hair. A moment later and all bits of grass and dirt are gone. Elly herself just leaves her hair as it is, a rather funny mess that would suggest she has been rolling around in the hay.

    With poise restored to the land, Elly can respond to Borywick. "Well, we both have a few years on you, yet, but you are quite right, by age you are not a child. However, that alone does not tell the full story. Why not come down and chat with us? There is no normal or even uncommon monster that poses any threat. We can nearly see the city from here."

    In fact, sharp eyes might actually be able to do so, depending on the haze coming off the desert sands.

Dosbox does a lingering once over of the scenery before coming down from the top of the wagon, in the same manner as before, step by step using progressively shorter Earth Pillars. DosBox seems to have mastered this particular spell to the point of perfection, as he often uses it as a mobility aid to counter his extremely short stature

"I am coming down from the wagon for the first time tonight." He says audibly, side-eyeing Uta. DosBox is a terrible liar.

    "Well, it is morning so.. about time?"

    Tae laughs and leans back against Elly. She will add a languid stretch In a short while, though, she is consolidating plates and splitting time between feeding herself a bit more breakfast and feeding Elly, as well.

    "So other than just seeing the sights, is there some business you have in Breg Epona?" asks Tae. "Maybe you would like to stop by the orphanage while we are in the area?" It is, after all, exactly where Tae and Elly are going.

Dosbox stares blankly at Tae, then looks over to Uta expectantly, "Uh." How Eloquent.

Uta, in the meantime, has been staring in the middle distance this whole time, more or less where the epic battle between Light and Darkness was taking place, bit of food on the chopsticks still held at a short distance from her gaping mouth. She's been like this for a while.

"Wait, Songbird?", she exclaims, all at once, as focus returns to her eyes, "Anyone needs me?"

Wake may or may not know that this is Fuka's and Haru's nickname for Uta, one multiple people have come up with independently (and one that is visualized by the songbird that features in her pendant); still, Uta eventually seemed to have 'clicked' to Wake saying it out loud.

And Dosbox registers, eventually. "Oh. Hi, Borywick!", Uta smiles. And then, softer, "It's a bit scary to think that since being trapped here, we owe our lives to people keeping guard on us while we sleep...", she muses, perhaps a bit darlky, but she returns to be cheerful when she looks at Dosbox and reprises, "Thanks for keeping me safe."

Dosbox blushes with a tiny smile, "Oh stop, you." He swats at Uta's arm. Did a cloud just gently flit against Uta's arm? "You do it for me too. If I were a BETTER support, I would have made a spell already that acts as like... A watchdog or something. Sorry."

Uta looks first confused, then amused at the possible puff of Earth. "No, no, that was good. I'll try to reciprocate by doing the same while you sleep." A flick of her hand, dismissive, and this time it's Dosbox who might or might not notice a vague cloud of Darkness. Nothing serious -- just kinda like black smoke, except it's shadows instead of actual gas.

She looks up and away at Dosbox's comment. "Hmmm. Watchdog spell. Sadly Monsters need constant conscious handling, or they'll turn againt their Handler. And animals -- no, those don't count as spells. It would need to be something... automatic, so to speak? Falling under Enchanting. Hm. And, well, one cannot rely completely on those. Sure, a good magical tripwire helps, but-", she looks up and away. Tap tap tap those lips.

Silence, with the sounds of the two other women in the background.

"...where are Wake and Tae?", Uta asks.

Dosbox points at the curtain of opaque air he has created. "It's adult time." He eyebrow waggles. You know what's going on in there.

    Where indeed!

    They are still nearby. They just snuck behind the wagon. No doubt to inspect the wheels. Which apparently involves a lot of poorly-hushed laughter, giggling, and playful banter. They are married, they can do what they want!

    They would not want to cause too much of a scene. That is all, of course, relying on nobody coming to look for them.

    There is a little delay in their return. I mean, there are limits to just what shenigans they will get up with in front of the 'children'. Which is why they do come back in just a couple minutes. Thanks to the menu powers, they look immaculate. Elly is in a new outfit now. The Right Clothes have provided her with a loose, white blouse and bright blue, baggy pants. There's even a veil to keep sand from her nose and mouth.

    "Sorry, we were just getting ready for the day!"

    Tae nods quickly in agreement. She's wearing a similar outfit to Elly's, which is really more a matter of chance than anything else. But her pants and veil are a pale green color.

    "Yep, a little bit of menu bathing, getting dressed, the usual things we start our days with."

    Yes, the innocent expressions are totally sus.

"Adult time? What do yo-"

And that is when Elly and Tae return, and give their own version of what transpired.

"Oh, -that- kind of adult time. Getting ready. Doing boring productive things."

Silence.

Look down.

"...Yeah, I should probably get ready for the day as well..."

She finishes her breakfast, quickly, wipes her face, stands up, and, grabbing the sides of her nightie, shakes any crumbs that might be left over off her night clothes.

"Let's see... hmmm..."

She flicks her menu open, and once again, stares. "Let's see...", flick, flick, flick, flick.

Seems like she's scrolling through a -lot- of entries in her inventory. Is her wardrobe -that- varied?

"...where did the day clothes go? I thought they were under the Cool Monster Shells. Hm. Is it under the Rat Pelts? Hmmm.... Shiny Piece of Glass... Thing I Was Given for the Winter Festival But I Don't Know What It Is... Uh... Ear Fish? How did this end up in here? Living things can't even get into the inventory! Must be a statuette or something... let's see..."

Dosbox has his own head canon as to what happened behind the wagon, and he does not let silly things like facts get in the way. He continues to eyebrow waggle. He gives the two of them finger guns. "Nice."

    Tae and Elly show no signs of being the least bit embarassed about their personal time. If there is some mystery to whether or not they enjoy private time together, well.

    "Adult time. I suppose that this is referring to what Elly and I do when we sneak off for a while at night, or in the morning, or whenever we feel like."

    Tae shrugs it off and simply fills in the blanks. "Normally it's just a bunch of kissing. As for the rest, if you need me to tell you more, we can do that in private. I can even sketch diagrams if desired."

    Elly nods helpfully. "Tae does know her way around an anatomically-correct sketch!" This is declared as she starts picking up the camp stools and sending them off to inventory. A moment later and Tae and Elly are cleaning pans and plates.

    "So as we were previously inquiring before we so rudely interrupted ourselves... was there anything you wanted to do in Breg Epona? We are here for the orphans, and we would be happy to have company. There are some other things to do, of course, but we have been here several times." Elly's tone is light, emphasizing that there is, of course, no pressure to tag along with them on their business. "If you do join us, be ready to play with a few dozen Lander children. They like tag, hide and go seek, and stories. Age appropriate ones, of course. The older kids are learning various crafts, so they might pull you aside to find out what your skills are."

Uta is startled at the mention of what the Baroness intends with 'Adult Time'. Armflailing and blushing ensue, of course, and she returns to focus on her inventory. It takes a bit longer, but soon her nightie shimmers away, to be replaced by her daily MMORPG-flavored outfit, white with black trimmings, with hints of 'nurse's uniform' (especially in the cap) and 'martial artist's gi'.

"I would of course -love- to visit the orphans!", Uta beams. "And I would -love- to teach people skills." Another moment of silence, then she taps her lips and looks away. "I might even go help with a quest or two..." She turns to Wake, distracted. "You've heard that the monster ants are interfering with the Sher-Kar, the Coming of Age ceremony, right? They're making it too dangerous. The Hunter's Guild has a quest to take care of them. Maybe it would be wise to do something for our future adults."

And that said, she snaps her fingers. "Oh, yeah! Also- shopping!", Uta beams. "There's still that yurt you promised me. Yurts are pretty common in Westelande, it should be relatively easy to find someone who sells them?"

Dosbox frowns, "Those ants are STILL giving people problems? I am totally down for some bug squashing!" He makes a couple stomps on the ground. It looks very ineffective, and probably would not kill a fly, but it's the thought that counts.

    "Well, let's get you that yurt, then!" Elly exclaims. Shopping is fun.

    "It will really go well with your nomadic lifestyle. And the merchants will be happy to show you how to pack and unpack it." Because she'll pay them to do so, of course. Plus, it's Elly. If she even steps into a Lander market the merchants fall over themselves trying to get her attention.

    Tae has taken over camp disassembly. Fire put out, supplies gathered, food scraps properly disposed of, etc. She knows what she's doing, it seems. "Camping is pretty fun," she mentions to no one in particular.

    "So, what yurt telling me is we need to pick up a portable house for Uta? Then we can go meet the orphans. Some of whom probably already know all about yurt new tent." She could stop. But would you really want her to?