Oasis

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Even with adrenaline it was unlikely Ratty could have caught up, there was only so much adrenaline could do when you'd magically converted all your strength and energy into magic and thrown it at some people, though it might have let them get a bit closer and traumatise Edric even further, alas he was only likely to have one or two more nightmares about a large oddly intelligent rodent chasing him through the forests after knocking out a bunch of guards, at least he was pretty sure Ratty did that, in the brief time he knew Lizzy she didn't seem capable of any sort of magic in that vein, she was much more of a combat archetype, as he had witnessed VERY clearly when she set the boss on fire... Not that he even missed the asshole, just his coin really.

The leaf had a slight bitter taste, especially as it was chewed and whatever was in it was released, but seemed to be helping, making Ratty feel less drained and exhausted, no a complete recovery by far, but it was certainly a good start, was kinda even tasty when you started to get used to it, hopefully Lizzy had more on her since it seemed Ratty currently couldn't perform much magic without running out, their body was just not big enough to handle as much magic as such spells really needed to work properly, or to deal with the backlash of overcasting by so much, maybe in future there would be ways to cast it more efficiently? Perhaps a slower working alternative or thinner net.

Eventually Pearl seemed to wake back up, having also been invigorated by the leaf's magical properties, and was at first quiet before radiating apologetic feelings, it genuinely seemed to feel bad for overusing magic like that, having acted on instinct to attempt to aid Ratty in capturing the target, only to let him get away with ease, carrying whatever he'd stolen from the village AND knowledge that both Lizzy and Ratty were alive and active, though at least he was unlikely to be able to do anything about it for now, his companion was too ill to travel it seemed, and he was certainly not going to be able to go back to that specific village and report them as killers and an escaped slave... If he even wanted to report them that is, he hadn't seemed very torn up about abandoning his former boss even if he WAS drunk before, and hadn't attempted to extract any sort of revenge though that could have just been overriden by his desperation to get away.

Soon there was a quiet crunching sound as someone approached, crushing the growth underfoot, it looked like one of the town guards.
"Damn... Bastard got away, idiots were too busy watching you, we didn't even notice the bastard was a mage, nevermind that he wanted to steal stuff".
Their voice was a bit odd sounding through their helmet, they were the only one with proper full armour, possibly a retired soldier... Whatever that was.
"You alright there? You got closer to catching the bastard than anyone else did".
The guard questioned, earning a nod from Lizzy.
"Umm... Yes... Just umm, my fri... Familiar had a fall, so we will need to rest for a while".
She answered.
"Alright, just be careful if you come back into town, some folks will be even more fidgety now".

 

[Fyrra]

Chill. We had no way of knowing 'Sleep' drains more than 'Throw Rock.' Everything is fine, for now. We need not concern ourselves with petty theft from these.... people. They invite it upon themselves. Whole situation is complicated. - The rodent shrugged off its stone's emotional outpouring with damage control, as was probably to become a regular occurrence if their experimenting with magic were to continue in tense, hostile environments. The creature yawned: magic was hard, but it was possibly like a new muscle that just needed to be exercised. Only, apart from being its own muscle, it was also every muscle, including the brain. Strange that the creature's shared thoughts with the stone were much more eloquent than its rudimentary communication with the reptile, but not unexpected: pictures and ideas were easier than words, and the same must have held true for raw thoughts.


The clanging of metal drew the creature to its feet, and it watched the newcomer with trepidation: this armor was more solid, and much louder than what the other guards wore. It could almost be frightening, if the rodent wasn't sure it could outpace this person now. The armored figure's explanation gave the creature even further pause: never mind that some of the facts didn't line up with what happened, but was this a warning? Possibly even a well-meaning warning, with no intent of a threat? The creature stood up on its hind legs, signing at the stranger, possibly just to see if they'd take the time to respond.

<Sentry> much fidget, Why warn? <Scales> unwelcome?

The rat's tone, if it could have one while signing to a stranger, might read as suspicious. It shouldn't have any reason to distrust a guard beyond the townspeople turning a blind eye to Lizzy being wronged or targeted for intimidation, even if that bias made sense given the rodent's perceived status of 'family,' but something else drove the rodent to be a little more wary of this person's intentions.

Is <Sentry> well? Saw two fall. <Prey> very fast, good jump.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Pearl itself was quite confused at how easily Ratty communicated with it... Especially as when it tried to do the same it failed! It felt like it was missing something, since despite knowing the words and what they meant, it was extremely difficult to force even one word into it's host's mind to get attention, clearly the correct response to this was to insist Ratty swallow more expensive shiny things, maybe one of them would help? Or at least let Pearl make Ratty stronger, which was really it's only goal at this point, making the creature hosting it nigh unstoppable was a good idea in nearly any situation where it wanted to come out unbroken.

The guard's surprise was telegraphed even through the all covering armour, something about the way their stance changed as they took in the large rodent clearly attempting to communicate with what seemed to be a consistent language that sorta made sense, though of course they had no way to know Pearl was assisting in making the movements more understandable to the human brain.
"Huh, you're a smart little critter aren't you? Truth be told, many of the people in this town whipped themselves up into an irrational hatred of scaled folk, convinced themselves that they caused all of their failings, the children and a lot of the later settlers here aren't so bad, but watch out for the older folks, not much I can do if they really decide you're bad".
They explained, before nodding slowly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, that guy must have cast some sorta sleep spell, didn't hit me too hard though".
They declared, the guard sounded honest, it seemed they really did believe that Edric had been responsible for the spell.

"Anyway, if you two wanna go back into the town, I'll put in a good word for you, that and the desire for money should keep the worst of the attitudes hidden, at least for a while".
The guard told them, before getting up to head back in the general direction of the sleeping guards, possibly to attempt to rouse them from their magical slumber, and, judging by the sound of sharp clangs and groans, was successful.

 

[Fyrra]

For a test run at establishing communication with humanity, this had gone far better than the rat could have hoped, and as the armored person spoke the creature found itself setting its distrust aside. Perhaps the feeling in the rodent's gut was wrong, and this person was not all that bad, Never mind that the creature had already grasped enough of the human thought process to deceive one of them: somehow it either had the wits to take control of an accidental meeting and turn it into an opportunity to help its friend's reputation, or dumb luck was on their side today.

In either case, the guard's words were both telling and aggravating. The rat felt like it had some sort of familiarity with this concept, but at the same time it couldn't remember what, why, or how. Even more aggravating was the inconsistency: elders were supposed to be wise and teach their young to be wise as well, yet here this person stood calling its elders irrational. They weren't wrong, but something about this seemed backwards. At least if they ever needed to return to this village, the rodent would be better prepared to navigate the social hazards.... supposedly.

The creature faced its reptilian friend, wondering what her thoughts on all this were. They could return to the village... but with everyone on edge because of a thief, and a certain somebody just making a mess in another shop, it might not be the brightest idea. But neither was going on another archaeological dig in some mysterious ruins. The rat started walking in the direction Edric had fled in, reasoning that eventually they might find some trace of either him or his companion. They couldn't have gone far, after all.

And if no trace was to be found? The pearl had pointed out a village some odd days ago, specifically when they were searching for sources of magic. That sort of place seemed a bit less dangerous than climbing a tower or touring a castle, at least for the moment.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Rodents did have history of being associated with deception and schemes, perhaps there was some truth to said claim? Some natural affinity that let Ratty intentionally or not, trick the guards around to their side, of course there was also the slight chance that the guard had just wanted to help them for some reason, but they had genuinely not noticed it was Ratty casting the magic, otherwise things might have gone vastly different, especially if they had considered the other guards to be anything like their family or friends and decided on getting a little revenge for putting them to sleep so suddenly, even if they didn't seem to have been hurt.

Lizzy seemed to notice or more likely guess what Ratty was thinking about and apparently decided some explanations were in order.
"Elders can be... Difficult, they often spend their lives learning a specific set of ideals by looking at everyone around them, and it's only when their situation changes that their children start to change, for example... A first generation mage might struggle understanding magic or trusting themselves or others to use it, but their children would almost certainly take to it".
She herself was sorta second gen, she didn't know if her biological parents had been mages, but her adoptive carer had been.

She seemed content to follow Ratty in Edric's general direction, until one thing became annoyingly clear, it was impossible to tell Edric's scent! He had been carrying so many strong smelling herbs that it sort of blended into the smells of the forest, there were a few crumbled plants here and there, but seemingly in different directions, it seemed he had some experience in not crushing plants underfoot... The trail had simply run cold it appeared, but he was clearly seeking out civilisation, perhaps the other village would be a good idea after all, of course they would need to travel for a fair while to get there, looks like they'd be camping out again, though this time Lizzy had warm clothing so would be more comfortable at night.

 

[Fyrra]

Throwing a hostile creature off one's trail was more than a mere act of survival: evidently it had social implications too, not the least of which involved outing oneself as a creature capable of communication. For a moment the rat wondered if it had made the correct choice, surprising the guard with questions: there could be no pretending to be a common animal in that village, but that ruse was out the moment the rodent consented to being dressed up in a weird cloth. The question was, at what point does an animal that communicates become capable of wielding magic, in the eyes of a person.

The reptile's explanation of people and their elders and offspring brought with it some insight, Still, the rat wasn't sure what to make of its observations. More studies were necessary, perhaps without any other motivation for a day or two. Just not here and now: there was an escaped vagrant to trail, after all. But after some searching, the creature started to give up: it had never tracked another like prey before, and was quickly becoming another example of struggling with environmental change, and this was merely a change in perspective.

Changing course, the rat traveled a few meters before stopping to explain to Lizzy. - <Prey> gone. Lose scent. Try other <sentry> nest. Remember something was there. Maybe find <prey>. After, not sure. <Castle> or <Tower>. - Her lack of commentary on it speaking with the guard had not gone unnoticed. Perhaps she was tired of singing praises about every little thing she wasn't expecting a common creature to do? Or, perhaps magic was more difficult and impressive to her, and misdirecting someone like that while she remain silent seemed a step down.

A long walk was sure to follow, and after finding a place to settle in for the night, another confusing dream.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

The question was, would a race of people who seemed to distrust, belittle and underestimate even fellow humanoids just for having different parts of scaled skin really be able to think of accusing a rat of performing magic, sure they might have believed Ratty to be a familiar, but usually any mage with a half decent familiar would have fancy robes, a retinue and most importantly, be nowhere near their little town, it was likely safe to assume that the town would not be too suspicious of Ratty, other than their association with a Lizard mage and of course being a rat-like creature anyway.

Lizzy seemed no better at catching Edric's trail, significantly worse than Ratty in fact, though to be honest that was to be expected, she knew there was some magic that could help in such tasks, but she wasn't skilled in that area of magic, no her skills were much more focused around combat magic, with a little dabbling in other little things that seemed interesting or helpful.
"Hahh... I hope Edric doesn't cause any trouble... I had no idea he was so good at moving... He seemed to always be at least slightly drunk when we were travelling together".
Lizzy commented as they gave up on following the cold trail.
"Honestly if he had still been drinking then even I could have caught his scent".

"Oh? Another town? Well... I do still need several things, hopefully it will be a more welcoming place".
Lizzy seemed more than willing to follow Ratty to another town, hopefully somewhere with some real food, as, no offense to Ratty, but random leaves and herbs were not quite enough, she craved something cooked, meat if possible, but she also lacked any sort of hunting skills, and ironically, was a terrible cook.
She had thought to comment on Ratty's conversation with the guard, but... To be honest she'd been more than a little scared at the time, she hadn't only had terrible experiences with guards, but considering that she was dressed more or less like a mage and several guards had been magically put to sleep, yeah, she hadn't expected things to go well, and by the time she was calm enough inside to speak to Ratty other things had come into focus.

Lizzy would eventually change into her newer clothes, rather than difficult to walk in robes, she wore a tunic and trousers, with a warm looking cape like garment, over all much better suited to travelling through the wild, and when they lay down to sleep she happily produced a blanket to lay on so as to lose less warmth to the ground.

 

[Fyrra]

It was a long walk, through brush and trees, but further separation only gave the creature more time to think about the humanfolk. Nothing added up about them: they were spiteful and xenophobic, but sometimes compassionate and aware of their faults. They built nests of wood and hoarded supplies, but denied others access when needed. And yet, their mannerisms were familiar somehow, as though the rodent had seen them before. It made for a more compelling thing to consider than finding possible reasons that this Edric was slower and easier to track after drinking from a river, in any case.

When the pair found their resting spot for the night, the rodent curled up under a portion of the blanket and used its cape to obscure any parts of it that might be sticking out: it was no burrow, but not being visible to a prying eye while above ground was a priority. If only that were the only hazard of nighttime.

-

The child, from the village. The masked one. It was staring. The creature reached up to its mask, pulled it off, and just as it did, the child's entire body disappeared. Cloth fell to the ground, and even melded inside of it, but the mask remain, gazing up at the rodent, who once again walked on two legs, with its one fleshy arm and another covered in fur.

Approaching the mask, the anomalous creature knelt down and picked it up. Their gazes locked for but a moment before the mask began to change shape, to something both familiar and foreign. Fur covered the mask, but the shape was not one recognized by the creature. It was brown, too: a much better camouflage for the forest than the rat's white fur. The mask loomed closer, closer still in the rodent's hands, before turning around, and when the creature pressed the strange creation against its face, the surrounding darkness vanished.

"???????, you made it!"

The creature turned toward a voice that called to it, to find another one of the two-legged people. This one had a red coat and a canine face, but dressed in the cloth of a person like the creature's reptilian friend. Looking down at its hands again, the rat noticed its own body had changed: it had brown fur, like that of its mask, webbed hands, and its tail felt like it was covered in something.

"Come on, there's so much to see!" the feminine voice called out as its bearer grasped the rat's hand, and so their adventure began. There were lots of people present, to the point of overcrowding, and many of them looked like different blends of beast and person. Humans walked among them as well, and many of the creatures had human heads. The pair traveled from room to room, table to table, where artists and storytellers plied their trade, and music filled the greater chambers. Many of these creatures held hands, and hugged on greeting.

Were these the reptile's people?

"An otter, huh?" Another voice called, this one unfamiliar. "What's your name?"

Names! Somehow the rat had forgotten it was supposed to think about names. They were for identifying specific creatures, like Lizard and Gorey and Edra. And... whoever this wolf was that held the rat's hand. It felt it should know the name itself, or even its own, but when it tried to remember, everything seemed to fade.

"???????, this is ????. He's from the rez. ????, ???????. We share some classes."

The sound of a name was so distant, so foreign. Everyone's names sounded like that, but the rodent's in particular. The wolf and her friend kept talking, but the voices grew more distant, even as the wolf's grip on the rat's hand tightened. Every now and then some words escaped the rat's mouth, but it couldn't hear or understand them over the overwhelming sense of dread that accompanied any mention of its name. Music and light faded, and it became more and more to bear, until the rodent could withstand it no longer.

"That's not my name!"

--

The rat jolted upright with a squeak, looking around. The music was gone, replaced by the bugs and creatures of the forest. The affectionate hybridized creatures were also gone, but the lizard was still here. And... the rat spoke? Like a person? But it couldn't remember what it said, why it said it, or even how. So, it tried again... and only produced another frustrated squeak. Something was not right, and the creature still had no clue as to what that could be, let alone how to fix it. Its forepaws were white again, and not the paws of a human. And, they were missing the warmth of... something.

Something important.

The rodent wanted to go for a swim, just to get its mind off whatever happened in the night, but it couldn't travel far without losing the reptile, so instead the creature crawled from its makeshift nest to nose at its friend.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

There was an odd feeling in Ratty's stomach as it awoke, a confused hard to identify feeling that was sort of like when it would eat things that were bad for it without realising as a young ratling, it certainly didn't help that for some reason Pearl attempted to communicate and only produced random colours and sounds for a minute before apparently giving up and going silent, though the feeling remained in a lesser way as the magical co inhabitant of Ratty's body spent it's time gathering it's wits to try and communicate without a repeat of... Whatever that was.

Lizzy was as ever a light sleeper and awoke seconds after Ratty began nosing at her, eyes fluttering open and flicking around as she seemed to take in the surroundings for a moment before visibly relaxing, having assured herself she was in no danger and among good company, she then sat up to do her stretching, having been curled tightly up to conserve warmth and cramping quite badly as a result.
"Morning Ratty..."
She mumbled the nickname she'd been mostly using as an internal way to refer to her friend.
"Did you rest well?... I certainly did... This blanket is a big help, I'm afraid my kind are generally used to much warmer temperatures".
Lizzy explained, feeling chatty in the morning for some reason, probably because of her dreams, whenever she dreamed darkness she generally felt lonely upon waking.

It was around this time that Pearl seemed to have regained it's wits, though the confused feeling was still there.
"Memories... Other... Weird".
It declared, having apparently been trying to piece together a basic way of speaking, though it sounded sort of familiar... Like it was using clips of memories to say things.
"Confusing lights... Host... Okay?"
It questioned, seeming genuinely concerned despite the odd, out of sync emotions of the words it used, apparently it had been party to at least some of the dream.
"Tried... Talking, be bigger useful".

 

[Fyrra]

Stomach pains. The rodent hadn't picked any fresh herbs, so it couldn't have been a bad batch. The creature curled back up, clutching its stomach while trying to weather out the indigestion, or whatever was causing the rumbles. When it closed its eyes, it heard and saw strange colors and noises.,, and when they stopped, only the confusion remain. Except, there was more of it. Reptile's informative and friendly conversation did little to help matters. The creature put its hands on top of its ears to communicate.... a headache? Not wanting to talk? Not understanding? Something.

It was happy the reptilian had slept better with her new supplies, but something was wrong. It was missing and the rat wanted to squeak out in frustration, to growl, howl, or scream, even if it held that desire down. It took several minutes for the creature to focus on its companion's small talk and take it in, but it helped... for just long enough to be rendered bewildered once more by its stone companion's attempt at speech.

Memories? - The rodent asked to confirm: it did not remember. Dreams were quick to fade, and only a vague semblance of what happened could only be recalled. The rat had its hands in the hands of another, and walked as a human, but also as a creature it had never seen before? Dancing happened? It didn't know what a dance was, and the strange sounds of music neither made sense nor matched anything the creature had ever heard in its life. So, it closed its eyes and tried harder. The creature reached into the depths of its memory, for something, anything that could make sense of this mystery.

("Hi! I'm y??? g???dian ???el!") - There was only darkness.

What?

("T?is w??ld has ??t b??? k??d ?? ??u.") - No visual. Nothing verbal, even. The thoughts were present, but not connected to anything tangible. Whatever they were, they faded quickly.

Not... okay.... - The rodent's thoughts staggered; it couldn't close whatever it had reached into. Something important was missing. It was something warm, like a piece of itself, but also not. Whatever it had grasped, it still had hold. Or, had the false memory grasped the rodent in turn? Thoughts seemed to linger on something to do with bodies, and families for some reason. Then, the dread set in.

("?? a s?fe ??ace! No ???? ?uman? or ????? ???d?tors ?? ???.")

aaaaAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Everything soon went black.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Pearl seemed to try and call up the dream to show Ratty again, but ended up just blasting them with strange indecipherable lights and sounds and sensations, it's own inability to figure out what the hell had been going on seeming to garble it's ability to share perception with Ratty, it was still very new to the whole dreaming thing after all, it's own broken memories seemed much easier to cope with than the ones it picked up from Ratty most of the time, though it would still do it's best to learn and adapt in case it proved to be useful to it's host in some way!

The sudden onrushing return of the strangeness seemed to hit Pearl like a truck, causing that panicky stomach pain feeling to return as it's ability to process information was overwhelmed and it had to attempt to shut down just to maintain it's own sanity... If a pearl could even have sanity to need maintaining that is, either way it didn't seem like it would be any serious help to Ratty in the immediate future.
Before Ratty blacked out Lizzy had gotten up, calling out something that went over their head as she ran to pick up her fallen friend, she didn't know what a magical intelligent rat passing out like that meant and so could only check they were still breathing and hold them close, assuming that warmth and whatever comfort she might provide would help the clearly distressed creature.

Pearl for it's part, managed to recover eventually, it wasn't sure how long had passed, and still felt weird, cautious, it didn't want to encounter whatever it was that Ratty had unleashed, so instead carefully reached out of the protective mental safe space it had created, a simple plain white field with a few of the memory images it had been unscrambling or deemed important laying around like paintings on a surface, and dragged Ratty in, it didn't know if it's host was still encountering the strange scary void, but was willing to risk it's own safety to drag them into the safe space!
Assuming it worked, Ratty would be seemingly alone in there, Pearl being more of a disembodied concept in it's own space, it supposed it COULD appear as a pearl, but that was a significantly limited form to put it lightly.

 

[Fyrra]

The sensation of reaching too deep into the forbidden memories had taken its toll, and perhaps even more frustrating, nothing tangible came from it. Or perhaps, nothing useful: darkness, burdens, dread, the specific feeling of having no mouth and needing to scream. The rat couldn't make sense of any of it, let alone why it felt these things, why their sensation was overwhelming to the.... touch? Plunge? Whenever the pearl pulled it free from its own grasp, the rodent shared its physical state with that of its mental: collapsed, breathing lightly. It could only take in the sight of the calming field for a moment before opening its eyes and waking, but in that moment it shared its findings, if they could be called that.

What is a memory? If it is not this rat's memory, why does it feel? That place makes no sense, but underneath the metal creatures screaming and darkness, there is yet warmth. Under the bright lights, there is yet Moon. Boxes hum and spark. Everything lives, and also does not. Nothing there looks real, except the people. The people, in vivid detail. Organs, bones, glands, muscle, breakable joints. Cardiac valves and veins. Digestive tracts. Negative feedback s??t?ms using h??mon??. But no such depth for rat, or any other beast. Just vague indication that Rat and People are similar. Cannot understand. Is real?

With a yawn the creature stirred in Lizzy's arms, its vision of the field growing blurry, to the point that it could not be perceived. Much of what it passed on to Pearl, it had found from its first mental dive days ago: even the mere memory of those visions was daunting, but with the understanding of speech it was less so. Bits and pieces fell into place otherwise, but whatever that pool of chaos and agony was, it bore a lot of knowledge on the human body, even if its gatherings on human society contradicted what the rat had witnessed the day before.

Opening its eyes and yawning, the rat gently climbed down from its reptilian friend's arms to her pants, then jumped back to the ground. It didn't know how long it had been asleep, but going for a dive on a mere whim had likely given the prey time enough to escape further. After a few quick signs up to Lizzy to let her know it was okay, the rat shook itself awake and wobbled off in the direction of the village it had been seeking out, not as coherent as it would like to be, but hoping that the final leg of the journey would help clear up its senses.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Despite it's own fears of facing the horrors of Ratty's other memories and that strange, nonsensical world, not to mention the new and thoroughly unpleasant experience of sight, sound and smell, Pearl dutifully went through all the new information bit by bit, categorising and dissecting it, surely some of the anatomy lesson could come in handy, for combat, healing... Or perhaps further modifications to Ratty if it could find a large source of magic and a suitably complex source of transformative energy beyond what it could currently use... Of course that was unlikely so would be shelved in it's endless storage along with the million other plans it had come up with at various times, just in case it might need to or even get the chance to put any of them into some sort of action, in the mean time it focused on trying to make the dreams more coherent and studied the speech patterns, it couldn't make it's own words but it COULD borrow them.

Lizzy was clearly worried even after her friend returned to the land of the waking, but wasn't going to force them to stop walking, instead keeping an eye on her furry friend as they travelled.
It was quite a long trip, with no sign of Edric, and more than once Lizzy had to scare off a predatory animal that was wandering far away from it's usual territory, even Ratty could tell that Bull Cats were supposed to be living closer to the pools of water in clearings, where they preferred to pounce on birds that landed to drink, hopefully it was nothing that Edric had done that caused them to migrate, though at least the other rats were safely in the ruins.

By the time the village came into sight Lizzy was dead on her feet, swaying from side to side even as she picked up her pace seeing civilisation in sight, this was a different kind of place from the other town, it was somewhat larger, and many houses were up in the trees, the people were also dressed differently, with pointy ears that seemed like they'd be much more useful than the silly tiny ones that the other people had, there were also far fewer younglings running around, as well as fewer older looking ones, though one never could really tell when it came to other races, they didn't follow the same logical rules as ratkind tended to.

 

[Fyrra]

A wobbly rat could scarcely travel through these woods alone and avoid danger, but even in its hazy state the creature noticed that it was unusual to see a hunting beast straying as far as it did from the glade-ponds to cross its path here. Perhaps it was growing more brazen in its travels with the reptile, perhaps even careless; fear of death usually kept a rodent from running out into the open rather than weave through brush and branch, or at the very least rest until it could properly react to the sound of something stalking in the most obvious spot.

A thought crossed the rodent's mind. The rats had to migrate in the past, and this more recent migration was something the elders had already been considering. The reason for it had something to do with people, perhaps? Not once before had the rodent stopped to consider that other creatures of the forest were affected by this. Something dangerous must have made its nest in the nearest glade-pond, to spook the cats away. It might be worth investigating.... later.

For now, the duo walked among what looked to be Tree People, if not of a literal descriptor, but the rat let its companion lead while it observed their surroundings. That this village lacked the busy atmosphere of the other gave it a more relaxing presence, but the rodent had already learned that the nature of people was a many-faceted crystal, and that not all facets of said stone glimmered with promise. Once more, the creature contemplated: was it better to play a simple creature, or to be upfront with people here? Were these people similar to those of the previous village, with helpful young and unashamedly curt elders? And, perhaps most importantly, what drove the rat to seek this place out days ago?

This search could call for discarding the cape.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Upon closer inspection the town seemed almost split between two different styles, within the center of the town was where the split was most clear, with some houses being up in trees, made wholly from what seemed like a mix of naturally grown structures and wood if different types and cut sizes, as if it was from whatever could be found rather than by felling trees, and others were much more like the ones in the human town, bar a few carved additions and slightly different roof structure, but as one looked further out the styles seemed to meld somewhat, with the structural styles becoming mixed, and even some houses seeming to have floors both in trees and among the roots of said trees, using much more stone held in place by natural looking growth, clearly the town had been there long enough for it's two apparently separate cultures to begin merging.
The style was also on show among the inhabitants, the long eared, tall folk of the town having different outfits, the older ones bearing the same kind of stylistic split as the buildings, with the youth having much more mixed apparel, mostly seeming to take the more ornate elements and adding them on top of human looking garb.
And notably of course, the town was much larger than Pearl's memory had suggested, though the center of the town was almost exactly the same, so it was definitely the same place.

As they reached the perimeter a casually dressed elven man approached them, or rather, leapt down from atop a tree branch, landing from the certainly dangerous height as if merely jumping down a single step.
"Ho travelers! Rare to see a Scion of the Serpent in these woods, and a mage at that, what business do you have here? I will warn you now, cause trouble and you will feel regret quicker than you realise".
He greeted them, staying chipper with a light tone even as he delivered the threat.
Lizzy actually turned to look at Ratty, as if expecting them to speak, she was a follower after all, while she could certainly think of some things that she'd like to acquire in this town, Ratty was the leader, a fact she no longer felt embarrassed about.

 

[Fyrra]

A society of two different types of people, this was. For a mere moment the rat regretted its decision to explore the ruined temple before coming here, but only for a moment: that journey served its purpose, and possibly prevented a tragedy that could have occurred today, but this was somewhat mystifying: to think that even people could set aside their differences and learn to live together. Perhaps ratkind could do the same? After all, this one had forged a strange partnership with a reptile already.

The creature jumped up when it felt the ground quake! The sudden tremor brought with it a person, but as this person drew neither axe nor... other metal thing, the startled rodent neither fled nor hid behind its companion. Rather, it looked up at the high branch, then down to the ground again, as though to measure just how far this person could leap without facing harm. The creature could find many purposes for being able to jump like that without danger. But, with another glance between this person and the lizard, even after the greeting and threat, it was becoming apparent that the reptile expected her wobbly companion to speak. So much for the original plan.

But, how to respond to a threat with words? The rat pondered for an uncomfortable amount of time, noticing a certain reverence toward nature in the architecture, before signing up at the man. After all, if the human could decipher a rat's motions, then this fellow could as well.

<Sentry> is not the first to threaten <squeak>, and will not be the last. Much is wrong with <Forest>. <Horns> not where <Horns> nest. Something frighten them away maybe. Need <investigate>, but tired. <Scales> need <trade>....

The creature stopped. It wasn't paying attention in the tailor's hoard of cloth, so it didn't know the word for that tiny metal thing she carried for trading. Looking at her, then back at the sentry, it tapped at its head.

<Scales> need <trade> THING for OTHER THING. But also <rest>. Other <village> rude, cause trouble. <Squeak> have enough trouble without <people> making more. Is <village> trouble? Does <village> invite <regret>? Or is safe for <Scales> and <Squeak>?

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Despite their differing styles in building and clothing, it did seem that all of the inhabitants of the town had pointy ears and a greater height than the humans had, though some had varying levels of ear and height length, maybe it was like the size and coloring differences among ratkind? It at least did not seem to change how they interacted with each other.
Perhaps it was easier for two groups of people to get along if something as basic as their race was the same, after all, it would no doubt be easier for Ratty to get along with another rat who happened to build their burrows in a different way than it would be to get along with something like a Bull Cat, even disregarding that a bull cat might be liable to eat a stray rat if it felt like it had the upper hand.

It seemed the elven man could fall at least twice as far as a human without obvious harm, they were certainly built different, though that was obvious at just a look, as despite technically having more similarities to a human that say, Lizzy for example, they somehow looked even less human, the term 'uncanny valley' seemed to make an appearance in Ratty's mind before slipping away just as quickly as Pearl failed to make it stick on it's own.

It seemed Ratty's guess was correct and the elven man could wholly understand them, possibly better than Lizzy judging by his intent look and slow nodding, the question now was whether it was an elven trait or something like a skill that he happened to be better at than many other people? Logic pointed towards the second but it could just as easily be the second or even a combination of the two.
"I see... I know not why an outsider mage and their... Companion, would be interested in the goings on of the local area... But then again, it's not my duty to know, you say you are here for rest and trade and therefore you are welcome, Tarkhal Enial is open to you".
He declared, stepping aside in a purely symbolic fashion, after all he wasn't even directly blocking them.
"I will say however, the Elder saw you while scrying, and seemed to take an interest, she has invited you to her home, and while she would not force you, I do suggest you go when you have the time".

 

[Fyrra]

This sentry was a strange one, the rat decided after hearing his explanations. Or lack thereof. With almost every question unanswered, the creature might well have just wandered off were its silent friend not present, but he seemed less.... curt? Less curt than the people the rodent was accustomed to, but even the sentry from the other village was helpful. It seemed like each new person encountered in their homes painted a picture less and less reminiscent of the impression That Charred Corpse imprinted upon the rodent, and these sentries were doing what the bigger rats from the nest would do to ward off danger.

They deserved a chance, and to that end the rat explained a little more to the guard: Big forest, many happenings. Might be <important>. Could affect <nest> if left alone. - It might not be his duty to know, but the rat could see no harm in telling him that much. It might even help ease the tension of their conversation, had the guard not taken it upon himself to reveal a more curious invitation.

Rather than comment upon the invitation, the rodent went back down on all fours and trotted its way further into the large town, stopping to look at its people every few houses, but never for long. When it reached the central spot that appeared to align with Pearl's memories, the creature began looking around for anything that resembled the other village's shops, or an outdoor market, and when it had a moment it turned to face the quiet reptile, signing up at her.

Strange. <Elder> watching? Might visit later. Will rest for now. Meet here after finish trade?

The rodent seemed to think this locale more habitable than the previous one, but still felt little energy for observing the local trading rituals. The people, however, looked much more stimulating for research. If the reptile looked slightly human, then these tall slendermen somehow looked less so in spite of their lack of scales. One could wonder how they spent their days.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Perhaps sentries were generally good people? That could explain why they tended to be nicer in general when compared to others such as the charred corpse or some of the people in the human village, then again, it was incredibly naïve to make an assumption like that more likely the ones that they had met so far were just the ones who truly became sentries in order to protect their people, and as such were more proactive in approaching and questioning strangers and visitors in such a relatively dangerous land, either way, it would probably pay to still be cautious, especially as some part of Ratty's psyche seemed to distrust people in such roles.

The man nodded at the given explanation, his face remaining difficult to read, it wasn't that he was not expressing, but more that his expressions were different to Lizzy or the humans that Ratty had met so far.
"I see... You are a protector of your people then, your purpose is therefore good, I do think that your goal matches that of the Elder, and even if it is unrelated... She may still desire to aid you".
The sentry seemed to appreciate and emphasise with Ratty's goal, which made sense, he was seemingly someone dedicated to protecting his people, and Ratty was more or less the same in that regard.

There were in fact shops, they were different than the human ones, both in style and in many cases inventory, but there were enough similarities to reason out their purpose as places of trade, something Lizzy seemed to realise as well, as she was already in thought, likely putting together a mental list of things to purchase with the coin she had available, elves were likely more willing to give fair prices to non humans.
"Very well, that sounds like a good idea, just... Don't wander too far? Elves do not hunt as much as humans so there may be dangerous predators around".
Lizzy warned, sure she knew how capable Ratty was, but she would still worry about her friend!

The tall folk went around their various tasks with more grace than the humans, likely having needed to develop more care in their movements due to their height, being taller and larger made it much easier to bump into things, an obvious concept even to simple animals.
They seemed to mostly ignore Ratty as well, likely being more comfortable with animals roaming around, there was even at least one Bull Cat with the sharp tips of it's horns covered round wooden things that was watching over some younglings, judging by it's large stomach, it likely was fed by the elves, after all, it was incredibly unlikely for a predator species to have members that became overweight in the wild.

 

[Fyrra]

Once again, the rodent only seemed to find more evidence that this town was a place unlike its expectations or findings with humanfolk: the sentry addressed it as though they might someone of similar status, and the people almost paid the creature no mind as they went about their business. No awkward gawking, no stares... perhaps it was the magic of wearing a cape? But then again, this sort of thing needed more testing, as did most observations and inferences when it came to people. What gave the rat pause as Lizzy left it to its own devices was the sentry's words: you are a protector of your people.

That couldn't be right.

Protectors stayed with the nest, and watched the little ones and the sick as they played or rested. Or they helped the foragers ward off predators. This rat just.... wandered away the first chance it got, to go seek out new things. Coincidence, more than anything else, helped the rest of the warren into their new nesting grounds, but, did that not make this rodent a protector, in its own weird way? The little creature still felt like it'd just left milk-feeding a few.... bunches of moons ago. But no other rat could do what this one could. Who else could frighten multiple humans, or go toe-to-toe with a giant stone sentinel? Who else could eat magic to learn it? Who else could... speak with an elder elf in the middle of their own homeland, as most likely the first of its kind to do such a thing?

The creature dug its hind-claws into the ground, clawing up a small spot of dirt out of sudden-onset anxiety. A person wanted to talk to it. A person with status among people. A person who foresaw its arrival today through some kind of magic. What an overwhelming realization. Sure, the young ratling had something strange about it, but to warrant the attention of a town elder seemed beyond plausible. What could such a person even desire, the rodent wondered?

Yet as the creature explored, it found an odd comfort in watching the tallfolk move about... as well as an uneasy presence: one of those horned felines, with a wooden contraption on its horns, and several young. The rodent dare not move close to it, but it couldn't look away. The creature was... big, yet calm, like it needn't stalk its prey. Were the rat still not reeling from its earlier foray into The Void and exhausted from its journey, it might think this bullcat to be another test of some sort. Who else could befriend a scary hunter?

...But, perhaps that was not a good idea. For now the creature merely watched those at play, while collecting any semblance of coherence it could for the meeting with the elder. The rat could go it alone, but it wasn't yet brave enough to go without the reptile by its side.