ORIGIN - lets go walkin

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More coin for more meals. Capitalism. Work is exchanged for food and goods, the food is consumed, and then it's back to work. Lichen was started to think it'd be easier to skip the middle man and just hunt their own food again; but it brought joy, especially to Aurelle. And, she had to begrudgingly admit, the food was good.

Aurelle had purchased her a set of bags that slung over her back. Each pouch hung at either of her sides, connected over her back with a strap. Lichen couldn't exactly reach the pouches herself, but that's why she had a friend who had hands and thumbs.

"Whole rats and dinosaur shanks," Lichen puffed, "I can't imagine what Bartholomew could be making with all this. What were the others?" She furrows her brows, not that her companion would be able to see her confusion.

"And where are we going?" Lichen remembers to ask, tilting her head to and fro as she tries to hone in on her companion's location, feelers extending into the air without any real direction.

She'd still refused to speak to Bartholomew, naturally, so she hadn't been filled in on the details of this job yet, that if Aurelle had already been or not herself. Still, it would be nice to be out of Orion for a while, it was a nice place but wasn't exactly full of lush surrounds and fresh air; not like other places.

@Aurelle

Aurelle had been shopping.

She'd bought 'saddlebags' for Lichen. What a saddle was, she had no idea-- but she was told that they were very secure and could hold a lot of things in them. She'd also bought a backpack for herself, which went on over her shoulders and hung down her back.

"Four whole cave rats," Aurelle recited as she adjusted the strap down underneath Lichen's belly. "They said the dinosaur shanks are in a place called Lacerta and that it's not very close to Cepheus, though. Um... five cups of berries, two root vegetables-- I think those are potatoes and carrots --and four water crawlers. I'm not sure what those are."

Aurelle had also done some minor research on the delivery journey they were going on. Apparently, it'd be cold. "We have to drop by Irimel and get warm things," the elf said. "Ahh... boots, and a coat. They said ursa is covered in snow, and snow gets really cold and uncomfortable on feet."

She'd been barefoot her whole life, and Aurelle didn't particularly care for footwear. But if it stopped her from getting hypothermia, then she'd indulge, sure.

"We're going to a place called Cepheus," she said. "And they said that Pegasus was good for filling the bounties, too. It has deer and fruits there-- oh, we need one fruit, too." Hopefully, they could find another cherimoya somewhere out there.

Patting Lichen's rump, she asked, "how do the bags feel? Is it too tight?"

@Lichen

"Water crawler? It's a crunchy water thing." Lichen answered as if there wasn't multiple types of crunchy things living in the water. "They're nice to eat when they're big enough." She added after a pause to ponder.

Lichen blinked as her rump is patted, she gives herself an experimental shake and lo and behold, the saddlebags stayed on. "It feels strange, but I don't think I'll lose it." She murmurs, turning her head to give the packs an experimental prod with her nose.

Boots. What were boots? Something for feet, she could gleam that much, but did she also have to wear the boots? Having something on her feet sounded like a terrible sensation. "Where is this Irimel?" She asked reluctantly. A day of talking to a stranger once and also having to potentially have something on her feet; truly dreadful, nothing could be worse.

Cepheus sounded familiar, under her list of places that she'd avoid like the plague, but familiar. Pegasus sounded much more pleasant, deer and fruit were easy and didn't require talking to.

@Aurelle

Well, as long as Lichen knew what they were, Aurelle was happy enough. "We need four of the crunchy things, then," she said. "Irimel is this way, I think."

A hand on Lichen's shoulder, Aurelle led her towards one of the storefronts. Though Irimel was nice (well, cordial, mostly just pleased that at least one of them didn't walk in ass-naked) they both quickly found that they couldn't afford... well, anything. Irimel was much less cordial when they walked back out empty-handed.

"We can try Thaddius," Aurelle suggested instead; he had much cheaper items for sale, though lower quality. Aurelle got a pair of boots and a thick blanket for herself (ten coins) and went browsing to find something similar for Lichen. The elf was already quite warm as she felt around the store, humming.

Eventually, she took out a few linen scraps. "How about this?" She asked Lichen, wandering over to the dragon. "Give me your hand."

She fastened one of the scraps over Lichen's forelimbs, covering the palm of her foot. "Does that feel okay?"

@Lichen

Lichen let's herself be guided about. Over here? There'd she go. Lift this? Done. She was metaphorical putty in Aurelle's hands, more than content to be lead around and told what to do. And, for once, without any of the usual complaining that seemed to be just for show. Because despite how much she complained, she'd comply with the request anyway. The quietness from her likely had something to do with the lingering presence of people.

The unpredictable of strangers, especially when you couldn't see, always set her teeth on edge. Particularly strangers who couldn't figure out the pair were blind; there was always the worry of bumping into someone less than understanding.

Yet once she was dressed in the linen wraps, she gives the hand an experimental wriggle. "It feels like fabric." Lichen answers helpfully. Yet the dragon seemed unhindered by the wrap as she flaps the limb around, getting a feel for the covering.

"I can walk in this if they're knotted tightly." She confirms, giving the limb an experimental step, making a pleased noise when it didn't immediately slip off. "Did you find something for your feet too?"

@Aurelle

"It is fabric," Aurelle explained very helpfully. When she felt Lichen take a step, she stepped back so that the dragon didn't ram into her, letting her feel the wrapping. "I did! I have something called boots, but I don't think they'd fit on you."

She gave Lichen a light nudge with her boot-covered foot. "They're very warm. My feet are a lot softer than yours," she said. "But I think between these bits of cloth and some magic, we'll probably be okay?" It couldn't be that cold, after all. It wasn't like people commonly underestimated how old snowy areas can get and died from hypothermia.

That'd be absurd.

"I have a blanket, too," she said, brushing that wooly fabric into Lichen, too. "I'm not sure what else we could get for you to keep you warm, though. We can share the blanket if you keep your wings tucked in, maybe." It wasn't big enough for them both to be under it at the same time, but they were good at sharing, Aurelle thought.

She tapped her chin, thinking. "Or maybe we can find another blanket," she offered.

@Lichen

Lichen grunted in response, giving the limb another experimental wriggle. Clothes and blankets. Not her most favourite items in the world, but she supposed it was better than freezing.

"I see. Well, if you think we're ready." She nods once, hadn't ever been through Ursa; it never agreed with her cold-blooded sensibilities. She was however, ready to trust Aurelle and if this got them more coins to try more foods, then it would surely be worth it. After all, their last adventure hadn't been lethal. So, surely this one would be the same.

Naturally, it would be.

"How much are these items costing us? Do we have enough for another blanket?" She thought to ask, tilting her head towards Aurelle's voice. Then added, "I'm not certain a blanket will help me. I'm not warm, like you are."

@Aurelle

'No, you don't,' was how Aurelle wanted to respond to 'I see,' and frankly the restraint that she showed should have been worthy of an award. Or sainthood. Whatever that was, because Aurelle didn't know.

"My blanket cost five coins. I have..." she put a hand in her coin pouch, feeling around with a hum. "One coin left. Do you have any coins left?"

Lichen did have a point, though. Her body didn't make heat, so a blanket didn't really trap anything in there. Still, "If we get two, we can swap whenever your blanket runs out of warm," she said. "Then I take your cold blanket and heat it up again. And we just keep swapping until we're out of the cold."

It couldn't be that long of a walk, surely.

@Lichen

There's a healthy pause before Lichen slowly says, "I.. I thought you had my coins." It's not like she had pockets to keep them in, or hands. Lichen had simply assumed Aurelle had her coins and that they weren't her responsibility to look after them; perhaps she'd left them at the tavern on the table? Where she couldn't see where they were placed, like some sort of blind person.

Lichen puffs lightly before just humming a sound of agreement. "I'm sure it won't take any time at all. And it'll be warm when we're on the other side. Probably." She added, a little too nonchalantly for people about to brave Ursa. "We could run, if it's bad." She suggests, as if that were somehow a reasonable way to counter the cold.

@Aurlle

Uh oh.

Cue the frantic sound of Aurelle patting down her robes and then her backpack, until she located the missing coins in question with a relieved sigh. "I'd put them into a different pouch in my bag so that I didn't spend your half on things for me," she said. "You have sixteen coins. That should be enough for a blanket."

Aurelle let out a hum of consideration. It wasn't the physical act of trying to run through snow she was trying to consider-- it's just snow, how bad could it be? It was instead the logistics of two blind people sprinting. "We might lose each other," she pointed out. "Or we might fall and get hurt, or bump into something or someone. We should definitely walk to be safe."

"I think we'll be okay swapping blankets and doing magic," she offered. "And covering our feet, too."

@Lichen

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