Aurelle placed the mice in the bag and gave Lichen a reassuring scratch on the rump, just above her tail, like a cat. She didn't linger, not wanting Lichen to be more upset and disappointed. "Two root vegetables," she said. "I think those are things like potato and carrot. Ahh... just one big fruit, and five cups of berries. I think a cup is as many as will fit in my hands." More or less, right?

"We don't have to find them now, either," she offered. "We can just focus on walking today without getting lost."

That in itself was a big task, too, when you were both blind. The way back would certainly be easier, but finding the way to Cepheus at all in the first place would be significantly difficult for them than it would be for someone sighted. They could just see when they'd taken a wrong turn-- she and Lichen had to guess and use magic to try to tell.

Still, Aurelle didn't seem too daunted by the task. "They said they wanted a whole dinosaur haunch, too, but I have no idea what that is," she said, more conversationally. "They said there's dinosaurs in a place called Lacerta."

@Lichen

Ah. Right. Walking and not getting lost. Without that, neither of them would have a particularly good time. "I've never heard of it." Lichen answers, equally conversationally.

It'd take time to adjust to the fact Aurelle wanted to talk. And that Aurelle seemed to have more fun when Lichen didn't just listen like a brick wall. The whole experience was a huge learning curve.

That, and walking and not getting lost.

Lichen truly had a monumental task ahead. "What do you think a dinosaur is?" Lichen asked, both to engage Aurelle in conversation and out of a genuine curiosity. She tried to imagine them herself as she started padding in the direction she thinks they were supposed to be going in.

"Maybe it's a type of fish. One that has legs so it can run."

@Aurelle

Aurelle slid a hand up Lichen's front and to her neck as they started walking, plodding past the Spire. "A fish?" She echoed thoughtfully, rubbing her chin a little. "I met a fish, I think. He lived in water and ate other fish. Maybe he was a dinosaur."

"Though..." the elf trailed off a little. "I don't think I'd feel okay eating something that can talk to other people, even if they're different and live different than we do. Maybe he was special somehow?"

Still... if there were Lessers that looked like her and wandered like her, she'd probably still feel uneasy about people hunting those Lessers for sport and eating them. She crinkled her nose a little, frowning. "They only wanted one haunch, so they must be pretty big," she reasoned. "So, one dinosaur leg must be about equal to four whole rats. That's... sixteen rats, just for four haunches."

Most things were quadrupedal, so dinosaurs were most likely on four legs, too. And if their thighs make up sixteen rats, then they must be pretty big. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this conclusion.

"How big do fish get, anyway?" She asked.

@Lichen

Met a fish? It took Lichen a touch too long to consider it may have been a fellow gembound. Or put those two and two together that usually if it spoke, it had a gem. "I think some of them get big. I'm not certain where all the massive ones would live. I've not seen any big water spots." Lichen conveniently left out that she couldn't see anything even if wanted to.

"I have never eaten something that talks. It's usually a good sign not to eat that thing." Lichen says firmly, as if that were a completely sound logic, which for most parts it was, unless you happened to be mute. "Usually most things that are like us scream when you jump at them."

Lichen cranes her head in the direction of the spire, despite not being able to see it, the tingling sensation felt funny on her feelers; making her sneeze.

"Maybe that's why they have legs." She continued after sniffing up any mucus that fell out of her when she sneezed. "Because they're so big the water can't hold them forever."

@Aurelle

"Neither have I," Aurelle said much more humorously. She, too, could not see anything even if she wanted to, either. The screaming was a good point, too, and Aurelle nodded even though neither of them would be able to see it. "I don't think Lessers can cast magic, either," she said. "Or, at least, they've never cast something that I could feel or hear."

She tapped her fingers against Lichen's neck thoughtfully. "Do you think there are things that start in water and one day have to move to land?" She asked. This woman did not, in fact, know about frogs. For all she knew, frogs just tumbled out of the chrysalis fully legged. "I suppose we could just ask what a dinosaur is the next time we go to Scorpio."

Though, that would mean they couldn't guess. That was always fun.

Aurelle sniffed at the air. She could feel something cold, dimly, and she could smell crisp, cool air-- but she had to cast a spell to properly pinpoint where the mouth of the tunnel was. "This way," she told Lichen, ears twitching. "I think the tunnel to Ursa is right here. Are you ready?"

As long as Lichen was, Aurelle stepped forward into it.

;;exit
@Lichen