Nickel felt bad for leaving the kid there, but she knew he was in good hands with Mrs. Quazel. It was obvious she panicked him, but she didn’t know why.
“I barely understood the kid while he was talking…” she mumbled to herself. “It would make sense if he misunderstood me.”
As a traveler, staying too long in one place doesn't suit her anyways. Shawn couldn’t be too far from home after all, the kid probably wandered off from his parents when they were traveling, if he was as uppercrust as he seemed then his parents no doubt had the money to spend on search parties. He’d be fine. Even if she was trying to convince herself to not feel guilty, it wasn’t like leaving him behind was a mistake. Four mouths to feed was already a little too much, it's dangerous outside the walls of a settlement, most kids shouldn’t grow up out there…

Her camp wasn’t too far from Arbrest, Nickel didn’t have too long to dwell in her thoughts, once she got back she’d be occupied by caring for her mother and the animals. Living on the road requires some animal help but resources were limited. She had to be selective about which creatures they took in. 

 It was dark, and her mother likely was worried. She hadn’t planned to be away from camp so long, but running into the kid slowed down her trip to Arbrest, and she stayed in town too long out of concern for Shawn. Her temporary home wasn’t too much farther, but her personal lantern was running low on oil. Unlike her mother, she needed one. They have been set up here for a while now, and she’s memorized the path back. As Nickel grew closer she could hear the whinny of her tamed Stirene. They’re not native to the area, so there was no confusion that Lili was the one making the noise.

She let out a simple whistle as the faint light grew more visible further into the woods, she received an identical tune in reply. 

“Nicky! How dare you stress me out!” The mature woman’s voice grew louder as the glow grew closer. 

Unsurprised, Nickel approached her mother. Draped around her shoulders was the gangly scarf of fur, lined with long glowing whiskers, affectionately named Booklight, emitting a steady glow of gentle light. Booklight slowly blinked up at Nickel with his one large eye, before yawning and curling up around the neck of his guardian, the glowing tip of his tail settling right above his human’s heart. 

“Sorry Ma,” Nickel sighed, and stood while her mother inspected her for injuries. When she found none, Nickel received a frustrated smack to the meat of her upper arm. 

“Where were you? What took you so long? You’d better have a good explanation!” The matronly woman, Simone, settled her only hand over her heart and sighed. 

Nickel smiled and rested her hand on her mother’s shoulder to guide her to the campfire for a seat, and she took one beside her. After a few moments poking the fire and getting comfortable, Nickel spoke. 

“I was on my normal route to pick herbs, near the ashwalker den,” she felt her mother’s glare. “I know, I know, but I’m careful, and the good stuff is there!” 

Nickel slid the basket off her shoulder and placed it gently beside her mom and softly tapped the lid. “I found lots of medicinal herbs today, sold some of them to Quazel, and made quite a few pips.” 

Nickel also pulled a small pouch out of her pack that jingled slightly and handed it to her mother. Simone took the bag and peaked inside. Satisfied she hummed and pulled the draw string to close it. 

“But back to what happened,” Nickel said, getting back on track. “While I was there I spotted this kid about to walk right into the den, as if he had no idea where he was.” 

Simone looked at her daughter concerned, and Nickel quickly continued the story to sooth her worry. 

“Don’t worry the kid’s alright, I took him to Arbrest.” Nickel sighed, “He seems really confused tho… I left him with Mrs. Quazel. She'll take good care of him and get him back home, I think he might have been a lost rich kid.” 

Her mother sighed and put her hand over her heart, “Poor soul, I hate to imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t gone against my wishes and foraged by the ashwalker den!” She finished with a teasing smile. 

“See! Another good reason to go that way! To save wayward youth.” Nickel laughed and they fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the night. 

The next morning, a thin layer of dew coated the leaf buds and twigs. The sky only dimly illuminated by the hidden sun, the mother and daughter pair packed up their camp with a long-practiced efficiency. Nickel tended to her animal companion as her mother folded up the sleeping tent.
“I’ll get that in a second, ma! Don’t overwork yourself.” the young woman called back to her mother as she held a chunk of raw meat with tongs out to her fanged steed. 

The spotted creature brayed as she gingerly bit at the morsel, Lili had learned in the past that biting too fast didn’t feel great when her fangs had chomped down on the wooden tongs. 

Lilith, Nickel’s mellow stirene, like the rest of her species was an elegant hunter, a lean quadruped, with razor claws along each hooved leg. Tinged in green and spotted,  she was able to hide amongst branches and forest growth, her disguise aided by a mane and tail which mimicked berried foliage. She no longer needed these natural gifts to hunt for her food however, since now a small human offered it directly to her. 

“I still have one arm Nicky! I’m not helpless.” Simone answered her daughter, a subtle annoyance in her tone. “You take care of Lili, I got this.” 

“If you’re sure ma.” 

“Of course I’m sure!” She waved her hand off in Nickel’s direction and returned to packing the cart with their blankets and tarps, packing them between larger bins of herbs and food . 

The gently smoldering campfire was all but completely smothered as the pair hitched their fully loaded cart to Lili. The forest clearing held the trampled dirt and flattened grass, that subtly reminded them this was a temporary home. Looking it over gave Nickel conflicted feelings, off to a new adventure, but some day, home will be a place, not a cart. 

The stirene nuzzled Nickel as she adjusted the harness, pulling her out of her melancholy thoughts.
“Aw, Lili.” she said as she gently petted the tamed beast's braided mane. “Time to go, girl.” 

The travelers set off and continued their trip up the forested mountain path. 

Nickel walked beside the cart steadily up the gradually sloped terrain, stopping occasionally to assist her mother on a particularly rocky or steep part of the incline. The sun hung above them and shininging through the leaves and gently down on them. Lilith trotted calmly along with Booklight snoozing curled up on her back. The hike was aided by trees lining the path as roots formed foot holds and the trunks offered support to pull themselves along. The cart weighed on Lili as she climbed up the mountain, the wheels catching on protruding roots. Once the party reached a relatively flat clearing they stopped to consider their plans. 

“I don’t know if we’re goin’ get this cart any further up the mountain.” Nickel spoke out of breath from pushing the cart up the last few feet of the slope. 

Simone took quick stock of the area around them. 

“We aren't at the outskirts of a village yet, I don't think.” She pointed in the direction they came. “We’ve been following this path for a bit, it's obviously been walked often.” 

“We could leave the cart here and continue on the trail till we find the next settlement, it shouldn't be too much further now. Scope out the path ahead and come back for the cart when we find an easier path?” Nickel brushed foliage from the trees off her shoulder and moved to grab some stuff from the cart.
“Leave the cart behind? What if it gets stolen?” Simone gasped, and reached to stop her daughter from pulling a small traveling bag from the cart.
“It should be fine ma, we’re pretty far out in the middle of nowhere. Plus if we leave Lili here nothing will get too close, unless it wants to be her dinner.” Nickel softly chuckled and placed her hand gently over her mother’s to reassure her. 

The older woman glanced around the area, scanning the trees around them. She saw no deep groves left by bestial claws or evidance of dens. After eying the narrow rocky path ahead one last time, she sighed.

“Alright, you make a good point, Nicky.” 

Simone gave in and grabbed a bag, trying to sling it over her shoulder. Swiftly the daughter clicked her tongue and caught the bag before it collided with her mother’s shoulders.

“Mama, you need your balance climbing up, I’ll take the bags.” Nickel effortlessly added the bag to her load. She shot her mother a gentle but pointed look when she started to protest, this conversation didn’t need to happen again, the result was the same.

Nickel loosened Lilith’s lead, before checking what supplies they’d need to take with them. 

“We should bring fruit and cloth, it’s relatively lighter weight and there's a good chance it will sell at an isolated mountain village, hopefully they still trade in pips. It can’t be too far, if the trading is good I can make the trip back for more supplies or maybe the whole cart.” Nickel told her mother as the two rearranged their trade goods between bags. 

Simone smiled, “Let’s hope they’re close and good for trade…” 

She trailed off when Lilith chuffed and froze at attention. The women also paused quietly waiting to see Lili’s evaluation. After a few seconds of silent staring and sniffing into the forested distance, Lilith flicked her ear and relaxed back into her patrol of the perimeter. 

Nickel made a mark on a home made map before tucking it aside in her pocket. “A’right, let's shove off.” 

The two continued for a bit navigating the dense woods until the trees began to thin. Although the incline was not forgiving, the signs they were approaching a village grew. Simone used a sapling to pull herself up onto a rocky ledge and paused to take a ragged breath. After a few coughs she looked at her daughter.

“I’m getting too old for this, Nicky.” She leaned on her daughter as Nickel pulled her along away from the edge. 

“Let’s go this way, I’m pretty sure the river’s over there, we can rest for a bit and you can get a drink.” 

“I don’t know… The river in these woods… there’s stories.” Simone looked at her daughter after glancing around the woods. “There’s things in these woods… Haven’t you wondered why a perfectly good river has barely any settlements on it?” 

“Right, stories, doesn’t mean they're based in reality. Mama you’re too young to share stories with elders at the fire!” 

“Nicky, stories were often based on a kernel of truth at their start.” Simone said sternly. “The creatures in the cities… It’s said they run wild here, they live along the river…” 

“City folk themselves are wild, that's why you go in for business in cities and I stay outside.” Nickel didn’t notice her mother’s growing apprehension. “We can handle whatever animals are out here if the city folk can-”
“No- not animals-” Simone stumbled and Nickel reached to catch her mother. Booklight who, settled in a sling over her shoulder, meeped at having his sleep disturbed. 

Nickel and her mother set off in the new direction; they marked a nearby tree with a pocket knife and followed the sounds of water around the mountain side. It wasn't long before they stumbled upon the drop off that edged up to the rushing water below. The waterfall they saw up stream promised steadier, accessible water beyond the crest. The path looked steep, but Nickel knew following the river would be worth it to lead them to a village. 

Nickel was thankful she had been right, and drank gratefully and splashed her face as she knelt beside the edge of the river. Her mother seated on a rock downstream, dangling her feet in the river, shoes discarded beside the rock. 

“Ah, all this walking…” Simone sighed as she leaned over to rub one of her feet. 

“I know mama, but we’re close, I can feel it. I hope they’re friendly.” Nickel stood up and stretched peering into the woods in the direction of the source of the river. 

“I'm getting a bad feeling, Nicky…” Simone said as she dried her feet. 

“Mama, your stories again-” Nickel began.

There was a shuffle of leaves ahead, and Booklight jumped up from a deep sleep, shot out of the pouch and glared into the woods. In the dying sunlight his bright eyes and whiskers cast a glow along the fabric of Simone’s clothing as he hissed softly into the darkness.