"Fancy a drink?" Sokanon's voice called to Maeve as they continued along the winding, twisted pathways of the heart of the woods.

"Hmm?" Maeve replied, being yanked right out of the daze she was currently in due to Sokanon's words. She asked you something. ...She's planning on helping you... The least you could do is pay attention to her when she asks you something, you wantwit. Maeve exhaled slowly, annoyed at herself for what had just taken place. "W-What was that again? I hadn't really quite caught it." Then she added a quick, brief, little apology. "...Sorry... My mind... Well—--"

Sokanon finished the thought for her. "...was on a whole nother pathway, I know... I don't blame you. ...I assume Henry sent you, yourself, to find Aelod. ...And just being one singular person, meant to find another—--who's lost out there—--without the slightest starting clue can do a lot on your mind. ...Something like that will worry you to no end. ...I hold no blame to you for that."

Maeve breathed a sigh of relief—--releasing all of the air that she didn't even know she was trapping in. "...Thank you." She paused before letting out her previous query to the other woman once more. "...what exactly was the question though? ...if I may ask..."

Sokanon laughed a little as she continued to lead the way to her camp for Maeve. "I asked if you wanted a drink... When we get to my camp... Whiskey, rum... cider?" She shrugged, pausing her words for a brief moment before continuing them. "...just thought you'd like something to help unwind just the slightest bit."

Maeve rubbed her cold palms of her hands together and replied to the other woman, "No... I think I'll be fine without it. ....Thank you for the offer."

Sokanon bowed her head a little. "..if you're sure..."

The two women continued to trudge on through the chilling breeze of the words for several moments longer before Sokanon began to slow. "...The camp's just over the hill," she explained to Maeve.

Maeve was silently relieved that the camp wouldn't be too much farther away, as her legs had already begun to ache from a whole day's walk that she had subjected herself to. "Good, good."

Sokanon made her way to the top of the hill, stopping at the peak to wait for Maeve to catch up with her, as the stars twirled about in the night sky above them.

Making it to the hill's peak, a rotting smell assaulted the witch's senses. "...what is that?" she murmured.

"Hmm?" Sokanon replied, eyeing her.

Maeve explained, "That smell... It's like something's—--" She trailed off only for Sokanon to pick up the pieces.

"...rotting?"

Maeve nodded. "Yeah. What is that?"

Sokanon sucked in a breath and explained, "The flora... Around here, there's actually flowers that secrete a terrible stink to keep the wildlife away... Pretty handy, I'd say."

"Oh," Maeve replied as the two made their way down the hill. "...that's... Definitely handy, yes."

"Well," Sokanon began to say to Maeve. "...This is the camp I was telling you about...My camp."

Despite the darkness, Maeve still strained her eyes to decipher what she could about the Manitou camp. It was small, much to the witch's surprise. The number of tents remained relatively small—--only seven or eight at the most.

There was an area clearly designated for chopping firewood.

"Wow," Maeve began with a small whistle.

Sokanon looked over to Maeve once again as the witch studied the layout of the land. "..Hm?"

"I just imagined this camp to be larger," Maeve confessed to the other woman.

"Well, there's only so many of us, you know," Sokanon responded, neutrally.

"True," Maeve said. "...I just assumed there were more of you camped out here with the way Hassun's put it in the past."

"Well, we're lower in numbers. Fourteen, to be exact," Sokanon answered. "...Our numbers fluctuate as members come and go. They're not bound to stay by any sort of oath... They explore the country freely."

"Oh, so—--" Maeve froze, her words catching in her throat as she caught a glimpse of the other woman's eyes when she had turned to face her once more. She swallowed.

There was no way to mistake it... Sokanon's eyes were gold... Pure gold—--Maeve had never seen anything quite like it in all her life.

"Hello?" Sokanon called out to her, once again snapping Maeve out of her daze. "...you okay?"

Maeve blinked a few times in disbelief and then nodded quickly. "Yes, yes. I am... I just uh..." Quick, think of some sort of excuse that doesn't make you seem like a complete weirdo. "I just am... astonished by how beautiful the sky looks from out here."

Sokanon looked up for a slim second, chuckling to herself. "Yeah... I guess it is beautiful... I assume you don't get to see the sky quite like this, in all its glory, on that foggy coast your settlement resides on, huh?"

Maeve shook her head, deciding to just go with the current change in conversation topics. "No... Most certainly not... The fog's thick down there... Extremely so... You're lucky to only see a single star or the moon over there. ...and of course, when it's not foggy, the sky's still bound to be obscured."

"By fluffy, dark clouds," Sokanon offered, looking back to Maeve—--the golden glimpse sending shivers down the younger woman's spine.

Maeve nodded again. "...that or rain, actually..."

"Ah..." Sokanon let out another little chuckle upon hearing Maeve's addition to their current conversation. "Rain can be an absolute bitch... when it wants to be... You want the sky to be your inspiration? Your muse? ....well, too bad... That asshole—--rain—--it's going to take it from you." She paused before adding, in a slightly more optimistic tone than before, "But, still, just like everything else, rain has its purpose... As I'm sure you very much well know."

"I do... Yes," Maeve said.

A silence fell over the two for only the briefest moment before the witch piped up again.

"You said, 'muse'... You paint?" Maeve asked Sokanon.

"...quite heavy on the dark colors and crimsons, but yes... I do," Sokanon told her. "...I got the supplies from one of the northern settlements on the coast in a trade... Gave them some venison as an offer. ...Tried it out for the first time, but couldn't stop myself."

"Well," Maeve smiled at her. "It's good to have some sort of hobby you like."

Sokanon paused before saying, "We can discuss Aelod's possible whereabouts in the morning... Come with me... I'll have a tent pitched for you to stay the night."