Let's go to Billings

“Well, Kenji doesn’t have to know about what we’ve done while he’s away.” You grab your coat and rifle.

Flora doesn’t ask what you mean. She’s more than smart enough to know what you are doing immediately. She smiles and grabs a coat too. Like the rest of her things it is in better shape than anything else you’ve seen. When you make it on top, you notice that your companions only left one horse behind. The sight of the steed makes Flora groan.

“I hate that horse,” she moans. “Why’d they have to leave that horse?!”

She doesn’t look all that bad…”What’s her name?”

“His name is Bill.” Says Flora. “And he’s scared of everything. The wind, the shadows, new people. Everything.”

You approach Bill, who snorts at your advances. Eventually, you place your hand on Bill’s nose and grab his reins, slowly guiding him towards Flora. She crosses her arms and looks at you, unsure what to say. You shrug.

“I’m good with animals,” you smile. “I’ll catch you a rabbit, maybe?”

Flora can’t quite fight the smile that curls at her lips. “Whatever,” she fights. “Let’s hurry up and get to Billings. My stomach feels like it’s starting to digest itself.”

You’re the first one on the horse. You reach for Flora, she takes your hand and works herself onto Bill. She saddles on alright and leans herself against you, compensating for the lack of space. Your mind spurs briefly, feeling a little uncomfortable this close to her, but once the horse starts moving, you get over the rush of feelings and ride like you would normally.

Flora doesn’t smell like anything. For someone who looked so pampered and protected, you expected a lingering smell of perfume or something more...clean. She simply blends into the air, mixing with the distant pine and wheat as you both silently travel towards Billings.

Before too much time can pass for small talk, you make it to Billings. There's a new set of guards this time. There are also more of them, probably because it's the day time, so the traffic come (and going) from the city is much heavier than before. With general ease, you make it past the front gates. Flora perks up a bit, paying a lot more attention to what's around her. You can smell lots of different food here and you can see at least a dozen stands selling different kinds of items. You think of Delilah for some reason, and start looking for small bags and jewelry items; slow to embrace the fact you probably won't be seeing her anytime soon.

"Verdikkeme," she whimpers. "Where should we go? And which place would be the fastest? They have all crowds around them."

You haven't been to Billings like this before, so you can't give an answer. You deep out of the street in a brisk trot. Bill seems to be incredibly relaxed for being a nervous steed. As you break further from the entry, your options thin. No more stands. Just regular restaurants. You'll still have a few hours before anyone comes back...You already took a risk coming here, so you decide to take another risk by taking her somewhere decent.

Flora noticed that you left the street already, but when she realizes where you are going some place inside, she presses her back against you. "Hey, what are you doing? What if someone comes back and we're gone?"

"Relax, they should we could go around when it was dark. They'll just assume we're out."

"It isn't that dark!" she counters.

"Bah, who cares? As long as they don't find out where we are we'll be fine."

Flora grumbles, but doesn't protest any further. When you find a place that captures your interest, you tie Bill down and head inside. Flora follows close behind, seemingly right at home in this environment.