#elsewhere

Something moves through the water, watching the biker go by

Some instinct has her keep going.

Another hour of winding, quiet roads.

The quiet here feels .. good. Helps unwind. It asks nothing of her

Without witnesses, it isn't too bad to heft the bike up on her shoulder and move it out of site from the road.

Nope, no trouble for one with Atlas blessing

There's still water - a creek running below, shielded by a drop and thicket of trees.

It's soothing.

It's soothing, and summer is a time of bounty.

Lessons with Brekke have given her the skills to find forage and shelter, and the forest offers many options.

It does. She even finds a few summer berries that are safe. Mushrooms are chancier but she could try for those too

The cathedral-like pines are heavy with chicken-in-the-woods this late in June. Prime pickings!

YEah, she's gonna be fine

She had vaguely been heading for a destination, but perhaps she could just continue like this - the gentle curves of the back roads, the wide skies above, the sheltering trees. So far, she's not dealt with people.

People complicate things, that's true.

For now, while she muses that, a berry and mushroom medly is in the making

She really probably should have packed more before she left. But in the moment, she had been riding on emotion and impulse.

Still, she's too far now to get home tonight.

She may need to gas up next time she drives. she does have a card with some money in case of emergencies and the like. Her dad insisted before she went to college. It's got 200 bucks on it. Not a lot but enough for gas.

There's a town coming up. She might be able to earn a better meal or some extra gas money. She'll figure it out.

Yup. THough the foraging wasn't bad. A few nuts and she'd have nature's trail mix

There's wildlife, but she can't quite bring herself to kill a squirrel or rabbit just yet.

Indeed, a deer peeks out behind a tree and stares at her as if trying to figure out what she's doing here.

She stays very, very still. Can wildlife sense that the fae are different? She's never been actually sure.

The deer, female, isn't bolting, not yet.

And her ears flick with curiosity.

A quiet smile, enjoying the moment for so long as it may last.

And it does last, oh, it passes, but there's a sense the deer leaves because she wants to, not because she's scared or anything. Just a long wait of mutual interest, then finally the deer turns, looks over her shoulder, and moves off gracefully

Quite lovely. The Sky wolves would salivate

A soft sigh.

There's one good memory on this trip right there.

That, and sleeping under the stars and moon. Not bad.