"A few people ah neahby, outside o' dah forest~!" said Dae, his eyes trained solely on a certain apartment. "A bit o' shouting here-n-there, real easy ta hear . . . fer me, anyway."

Lily nodded. "So do we go away from here?"

The small puppet shook its head. "Pip wantsta go meet them. Think's they-a could be like us. Could be helpful, he says." The little girl got up and put on the thick cotton dress she had picked up somewhere earlier last month. Checking her scarce belongings, Lily exited the tree she was resting in and picked up Bob.

"We'll go see if they're friendly first," she said, stepping out of the forest.