Kochiya Sanae
Hillside Hamlet
The girl's words left Sanae feeling quite uncertain about the whole affair. It was quite apparent that the doll-like child in front of her was lost in her own thoughts, but given the state of the town the shrine maiden could only presume that she was referring to something else.
With that assumption in hand, though, the best thing that Sanae felt she could do for the moment was leave her be and maybe ask some of the other townsfolk about her. Something about the whole situation didn't sit right with her, and if there was any chance that it had something to do with that ominous premonition that Millie had, then surely it had to be worth looking into.
Taking a step back from the girl for a moment, Sanae began to do what only seemed reasonable at the moment: accosting any villagers still lingering nearby and questioning them about both the girl and the threat they had so succinctly decimated.
"Oh, that girl? She wandered in here looking like a worn rag a few days ago. I'm not sure where she came from, but one of the old men here—bless his soul—let her stay a while. She hasn't done much since, but even I'm starting to get a bit worried about her."
"Hm? Oh, those strange things? I haven't a clue where they came from, but I'm quite thankful to you and those other strangers for helping fend them off. Never though I'd see a talking tree in my lifetime, much less one coming to our aid."
"That girl is weird! All she does is stay curled up like that. We invited her to play a few times, but it's like she doesn't even hear us!"
The various quips and remarks the villagers had to provide her were unfortunately not particularly enlightening, but Sanae couldn't help but feel as if there was some faint throughline between...
Well, everything here, really.
If anything, though, it would probably be worth running by the others and get their thoughts on the matter. Call it intuition or pity or whatever else, but if there was any information to be gained, it would be from the near-catatonic girl who had fled here with naught but the clothes on her back.
It was at that point, though, that Remilia promptly stole the attention of almost everyone present by... Well, announcing her presence. But while the elderly and infirm took solace in the vampire's ministrations, the girl seemed to be unaffected by it in the slightest.
"Ah, Miss Scarlet!" Sanae called out, waving her over to the vampire before walking over. "I suppose I may as well start this discussion with you since you're here and all, but..."
At this point, Sanae relayed to her what she (and Youmu, given how the half-ghost gardener had been present for her inquiries) had heard from those present—the words of the odd girl included.
"Do you think there might be anything worth looking into here? She doesn't look any better now despite your healing, so I'd guess she's got some sort of trauma... But I'm not sure if leaving her with the townsfolk is the best idea, either."
Outside, though, Gwen seemed to be lost in thought for but a moment as Anne provided what information she had on top of her proposal to join the group. There was a brief pause as the blue-haired girl looked up at the sky with a pensive glance, then towards Maokai, before finally returning Anne's gaze with her own.
"While I would love to see this capital you speak of, I'm afraid that Maokai might be a bit too... Slow for your entourage—physically, of course. He'd also stick out like a sore thumb among people, and he isn't quite fond of them to begin with, so I think it'd be best if we continued on our separate ways. Oh, but if you do happen to find anything out in the future, please do try and let us know... Somehow, I suppose! If we're all travelers from other worlds, then there must surely be a way for us to communicate. If not, then all we need to do is meet again, no?"
With all that said and done, though, the caravan slowly began to pull in towards the hamlet. Rayne, in her haste, was the first to inform those in charge of what had transpired. Given their response—which included thanks that their group wouldn't be forced to take a detour and that no lives had been lost—it didn't seem impossible to convince them to stay a while longer if need be. The sooner they reached their destination, the better, of course, but there were still people here who could very well want to purchase some seldom-available merchandise or otherwise take their minds off of the events that had just transpired.
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