They begin to walk to the side exit they skipped before and trot past the stony outer gardens of the city. It seems this exit was originally used on military patrols, whenever scouts went on missions. Something Riona recognized almost immediately, as The Kaleidoscope Kingdom has a fairly similar exit, though it goes over a bridge. Past the fields they walk, Thistle uses the light from his staff to guide the way, and Cass is extra careful not to touch any big rocks or boulders. When they make it almost past the forest area they pause for a moment by a dock.

Thistle looks up at the sky, now fully a dim glowing purple, like the atmosphere is pulsating with the hue. There are now visible stars as well, though they aren’t still. They move, though very slowly, as if they’re searching for something, or just watching, and learning. Thistle looks back down at the sand in front of the dock and lifts his staff. Cass is still mesmerized by the night sky as she’s never been able to see it clearly due to the thick tree in her home village. Thistle makes a small pile of sticks, poking them with his staff, the orb on the staff a dim glow as sparks flew from it, setting the pile on fire. He plunges it into the ground, snapping Cass out of her gaze of the stars.

Thistle stretches as he begins to remove his cloak, hanging it on the staff, “This seems like a good place to rest for the night.”

Thistle reaches for the blue orb on his staff and phases his hand through the orb, pulling out three sleeping bags and handing two of them to Riona and Cass, “Here you go.”

Cass snatches the sleeping bag, looking at it in astonishment, “Whoa! Your staff has its own pocket dimension?!”

“Well, more like just a pocket, heh.” He lays out his sleeping bag on the ground next to a convenient log, clearly unnatural and carved as a semi-comfortable sitting place. “These and some other basic supplies are really the only things that can fit in here. Also, try not to get those bags too dirty. I bring extras because I don’t like to sleep on the same one twice because they tend to get dirty. But those were all the extras I had.”

Thistle pulls out of the staff a handkerchief wrapping what seems to be tree bark.

“What’s that?” asked Cass.

“Bark Jerky, or Tree Taffy, as some people like to call it. But that name’s usually reserved for the sweeter variant.”

“Can I try some?” Enthusiasm and curiosity line Cass’ voice.

“Sure, but you might not like it,” Thistle says as he breaks a piece of the bark off and hands it to Cass.

Cass grabs the bark and takes a bit off of the top. She chews for a while before suddenly stopping, making a disgusted face. It was like she just bit down on a rindefruit coated in unsolicited advice. Trying not to seem impolite, she attempts to swallow it but is unable to. Cass holds her hand to her mouth, her face contorting in a grotesque display of discomfort. Her eyes almost shut as she profusely searches for somewhere to spit it out, her cheeks grimacing in bitter-flavored agony. She eventually runs off, just slightly deeper into the forest to rid herself of this wave of regret and misplaced curiosity.

Thistle chuckles, “I said you might not like it.” He looks over to Riona, noticing her anxious face looking down at the ground, stuck in a pensive state, “Uh,” he thinks for a second, trying to remember her name, “Riona!” She snaps out of her daze and looks up at him, “You ok?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” She looks to the side with a more worried expression.

“You sure? I can tell when someone has something on their mind.”

She sighs, “It’s just…I-I was kind of hoping we’d accomplish more today.”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense. You need to be back home by Friday, right?” Thistle questioned.

“Yea.”

“What for anyway? You got school or something?” he questions again.

“Uh, no. We’re on a break right now.” Riona looks to the side, “I just…have plans. I’m supposed to meet a friend that day.”

“A friend? You’re all worked up about hanging out with a friend?”

“He’s very important to me, ok!” she says sternly.

Thistle puts his hands up in chuckling defense, “Ok, ok, sorry.” He smirks, “So it’s a boy.” He looks at her with a giant stupid smile.

Riona almost immediately loses eye contact, looking far to the ground on her side, blushing slightly while speaking with a significantly softer tone, “Um, yea.”

“Oh, ok, I get it then. You don’t wanna miss out on your hot date?” Thistle teases.

She blushes more and shouts, “No!” She quiets her tone, “Well yes…but it's not hot! It’s just a normal date, of reasonable temperature.”

“Mhm, ok,” he says with a giggle.

“Also, you shouldn’t tease two people of the opposite gender just for hanging out. It could mess with their heads and make them not wanna hang out. Good thing he’s not here so it doesn’t matter, but still.”

“Oh, my bad.”

“Have you ever dated anyone before?” Riona teases.

“Uh, I don’t really like talking about my love life, but I guess I did have one while I was here. I move around too much though.” Thistle said, gloating slightly, “You worried about anything else?”

She pauses for a moment before answering, “Well, I’m worried about my Dad.”

“What’s going on with your Dad?”

“Well, nothing going on with my Dad, I just—ugh, I have a confession.” Riona sighs, “My Dad didn’t, technically, give me permission to come along with you guys.”

Thistle gags on his jerky, “What!?”

Riona starts nervously sweating, “No no, don’t worry it’s fine! Once I get back and he sees that I’m ok, he’ll see that I’m fine on my own and he can trust me to do more.”

Thistle swallows, “Uh, ok Riona. I understand where you are coming from, but maybe disobeying your father isn’t exactly the best way to show that he can trust you.”

Riona thinks for a moment, “Oh, oh yeah, I guess I see it now.”

“Yeah, he’s probably worried sick about you. He probably thinks you ran away, which you technically did. And he’s gonna blame me!” He begins to panic slightly.

“Why?”

“Because I’m the adult!” Thistle exclaimed.

“Oh, yea, I guess that makes sense.”

Thistle sighs, “Uh, ok. It’s a little too late to turn around now, so there’s no point in stressing about it.”

“I wouldn’t want to anyway.” She looks solemnly at her palm, her fingers slightly twitching as she stares, “I don’t know what it is. It’s just a feeling really, but I feel like I can get something out of this.” She looks back up at Thistle, “I just feel like if I help you guys, maybe some of that good fortune might come back to me. I don’t know.” She picks up a stick, poking it at the ground, “I mean, being adopted, kinda makes me think about where I came from, ya know? My Dad says I didn’t come from the orphanage.”

“Did he say where you did come from?”

She weaves her fingers together, clenching her hands, “He said he just found me wrapped in cloth in front of his door. He said that my mom, well, his wife, took care of me for a while. It was her idea to keep me. Before she, uh, died. Dad said she was ‘lost in battle’, from a war being held against a neighboring kingdom. He said ‘She died with honor.’”

“Ah, well, I see what you mean. I’m sure you have a lot of questions. But remember, you're not just helping us—you’re with us,” he smiles. “We’re here for you as much as you're here for us.”

Riona smiles. “Thanks.”

Cass runs back from amidst the forest, with a very sick face. “Ok, I’m never trying any of your food again.”

Thistle shrugs with a smile. “Welp, you were warned.”

“Bleh, I’m going to sleep.” Cass plops herself down on the sleeping bag with a sigh.

Thistle stands up. “Alright, I suppose it is getting late.”

He grabs his staff out of the sand and puts the hood of his cloak over his head, to avoid having to put it entirely back on. He raises his staff about a foot off the ground and moves it closer to where they’re sleeping before thrusting it back into the ground and twisting it left and right a few times, locking it in place. Thistle raises his hand and places it on the blue orb atop the staff, spinning it clockwise. The orb begins to glow as a transparent blue barrier manifests itself from the orb's center. The barrier expands as he continues spinning, soon covering their entire makeshift campsite.

Cass sits up in awe. “Woah, what was that?!”

Thistle sits down on his sleeping bag. “It’s a barrier spell; it’ll keep us hidden while we sleep. No one can see us through it or enter without permission.”

She puts her hands on her cheeks. “Wow!” she says in a whispery awe. She lays down on the bag. “That’s awesome,” she says before taking off her hat, rolling over in the sleeping bag, and immediately knocking out.

Thistle watches as Cass drifts off to sleep, a satisfied smile tugging at his cheeks.

Riona notices his smile. “What’s with the grin?”

“Nothin’. It’s just…no one’s ever looked up to me like she does. It makes me feel important and wanted, ya know? It’s cool to know someone thinks you're cool.”

Riona smiles. “Yeah. You better keep her safe; I can’t be watching her all the time.”

Thistle wraps himself in his sleeping bag and gives a salute. “You got it, boss.”

Riona also goes into her sleeping bag and rolls over to get some rest. But before she falls asleep, she hears Thistle say, “Hey Riona, if you ever need anyone to talk to, about anything, me and Cass are there for you,” he says with a gentle tone.

Riona smiles before falling asleep. The twinkle of the stars shines in saturated shades of yellow, just barely shy of pitch white. They gaze upon her and Cass, seeming to deem them individuals of particular interest.