While Luke and Umbra think about what to do to lift Claire's spirits, she and Ollie are hard at work picking some proper clothes for the coming months. This winter's gonna be a harsh one.

"How about this one?" Claire asks as she inspects an earthy, rather loose-fitting dress.

"Oh, that's a good one!" Ollie replies excitedly. He then shows off a wavy skirt he's currently trying on. "What do you think of this? I don't wear 'em often, but..."

"I dunno, it looks cute, but is it really appropriate for this weather?" Claire ponders.

"No, not at all!" Ollie answers. "That's why I'm getting these, too!" He holds a pair of warm leggings in his hands. "Then I can have everything covered and still look pretty cute."

During their clothes-related rambling, Umbra and Luke ask around the village about the unusual events happening lately. They briefly meet with a local wolf who tries his best to explain the situation.

"Ah, yeah, about Soraya," he says, "she caught wind of something going on quite a ways from here, deep in the forest to the east. I think it's another village."

"Another village..." Umbra thinks to herself as she hears this. "If Claire heard about this, there's no doubt she'd..."

"I mean, we're all speculating here," the wolf continues. "None of us really asked her why she grabbed her stuff and left. We're already real busy preparing for a visitor from the north, even though they won't be arriving until tomorrow night. So, right now, that's all I know." With that, the wolf heads back inside a cabin.

Though Umbra's still processing what she just heard, she sees a lively glimmer in Luke's eyes. "So what are you thinking?" she asks.

Luke turns to her with a confident smirk. "I'm thinkin' we're due for a big change in our li'l lives. And we're gonna be needin' a ton of junk for the road, so, uh, while I get on that..." 

When Claire and Ollie step out, they see Luke sprinting off to get their food and supplies. They wonder if he's in a hurry, but Umbra wonders if she's ready for such a shake-up.

"Say, what were you chatting about?" Ollie asks. "We never see you two together like that, looking all serious and stuff. Are you hitting it off or something?"

Umbra audibly chuckles hearing this. "Nah, it's not that... I like softies, obviously," she whispers as she looks directly at Claire, "but we were talking about, um..."

Taking a closer look at Claire, and though she still fears that something will happen to her down the line, Umbra sees the same Claire that walked across the hills every day, and kept her company during hard times. She takes a deep breath, and says it, loud and clear.

"I think we've all noticed this lately, but the past few weeks have been... quiet. And I think it's time to change that for the better. There's nothing new left for us here anymore." A she puts a hand on Ollie's shoulder, and hugs her weary partner, she turns them both to the east. "Claire, you've read stories about mages who go out and have these big, amazing adventures, right?"

Claire nods, and as she realizes what Umbra's trying to say, her eyes fill with a old glimmer that had been hidden for far too long.

"There's just one thing that's been on my mind lately," Umbra says in a concerned tone. "Are we ready to have our own adventure now?"