"Sounds good!" 

You might think that her voice would sound less chipper-young-woman in the giant basilisk-eating body, but no. 

They start moving. The Companions are pretty fast, even carrying two people each, but the dense trees still get in their way. 

Lucy is if anything capable of being even faster than the Companions, but the trees also hinder her more. If she tires at all, though, she doesn't say. 

They travel until nearly dusk and camp along the river again that night. The next days - weeks - fall into a similar routine. Long days on the road, conversation when they have the energy for it, stopping sometimes to hunt, various campsites. Once, fighting off more wyrsa. The forest is still weird but gradually less so. 

Sometimes Vanyel is animated enough to ask Lucy and Wilbur questions about their world. Sometimes he's silent and withdrawn, and a few times they delay breaking camp because he refuses to get out of his bedroll. 

Just under a fortnight later, they reach the official border with Valdemar. It's not very visually obvious; still forest, albeit mostly a normal one at this point. Starwind and Moondance will part ways with them here and head back to their own people. 

Lucy eats the wyrsa and answers Vanyel's questions enthusiastically and takes his silences in stride and re-cooks more tough travel rations in oil. 

When they reach the border, she asks, "Are there guards? Should I look human?"

Savil laughs. "Hells, no! If we were coming in on a major road from somewhere like Hardorn, sure. But this is really far out in the border region. Though there's a higher chance we'll run into hunters in the woods, but Van or I ought to sense them coming. Once we hit the road in a day or two, probably you do need to look human." 

"Do borders in your world have guards everywhere?" Vanyel asks curiously. 

"I don't know if it's everywhere but there are guards who want to know what you're bringing in and out of the country so they can assign import and export taxes."

Vanyel has never heard of the concept of import and export taxes, and is fascinated and wants to hear more. 

Lucy doesn't know that much about them, but the basic idea is that governments sometimes tax foreign products to encourage people to buy domestic products so there will be more jobs in the country. Also there's this thing called an "embargo" where you tax stuff from one foreign country in particular so they can't sell as much because you're not on friendly terms with them. 

How odd! Most people in Valdemar can't afford to buy foreign products at all, Vanyel explains. It costs so much just to transport them in, merchants have to charge much higher prices. Jewelry and cloth and pottery come in from Rethwellan and other neighbouring countries, and spices from Seejay, but only wealthy people can afford to buy them. Is it not like that in her world? 

Well, she thinks it's usually, like, food and raw materials and stuff, more often than anything else? But spices and stuff aren't that expensive anymore--she thinks it's because of advances in ship technology. 

Vanyel seems eager to keep asking her questions about shipping technology, and whatever questions those questions lead to, until they stop for lunch.

They don't run into any people, but there are deer – normal deer, not dyheli and definitely not weird Pelagirs changelings. 

She'll kill deer for venison if they need it but otherwise she'll leave them alone. Or just watch them. 

"Deer are pretty."

They're good on rations for now - they're about to hit inhabited areas, where they can buy much tastier food. 

"I think so too," Vanyel agrees. "My father used to make us all go on hunts, but I always hated having to kill them." 

"I don't mind hunting as long as nothing goes to waste, but it's never fun. I mean, it's a lot more fun than being even a little hungry, but I'd rather eat cows than deer."

"Mmm." Vanyel seems to be running out of stamina for talking. 

That's alright. Lucy's plenty capable of occupying herself with other things, like watching animals quietly, or talking to her brother, or practicing the language, or reading the books that came through with them.

Before the end of the day, they reach their first smallholders' farm. Savil rides up to greet the farmers, and then waves to let the others know that they're invited in. 

Wilbur approaches slowly in case someone decides to take exception to his height. 

...Lucy isn't being deliberate like Wilbur is, but she's still a little nervous. 

The couple who greets them seem a bit...startled...but Savil and Vanyel are in Heraldic uniforms, with Companions right there, if they're calm about it then it's got to be fine and it would be terrible to be rude to a Herald's guest. It does present some issues in terms of his fitting into their tiny cottage. But it's beautiful summer weather, so they can sit outdoors while supper is prepared. 

The couple has four children between the ages of four and ten, who appear one by one. They're shy at first, but the Companions are familiar and exciting and bring them out of their shell, and after that they start showing interest in Lucy and Wilbur. 

"How did you get so big?" the six-year-old boy asks Wilbur. "Mama says if I eat my greens and my meat I'll grow up big and strong. Is that what you did?" 

"If you eat your greens and meat you'll grow up big and strong, but not this big. I'm just like this. Sometimes people are born a little different and something weird happens, like growing up very very big or not very big at all or having funny patches of color on their skin."

"Oh." The boy tilts his head to the side and thinks about that for a while. 

His older sister turns to Lucy. "Your hair is pretty. Can I touch it?" 

"Sure!"