Norah sighed as she sat with her companion-in-arms on the front porch of the inn, glancing over at her friend.<span style="font-style: italic">The main thing to be thankful for</span>, she thought to herself, brushing back a loose lock of blonde hair that had escaped from her braid,<span style="font-style: italic">is that she's inexpensive to feed.</span>Myrri was perched on a fence post, preening her brown feathers of bits of the rabbit she had caught and eaten before they got into town. It had taken ages to understand why she did that instead of bathing, until one night a few weeks ago when she had finally convinced the avian to sleep in a bed. Within the span of a few hours they had both woken up to Myrri's thrashing, and the girls had started running her excessively sharp fingernails(more like claws, really) through her plumage, extracting the customary lice that accompanied the cheap beds they could afford. Norah, not having feather, could simply heat her clothes by a fire to get rid of them, but feather couldn't be treated the same way, and bath water, no matter how hot, wouldn't get rid of them either. The added con was that her feathers lost too much of their natural oil in the soapy water. So Norah begrudgingly admitted that Myrri was free from full baths, though she insisted on a washcloth for the girl's naked flesh.<br/><br/>The priest shook her head, wondering why the heck she had remembered that just now. She had more pressing concerns, like where they were going to find the coin to keep them alive and presentable. While Myrri was all for continuing to hunt for sustenance, Norah had a mission, and it did not include disappearing into the wilds. Aside from that, her dietary requirements as a human were far more stringent than the flying carnivore's were. Having learned of the lack of employment from the others inside, they had shared a meal with those suffering the same misfortune(a halfling, a gnome, an elf, and another human like her, though maybe even more uncivilised than she was). They had excused themselves so Myrri could clean off without disturbing the locals' meals, though Norah had taken the opportunity to think, as well. Her hands, feeling to idle, fell to her whetstone and she began absent-mindedly sharpening her blade, not really caring how intimidating she might be to villagers. They were probably used to it, anyhow.<br/><br/>"So," chirped her friend. "How we gonna make it herr?" Norah grimaced. They still had a long way to go for Myrri to be fluent in her speech.<br/><br/>"<span style="font-style: italic">Here</span>, and I don't know." She paused her task to boot a pebble out into the muddy street. "Perhaps we should press on, but I don't know that work is going to be any more plentiful even in the capital. At this point, maybe we should just become farmers. Seems like the only occupation still hiring."<br/><br/>Myrri laughed, an odd warbling gurgle mixed with what normal people would consider a chuckle. Several villagers nearby looked at her more intently, then moved on. "How farm I, No-rah? I no good at landwork."<br/><br/>Norah grinned. "I dunno, crow. I could always use you as an emergency food supply, eh? If the crops fail, I can still have roast turkey."<br/><br/>"Brawk! I am no a turkey, No-rah! Not a crow, no!" Then Myrri caught on. "Oh, is joke." She scowled at the highlander. "I thought those supposed to make laugh."<br/><br/>Norah grinned wider. "And I thought you hadn't gotten the hang of ribbin' yet. Oh, who's this, then?"<br/><br/>They both turned to look at the liveried soldiers coming their direction from the inn's stables, Norah gripping the hilt of her blade a bit tighter. She knew full well that, while Myrri wasn't necessarily an illegal creature, the soldiers were not likely to take kindly to her appearance, no matter how pretty her face might or might not be. She herself was looking somewhat worse for the road, as well, so respect was not likely for her, either. While she didn't want to make them fugitives, she certainly wasn't going to take unwarranted abuse from strangers, uniforms or not. Both companions eyed each other warily, and by silent agreement moved back inside the drker and slightly warmer confines of the inn, making their way to the tables their dining partners had been at. Norah motioned with her thumb behind her as she resheathed her sword and slid into her seat, saying, "Looks like official business, mates. Might be trouble round these parts, which might mean coin, eh?" Myrri, perching somewhat awkwardly on a stool next to her, looked mildly worried, though she always did indoors.