"There is nothing to be sorry for," Albali replied, when she and Xarithe were out in the woods and moving quickly.  "There are times when one must walk quietly through the wild so as not to alert any creature to your presence, and times when you must shuffle and scrape, so any creature knows you are coming and clears the way. Kajaani can be very wild, and it doesn't always do to surprise the creatures." For her own part, though, she chattered very little, focusing instead on picking her way through the paths she knew, and several times stopping to pull out her map, turn it, and blink at the faded lines before coming to a decision and moving on.<br/><br/>At the bridge, she finally drew up to turn back and give Xarithe a long look, as though seeing him really for the first time, and smiled. Her hand went absently to the raven on her shoulder, which she stroked until he nipped at her finger for no apparent reason. Stifling a curse she turned to glare at him, but the deep hood came between them and he was left completely unglared at on his perch. Albali regarded Turilia then, nodding and commenting, "You made good time."<br/><br/>Choosing one stone beneath the bridge as her own perch, she sat crosslegged balanced atop it, where she could face them both. "I suspect there will be ...killing ahead. Hurting anyway. Look my way if you are hurt and need healing - it is what I offer. What of you two? What role will you play?"<br/><br/>As the others found the bridge as well, she asked similar questions, until the final party member arrived and it they could begin up the logging road together. "Ain." The raven glowered at her for a moment, then spread his wings and lifted off to fly ahead. When he was above the treeline, she lifted a long finger to point at him, and whispered, "Fly as a bird, not a spy. Mind."