((@RoTTeN: S'alright))<br/><br/>At first, Nanako didn't really notice that someone was else was around, her mind floating in it's own lake of thoughts as she tuned out the world and daydreamed of various things. All the while, still taking in the picturesque scenery around her and absorbing it's beauty while she could. Mitsuko would most likely come back sooner than she expected and tell her it's time to go, even though she barely got any training done. It was quite the pickle for the koma inu to deal with, but could she really be blamed for it After all, she's never been to a lake before, their journey only taking them across the plains and forests of Nishi and nothing else so far. Even so, it would seem that the individual within the area had managed to rouse Nanako from her thoughts through the use of his voice. A voice that was, to be honest, had something odd about it...but what this something was, she honestly could not say. But his voice seemed friendly enough so why take up on suspicions so quickly? Although, she was a bit confused on why he asked if she could talk, she didn't look all that young but, she simply put it off as her looking animal like...this guy looked like a human. At least, Nanako thought he was, of course, had she enough mastery in Qi she could probably tell by his aura that he was far from human. Looks like she needs a bit more training in that category. "Hmm, yeah at least 'til I have to leave anyway." The koma inu replied, answering the stranger's second question just by responding to him. "You travelling too? I don't think I ever saw you in the village just now." Nanako asked, pausing for a moment as she could have sworn a soft meowing of a cat had passed her ears just now...<br/><br/>"Oh!" Nanako chirped as she stood up and witnessed what seemed to be a bird of some kind dive for the water and catch some fish, most likely to be it's next meal. This is why Nanako liked the lake, there were so many new things she's never seen before here. "Did you see that! That bird just swooped in and grabbed that fish like it was nothing, ooh and it was so fast too!" She said to the strange man beside her, obviously excited on what she just witnessed for the first time ever.<br/><br/>= Meanwhile... =<br/><br/>It didn't take long for Mitsuko to get her order of noodles, the kitsune paying the cook upfront now being she knew she might forget once she ate her fill. Ramen to her were one of her favorite foods, while it wasn't much compared to meat (which she also enjoyed being carnivours in nature), it was still something she wouldn't mind indulging in more often. Unfortunately, there were never many stalls like this one around in the villages they visited, this coupled with her and Nanako being on the road alot seemed to deprive her of those  noodles. Ah well, it was only a small set back, and now she could at least enjoy herself with this bowl, right? "Hm, it's a shame Nanako wouldn't come along, we'll I'm sure I'll have enough for another bowl if she wants one, but judging by how she's so into that lake, I'll probably have a hard time getting her to move~" The kitsune chuckled as she joked to herself, wondering on what Nanako was really doing at this moment.<br/><br/>However, just as she was beginning to enjoy her Shoyu, an eerie feeling washed over the kitsune's being. The enigmatic chill rolling through her and causing one of her six, fluffy tails to frizzle up and twitch. Following her instincts, Mitsuko gazed back there stood a candy shop, and the source for this uneasy feeling. Huh, peering inside the open door of the shop, there appeared to be nothing more than a young girl within the shop, the girl in question looking no more than 10 years old at the least. Normally, one would simply shrug this off, but Mitsuko's lived long enough to know a few things...and this girl certainly wasn't as normal as she appeared.<br/><br/>"Is the ramen to your liking, miss?" The tanuki suddebly spoke up to Mitsuko, his nasally voice managing to pull her attention away from the odd little girl who had caught her attention. Although, apart of Mitsuko was thankful he said something, she was slowly becoming more and more unsettled the longer she looked at the girl. It would appear that he was worried that her not eating the serving was a sign of distaste for the food itself, something Mitsuko clearly did not have for the ramen bowl.<br/><br/>"Oh, no no, they're quite delicious. You certainly know how to cook ramen~" Mitsuko replied putting on a smile before she turned around and gazed to where she felt such an unsettling precense. "Although there was an odd chill in the wind that caused them sour juuust a bit..."