As Lauren keeps an eye on ambushes from behind, Raya keeps a lookout from my nose, watching the fog surrounding us with intent. My own focus fixates on the movements of the wolves as I sway my head from side to side, keeping my field of view wide.

  The disruptions to the stagnant magic of my flame-created fog wall shimmer as they move, but watching for those disruptions isn't reliable for tracking the wolves. Rather than move in a predictable way, they cross each other's paths as they rush around, giving the impression that there are quite a few of them.

  Raya is doing an admirable job of leaning into my movements to stay standing on my nose as she fires fireballs into the fog, aiming ahead of where the wolves run to. She isn't having much success in terms of hitting them as they keep a keen eye on where the attacks are aimed and change course accordingly.

  "Raya, join Lauren and make sure none of them attack from the back."

  Without question, she joins Lauren between my horns and a moment later, there's a searing heat against my lower back. It appears we have to watch out for fire magic as well. I would have thought that these wolves would have an affinity for earth, but it seems fire is on the table as well.

  "Sorry, Kira. I didn't hit it."

  Never mind. With an eye looking back toward my tail, it becomes apparent that it was Raya's fireball doing the damage, rather than one of them. Judging by the magical residue left behind, it appears her fireball struck one of my spikes, causing it to detonate.

  "It's okay, Raya. Keep trying. I'm sturdy enough to take it, and they're playing it safe. I believe in you. I believe in you too, Lauren."

  All I get from Lauren is a wave of worry and disappointment, making it quite obvious that she's unsure of how to contribute.

  "What can I do? These aren't undead or part of the affront. I'm a healer without the capacity to heal."

  I don't know what she can do. She doesn't carry a sword or shield to defend herself, having clearly been used to her teammates taking care of those aspects of combat. We will be commissioning proper weapons for the both of them when we get home.

  As we discuss that, the wolves grow emboldened as they sense an opportunity to use my distracted nature. The first to strike does so by rushing my arms, trying to attack my wrists and, although the teeth can't break my scales, the wolf does try to break a scale off by hooking its teeth underneath.

  I can't let that go unpunished. Unleashing my flames toward it as my jaws open for a bite, the wolf jumps away, dodging with incredible precision. Rather than let my opportunity go, I chase after it. I doubt it plans to create an ambush again, but I will need to be careful.

  I can follow it without much trouble, but it dodges with frustrating precision. They aren't faster than I am, but they appear to know when I'm attacking, allowing them to dodge before my attacks reach them.

  Pushing more magic into my body only strengthens my muscles, but as I try to utilize that for a burst of speed, all I achieve is breaking up the soil with my claws, creating deep furrows in the ground.

  Another wolf strikes at my wrists, but as I tense my muscles, it fails to get a hold of my scale, causing it to retreat faster than the previous wolf. It happens so fast I don't have much time to react, and I can't see much in terms of patterns so far.

  Howling in the fog becomes a cacophony of bestial sounds as they coordinate with each other. Their proximity to us makes the sound so freakin' loud... Unleashing a roar of my own, the howling quiets down as they get back to trying to find a place to attack.

  I can't walk in circles here all day. I need to trust my body's ability to withstand their attacks and go on the offensive. Dragons are freakin' tanks, so use that, Kira!

  My internal monologue is right, I am tough, and sitting here like a rock isn't helpful since the wolves will just keep crashing into me until I crumble. With a swift command, I tell Raya and Lauren to get off my head and climb down onto my back so I don't end up throwing them around as I bite at foes.

  The two of them work to untie the rope from my horns, which I suspect is the only reason they've been able to hold on so far, and move down my neck as we continue to keep watch. The sensation of them walking is peculiar, like a tiny massage, and it doesn't take them long before they stop and tie the rope to one of my spine spikes.

  With the two of them secured, Lauren focuses on the rope and Raya focuses on throwing more fireballs toward my tail.

  Fantastic! Flexing my claws and feeling the soil give way, it's time to begin the charge. The sensation of wanting to hunt is intoxicating and fills me with excitement in a way that doesn't happen when I try to hold back under normal circumstances.

  As I set off, there's a yelp and a laugh from behind me, and I don't need to look back to know from whom each sound came. Rushing into the fog causes the nearby wolves to scatter, filling the area with growls, howls, and yelps, which only serves to feed my hunting instincts.

  Locking onto one particular distortion in the fog, I unleash my flames, feeling the heat rise around me as I charge into the dissipating fire. The area becomes saturated in magical steam and smoke, making their movements obvious as I get closer. I'm almost on top of one of the wolves, and as the chase continues, it's time for a striking pose. Bending my neck like a snake, I get ready.

  The pose takes away some of my usual stability as I run, but I can work with it, the world is just a little more rattling than usual.

  The wolf is within range, so flexing my muscles, my head shoots out to strike, teeth bared for a quick bite. With a mighty slam, my jaws slam down on where the wolf used to be. I didn't freakin' catch it! Looking to the side, there are two of them now. As far as I can tell, another wolf tackled my prey to get it out of the way of my bite.

  I don't like that at all, they are far too focused on cooperation. With a jump, I turn my body sideways, digging my claws deep into the ground as I slow myself, skidding through the dirt. I end up facing the opposite direction, ready to chase again.

  The smell of fresh dirt, petrichor, and wolf permeates the area, creating a pleasant mixture of scents to go with the excitement of hunting. With a flex of my muscles, I launch myself toward the location where the wolves crashed. It's easy to find as all I have to do is follow the mess I've created and locate the flattened grass where they landed. Of course, they've already left.

  Keeping an eye out as I pass the area, it becomes clear that the wolves have figured out that I can track them. Either they have retreated or they're hiding further into the fog, waiting for an opportunity.

  There's something else going on here... Not all the magic flowing through the obfuscation belongs to me. Getting a good look at it, there's the natural magic from the water, my magic, and a third type I've never seen before. Like strings of purple flowing throughout the fog, keeping it together.

  Applying some heat to the weave of magic causes the whole thing to break apart, and the droplets composing the fog gather into larger droplets and fall to the ground. I do not like that at all. Rather than running through the thickening fog without having a target or knowing where we're going, I'm gonna slow down and get my bearings.

  If I can't see them at all, I won't be able to hunt them. And if I can't hunt them, I won't be able to eat them, and that would be disappointing.

  As my thoughts wander to meals lost, Raya steps out of the fog wielding a large stick. I'm not sure when she fell off me, but she seems fine. At least there's no scent of blood or visible wounds.

  "Are you okay, Raya? I didn't realize you had fallen off me."

  "I am okay, thank you for asking, but I didn't fall."

  Sometimes things happen that warrant growling, and this is one of them. Raya's voice came from behind me, and the Raya in front of me didn't move her lips at all. The Raya in front of me chooses to hold out her hand in a gesture of some sort, but I'm not familiar with it. Lauren and Raya, no doubt having become curious about who I was talking to, are quick to climb up on my head again.

  "That's me! Hey, Raya!"

  The fake Raya smiles and waves at Raya, which seems to put my Raya at ease as she jumps down to greet the fake one. Being the ever-great little goblin, Raya holds out her fist toward fake Raya, creating a moment of confusion as fake Raya tries to make sense of the gesture.

  Not getting the desired result, Raya shakes her fist a few times, hoping the fake Raya catches on. And she does by cautiously forming a fist and holding it out to my Raya, letting my Raya take over and complete the fist bump. Letting my growling fade into a low rumble, fake Raya bumps Raya's fist a few more times as she stares up at me.

  Instead of leaving it at that, fake Raya grabs her stick with both hands and holds it more akin to a weapon, reigniting my growls. I'm not sure what the game is here, but fake Raya grabs Raya's wrist, but as I step forward to stop it, fake Raya bumps Raya's fist several times...

  Does she think it's some sort of dragon appeasement ritual?! What the heck...

  "I like her. Can we keep her, Kira?"

  "We don't know what she is or whether she is a friend or not. She could be an enemy or, worse, a friend of the wolves!"

  "But we could have another me! I'm great, so if we have another me, that's four times as great!"

  I'm not sure about the mathematical equation to reach that result, but she is right about being great. I'm gonna ask about her equation, though. It doesn't quite make sense to me, and I'm curious how she ended up with that result.

  "With her here, there are two of me, and if we take her with us, that's twice as many Raya's. Two times two equals four. It's simple stuff, Kira."

  This whole thing puts me in a predicament... If I correct her, I'll be saying she isn't as great as her math proves, but she is, and is that price really worth paying just to be correct? I'm not sure. I'm just gonna ignore her questionable math.

  As I focus on fake Raya again, there's a disturbance in the fog behind her. As I make myself known to them by letting out a rumbling growl, fake Raya starts fist-bumping Raya again.

  "How interesting, the shifter seems to think that Raya's gesture is to establish peace. I think you should calm down, Kira. I don't believe we're in danger."

  Say that to my shredded wing... I am being outvoted here, though, and while I do want to munch on some critters, I also want to respect the input from my friends.

  My Raya and fake Raya start walking around as they inspect each other. My Raya even goes so far as to grab fake Raya's head and inspect her teeth.

  "Whoa! Look at those! Do mine look like that too? That's incredible!"

  The inspection continues for a while as Lauren and I stand all but forgotten. I'm still keeping an eye on the fog, but there haven't been any disturbances since fake Raya approached us. I'm sure they're out there. I know I would be in a similar situation. In fact, the last time one of my friends was in real danger, a town was burned to the ground.

  Now that I think about it, it feels wrong that my generous use of fire hasn't resulted in more damage than it has. There are clear areas where burns have occurred, but none of the flames have spread, and while there's rain, it's quite light. I wonder if the strange purple strings have anything to do with it.

  Giggling draws my attention back to Raya as a large wolf steps out of the fog and walks right up to fake Raya, nuzzling her. It appears to be older, with scars and patches of graying fur, and I hope that's as large as they get because this guy is huge.

  "Kira, he's so soft!"

  Oh crap, that's the real Raya. Dang it, all of their dancing around confused me! As I step forward, fake Raya, which I'm sure is fake Raya now, steps between us and holds out her fist. A tap on my head alerts me to Lauren wanting my attention.

  "Kira, let me down. I think I know what's going on."

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  At least one of us has a clue, because I'm confused about how we went from hunting each other to Raya snuggling a wolf who seems to enjoy the attention.

  Lowering my head for Lauren, she walks right up to fake Raya and pulls out a potion. Where did she get a potion from? The bottle appears flat and rounded like a booze flask, but the magic in the bottle tells me that she isn't just getting her drink on. Unless it's magic booze. I can't rule that out at this point.

  Uncorking the bottle, she drinks from it, forming a small swirl of magic around her as she touches fake Raya.

  "Hello, do you understand me?"

  Fake Raya's eyebrows furrow as she looks at Lauren, just as mine do as I look at Lauren. She brought Mind Bridge Potions and didn't use them to get me a pile of cat people to sleep on?! Nudging her about her questionable use of resources, she mentions having one left, but wanting to save it for important matters, like peaceful resolutions or negotiation.

  This is sounding more and more like I'm gonna miss out on eating wolves...

  And the big wolf is just lying there on the ground with Raya rubbing herself against his fur. She's gonna smell like wolf for days!

  "Kira, don't attack. The rest of the pack is going to join us. Just don't attack unless we're attacked."

  Lauren makes it sound like I attack everything, which I don't. I retaliate, sometimes early, but most of the time, we're being attacked, not the other way around. In fact, it was these wolves that started it. Did I come here to hunt them? Sure, but I'm not the one who tore up my wing.

  A pat on my head pulls me out of my defensive spiral, and as I refocus on my surroundings, both Raya and Lauren are standing at the tip of my nose. That better be the real Raya.

  "We know you don't like when your hunting gets interrupted, but remember that the felifolk are preparing something for you."

  Lauren's right, I guess. On top of that, we might be able to find some other critter to hunt, now that the wolf pack has a spokesperson to negotiate. In fact, the prey of these wolves might be even bigger than the wolves, and that's a lot of food on one animal.

  Behind them, more wolves appear out of the fading fog, and it turns out there are sixteen of them. That's a huge freakin' pack. They're all gathering around fake Raya, clustering up in a pile as fake Raya greets them all. Looking at how they interact, I'm getting the impression that they're all a family rather than just individuals coming together.

  A few of them weave through the others to nuzzle up to specific members of the pack. And it doesn't take long until fake Raya is overwhelmed in her tiny form and smothered in a pile of wet fur and whimpering wolves.

  Fake Raya starts pushing them off her as she makes a series of clicking noises. They've gone from fearsome predators to cute puppies in the blink of an eye, except for one. Off to the side, one wolf stands alone, glaring at me, which I suspect is because I chomped its tail.

  No doubt noticing the satisfied glee in my eye, Raya follows my line of sight and spots the wolf.

  "Do you know that one, Kira?"

  As I regale the tale of the missing tail, and point out that the glaring wolf is the subject, Raya pulls out a small pouch from under her Kirarmor. As she opens it, the contents become visible to me, and the pouch appears to contain a series of small potions in elongated bottles. With no hesitation, she walks over to the now snarling wolf, pointing to the ground with a forceful jab of her hand. It lies down, still snarling at me, as she grabs its jaws and pours a potion into its mouth.

  "There, that will make you feel better."

  Fake Raya joins my Raya and Snarlacus, clapping her hands and forming a magic spell by visibly pulling in ambient magic, my magic, and putting her hands to the wolf's chest. A deep earthy scent fills the air as the flow of magic concentrates on fake Raya, and as the magic fades, the wolf jumps up, wagging its new tail. That's cheating! He gets a new tail, but I still have a torn wing?! That's just not fair.

  "Lauren, tell fake Raya to heal my wing, too. Or tell fake Raya to teach you weird earth healing, so you can do it. I would rather have you do it."

  "Kira, it's obvious that you're motivated by your petty side, but you might be onto something. That was wild magic and humans can't use it, but I'm not entirely human anymore."

  I feel like that isn't what I was getting at, but if it helps Lauren grow, then it's a good idea, I'm sure. I'm not sure about the difference between human magic and wild magic, though, and nudging her about it, she gets to explaining.

  "What I could do was Faith Magic, and what Kanen is teaching the young goblins is Blessed Magic. They're both expressions of constructed magic, which involves chants and weaving of some sort. Faith has the additional requirement of attuning to a God, Merciferus for me, but it could be any of the Pantheon. Constructed Magic has to be woven into the desired spell, which requires practice and knowledge. It also draws first from your internal reservoir of magic to create the foundation of the spell, and then uses external magic to fill in the rest."

  I knew most of that, I think. Fake Raya skips on over to us, wearing a wide smile as the topic shifts to wild magic.

  "Now Wild Magic is different in that it doesn't rely on an internal reservoir or weaving. To cast wild magic, you must have a connection to nature, a place of power, and be accepted by the natural forces. And instead of forcing magic into a purpose, you beseech it to do as you ask. You might not get what you want, but you often get what you need."

  The old wolf joins fake Raya, and as soon as they're next to each other, fake Raya places a hand against the old wolf's head, causing him to shrink to roughly half his size. Even the wolves are fake?! Dang it, that means they probably aren't hunting big, delicious critters!

  And what is fake Raya anyway? She's definitely not Raya, because Raya is over there snuggling the enemy. As I ask about that, Lauren turns to fake Raya and asks her to take her own form. In a shimmer of purple, gaseous magic, fake Raya turns into a gray-skinned old woman with a large bumpy nose and thin, messy hair, spotted with clumps of moss and debris. She's wearing a worn dress with patches of grass and other plant matter. She's not all that much bigger than Raya.

  "She's a kind of forest troll known for living in bogs. Beings of spirit and magic. Her kind live close to nature and care for the children of the forest. It appears this one has taken a particular liking to wolves."

  "Can you learn this wild magic weirdness, Lauren?"

  "I don't know... I have no idea how to approach it. As with anything, I would need time to study and possibly a tutor."

  I hadn't meant for this to go like that, and the thought of Lauren having to stay here to study strikes right at my greed, as I want to keep her. And I just want to keep my friend around... Maybe we could kidnap the troll lady instead...

  Lauren takes the opportunity to lean against my nose as she stares into my eyes with a smile.

  "If we consider this, we cannot kidnap her, Kira. Forest trolls are tied to their home, and the sunlight hurts them. So if they leave their place of power for too long, they die, and if they stay in the sunlight for too long, they become petrified."

  Okay, those are pretty good reasons to not kidnap her, I guess... A swirl of magic behind my head alerts me to the troll lady having wandered off as my focus has been stuck on Lauren. A comforting sensation of pleasant coolness flows through my wing and as I look back, the troll lady has healed the membrane. It looks as good as new. Geez, she's a good healer.

  "We came to hunt wolves and now we're talking about leaving you behind with them? I don't like that at all, Lauren. Raya, talk some sense into her."

  "She should learn nature magic, Kira. She has felt useless ever since she lost her magic, and she's right. When we aren't fighting undead, she's almost useless. She doesn't know how to fight well, she doesn't know how to throw fireballs at things, which is easy, and she has to have a rope to stay safe on you."

  "Thank you for summing that up, Raya..."

  Lauren doesn't look thankful at all, but I get it, that was a lot. Does the troll lady even want to do it? I haven't heard a peep from her, so she might not consent. Pointing that out earns me a pat and a hug for some reason.

  "Mind Bridge Potion, remember? She has heard and understood everything I've said, and replied. She is interested in teaching someone her craft, and she is willing to take care of me. All it takes is that you accept. She also mentioned that your magic is beautiful, and she loves working with it."

  Pfft, flattery won't work this time. Lauren's quiet excitement might, though... Even without mood eyes, I can tell that she really wants to try this. And I get it, healing has been her identity for years, and losing it couldn't have been anything other than devastating. This is an opportunity to get it back, but it's not instant.

  "What about you, Raya? Do you want to learn wild magic with Lauren?"

  "Nah, I have fireballs and I'm great. I don't need it."

  At least I'm not at risk of losing Raya any time soon, so that's a relief. My reasonable side is telling me that I shouldn't stand in Lauren's way, since the glint in her eyes makes it obvious how much she wants this. We just left behind a stupid choice like this, and now there's another one?! That's freakin' frustrating! On top of that, we're all voting for her to take this opportunity. Stupid the three of us...

  Dang it, Kira. Stop pitying yourself, this is an opportunity akin to Lauren getting a scholarship to a big fancy college in the middle of a field with rocks, mud, and burnt grass. We should be happy for her and focus on that.

  "I think you should do it, Lauren. If we can trust them, then it's a good choice. Are you sure we can trust them? They did attack us, after all. And the felifolk did send us here."

  "She did mention her idea of why we were sent. Not long ago, her forest was attacked and intruders set up camp. She and her wolves tried to chase them away, but they wouldn't leave. They ended up having to attack to preserve the forest, and the people fleeing ran to the villages for shelter."

  "So why didn't they just chase us away?"

  "They tried, but you're kinda stubborn, Kira. Most creatures capable of flight would retreat with damage to their wing, you stand your ground and simply change your attack pattern. You scared the piss out of them."

  Serves them right for ruining my wing. But now that she mentions it, it does feel like they tried to use intimidation and overwhelming numbers while not trying to stop me from moving. They could have attacked as I chased one wolf, but they didn't. Dang it, am I in the wrong here?

  "You aren't in the wrong, Kira, it was just a misunderstanding."

  Crap, she's touching me while affected by the mind bridge potion. Crap! That means she's heard most of my thoughts for a while now... Now she's just laughing at me as she hugs me tighter.

  "That's an intrusion of privacy, Lauren! You should have said something!"

  "I did. You saw me drink the potion, and I reminded you. So is it my fault that you didn't make the connection?"

  I guess not.

  "Absolutely. You owe me a week of cooking!"

  "I can accept that. Did you know that wild magic can grow crops out of season?"

  Ooh... Now the vile temptress is speaking a language I can understand. We can try so many things at all times of the year. And Lauren is smart, so she'll get the hang of wild magic in no time, I'm sure.

  Nudging Raya, I ask if she has any input on the matter since she is part of the conversation too.

  "It's up to Lauren. I think it's the right choice and dirt Raya is trustworthy. Besides, Lauren can just ask Mermer to send a messenger if she's in trouble."

  It feels pretty settled, then. And if I pay attention to the way home, I have no doubt that I'll be able to find this place again.

  Maybe she'll even learn that size-changing magic the troll lady is using on the wolves. I'm sure it could be helpful to turn me into a giant dragon sometimes.

  "I would say you're already big enough, Kira, but size-changing isn't the primary function of it. It's empowering magic, and that's how they're able to face Dragons. It works by doing essentially what you're already doing when you empower yourself."

  Lalalalala stop listening to my thoughts, you rude woman!

  "Stop making it so easy, you silly beast."

  Lifting my head off the ground, I break the connection between Lauren and me, earning a smile from her as she looks at me with a knowing glint in her eye. But I do like my privacy, and I have thoughts to think.

  Now, instead of dwelling on what I might lose here, I think it would be better to focus on how I might see my friend off. The first act should be to make sure she has funds to get by with, and flexing the muscles of my crop, I regurgitate a good amount of gold for her.

  Instead of going for the gold, she asks if I'm sure, but of course I am. It doesn't feel like giving up part of my hoard as much as it feels like empowering another part, which I think might be why I haven't had a problem with Raya snatching a bit of money here and there.

  I'm still curious why this spirit person is trustworthy, but Neithro changed his opinion on killing the one we met in the north as soon as he found out it was a spirit. I have to find someone to teach me about things like that. For a moment, the thought of bringing it up strikes me, but it also feels like trying to undermine Lauren's determination. I don't even know if she can learn wild magic, it's just a hypothesis as far as I know.

  "Raya, do you think Neithro has more of those fancy telepathy rings? If he does, we could leave one with Lauren, and she can ask for help or tell me to come pick her up at any time."

  "He doesn't have another set right now, but he can get one commissioned if we pay for it."

  That's fine. We'll pay and then we can leave Raya's ring with Lauren and get Neithro's matching ring, so we have a way to talk without having to meet up. Although meeting up for a shared meal would be worthwhile.

  As I glance at the troll lady, she smiles and waves at me, appearing to not have a care in the world that my intent was to kill and eat all of her wolves, but who knows how spirits function. All I know is that I keep getting cheated out of meals whenever we encounter one, and that sucks.

  "Lauren, I'm still itching for a hunt, do you think the troll lady knows something worth hunting?"

  Before answering, Lauren walks over to the troll lady and holds out her hand, which the moss-covered weirdo is quick to grasp before turning to me and smiling even wider for some reason.

  "Kira, she wants you to know that she promises to keep me safe and that she is thankful that you no longer want to attack her family."

  "That second part is not entirely true, but close enough, I guess."

  Never mind that. If we're gonna let Lauren stay here to study under some overly excited moss weirdo, we should clear up that misunderstanding between the felifolk and her. There's no reason for them to be afraid of the wolves if they can protect and help each other.

  As I bring it up with the others, Raya is quick to agree with me as she points out that we can also use the food being prepared by the town as a feast. Since I'm still skeptical about this whole thing, I'm just gonna ask Raya what she thinks about it one last time.

  "I asked Neithro about it, and he says we can trust her. Spirit people have to keep their word, and they feel compelled to make the world better. Neithro thinks that because she's Mermer's champion, the spirits are going to be even more willing to help her."

  Stupid fancy destiny...

  Okay! Focus, Kira. Your friend is getting something she really wants, and you shouldn't be selfish by trying to keep her. That would be terrible. Besides, we have fancy farmer food to eat.

  Letting everyone know we're heading into town as I set off at a slow pace. The troll lady smiles up at me as she takes quick steps to catch up to my arm before bonking the side of my wrist with her stick.

  She clicks with her tongue a few times and veins of purple and red permeate the... Well, I guess it's more of a staff than a stick. Nevertheless, the whole thing lights up and glows with power, and I'm pretty sure she just siphoned off a little of my power.

  As she turns to Lauren, she throws the staff, and Lauren catches it without difficulty. As my friend studies the tool, the troll lady smiles some more as she draws in magic from around her. With a deep breath and a clap of her hands, her form begins to shift as a haze of purple surrounds her.

  The clicks become subdued, adorable roars as a tiny moss-coated dragon steps out of the fog, jumping around my legs as she lets out a series of yips. Ugh, she's making it hard to dislike her...

  Aside from the moss, she does look a lot like me, and I kinda hope she'll teach Lauren how to do that. If Lauren could shapeshift into a dragon, we could go flying together and then we'd just need to find a way to get Raya some wings.

  As my sight follows the yipping dragon, I notice that the wolves are following behind, appearing indifferent to my presence aside from staying behind me. Raya is riding on Snarlacus, and Lauren is walking beside a few wolves larger than her. She doesn't quite look comfortable yet, but they don't care. I'm confident she's safe, though, as none of my instincts tell me to run to her defense.

  By the time we reach the outer limits of the cluster of villages, a commotion unfolds as the townsfolk spot us. Finding out where to go becomes quite easy as one person runs in the opposite direction of everyone else: towards the village we landed in the first time around.