We walked down what amounted to a path towards the simple wall around the town. It was mostly straight, and the largest of the paths through the fields from what I could tell. It looked like this one ran north into town, through it, and continued on the north side. The path was just packed dirt that refused to let grass or other vegetation grow for the most part. The wall was more impressive, but not by much, it being half logs pounded into the ground showing their age by what was growing on them.

I couldn’t help but ask a question, “Why does a town have walls?” I understood the camp… but this just didn’t quite add up with my own expectations.

Devin turned to me like he had no idea what I was talking about.

“What?” I asked.

“What do you mean, why does a town have walls?” He asked back.

“I mean pretty much what I said…” I replied.

“You’re walking around with goblins!” He gestured back the way we had just come.

“They attack towns?” I asked.

“They certainly do, not just goblins either. Larger beasts tend to wander around in places people don’t want them either.

“Hmm…” I mused, “I don’t really get it though, it's not like there's a big gate protecting them. It's just a wall.

“That's usually enough. I see your point though. When I was little I asked my dad roughly the same thing. I think he said something along the lines that it's about appearing stronger than you are.” Devin explained after a moment.

I nodded to myself, “I guess that makes sense, and animals might stay away if they see something like that, or a cleared field.”

“Right.” He nodded.

“Okay, well I guess I should ask you, should I keep this look? Or should I become human?”

He blinked at me as if thinking about it for the first time, “Ah… I guess that would be a thing you can do, isn’t it..." He said before hmming as he considered it as though it had never occurred to him before.

I just looked up at him, waiting for a few moments while he sorted his thoughts.

“I quite like this look… but maybe it would be easier to explain if you were human. Plus some humans dislike beast kin…”

“I know.” and taking a breath I made several quick modifications. I let my hair bleed away to blond, then I let my ears sink away into my skull. The world became eerily silent for that moment until I realized I needed to give myself human ears. There was an unsettling sensation as the ear canals formed inside of my head. It was odd that the same skull worked for both, but maybe that was because beast kin were somehow magically altered humans? Or blessed? I didn't really know.

“The tail…” He said reaching out and grabbing the fuzzy thing in question.

I’d forgotten about that again… Once I let it sink away and then looked over myself. “Is that everything?” I asked.

“I think so. You sort of look a bit too rich with that dress though.” He noted.

I glanced down at myself. “I really should have had Kosue help me make a new outfit from the pelts.” I offered with a touch of regret.

“Not that we really had time for that.” He noted.

“Yeah… I really over-estimated shapeshifting when it came to clothing. It’s handy to be able to make myself look how I want in the blink of an eye, but it's terrible for travel and the outdoors.” I tried to explain.

“Maybe go for a simpler less tailored dress?” He offered clearly missing the nuance of my complaints.

“Less tailored?” I asked back.

He frowned, “This… it fits you way too well.” He explained the way it practically hugs your body.

“Oh… I guess that’s true.” I frowned down at my mistake. “I prefer it that way…”

“So do I, but most people will notice it's too fine a fabric.”

I frowned glancing over at Devin. His outfit didn’t hug him, I was a bit perplexed by what he meant, But more importantly, “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Because I liked it…” He pointed out.

I visibly grinned, that's what he meant! “Wait… You should have said something! Dragon Smith saw me wearing this! I announced in horror.”

“He didn’t kill us though…” Devin pointed out.

“Yeah, imagine that… What if he had because it made no sense for a woman fleeing an elvish prison to be wearing the nicest dress on the continent.” I said emphasizing my point.

“Well, it's not that nice. It just doesn't leave a lot to the imagination.” He pointed out.

I sighed, “Okay, something less revealing…” I said before letting the dress tissue thicken out. I opted for something that would look warm and sturdy. I went with green if only to match my eyes. It felt heavier than it looked for sure. The downside to it actually being alive I supposed. This was getting very impractical.

“That's a lot more reasonable. If disappointing.” Devin agreed with my choice.

“I feel a bit bloated…” I admitted.

“Bloated?” He asked, confused.

“Yeah… I wonder if I can buy something to wear in the town.” I offered instead.

“Well that looks pretty solid for the road, why would you need something else.” Devin pointed out.

He still wasn't understanding the limitations of my ability. But I didn't really blame him. I frowned at him and his lack of understanding of my shape-shifter concerns. Rather than try and explain I let the fabric rib in a few places, and stained it so it looked like I’d been rolling around mud and scrapping it on rocks for a few hours. On the upside that meant I could think it out a bit here or there, it was a bit less uniform in how it hung but at least it wasn't quite so bulky.

“Uhh…” Devin said staring at me, “I… Why?”

“I said I want to buy clothing. Why do I want to buy clothing? It's because this outfit is ruined!” I insisted as though that explained everything.

“But… It was fine wasn’t it?” He asked clearly dumbfounded.

“Don’t worry about it, it's too weird to explain.” I said before spinning in place, “I didn’t miss anything right? I didn’t miss stripes or something somewhere?”

“No, you look pretty good, though maybe tone down the dirt, you look practically immaculate compared to the dress…”

I nodded toning down the look. Then I grabbed his hand and leaned into him. “Alright hubby ready to go into town?” as we started walking down to the wall.

“Hubby?” He mused scratching at his cheek.

“Too much?” I asked.

“I’m a terrible liar you know…” He offered.

My eyes went wide, “That's right!? Why the hell did you ever decide to be a thief!?”

“I’m not… It was one time, one bad idea when I thought I could get away with it.” He said as we started walking.

“Geez… Alright, Well we need to be lovers or something, I’m not gonna get us separate rooms.”

“Separate rooms?” He asked back.

“I’m not.” I repeated myself to drive it home.

“Why do you assume they’ll have more than one free place for us to stay anyway.” He offered back.

I considered and articulated my thoughts out loud, “I guess I expected they would have somewhere to stay…” I pointed out.

“Yeah, most likely we’ll see if someone had a guest room, if not we’ll end up in a shed, maybe a barn or something.” Devin explained.

“My sensibilities!” I announced in half-real, and half-mock shock.

“What?” He asked confused.

“Never mind, we’ve wasted enough time, lets go!” I said pulling him along faster after me.

I hadn’t been lying the sun was sinking fast, and the shadows were quickly lengthening around us. If we delayed much longer everyone would be calling it a night. We entered the town walls and I quickly noticed the stark contrast between the military camp I’d once been held in and this place. For one nothing looked remotely the same. Even buildings built from logs all had different shades and clear ages to them. Most weren't just logs but made of planks, dried clay or mud bricks, or some mix of different materials or pieces, such as mud bricks on the bottom and planks on top. Roofs varied as well, clay shingles, thatch, or even wooden planks laid longways.

There was a distinct atmosphere to the place as well with gardens, vines, and plants. The place had an age to it that even the elvish city didn’t seem to have. That didn’t make as much sense in my head. Maybe it was the wrong word, the elvish city had been more artificial somehow. This place felt like it had grown up right here after years. That seemed backward considering that the elvish city had been mostly trees. Yet it seemed true, the way the grass here cluttered around the buildings, as though the weeds and grasses had intentionally moved there for shelter. It was in so many things subtly. Thinking back on the elvish city everything felt intentional, as though there wasn’t a single blade of grass that decided for itself where it would grow.

Personally, I didn’t mind either approach. But this was certainly comfortable, maybe even a bit familiar. Maybe I’d spent my childhood in a place like this? Maybe not… I didn’t know.