[Shieba]

"Living in the forest? Isn't that...uncomfortable? It's always so foggy there! Around the Chateau, it's always sunny because grandma used some magic, but the rest of the forest is always kinda creepy or at least I think so." Rosy nodded. "See, your Lady just lives elsewhere. I wonder why she doesn't visit you guys if it's her place."

The thought of getting her claws dirty didn't sit well with Rosy, but it was a good idea and she wanted to contribute more anyway. "Yes, I certainly can do that, give me a moment. The beginning will be difficult since all the grass and its roots need to get out at first..." She chose a little spot a bit away from the two eggs where the grass wasn't all that high and started to carefully dig. Rosy had never duga hole before and she needed a few minutes to really figure out how to do it the best, but then, she quickly got rid of the plants and managed to make a good-sized hole. "There, will that be enough? Or do we need a deeper one?" Who knew how many eggs they would find?

[Kodai]

"There are a few places where the forest clears out a little, and so the sun shines through, but otherwise everyone seems to be just fine living there," Cat answered with a little shrug. "I'm sure if they didn't like it, they would just leave. There isn't anything that forces them to stay, so they must not mind it. And... she doesn't visit because she's been kidnapped," she added matter-of-factly. "It's actually been quite some time, now... The real question is why Kai doesn't go after her. But he does have a son..."

The girl waited patiently as Rosy dug a nicely-sized hole for them to hide their eggs in. "I think that will be great! And if we do need more space, we can always dig out the sides a little or make a new hole. Though I think that this one is just fine. The eggs aren't that big, after all." Kneeling down, Cat carefully placed the eggs from her dress-basket into the hole and then went to get the other two sitting nearby. "Four eggs! That's a very good number already!"

[Shieba]

Rosy paused. "Wait, what? She had been kidnapped? And no one sets out to rescue her? And while being kidnapped, she's still allowed to send letters?" That made absolutely no sense to Rosy. "Why doesn't she just write then where she is and you guys go to the police or someone to get her out?"

Rosy looked at her first hole with pride and then at her ruined claws. Oh well. Better the claws than the ribbons, after all. "I wonder if the eggs are always placed here in pairs since we need partners for the egg hunt. So that no one argues about them, I mean." Rosy looked around and saw a decently-sized stone. While Cat got the eggs, she hurried and managed to get the stone over. "Here, that can be our landmark so we find this spot again quickly in all the grass."

[Kodai]

"Well... I don't know very much about it myself," she admitted, "but it seems that the kidnappers were very powerful creatures and that no one knows where they took her. Although you're right; if she is writing letters, you would think she'd tell us where she is. Maybe she's not writing letters after all?" Leaning her head on her hand thoughtfully, Cat continued, "Or maybe the kidnappers keep a very close eye on her and so she can't write down where she is because they'd see? I don't know... It really is very strange."

She nodded at Rosy's suggestion about the eggs. "That sounds like a good idea for an egg hunt; to hide more than one so partners don't fight over them. And that's perfect! Now we can start hunting for eggs again and we'll always know where to come back to!" Cat gave an excited little bounce. "Okay! Let's start looking again!"

[Shieba]

"This is really weird", Rosy agreed. "And a bit frightening. I mean, there are powerful guys out there who kidnapped a Lady and no one does anything? Why not? There should be search parties and all that. It's also scary to know there are kidnappers running around Whisper Forest." Hopefully, no one would kidnap her or Cat!

Rosy used some of the grass she had ripped out with her digging to conceal the eggs a bit without closing the hole since she had no intentions to dig every time they found eggs. "There! Now we can leave without worrying too much that they will be found. Do you want to ride again? You can look for good spots where some could be again!"

[Kodai]

"Oh oh, this didn't happen in Whisper Forest," Cat tried to assure her, though the thought of kidnappers anywhere wasn't a comforting thought. "This was... near Nabias, I think? In Barakka. It was during the last war, you see. The one where the Imperial army was looking for... the Maiden's Tear." She nodded to herself, confident that she had the information right. "The grown-ups seem to think that the Lady's all right, for now, because... oh, what was it? Something about bait?" The girl sighed. "They don't actually talk to me about it, but I've overheard them sometimes, and I'm pretty sure that's what they said..."

Figuring that the other egg hunt participants were either too busy with searching to raid their collection or would realize that this collection belonged to someone else now that it was covered by grass, Cat nodded. "Yes, that sounds good! I can see much better from up on your back, after all." Climbing back up, she carefully seated herself. "Thank you very much for letting me ride you, by the way. I know it must be a little strange and uncomfortable for you."

[Shieba]

Rosy had heard about the war, but she had not been born back then. "It's still pretty horrible to think about. Even if someone makes sure the Lady has enough food and all, she must be so lonely and sad and scared, away from home and her friends! I don't think people should just assume she's alright, they should do something!" This really didn't sit well with Rosy. If someone would kidnap her, she knew her family would come straight for her. Had the Lady no family?

Rosy laughed. "It's indeed the first time someone is sitting on my back, but it's not all that bad. You're not that heavy or anything and it helps with the search, too. So it's all good." She started walking again. "I'm not sure how much time we have left, though. Maybe we should hurry up a bit. The log took quite a bit of time. Tell me once you see anything of interest."

[Kodai]

"I do agree with you, Rosy," the girl frowned, "and I really don't know why they're not. I mean, if Kai can't go, then why don't they send someone else? Like Gar? I'm sure he'd be able to rescue her; he is a Quarry Garagnir, after all." She sighed sadly. "I don't think I can do anything, though... I mean, I don't make any decisions for what goes on, so..." Getting people to listen to you when you were 'just a child' was tough.

Trying to focus back on the egg hunt, Cat stared off into the grass. Not too far away, she saw what looked like an old, rusty park merry-go-round – not the type that had horses, but the one that was basically a round platform with bars the riders could hold onto as someone else made it spin. "Rosy, look over there! That looks like it could be a good place to hide some eggs!"

[Shieba]

"One would think a Quarry Garagnir could indeed do something", Rosy agreed. She had never seen one before, but she had heard about them and how huge they were. "But yes, I understand that you can't do anything. It's not easy being a child, right?" Rosy couldn't relate, she had just been...born the way she was now. Which was really weird, even to her.

Rosy couldn't really make out what Cat had seen from being up there yet, but she quickly walked into the direction the girl was looking into and finally saw what her rider had spotted. "This looks good indeed! Let's check if we find something. I don't think we have that much time left, we better hurry."

[Kodai]

"Sometimes it is nice, but not when you want people to take you seriously," Cat sighed. "Although Baron does his best not to be like other people. Usually those sorts just pat your head and call you cute, all while ignoring what you're trying to say. Baron doesn't do that, but he does tell me that since I don't know everything about a situation and because he can't tell me to now worry about it... It really is frustrating!" Pouting, she gave a huff and tried to distract herself by focusing on their hunt.

Now that they were closer to the merry-go-round, Cat hopped off Rosy's back and ran the rest of the way to it, not wanting to waste time. She didn't see any eggs on top of the broken toy, so she bent over to peer underneath it. "Oh! Rosy! I think I see some! They're way underneath, next to the base! I don't know if I can fit under there, though..."

[Shieba]

"I never was a child, so I can only imagine how frustrating that must be. But it's good that at least someone listens to you, right? I think you are a bit of an exceptional child, though. My sister is quite happy with being patted on the head and getting called cute..." Rosy sighed. "Stereotypes are the worst when some people make sure they seem true."

Rosy peeked underneath as well. "Oh damn. We should have brought the stick! And if you go down there, your dress will get dirty for sure." She looked at the bars of the old toy. "These things seem pretty old and rusty. Maybe one of them is loose so we can use it? Not very hygenic, but..."

[Kodai]

"Yes, it is unfortunate. But you can't really help it if some people are okay with being thought of that way," Cat replied with a hint of a sigh. "And you certainly can't change the thoughts of all the people in the world..." She focused back on their current problem. "Hmm, it would have been better if we had brought the stick. But your idea just might work, if we can get one of those bars. At least they shouldn't hurt my hands so much." Saying that, the girl grabbed onto one of the bars and gave it an experimental pull. It remained stuck fast, however. "Well, not that one..." Moving on to one that was a little more rusty, Cat pulled at that one and was delighted to find that it wiggled. "Oh! This one might work! I think I'll need your help again, though..."

[Shieba]

"Yeah, well...I think my sister is cute, too. It's really difficult. I wish people would sometimes talk more to others before they judge, though. People are scared of me because of my wings, people treat you like you aren't smart...that sucks." Rosy jumped up onto the broken toy and looked closer at the bar Cat has chosen. "Yes, this one might work indeed. I doubt my claws will help a lot here, though, since this isn't wood...but maaaaybe...hm. Dad will kill me if I use my powers for such a silly thing, but who cares? He doesn't have to find out!" Rosy focused on the part where the bar was weakly connected to the rest of the construction, summoned her dark powers into her claw and, with trained precision, delivered the blow. The bar broke off. "There!" Rosy looked at her claw. "Oh man, that one will need to grow back now. Ah well, who cares? People are distracted by the ribbons anyway."

[Kodai]

If it wasn't obvious from her expression, Cat was extremely impressed with Rosy's display of power. "Ohhhh! That was simply fantastic! Just marvelous!" She gave a little round of applause before remembering that they were on a time limit and needed to work quickly. "Oh, right! Okay, let me see if I can do this." Grabbing the broken-off bar, Cat peered under the merry-go-round again. "Hmm... I'm not sure if I'll be able to reach from here, even with the bar," she frowned. "But... since it's so old and rusty, I wonder if we couldn't push it back a little? If we did that, I might be able to go underneath it a little more and be able to reach more easily." Cat looked at Rosy. "Maybe if you simply put all your strength into pressing the other side down, it would bend over enough for me to fit?"

[Shieba]

"Haha, thanks!" Rosy blushed under her mask a bit. Normally, these powers were used to divide souls from the perishing to send them to the afterlife...but they obviously were able to impress little girls just as much. Her father would kill her if he found out! "Alright, let me see." Rosy walked to the other side and stepped on it, but the toy didn't move. "Okay, this doesn't work, let me try something else." She didn't particulary like touching the rusty thing, but this had to work now. She moved under one of the structures made out of the bars, placed two paws on the ground and used her weight to slowly tilt the merry-go-round down her side. "Urgh! This is heavy, please tell me you can reach them and that quickly!"