Kijani listened to Mr. Croil, lingering on the porch as he spoke. Even though his body was still, she could tell a lot from the tone of his voice. He and Mr. Brandleman would never be friends. Unfortunately though, from the way he put things, the crook was the better of two evils in this town. She only wished that there was some way to... fix things. But there she was again, trying to interfere. "I will be very careful." She smiled, and stepped closer to the porch. When there, she called out, letting her voice carry into the growing twilight. "Thank you, Mr. Croil. For... all of today." A sweet, secretive smile brought a touch of joy to her eyes. Without waiting for a response, she went inside to see what miracles Feather had performed for dinner.

---

The next day passed with much more calmness. While she did have the same nightmare again, she was able to quell her reaction before she dressed and went downstairs. She was up much earlier, and so did her best to attempt to help Feather with the breakfast. To be honest, she was probably more in the way than helpful, but she did set the table without breaking anything. Next was to learn to cook. The morning and afternoonn were blazing hot, so Kijani decided to stay in and read. While part of her did want to go and see if she could just happen to run into Mr. Croil again, she figured he wouldn't want to be distracted from his work. So she stayed upstairs with her books. While she tried to stay quiet, eventually snatches of stanzas could be heard echoing down the stairs. She probably should try to stay quiet, but it was something purely reflexive. When she was the most excited about what was on the page, she wanted to hear the words in the air.

The reading helped to quell her thoughts, which threatened to consume her every time she stopped doing something. By now they would certainly be looking for her in the city. Had she covered her tracks well enough? Perhaps she should have falsified a ransom note, to further muddy her trail. But no, that would have required more talent than she possessed. She would've had to distort her handwriting, invent a kidnapping, leave false evidence. No, this was better. After all, they didn't know which way she'd gone, or how far. Most likely they'd pass Arbordale completely and head to the next largest town. 

The day passed with minimal incident, and soon Feather was calling her for supper. She washed up and alighted down the stairs, smiling politely and inhaling deeply. "It smells like pure heaven, Feather. You're very talented, you know. I wish you could teach me."