Ridahne grinned. "Oh we have our fair share of gossip as well. And in case you want to know someday, a classic way to insult someone back home is to question the precision of the artwork in their ink." She laughed. "We spent a lot of time as kids whispering about others' ojih. "Did you see Teluun has a new mark? I heard his brother did it for him while drunk.." That sort of thing." She laughed again. "Silly really. And petty. Perfect for children but some adults find it just as upsetting. But there's also lots of talk about the marks themselves. Especially when someone goes away, perhaps to the capital, and comes back with a marriage mark. Oh my do people talk!" And with slightly less mirth but not quite so much pain as before she added, "they will speak of me that way. Word has already spread, and there will be more to tell when we show ourselves, even if they don't know who you are." Ridahne shrugged. She had done the crime, after all. No one knew the circumstances, but the mark was not false.

Ridahne yawned, looking around to gain her bearings a bit before answering, "I think there's a town sort of close. It's not a short distance exactly, but we could make it if we push. Never been to it, but by the map it seems sort of mid sized. I'm sure they'll have plenty of good food and real beds we could rent out."

They rode on for a few more hours, and as they did, the forest deepened. Darkness deepened too, though whether that was solely because of the approach of evening, or because the foliage was much denser as they went on, was up for debate. Perhaps both. Mitaja, who had been happily trotting off into the brush for hours had come back to them, though instead of padding ahead or looming some distance behind like a benevolent shadow, she stuck close to the two riders. Ridahne didn't notice this at first--she was accustomed to having Mitja around her all the time. But an uncomfortable feeling in her chest made her suddenly pay attention to things that might seem off, and this was the first thing she noticed. Mitaja was too close. The cat liked to range and then to snuggle up close at night. It was uncommon for her to be nearly under Tsura's feet.

She didn't want to say anything at first. It was probably nothing and she didn't want to spook her companion for no good reason. Besides, they hadn't come across anything that would give her worry. No signs of bandits, no suspiciously hewn trees across the road or overturned carts, no sets of glowing eyes in the growing gloom or any sign of other creatures, or--

"Wait." All day, her tone of voice had been amicable, casual, friendly and relaxed, if not a bit tired. But though this was spoken softly, it was a command. She halted Tsura and Mitaja stopped as well, all perfectly still. Ridahne listened but she heard nothing and yet...that was the problem. She heard nothing. No rustle of leaf, no chirp of insect and no twitter of bird. Silence.  That uncomfortable feeling inside her seemed to be rioting. "Something's wrong. Do you feel it?" And as she said this, her hand reached back and checked the movement of her sword in its leather sheath. As always it came easily to her call, but she did not draw it yet. Not yet.