"Yes, Veronika, above a hill. Really." Alexa replied cheerfully, internally laughing at Veronika's groan. Now that she had had some time to 'filter out' the irritating part from most of Veronika's whines, Alexa found that she was mostly amused by the girl's antics. Some of the time. She had feeling that it won't be long before the other girl did something else that would drove her up the wall, again. 

Alexa hefted the shield on her left hand slightly and frowned. Despite feeling more secure with the shield in her hand, she's not used to the shield's weight, not to mention that she's not sure whether she's even holding the shield securely or not. It might be more of a hindrance than protection unless she could figure out how to use both the shield and sword properly.
As they both walked up the hill, Alexa absently nodded and 'hmmhmm'ed at Veronika's rapid questions/whines/complaints. It just made her really feel like a baby sitter who's humoring their charge's incessant babbles. 

The hike itself was not an easy one with the rather steep slope, at least for them who were not used to hiking, and she's rather thankful for wearing her sneakers instead of sandals when she went out. When Veronika pointed out the smoke in the distance, Alexa squinted her eyes and concentrated on the horizon beyond the hills. Sure enough, she saw a couple trails of thin smoke, it's almost like the ones she saw coming out of the old house in the children storybooks she once read. "I think you're right, Veronika. Let's hurry up so we can see it better from top. " She responded happily and without thinking, she grabbed Veronika's hand and pulled her to walk faster in excitement.