"Huh. That sounds interesting to visit." He briefly looks into the distance, consulting his bridge-finding senses. "Is there a bridge to it near here?"

She points. "I walked here from there tonight and it took me about nine hours. ...um, but I might rather you use a different bridge, I spend most of my time at that one and there's a nice gazebo and I don't want it exploded by dinosaurs. ...also the trees in Arbor are people which is relevant when you're considering where to put a dinosaur explosion."

"That is a good point," he replies, rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, I guess we're going to chill here for a bit and I'll jump us back to the Rim. I don't know if you want to come along?"

"I don't like to be out of the Academy except to sleep; I've been trying really hard to be here as much as possible so I can gain more powers. I guess I was about to go home... oh, wait, I can't go to the Rim, though. I'm not connected to it at all, it would be awful."

"Oh, right, that. Uh...fair! Sorry. I guess, don't let me hold you here if you were headed back to bed?"

Fib falls into a bit of silence, his light dimming a little as he just has some more jammed crackers and water. Lucky, Clarity, and Sniper continue to discuss acquiring bikes.

"I don't have to leave right away." Awkward fidget.

"Ah, right."

"Should go back soon, though. If we need bikes, better if the base is working on that sooner. Rim time," Sniper adds.

"Truuue," Fib draws out. He does some mental math. "We might be able to get back in a few minutes? Maybe half an hour-ish? There would hopefully not be a dinosaur this time."

"Hmm... if you don't hurry back here, when are you likely to be here again? If I have time to go home and sleep and come back, then I have time to bring you more jam."

"Oh, no, that wasn't rushing. If we were rushing we'd be back in, like...maybe a couple minutes? The longest it'd take is probably two hours, if it takes us a couple days to get everything we need."

"...I feel like I might be missing something."

"Oh, right! You hadn't heard of the Rim. Time there is, like, fifty-ish times faster. Back in fifteen minutes here gives us 12-ish hours back at the base."

"Ooooh, that makes sense. In that case... I'll go home when you leave, and I'll come back in a few minutes with more jam, and if you're not back by the time I want to go to sleep I'll leave it in the trail of destruction for you to pick up?"

He smiles at that. "Sounds good! And, uh. I jump using the car, so that I can take my friends and stuff with me, so if you aren't coming with you'll probably want to get out."

"Reasonable."

She climbs out and picks her way through the flowers and gives an awkward little wave.

He waves back equally awkwardly, and then (despite there not being a gate within jumping distance) the car disappears. The chaotic layering of world auras disappears with it, her conduit-sense recovering the brightness that Fib brought with him.

The Academy is still alien to her, but in comparison to how it felt with him around, it seems to almost sigh in relief.

Well.

Fifteen minutes later, she's reappearing in just about this same spot, a look of concentration on her face, carrying a bark-leather shoulder bag filled with six jars of jam. They each have a tag on a bit of string around the neck to label them: cherry, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, fig, and peach. The names are accompanied by charming little drawings of the fruits.

Fib and Sniper are there, sitting on bikes made of gold and glass with pretty big cargo compartments in the back, as well as more moderate baskets in the front, current full of unfamiliar vegetables and some fresh baked bread. There aren't any monsters around, and the part doesn't seem any worse for wear than before. "Hello again-- Oh, I just realized I never got your name," Fib greets her.

"—oh." She blinks. "Um. ...I haven't thought about that in a while." She holds out the bag. "Here, have some jam."

Fib nods. "Fair enough, though if you don't give me some kind of handle I'm going to have start calling you Jam," he says, receiving the jam and placing it in his bike's basket, before retrieving a bunch of the vegetables. "Here's a bunch of stuff that mechs back at base know is good to eat, that's native to the Rim, if you want to try growing it in your garden?"

"Oh, I would like that!" Vegetables get. "To save myself from being called Jam, perhaps I can be Groundskeeper until you meet another one. —I've read that's what Conduits of Arbor are called. I will also try to think of a better name than that."

"Groundskeeper it is! Anyway, no shame if it's your thing, but if we're doing a night picnic I'd rather find somewhere else to eat than right next to a dino carcass that's going to start smelling pretty bad in an hour. Any thoughts on better places to take a seat?"

"One nice thing about the Academy is that if you walk five minutes in any direction you will pass a picturesque place to sit and read a book. I suppose picturesque places to sit and eat are very similar."

"That does sound nice! Let's get looking then."

And (presumably) the three of them walk off (Fib and Sniper taking their bikes with them) to find somewhere a bit less disturbed to eat.

The prophecy holds true: after a brisk stroll of three minutes or so, they come upon a park whose wooden benches are shaded by broad leafy trees and then lit by tall lamp-posts. There's even little square tables set up over by that one; it doesn't quite make for a true picnic table, but it could certainly serve the same function.

Very convenient! Fib and Sniper will pull up their bikes next to the table. Fib sets up the bread on...a leaf? A big one, kind of like a banana leaf. Sniper goes around to the cargo compartment and retrieves some juicy-looking and unfamiliar fruit, and a leaf-wrapped block of what seems to be soft cheese.