She glances up at Emi to check that this is all right. (She doesn't track her down right after dinner, usually, but Emi probably has a better idea of how long this will take, whether it'll interfere with their time very much.)

Emi is generally alright with this, though she maybe wishes that Mhinasukambre knew some crafts Better Suited For Young Ladies.

Eh.

She gives Mhina a grin and a nod.

Mhinasukambre picks up on this nonverbal exchange.

"It's okay," Emi says to the older woman. "I understand that your upbringing was... different than mine.

Mhinasukambre flinches momentarily at that. But only momentarily.

"Yeah. We can't all be princesses." She turns away, again considering the rapids standing between them and their destination. "Gonna have to ask for some space now. Important work to do."

"Sure."

Emi heads back towards camp.

The girl follows her in, but breaks off when they get there to go disassemble her hiding space - better not to let it get sodden, if they're going to be fording a river. She takes the resulting bundle with her to watch Mhina work.

Mhinasukambre cheerfully attends to the needs of the caravan: giving out directions to drivers, starting the work of sealing the wagons up for tomorrow's crossing, redistributing supplies between vehicles to equalize weight between them.

No matter what holdups or frustrations she faces, she always remains level headed in temperament and pleasant in demeanor when addressing the motley group of nomads comprising the caravan.

As she watches Mhinasukambre work, a shadow falls over her from behind.

"She's pretty extraordinary, isn't she?"

Koshnak sits down beside her bundled nest.

Even seated, he's not quite down to her eye level.

"We met way back in the day; she was a soldier of the Northern Guard, and I was just some ruffian looking to make a name for himself. An unlikely pair, but after a rocky start we became quite an effective team."

The old human woman can't uproot trees or wrestle down dire wolves the way Koshnak can, but as she hops from task to task she displays almost superhuman grace, perseverance, and attentiveness to detail. Everyone she interacts with, from rugged mountain men to delicate doe-eyed dames, seems to treat her with natural deference.

"We're damn lucky to have each other." He rests his back against one of the wagons, jostling it noticeably in the process. "None of this would be possible otherwise."

She hums appreciatively.

"Say. Emi mentioned you don't have a name, least not one you're giving out to folks round here. And so she just kept calling you 'the girl' over 'n over again, which was kind of funny to be honest."

...ah, yeah. That. "Mmhmm."

"So I've decided to call you Jen. I'm guessing you'll be fine with that."

There ought to be a question mark at the end of that second sentence.

There totally isn't though.

She makes a rude noise.

Koshnak laughs, leaps back to his feet, and then heads over to where Mhinasukambre's working to help her with a bit of heavy lifting.

...well, all right then.

Things get sorted out. The sun sinks lower in the sky. The nomads back at the camp throw a 'feast'--nowhere near as grand as what they had during those first days of the journey, but they're excited to have fresh fish again and they'll party if they want to.

Mhinasukambre is one of the last ones to head back for a bite to eat.

She doesn't wait that long - she's enthusiastic about the fish too - but she keeps an eye out for Mhina, and goes over when she turns up.

"Hey there. Rickhardt says there are some old locks he doesn't need anymore back in the second-to-last wagon. We can go take a look in a minute."

She walks past, grabs a fish, and then begins scarfing it down in a decidedly indelicate fashion.

She'll just tag along, then.

A minute or so later, they are rattling around inside of a wagon looking for surplus locks.

(She tries to keep her rubbernecking subtle.)