“I get the broad gist of what just happened. Could you lay it out in more detail.”

"I - "  Their voice cracks; they clear their throat.  "I....remember it?  It was me doing it, not, being stuck in my head while something else puppeted my body or anything.  - Well, for a definition of 'me' that accounts for suddenly developing a different personality and entirely opposite goals.  It's - I don't know; do you have something more specific to ask; it's hard to guess what sort of information you're looking for.  Hard to think clearly at all, maybe."

“Do you have a sense of how likely it is to have a repeat showing in the next hour.”

"No.  - Maybe.  It was definitely the howling that did it, right, and it wasn't just the noise; there was some sort of magical resonance going on.  And I got information out of it - not like with language, just - on its own.  So I think the riskiest times are going to be either the next time some beasts notice me, if they do it again, or - normally, if you're awake, you can hear them howling every night out in the woods, at exactly midnight.  Which seems probably relevant now, only I have absolutely no idea what time it is; did you happen to see the moon when you looked out there.  - Or possibly whatever it is already had permanent effects, in which case we're basically screwed, although if that's the case I don't know why it would have let up at precisely the instant I went through the portal."

Jamie considers mentioning that he’s currently cut off from his magic. He decides against it.

”I didn’t see the moon. What’s our next step.”

"I'd really like to get back to my house and go to bed, personally.  Probably that should be preceded by - me heading outside, you closing the door, and waiting to see if howling occurs.  Come help me fight them if it doesn't.  If it does....beasts in general are ground-bound, the ex-witch ones float a few feet off the ground but I don't think they can properly fly; if you can get to the treetops you should be able to avoid them and navigate to town all right.  You should be at least more safe there, and you can wake someone up to help you.  - It's vaguely in the direction of out the door."

“Okay. Do you want to do anything else before we implement that.”

"I should probably - " and they start poking and absorbing the floating lyss until only one medium-sized blob's left to light the area near the doorway.

"Anything else from you?"

“No.”

"Okiedokes."

They get in position by the door and rush through it when Jamie opens it.

There's no howling, nor the sounds of combat.

"Uhh," says Lane.

“Do I open the door.”

They make an indecisive noise.  "....Sure, they aren't attacking.  I guess they might start if you come out."

He updates certain probability estimates.

He opens the door and refrains from walking through it, knife at the ready, discretely pointed in the direction of Lane’s voice.

They're just sort of standing there awkwardly.  The four visible beasts look at Jamie, almost curiously, and back to Lane.  And it is to rather than at, they seem to be expecting Lane to give them some sort of direction.  Lane looks distinctly uncomfortable and uncertain about what to do.

"It's about 2:00 am, looks like," they say, their eyes flicking to the sky.  "So, best case, we have almost a full day to figure something out.  - Well, best case is nothing happens at all and I'm fine forever, but.  Best plausible case."

“Tell them to leave?”

"They don't...language.  I guess I could - I'll try and charades it.  Stars I hate this.  Do you want me to attempt to get them to stay somewhere and then come back for you or should we make our ways into town separately."

“First one.”

"Okay, I'll be back, uh, sometime."

They walk out of the clearing and, after a bit of whistling and a lot of gesturing, get the beasts to follow them.

Jamie stands there and waits. And periodically tries growing something, to no particular avail.

It takes about twenty minutes for Lane to get back.

"I think I lost them.  Don't hear them following me, in any case."

“Mmhm.”

... he takes a single step outside the door frame.

Lane starts walking away from him, presumably towards town.

Meh, even if it is a trap he can probably manage.

He follows. 

Nothing immediately jumps out to attack him.

It's another hour or so to Lane's house, with occasional detours to stay out of the way of something they hear.  The forest is quite dense outside of the clearing, to start with, but it lightens up as they go on until it becomes open fields and orchards, then a road - first dirt, then paved in stones - lined with the occasional house or barn.

The town is completely empty of people as they enter, which is probably to be expected for one of this size at this hour; there are a few bats flying their irregular patterns overhead and a cat or two watching from the shadows.

Lane doesn't say a word till they're standing in front of what is presumably their door - yes, there's an engraved wood sign hung on the wall next to it reading 'Emilane'.

"Well.  Here we are."

“Are there other people who can be woken up.”