One hesitates for a little, and then takes some of the bamboo and starts eating it, although he'll watch Phantasm as well, a little curious as to why he's brought his own food closer.

"Nice to have company," he explains after a bit.

He hums quietly, and then nods. "Is," he agrees.

They can eat in companionable silence, then. Figment comes back after a bit, with messy feathers suggesting that she found a berrybush and half a dozen freshly killed insects wrapped in a leaf; she gives the leaf to Phantasm, who takes two for himself and deposits the rest in front of One.

Raafi gets back next, while Deka's still asleep, carrying a large, half-full bag.

One takes the insects, nodding gratitude to Figment. (A small part of him wants to offer to groom her, but he's not entirely sure that would be welcome.)

When Raafi returns, One blinks at little at the bag, but doesn't say anything.

He goes to set the bag on the bench of the cart, but the dog growls at him when he gets too close, and he backs off and brings it over to the fire instead.

"I think this'll work to let you sit safely on the cart, One - it's sand, it won't catch fire and it's pretty good at keeping temperatures from spreading. When Deka's up we can try it."

One flinches slightly when the dog growls, but doesn't necessarily seem scared.

He nods as Raafi speaks. "I- that would be...good, right?"

"That's the idea. I do have another casting of the fireproofing spell if we need it, but it won't last all day. And it'll be good to have a nonmagical way to make places safe for you to be in, you'll be much less limited that way."

"I- I can- stop it. Just-" (Everything's scary right now.)

"It seems like it's hard, though, right? It's good to find an easier way when something's hard, especially if it lets you do more things you want to do."

He thinks that over, and then nods. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. And now I should eat breakfast - does Deka like a hot breakfast, should I make her something?"

    "Likes to sleep in, eats on the road."

"All right. And you three?"

    "Good here."

        "Any fish?"

"I don't think so. I'll make some next time."

        "Wuk. Thanks."

"And you?"

One holds up a bit of bamboo. "M'okay. Figment got me some bugs."

"Sounds good."

He sets three apples to roast and comes back over. "Anything else come up overnight?"

One shakes his head, and keeps chewing on the bamboo.

Raafi will amuse himself with a little wood-and-metal puzzle until the apples are ready, then - they smell delicious, when they are.

And eventually Deka rolls out of bed, somewhat groggily, and nods to Raafi and One on her way to check on her cart and goat and dog, feeding the latter before coming back over. "Ready - go?"

    "I have something I'd like to try to let One sit on the cart without burning it, if that's all right."

"Okay."

The dog doesn't object to Raafi's approach with Deka right there, and soon he has the bag set up - it's a little unstable, with only improvised securement points, but not too bad. "Come have a look?"

One was not exactly expecting to be addressed, so startles a little, despite the fact that he was watching curiously, and gets to his feet. A small shake manages to get rid of a few lingering flames from his fur - much like a dog shaking water from it's fur in appearance - and he pads over carefully, a look of intense concentration on his face.

He can get up onto the bench under his own power, with some effort; the cart is sized for humans, but there are extra rungs under the floorboard and seat to make it halfling-friendly, if not exactly designed for him.

The bag of sand turns out to be pretty comfortable, though the top of the bag ends up getting a bit too close to him to really be safe. Raafi gets some rocks from the side of the road to make a circle in the sand and secure it back, and declares it at least good enough to get them to town. "And if you notice anything else wrong, we can fix it then. All right?"

One's a perhaps surprisingly adept climber, and so gets into the cart fairly easily. He settles down in the sand, and curls up in amongst the circle of rocks.

He nods to Raafi's question. "All right," he agrees quietly.

"Good. I think we're ready to get going, then?"

    "Mmhmm."

They take a few minutes to put the fire properly out and load up a suitable pile of bamboo and other food for the day, and Raafi gives Deka one of the apples he baked, and they can get moving. It's much the same as yesterday, once they're on the road, except Raafi opts to walk this time, keeping pace easily thanks to some magic he casts before they leave.

One watches curiously as he casts the magic, and the result, but is also spending a lot of time looking around with wide, curious eyes. He's definitely continuing to relax as they travel, even if he's still overwhelmed by everything.

They continue through the forest all morning, and Raafi gives One an impromptu lesson in tree and plant identification, pointing out what to look for in leaves and branches and bark to tell various kinds apart and giving him the names of several common and useful species. They stop briefly for a simple lunch, and a few hours later Raafi points out the abundance of food-bearing and decorative plants that indicates that they're nearing the elven town.

After a little bit of shyness, One is an attentive and interested student! He murmurs the names he's given, and ways to tell them apart to committ them to memory. (Eagerness apparently also means flames, but they're tiny, friendly tongues that settle on his fur rather than running over it.)

As they start nearing the elven town, One gets a little less enthusiastic, and starts getting more nervous again - and the flames start to flicker anxiously.

"Worried, sweetheart?"