"No."

"I did. I cut it off sometimes, though."

"I did that with my legs, I think?"

"This is very weird to think about. I don't think I like it. But it seems important."

"It does."

She hums - "I'm going to change shape a little. Can you tell me if I start resembling what you used to look like?"

"You can do that?"

"I'm... Not sure that's a good use of time. We really really weren't anything like you."

She nods a little. "Though I don't think I have anywhere to be in a rush..."

"You'll be in danger as long as you're too close to the hungering ones."

"And lonely."

"And lonely. There are people who know how to keep them out and hunt them, though."

She nods. "Where are those people?"

"By the ocean, I think."

"They come here hunting hungering ones sometimes, but not lately."

She nods. "Which direction is the ocean?"

"...West, probably, right? Or south?"

"At least one of those two. I don't remember which way has the best path, though."

"I mean, you can find a river and follow it downstream if nothing else."

"I can head west and south, preferentially downhill, until I find a river, yeah."

"I sort of feel like we should follow you. Because we can talk to you. That hasn't happened in a long time."

"I'd welcome the company."

"We will, then!" The other declares. "And we can warn you about the hungering ones."

"Thanks."

"So what now? Are you going to leave right away?"

"Probably very soon, if not right away, yes. There's not much to keep me here."

"I can wait a little if you need time, though."

"We should get the-"

"Yes, yes, go get it."

The other bird flies off.

And back not a minute later, with a wedding ring around one of his legs.

"This is important. I don't know why, but it is. Now we can go."

"...Okay." She'll head off, then.

She is soon hiking uphill again. Along what may have been another road at one point, but is fairly indistinct now. The bird spirits aren't super talkative, but flit around ahead of her and warn her of the foul spirits. They say the beast-like ones can't move much during the day, so you're mostly safe when it's bright... But there's rare breeds that can tolerate shade and twilight, like the car lurkers, and leaf-litter creatures.

The best available path takes her past the remains of another town, this one mostly burned down to the ground, and then along a long, thin lake.

Around lunchtime, there's two sharp cracking sounds from up ahead somewhere, echoing along the mountains. A bit later, what might be wispy trails of smoke peeking up from the left side of this long, thin valley, far in the distance.