And slowly, they start to fall into a routine. Language lessons and breakfast in the morning, logging over noon, then returning to the town to eat a small supper and turn in. 

The days blur past, each one shorter than Hibiscus is used to. Her body's not very happy about going from a 24-hour sleep cycle to a 12-hour one, but she's managing to adapt, if slowly. 

Eventually...

"I can feel something," Hibiscus says. "Out in the forest. I don't know what it is. It feels a little like... fresh-growing vines. And then beyond it... A long, long way beyond it... I feel city. Maybe a way home." 

"Travel beyond a day out is no joke," Aria says. "If you are out at night you will be killed, almost certainly. And the fire will not bring you back. Are you certain you wish to look?" 

"I think the closer one is easy," she says with a smile. "It isn't far into the woods. The other... is a long journey. I don't know exactly how long. Months, I think."

"Are you determined to try?"

"There are people I love who are waiting for me, and who don't know where I've gone." 

She nods. "Of course I'll try."

"Then you will need guards with you. A caravan. And to follow the roads as best you can. It will be slow, but it's better than dying." 

Hibiscus lets out a heavy breath. 

"Alright."

"If you go, we must stockpile as much wood as we can first. I do not want to leave this town defenceless." 

"You wouldn't come with me?"

"My first duty is to keep everyone in this town alive." 

She says it flatly, little emotion in her voice. It's clear she's trying not to say more.

"Are there no other firekeepers?"

"There are some. In other towns. But I am this town's hearthkeeper. I will not go without a clear and present replacement. I owe that much to Tharida." 

The knight who died for her. So that's her name. 

"Alright." 

She exhales hard. 

"Then I will stay. For now. But once we stockpile enough wood, I'm going to see if there's someone in the next town over who can take care of your hearthtending duties for you."

"Alone?"

"Well, how far is it? Could I stay safe through the night?"

"There are lodges along the roads. Fortified places. Not enough to stop a troll, but enough to deal with... incidental pests." 

She shakes her head. 

"It is still foolhardy to go alone."

"Would you have done it, to see Tharida again?"

"A thousand times."

Aria runs a hand through her hair and sighs. 

"It will be a month or two before we have enough stocks for me to be willing to risk it. You must stay at least until then."

She's been here for all of a week and already she's essential. 

... Funny feeling, that. Warm and scary at the same time. 

"Alright." 

She has responsibilities now, even if she doesn't like it.

"You showed me so much of your world, but I understood so little of it. Could you teach me more?"

Hibiscus knows a straight line when she sees it. 

"Of course, dear Aria. Of course."

And so the days flow by.