"I grow very good vegetables," she says, a little smugly.

"I can tell! Goodness. I'm going to have to learn your secrets and recipes, if I can sweet-talk them out of you." She keeps eating. It's damned good stew.

She chuckles. "I keep pretty firm hold of my secrets. If you want to help make dinner, though, I wouldn't mind."

"You've got yourself a volunteer then." She sips the lemonade with a smile.

The lemonade is tart and not overly sweet, but pleasantly cold and not too strong. Overall pretty good unless you are a Sourness Disliker.

Lily smiles back. "Swing by again at dusk, then, if you're not caught up with something else. You're good for one night in my barn, but I don't mind if it's a while before you take me up on it."

Good lemonade indeed. She sips happily.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." She takes a few more bites of soup, then asks, "What sorts of things might one get swept up in, if they try?"

"Maybe you'll hit it off with Hazel and spend all night talking alchemy, or find a bee-girl in the forest to spend the night with, if you're into that sort of thing. —more seriously, I should warn you not to head south when you leave my farm. Past the ruined village it's all demon territory and you don't want to mess with that. If you see the water looking cloudy like someone's been pouring milk in it, you're too close to the factory and you should turn around."

"Good to know. What's going on at the factory? Just demons, or something else unpleasant?"

"Demons trying to corrupt the fabric of the world itself using their captives as fuel." She makes a face and hefts her spoon. "I'd rather not get into it over lunch."

"Goodness. That won't do. And yes, not a lunch topic at all."

"Well, if you want to get caught up in that, I guess I can't stop you, but—don't underestimate the demons. Imps may look small and weak, but they're not the only thing out there, and even they can be a problem when they're running in packs."

She's been working steadily on her stew, but she focuses extra hard on it now, to get the subject of demons off her mind.

"Not anytime soon I don't. I have a lot of building up and preparing to do before I expect to be remotely close to good in a fight. Anyway." She shakes her head, takes another bite, and smiles. "Staying up all night talking alchemy does sound like something I might do. I don't know what sort of thing — other than perhaps a casual fling — one might get up to with a random bee-girl in the forest. Different anatomy, perhaps? I'm certainly curious, but I've found I prefer building friendships, and then building romances out of some of those friendships, rather than two ships passing in the night."

<Cute,> teases the shipgirl headmate. <Very cute.>

<Love you, Maya,> Sable replies.

"The bee-girls are usually only after one thing, and it's hypnotizing people and filling them with eggs," she says. "They're friendly enough about it, but if you're not interested you should probably steer clear."

"Oh my." Her expression gets a bit complicated — interested, put off, and thoughtful all at once. "Hypnosis could be quite lovely to experiment with in a very trusting relationship, but not casually, and not if it turns into getting filled up with eggs. No thank you."

She shakes her head and eats more stew. "Delicious stew, on the other hand, is always a good idea, as are kind wolf-girls who cook such stew."

She laughs. "Flatterer," she says, amused. "I haven't been called a girl in a long time."

She grins. "Pity no one has eyes then, but guilty as charged, I suppose." Another happy bite of soup.

"I guess you'll just have to see where your flattery gets you."

She finishes her last bite of stew and gets up to clear her dishes, coming back from the kitchen with a big canvas sack. It does at least have a drawstring.

"I had a spare backpack, but another outworlder bought it a few weeks back," she says. "You might see him around. Tall, human, name of Torok. He's..." She considers her words for a moment. "...he's got a good heart, but not much clue how to use it."

"We'll have to see indeed," and then she finishes off her stew as well, then stands to take her dishes to the same spot Lily did. "Thank you for this. It was delicious, and you've been delightful  and informative. I'd gladly help out again if I'm in the area, especially if I get another taste of your cooking and your company."

She accepts the bag with a warm smile. "I'll keep an eye out for him, too. He sounds like an interesting sort, and maybe us outworlders can help each other."

The bag is hefty but not staggering. "Mostly onions in there, but I snuck in a couple of oranges—Palla loves those, she'll trade you fresh fish for them if you want it. She's got a hut on the shore a little ways north of here."

"Awww, thank you! I'll make sure to pay her a visit too." She gives Lily an earnest smile. "Thank you again, for everything. Couldn't ask for a better first person to find on my first day in a new world."

She smiles back. "Hey, you did fair work for those vegetables. Come back anytime. Though I'll warn you now, I don't let anyone sleep in my barn more than a few nights in a row. I like my space."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I'm planning to build a house of my own as soon as I can get some tools together, though."

She steps over to the door, then throws a last wave and smile over her shoulder. "Take care, Lily."

"You too. Safe travels."

She waves, and closes the door behind Sable as she leaves.

Today is a great day so far.

<It really has been,> Maya replies with a warm smile. <Off to Hazel then?>

<Yeah, I'll save the oranges for now. Get the fish if it looks like I'm staying for dinner somewhere.>

And she walks steadily back to the lake, and toward Hazel's likely location on the western shore, transferring the oranges to her normal bag as she goes.

Although Lily said Palla's hut could be found on the shore just to the north of the farm, it seems Sable must have missed it somehow, because as she heads north along the shoreline she reaches the north shore of the lake without seeing it.

Another half hour around the north shore and a few minutes south along the western side, and a curious little dwelling comes into view. It's made of wood and brightly painted in teal and lilac and green, and there's a cozy little campfire set up just outside, its coals currently cold. Sounds of bustling emanate from within.