blinks as she was hunting and heard the noise. She peered curiously from her spot in the trees.

| The hot air balloon was draped over several trees, cables caught in the branches and the basket hanging down maybe a little precariously. Madeline couldn't be seen from the ground, all

curled up on the floor of the envelope, but the soft sound of her crying could probably be heard.

seemed even more curious as to what it was as she carefully made her way closer to where the sounds were coming from.

|A chunk of heavy balloon fabric fell in front of Dorthe, having slipped from its place in the trees.

moved it aside as she drew closer and looked at the girl in the basket oddly. " Typically I don't believe in angels falling from heaven but I might make an exception this time. You okay there?"

startles at the sudden voice, sitting up quickly and looking to the source. "O-oh..!" I-I.." she wipes at her face, suddenly embarrassed and trying to hide the fact she was crying. "I-I'm fine, sorry..."

nods as she leaned closer to the basket, holding onto a tree branch to keep herself steady as they were high up in a tree. " Do you need help to get down Miss? Your aircraft is stuck in a tree, ja?"

hesitates, but nods, trying to stand up carefully. She hadn't even noticed how high they were yet. "P-please...I'm afraid I'm not the best climber..." she admits timidly.

smirks and offered the other her hand. " Grab on. I'll help you down." She made sure her footing was good on the tree.

gently takes her hand,holding on to the dangling ropes for added balance as she trusts the other to help her. "T-thank you, miss.."

noticed the other was pretty light weight and simply picked her up. She carried her and brought her onto ground rather quickly. " You're pretty light there. Maybe I was right that you were an angel." She teased

gasps in surprise as she's suddenly lifted up, clinging to the other tightly as they quickly found their way to the ground. Her cheeks redden at the comment. "T-that's just silly," she replies, embarrassed.

smiles as she chuckles once she made sure the other had her feet touching the ground properly. " Ja? Well I'm glad that you're safe anyway."

takes a moment finding her footing again on the solid ground, having been in the air for far too long before. She brushes off her skirt, cheeks still a little red as she hid it with a smile. "Y-yes, thank

you very much... I don't know what I would've done on my own," she answers, rubbing at her eyes again. "I-I don't know what to do now though," she adds, looking in dismay up at her balloon.

pats her back in a friendly fashion. " No worries.You could always get or make a new balloon to travel on."

nods a little. "Is there a seller nearby?" she asks, though also wondering if she should haul this one down herself or if there was someone she could hire.

wrinkles her nose as she looked in the distance to where the town was located. " I'm not sure but there probably is considering that the town is a place for settlers and explorers."

glances in the same direction, before looking back to Dorthe. "Ah, excellent then," she smiles softly. "And thank you so much, again. How can I repay you for your help?"

waves her hand at that. " No need. I'm an explorer too living in that town. Besides it's always more fun to pay it forward and help other people."

rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, looking uncertain. "Are you sure? You helped a great deal.."

shakes her head as she glanced over to the balloon. " Its better for you to scavenge what you can from your aircraft than worry about that. A lot of the undamaged material fetch for a good price in town."

nods, sighing gently at the task ahead of her. "Well, thank you again, then. I suppose I should get at it.."

smiles,. " I can help you out since I have nothing better to do." The game in the forest hadn't been so good lately so she might as well find something to do.

looks back to her, smiling softly. "Are you sure? You've already helped me a lot.."

shrugs, " Why not? It's bad for a girl to be out alone here without a gun or some protection. There's a lot of males in town that like to lurk on the outskirts."

nods a little, though she's a little worried. "Oh.. have I landed in a rough part of the country?" she asks, glad she has a small gun with her just in case.

nods in response as she set to work to bring most of the balloon down. " In a way, ja. There's a lot of conflict between the Loyalists and Patriots here. It's Pangaea Town after all."

blinks at this news, starting to pull the balloon down as well. "Ah..." it takes a moment before she realizes where she'd heard the town name before. "O-oh wait, this is where the war is

building?" she asks, feeling the need to get out of here quickly now. "I've only read about it in the papers.."

took out her knife to cut away at some branches that had caught onto the ballon. " Ja, its not as bad as the papers sound as long as you don't get involved. Just be on alert."

nods, tugging the ropes down and piling everything salvagable into a neat pile. "O-oh alright.. I'll do my best," she answers, wishing she had brought heavier artillery with her.

used some of the rope to tie it up into manageable bundles to carry easier. " You can stay with me until its blown over or when your aircraft is fixed."

starts to tug at the basket after everything else is pulled down, glad at least this part hadn't been damaged too badly. "O-oh, would you mind if I did...? I-I don't know anyone around here.."

shook her head as she gathered everything up and carried the heavier items. " Nej, I won't mind anyway seeing I never have any company."

tosses the rest in the basket, dragging it along behind her with a little difficulty thanks to the awkward size. "Thank you very much, then," she smiles up at her.

smiled back as she carried the items along and led the way. " By the way my name's Dorthe. I figured it'll be easier for you to call me that."

follows her, trying to remember the path just in case she needed it later. "Oh right, I'm Madeline. Pleased to meet you, Miss Dorthe," she smiles, though she wonders what it was easier than.

nods as she kept walking. She just preferred to give her the shorter version of her name considering she didn't want to give away her identity entirely.

follows along quietly, unaware she was following missing royalty. Fortunately for Dorthe, Madeline had only read about it, and not seen photographs.

rather glad about that and the fact she had a pretty long name is the other really had to address her properly.

continues following her blissfully unaware, wondering how far the woman's house was.

lead her into town and helped her into a rather hidden and dainty house. It wasn't much but then again the Dane was only ever home to rest from hunting.

blinks at the house, smiling when they're finally in sight. The basket was a bit harder to lug around without the balloon than she had hoped.

wondered if she needed any help. It was a pretty big basket after all.

going to need somewhere to store it... if that was possible not to have it outside >3<

thought she could store it in her house in the meantime.

very grateful to her!

wasn't in her house typically since she was out most of the time. She opened the door for the other to enter. " Its not much but make yourself at home."

smiles as she looks around. "It's very nice, regardless, thank you," she replies, making her way inside.

put the stuff down in the living area before getting the other some water. " The kitchen isn't much but if you ever need to cook you can use that. I'll go prepare your bed so hang tight."

busies herself with stowing the basket in a hopefully out of the way enough corner, shoving the rest of the materials into it to save space. "Oh thank you," she smiles, accepting the water. "I can help if you

need it?" she offers.

scratches her head as she started heading upstairs. " Sure but its just cleaning up the guest room a bit if you don't mind. Honestly this house wasn't that expensive to my surprise when I bought it."

hesitantly follows up after her. "Oh I don't mind, I can help," she smiles. "It's a pretty nice little place, for what it is," she nods. Sure, she was used to bigger, fancier homes- her

parents had a fair bit of money. But this was comfortable too.

actually preferred smaller places like this since her old home was a giant palace which she didn't like in particular. She opened the door to the room, waving the dust away as she went to open the_

window.It had a bed, a desk and an old wooden chest for storage and that was pretty much it. " From your accent, you're from the capital, ja? This really isn't much but if you need anything you can always ask."

coughs a little at the dust as they enter the room, glancing round. It wasn't much, but it was more than she had asked for, of course. "Ah yeah, from just at the edge of the city," she

smiles. "This is perfect, thank you. What would you like me to help with?"

glances over, " We're gonna need to change the bedsheets and clean up the room. There should be a broom behind the door. The steam powered vacuums they sell in town are too overpriced_

_ and expensive so I never got around to getting one." She wrinkled her nose, feeling like sneezing from all the dust.

nods, moving to find the broom and start sweeping. "Oh but those things are fantastic. You get the job done so much faster," she smiles, starting in the corner of the room.

shrugs as she went to get some new bedsheets. She hadn't really used one before and she wasn't usually home so she didn't think keeping one would be a good idea. " Really? That sounds interesting."

hums softly to herself as she sweeps. "Yeah I dunno, I like them. I can see why you wouldn't bother though."

started setting up the bed and removing the old sheets. She shrugged after. " Well...I have never used one before..." She stated hesitantly.

gets a little pile of dust near the middle of the room, moving to another corner. "They're a bit bulky," she offers, though smiling. "And noisy. But it gets it done."

went to get the dustpan for the other. " I guess. I've seen them back where I used to live. They seemed pretty advanced compared to some of the other stuff being made."

smiles, thanking her and sweeping the pile into the dust pan. "Yeah, they're pretty futuristic. Where did you used to live?" she asks, curious.

shrugs, " In the capital. I didn't like it there cause people I typically saw were too uptight." The court women were so annoying to hang around.

nods at this. "Well I suppose that makes sense... there are quite a few aristocrat types there," she chuckles softly. "Have you heard about the heir to the throne then?"

shakes her head in an innocent manner as she fixed up the bed neatly and gathered up all the old sheets. " Why did something happen?"

feeling gossipy, apparently. "Well, she and her bodyguard went travelling and didn't come back. A lot of people think she died...but a lot of other people think they ran off to live a romantic life instead,"

she answers, seeming to believe the latter. "It's a big mess in the capital, no one's really sure what to do."

((if ive got things wrong go ahead and tlel me ahah im making it up as i go))

((Nope its totally fine 8D ))

raises a brow as she looked amused from hearing that, " That's interesting. I'm pretty sure whatever their fate was, it was pretty grim." She chuckles after. " Though I'm sure people are out to find them."

smiles up at her. "Yeah, there's been several search parties scouring the countryside, but no one's found them yet. I like to think they're in hiding together... I mean, how romantic would

that be, right? Kind of like a romance novel," she sighs dreamily.

chuckles at that, though in truth she had no idea where her bodyguard was. " That sounds cute. Maybe it was all planned if they can elude the search parties for so long."

nods at that, preferring to think about the happy side of the situation, of course. "Yeah, it would make sense right? It's a much nicer thought too."

nods as she placed the sheets into a basket and started to carry it downstairs. " Maybe someone would write a novel about them when the story comes out?"

hums at the thought of that. "Oh, I'd read that," she nods, following after her.

places the basket to the side close to the laundry area to wash later. " Is there anything you want to eat in particular>"

shakes her head, not wanting to impose further. "What ever you would like is good by me," she smiles.

scratched her head as she looking into the fridge. It was a bit of an old model but it did the job well. " The food I like isn't typically found here but in the capital city."

hums softly, standing off to the side. "Oh... well I'm sorry then, I'm afraid I lost my cooler somewhere along the descent..." She had been tossing things out trying to lighten her load, not that it had helped.

laughs as she nodded, " That's fine. I guess we'll be eating out tonight. My fridge only has beer..." Which was something she loved to secretly horde.

chuckles softtly. "Not a very good dinner, then." she smiles.

gave an awkward laugh as she nods at her mini failure. " Yeah...I haven't been home lately so I haven't bought any groceries."

smiels at her and shrugs. "That's alright. I'll buy dinner to thank you for letting me stay then," she nods.

started to head for the door as she slowly nodded back. " Are you sure? I kind of feel bad for treating a guest that way."

smiles at her, following. "Of course, I want to do something to thank you for letting me stay here."

opened the door for the other, " Then I'll let you choose on what to eat then."

thanks her, walking through to outside and shaking her head. "You tell me, I have never been around here. You're going to have to lead the way," she smiles.

blinks and nods, nearly forgetting about that part as she locked the door. " Alright." She started heading to where the busiest part of town was and where there was a lot of places to choose from.

smiles softly, following after her. She wanted to go to whatever Dorthe's favourite was!

went to a restaurant she frequented then. It had food she liked from the capital and it wasn't too expensive like most places serving food from the capital.

seems pleased with the place, eager to try out new things. That's why she went on an adventure on her own, really.

glanced over to her prior to being seated. " Check out the menu. There's a lot to choose from."

nods, picking up the menu and reading through the list. "Ooh, you weren't kidding," she hums, looking over the surprising selection.

smiles more as she had the waiter bring them water. " Ja. Just pick whatever you like. It isn't too expensive here."

nods, deciding on an interesting looking pasta dish before putting down the menu. "This place seems great, thanks for choosing it," she smiles.

went for a simple steak before ordering. " No problem. I thought it would be better eating something from home rather than something foreign for a first night."

places her order too, handing off the menu and smiling. "Well, whichever works. It's not like I've travelled so far as to be out of the country at least."

nods back as she sipped the water that arrived after. " There's plenty of interesting food here too. Though some are a bit weird..."

hums softly, thanking the waiter. "Oh? Tried any of the weird wones here?" she asks.

wrinkles her nose, " There are a lot of weird things like whale meat here. I don't even know where they get it."

makes a face. "You can eat whale?" she asks, wondering what that would even taste like.

shrugs, " It had an interesting taste for sure."

hums, glad she didn't order it then. "That's weird. I think I'll stay away from being That adventurous..."

nods as she leaned back in her seat. " Ja...and its not a good idea to eat street vendor food here until you're accustomed to the place."

nods at this, sipping her water. "Street vendors are questionable all around, I think," she smiles.

smiles, " Ja, even finding one in the capital was a rare treat. Some of them have really good food." She was remembering the first time she snuck out with her bodyguard to see the city.

nods at the, laughing a little. "My parents didn't take me out to eat very often, my father was too good of a cook for that," she smiles.

sipped her water as she nods, " Really? Was he a famous cook by any chance?"

chuckles softly, shaking her head. "No, he's a pilot. He just also likes food I guess," she laughs.

nods as their food eventually arrived. It wasn't too long of a wait seeing the place was starting to get packed. " Ah. That sounds awesome."

smiles at how delicious her food looks, nodding. "Mm yeah, I miss his cooking while I'm on this trip. This looks good though!"

chuckles as she started to eat after a quick prayer. She wasn't too much of a religious type but it was such a habit drilled in her head that she typically didn't forget.

respectfully waits for her to finish the prayer. She wasn't one for religion herself, but was of course far too polite to not pay attention. She digs in to her pasta, humming softly. It was pretty good!

smiles, glad to see the other enjoying the food. She felt a little bad for taking up the other's attention from earlier. " How is the food for you?"

would tell her she has no reason to feel bad in the slightest! "It's delicious! Almost as good as my papa's," she smiles up at her. "How's yours?"

blinks as she never paid much attention to her food. " It's good. Would you want to try a piece?" She offered.

hesitates a little, but nods. "Yes please," she answers, taking the offered bite and humming softly. "Ooh, that's good too. Would you like to try some of mine?" she offers in return.

nods as she took a bit afterwards with another nod of approval afterwards. " That's delicious. Tak!" She smiled, glad to have company and someone to share food with.

smiles back at her, happy too. "Thank you," she replies, sitting back in her chair. "This is a good place, I'll have to remember it if I ever come back after this."

nods, " That's good. The people who operate this place is from the capital so if you have any questions they usually know how to cope with this place and the Patriots."

hums softly, nodding. "Good to know, I don't think I'd be very good dealing with that kind of conflict..."

smiles, " Don't worry too much about it. Those guys won't harass you unless you get in their way."

hums softly again. "I hope so! I'd rather get out of here though, next I can. No offense." The news back home had made it sound perhaps like a lot more dangerous to be here than it was.

nods at that, " That's fine. A lot of people feel threatened here really. I'm only here until I have enough resources to move onto another town."

smiles at this. "You could come with me, once I get the balloon I need?" she offers. Her basket was big enough for two, as long as they didn't try to sleep in it.

shook her head, " Nej that's fine. I was planning on heading back to the capital to see some family prior to setting out again."

shrugs a little, but nods. "Oh, alright. The offer stands if you change your mind," she smiles.

smiles and thanked for promptly, " Alright, I'll keep that in mind but first, let's finish eating before the food gets cold." She chuckled

nods, laughing softly herself as she continues to eat. It really was good, she'd hate to waste it after all.

ate quietly, content after she was done. The best part of this place was always the free dessert that came along with the food.

sits back once she's finished as well, unaware of the dessert to come yet. She smiles though, sipping her water to help it go down. "That was delicious."

sipped her water and wiped her mouth with a napkin as she leaned back in her chair with a sound of agreement. " Ja, I'm glad you like it."

chuckles softly. "Do you come here often then?"

nods, " Well whenever I have the cash. I always order what's best to help their business. It's hard finding a living here as a hunter and an explorer."

nodding at that. "I suppose that makes sense then, not a lot of money to be made in the explorere business.

"

sighs, " The game in this region is okay but with the war around an all the technology being introduced to the town, its scaring off the animals to move further away."

hums softly. "That's a shame... and not just for hunting of course. Displacing that many creatures can't be good for the town that gets them..."

nods but cheered up a bit as the dessert arrived. It was nice slice of cheesecake to go with the meal. " Pretty much. I've been on the hunt to lower the numbers and drive them back to this region."

hums at that, hoping her stomach could handle this much delicious! "Makes sense I suppose. I hope you do well," she smiles.

smiles afterwards as she ate the dessert. " Tak, and I'll see if I can find some people to help you with your aircraft tomorrow while you settle in a bit."

nibbles at her cheesecake, nodding. "Thank you very much, I appreciate your help," she smiles back at her.

nods back as she ate happily. It had really been a while since she had a friend to talk to over dinner. She was quite energetic and hyped up about it honestly.

smiels too, happy to have company. She didn't have a lot of people to chat with on her trip either, of course.

looks over to the other. " Are you planning to visit anywhere on your travels?"

hums softly. "Well, there's a few cities I want to see before I turn around, but mostly I wanted to just travel. It's my first trip out on my own," she smiles.

nods slowly as she finished her food. " Sounds good. There are plenty of places to travel like some of the towns by the sea and such."

nods at that. "Got suggestions of what I need to see while I'm at it?"

grins, " Ja. Some of the fjords in the north are a must visit and the town of Laurentia is a must visit when your there because its covered in snow all year round."

nods, making a mental note of it. "I'll have to see them before I go home, then!" >u<

's grin widened more as she nodded. " Closer to the coast down south are plenty of port cities and towns. You can even see some dolphins when you're out to sea nearby the towns."

blinks at this, perking up. "Oh, I've never seen a dolphin outside of a picture book," she smiles, definitely adding that to her list.

chuckles, " Yeap, it's gonna take a while to see the best places of the entire country."

nods at that. "I got all the time in the world~" she answers, looking forward to tacking on more time to her trip. She missed her family, yes, but she didn't get very many opportunities like this."

((minus the " at the end))

smiles at that, " Then you're pretty much set."

chuckles softly. "Most excellent. I'll put off finding a real job as long as I can."

nods, " Considering you could always take a passenger to travel with you along the way."

hums softly at that. "I never really considered taking people on trips..." Hm, she mght have to actually consider that one.

thought about it a bit more. " I'm sure there are plenty of people that would love to have an aircraft ride to their destination."

obviously thinking it over, nodding. "I could travel for even longer... oh but I'd have to go where they wanted. Hmm."

smirks, " You can always talk to the locals. They'll probably find someone who is heading to the same destination as you are."

nods at that. "That's true! I'll have to look into it." She smiles when the waitress came over, paying her for their meals and thanking her.

smiles as she waited patiently. " Tak for the meal Miss Maddie." She thought the other's name was a bit of a mouthful but she thought a nickname was cuter and more suiting.

blinks at the nickname, though she decides she likes it, and smiles. "Merci miss Dorthe~" answers in reply.

blinks a little at the dialect she had recognized and nods prior to getting up and waiting for the other to leave the restaurant.

smiles, getting up with her and following her out. "Is there anything you'd like to do now?"

shrugs as she glanced over to the other, " I can show you around town before we head home."

hums at this, seeming interested. "Oh, uh.. only if you want to," she smiles, trying not to make herself obvious. She didn't want to make the woman do anything she didn't want to.

had plenty of time seeing it was still pretty early in the evening. She showed the other the main streets and places, where to go for things and where to avoid for sure.

follows after her, taking in all the sights and getting to know the city. She's happy with the little tour, making a mental note of where not to go searching in the city.

paused as she pointed down a street for the other, " If something breaks out, never head down there. The home base of the Patriots is located there."

blinks at this, peeking down the street. "I'll keep that in mind for sure," she looked intimidated by that thought, and definitely would steer away from there.

just knew it was better to avoid things when conflict broke out. The last fight was less than a week ago when she was in town.

edges a little closer to Dorthe as they pass by the area, unintentionally of course.

too oblivious to notice as she kept walking. She was more than welcome to stick close as the Dane was protective over people.

relaxes a little once they're passed, though she still stays close. "So if that's the Patriots.... t-then where is the other group?"

points to the mansion that could be seen from a hill nearby. " They made their head quarters in the tavern there. The Loyalists used it as an advantage point seeing the landscape of the town is uneven."

nods at that, looking up to it wearily. "Smart plan, I suppose," she comments, though she didn't know much about military warfare.

didn't like to get too technical but she was quite well versed in it considering her upbringing.

" Ja, but its good to not visit there since the Patriots stalk that place like a hawk."

nods at this. "I'll keep far away from it, thanks for the warning," she replies, realizing she really did just want to stay far away from this part of town now that she could see it was a reall threat.

smiles, " Mhmm, lets head on back home now. I'm sure you're pretty tired." She knew this town wasn't the best place to be in but it had a lot of opportunity.

nods again, sticking close to her. "Mm.. it has been a long day. But thank you very much for the tour, I'll be better at not getting into trouble when I come searching tomorrow.

"

chuckles as they arrived home and she unlocked the door for the other. " If anything happens just ask people around town for me. They usually know where to find me."

thanks her, walking in and taking off her shoes. "Oh, alright. That's good to know," she smiles.

followed suit after closing the door and locking it promptly. " Ja, its better than looking for me in the forest honestly." She began to head upstairs.

nods,smiling at her. "Thank you again." she replies, brushing her fingers through her hair and figuring it might be best to turn in, so she heads upstairs as well.

nods just as she was about to head to her room, " By the way, feel free to use the bathroom to wash up and such. It should be the same as the ones in the capital."

nods at this. "Oh, good idea," she smiles, thanking her again before turning into the bathroom to wash up before bed.

smiles and retreated back to her room after, closing the door behind her as she went to rest for the night.