Curiouser and curiouser. She had a strange way of saying she was lost. "Misplaced"? Whereabouts is Rush'ja ? Or Tchaïna, for that matter. Navi had heard of neither. It sounded southern though. If he hadn't been so curious, he might've remembered to introduce himself too.

In a way, she had the start of an answer: if the stranger didn't event know where Russia was (or how to pronounce it properly), she was probably very far from home. Again. She held back an unproductive sigh. "Stretched out over Europe and Asia, to the north of those continents." That vast expanse of mostly empty and inhospitable land with the occasional very hospitable place, you know? Take any map and you couldn't really oversee it.

Never heard of it. His interest waned. You miscalculated your course. Because surely she had come here through some sort of wayward, magical teleportation. Not really Navi's kind of magic. He was more interested in her strange attire. What are you wearing? he asked, pointing at the boring drabs around her body. Is that common where you're from?

I know what a dress is, he said, knowing what a dress was. He simply never saw one as... boring as she wore. Colorless, uninteresting, covering too much of her body. Perhaps because of her age? Navi couldn't imagine ever dressing down, even with age, but he wasn't exactly vying to see an old man's legs either. Wouldn't you rather wear something unconventional?

Clearly that boy/girl (she still wasn’t sure about that point) knew nothing of the intricacies of living in a city where the slightest misstep could have severe consequences. Anything unconventional attracted attention, and typically not the kind of attention anyone in their right mind would want to attract. « As a matter of fact, I would not. » If she wanted to, she would do so. Well, except she wouldn’t because she had enough self-preservation instinct to be reasonable.

How sad for her to willingly step into those drab clothes. Navi took comfort in the knowledge that not everyone could have such a keen eye for fashion. What a miserable world that would be ! How could he ever outshine anyone in that hypothetical world? What a shame, he replied, without truly meaning a single world. Shall I help you home then?

Fashion considerations aside, for the first time since she’d heard her maid’s frightened scream, an actual, genuine smile curved Yeva’s lips. Despite the strange circumstances of her appearance, this still unnamed person seemed to hold no grudge and to be more willing to help than the purple "demon" she'd recently left. "If you could do so, I would greatly appreciate it."

I can certainly make an attempt. No promises. Navi did not make promises he couldn't keep. Instead, he combed his hair over his right shoulder and casually started to braid the black and blond strands together into a braid. His eyes were set on the mirror in front of him, not so much to look at his reflection (although it was gorgeous, of course), but to analyze the object through which the old lady had first appeared. Some type of mirror spell, I'm assuming ?

Navi raised a well-maintained eyebrow. It's not witchcraft. Do I look like a witch to you? Witches were old crones that lived in swamps and cackled at the moon (or so he imagined). They truly had nothing in common. Besides the fact that they practiced magic and made potions, that is, but otherwise, truly nothing at all!

Not like this. The young boy accentuated his sentence by moving his hands down his body to show off his curves. He was quite proud of them. Anyway... Now that that (important) issue was out of the way, they could focus on less critical things such as finding a counterspell for that mirror magic. He must've read something about it in a book somewhere. But which one? Follow me! Best to start downstairs in his father's study.

That description of witches was anything but instructive, but if her interlocutor did not press the matter, Yeva was certainly not going to do so. She followed her androgynous guide out of the room, still with the nagging feeling that trusting someone who did not look much older than a child with her fate was a terrible idea. She was going to regret this… but then she would also regret not taking every chance she got of going home, so there was that.

Careful not to trip and accidentally break your neck, Navi warned the old woman. These stairs might be made of rock but they're old and flimsy. Just like Whatshername. Did he even ask for it? Ah well. Although he had no need for a lightsource (he could travel through his home blindfolded), the young mage still summoned a small orb of light in the palm of his hand so WHN would be able to see where she put her feet. How kind of him.

Old houses and tricky stairs, now that was something she was actually familiar with. Too bad it was the only universal constant so far. She nodded and went down the stairs with one hand against the wall. A handrail would have been more helpful, but this was better than nothing.

When they finally arrived downstairs, there was about as much to see as in the staircase. That is to say: not much at all. Not until Navi activated his adoptive father's lighting spell, which turned on all the torches at once. A library of some kind. Row upon row upon row of old tomes. And true enough, some tables, held up with even more dusty tomes. A century worth of literature, if not more. Where to begin ? pondered Navi, a finger to his lips.

How about you look in this section, he said, pointing in the opposite direction, while I look over here ? His nose was already pasted against the spine of a book. This was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Oh and don't touch any of the vials and potions. Just the books.

"And what am I looking for, exactly?" She was not overly fond of going through what were most likely books no good Christian was supposed to read, but she would if that was necessary to go home. But even so, she needed at the very least a vague idea of her objective.