The sound of her fiddling pulled his head up, briefly. And Nate realized she must have planned this from the moment they set out. He smiled, only the faintest quirk of it tinged with exasperation. As if she shouldn't have worried. And had no reason to.

You're thoughtful, and I appreciate it. But we should save it. who knows how long this Rune search will last, or what will be left, after... Sticking his nose back down to the snow, Nate continued, It's a big tree, huh? Never seen one that size, before. Do you think it's really the one from our dreams? He'd sort of imagined it to be a metaphorical tree, originally. Not an actual landmark, towering and ancient.

And he might have said more, to push the conversation even further past the point of him eating, but, Hey, I think I—

Had gotten them into trouble. The ground tilted wildly, trying to take his rune with it as a fissure of destructive blue broke loose. Shit! Run! Alarm hit like a bullet. Nate snatched their prize and turned sharply toward Elk Charm.