Mako is used to the idea of being alone. After all, she did build a whole cabin, with the intention of staying alone from other people. Ika was nice, but, she wondered if she could, in theory, do without. Having a roommate was nice, but it would be a lie to say she didn't really like the idea. But then, her mind wandered to the woman. Ika had blossomed so lovely, Mako was amazed at the speed. Sure, she was still a little damaged, but the mere thought filled her with butterflies... *No, no, I have to stay on track. Just need to get some things for myself, then go home.* The town itself was pretty quaint - the paths were usually a tannish yellow, not from foot traffic, but it was some kind of hay-based material to walk on. The main areas - such as the town center, for example - were usually lined with stone brick. Even still, you would be forgiven for thinking it was a bit of a ghost town. Going from the town center, if you walk towards the strangely plaqued Town Hall, but stopped halfway and took a right instead, you'd be at the general store. This time, the sign was in a much more readable Townfolk, with a wooden log trim, the inside being made of planks. "The Hutch" was blazed onto the front, burned into the wood, while "General Store" was printed in regular lettering, using darker planks held together by nails of some sort. The outside, too, was made of large logs, most likely from the neighboring forest, giving the whole store a log cabin appeal, differing much from the stone or marble places around it. Mako, though she was much for attention to detail, didn't really pay mind to the whole affair. She walked inside, as if she had done so a thousand times (she hadn't - perhaps only 400 or 500 or so times). The doors opened directly to a set of aisles, angled 45 degrees to the left from the line she entered into. There were two rows of aisles, which covered everything you would want, from makeup, to dried and shelf-stable foods, and so on. If you needed something cold, or some meat, the cold section in the left-back would have you covered, including a butcher working on the left wall - notably, very big and muscular. On the back right was the check-out - a small clerk, sticky in two ways, with glasses that would just barely fit on their nose. Behind was an array of shields, as well as a couple of scythes, ready for farming. If you wanted, you could crown Mako the queen of speedrunning shopping, though she was only there for a couple of amenities - a refill on her favorite lipstick (It was red, but a subtle red), some snacks for Ika to try (she thought pretzels might be good), and, ah, what the hey, let's grab a candy. She perused the sweets area, looking for something nutty. Typically that's what you'd find in The Residence - humans were all about nuts. Were it up to them, they'd probably use them as currency, but it was much more reasonable to use the Amog that had been manufactured for aeons by the dwarves, and that had since become widespread across The Plane. Mako went over to the register, the quaint clerk being protected by a layer of plexiglass, save for a small slot on the bottom to pass goods between. He spoke somewhat nasally, but was still hearable. "Mako, right? How have you been, you find everything?" Mako nodded, flicking her hair a bit. You could often describe her as "flirty", but she never actually took a partner. Not after... that man. It wasn't that she was over men, or something to that effect, she just wasn't interested right now. Friends over family. Right, the question - "I'm alright, thanks. You know me?" The clerk pushed his glasses up his nose. The glasses were ever slightly too big for him - slightly too big for his eyes, slightly too long for his nose, forcing him to keep pushing them up, as if he had a revelation every couple of seconds. "You come once every 8 days, Mako. You're a regular, in my eyes. Plus, word's been getting around... How's your new roommate?" Mako raised an eyebrow, which was just as red as her hair. "Ika's doing alright. Why do you ask?" The clerk shrugged. "No reason, though she did ask for a sword last night. Gave me the money and everything. Told her I didn't have it, but today, I do. Mind giving it to her?" Mako took on a more nervous stance, crossing her legs, still trying to strain a bit of a smile. "Uhm, aha, what?" Without much grace, the clerk reached down, grabbing a sheathed blade. The sheath itself wasn't of much quality - damned near just a leather wrap, but still sealed together with some metal on the side of the hilt. The sword itself seemed of good qualify - the handle was firm, and the whole thing made of some kind of alloy, something Mako would not recognize at a glance. "Sir, hah, I don't know if I can take this." She laughed in a strained way, clearly jakes, but the clerk could not tell. Still, he presses. "It's already paid for. Ika said she *really* wanted it." The clerk looks to the side. "She gives me the creeps, anyways. Somethin' about her..." he finished off his words with a few tisks. He had all the experience of a cowboy, but never the voice of one. With a sigh, the blade is taken, and everything else is paid for. Mako's pretty unsure as to *why* Ika would want a blade. She knows Ika's memories about as well as Ika herself - they're filled with violence and irregular ideas beyond even her. Perhaps it would be best to ask? After a long and somewhat safer trip back to her cabin, Mako calmly opened the front door and let herself in. She didn't need a lock - nothing out here but trees for aeons. The inside was largely as she'd left it - though Ika was sitting on the couch, her legs curled up onto it, save for her feet. Ika looked over at Mako - her eyes widened a tad as she noticed the sword in her arms. Ika got up and went over to greet her. "Hey, you... have my sword?" She reached for it, but Mako insisted on holding it. "Uh-uh-uh! I appreciate having your help and all, but why do *you* need a *sword*? There's no danger out here!" Ika raised an eyebrow. "There's always danger, is there not? You don't know what the spirits foretell..." Mako raised in turn. "There's no such thing as ghosts, Ika." "No, *spirits*." Ika took on a more open-legged stance, spreading her arms out in a motion. "They're everywhere, responsible for everything around us." She stopped in her tracks, withdrawing the gap, putting a finger on the nook between her lips and her chin. "I think. I usually see them when I [[Dream]]." Mako laughed, tilting her head. "Man, you really are interesting. Did you hit your head or something?" "I, uhm, thought that was obvious?", replied an ever more confused Ika. "Regardless, I would still like the sword. Just in case." Mako relented. "Fine, fine, but that thing stays outside the house." "There only exists danger outside the house, Mako. There is only warmth and fire inside."