For the majority of Effy's life, she had always been in the shadow of a city. Even in childhood, when high rises were more a part of the horizon than her reality, the city had always been little more than a bus ride away. People gravitated towards it — people worked there, people lived there, and so Effy had always assumed that the city was the place to be. Only after she'd been whisked away to a magical island did she realize that there was so much to be said for the quiet of a countryside, the absence of any metropolis, nothing but clouds flying higher than the trees.

Having picked up a couple of books from the library, Effy had set out earlier with the intention of finding a quiet space in the woods to read, a small lunch pack slung over her shoulder with crackers, cheese, and a couple of small drinks. The books were dry, long treatises on tax law and corporate policies that she needed to familiarize herself before her interview.

Just as she was about to settle down, she heard a yell in the distance, and looked up to find a young woman in the trees. While the words were foreign, Effy soon spotted the source of the woman's ire, and made her way over to scare the squirrel off.

"Can't have thieves around, even cute ones," she mused, smiling up at her companion.