Emberwood come along with me

Ibis was just finishing up with a cache - this time, filling it up with dirt. She'd managed to find a small possum trying to hide-out in the trees and snatched it while it slept, which was quite a feat for the girl as she hadn't ever been much of a hunter; but she heard Awol calling for her just as the last bits of soil scattered across the hard earth.

She sighs - the breath unfurls from her slowly and dissipates. For a split second she considers ignoring the call but knows that isn't right, that isn't what one expects of a leader. Ibis had hoped that building a counsel would help her get better as a leader but also, provide her with help overall — it felt more like they were each calling to her in need of something, and she was being pulled in different directions. A thought for another time.

The pause is very brief, and soon she is hiking across the expanse of forest to where Awol is waiting for her; when she arrives he launches in to an explanation that sounds vaguely apologetic for some reason. It doesn't surprise Ibis at all that Awol is so focused on his scouting, as it is one of the main reasons he agreed to stay with them - so she smiles as warmly as she can, but looks a little tired all the same.

Sure, we can go out. Perhaps it is the prospect of a new horizon that prompts her eagerness, her ease to agree. The caches can be tended by others for a while, she thinks. When he offers the bypass, she is intrigued.

While the young woman has scouted much of the valley herself, she doesn't recall ever seeing the bypass herself, and asks, How far is it?