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Riley knew by the way others had disappeared to quest again, that there was a chance for something new to be found. Not only did this mean another chance at peace in the forest, but it also meant a chance to find out exactly what the boy in the cottage truly was, without the danger of having others around her to hurt. She took Jericho out of the stables, and began to trot him down to the path, when he suddenly halted on his hooves and stopped. Her entire body jolted back when the reins pulled her, and she turned to look at the stubborn horse.

"What is it?" She asked him, brushing her hand along his muzzle, trying to soothe the frightened beast. "We'll be safe together. Come on now." She tugged on his reins, and he just tugged back harder, looking up towards the castle. When she tugged again, he ripped the reins out of her hands with one final twist, and ran for the castle gates, neighing with madness. She was left abandoned, standing in the path, wondering why her horse had just gone insane to attack - and consequently wondering how she was going to get through her quest on foot.

Turning her head up towards the darkness gave Riley the sense that she was watching an angel come down from the heavens, when Chel leapt into the air to test out her new wings. She was speechless for a few seconds, simply pointing and opening her mouth just to close it again. When she finally regained her senses, she breathed out a calming sigh and nodded her head. "Very much so. I've been abandoned, and my quest lays at a halt without my horse. How are you now winged, Chel? Have you found some sort of magic? Is it safe?"

But when she looked closer, coming forward to get a look at Chel's new armor addition, she realized the magic lay in the cape the woman wore, which billowed out in feathery white wings. It was the artifact! Excitement began to chill her blood, as she bounced on her toes. "Please, can you help me achieve this feat?"

Riley panicked, immediately checking her body for some form of currency, until she found the food she had stored up for the quest. Chel wouldn't want that in return for her assistance, but what else could she offer?

Her eyes began to well up with tears, as she backed away. "I don't think I have anything you're looking for. It's all right, it's only fair you get something in return." Wringing her hands in dismay, her elbow pressed against the hilt of her sickle, and she sucked in a breath. "Perhaps I could help you slay some beasts, afterward? I'm good for that, at least.."

Chel's answer was neither a yes nor was it no, so when she came running for Riley, the woman froze in surprise, assuming the worst - that there was something worth attacking behind her, or she was about to be hit and Chel was saving her from that. She still tensed up in horror when Chel's arms were around her, but the fear of touching was tremendously outweighed by the fact that Chel had thrown them both off of a cliff, and she clung to the woman for dear life. A scream was strangled in her throat, before she curled up, waiting for death.

When death did not come, she slowly opened one eye, and then another. The wind whipped her dress in all directions, as she looked down at the distant ground below. The sight of it dizzied her, and she clung tighter to Chel in response.

She supposed that was a yes.

When they landed, it took Riley several seconds before she could peel herself off of Chel, despite the burning blush that had blossomed along her cheeks at the comment. She finally found her footing, and trembled even as she moved to the summit to pick up the cape, and wrap it around her shoulders. Instantly, the cape began to transform, blooming out in feathers similar to what Chel had been wearing. It lengthened out, and then fell back along her shoulders once more.

Riley's face flushed again, but this time it was from joy. "They're beautiful!" She exclaimed, twirling to let the cape and all of its feathers fan out in wing formation again behind her. Then she walked up to Chel, jutted her lower lip out, and whispered in hushed tones.

"Thank you." She breathed out gratefully. "And we are never to speak of this again."

She was up in the air in seconds, ready to go fight monsters and not clinging to Chel so tenderly, damnit.