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Anna was lost. Again.

Amityville was just so big, and while the country was big too, the country didn't have as many buildings or side paths or people. The witchling had meant to go from the Reaper Dorms out into town, to spend a few of her silver seeds at a witch supply store there. That had been the plan, at any rate.

In actuality, Anna was now... somewhere else. She wasn't sure where she was, but there was tall grass and lots of little noises that ordinarily wouldn't have bothered her. She'd been in fields before, and heard all kinds of creatures! But since she was lost, the creatures might have been anything. Deadly, even.

So Anna stumbled through the grass, Shibey clutched to her chest so tightly that his eyes were bulging out slightly (though, oddly enough, he didn't protest). "H-hello? Hello?!" she called out every few minutes, her voice quavering. Part of her hoped for an answer every time.

Part of her was afraid the answer was going to be something jumping up to eat her.

Anna's sharply indrawn breath was accompanied by two things: her leaping backwards and slamming one heel into a rock, and a rather strangled "eep!" noise. Startled, she released Shibey; the familiar bounded down, allowing Anna free use of her arms to windmill through the air and - thankfully - regain her balance.

Then she stared at the new arrivals, wide-eyed, her heart pounding. "G-good day?" she squeaked, echoing what they'd said while her brain tried to get back into gear. "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting... where are we?"

Shibey, meanwhile, sauntered up to the pair with a casual air. OwO

Shibey looked up at the pair, unblinking, though he appeared to be piecing together the meanings of the strange words coming out of the ghoul's mouth. < I am an Incubator, not a 'wee gobby', > he said, finally, though his tone was matter-of-fact, not annoyed in the l east.

Meanwhile, Anna had long since figured out the pair's accents. "I... yes! Yes, I got lost, I didn't mean to but... yes." She stared at her shoes for a moment before looking back up at them. "Are you... you're a Reaper too, right? You didn't just... catch him?" She pointed at Ben.

"Yes - this is Shibey, and I'm Anna," the witchling replied, looking a little less nervous. This was a Reaper! One of her own kind, and another one with a familiar to boot. "He is kind of funny, huh? I used-"

The sharp pain of memory crashed into her for a moment, and she closed her eyes briefly; when she opened them again, her gaze was steady once more. "Yours is nice and big, isn't he? Nice to meet you," she added, to Ben, bobbing a little half-curtsey in the kangaroo's direction.

Shibey seemed amused by Lark's discomfiture. Then again, he seemed amused at pretty much everything.

"Traps? Oh, right... you were catching animals?" Anna looked around, though this time with more curiosity than anxiousness. "And y-yeah, I'm new too. I, um... me and Shibey, we came here to make our family..."

She closed her eyes again. It was stupid to keep hiding this stuff. "They got mad at me 'cause I got Shibey, so they sent me away," she said, making the words come out without too much shaking.

< Very good, > Shibey said to Anna alone; the familiar turned and walked back to her side, sitting next to her feet. < There is no reason to shy away from the truth. We are what we are. For now. >

"Th-thank you... it's good to know that I'm not the only one, too..." Anna sniffled; when Ben nosed her arm she leaned towards him and wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders, squeezing tightly. He was much better for hugs than Shibey.

... And then, of course, she realized she was hugging another Reaper's familiar. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked, releasing her hold hurriedly and taking a step back, giving Lark an almost fearful look.

"Still, sorry, um. M-my family thinks it's kinda rude to touch someone else's familiar without asking," Anna said, looking sheepish. "Th-thanks... both of you."

At the last question, though, Anna blanched visibly. "I-i, u-um..." she squeaked, looking down at Shibey; the Incubator, however, merely looked up at her again with that same OwO expression he always had. He wasn't going to help her explain, clearly. "We, um... my family, we're hedge-witches and warlocks and things, and... we're not very good at it? Um..." Her hands absently picked up a bit of her overskirt and started worrying at the fabric, twisting it about. "M-my parents, they had a plan - we always have familiars, s-so they called in some favors and paid a l-lot of seeds to get... a precious gem and there was s-supposed to be a familiar there. A really strong one, f-for my little b-brother or maybe s-sister to bond with but..."

She took a deep breath. "I-I went to look at the gem and I t-touched it and Shibey came out and w-well... I ended up with him and I wasn't supposed to," she said, miserably.

Throughout the explanation, Shibey remained motionless.

"There's nothing wrong with having a familiar," Anna said, firmly, apparently recovering her composure. She could feel the pricks of emotion coming from Lark, too, and as much as she personally was uncomfortable with the idea, she couldn't deny that the other ghoul's faint flickers of remembered pain provided Anna herself with a faint... lift.

< Use it to your advantage, > Shibey said, to Anna alone.

The witchling shifted, faintly uncomfortable. "W-we do important things too, right? I'm just a hedge-witch, but we take care of people and stuff..." she offered, trying to be a little more cheerful about the whole thing.