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Since Lioe and Marcella had gone to spend time with their family Aerexa had been left feeling more than a little out of place. Most everyone else around her had either been directly affected by the incident or were locals that had shown up to volunteer. It was a chaotically efficient place to be and through it all Aerexa couldn't seem to figure out where she was needed. She wasn't about to stand around and take up space; not when she was already half a body taller than some of the earthlings and twice as strong. So then, how? How was she supposed to help?

The answer came to her one evening and as easily as a thought. Everyone in camp needed to eat regardless of their occupation and she might not be a skilled fisherman but Aerexa could hunt. She wrangled up a few spears from a confused Matorian, tied the three tiny things together with rope to make a sturdier, Aishan sized weapon and took to the sea. It was tricky, as new things often are, but the thrill of it kept Aerexa going. Day after day she returned with something, whether it actually be edible or not, so in her eyes at least she wasn't wasting space.

She'd already gone out once that morning and brought in a large beast with a hard shell. Aerexa thought it might make a nice stew, the local seemed to think it was a pet and then they'd popped off in a language she didn't understand. More than a little perturbed, she'd tossed out a few insults in her own language before awkwardly scurrying back to the inn for some actual food.

"Lioe! Over here!" Spotting him was harder at the main camp; too many Belreans, too much orange, but here where a variety of Matorians and other mainland earthlings resided made it easier. Aerexa was camped out at a table near the center of the room, chairs pushed back and away so she could sit on the floor instead. "You should try this it's a...pastry, I think? It's real flaky."

"For me?" Aerexa's little eyebrows rose before she settled into a grin. "You sure it's not just a prank and there's some - what are those things called? - snappatter crap inside?" Wasn't like she was expecting a warm welcome from the locals anyway so she could see it happening and honestly, the effort to get it to her would be impressive.

When he got closer she reached up for the package and upon seeing the drawing she gave a laugh. "Oooo, I look good." Aerexa twisted the box around so she could hold it up next to her face. "What do you think? Like looking into a mirror." The muscles were comically large, but instead of fussing over it Aerexa just flexed.

"I wonder what it says. Can you read Matorian?" At least she assumed that's what it was.

Laying the note out beside them, Aerexa focused on opening the package. What it lacked in presentation it made up for in strength; whatever person - child or adult - had wrapped this hadn't meant for the twine to ever be broken. In the end she'd pulled a knife off the table and used it to cut through. What lay inside made the Vandrea gasp. "Lioe look." sht

She turned the box around and showed it's contents. A few intact shells, some glittering scales that were purple one moment then green the next, and a - "It's a slingshot!" Maybe she was a little loud and maybe Aerexa shouldn't have pulled it out with half the glee but goddess was it cool! It had obviously been well used - the paint was chipped in places - but the craftsmanship was amazing!

She looked between Lioe and the approaching server, then back down to the box of treasures. "If all earthling welcome parties are like this I don't ever want to go home."

Aerexa reached out to pop Lioe's arm. "Big goddess." She snorted. Oh goddess, if only they knew who the real big goddess was. Still, it was flattering and Aerexa might have been getting a big head about it.

"That was adorable." She looked down into the box of trinkets - offerings - and her smile only grew. "From the looks I've gotten while we've been here I thought for sure some of those kids hated me, but then I get this?" She motioned between the box and the letter.

"I gotta do something to pay it back. What's some way I can bless them without getting caught?"

"You just need to get tougher." Aerexa grinned, but the Vandrea reached out to put a hand on his arm all the same. "Sorry - got a little caught up." It was so easy to forget sometimes that he wasn't a trained Aishan warrior; strange, she knew, but considering Lioe was the only earthling she had regular contact with treating him like an outsider seemed like the weirder option.

If her hand lingered a little too long she didn't make any sort of fuss about it; instead, Aerexa went back to her gifts and went about examining them. "What about...I dunno, a knife? I could carve one out of fish bone or...ughm...Oh, wait." Aerexa dug around for a pouch at her side and pulled it up onto the table. It was supposed to hold gold, but for someone who didn't need much of it she'd stored other things in it as well.

"What about this." The Vandrea pulled out a stone and proudly flashed it to Lioe. At some points when she twisted it the rock looked golden, then other times transparent and sometimes a firey orange. "I found it on a hunt; not sure what it is, but it definitely doesn't show up here."

Aerexa snorted. "It's not a cult." She had just enough understanding of what the word meant to know that this wasn't it. They were just a bunch of misguided youths following someone they believed to be a goddess and - "...Okay, so it's a little bit like one. So what? They're having fun and it's not a bad thing."

As long as she didn't mess with their heads and make them do bad things it was fine. Right? Right.

"I need to get a box and write some goblty gook on the sides that looks like writing but isn't then I'll leave the rock inside. That sound do the trick."

Aerexa waved a hand. "When am I ever coming back to Matori? It'll be fine." She wasn't the world traveling sort. Even if she did branch away from home it was only into Belrea and even then most of that time was spent tagging along behind Lioe. Admittedly she was glad to have seen Matori at least once in her life, but not because of the circumstances that brought her here.

"Well come on then, hurry up and eat so we can get to it. We're burning daylight." If she made a box out of driftwood that might be too common so maybe some metal scraps? Something they could put a little seal on. Nothing too complicated but enough to look neat.