Her heart wanted to sing. Abigail had accepted their offer readily as if there were any other options, and then suggested the Farum. Freya had been overjoyed, not even thinking about how mundane the entire activity was.

She had sent the chicken Outrider to pick up Holly- her friends would travel in style- and was waiting outside of the Bun estate. True, the rabbit would have to decipher the message around the chicken's neck, trust the chicken to take her to the right place, and oh she needed to be ready to go, but it was Holly. Freya expected her to have been ready hours in advance.

Freya sat atop another chicken, this one called itself Gear. He fretted about Outrider heading onto an unfamiliar estate, but the description had been thorough. With love and chickens, one should never leave anything to chance.

The Bun estate itself looked clean and barren, its large fields laying empty of vegetation. Spider webs of frost crisscrossed the dirt. Mouse and chicken alike shivered under a chill wind.

Freya was glad she had made scarves for the chickens during her time convalescing. It had kept her mind occupied and now they look so cute that she could squeal.

While she waited, she pulled out another cipher. She'd spent time diligently going through the book on coded messages. Each day she would begin her day by reading through a passage and then putting it into the regimental cipher. Then the following day she would translate that passage with the key. A stack of seven papers had adorned her desk when she left.

Today she had taken a passage from the newest novel on the scene. It wasn’t exactly a love affair, as the main character was a writer who was supported in her writing by a lord who didn't understand her themes. They were, Freya was happy to learn, about how the gentry forgot the little people, especially artists. She had just gotten to the point in the book where the lord had bought up all of the main characters' new novels, smiling at their fumbling interactions.

"Miss Uki!"

"Ah, Miss Bun! So good to see you!"

"Likewise, it looks like you're writing a love note on a chicken, pray tell that it's not for me."

Freya blushed. It was one of those full-body affairs. She could say what she had been doing, but somehow that seemed both worse and better.

"Have you read this new novel, The Reluctant Fox? It's actually quite nice. I think I'll be getting a copy for …"

Freya paused, seeing the rabbit beaming.

"Something has changed about you. You're not going to make me guess?"

Holly shook her head. She looked afraid, then happy, then resolved.

"I wanted to wait until we saw Abigail together to reveal it…"

Freya's shock at the conclusion she readily drew met her realization that Abigail was wearing the simple necklace that denoted that she had become engaged to marry. On the necklace sat one pearl and one pearl-sized yellow bauble. One represented the purity of their intentions, the other represented the strength of their bond as rabbits.

"YOU'RE ENGAGED!"

Freya leaped down from her chicken, expertly navigating the mouse and a half height. Just as inexpertly she tackled her oldest friend, squeezing the life out of her.

"I am, yes, just a bit engaged. I think someone lit a fire under my Captains' haunches. He was so passionate and…" Holly began to get choked up, "You ever get so happy that you cry, Freya? Because I'm so there now."

Arms releasing, the two looked at each other.

"Good thing we agreed on no maquillage."

"A very good thing. Now back to the topic of our girl's trip?"

Both laughed for a long time before they departed to their next destination.

Abigail was at the door of her manor awaiting them when they arrived.

Holly and Freya unceremoniously jumped down from their chickens, their skirts floofing around as if they were dress ninjas.

"You made up?"

"Wait till Holly tells you the good news," Freya said.

The auburn fox in the petticoats gasped as she saw the necklace, a twin to her own. Where Holly's necklace held a yellow bauble, Abigails held a red one.

"I'm so glad we said no maquillage," the fox said, "but truly I don't know what an espresso is. Miss Uki, would you care to clarify where we are heading to?"

"Certainly. We are heading to the ruttiest of dank dens, that place where beavers run the world."

Abigail and Holly exchanged a confused glance.

"Freya, I thought we were going to the farum?"

"Yes, but they've opened a beaver bar now on the waterfront to announce their new drink line. Honestly, I'm surprised that anyone could live without the perk it gives. You're both staring at me, why?”

“Beavers? A waterfront bar? I cannot wait.”

The fox and rabbit both mounted a chicken as Freya held back a laugh.

“So what you’re saying is that you don’t recommend meeting any bears in our near future?”

“Moths would be better, in my opinion, my lady.”

“They do seem a lot smaller, and a lot less… forceful?”

“Yes! And they flit about so elegantly, a lady could just love it.”

The three sat overlooking the cold river. Their two chickens were greedily devouring the portions that the Farum had put into barrels for them.

"They look… happy," Abigail said, "in all my life I have never seen a beast happy. Not even a roach or a moth."

"I would be happy too if I was taken here regularly to get kapi. Why just the espresso here has me all jittery."

"Oddly enough," Freya said, "we usually… they usually fight about who goes. When I let the chickens know only two of them were going, they for the first time instead of fighting agreed to give these two a turn."

Abigail nearly spat out her espresso.

"Chickens? Taking turns? What has this country come to?" Abigail choked out.

"To the roaches, that's what," Holly said.

Freya nodded. She raised a mug.

"To roaches and chickens."

"To roaches and chickens!" Her friends replied, probably too enthusiastically. They broke into fits of giggles.

When the ladies stopped giggling, they watched as a small badge with a complement of beavers made its way upstream. It was on their side of the river and the beavers were taking turns moving it up the shallow areas with long poles.

"You think that they're bringing anything good in? I hope that they're bringing more espresso myself," Holly said, her paws padding on the table to a tune only she could hear.

"Freya, you have three weeks left here, correct? Is there something we can bring you to make your journey easier? Perhaps a warm coat?"

Freya paused as the barge turned a corner, getting within sight of the massive Riverfolk ship. It had been docked in the River for most of Freya's life, the otter and beaver shantytown springing up around it. She had it on good authority that this was an excellent posting from Sela. Even more, because of the security, it had also been known as a good place to retire.

"I don't know that I can take much. As it is, I'll be bringing my chickens. Without Grandpaw around to tend them…"

"Oh Freya I'm so sorry," Abigail said.

"Yes, our deepest condolences. He was a good mouse."

Freya sniffed and for a moment everything felt normal again. She was the little mouse that had started down this path two months ago, and her family hadn't been visited by a druid at all. She hadn’t met all of the suitors and done the dances yet.

But she wasn't that mouse anymore. She had gone through so much with River, becoming a druid initiate and going to help the cause…

She shuddered to think about the different paths she had in front of her before sighing and accepting the smothering group hug she needed.

"He was a good mouse," she whispered.

And more importantly so was she.

They sat in silence for a minute, their companion the tap-tapping of their paws.

Freya wiped back a tear. This would be such a joyous time if she could just let it be that way. She steeled herself

"So tell me about the engagement, my dear."

Holly brightened visibly, Abigail sipped her espresso and Freya? She did the thing that heroes are supposed to do. Freya listened.