On the way back to the town, Valorie heard the woman filling something up. She decided to climb up into a tree and walk through the branches to see what the woman was doing. This appeared to be a bad idea however, as the woman quickly drew her dagger and threw it at Valorie, not realizing who it was.

Valorie ended up falling out of the tree, not wanting to get hit by the dagger, and she almost landed on her arm. "...fucking...ow...that hurt"

"Oh, it's you," The dagger suddenly flew back to the woman, similar to a boomerang, and she caught it. She put it back on her side before going back to what she was doing.

"Um, yeah..." Val's feathers fluffed up, some of them as well as her tank top were still soaking with oil. She had somehow shoved her coat in the bag earlier, showing off scars that littered her arms.

Val watched as the woman primed the choke of the engine, and pulled the ripcord a few times before the vehicle revved to life. The woman hopped on the vehicle, revving the engine a few times while in neutral.

Valorie slowly got up, taking a few steps back so she was against the tree she fell from. "...an ATV."

"It was Zack's"

"Ah...sorry for your loss..." Valorie looked down at the ground, not very sure of what else to say.

"Doesn't matter, the kid was an ass anyways," The woman pulled the ATV into reverse, backing out of where she had gotten it stuck, before stopping and shifting up into gear and slowly making her way through the forest and appearing to make her way back towards town. Valorie waited a few moments before following after the woman.

As soon as she got back to town, she decided to check out the ATV left on the edge of the town. She looked over it, sadly seeing that it was more of a piece of junk and that the owner, or well, the owner's friend had taken the keys with her. Valorie hummed as she looked over the vehicle, chirping happily after a few moments. "At least it's something like Ev had back home! Reminds of...home..." The happy chirping stopped, staring at the ATV before shaking her head. "No, you'll be fine, your crew is going to find you soon and bring you back home... they wouldn't just...just leave their captain...especially Ev...you'll make it home..."

Valorie then was spooked by a sudden voice, this time a man's. "Unfortunately, no. No you won't." Valorie turned and watched as his eyes flicked briefly to the Inn, "No one here is ever going to make it "'home.'"

Valorie's wings immediately fluffed up, wrapping around her. "W-What? What...What do you...mean?"

"You're obviously new here, so it's understandable that you don't realize what's happening here or the associated consequences. I'll try to explain," The man shifted into a more open position. Valorie noticed that he was just a bit taller than average, or what she assumed to be average, and that he had shaggy, reddish-brown hair. His pale green eyes drooped a bit farther down and it made Valorie slightly uncomfortable, but she also noticed a very pale scar running down the left side of his pale face. The man continued, "Everyone here is stuck in a loop of sorts; one where we die and come back, forever forced to kill each other without reason and never being able to trust anyone around us. No matter how innocent they seem."

"Oh...fantastic...amazing......portal guns exist though...if someone had enough materials to fix or make one, people could technically go home...right?" Valorie's wings still shielded her, but her feathers un-puffed and she tried to make at least some of them lay back down normally.

"I'm sorry, but I believe people have already tried that." The man shook his head again," Zack in particular. Never met him, but I've seen plenty of the chaos he creates."

"Oh..." This is the second time Valorie heard somebody mention the name Zack. She pushed her wings aside as she began to relax slightly, staring over at the ATV. "Are...Are people here...for...for the things they've...done?"

The man shook his head again, this time with a shrug, "No one actually knows why any of us are here, hardly any of us have anything in common. All we know is that none of us are going home anytime soon."

"...I see...you say...we...the only people I've met and...held a...conversation with...were...you...the lady that just went into the Inn......and...the lady who wrapped my wing......I should change the wrapping...because...oil..." Val stared at the bag in her hands.

The man shrugged again, "Most of us have picked up how not to be found if we don't want to be. Our numbers vary as well, with not everyone coming back the following reset."

"That...That doesn't...sound good"

"Most things here aren't," The man huffed this time.

Valorie was still holding her bag, but she looked up at the man in concern. "...are you okay sir?"

The man blinked, appearing to be caught off guard. It took him a moment to reply, "Why do you ask?"

"Something just seems...wrong..." Valorie had managed to calm down enough to hold at least a semi normal conversation.

The man blinked again, "Well, I've recently begun finding out that my life before this special hell was what most people would apparently describe as "highly traumatizing" as well as having to adjust to being around things that didn't exist in my world, so by those definitions I don't believe one would describe my being as 'alright', no."

Valorie slowly walked over to the man, hesitating before asking, "Can...Can I...give you a hug?"

The man watched Valorie approach, caution clearly shown in his pose, but also caught off guard once more. "Why?"

"Because...because it seems like you...need...one? And...it seems like...a good thing to do...in this case? I'm...I'm not a therapist...I can tell you that...but...hugs can definitely help sometimes......they did for me back home...so..." Val gave a small smile at the man. The man blinked again, seeming to freeze. This caused Valorie to frown, even more concerned that he didn't reply. "...sir?"

The man's arms shot up and out for lack of a better place for them to be, opening and closing his mouth a few times in what seemed to be shock. Valorie watched as tears came to his eyes and he swallowed. After a moment, the man began to sob softly due to what Valorie assumed to be him getting overwhelmed. She quickly walked closer and hugged him, the man's arms naturally falling around the small figure that was Val in an awkward embrace. It reminded her of when she would hug Ev back home.

At this point, Valorie's wings wrapped around the man as well. "This is okay...right?"

"I-I'm not sure. It-It's new , and so much . I just-," The man hiccupped and choked through his words.

"Hey...it's alright...it's gonna be okay," Val patted him on the back while hugging him.

The man shook in her arms for a few minutes before his breathing settled and the tears slowed, a weight of some kind seemed to have been lifted from his shoulders.

"Are you...feeling better?" She wanted to make sure he was okay before she did anything else.

The man seemed to think for a moment before giving a stiff nod, "I- I think so? I feel lighter for some reason."

Valorie nodded and took a step back from the guy, her wings folding so they were against her back and she let him go, smiling. "Good!"

"I, suppose I should thank you, so, thank you?" His tone was awkward, but sincere.

"No need, I'm glad I could help a bit! I should...probably head back home though...it's getting dark." Valorie gave the man one last look of concern.

He gives the teen a nod, letting her know he was fine before he decided to walk away.

Valorie watched him leave before returning to the Inn for the night. The second she got inside, she was over at her corner with all of her blankets. She set her bag on the table, removing her coat and folding it before placing it on the table as well. She quickly removed her boots, setting them under the table before curling up in her nest in the corner of the large Inn.