Kind of a slower update this week, with both the chapter and the art- a little doodle dump. Just wanted to show off the characters and struggle with drawing the flowers for the umpteenth time.

Karmin and Elliot and Hattie have that dynamic of "mom takes you shopping and spots one of her friends and they start talking for all eternity". Take a moment to picture Elliot and Karmin talking happily in a supermarket with Hattie groaning and trying to pull Elliot away.

Hope that helps. I dunno how it WOULD, but I hope it helps.

Edit: WE ARE NOT IMMUNE TO THE AUTHORLY MISTAKES EVEN WITH BETA. HOLY CUNGADERO. I WANT TO SWEAR BUT I'M TOO NICE FOR THAT.

---

The first place they went was the Birdhouse. And oh boy- there sure were birds there.

Very mean birds. Loud birds that pecked and nipped at Hat Kid's feet and tried to push her off the side of the coops.

To add insult to injury, they liked Elliot. She caught the same birds that had been viciously attacking her trying to rub themselves along his legs and happily perch on his feet. Elliot couldn't stand still for a moment without a bird fluttering over to sit on his shoulder.

Both of them were constantly waving off birds, but for two different reasons.

"Why are these birds so dumb?!" Hattie groaned as she made a wild swipe with her umbrella to knock some birds out of her way. They squawked in outrage and made a beeline toward Elliot.

"I-I'm not sure why they're acting so oddly..." Elliot gently tried to wave the new birds away. "Shoo!"

A new bird descended from above him and landed on his outstretched arm. He sighed heavily. "I'm just sorry they're attacking you," he lamented.

"It's better than being hounded by overly friendly birds," Hattie said pointedly, watching as Elliot desperately tried to ward off the birds before the situation worsened.

"You think so? I mean, I'll admit- my situation isn't the best-" A bird landed on his head, and Elliot froze, his brow furrowing. "But... Well, honestly, I'm not sure what I'd rather have right now," he admitted.

Hat Kid smirked. Elliot's hesitation had only drawn more birds to him. "I think you're stuck now," she told him.

Elliot waved one arm, trying to fling the bird off him. It held on and gave him an annoyed look. "I... I'm sorry," he sighed. "I don't see how I'm much help."

Even if Elliot didn't see it, Hat Kid could tell he was useful. The birds were drawn to him like a magnet. As long as he stayed still and the birds were focused on him, they'd be too distracted to bother Hattie.

"Actually, just stay there," she told him. "It might not seem like much, but... you're a big help right now. You can distract the birds while I get my timepiece."

Despite the increasing crowd of birds, that brought a hopeful light to his eyes. "Oh. Well, there's that, at least."

Another bird landed on his head and pecked at his crown. Elliot cringed. "Please be quick."

She nodded, turned, and kept jumping from house to house. She made her way up to a horn and, knowing the pattern by now, blew into it.

A deep, mighty note sang from its depths. Responding to the call, a flag line unfurled out of a tree and led to the hourglass.

Hat Kid grinned once she stood straight. She shielded her eyes and looked over at the timepiece.

There was a massive baby chick right under it. She would have to climb up that thing if she wanted her timepiece. All without waking it up. Hattie cringed.

Quick in and out. You're almost there. If the giant bird wants to attack you, just teleport back to the ship.

She steadied herself. Then, rushing as quickly as possible, descended, ran past Elliot (who was desperately trying to round up birds and keep them away from her), hooked onto the flag line, and scaled the rock structures.

The bird was snoring loud enough to rattle every bone in her body. Hat Kid cringed as she looked from the timepiece to the bird. She wouldn't have to climb that thing, she'd have to jump on it. It would awaken for sure.

Hat Kid whispered an oath under her breath and jumped.

She felt her feet sink into its squishy body. She shuddered but pushed off all the same. She'd expected the soft landing to vanquish all her momentum, but the bird bounced with her and sprung her up like a trampoline.

Hattie landed next to the timepiece with a considerable breath of relief and grabbed it.

Light burst from the timepiece. She cringed and did her best to cover it with her hands. "No," she hissed at it. "No! You'll wake up the bird!" She gripped it tightly, sent it back to the ship, and glanced back at the chick.

....it was still snoozing.

"Huh." Hat Kid scratched her head in puzzlement and went around it this time, heading back to Elliot.

Surprisingly, she wasn't the only one who had that idea. Karmin was there too. Hattie narrowed her eyes. What's she doing here?

They were talking together, all the birds that had previously been swarming gone now. As she approached, she could hear Karmin saying something like, "...a lot of 'em around here. Would you like to get a closer look?"

"What are you doing here?" she blurted, heading to Elliot's side and eyeing Karmin suspiciously. She and Elliot had to go out of their way to get here. Had Karmin managed to travel that way at that time?

Karmin startled and looked down at her. "Oh, hello," she said, waving awkwardly. "Um, I like traveling around Alpine," she explained. She moved her blond hair off her shoulder with a flick of her wrist. "The Birdhouse is one of the four big landmarks. I like being here. I would've left earlier, but I saw Elliot here, swarmed by birds, and I wanted to help him."

"Which I greatly appreciate, even if your presence scares all birds," Elliot assured her, then turned to Hattie. "Did you get what you needed to? I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help."

"I did," Hat Kid said sharply. She made a face at Karmin. No way she was going to trust her. Elliot talked to her so easily. If he wasn't going to prepare himself for betrayal, then Hattie would.

Karmin made the same face back at her. Hat Kid's expression turned to confusion. Hattie couldn't tell if she was playing around or not.

Sandwiched between the two girls, Elliot glanced back and forth between them, looking more puzzled than Hattie was. After a moment, he just shook his head and stood. "Well, I'm ready to continue when you are," he told Hattie. He adjusted his cloak and smiled at her.

"Good." Hat Kid took his hand and led him away from Karmin. "We have no time to spare." She shot another look at Karmin, then back at Elliot. Would he understand what she was trying to tell him...?

Nope. He wasn't even looking. Oblivious as ever, he called out to Karmin as the house from which they'd come, making their way back to the flag lines. "I'll be seeing you soon, hopefully!" He waved goodbye.

"Hopefully!" Karmin agreed, waving back.

"Hopefully not," Hattie grumbled. She activated her Hookshot, and off they went.

---

A few flag lines later, the two landed in the Curly Tail Horn Trail. Try saying that ten times fast, Hat Kid thought to herself. She helped Elliot jump to the next platform and tiptoed across a line, barely listening to the little Nomad that told her, "Take care, kid. I went up ahead and was scratched slightly!"

Scratched slightly. Wowwwww, how dangerous! No way they were that big of a deal.

Hat Kid strode into the village and immediately got shoved over by an unseen force. Before she could get up, something rifled through her pockets, withdrew some pons, and scampered away.

"HEY!" she yelled. She scrambled to her feet and waved off Elliot, who'd been reaching to help her up. "You peck neck!" She sprinted off after them, ignoring Elliot's call of caution.

The figure may have been invisible, but Hattie could hear and see the outline of appearing pawprints in the dirt. She caught up and swung her umbrella. The invisibility shattered and the figure- a cat- dropped the Pon with a yelp. It scurried away without bothering to steal from her again.

"Serves you right," she huffed at it. For good measure, she stuck her tongue out.

She returned to Elliot with a smug look that was quickly wiped clean when she saw his blank eyes and bare head.

In hindsight, maybe leaving the defenseless, finely-dressed guy with a crown alone in a place with invisible thieves wasn't Hattie's smartest decision. She pursed her lips.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes, looking around. Snatcher squinted suspiciously at the scenery around him. "Wait a minute..." he grumbled. "We were somewhere else before, weren't we?"

"Nah." Hat Kid looked at him innocently.

Snatcher pivoted, looking around. "No, no, that... flagline.... Or whatever... deposited us somewhere else. I know it! How did we end up here, and so quickly?" He trailed off.

Again, Hattie thought about how Snatcher would never believe the truth. So she decided to keep lying. "You were so stressed out that you passed out," she told him. "I had to drag you all the way here." To sell the act, she gave him an accusing glare.

He frowned back at her. "That still doesn't explain..." He raised a hand to scratch his head in confusion, then paused. "Hold on. Where's my crown? I had it just a moment ago, right?"

"Someone stole it." This time she told the truth. "There are these invisible cats that just swiped it off of you."

Snatcher gasped indignantly, his hands balling into fists. "What!? How dare they-!" He gritted his teeth, scanning the village. "Of course they're invisible. They're too cowardly to come face me themselves."

Hattie didn't want to point out that there wasn't much Snatcher could do while he was human, but she refrained. Instead she scanned the area as well, noticing a trail of footsteps. Following the trail with her eyes, she spotted a waver in the air, but nothing there. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the crown glinting, suspended by the wobble in the air.

"Found it." Hat Kid tugged on Snatcher's shirt, making him flinch, and pointed out the invisible cat. Before he had a chance to go after them, Hat Kid charged after the cat.

There was a yelp of surprise from the cat as it tried to escape, but Hattie practically pounced on it. She lashed out with her umbrella, dissipating the invisibility. The cat tried to cling onto the crown, but it took just one more hit to the cat's paws for the feline to drop it. The cat hissed and bounded away.

Hattie scooped the crown up before anything else could get their filthy mitts on it. She turned on her heel and headed back to Snatcher, holding the crown out. "Here."

He gave her a wide-eyed look as he took the crown. "Kiddo, that was almost brutal."

"That's high praise, coming from the soul-stealing King of Subcon," Hat Kid retorted, giving him a smug look.

Snatcher scowled and rolled his eyes. He hooked the crown around his wrist, wearing it almost like a bracelet. Hattie frowned. "You're not going to put it on...?" she asked. Oh no. Please don't make me keep talking to you. You're so annoying.

"And risk getting it stolen again?" Snatcher replied, raising an eyebrow. "Absolutely not."

"Fair." Internally fuming, Hat Kid looked away. She bit her tongue to stop herself from arguing, and made her way into the village. "C'mon! We gotta go this way!"

Snatcher sighed heavily and started after her, his boots heavy against the cobblestone. "And why is that? I don't like this 'we' situation you're forcing here, kiddo."

"You don't know where you're going," Hattie pointed out. "Your best bet is to stick with me."

Snatcher grumbled. Hat Kid grinned to herself.

"Fine," he relented. "But I deserve some answers." After a moment, he added, "After we get out of here."

Oh? What sort of answers? Hat Kid wondered. Her chest twisted in fear. Snatcher wasn't connecting the dots, was he?

She'd have to keep a close eye on him.