"It's supposed to be creepy," Vena tells him loftily, losing track of whether or not he'd said that out loud. She raises her shields again with a sense of relief and the world becomes quieter, easier to handle. Her power has been getting stronger since she first noticed it, and this shielding thing has just got more and more important. Lashan says she'll teach her how to shield more selectively so she can listen to some things and not others when she's proven she can use it responsibly. It's hard to prove she can be responsible. She's trying.

Vena peers over the edge of the roof and cautiously makes her way along it. "You just jump down!" There's a tall pile of hay slated to be replacement bedding when the stalls get mucked out. She peers at it, balling her hands into fists, and hesitates for a moment while she sways indecisively back and forth. "I'm not a little kid," she mutters, imagining Guts coming back up and getting her like she is, again, a kitten.

So she jumps before she can stop herself, and with a rustle disappears completely into the hay.