Okay. So maybe she'd had more fun then she'd first admitted.

But why wouldn't she?

It was just so interesting!

...and with everything that was happening. She maybe...possibly...probably needed a distraction.

With how much she was spending out here in the Thorns...looking into her of slice of hollow pie was sounding more and more appealing.

But carving out her own slice of hollow pie wasn't why she was here. It had more to do with all the fun interesting, distracting combinations available to make a some more neat hedgespun goodies!

When she came here intent on making her fan, a drippy fingered hand absently pats where they rested in her pocket. She knew what she wanted. She just had to go about figuring out how to do it. Now...now she just sat staring at abstract materials, and wondering how'd she put them together and what she'd make.

Maybe deciding to venture out here to make a something wasn't a great plan. But no one could say that the wisp ever really had a plan. Be nice, gain allies, find mom. Just broad strokes that Mhairi was now realizing were in the realm of improbable. Had her uncle known how the Freehold of Sacramento operated when he sent her out here? Did he know that it would take a miracle and a half to find a group stable enough to help? Was she just here on busy work, while her uncle used his Winter contacts to find her mom?

Mhairi frowned.

She'd been feeling listless, lost. When she first got here she knew the broad strokes, and figured the details would fill themselves in. Those details, were that she'd gain knowledge enough to help her mom, help herself. Mhairi freed herself from Faerie. Uncle Orion freed himself from Faerie. Why hadn't her mom?

Was it just the inexplicable ways time worked over There?

Lip bitten betwixt her teeth, Mhairi shuttered then sniffled. Steam rose up from fell-flames. Drippy fingered hands twisted and tugged the random assortment of ingredients, okay so maybe the distraction wasn't working.

As far as she knew her mom was still over There. All her friends were gone. Hank and Evelynn disappeared without a word. Ramona too. Ava's in a coma. At least she was able to say goodbye to Coco.

Mhairi hoped the wasp liked the cookies.

Fell-flames motes flickered, drifting from her eyes, as her body continued to shutter, tears slipping from her eyes only to be seared into steam. Absently, Mhairi pulled at the pile of embers she'd gathered, the fell-flames motes drifted down as the onslaught of steam continued to displace them.

A drippy fingered hand grabbed at the mote, tugging it close to the flickering ember, the red of the ember and the green of the mote, set each other off nicely. A crooked smile slowly comes to life upon Mhairi's lips.

She couldn't carry around with her a security blanket, magically imbued to protect her from the horribleness of the world. But...drawing a finger through the flame in the pit, twisting it until it reminded her of perfect circle, next, flicking embers, and fell-flames motes were strung upon the circle of flame, she could have a necklace.