Liya's teeth started to chatter again. "N-No," she stammered. Yoshi sat down next to her on the fountain's edge, offering her his palm. "I'm j-just tired an' cold--"

A vivid orange glow suffused Yoshi's face and hands, seeming to well up from inside him. Liya disentangled her hand from the blanket and pressed her curled fingers into his palm--the warmth flowed straight into her, like she was holding her hand over a fire.

"Do you know how lucky you are?" Vlad asked worriedly. The masked spirit had swung back up onto the bird's back--they waved and called out cheerily as the bird leapt into the air. Vlad waved back distractedly, continuing, "That slaver obviously didn't know who she was picking up--most people aren't that fortunate, Liya. Most slavers aren't that sloppy."

He helped Yoshi ease Liya up onto her feet; Liya locked her fingers with Yoshi's, no longer shivering, but exhausted. "Listen to me," Vlad told her. "The Escalan police are going to come ask you about this. They won't be nice, but you must tell them the truth. They will know if you're lying."

"Oh, please," Shinobu said quite suddenly; she had been studying the slaver's body intently, practically invisible in the thick fog. "She's an offworlder--the truth may not help her anyway." She glanced over, brow creased. "Liya, how did you kill this slaver?"

"Huh?" Liya said slowly. "I jus' did what I do to heal bones, but backwards."

Vlad gave a sort of smile, his hand dropping from Liya's arm. "That's--"

"Horrible," Shinobu suggested. "What a ghastly ability."

"Shinobu," Yoshi said warningly.

"Well it is!"

Liya had not really listened; she was gazing into the foggy night air. "Who were the people in the masks?" she asked, distantly.