VETTA DID NOT hear these exchanges. Her mind was wandering far ahead of her steps amid rustling leaves. When briefly she thought of the others, she paused one last time to look back at the now distant amble path and found it deserted. She was alone. Yet she knew she was not.
The shadow which had indeed existed, purposely so to attract just the right amount of attention, resolved itself into the slim figure of a girl with blue hair. Vetta smiled.
'This is like that place before,' she said, looking around a little uneasily at the leaves upon the ground. They were nice leaves. All colourful and crisp. Yet what might lurk beneath?
'The one with the trapdoor?' the girl asked as if the idea had suddenly come to her.
Vetta nodded nervously.
'Indeed it is,' Truancy Mundane said in casual but reassuring tones. 'Don't be afraid. It's perfectly safe.'
Vetta smiled at the blue-haired girl and then gazed around at the huge towering trees upon the slope, many still reluctant to shed their own leaves. They seemed to guard them with possessive jealousy. One fluttered down as she watched, a tribute to her admiration.
'I can never cease to marvel at these great living things, breathing so quietly with life and stability.' She took several steps to where Truancy Mundane waited. Then she disappeared with a scream.
'You really are so delightfully trusting,' the girl said with a laugh. She looked around to assure herself that indeed there was no one else around and then moved to where the other had disappeared. She paused in her step when she heard a faint voice.
'That skull's still down here,' came a mournful whimper from the bowels of the earth.