The surface did not have nearly as many convenient rivers as River had hoped, which meant the majority of the time they were going somewhere these days their boat simply grew legs and walked. It got the occasional amused giggle, when in the Underground, but here on the surface the humans tended to stare.
And that made them uncomfortable.
Not uncomfortable enough to walk somewhere though. Land had this way of being disorienting, in a way that always took an adjustment period any time they had to actually get on it. Which was often nowadays, irritatingly. Many places had a 'no vehicles' policy.
They also had to use the sidewalk. Because apparently their boat was not 'street legal', whatever that meant. Something about causing accidents and needing licenses and other such nonsense that River chose not to worry about because it annoyed them and they did not want anything to do with it.
They had also not bothered yet with getting 'proper identification', because one apparently needed a little card to let humans know they were who they said they were before they could use the roads. Really, what had the world come to? They did not recall things being quite this complicated before all of this.
That was why they were currently located in the park, floating along on a nice pond they'd discovered and generally just enjoying some serenity away from the noisier parts of the city when they took note of a human they'd seen before. An interesting one, judging by the various possibilities that always danced around her.
Possibilities they had not shared with anyone because they remembered there had been some mages that had stayed friendly and they did not want to risk how others might react if they knew the possibility humans with magic might still exist. However uncertain. Visions were not always truth, they reminded themself as they directed their skiff a bit closer towards the curious woman.
"Hello there," they said with a smile in their voice, their skull obscured by the shadows of their hood. "You look like you've read an interesting book or two in your time. Any you care to share?"
