"I've got a jar of caffeine powder in the pantry, but I imagine you were looking for something a little less concentrated. Coffee okay?"
"Let's stick with the coffee." Nightshade walked into the kitchen and started a pot. "Should be about five minutes. Mugs are in the cupboard, sugar's on the counter, cream's in the fridge. I'm gonna go grab my winter gear from the shed. Be right back."
Nightshade returned exactly five minutes later, just as the coffeepot finished dripping. "Good timing." She pulled down a couple of mugs. "How do you take your coffee?"
Nightshade shrugged and poured a disgusting amount of sugar in Raven's coffee, then poured a few shots of Connemara cream into her own. "Here you go. I figure packing should take about an hour with the two of us, then we can get a nice breakfast before I have to be at the train station."
"Wasn't planning on it. Besides, this shouldn't be too difficult. We know what we're looking for, and we know where it is. We just have to go get it."
"I'm already a Draconequus," she said, shifting briefly to that form. "I don't think I could become a revenant."
She chuckled. "There's one for the philosophers." She downed her coffee as Hemlock through carrying a live trout, still flopping weakly. "I'm gonna get started laying stuff out. Whenever you're done you can help me stuff it into the trunks."
"Okay then." It took less than an hour to pack two trunks worth of gear, and when they were done, they dragged the trunks out the front door and set them on the sidewalk. "Somepony will be by to take these to the train station. We've got a little over two hours before I leave, so where do want to go for breakfast?"
Nightshade nodded. "Greasy Spoon's it is. It's just down the street." She led Raven to a ramshackle old diner, spotlessly clean despite the peeling paint and worn out booths. The waitress smiled brightly as the pair entered. "Mornin', Shady! How are ye? Who's yer new friend?" "Hi, Merry. This is Raven. And I'm doing pretty well. You?" "Can't complain. Greasy's as cranky as ever, but the diner's bin doin' better lately." "Good to hear. I've always loved this place." "Oh, Ah know. Ye've bin comin' in here wit yer da since ye were a wee thing." The waitress, an older mare called Merry Way, led them to a corner booth and slid them a couple of menus. "Anythin' ta drink?"
