To Mia's reaction, more or less expected, Laoren gave a small and hopefully reassuring smile. A mouth-destroying potion such as that was useful in a surprisingly great number of situations, and she was interested in seeing the potency of one produced by a professional. And something which lasted a few hours...

A rather unpleasant grin had come over the woman's face, but she shook it away and focused on the number coming up above the register. "Twenty Florence...well, my budget wouldn't have covered a legendary staff anyway, so I don't mind spending a little more here." Though distinctly lacking a purse or pack of any sort, Laoren did have unusually deep jacket pockets, and eventually produced a small wallet after reaching into them. She counted out a handful of colorful coins, satisfied with the pleasing evenness of the price.

"That takes care of that, I suppose. Oh, I don't suppose if you know of any places with legendary staves around?" Laoren asked the proprietor offhandedly. Of course it was a bit of a silly question, but nothing ventured nothing gained, as the say. "It didn't seem like your, uh, supplier here had anything in mind for that."

"You know, that's a good point," Laoren said when Mia brought up the price issue, looking genuinely sheepish for the first time. This momentary expression gave way to a slight frown. "It would be hard for me to explain why I want a good staff, but it's not really a problem to do with sheer force...maybe."

Once again, she looked Mia up and down, hand scratching her chin. "Well, there was this one guy I worked with once. Didn't even need any magical help from me. Just stared for a few seconds and punched the problem into oblivion. Guys like that are a rarity though."

As she spoke, Laoren pulled out a folded leaflet from her pocket and unfolded it. Soon it became clear enough that it was actually a rail map for the tree. "Since my magic isn't up to snuff, I would feel extra disappointed if we walked and there wasn't anything we could do and probably spend a few months sulking in my house." She folded up the map again and looked towards Mia.

"You ever jump dramatically off a train before? I've been told at least once that it was rather an adventurer thing to do. Our destination is between two pretty far stops, and I'd like to save some time."

Laoren giggled a little at Mia's boisterousness. "If you can handle it yourself, that would be most excellent. I could pass on my work to you and retire young." After saying this, she examined her erstwhile companion a bit more seriously. "Actually, you do seem like the sort of person that might like to walk between the flowers. There's a lot of interesting stuff you can see off the beaten path, though I guess you already know that."

Since no objections had been raised, Laoren headed them along to the train station as they talked, pausing only to purchase tickets to the closest flower when they reached the ticketing booth. The line had been nearly non-existent; it seemed more a time of day when people were getting in, for whatever reason. Maybe it was a gala of some sort.

The price of the fare interrupted that particular idle thought, and though she paid without complaint, she had the discontented pout on of someone who took a taxi for the first time and couldn't see what all the buzz was about. "Next one isn't too long to come. So, I guess we should cover each others' combat abilities now, right? Seems only appropriate. Unfortunately, you'll find there's not much to cover in my case," Laoren added with an exaggerated sigh.

"Well, I have been told that modern Outsiders expect their employers to be incompetent for whatever reason," was the woman's unexpectedly straight-faced reply to Mia's remonstration. "That aside, I must admit my plan was just to find anyone who seemed capable and willing enough to help. Although, I have to admit that you are quite a bit kinder of a person than I expected to find," she continued with a small smile.

After the previous passengers disembarked, Laoren got on and began looking for one of those large windows that were meant for emergency exits. Fortunately this was not a particularly difficult endeavor, as this train car at least had been quite drained. She flipped up the end of her jacket to avoid sitting on it and plopped down, flinching slightly as her wing touched the metal rim of the window behind her.

"Well, I do have a bit of magic to empower others in fighting monsters. Since it seems your body is your weapon, I could channel it through you directly. Unless, of course, you're one of those martial artists that eschews outside aid in combat?" Judging by Laoren's expression, this seemed to be a type of personality she'd encountered at least a few times in the past.