"....a little." Lindsay replied.

He sighed and described his experience, and how he just managed to escape.

"I managed to get some oranges, apples, and potatoes, though." he then told her.

"No meat." he lamented.

"They're getting tired of us, and they're taking to some harsh measures." he went on.

"Pretty soon, we may not be able to get anything when we go out."

"........" Lindsay was silent again.

"Yeah..." he said.

"Hey." he then muttered. "Are you... okay?" he asked.

"You've seemed... not so good for the past bit." he commented.

"And you don't look so steady on your feet." he said further.

"Everything all right?"

His eyes widened when he noticed this.

"...they're... they're dry." he said.

"This... no, this..." he muttered, staring at them.

Anna took pride in maintaining her plants, her vegetation. They were always fresh and healthy... and if anything started to go wrong, she noticed right away, and did what she could to fix it.

He knew this. And he also knew that this plant wasn't supposed to have any dryness in its leaves. As well, he knew that Anna should have noticed this right away, and would have fixed it already.

Putting them all together, it raised further concern in him.

"Anna..." he whispered, before leaving the room and following her.

"I'm gonna go out to see if I can find some meat!" he called to her.

"................right." Lindsay muttered.

This was even more concerning. And the fact that there were so many unknowns to this frustrated him even more. He wasn't sure what to do here. He didn't know if he even COULD do anything.

But he had a suspicion that Anna was not in good condition, and there was a chance it could get worse.

So he sighed, and made his way to the door that they'd been using.

"Back soon-ish!" he called to her, before stepping outside.

He did, indeed, intend to search for some meat... but also, see if he couldn't find any help for Anna.

Sure enough, in line with her feelings about Jake, he returned within 20 minutes.

"Before you ask, no, I didn't get anything." he told Anya when he stepped onto the balcony.

"One thing IS for sure, we're not dealing with mortals." he told her.

"They seem to get all over the city, and their trails tend to just... stop in the most random places." he continued, shaking his head slightly.

"Odds are they're using mana or special abilities to teleport, or disappear, or whatever." he continued.

"We may have to resort to just combing the city and trying to locate a stronger trail." he then lamented.

"...well, unless your spiders have come back with something, that is." he added.

"Indeed." Jake responded.

"If these individuals are pushed into a corner, there's no telling what they might do." he said.

"We need to tread VERY carefully." he went on with a small sigh.

"I'll continue to try and pick up a fresher trail." he then said further, looking over the city.

"I just hope we're not too late."

Jake thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Let's head out." he told her.

"Maybe something will crop up while we're out." he reasoned.

"If not, at least it's a nice dinner out." he then said with a small shrug.

"What are you feeling like having tonight?" he asked.

"Ah, that's true!" Jake remembered.

"Sure then, let's go." he said.

"Seems like as good a time as any." he reasoned with a shrug.

"Do you need to do anything before we go?" he asked.

"Because I'm good to go right now."

Jake's eyes widened when Anya said that.

"....nearby?" he asked.

"How close?" he asked her.

"And how... stationary do they seem to be?" he asked further.

"I need to know how much time you think we have." he continued.

"Or are you going to have one latch onto them as a tracker?"

"....I agree." Jake replied.

"Such a thing is heartbreaking." he told her.

"...I wonder who they are." he then said.

"What their deal is. Why they've resorted to THIS kind of life." he went on.

"Sadly, there's only one way to find out." he then finished with a small sigh.