Del's head tilts to one side as she watches Fish depart without saying... well, anything. Not that they can say much to begin with; such is the life of one who cannot use language the way she could. But they didn't say not to follow them, so she will follow until they tell her to go away.

Maruyama would have liked Fish, Del reasons to herself, as she follows at an even pace. Not hurried or pressed, certainly not pursuing, but simply enjoying the rest of the walk. Maruyama was very enigmatic in the way Fish was; a little capricious, wholly unknowable, and had an interesting sense of humour. A small smile alights her lips at the thought; perhaps Maruyama would have had an easier time reaching Fish, of teaching them.

Those thoughts have to come secondary for the moment, though. As the streets of Zeinav City become more crowded the deeper they go, she decides to keep a closer pace with Fish. They were fine, she was sure, but in a crowd like this, it would be far too easy to lose the small kenku. Particularly while they were busy finishing a puzzle. And so, she follows, at least until Fish stops or they shoo her away, whichever came first.

It certainly wasn't easy to keep track of the small bird in the crowd. Even without trying, they naturally blended into amongst the legs and shadows. But, Fish wasn't trying to hide, so while there were several moments they were out of sight Del could catch glimpses of them. Fish did seem to have an unnatural understanding of the city and the movements of the crowds which helped them with this little dance.

Of course, Fish is aware of the tail they have so all of this wandering is essentially pointless. The bird is now curious to see how long Del keeps up this impromptu pursuit. They find a spot in the marketplace to really dip away and out of sight. Fish scrambles up to a wall to perch up top. 

They are just high enough to get above the crowd to keep an eye on Del, see if she knew where to actually look for stealthy individuals. Fish was admittedly making it very easy, but unknowingly to both of them Fish was having fun doing this. Cat and mouse or.....monk and bird in this case it seems.

Del keeps her eyes on the small kenku, but it isn't easy; the streets are busy and Fish, being roughly knee height, is easy enough to lose in a crowd. She keeps as respectful a distance as she can, wondering what the gain was in all this... if Fish wanted to lose her, they likely could, they knew Zeinav very well, almost definitely better than she did, despite having pairs of shoes that were older than Fish.

But she stays on task. She slides through the crowd, her own hood up to avoid any scrutiny or unwanted attention, best as she could, anyway, while casually walking after Fish. Not too fast, not too slow. Still, she was a lot bigger than Fish, and making her way through cracks in the crowd was a lot more of a task for her than it was for them. It isn't long before they slip out of her view entirely, and Del pulls close to a wall to reevaluate, staying still to watch for any unusual movement in the midst of the crowd.

Why lead her all this way just to vanish to the wind? That seemed... well not unusual, perhaps, but did not seem to be their usual mode of operation when it came to interacting with people. Fish would have given her some sort of indication of a goodbye. So, why this?

...Was this maybe some sort of game for the kenku?

Where would she go if she wanted to keep an eye on someone without being seen?

She tilts her head up, to find the tiny, hooded figure of the Kenku up on the wall just above her head. She grins up at them from under the cover of her hood, and arches an eyebrow.

So maybe this monk mom was more adept at navigating society like Fish than the bird had expected. Fish would at least be curious to see just how much she knew about Fish's world, an adorable little irony that a small child-bird would think they have more experience than the world weary elf.

Fish pockets a small parcel into their backpack just before Del turns to face them. The bird doesn't say a word, mostly because they can't, and turns to head back down an alleyway. This time they seem to disappear for good if Del looks to follow them down an alleyway.

At least, they are gone until Del turns to find them perched on a stack of crates. "Del is persistent. Is Fish's assistance still needed?"

Del patiently follows Fish from a distance, watching them slip around a corner and into an alley. She maintains the gap between them, something that was more habit than if she was truly trying to tail them unseen-- she was incredibly aware that she was very much noticed-- though finds herself a little surprised to find Fish not immediately visible as she rounds the corner herself. Now, where did the little kenku get off to.

A few steps deeper finds a pair of black eyes looking down on her from atop a perch of crates. She remains where she is, hands on her hips, looking up at them with a smile. At being called persistent, she utters a quiet laugh, and nods slowly. "So I've been told." Her head tips to the side a little, thoughtful. She didn't need anything further from Fish, of course, but she had been enjoying the little game. "I was just having fun playing a little game of hide and seek with you just now. At least that's how I thought of it. You really know your way around Zeinav." She gives them another smile, and takes a step back down the alley. "You know, I thought about grabbing some food from a vendor, before making my way to my sleeping arrangements and heading out of town. Would you like to join me, or are you headed home for the night?"

"Fish was born in Zeinav, Fish knows these streets best, but Fish knows most cities. Streets have patterns, if Fish knows the patterns, then Fish knows most of what Fish needs to know."



They hop down from the crates and look around a moment. The transaction was complete and Fish had learned what they had hoped to about Del from this last little game. For now they decide further engagement is more risk than it is worth.



"Fish will be leaving." Del would be familiar with the technique of the shadow dancers as Fish seems to just sink into one of the many shadows that exist in this alleyway.