Nihad and Maria woke up the next morning after a bit more talk just idle chat, and a fairly mutual nodding off, the human ending up curled up like a cat on the Adite's stomach. Thankfully, she was a back sleeper and there was no danger of being rolled over on and crushed.
After a bit more of the bread of which the remainder was carefully tucked away, she packed up the pillows that were her bed into a backpack far too small to contain them all without magical assistance.

Finally she placed Maria on her shoulder, and stepped out of the tent. "This is my favorite part."  Waving her staff, the whole tent folded in on itself and ended up as a square small enough for Maria herself to probably pick up and carry, which she tucked carefully in her pocket. What was left behind was the table and oven she had built.
"I know of a trading village not far from here. We'll stop nearby and I'll set up the tent again, then give you the backpack with some of the goods I'd like you to sell for me."

"That must come really handy for fast getaways." Maria breathed out in mild shock, enjoying the view as she added with glee. "we had a saying about stuff like this once. Something humans like to remark, regardless if its true or not when looking from heights like this."

Hm, and what would that be, my friend?" Nihad asked, as they began to move. Her steps, casual as they were, going at about the speed of a horse canter.
She made sure to keep her strides steady so as not to unsettle her passenger. Nihad had thought about wrapping a lock of hair around Maria to secure her, but she was a warrior. If she were to start to fall, she had trust in the fact she'd grab onto something on the way down.

"I can see my house from here." Maria said with a cheeky smile, perfectly at ease as she cuddled briefly and sighed out. "I say, this is the only way to travel...Truly. The breeze is nice and the desert doesn't seem so large from up here."

"I carry my house in my pocket." Maria laughed and turned her head briefly to catch sight of the woman on her shoulder. "Nothing seems as large from up here." Though that last was said with a melancholy tone.
"We should arrive in perhaps an hour's walk. What I'm hoping for, food wise, is things I know that humans keep in greater bulk. Grain mostly, but sometimes they've laid in a good store of dried meat. I don't wish my hunger to cause others to starve. Thankfully I eat far less for my size than a human does. Otherwise, I'd have to be consuming tons of food a day."

 "I did wonder about that." Maria admitted aloud before adding. "Though to be fair, maybe a town is our best bet? Should be plenty of surplus to shop for."

"The nearest town of appropriate size is further off, but we could still make it by midday. I can keep us cool with breezes made by my magic. I am an Air Shugenja. The trick with the tent and backpack are things I actually bought from humans." Nihad admitted, smiling.
"I'm very glad to have a traveling companion. I've been alone so long, I think I was on the verge of madness. Most everything and everyone flees my sight." There was the melancholy again.

"Awwww, don't you worry." Maria said sympathetically as she patted the other. "I'll be around as much as you like...In all sorts of ways." She added coyly to distract.

"It does mean much for me, if simply to have someone to speak with."  Nihad smiled again. "No matter, I can walk faster, but... I'd want to carry you somewhere more secure... I'll eventually have to fashion a pouch of some sort. I need to develop a set of clothes with pockets."

"Maybe some kind of shoulder strap near your ear, like this?" Maria suggested. "I like not having to yell to talk, knowing you can hear me."

"I've actually developed a keen ear for human voices over the years, but yes, I do have to strain to hear you when I am farther from you." Nihad admitted.
The next while went quietly. Now and then she'd take Maria off her shoulder and hold her in one hand, when she had to take larger steps across rivers or over obstacles.
Finally, they barely saw the signs of a small city in the distance. "I've not been here, but I do know they trade in fish, you can smell them from far off. Maybe I can get enough fish for a good meal. Even just one whole tuna or swordfish would be a divine treat for me."

"Then I know what to buy!" Maria said cheerfully before adding. "Anything else on the list I should think about getting?"

"Food for yourself, surely... and... cloth and leather. If we are going to fashion that strap, or possibly create some more clothing, we'll need that." The Giantess said thoughtfully after a pause.
"Wine, perhaps, a few bottles. For me to use as flavoring in food, and for you to use in the usual fashion."

"I'll see about getting it all in then." Maria said cheerfully. Marking down the items on her list as she remarked aloud. "So what are the items I'm trading in for money to gain our purchases?"

"I think I'll keep the harp... I've got gems, and honestly I can't tell the value because to me they're all so small... so maybe if you go to an appraiser and pay him some of the coin I have left to give you a value.  And well, I was going to sell them but I have some fine women's clothing made for people your size, which, well, you can have first pick of before selling." Nihad listed off with a slight shake of her head.
"I should probably sell these dangling earrings, now that I have a chance of hitting someone in the head with them if I turn my head too quickly.

"I'd certainly appreciate it." Maria said frankly, checking off the items before adding. "Truth be told, we'll most likely get a lot for it if we sell it, piecemeal...Especially if its made from anything valuable."

 "The rubies in them are valuable I believe and even the bottom-most bit is a pearl from a giant oyster. They were my mother's but Ive no special attachment to them. My staff was hers too and that is much more of a personal attachment too me." Nihad commented, and for awhile there was a companionable silence until they closed in on a forested area.
They entered a clearing large enough for her tent and she paused. "I'll set up here. The town is perhaps ten minutes walk for me, so... perhaps an hour for you, but I don't think there is a place closer that I can set up the tent without attracting too much attention. Usually when I do that I get children and other curious people thinking I'm setting up a circus."

"Fair enough. Hmmm....I suppose a horse is a waste of good money. Even if we eat it." Maria conceded, deep in thought now before adding. "I'll need a sack....Something to bring the wares to market. Otherwise, I should be able to return with your purchases easily enough. Especially if I hire out a driver for it all afterwards."

"Horse is awful eating." She shuddered, almost dislodging  Maria.
"You'll use one of my bags. They hold more than they seem to be able to. Even the one that is functionally my coin purse should have enough room for your purchases..." She pulled out the smallish square, about two foot to a side, and actually handed it to Maria.
"I'll let you unfurl it. Simply grab a corner, shake it, and as you do, envision where you want it to set up. The magic will do the rest."

"I thought as much." Maria said with a faint smile, before picking up the tent as she moved out a ways before flapping it...Trying to imagine it unfolding as it should.

It ripped its way out of Maria's hands, seeming to explode outward with not an insubstantial amount of breeze. When it settled, it was precisely where she'd imagined she wanted it.
"I have to find that human wizard and thank him again. I've never had more useful gifts than from him. The bags are his making too."
Nihad kneeled and gently picked Maria up, bringing her close to her face. "Did  you need to rest some before your trip or should I pack it up for you now?"

"That was an eye opener." Maria remarked before blinking at the asked remark and smiling. "You've been doing more walking then me, so you just hand it over. I'll be back with supplies in a jiffy."

She nodded and entered the tent with Maria, setting her down. It was barren inside, but she removed one bag from her belt and upended it, shaking it. The pillows cascaded out of it, and she handed the backpack-sized bag to Maria. In fact in addition to the drawstring at the top, it had proper straps for a backpack. It looked more like a backpack that had been converted into a purse than the other way around.
"My other bag has the valuables." She sat down crosslegged. "Oh! I almost forgot... we'll need mushrooms, any kind, and an herb...Aloe Vera. Those are ingredients for potions I want to make. I'm sorry for such a long list... I can usually only get one or two items per place I stop so things have piled up."

"Don't worry. It means we'll just have to stay for a bit, right? No harm." And slipping the backpack on, Maria added with a sultry wink. "Don't be missing me too much now."

Nihad laughed, and handed the second bag to Maria. This one was more of a duffel-bag size, long and narrow with lacing across the top so that the length of it could open if need be.
Nihad removed her earrings, and placed them one by one into the larger bag. "Just think of what you want to draw out of the bag and it will come." Then, as an afterthought, she wrapped her fingers around Maria for a moment, in a sort of all-body hug, before releasing her and slipping over to the pillows on the floor of the tent.

That was nice, and with a friendly wave she turned and with a lighter heart, walked out...Heading for the town, her bag in hand.