If anyone was going to venture further than the village, Gretel was going with them. That was as much to do with the fact that she was getting stir crazy sitting around, trying to figure out what they were supposed to be doing here as it was with the fact that she felt more prepared than most for venturing into a survival situation. Her whole life was trekking through a forest, waiting for something to try eating her face.
And if anything did leap out and take a bite, at least Gretel knew how to use a gun. She was keeping her more magical skills to herself, at least for now. With Gale disappearing, she'd been set back on the wrong foot, uncertain how to keep moving forward with skills that still felt like they belonged to someone else.
But hiking? Tracking? Generally avoiding being eaten by the wildlife? Gretel could do that with one hand tied behind her back.
"Something's not right," she murmured, catching the scent of char on the air. It wasn't a breeze. Nothing was stirring, really, providing no break in the heat. But the air had changed, and what it smelled like was destruction.