The contact made Alena feel weird, she wasn't used to contact, not hugs, not affection, not anything other than a shove here or there, or perhaps the whip against her skin. When asked about the strips of cloth she nodded and pulled them from her pocket, holding them out to Erika. She had looked for a stream to clean them in but had no luck... she knew somewhere near by was a river, since the towns mills were run by the waterwheel, and occasionally one of the other girls from the workhouse. But the river was probably out in the open and she was too afraid to go anywhere they might be seen or caught.

"We need to keep moving..." She said with a forced smile, her body protesting the thought. It would be hard to continue but they needed to get as far away as quickly as they could if they wanted to survive. She ate a few of the berries, they were sweet and juicy and helped a bit to quench her thirst.