Crisp and cold, the dry air swirled the fall leaves around their feet. There was a soft crunch as they threaded their way through the tight-knit clumps of alder, interspersed with tall pine trees and towering hemlock. Grey crests of granite jutted randomly out of the ground; the big stones smattered with muted green lichen interspersed with moss.

Birds chirped and chattered; chickadees flickered back and forth on the branches, bouncing puffballs of grey and black. Jauntily, they swooped to pick at the forest floor, bright button eyes reflecting the dappled sunshine that managed to work through the tree cover. Frost laced the edges of the conifer leaves; shimmering bright and sharp, reflecting rainbows. In the shadows under the trees, there were already accumulations of snow that had settled into place, getting a head start on winter.

Wilderness surrounded them. Nothing manmade; no cars, no trucks. There was no distant roar of a ribbon of highway. Even the rangers and surveyors didn't come this way often; the other day they'd seen a float plane do a few circles- she'd been baffled at the pattern until he pointed out that they were probably a surveyor's plane or one hired by the government to count the number of fishermen or follow radio collars for wolves.

Only the gurgle of the stream feeding into the glassy reflection of the pond before them made noise until a flock of geese streamed in for a landing on the surface, honking and whistling.

The tall grey mech paused at that and peered at them. Beside him, the dark femme came to a stop, inclining her head.

They were totally out of place out here in the wilderness, two mechanical beings from a planet other than this one. To the casual human observer - well there wouldn't have been a casual human observer. There would be lot of people fumbling for their iPhones and it would be up on YouTube and every major news station in less than fifteen minutes. Giant Robot Invasion of Canada. Probably not a large international market for that film, but you never knew.

"You know, I have to say I like them better on the ground," Deuce said, with a wave of his hand to indicate the geese. "Nothing like barely missing a goose when taking off the end of a runway give you a hell of a wake up call in the morning."

Dart winced. "Oh geeze... that sounds awful," she replied. "You missed it though, right?"

"Yeah, that one I missed," he replied quickly before he rocked back on his heels and looked up at the open blue sky above them. "Between you and me, Starbucks would go out of business if that secret got out. None of this quad glop whatever add in fifteen syrups and shoot directly into a vein. Instead, just aim a dumb waterfowl straight at the windshield."

Deuce brought up his hand to thump his chest lightly. "Clears out the pump like you wouldn't believe," he grinned at her, with a wink of one bright orange optic.

"That would do it, yes," she agreed with a laugh, even as her fingers slipped over her hip carriers and tapped lightly along the edge of them. She glanced at the geese, lifting her nose slightly to sniff at the air before settling once again. Her expression became slightly puzzled and she swung her nose back and forth, and then she made a little 'oh' of surprise as she pinpointed the scent that had attracted her attention.

"Look," she said, and pointed carefully towards the pond. It took her a second to spot the animal; the dark coat blended beautifully with the craggy backdrop of stone and bare trees. "Oh, hey... look!"

The mech squinted as he followed her finger. At first, he couldn't see a thing except oh, trees. More trees. Some leaves. Water with floating unstuffed Christmas Dinners on it.

"What are you - wait, is that a moose?"

It was indeed a moose.

A massive bull moose with a huge set of antlers. It stood up to its belly on the edge of the pond. Steam curled off of the shaggy shoulders and twisted quietly it the air. The ridiculously short nub of a tail waggled back and forth as it rolled a mouthful of dripping, slimy plants back into flapping lips with a broad pink tongue.

"Uh huh," Dart murmured, automatically keeping her voice down. The courier loved spotting interesting wildlife, and she settled quietly into place, not shifting her weight or moving her spoiler as she watched the animal. "You know, now that I think about it, I've not seen one since Alaska. It's been a while, I guess. They're all over up there, you just sort of learn to be careful at night when you drive places."

"No kidding- that thing looks like it could totally take on a Honda and win. Look at those antlers."

A low whistle escaped the mech and then he brought up his thumbs and forefingers and framed the scene in front of him. His eyes gleamed and a grin crossed his face as he turned to look over at the courier.

"You know, this totally is one of those shots that end up on calendars," he told her, and crooked his head and held out his hands to her so she could peer through his fingers. "Here, look at this, it's got everything. Lake, geese, trees, moose, mountains. This is like all of Canada wrapped into one quick press of a shutter. If it was holding a hockey stick in its mouth this would be perfect, but hey, close to perfect is good enough."

Dart leaned over and peered through, then nodded. He dropped his hands to his sides and began patting himself down for a second, searching for- ah ha, there. A few seconds later and he'd lifted the travel camera he carried into his hands. Waterproof, windproof... even idiot proof the guy who sold it to him had said. Which wasn't entirely true; the camera didn't suffer idiots well - it was finicky and fickle as a cat. Sometimes it randomly turned itself off in a three day sulk; that time on Regar Four had been a nightmare trying to convince it that it wanted to stay functional in that atmosphere. At least here on Earth it was mostly stable.

Deuce brought it up and looked through it, then frowned. A few steps to the left, then the right, and then he glanced over at Dart.

"Nope. That tree over there totally unbalances the shot. Why are there so many trees here, anyway? That's it, writing a letter to someone in government on how they need to work on their westward expansion."

Dart's spoiler clicked up a notch. "Er, Canada has other things besides trees and forests."

Deuce hummed thoughtfully as if he was considering this statement. Then the scuffed jet mech nodded. "Okay, I concede that point. It's got Toronto and Vancouver."

There was a laugh. "Aw, it's got more than that, honest."

"Tim Hortons? Great donuts, the coffee's a little bit shaky unless you order a double double, and even then, you better make sure it's early in the morning. Once that's had time to bake, it peels paint. It peels off paint that you didn't even know was there."

The courier's spoiler tilted upward slightly, and she tipped her chin, wondering if he had actually tasted the coffee. Then she decided that he very well might have. You never knew with Deuce about those sorts of things. Dart had seen him totally eat curry on a dare, as well as a bottle of nail polish remover (bottle included) and a can of Guiness (can also included.)

Not to mention he'd once ingested some sort of long-legged bird, but that had totally been an accident. They'd never been able to deduce what sort of bird it had been. Pretty sure it wasn't a pigeon though, that one was off the list.

Even after all of these months the journalist was still huffing a random feather or two out of his vents.

"More than that too," she replied.

"Right. How about the World's Largest Paddle," he continued.

"There's a- wait, isn't that in Vancouver?" the courier asked, settling back on her heels.

"Nope. It's in Parson. Pretty impressive actually. I mean if you had a space canoe, you're set."

Dart laughed and then eyed the moose again. The animal had plunged his head underwater once more. Bubbles frothed up from between the huge tines.

"You know, I really don't think this is a good idea. Moose are... really cranky, in the fall."

"It's fine, it's fine. Really, it's just a quick picture. Won't even bother it. Does it look bothered to you?"

Dart sucked a bit of air through the corner of her lips. The courier's spoiler perked up and over her shoulders for a second and framed the huge bulk of the animal wading in the pond. The bull plunged his head under the surface; when he finally came up for air, he blew out a surge of water and then chewed laconically at a mouthful of pond weeds. Reeds sagged out of the sides of the slobbering mouth as he crunched and munched. The pendulous dewlap swung back and forth as it half-dozed in the morning sunshine. Totally peaceful. Serene.

Bigger than a Volkswagen bug. That too.

"Not yet, no," she admitted.

"Well, see, everything's grand, then!" Deuce replied, and started to slip his way through the spindly aspens, pushing the branches aside carefully with the flat of one hand. His camera was firmly held in the other.