"I would have expected you to bring a bigger bag if you'd intended this to be a foraging trip."

He does know Claire. If this trip into the woods had really been about gathering some plant or exotic mushroom that doesn't grow around her home, she would have come prepared to gather as many samples as possible. She also would have told him about it, with a focus on its utility and healing properties.

So, yes. He believes this is supposed to be about the sacred wood.

"Any bird, though some are less cooperative than others. Crows usually expect something in return; finches generally aren't intelligent enough to understand the concept of equal exchange."

He figures that's a go ahead from Claire, though, so he turns to the bird and lets out a short series of imitation chirps. The bird chirps back. They exchange bird calls a few times and then Michael turns back to Claire.

"Potentially something ahead, in the direction we were already headed, though it's unclear if 'special trees' by his definition means the ones we're looking for or a tree that grows a kind of berry birds like."