[ it's familiar in a place full of unfamiliarity and a little comforting somehow, so Ellie's nodding without much fuss as they continue their way onward. there's a rustling in the thick foliage to their left, but she finds herself muttering a "geez, don't scare me like that, asshole..." as some kind of weird, small lizard skitters rapidly back into cover. ]

Hey, Joel... how does this work, anyway? The island hopping stuff, I mean. That weird boat-guy drops you off and you just have to... deal?

[ he's been at it a few times from what he'd said, and even if he hadn't ~grown~ because of it, maybe he'd figured out the gist of what they can expect? ]