Haha, along the same idea, yes. Though mine [a quick flutter of fingers off to the side of the woods, to indicate the doll] is really more for awareness than actual protection.

[Specifically, so he can try to tell when it's just fellow travelers on the road behind him, instead of overthinking every noise he hears in the forest. He's not so confident that they'll be safe if they follow the rules; in fact, it's more likely that there will be some sort of rustling behind them along the path, in an attempt to get them to turn around. It seems like the sort of thing that the ayakashi in the forests back home would try.]

...Which means I'm the less prepared of the two of us. With that in mind, any objections to trying our luck together?