Sabu's legs pumped as hard as he could as he skipped up the rocky ridges towards his village. Jumping as high as he could, he caught the jutting edge of a rock and swung himself up the final part of the way. The Sky Lodge was in front of him. Leaping down and partially sliding down the rest of the way, he looked around at the few people walking about in and out. He needed to find her, he knew she could help him, but where was she?

"She" was, of course, in her back garden, adjusting the tarp over her tomatoes to make sure most of the rain stayed off. The tarp was made of a deerskin, tanned into leather that was waterproof enough. She just had to make sure that she poured the rainwater off the top every day, which of course she was happy to do. Anything for her babies.

She noticed a young man coming up the ridges, toward her house. What could he want? Oh, it was Sabu. From her tribe. He liked plants, like her, but...still, what could he want?

"Hello, Sabu? What brings you here on this fine day? I can go get my mother if you need her."

Sabu looked at the girl who spoke to him. Hmm, wiry, auburn brown hair, tending to tomatoes... Yes! This was-
"Ailen Laskal!" Sabu was the sort of guy who always sounded like he was bellowing, not by choice, but because he had a big voice inside of him. "It is a fine day! It didn't seem that way at first, because I ended up getting chased by a boar as I was gathering herbs! I managed to get a good hold on his tusks and crack his skull into a boulder as he tried to charge me, but I was thrown over the rock and into a ditch! But then I found a wild ginseng root in the ditch and that's the third one I've found this year, which is a good deal better than last year-" wait, no! He had something else he wanted to talk to her about, something important. What was it though...
"Wait! There was something I needed your help with!" Digging through the expansive sash he kept all his things in, a closed fist came out and opened up a few inches away from her face. "Look, Ailen Laskal!" Nestled in the shallow curve of his shovel like hand was a small fruit, green and fuzzy with a very deep reddish overtone in some places. "Do you know what this is?!"

"Oh, yes? That is very hard to find, I know---What?" She looked at the man's large hand, and at what was in it. She hovered her insect-like brown hand over it, this small, fuzzy object. "Is that an unripe peach? You know, the sweet orange fruit? Very juicy? Where did you find it?"

She walked away momentarily to fill her watering can from the rain barrel. The tomatoes needed some water, after all. She just couldn't let them be drowned.

"Do you need my help somehow with that? I do not know what to do with an unripe peach. Cannot be eaten."

"No! I don't want to cook it! I want to save it!" Sabu pointed to the beautiful tomato plants that the girl had been caring for. "I can't do that! I find plants, but I can't make them grow!" He brought the peach back into her range of vision. "I haven't seen one of these for years, when you were up to my knee! There was only one wild peach tree when I was a child, they don't grow easily, and most don't make fruit if the winter is too harsh! And this one is young! Can't be more than five years old! I want to spread them around! And you're the best at making things grow in the whole Roek tribe!" There was more than excitement in Sabu's voice. For him, this peach tree was the most significant thing that had happened in a long time. Peaches had been but a happy memory for him, racing his sister to the lone peach tree his mother had shown them, dodging pits Sita expertly flung at his head. "Could you help me?"

She looked at him thoughtfully, wiping off her dirty feet on her legs and stretching and unstretching. She thought she had grown another inch when she had turned thirteen in Bethas. Perhaps. She didn't like the idea of growing more, but she had a feeling that she was going to keep growing for quite awhile. At least she would be able to reach high places for her shorter friends.

"Oh, you are planting it? Well, you will need to extract and dry the seed first. Or you may wish to go get cuttings from the original tree, and plant those. Either way, you will need to give the plants lots of water. If you use the cuttings, keep them moist--it should not be too hard in this weather. Take all the leaves off it, too. And keep it in partial shade. You cannot let it dry out, whatever happens, or it will not root. You might try adding in some weeping willow bark with it as I've found it seems to help. See if Tzul Droon the apothecary has any powdered in stock, maybe? That is all I know about cuttings. Seeds may be harder. Peach seeds have to be cracked open for the real seed, I think. I would say go with the cuttings."

Sabu tried his hardest to take all the information Ailen was giving him into his head. "Okay, I have to crack willow leaves in the shade or else the roots won't get cuttings, and if Tzul Droon has any real seeds in stock they speed up the... I know I'm getting this wrong." He shook his big shaggy head.
"Ailen Laskal, at least for the first few months, I think I'll need your help. I learn with my hands, not with words. Also, you seem to have an excellent garden here. Wild peaches are very delicate, and perhaps these cuttings would fare better if they could start growing in your care." He'd gotten the idea from looking around at the plants. Here they were protected from grazing animals and thunderstorms that killed most saplings. Also, Ailen had some sort of power, it seemed. He was certain she wasn't using her magic, but her plants were so vibrant, so strong.

"Of course, but will you get the cuttings yourself? Should I come along? I should." She turned, called to her mother. "I am going out! Will be back soon!" She turned again to the big man. "Now let's got before she starts to question me. She's always worried about me leaving the house."

"She is always worried about you leaving the house," Jyndri called to her daughter. "We do not slur our words together, Ailen."

The sinewy woman had stalked from her pantry to the door as soon as she heard voices outside. The same memory she had for identifying birds by their songs and game by their grunts allowed her to put a name to the voice before seeing the man. Sabu Imani. The orphan twig boy.

She looked from one youth to another, pretending to labor over a decision. Her mind was already made up, but it wouldn't do to let the girl know that. "I suppose you may go play with plants, but only if you bring me some sage. I will need at least five sprigs for Binze dinner tomorrow."

Her hunter's eyes strayed back to Sabu. Such a stringy thing. If he were a deer, the panthers would pass him up. Not his fault, though. He had no family to feed him properly.

"And do not forget your manners, Ailen. Invite your friend there to eat with us."

"Sorry, Mother," she said, rubbing the back of her head. Sometimes she spoke so quickly it was hard to remember how to speak. "And I am sure Sabu knows where some sage is. Five? All right. We'll be back soon. Sabu just wants me to take a look at a wild peach tree he found." She turned around to wave to her mother. "Also, of course you can come to dinner, Sabu! I nearly forgot! Thank you, Mother." She sprinted off over the hill after that, expecting the man to follow.

Sabu's mouth broke into a grin that nearly split his head in two. He survived mainly on Che Kop tea he traded for his herbs and stale bread he could buy cheaply. The idea of a succulent dear haunch or roasted pheasant made by Jyndri Laskal was tantamount to heaven for him. He bowed to the hunter woman in reverence. "Thank you very much Jyndri Laskal! You honor me with your invitation! And perhaps in a few months from now, I shall have peaches to offer you!"

Looking to Ailen's quickly retreating back, it's possible Sabu's grin grew even wider. He waited a few more moments for Ailen to crest the hill, then in a burst of speed, sprinted as hard as he could. He'd show her what running really looked like.

Jyndri chuckled at Ailen's lively exit, glad to see her daughter using her legs for once instead of mucking about in that garden all day. The garden did provide the home with vegetables, yes, but.. there was something deeply wrong with a sedentary young wick. Ailen risked turning into a vegetable herself if she didn't run around like a decent pest.

The mother returned the bow to Sabu, pleased to know such a respectful young man. He'd seen a great deal of loss, she knew, and yet he stayed cheerful and active. He could be a good influence on Ailen, and as a Roek, he was inherently trustworthy.

"You are welcome in my home, Sabu Imani. Keep an eye on my girl, and do not let her make a nuisance of herself." She bowed her head once more, almost smiling, then she made her way back to the sanctity of the kitchen.

Sabu bounded across the stretch up to the hill with the practiced ease of a running deer, barely touching the ground with his feet. He'd been running since before he could walk, always trying to keep up with Sita. Running was his natural mode of travel.
Coming to the top of the hill, he saw Ailen, a good ways down the next ridge already. He was impressed. She new how to run. Still though, he couldn't allow his reputation as a wild man to be challenged by a fellow Roek who spent so much of her time gardening.
At the top of the hill, he brought both feet forward, tucked himself in as closely as he could, and sprang forth, every sinew in his body twanging from the sudden force of acceleration.
He grinned, watching as he sailed over the head of Ailen. Bringing his feet back under him, he went down so he could start running as soon as he hit ground, but now ahead of his new friend. His young life had made him competitive, and little one ups like this filled him with joy. So much joy, in fact, he didn't see the rock jutting up from the ridge until it caught him on his knee.

Ailen was rather a big fan of running. She could beat most of the neighborhood Roek children in races, particularly because of her lanky legs and her ability to nearly silently sneak up on them and pass them. However, she wasn't expecting Sabu to hop over her from the top of the hill, and she bowled over as well in surprise. She got up rather quickly, jackknifing to her feet. He didn't, though. She trotted over, bending and looking concerned.
"See, this is why we should not be so hasty. Are you alright, Sabu? I should have a bandage somewhere."

Sabu rolled over and grinned. This was so much fun! Albeit, his knee hurt a good deal, but he hadn't raced with someone that wasn't a vicious animal trying to attack him. It was nice to just compete against someone. Still, the long jump at the hill top was probably a bit much.

"I'll live, Ailen Laskal! I can still run!" He hopped back up to his feet, and crumpled as soon as he put weight on it.
"Well," he said, grimacing,"I can still walk!"
Getting up again, he gingerly put his foot down. And collapsed.
"... Ailen Laskal, could I borrow your shoulder? I might have to go get my walking stick at my house."

"Yes, yes, of course." It was lucky she was tall; her shoulder was not too far down for the man. "I hope your house is not too far. That looks bad. Did you cut your knee? Or did you just bruise it?" She shifted, trying to distribute his weight better, and worked on navigating the hill terrain. The rocks around weren't sharp to her callused feet, but there were some. "Are we close?"

"Oh, it's just a bad bruising, Ailen Laskal!" Sabu said with a smile, though it wasn't as big as normal. "A good wrap will do wonders! My friends gave me worse wounds when we wrestled as children!" He leaned lightly onto Ailen, managing pretty well at a hop step pace.

"As it is, my house is down this ridge, near the forest! My father's family were carpenters for many generations, so it payed to stick close to the woods!"

The going wasn't that hard. Sabu was agile enough and Ailen was strong enough that the pace was brisk. Finally, they neared the foot of the ridge and saw the ancestral house of the Imani family, a house of wood and sandstone expertly carved and built and added on by generations of Imani carpenters. "I'll only be in for a few minutes, but you can come in if you'd like, Ailen Laskal! I believe I have some fresh sage hanging beside the kitchen table, take what you need!"

He gently hopped to the door and opened it up, leaving it open for Ailen.

"That is a relief, Sabu. Yes, I will follow you. I think I may need to sit." She went in the open door, found a chair, and sat in it. "Thank you for finding me sage. It is probably for Binze dinner tomorrow. My mother makes the best Binze dinner in the valley, or so I think. I am very glad we invited you. We did, right?"

((oh this is ridiculously tiny i'm so sorry))

Sabu grinned over his shoulder. It was good to have guests. Most of his old friends were now busy and he kept to himself. He didn't mind it, but it was good to talk to someone. He now had his walking stick in his hand. It was a beautiful piece of mahogany, perfectly straight, and with images of eagles burned into the dark red wood.

"I have heard much of your mother's amazing cooking, Ailen Laskal! You did invite me, and it will be a great honor! As it is, unless you would like to sit a while longer, I think it might be good to prepare for this venture!"

In the hand that was not carrying the stick, he had a roll of canvas and a wooden bucket. Like all the pieces of woodwork in the house, it was beautifully shaped and varnished, though it had no ornamentation. Yet another testament to the Imani's craftsmanship. "I think we should collect a few cuttings for your garden! They won't be able to bear fruit for a while, so why not start early?"