Blackfeather Woods ticking away the moments that make up a dull day

No response, again. Maegi concluded that she probably was, in fact, mute. She was beginning to lose herself in work when a shadow emerging next to her brought her back to reality; she shot an exasperated look over at the girl, eyebrows raised.

"Seriously? I'm trying to clean this out," she sighed, feeling more prickly than usual. She jerked her chin down at the pile of discarded leaves, looking back at the spiderling. "If you want to look around, you have to help. Take out all the dead stuff from the hollow while I search for fresh herbs."

Hoping--but not at all confident--that the girl would follow her orders, Maegi began searching through the brush, looking for diamonds in the rough. Lots of moss, of course, and dandelion. Same old, same old. It was a small bush in a rare patch of sunlight that caught her eye, and she wandered over to it, peering at the pink, red-edged flowers with curiosity lighting her eyes.

"Hello, there," she murmured, mouth quirking. "What's this?"