"Thank you so much for coming with me today," Eshe said to @Arlette as they made their way towards the garden. "I figured it'd be helpful for you to know how to tend to the herbs if I happen to be away." Although she didn't anticipate seeing her family too often, she figured that it didn't hurt to have help when she was visiting them.

"I'm not sure if I told you," she couldn't remember who she'd told in passing about her siblings, "But some of my family recently moved into the area." It was strange to have them so close—especially since she'd set out to be on her own—but it was also nice to have some of them nearby. "And some of these plants are a bit finicky, so I don't want them to die!" With all the effort it'd taken to collect and replant them, she didn't want to take any risks.

She smiled. "The sprouts are still small, but I figured that seeing them would help you learn." It was a miracle that most of them grew without a hitch; they usually sprouted during the spring, but she'd arranged the garden in the shade.

"Oh?" Eshe said when Arlette mentioned her family. "I didn't know you were from around here. Where does your family live?" Were they in the pack? Or were they elsewhere?

They arrived not long after Arlette confirmed she was ready. The plot of land was small and a few yards away from Eshe's den. There were rows of dirt mounds with tenny, tiny green outgrowths poking through the ground.

"There aren't too many at the moment, but this is what I have so far," she explained, sitting at the edge of the upturned soil. "I have some mint and lemon balm to the left," she began, pointing to the area with her paw, "And then, to the right of that, we have the flowers—the lavender, feverfew, marigold, and poppies." There was an apparent divide between the mints and flowers; the latter sprouted with bulbs.

Eshe looked at Arlette. "Any questions so far?" she asked.

Kvarsheim—she knew about them! "That pack is the place to be, it seems," she observed, remembering her encounter with the pack's alpha. "I've met some of their members and leader, Gunnar. Do you know him?" She asked, tilting her head curiously. "He's very kind." He had helped her find the flowers she wanted to harvest and offered to show her the ocean later in the year. It'd been very generous of him, especially when she'd been a stranger.

When the questions began, a smile spread across her face. "I found the flowers in the Wapun Meadow and the mints in Herbalist's Cache." She paused and cleared her throat when she felt a tickle. "Sorry about that," she said, excusing herself for the slight delay, "I dug up the plants with the roots intact and carried them back here. I planted mint, lemon balm, and lavender roots about a claw-length deep in the ground. I did the same for the poppies but used their seeds instead of the roots."

"I plant seeds if a plant has them, but if they don't, I use the roots instead. I'll space out whatever I'm growing to give them room to expand, like how you can see there's a decent gap between the lemon balm and mint." She motioned towards them with her paw. "They're both in the mint family and grow like weeds, so I know they need space. When they mature, I'll need to transfer them to a new plot in the shade, but for now, they're fine." She wasn't even scratching the surface of gardening; the knowledge needed to master the craft was vast and involved.

"Like I mentioned the last time we met: they're growing a little slower since I'm trying to grow them out of season, and they're requiring more attention," attention she'd rather be directing to Akavir, if she was being honest with herself. "But if it were spring when the weather is cooler and wetter, they'd be able to grow much quicker."

She paused then, anticipating more questions.

”Lemon balm is versatile—it has calming and aid sleep,” she began, “Recently, I made a paste with it to repel the effects of poison ivy. Arric and I were destroying some that was growing over there,” she motioned to the ivy-less tree, “and it protected us from the oil.”

When asked about seeds, she considered her answer for a beat. “Not really,” she admitted, as if she didn’t entirely believe herself. “I prefer to use them when they’re available. Roots tend to be more fragile and are harder to extract.” Still deep in thought, she idly brought her foot to her ear and scratched as she mulled over it. “Yeah,” she said decided, dropping her foot.

The mention of the water source brought a smile to her face. “Very good observation!” She praised. “My plan for now is to keep the garden close to my den—I’m just worried about how they’ll grow—but I’ll move it closer to the creek when the plants are more mature.”

“I was hoping that was something you could help me out with.”

Arlette’s idea was brilliant. ”I haven’t tested that before—testing that has never crossed my mind.” This was why she loved collaborating. It allowed her to do things she wouldn’t have otherwise. ”It's a great theory. Let’s do it!” She was already planning how to prepare for it. ”I can have the ground ready for it in a day or so … if you want! She reined her excitement a bit when she realized she was getting ahead of herself.

She nodded in agreement regarding the deer. ”See—that was an experiment I was thinking about doing. I was going to move some plants closer to the creek to see if they’d get eaten,” it was as if she’d read her mind. ”Any chance you could help me prep the ground and transfer some plants? I figure it’d help you get a paw-on experience!” Given how enthusiastic Arlette had been, Eshe didn’t expect her idea to be turned down.

The feeling was mutual—Eshe liked Arlette, too. She hoped they could hang out more in the future, share ideas, and tend to the garden together.

They discussed their plans for the plant relocation and decided to meet another time before the actual move to strategize the move.

When Arlette had to go, Eshe took a break herself and decided to go for a swim. It’d been a fun day of sharing knowledge, and she could end the day perfectly by spending some time in the creek.