Phoenix Maplewood I never knew such reforming zeal

While she made no comment on Citali's muttered remarks, Saena felt a zing of pride ripple through her chest when the other called her realistic. She liked to think she was. She was also a ruthless pessimist, always believing the worst would happen because it had several times before. She was proud of these traits but others, particularly in the south, believed she was crazy for it. She didn't know about that.

Citali had short-term goals in mind, or at least that's what Saena took away from it. A garden could last forever if it regrew each year, but Citali didn't seem to have goals for the winter. She must've been like Luke that way. That, or she wasn't forthcoming with that sort of information. "Maybe Reek could help you," she suggested, "he's a healer, too." She doubted her husband would reap the benefits of Citali's garden, though she knew he was far from altruistic. He seemed to like keeping his own stores. But maybe he could contribute, help her get started.

It seemed Citali was aimless other than that. Saena couldn't fault her; there wasn't much to do. "I guess we need caches dug," she mused, "maybe deeper into the territory? The borders need firmer establishing but I can handle that, I think. And I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea for all of us to do a sweep of the forest, chase out any nasty pests we might come across." Cougars wouldn't be an issue here, but there was always a bear problem wherever wolves lived, and other creatures would be here to harass them. Badgers from the plains. Wolverines. Coyotes, always. "Maybe we could start that now?" she wondered, eyeing Citali for any hint that this would be enjoyable for the Amazon.