Swiftcurrent Creek timeless

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.