Closed [Medicine House] Planting the seeds of the future

[Garta]

3rd day of Summer, Year 513 The Medicine House stood in a small circle of trees, and the small girl walked in front of it, pacing. Her weapon sat on her back and she wore her clothes loosely. It was hot and rainy, neither of which particularly suited her. Her sour expression only deepened as she looked at the Medicine House. She finally decided to go in, pushing through the portal to the interior of the hut. As she did, she approached the older woman, her sour expression still not changing. She did not smile, she did not relish the fact that she had to be inside on a perfect day for hunting. She passed by the young Myrian woman who was the epitome of strength, eyeing her with lust for only a quick moment. She stood in front of the stooped ancient in front of her, her grimace set. The brown handprint made from dried blood was chipping off, giving her left eye the appearance of being bruised. Her mouth barely moved as she spoke to the woman. "I am looking for work." She kept her dark eyes on the older woman, but kept her attention on the warrior behind her.

[Traverse]

Traya looked up from a series of vials she had been working on labeling, dark eyes unimpressed with the newcomer standing before her.

"Aye see you are. And what makes you think I'm hiring?"

A large female stood in a shadowed corner of the room, eyeing Garta warily to make sure there was no foul play. Traya got up from her wooden bench and shuffled into another room, leaving Garta alone with one of the House's guards for several chimes. Perhaps the old woman was getting senile, or perhaps she was spitefully trying the girl's patience, regardless, she returned through a beaded curtain on a different side of the room and ponderously made her way back over to the table and sat down.

"So?" She said expectantly, as if Garta should have been able to explain her purpose when the old woman was away.

[Garta]

Garta watched the old woman totter away, and her eyes narrowed intensely when she slipped through the beaded curtain. She waited, somewhat impatiently, for her to return, and it wasn't a brief absence. However, the young warrior wanted to tend the gardens of the Medicine House, so she played along. As the woman returned, Garta barely turned her head to acknowledge her presence. When she made it back to her seat, Garta resumed as though she had never left. "Because there are few things around here that give the pleasure that seeing a well maintained garden does. While I could always tend to a smaller, personal garden, I would not be doing my share." She focused her eyes on the old woman's, her gaze not once wavering.

[Traverse]

Traya's eyes narrowed somewhat.

"I wouldn't have guessed Gardener." She paused for a moment, weighing her options, then rose slowly and gestured to the female guard. "Stay here, I'm going to go see what this...Gardener has to offer."

She gestured with a bony hand outdoors and wound her way slowly down the curved steps that took them out of the Medicine Room and down to the greenery that surrounded the Medicine house. Several garden beds lay around, but it was clear someone had to also manicure the encroaching jungle, lest kudzu vines sneak in and strangle every living piece of flora that lived around and beneath the stilted house.

"You have my interest, female, but I know nothing or you, nor you of I. How do I know you will take care of my plants as they should be, and keep this property clean and welcoming for our patients and guests?"

Beady eyes scrutinized the Myrian well, wanting the right answers. She adjusted the conular hat that sat atop her head, and her lower lip juggled somewhat, mouth partially open as if ready for a rebuttal at a moment's notice.

[Garta]

Garta didn't respond immediately. Instead, she stared at the older woman and her defensive posture. She could have laughed at the way the older woman was standing, but Garta knew that if there was one way that she would get beaten, it was laughing at an elder. Especially if there was more to this elder than met the eye. After weighing her response, which was unusual for the young woman, she nodded. "There is very few things I enjoy more than gardening. Whether it is my garden or not, something about beautiful plants makes me feel as if I were victorious in battle. I can think of no more honorable way to prove my worth than to show what beauty can be held as long as the jungle is held at bay." She took a deep breath, then something else came to her. "Perhaps it is the solace of keeping the jungle at bay that makes me feel the way I do. There is comfort in seeing the hard line between our settlement and the dangers beyond. Perhaps I just like being a part of that line." It was probably the most honest the young girl had been with anyone but her sister in a long time. She kept her dark eyes on the older woman, and her face once again resumed the usual sour expression. It was a defense mechanism, after all.

[Traverse]

The old woman nodded sagely at the younger girl's response. It was one Myrian in a few who had a gift for tending plants, and she wasn't about to turn one away and let her go to some other competing business.

"So you take a soldier's approach to gardening then? Seems only right a child of Myri would." She leaned to the side, seemingly sizing the woman up again, then gestured toward the lawns.

"It's a lot of work, work I am sure you could do if you were hired here. You have the will and reasoning for me, girl, but I know nothing of your skills. Would you merely clip the grass or grow your own plants? How do you tend to plants during the summer monsoons? Am I going to have to tell you every little thing to do, or can I leave you free to roam my gardens without worry?"

A thin eyebrow arched high into the shadows of the hat as the woman waited for Garta's response.