30, Summer, 518 a.v.
Sophia wiped at the back of her neck with a grimace, little damp hairs that had escaped from her messy bun sticking to her hand. She didn't know if she would ever get used to being in this type of humidity. It wasn't so bad nearer the beach with the sea air to cool things down. Here in the jungles though it was almost suffocating. The trees loomed on all sides and their huge canopies blocked most of the sunlight while keeping both the dampness and the heat in. Sophia had come to strongly dislike being sticky.
The young woman was accompanying Uta - Syka's resident botanist - on yet another trip into the deeper rainforests. She had been on a few of these recently, and a few was a lot more than she had been expecting considering Sophia had only been working under Uta for a short while. Although, to be completely honest she actually had no idea what she would have expected otherwise. Syka was definitely not like any other place she had been before. Riverfall had it's beautifully curated and managed orchard and conservatory, and perhaps she was expecting to be put to work in a place akin to that. She hadn't realised just how accurate the word 'settlement' - thrown at her by a local during her time there - actually was.
A small smile worked at the corners of the Svefra's mouth as she trudged after the botanist. She figured this was much more exciting that poking at a rose bush in a pot, as pretty as roses were. The loud caw of a brightly coloured bird snapped Sophia out of her thoughts, just in time for the woman to trip over an exposed tree root. A small "eep!" of surprise left her as she hit the ground, landing solidly on her left elbow. Thankfully the floor of the rainforest was fairly soft, covered with plant detritus and exposed soils, and she hoped she hadn't squished any bugs under her arm.
A hand appeared in Sophia's vision and she looked up to see Uta standing over her. She grabbed it and hauled herself up, offering a sheepish smile to her colleague. Uta grinned and patted her once on the shoulder. "That'll teach you for not keeping an eye out for our fruit!" The botanist chuckled while Sophia stretched out her arm, plucking at her now damp sleeve. She hated wearing the skin-tight clothing but it was necessary in the jungles unless you wanted to be eaten by hundreds of little bugs and flying things. There was a small twinge in her elbow which she rubbed at, but it was nothing too bad, she'd get over it pretty quickly.
Sophia brushed a few bits of plant material off her trousers and attempted to straighten her hair a little - the bun was now listing to one side - before stepping after Uta again, this time more carefully. Her eyes flicked over their surroundings, scanning over the trees that surrounded the pair. They were looking for a particular fruit tree that Uta had once come across, but hadn't been able to find again. It was meant to be a fairly bushy tree and nowhere near as tall as a lot of the trees you could see from the beaches. The botanist had described it as being part of the 'understory', "...the ones that aren't super tall and creating she shade, but they're not bushes either." She figured it wouldn't be too hard to find.
Sophia mentally chided herself for even thinking that ridiculous thought. She could swear that every single tree they walked past was a totally different species to the one next to it, and there was hundreds and hundreds of trees. As the pair went, Uta pointed out various things to the Svefra. "See those huge plate things growing on that tree there? That's a big fungus. It kind of eats the tree trunks that it grows on." Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Surely if it ate the tree then the tree would just fall over?" Uta nodded. "I'd guess so. Haven't seen it yet though."
Sophia took a moment to peer closer at one of the eye-level fungi. She couldn't really see any sign of decay on the tree itself - other than the growth of course. Perhaps it was all inside the tree? She would have to try and find a fallen one soon to see if her theory was correct.
As her gaze slid away from the tree it caught on a much smaller one a little off the path the pair were following. "Hey, did you say that the fruit we're looking for is a bit spiky?" She stepped carefully over to what she had found, Uta coming up behind her. "I did indeed! Good eyes girl. It's called soursop by the way." Sophia squinted at the fruit. It was pretty unremarkable, almost ugly compared to some of the other fruits that grew here. A little larger than a man's hand, the fruit was almost the same green as the leaves of the tree it grew on, with small spikes all over its skin. Some had darker markings. She reached out to touch one and found that the spines weren't particularly sharp. "Why have you been looking for this one in particular?"
Uta had picked a couple of the fruits off the tree and was examining them closely. "Well, it's good for drinking and I reckon that this one might also have some medicinal benefits. Pick a couple okay?" Sophia obligingly reached up and gently pulled a few off the hanging fruits from their stalks and placed them into her backpack. When she had a fair amount stuffed in there she closed the bag and paused to take another look around the rainforest.
Words: 971
The young woman was accompanying Uta - Syka's resident botanist - on yet another trip into the deeper rainforests. She had been on a few of these recently, and a few was a lot more than she had been expecting considering Sophia had only been working under Uta for a short while. Although, to be completely honest she actually had no idea what she would have expected otherwise. Syka was definitely not like any other place she had been before. Riverfall had it's beautifully curated and managed orchard and conservatory, and perhaps she was expecting to be put to work in a place akin to that. She hadn't realised just how accurate the word 'settlement' - thrown at her by a local during her time there - actually was.
A small smile worked at the corners of the Svefra's mouth as she trudged after the botanist. She figured this was much more exciting that poking at a rose bush in a pot, as pretty as roses were. The loud caw of a brightly coloured bird snapped Sophia out of her thoughts, just in time for the woman to trip over an exposed tree root. A small "eep!" of surprise left her as she hit the ground, landing solidly on her left elbow. Thankfully the floor of the rainforest was fairly soft, covered with plant detritus and exposed soils, and she hoped she hadn't squished any bugs under her arm.
A hand appeared in Sophia's vision and she looked up to see Uta standing over her. She grabbed it and hauled herself up, offering a sheepish smile to her colleague. Uta grinned and patted her once on the shoulder. "That'll teach you for not keeping an eye out for our fruit!" The botanist chuckled while Sophia stretched out her arm, plucking at her now damp sleeve. She hated wearing the skin-tight clothing but it was necessary in the jungles unless you wanted to be eaten by hundreds of little bugs and flying things. There was a small twinge in her elbow which she rubbed at, but it was nothing too bad, she'd get over it pretty quickly.
Sophia brushed a few bits of plant material off her trousers and attempted to straighten her hair a little - the bun was now listing to one side - before stepping after Uta again, this time more carefully. Her eyes flicked over their surroundings, scanning over the trees that surrounded the pair. They were looking for a particular fruit tree that Uta had once come across, but hadn't been able to find again. It was meant to be a fairly bushy tree and nowhere near as tall as a lot of the trees you could see from the beaches. The botanist had described it as being part of the 'understory', "...the ones that aren't super tall and creating she shade, but they're not bushes either." She figured it wouldn't be too hard to find.
Sophia mentally chided herself for even thinking that ridiculous thought. She could swear that every single tree they walked past was a totally different species to the one next to it, and there was hundreds and hundreds of trees. As the pair went, Uta pointed out various things to the Svefra. "See those huge plate things growing on that tree there? That's a big fungus. It kind of eats the tree trunks that it grows on." Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Surely if it ate the tree then the tree would just fall over?" Uta nodded. "I'd guess so. Haven't seen it yet though."
Sophia took a moment to peer closer at one of the eye-level fungi. She couldn't really see any sign of decay on the tree itself - other than the growth of course. Perhaps it was all inside the tree? She would have to try and find a fallen one soon to see if her theory was correct.
As her gaze slid away from the tree it caught on a much smaller one a little off the path the pair were following. "Hey, did you say that the fruit we're looking for is a bit spiky?" She stepped carefully over to what she had found, Uta coming up behind her. "I did indeed! Good eyes girl. It's called soursop by the way." Sophia squinted at the fruit. It was pretty unremarkable, almost ugly compared to some of the other fruits that grew here. A little larger than a man's hand, the fruit was almost the same green as the leaves of the tree it grew on, with small spikes all over its skin. Some had darker markings. She reached out to touch one and found that the spines weren't particularly sharp. "Why have you been looking for this one in particular?"
Uta had picked a couple of the fruits off the tree and was examining them closely. "Well, it's good for drinking and I reckon that this one might also have some medicinal benefits. Pick a couple okay?" Sophia obligingly reached up and gently pulled a few off the hanging fruits from their stalks and placed them into her backpack. When she had a fair amount stuffed in there she closed the bag and paused to take another look around the rainforest.
Words: 971
