Ok, and THIS is the right chapter for the day. I managed to get caught up.

And btw, I HAVE WRITTEN 150,000 WORDS!! Bet you're wondering if this wordy chick is ever going to shut up…

********************************************************************************

The day slipped on, falling back into the normal pattern. Kiley chased Ace from her perch and started her lessons. Knives joined in, and the three of them spent more time goofing around than they did actually learning. Time slid on unchecked and unnoticed until hunger announced that noon had passed. Then they collected around Kiley's bag of wonders and were suitably impressed when she pulled out still-fresh vegetables and fruits.

"Stasis-field," she said simply in answer to the silent question.

"When do I get to learn that?" asked Knives as he took an apple.

"After you get a bit better with cell manipulation. You're still having trouble with basic growth; you should be faster at it than you are now. Stasis fields are tricky; you have to be very precise with them."

"You say they are tricky, but you use them to keep food fresh."

"I'm very precise," she responded, a bit hurt. "I need to keep in practice, besides. It would be a little sad to need to use it again and mess something up when it counts. I screw something up now and we have mushy bananas."

"Ooh, we have bananas?" asked Knives, eyes lighting up. She sighed and passed one over. She offered one to Ace, who prettily declined. She was having too much fun picking the seeds out of a pomegranate.

She shrugged, then got one for herself. Peeling it, she took a bite, then caught Knives staring at her. He blushed, and she grinned. "It's fruit. Only fruit."

He blushed more, then turned so he wouldn't have to watch her eat it. She laughed. Guys and bananas. She would never understand it, but she always enjoyed it. Finishing her lunch, she got up and walked over to her little mint patch. Crème de menthe, a little mint that was more of a ground cover than a normal mint, it covered the rocks by the water and seemed to be doing well. Breathing deep, she wondered what she should try next. Something a little taller, something that didn't need to much water… something that didn't smell strongly, or wouldn't contrast poorly with the mint. And it needed to be able to cling to the rocks…

She decided that grass would be good enough. Not a spectacular plant, but one that would contrast nicely against the mint without overwhelming what she had already tried to start. She walked back to her bag, ignoring the tickle war that Ace and Knives were waging. She rummaged around, looking for the right pack of seeds, and just as her hand closed around them, she was attacked from behind.

She almost fell onto the bag, but tucked herself over it and rolled away. She got to her feet lightly, turning quickly and scanning the area for the threat. What she saw were two too innocent looking faces, two pairs of bright blue eyes that denied any involvement in wrongdoing, any complicity in crime. Her eyes narrowed a bit in return, and she shook one finger warningly before walking around them and back to her little garden.

She shook some seeds into her hand and placed them on the rock, helping them grow until she felt them anchor themselves. She repeated the motion all over the rock, as high as she could reach, until she was satisfied with the cover. Then she coaxed roots towards water, so they might live awhile, even without her encouragement. She shook out the last of the seeds around the edge of the water, where the waterfall met the pool. These she encouraged to grow taller, not stopping her help until they were over a foot tall. She stepped back and looked over the day's work, breathing deep of the scent of sun warmed mint and grass. It was good.

Turning, she nearly ran over Ace. The girl grinned at her, then moved to stick her head in the pool.

"Hey, now," she said. "That's not your water." She grabbed at the back of her shirt and dragged her back out. "The plants don't have to share."

Ace made motions to indicate that she was a plant, too, and therefore deserved some of that water.

"Nice try, girl, but you're not the same sort of plant at all. Use the pool in the middle of the oasis."

Ace made a face, but went off to do as she was told. The dejected slump of her shoulders tried to elicit a shred of pity from Kiley's cold, unfeeling heart, but failed in their appointed task. Kiley watched after her and tried to not laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Knives as he came up beside her.

"It's the same water as fills that pool. It comes from the same underground reservoir. It's not like I'm denying her the special water or anything."

"But it is special. You spend more time over here in your little garden than you do at that pool. Of course she's going to think it is better."

Kiley laughed, once, then fell silent. After a moment she spoke again. "She's already getting bigger, isn't she?"

He nodded. "We grow up very quickly. A week from now she won't fit in those clothes."

Kiley sighed. "Figures. I finally decide that I like a child, and she won't even stay a kid for long."

"Her body may be small, but she isn't a child. Not mentally."

"I know. Whoever did whatever they did to her, they stole her childhood."

He shook his head. "Plants aren't ever children, not like you think of children. Innocent, maybe, but never that naively curious state that takes up much of human childhood. We learn too quickly for that."

"I guess," she said, more to fill up some of the silence than to indicate that she truly understood. Naively curious? She couldn't recall ever being naïve. Her innocence had been stolen all too soon for that word to ever apply to her.

"Can we keep her innocent?" she asked, instead of dwelling on her past.

"I think it may be too late for that, but we can try."

They stood like that, looking after her, until Kiley reminded Knives that it was time for his lesson.