A/N: Your guys' reviews have been making me so happy! I've definitely needed the encouragement, too. Next weekend is my tournament (only my second one ever!), and so this has been a long and difficult week of training. Been sparring twice a day and I'm pretty beat. Been excited for this chapter, though. I hope you like it! Got some fun plans for this away mission...
A hot sun beat down on Jora's shoulders, which were beginning to ache. The young girl picked up another tunic-recognizing the light blue as her father's-and threw it onto the washboard. Red water swirled past her ankles as she rubbed the garment clean. "You know something?" she said aloud, tucking a short lock of auburn hair behind her ear. A dog lifted his head as he rested atop a nearby boulder. "I heard that in the city, they have machines to do this. Wouldn't that be great?"
The dog, his fur a dappled silver, laid his head back down and sighed. His cone-shaped ears turned this way and that, listening to the drone of the jungle. Suddenly, his sharp hearing latched onto the sound of footsteps crunching over the rocky sand. His head lifted once more, turning behind him, and his long, bushy tail began to thump against the boulder in a preemptive greeting.
Within moments, a figure emerged from the shadow of the trees. Jora recognized her long-legged stride as she moved swiftly and effortlessly over the uneven ground. It was the daughter of the family from Ebon Plains. They had arrived at her father's inn two nights ago, and right away Jora felt eager to impress this solemn-faced stranger. After all, it was not often that she found herself in the company of another girl-not with seven rowdy brothers to take care of. "Oh, hello Carmen!" she called.
Leaping down from his boulder, the dog trotted towards the new arrival. Carmen halted, eyeing him warily. "It's alright," Jora laughed. "He just wants to be friends."
The dog shoved his nose into Carmen's palm. She retracted her hand and glared at him. "I know. He's very...persistent."
Jora waded through the water and up onto the shore. "Come on, Silver," she urged, tugging at a leather collar around the dog's neck. "Can't you take a hint?" But instead of listening, Silver jumped up, planting his front paws on the young woman's shoulders.
Carmen sputtered a protest as he avidly licked her nose. "What are you-get off of me!" She pushed against his chest until he returned all four paws to the ground.
Jora shooed him away. "It's strange, actually," she said as he pranced off towards the river for a drink.
"Yes, what an ineffective way to make friends," Carmen agreed.
"No-I mean, Silver doesn't take to everybody. But he's sure taken to you! How come you don't like dogs?"
Carmen's hand ran down her neck, a reflex to the question. "I...I was bit by one recently."
"Oh. I see." Jora's smile sobered. "Well Silver wouldn't hurt you. Once you're his friend, he's a friend for life."
"Great," Carmen muttered, still wiping the slobber from her face.
A giggle rose from the young girl. "He's brave, too. Once, he pulled on the bottom of my shirt and kept me from falling into a patch of blackweed."
"Blackweed?" Carmen glanced at her sideways.
"Yeah. Nasty stuff. I guess you wouldn't know about it, being from Ebon Plains." There was a lot that she didn't know. Despite her self-assured air, Carmen lacked any discernible talent. She couldn't peel tubers from their garden behind the inn, she struggled to keep the kitchen fires burning, and despite how comfortable a knife looked in her hand, she couldn't even shell rivercrabs. Jora found herself secretly delighted by her ineptitude, for it gave the young girl a chance to show off. "But anyways," she continued, "blackweed grows on the jungle floor, usually in places where the sunlight can't get through. Its leaves have this oil that'll make you very sick. People in our village have died from it before. Did you come to help me with the laundry?"
The question caught Carmen off-guard. "What? Oh, no. I was just...I was taking a walk. I thought the river might be easier to cross here."
"Why would you want to cross the river?"
"To get to the other side." A grin snaked its way across Carmen's face. Jora's forehead furrowed. People from Ebon Plains sure have a strange sense of humor.
"Well I've been to the other side. The river slows down a little farther, just beyond that bend." She pointed downstream. "It's where I always cross. I can uh...I can show you around sometime, if you want." While Jora knew that her father didn't approve of her little excursions into the jungle, she also felt anxious to spend more time with her new friend.
"When? Can we go tonight?"
Carmen's answer, and her impatience, surprised the young girl. "Tonight? Um...probably not. I'll be too busy cleaning up from the big dinner my mom is planning. She's invited your parents, you know."
"Oh." Her lips pursed together. Jora cringed at the sight. She raked her mind for a way to ease her new friend's disappointment.
"But uh...hey, want to see something special? I found it last time I crossed the river." Without waiting for an answer, she dashed over to a little satchel resting on a rock. "Don't tell anyone. Especially my dad; he'd make me give it to that government guy, Elion."
This sparked some intrigue. Carmen moved closer, hovering over the girl as she dug through the satchel. At last Jora found what she was after and withdrew it carefully.
"See?" She held it aloft. "It's called a Gardener."
Something flickered behind Carmen's eyes. "What did you say?"
"It's called a Gardener," the young girl repeated. "What do you think those symbols mean?" She traced her finger over the silver V, which sat atop a golden circle.
"Wait-why did you call it that?"
"Because that's what it was saying when I found it. 'Gardener….Gardener.' I've tried to make it talk again, but maybe it's broken."
"And...you haven't told anyone about this?"
"Nope. Just you." Jora grinned up at her. "Pretty neat, huh?" But Carmen was no longer looking at her. Or the Gardener. Her eyes were locked onto something across the river. Craning her neck, Jora turned to follow her gaze.
A shadow moved between the gnarled and twisted tree trunks lining the opposite bank. Jora's heart gave a flutter. It's him!
"Hey, uh, I'm almost done with these. And then do you want to look for rivercrabs with me?"
"Stay here," Carmen ordered, slowly rising to her feet. "I think I saw something."
"No, it's-it's a trick of the light. Happens all the time." Jora hurried to her feet as well. "And besides, Silver isn't acting weird. He'd alert us if something were wrong."
Carmen looked to the dog, who was sniffing the air. His tail gave a faint wag at whatever scent he picked up. Reluctantly, her posture eased. "I guess so," she mumbled, turning away. Jora sighed with relief. As much as she wanted Carmen to meet her other new friend, his warning still rang in her head. "You must never tell anyone about me. There are people who are looking for me-people who would kill me if they found out who I was."