Timestamp: 91st of Spring, 521 A.V.
“Bree? You ready?” Taz called as she walked down the deck steps and onto the sand. The Ixam and herself had decided today was the day they were going to go foraging for much needed supplies for the Inn. Bree needed to get out and Taz needed to do something different than clean Inn rooms, change bed sheets and do laundry. She loved to cook, but the young Innkeeper loved being out and about just as much and she’d done little of it lately.
The Jungle Ixam was indeed ready and waited somewhat impatiently by her cart and the harness Taz had waiting for her. The Innkeeper hurried as much as she could, but still took the time to carefully hitch up Bree, making sure the tack was comfortable and secure. It was then she indeed added the baskets, in their empty state, to the back of the cart. Then she climbed on the cart and leaned back. “Go easy on me.” She advised the Ixam, knowing the lizard probably wouldn’t.
“Remind me again why I have to haul this cart?” Bree grumbled.
“Because we have a ton of stuff. Buckets for raking clams, bushel baskets for the fruit I plan on picking. We need to go all over, Bree. And I can’t carry all this stuff myself in a backpack nor can you in saddlebags.” She added to the Ixam, grinning good naturedly. She didn’t want the Ixam’s crabby mood to affect hers. Taz was excited to get out, go foraging, and bring some things back to the Inn.
The lizard set out, directed by Tazrae’s gentle instructions. The Innkeeper did not make the Ixam wear a bit or bridle like she’d been found with. Instead, she trusted them to have an open dialog and get their goods moved to and from when they needed too. Bree, knowing what Tazrae wanted to do, set off at a trot and headed out. Truth be told Taz loved riding in the cart. Bree had a unique sideways gait that bumped the cart along smoothly and when they were on the cobbles and out of the tangles of the jungle, the Ixam would run openly and take Tazrae’s breath away. Usually both would be laughing by the time they arrived at their destination.
Taz clutched the seat, laughing lightly, as Bree slowly got into the spirit of things and took them both speeding by Mathias’ bungalow, past the turnoff to the Community Pool, and then on by the Mercantile. Taz waved to Juli who was out on the raised deck as they passed, laughter escaping her as Bree sped up. “Slow down!” She called, half protesting… “We’re coming up on the Commons and there’s bound to be people there.” Tazrae warned, even as the Ixam took a sharp turn to the right and headed past some of the major features of the Commons to hit a smaller cobbled path that did force her to slow.
Before Taz knew it, the Ixam was pulling to a stop in the midst of the Banana Grove, where Taz lithely hopped down. Many of the trees were laden with fruit. Taz took out her bowie knife and headed into the trees while Bree waited, resting on her haunches and washing her face. Bananas had the silliest names. Randal had taught her about them when she’d first arrived. The group of bananas all ended at one place, and that grouping was called a hand. Individual bananas were called fingers. Multiple hands that grow in a cluster are called a stalk which could contain two to thirty hands. Taz made a careful choice, cutting down one stalk that had multiple hands on it of various shades of ripeness. About half were still green, several were perfectly ready to eat, and a couple of the hands looked past their prime. Taz didn’t mind. The brown ones she cooked with, often baking into bread, muffins, and scones.
The stalk was heavy and she heaved it over her shoulder, bowing under its weight. Carefully she walked heavy-footed back to the cart and left the stalk tucked in its cargo area. “Great… that’s one thing off our list.” She added, climbing back onto the cart and assisting Bree in turning around before they headed back down the overgrown trail to the Commons. They passed through The Commons, and turned south on the trail, headed for several places along the way. The trail was bumpy and Taz grumbled a time or two as they came to a halt near a mango tree they liked that was just off the trail.
The Innkeeper left Bree tied in her traces and grabbed a bushel basket to go slip into the jungle and walk the few feet to where the mangos grew. She quickly set the basket down and began picking rapidly, taking a full bushel though she knew she’d pass them out on her way back down through town. When her basket was full, Taz heaved it up, balanced it on her hip, and carried it to Bree’s cart. She slipped it in the back and climbed back into the seat. They were off again.
