Closed Pink Hair, Green Thumbs, and Brown Soil (Nai'a)

[Leila]

Timestamp: Spring 29, 513 Leila and Shaco were on their way to the Shrine of Rak'keli, Leila deciding to clean up the overgrown gardens there. It was a shame to let a shrine fall into such disarray, and since she had no garden of her own, this would be fun and good practice for her. And it was a benefit to the city as well. She smiled, it had rained the night before and was sunny now, which would make the work easier. She was wearing some baggy pants and a tight fitting shirt, pack slung over one shoulder, her other hand holding Shaco's leash. She made her way to the foothills until she found the Shrine once more. She let Shaco off his leash as he set about to marking this as his territory once more. Leila set down her pack and approached the front of the Shrine, and began checking out the over grown gardens that sat on either side of the entryway. The area received a great deal of sunlight during this time of day, and there weren't many trees around to block the sun. She decided that these gardens would need to be for plants that require heavy amounts of sunlight. Before she started the laborious task of pulling out all of the plants, checking the soil, leveling the garden, and setting a border, she decided to see if anyone else was here. "Hello? Anyone here?" Not hearing anything right away she poked her head into the Shrine to look around.

[Nai'a]

It was a beautiful Spring day, and Nai’a had a lot on her mind. This Spring was supposed to be a renewal, but things just kept going the wrong way for her. So much emotions, thoughts, memories, brought torture on her mind. So with the world seeming to be weighing her down, she decided to go to one of the people she always turned to, Rak’Keli. Nai’a also honored Leth, but it was at night when he was in reign of the sky, right now Syna was up and Nai’a needed Rak’Keli, just to talk to her and feel her presence through her devotion and faith was good enough for her.

Nai’a found the quaint cottage tucked away among foliage and overgrown gardens that resided outside. Nai’a stopped and looked at the gardens and frowned slightly. This needs to be tended to.. Nai’a thought, but she would have to worry about that after her prayer to Rak’Keli, for now she needed to find peace within herself, and going into a meditative state while praying was just the healing she needed. The healer entered the small cottage, which looked to be just like any other cottage in Zeltiva, except her sensitive nose picked up the odor of wax and some type of flora. Melted remains of candles rested on the hearth inside the cottage, and that is where Nai’a fell to her knees. Her rump rested on the backs of her ankles, as she started to pray fervently to the Goddess Rak’Keli, letting all her worries, thoughts, feelings, and stresses out. Seeking guidance, reassurance, and peace. The healer prayed for many chimes, entering a state of meditation as she did so, softly murmuring her prayer with her eyes tightly closed, shutting off the world around her and becoming lost in her devotion to Rak’Keli.

Nai’a thought she heard a voice interrupting her fervent prayer and it broke the meditation she found herself in. She was slightly frustrated by that fact, but she did not feel as burdened as she did when she first came here. The Healer glanced over her shoulder to see a head being poked into the shrine. It was a young looking woman with auburn hair that flowed down to touch her shoulders. Nai’a looked at the woman, staying silent for a few chimes, just blinking. After those few seconds of silence she composed herself and cleared her throat.

”Oh… Hey. Just you know… Praying.” Nai’a spoke softly, slightly embarrassed and little flustered at being interrupted. The Healer rose to her feet and strolled over to the woman, ”I am Nai’a, and you are?” The healer asked in a pleasant voice, looking outside to see a somewhat large dog with dark fur and brown legs and paws lingering behind the woman. The scent of dog breath, fur, and urine consumed her sensitive scent of smell. Nai’a rubbed her small nose briefly, and looked at the woman, waiting for her reply.

[Leila]

"Oh I'm sorry for interrupting! I'm Leila, Leila Hughes. I'm just here to clean up these poor gardens out front. I saw them a while back, and felt they could use some tender loving. Don't let me disturb you, was just seeing if anyone else was here." Leila thought it was extremely unusual that the young woman had bright pink hair. Was that natural or another of Yvette's crazy fashion trends? It worked well either way for her, as Leila found her quite pretty. She felt a little bad for interrupting her prayer, she should've looked before she spoke. Another bad habit of hers. She turned around and went back outside to the gardens. She looked down at Shaco, "Well, let's pull up some plants." She examined the bed trying to determine what could stay, what needed replanted elsewhere, and what needed to go. The largest pest she identified was Cat Greenbriar, a very thorny, woody vine that had entangled itself in most of the bed. She hated thorns, and really needed to get some gloves. She dropped to her knees, and gingerly took hold of the vine near its leading tendril, fingers between the thorns. She slowly unwound it's grip on the other plants, trying not to damage them, or herself, unnecessarily. When she finally unraveled it to the base, with several spots on her fingers bleeding now, she moved it off to the side and grabbed the small spade from her kit. She sunk it into the soil several inches around the base, trying to not sever the roots. Then painfully grabbing it, she pulled, tugged, and pulled once more until it was finally free, showering her and Shaco in dirt. She stood up and set it away from the garden, starting a pile she dubbed 'Get rid of.' Looking down at her dirty dog, "One down, lots to go."

[Nai'a]

Nai’a nodded her head giving the woman a bright smile, ”It is alright. Everything happens for a reason.” Nai’a said in a soft voice, whispering a silent thank you to Rak’Keli for a distraction of her raging emotions, and someone who cared about the beds as much as she did.

Nai’a stayed in the cottage though, while Leila went back outside with the dog. She heard her tell the dog that it was time to pull up plants, and Nai’a could not help but be a little curious. The Healer peeked out of the doorway and watched as the woman started pulling at a Cat Greenbriar, with bare hands! She finally unwound the snake like plant from the others, and pulled roughly getting sprayed with soil. Nai’a could not help but chuckle at the woman’s face, and the dog’s reaction at the shower of dirt that rained down on them.

The Healer walked out of the cottage, going down to her knees besides Leila. ”Would you like some help?” Nai’a asked in a kind voice. ”I am taking Herbalism at the University, so I could be of some assistance, though I am not a master at Herbalism. Either way, I wanted to tend to the beds when I saw them, and would love to help you out. I think it would please Rak’Keli greatly if we did this.” Nai’a kept a bright, warm smile on her face as she looked over at the woman. She did not want to intrude on what she was doing if she did not want her to.

Nai’a pointed at a tall green weed with purple pink buds and flowers a top of it. A lot of people assumed they were flowers, but they were actually weeds, ”That right there is a thistle that needs to be removed. Problem is, is that it’s roots go really far down and we have to dig up the root too.” Nai’a waited for the woman’s reply, not wanting to be a burden to her.

[Leila]

Leila relished the assistance, and the company. She didn't know the name of the thistle, "What's it called? I don't quite know this one. And of course, I would love some help." Leila studied the thistle for a moment, taking in every detail. It's stem looked weak and fragile, so pulling it out looked to be a poor decision. And she often found that a plant of this size with a weak stem, had a monster root system. She shrugged, time to get dirty she supposed. But in order to get to it, she'd have to remove several smaller plants that surrounded it first. The first was a short plant with long leaves that didn't appear to grow from stems, with a single bunch of tiny lavender flowers at the crown. "Cmmon Milkweed. Poisonous in large amounts if eaten, brings about a lot of butterflies. Herb." She knew it could become invasive if not kept in check, but she'd already made up her mind to tend to these gardens as often as possible. Besides, who didn't love butterflies? It had a shallow root system, with which a gently, yet firm pull, yielded the plant from the soil. She set it separate from the thorny Cat Greenbriar, in a pile she dubbed keep. "Let's get rid of these smaller surrounding plants, determine what stays, what goes, and what gets transplanted. Then we'll tackle that thistle."

[Nai'a]

Nai’a looked over at Leila, shrugging her shoulders at her question, ”I am not sure what type of thistle it is; I only know that it is a thistle. I do not know much about Herbalism as of yet.” She gave the woman a kind smile, and started putting her hands in the rich cool soil, trying to get up the short plant Leila called a Milkweed, there were several of these little Milk Weeds, and it looked like Leila was placing hers in a separate pile, away from the Greenbrier, so Nai’a did the same. Once they cleared the few milk weeds, Nai’a looked at a lovely flower was small and blue with a white center.

Nai’a was pretty sure what they were, but she was not for certain, the Healer glanced over to Leila, ”I think that is called a Glory of the Snow, that appears when the snow melts in spring. I am not sure though, what do you think?” Nai’a asked with a small smile, ”If it is, then it has small bulbs. Though once again, I am not completely sure.” Nai’a thought she was right about the flower, but she was only a novice at Herbalism, so maybe the woman could confirm it. Then she looked over at some other flora that was around the evil thistle, this flower she knew for sure, it was an obvious spring flower, ”I do believe those are Tulips. Another bulb like plant that blooms in spring.”

With the flowers somewhat identified, Nai’a dug her hands back into the rich soil, searching for the bulbs of the Tulip, trying to be careful as to not damage them. Once she discovered the bulb of the Red Tulip, she careful removed it from its home, placing it in the same pile as the milk weed. Then the Healer went after the Yellow Tulip, moving the soil away from the plant in a circle, going deeper, until she found the bulb of the plant. Once the tender bulb was exposed, Nai’a dug a little deeper, still in a circle, that way the bulb did not get damaged. She unearthed the bulb and placed it in the, what she suspected, “keep pile.” Nai’a looked down at her well-manicured nails, and realized they were manicured no longer. Dirt was embedded underneath her nails, making the once white crescents black. She felt bad that her pretty nails were getting damaged and dirty, but the feeling of plant work diminished that.

Nai’a stretched her arms above her head, leaning her back up, stretching the muscles that were becoming a little strained from being hunched over.

[Leila]

Leila was a little disappointed that Nai'a didn't know what the thistle was, but then again, neither did she. She made a mental note to research the thistle later, perhaps taking a sample to someone at the University. As she pointed out the Glory-in-the-Snow, Leila got excited. It reminded her of a poem her dad told her when she was little, which she muttered aloud. "In snow, pure and white, the Glory shining, signals bright before any other, the coming of Tavasi." She continued her work, pulling various grassy weeds from the loose soil. When she found a tulip bulb, she placed it in the keep pile. It finally seemed that they had cleared enough space to tackle that bloody thistle. She didn't have a spare spade in her pack, so she handed the spade over to Nai'a. "Dig out the left side, I'll dig out the right, should make it easier to pluck it right out." Then Leila threw herself wrist deep into the earthy mess, sweat starting to form on her brow. She piled the soil up nearby, so she could easily fill the hole once the thistle was removed. It was arduous work, moving soil by hand, but it gave her a proper sense of accomplishment, and made her feel closer to nature. It felt more... intimate. Like that nature was a child that she was helping to grow into an adult. Or maybe she was the child, and nature was helping her to grow? She continued digging, the soil dirtying her to her forearms now, wrapping around the back of the plant as well as the left side, hoping Nai'a would take the front as well.

[Nai'a]

Nai’a smiled over at Leila when she recited what she thought may be a line from a poem, ”That is a beautiful play of words. So it is a Glory of the snow?” Nai’a spoke in a soft voice, as she continued to work on the garden bed.

Once they had cleared away enough of the pesky weeds, and removed the flower bulbs for safe keeping, Leila announced that it was time to tackle the thistle. She instructed Nai’a to dig out the left side, and she would dig out the right, so it would make it easier for them to pluck it out. So she went to work at digging out the left side with her hands.

Nai’a dug her hands deep within the soil, it was not soft as she expected, at least not as far down as they were digging, it started to get harder to dig. But Nai’a continued to dig in deeper, dirt blanketing her pale skin, as she delved into the cold earthen soil. They moved in a circle, as they continued to dig, depositing the soil to the side to use to cover the large hole that they had made.

Once the hole was about 3 feet deep, the tap of the root was now visible. Nai’a grasped it firmly in her hands and yanked on it as hard as she could. The root was a mean little booger, not wanting to be pulled up from its earthen bed. Nai’a tugged and pulled and it still would not come up.

Nai’a looked over at Leila, ”Do you have anything that would make this job a little easier? It seems we will not be able to pull this up. Maybe if we could cut it at the root, we could dig up it’s main root easier?” Nai’a suggested to Leila with a calm smile.

[Leila]

At the pink haired woman's request, Leila dug through her toolkit and pulled out a pair of gardening shears and passed them to her. She took back her spade, trying to further clear out the dirt, and exposing more of the wretched root. "Okay, I'm going to pull, and you cut, try and get it as low as possible." Leila stood up, moved to the side opposite of Nai'a, bent over, and grabbed the plant as low as she could, using both hands. "Ready?" Leila then began pulling, using everything from her arms and hands, to her back, legs, and buttocks, all straining to try and pull it out. Her feet slipped a smidge, the root refusing to give in, a tug of war that Leila was fairly sure she was losing. Just as her muscles were beginning to really hurt, she suddenly found there to be no resistance, and found herself tumbling backwards. Flat on her back, she held up the plant, with most of its root intact. She didn't know if her companion had actually managed to cut it, or it had finally lost the battle. Smiling, laughing even, she stood up, clumps of dirt falling from her person, as she placed the plant in the get rid of pile. "Whew, that one was a doozy, shouldn't be a whole lot left in this bed." Eyes scanning the bed, now with a large hole in the center of it, she saw a few shallow rooted weeds, some grasses, and a couple of small flowers, all of which would be easy to remove. "Once we get these out, we'll have to level the bed, then plan out what we will plant and where."

[Nai'a]

The Healer looked down at the shears with a smile. This will do it! Nai’a thought to herself. Leila instructed her to cut the root when it was pulled by her, so when the woman’s muscles started to strain with the effort of pulling on the pesky thistle, Nai’a went in for the cut, cutting the straining root. Nai’a was proud of their work, but the pat on the back she was giving herself was short lived, as the red headed woman went flying backwards landing flat on her back. The Healer placed her dirty palm over her mouth, not touching it, and chuckled behind it. The look on the woman’s face was priceless, holding up the plant in victory. She was about to move and help the poor woman up, but she had already began to stand up brushing clumps of dirt of herself, throwing the thistle in the ‘get rid’ pile.

The woman walked back over, saying that the plant was a doozy and that they were almost done. ”Yeah. Thistles are pretty strong for a plant, there roots almost as strong as a small tree trunk.” Nai’a said chuckling slightly, ”You are not hurt from the fall are you? It was a natural question for a healer like herself to ask. She wanted to make sure the woman was alright and up to par to tackle the rest of the bed, which looked to be about 10 chimes maybe 15 chimes of work left, before they began to level the bed out to replant the plants out of the keep pile.

Nai’a looked over the bed, at the small grasses that had made a home in the flowers, a few small weeds, and a couple of smaller flowers. It looked to be easy work after that thistle was out of the way. She listened to the woman’s next words about leveling the bed, and then planting the flowers back into the bed that they had managed to remove. The Healer nodded her head in agreement, and they both started back on working on the bed, removing the small weeds, the pesky grasses, and carefully extracting the few smaller flowers that were left. Once they were all out, Nai’a gave a broad smile at their accomplishment.

”We make a great team.” Nai’a said looking over at the woman, ”Now let us get to this leveling business so we can replant the bed and make it benefiting of Rak’Keli.” Nai’a kept the smile on her face, happy to see the bed in better shape, ready to get to work to please the Goddess. It was unfitting to have such a poorly kept bed at the Goddess’s place of prayer. The Healer made a mental note to buy a few flowers in town and come back and plant them in the bed as well, as a small devotion to the Goddess, maybe Leila would even like to help her, since they worked so well together.