PRP - From land to Mouth - Padme Jade and Harvest

[Bardess Ookami]

Harvest stretched her neck towards the sky then rolled her head a bit before leaning down and picking up the wooden device in her teeth again. Since different plants were being harvested and planted at different times, only in the dead of winter did she ever really get to rest. But that was fine, she liked working the earth. She had watched the two-legged ones take care of plots of land and coax forth a bounty of food, and from them she learned how to do the same. Several times she had almost been captured, but it was worth it. Let other Soqs eat only berries and grasses, if they wanted. Any who wanted to help her were welcome to the bounty of her fields. She grew hay and oats and strawberries and small melons that she he had to crack with her hooves. The place she had chosen was in what had once been a human orchard, so she had apples and oranges growing as well. She grew carrots when she could and every once in a while, to change things up she'd grow cucumber or beans. Since Poly started helping out, she had been trying to figure out how to grow nuts, but as of yet had not found a single human doing so, and had no clue how to start.

Well no, she knew how to start, all plants started the same. Good well tilled soil. Wood in her mouth she walked forward, dragging the plow she used behind her to till the field. Three fields were planted and in various stages of growth. This one needed to be turned over. it had been alfalfa for the last two growing seasons, so it needed to be something new. She was trying to figure out, as she plowed, what might need different nutrients than the alfalfa had.

"How is the irrigation ditch holding up?" she asked Polly Nate.

Polly opened his beak to answer, then closed it again, aware of someone approaching.  

[Angelique DelaMort]

"Tropical island," Padme Jade muttered to herself. "I really need to find a nice warm place, maybe follow those nice mer ponies some time, they've got to have some nice warm secret spot and that THAT is where I need to go. No more winding mountain paths, no more creepy graveyards, I'm even done with semi shady forest glens. Nope, this girl was made for summer and fun and That's what I need to go find. And now...." She stopped mid sentence on the edge of a wide plot of dark rich earth. "And now I have absolutely no idea of where I am. Great." Her stomach picked that moment to begin growling. "Oh hush you..."  

[Bardess Ookami]

"A guest! We have a guest!" Polly chirped, flying onto Harvest's shoulder.

Harvest carefully lay down the plow. "And a hungry one at that," she observed from the sound. "Welcome traveler. Do you come with peaceful intentions, or with ill?" She asked, watching the other mare carefully. Her brain was ticking through what was ready to be eaten that could be offered to a stranger. The apples were not quite ripe.. ah! Strawberries. And she kept some hay dried year round in the lean-to. That should work nicely, were the stranger friendly. Were she not... well Polly was a vicious little thing when need be and Harvest could turn tools of production to destruction if she had no other choice. Too many times she had been driven from her home. No more. She liked this spot, and she was going to live her life here, grow old here, and die here. She just hoped she got to do the other two for a long while before the last.  

[Angelique DelaMort]

"Woah! Wait, what?" Jade exclaimed looking around wildly and wondering how she had missed the mare and the small (but LOUD) creature with her. "Where am I? What is this place? I thought I was headed towards the lake...how did I get so turned around?" She paused for a moment in her rambling, "And did you mention food?  

[Bardess Ookami]

"Actually, I mentioned hunger. And there is a stream not far off, I use it to water my crops so that I am less dependent upon the whims of nature and storms. You have come to my home, I do not know how it is you came to be here, if this is not where you intended to be, but as you are here, if you are a kind-hearted sort, you are welcome to share a meal with us, if you wish. We have water to slake a thirst brought from the lake, and fresh strawberries for a sweet tooth, hay if you prefer something more toothsome." She smiled at her own play on words.  

[Angelique DelaMort]

"I-uh, Thanks," she managed slowly. She really wished the mare would use more normal words but from what she could gather there was food and drink as long as she could be nice. She could be nice. She nodded her head and said, "Thank you, I guess I got lost somewhere along the way and yeah, I am a little hungry." She tossed her vibrant mane and stepped forward, "My name is Padme Jade, but you can just call me Jade. As you probably guessed I'm not really from around here..."  

[Bardess Ookami]

"Nooooooo," Nate drawled from his perch. "Couldn't tell."

Harvest flicked her tail reproachfully. Even though it struck her flank far from where the bird rested, he took the hint and hushed up. "I am called Harvest. This is my friend and companion, Polly Nate. You may call him Polly or Nate as you please." she considered the other mare, then offered a warm smile. "I have heard it said that sometimes one must wander lost to find where home truly is. While I doubt this is your destination, perhaps it can be a pleasant way-station memory along the way." She picked her way carefully out of the half plowed field and moved to the narrow strip between it and the plot beside it. "Please follow me, and do be careful not to step in the fields, you have my gratitude for your care."

Polly flipped around to watch Padme Jade follow them, eyes narrowed, ready to cry out if a hoof toughed aught but grass.

Harvest led the way to a lean to set between two tall trees. One bore the aforementioned apples. The other was the orange tree. There was space enough for three or four Soq to sit between the lean-to and the small storage cave she had half dug, half built of wood rock and soil that more or less protected her food stores from weather, mold, and smaller unwelcome critters. She pulled the grating aside carefully with her teeth so she could pull out hay and strawberries for the three of them to feast on. Nearby was a dinged up rusted old bucket with a hole near the top, half full of water. It was one of the many things she had scavenged from the humans. If they discarded it, it was not stealing, she reasoned.  

[Angelique DelaMort]

Jade followed carefully behind the mare, minding her every foot fall. Though she had to admit with that snappy critter eyeing her the way he was, she couldn't help think of how well Nate/Polly's plumes would compliment her mask. She smirked a little at that though but mind turned far more cheerful when she saw the spread Harvest presented. "You've got a pretty sweet set up here, haven't you! I have to say I'm mighty impressed!"  

[Bardess Ookami]

Harvest flushed slightly with pleasure at the praise. "Thank you for being so kind as to say so. I work hard to provide for myself, for Polly, and for all who come to us with open heart and kind will. Please, help yourself, eat your fill. If you wish to talk, we will converse, if you wish silence it can be a companionable quiet. If you wish to help, your aid shall not be refused."

"As long as you don't muck things up," Nate muttered.

Harvest flicked her tail at him again.  

[Angelique DelaMort]

Jade narrowed her eyes at the bird reconsidering her need for additional feathers as an accessory, "Well I think it's fantastic. And at the very least I can certainly help you eat some of this wonderful food. I know I won't muck that up," she smirked at the little critter.  

[Bardess Ookami]

Harvest smiled warmly and settled herself down, nudging food closer to her guest. "We have plenty to share, be not afraid to eat your fill." And so saying, Harvest leaned down and selected a plump juicy strawberry for herself.

Nate hopped down onto the ground and eyed Jade. "You sure you can manage?" he whispered to her. hoping Harvest wouldn't hear. "You look like a messy eater to me..." he jumped, wings flapping to catch him as Harvest smacked herself so sharply with her tail that it sounded as though she had smacked the ground beside him. He reluctantly settled down again and took some fruit in his beak. Maybe if he filled it with food, his talon would fail to find room and he could stop being in trouble.  

[Angelique DelaMort]

Jade rolled here eyes and muttered, "Careful birdy, I have met some messy eaters in my time but most of them were Kalona and they were picking little feathers from their teeth..."

She turned and grinned at Harvest and helped herself to a strawberry, "This is awesome! It must have taken you forever to pull all this together, huh?"  

[Bardess Ookami]

"A single crop takes months to grow, 'ere the fields we plow, 'ere the fields we sow." Harvest said with a serene smile. "The best food is that which was grown by effort and work and love, rather than by nature and chance. As for my homestead, I have been building this for some time. I have seen some humans live entirely within structures of canvas or dried mud. I know not what the inside looks like, nor have I been able to recreate any such thing. This however suits me well enough."

"Aw, you don't scare me," the bird said, moving closer to Harvest.  

[Angelique DelaMort]

Jade flashed a cheeky grin at the bird. Not scared, huh? Yeah, you go a running to mommy...little punk "Yeah, I'll say," she nibbled from her allotted hay and, decided it was almost as good as fresh from the field, dug in deep. "Tastes like it's worth it to me," she said between bites, "This is delicious!"  

[Bardess Ookami]

"I am glad that you are enjoying," Harvest said with a small incline of her head before she selected another mouthful for herself. "Not long now," she said after she finished chewing, "And there should be apples nearly ready. Not long after that..." she trailed off a bit dreamily as she thought about the harvests that would take her right to the edge of winter.