Welcome to Gaia! ::

Maia had been surprised when Chiro had told her of a new task he wanted her to do. In all her years of working here, no one else had showed any interest in the place. It was just her and her boss, slowly working away. She hadn't minded it. They still did fine enough, with all Chiro's connections in the city. The blacksmiths, jewelers, shop keepers. Even the rich folk who looked to him to acquire new antiques for their collection. He had quite the reputation in Neued. She hadn't been given a lot of information about this new person. Only that he worked at Murie's Wonders, stationed just outside the city. She'd passed it many times by now, but had never gone into it. Things like this didn't interest her much. And her father had always been too busy to take her. This would be her first time, thought she didn't feel any kind of excitement. It was just a job. At least she knew where it was. As soon as she received instructions to this Kayde's wagon, she walked up to it and knocked without much hesitation.

"Hi," Maia returned politely, all professionalism. She'd learned a lot since getting a job with Chiro, such as how to interact better with others. She'd been such an awkward teenager when she'd left on her own. Also a selfish one. She hadn't even tried to get in touch with her father since she'd left and still hadn't. She kept meaning to go back that way or send a letter, but she kept getting side-tracked or was too afraid to see how disappointed he must be in her for leaving him so suddenly. She was a coward when it came to facing her guilt. She hoped he had faired fine on his own. He'd always been bad at taking care of himself.

"No, I....Think I am here for you? If you are Kayde."

Maia straightened her back at the question, feeling a large sense of pride. Though she was the only one working for Chiro, it was still a honor to be considered with such an important task as escorting someone through the forest. Chiro still could have done it himself, but he trusted her to do it.

"Mhm. My name is Maia." She didn't mind his enthusiasm. It was nice to see. He seemed eager to work and that was the most important thing to her. If he didn't want to do this, this might be a nightmare for the two of them. "I suggest a bag. Doesn't need to be too big. It's only for a day."

Giving a thumbs up, maybe a little out of character for her, Maia started to walk into the forest, motioning with her hand to follow. Dealing with new people was still a bit of a difficult task for her, though she had gotten much, much better at it over the years. She already felt awkward for the hand gesture. She wasn't all that much older than him, yet it made her feel like a much older person trying to relate to the younger generation. Which, honestly, was how a lot of her interactions felt in general. Maybe she spent too much time by herself out in the forest?

Naw. She could never give even a little bit of that up.

Maia hadn't realized she'd been quiet for so long. She started, looking up. She'd been so in the zone of work, she'd forgotten she wasn't alone today. As she'd always been alone. For years.

"I'm sorry. I don't...Normally have company." Kayde nodded at her, seeming to understand and the Shifter grew a bit of confidence. She continued talking as she kept walking, her eyes going back down to the ground. "I just look for anything unusual. Sometimes you can find objects or pieces of things. Bones. Fangs. If you're really lucky, a gem or rare ore. All of it is useful to someone. At least that's what I was taught. Even something useless might be an important piece for someone's art project or broken tool. Chiro's pretty good at buying just about anything."

"Yeah," Maia agreed. "He certainly makes things easier." Unlike the old Shifter's shop just down the road. It'd been years since her first encounter with the woman, but never again would she step foot in there. Not even the thoughtful gift could cure the bad blood between them. She was just a contrary old woman with a thing out for every person of the younger generation. Not worth the time or thought. "I like to work on my own schedule. He's flexible with that. So you don't have to worry too much." Turning her head towards the younger Leaf boy, she flashed him a smile to help boost his confidence. He seemed a bit worried to her. Understandable. New job.

For the next half a hour, Maia talked about what he should keep an eye out for and offered some advice on where he could look to dig. The ground was tough almost everywhere, but if you really picked at it with a strong shovel or found the right spot, you might strike something hidden underneath the surface. So long as you didn't dig down too far. Other places might dig wherever and however deep they want. For Chiro, he didn't want anyone working for him to upset the balance of nature. Having giant holes everywhere that some animal could fall into would certainly do just that. Not to mention put yourself into danger if where you were digging was a creature's burrow.

Maia wasn't sure how she felt about the direction the conversation had gone. She wasn't used to anyone confiding in her over anything. Chiro kept his private life mostly private. He didn't seem keen on letting anyone inside of his inner thoughts and she was fine with that. Emotions were complicated. She still had a lot of her own to sort out.

"Huh...No. That was a bit lucky." She had decided being honest was the better route, though regretted it when he looked a bit downtrodden. "Still," she quickly added, trying to lighten the mood by lifting up her tone of voice. "You never know. Everyone has to start somewhere. And sometimes clients want you to find them a certain plant or rock. Since I'm not around as often, you'll likely get those." And she really hoped he would. She didn't like those requests. She appreciated her freedom to come and go as she pleased far too much.