Welcome to Gaia! ::

Harvest time. Something that would have taken the family days to complete back on Belrea, but what now only took a few hours of joined effort to reap the produce from their personal garden behind the house. With soil imported from elsewhere, Ballas had set up very quickly very soon after moving to Matori. Though he always said he didn't miss all the hard work that a full farm was, he insisted on having his own tiny one anyway. Over the years, it had slowly grown in size, until now it took the whole family to harvest, than preserve away in their storage. After that was done, there was another thing to take care of.

Minke walked along the pier, a basket in both hands. He trailed his father, the hood of his shirt pulled up extra high to shield him from everyone else. His father planned on doing some fishing, maybe a little clam hunting, for the family. Minke tagged along to do his own scavenging. His plans were to collect seaweed and other ocean plants in place of the meat Ballas was getting. Though he had nothing against those who wanted to eat fish and animals and even helped to gather fish sometimes, he himself didn't like to eat it. Aniamls were friends. It always made him feel uncomfortable.

So as his father walked off towards a boat, the young hybrid went down the steps on the other side of the pier. There he rolled up his pant's legs and waded into the water, the basket perched under one arm on his hip as he plunged his free hand into the water, searching by hand for anything that felt good.

Finding a good spot with lots of seaweed growing in clumps, Minke tried to balance the basket on his hip, under one arm, while he used his now free hands to pull out a knife to cut away at the plant. Not too far down so it would regrow back over time. But it proved somewhat difficult, as the water was so deep that it kept trying to take the basket out from under him. After a few tries, he debated going back for something floaty to place his basket in. Maybe his father had a better idea of how to do this. If he still was around the dock, which seemed very unlikely at this time. Usually his sister went out to help him with this. This year, she'd decided to go back to Belrea to visit their uncle, leaving Minke having to figure out a solution to his problem.

He was looking around him when he suddenly heard a voice. He assumed whoever it was was talking to someone else nearby, until he realized there was no one else nearby. The young hybrid always deliberately picked spots away from everyone else so he wouldn't have to deal with the terror and anxiety that came with having to make polite small talk with the locals.

Turning around, hood still half covering his face, Minke looked at who had spoken to him, feeling the panic start in his chest. "Um..." He did need help, it was true. Having a second pair of hands to hold the basket while he cut what he needed would make this so much easier. But to vocalize that was another matter.

So instead, he nodded and held out the basket, which was actually a few baskets stacked on top of each other, pale eyes slightly wide.

Seeing the stack of baskets held by the other shy boy, Minke nodded his head, not quite looking the other in the eyes or offering a smile of his own. Underneath his blank expression, his heart was pounding at the closeness of another person, the anxiety that came with it making his hand shake slightly. He was always afraid he'd make a mistake when talking to someone else or the way he moved and made expressions would be offensive somehow. So he opted to be as quiet and still as possible, as if others were a skittish animal he was trying to tame. When he, himself, was the skittish animal about to bolt.

Holding the knife with blade aimed down, the pale hybrid bent his knees and plunged his hands back into the water, much more easily gripping the plant in one hand while his other groped around for a good spot to cut. He easily immersed himself in his work, almost forgetting he wasn't alone. Finally, after a while, he looked up and, looking a little to the side, too nervous for eye contact, he finally said "Thank you. For the, uh...Help."

Minke forced his pale eyes over to the other boy, the tips of his ears going a bit red in his shyness. He did feel very grateful for the help, even if he found it difficult to express his feelings sometimes.

"Brother?" he prompted without thinking, wondering what it might be like to have a brother. Nosier than usual, perhaps. His twin was chatty enough for the entire family as it was. "I only have a sister. Ah. My name is Minke." He looked down at the water, than, watching what was left of the shimmer in the current of the small waves that brushed against his legs. "I really do, um....She usually helps me with the harvest."

Feeling really embarrassed over nothing, again, the pale hybrid boy bent down to some more seaweed, stepping easily through the water to reach some better plants who had grown so tall, they were almost reaching the surface of the water. Had he not felt such a kindship with the ocean, he, too, wouldn't have been getting out as much as he was. Strange to think about how he had been as a youngling, always prompting the strangers who visited the farm for stories about their adventures. Especially when it involved the sea.

Minke nodded in response, intent upon his work. After a while, he glanced a little to the side, pausing in his work. "Do you miss her? My sister isn't here, either. Belrea."

Stretching back up to his full height, Minke carefully put more seaweed into the basket, holding the knife carefully away from everyone. Looking down at it, he turned it over, inspecting it so he didn't have to keep looking at the other boy. He didn't know how others could look another full in the face all the time. "She must have lots of stories," he responded quietly, still reflecting on all the stories he had heard from strangers in Belrea. "I still like stories."

Dropping the knife back to his side, the hybrid looked over at Goran, an apology quick on his lips. Like always. "Ah, I'm so-sorry. I...We...The family moved. When I was young. She...Went back to visit. I miss her," he added, almost to himself, before blinking a few times and uttering another apology. He didn't mean to keep talking about himself. That was rude.

Minke waited patiently beside the other hybrid, flicking the knife back and forth between his fingers out of idleness, watching Goran's struggle with familiarity. Words were hard. Hadn't always been hard. Not when he was a carefree little boy who only cared about finishing his chores so he could listen to the stories of the wanderers who passed by.

"No...I-it's okay," he tried to reassure him. He looked back down at the seaweed swaying in the current about his feet, than at the knife. He held it up, offering it in such a way that he could easily flick it around. "Did you want to try? I can teach you."