To Khalina's immense relief, the gentle-faced man knew exactly what to do. He gave her a bag of rich potting soil, some special mix to put in the water, and instructions on how to use them. His warm smile made her more confident, so that finally she burst out with the trusth. "I'm sorry to have lied, but this isn't exactly for a plant. It's for a friend, who is very...," she fumbled for how to explain. "She is like a plant, but isn't." She sighed in exasperation at herself, but it was the best she could do. "We are staying in the park, but she wore herself out protecting me, and now she can't seem to get healthy again."

The gentleman paused, his leathery face thoughtful. "Now, does she drink water like you and I? Or does she absorb it throug her... feet, like a plant?" He didn't seem exactly as startled as Khalina thought he should have been. Perhaps Maia wasn't as rare a creature as she'd thought. She tightened both hands around the gently thrumming strap of her pack.

"She doesn't have feet at all," she said in a near squeak. "She just has... tendrils. And she drinks with those." Her expression was unconciously frightened. Even though she had offered the information about Maia freely, it was clear she was anxious about having told him so much.

Patting her arm gently, the older man nodded his grey head. "Then that'll do just right by her," he reassured her. "Let her dip her tendrils in that there concoction and you'll see. She'll perk right up in a hurry." His confident affirmations eased her worries, and she beamed up at him.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, giving the gardener a sudden and effusive hug. "That helps so much, thank you!" She stopped then, clutching her treasure close. "But... how will I pay you for these?" Her parents very definitely did not have an account with the nursery, for they kept only silk plants in the tiny apartment. Her face fell as her gaze dropped to the needed supplies. How was she going to pay for them?
Reluctantly, she began to hand them back, her heart heavy.

Roughened hands closed about hers, gently pushing the packages back at her. "Now now, none of that. You'll just have to come do some work for me later this week, alright?" His grey eyes twinkled from under busy eyebrows. "I could always use a hand around here. And bring that friend of yours when you come, will you please?" He laid a finger next to his nose as if it were their secret. "That way I can check up on your particular problem, eh?"

Heart nearly bursting, Maia agreed to return in three days to begin doing her fair share to pay off this debt she now owed the old man. She gave him another hug before traipsing out of the nursery and out into the streets to finish her shopping and head back to the treehouse.