Welcome to Gaia! ::

Thorn was waiting on the outskirts of the city. He had laid down on a grassy knoll and was basking in the strong sunshine. It felt so good after the snow and the rain of the previous seasons and he sighed in utter contentment and relazation, one eye cracked watching his surroundings. A scorra marched around off in the distance and Thorn tilted his head to view it better. A scorra might be nice to have they were tough birds.

The sky was a deep soul shifting blue, and he felt that if he stared at it too much longer he would fall right into it. Truth be told it was a bit boring being stuck in the city. He had stopped thieving for a bit due to nearly being caught again. It was an unnessesary risk to keep his practice here when he knew he would be here for a while.

Thorn heard a familiar voice calling his name. "Ime?" It was! It was her she was back! He didn't think he had ever stood up so fast in his life, but he did it and rushed over to her. "I'm so glad you made it back safe! How was Jauhar? Did you find your friends?" He asked excitedly. He didn't know what to do with himself so he settled for holding both of her tiny hands at once. Her skin was so soft and clean. It seemed like her trip had rejuvinated her but that could just be the reapearance of her in his own life. He couldn't believe she was back, perhaps he hadn't imagined the spark of a connection that he had felt when they had first met.

He twirled her around looking for cuts or bruises but she had come back safe. What a clever healer she was, so gentle and not quite as silly as himself. A part of him unclenched now that he knew she was none the worse for her travels. "So will you be staying in Tale long?" He asked curious. He realized he was throwing quite a few questions at her but well he couldn't help it.

"Babies huh? I hope the labor went well? Everyone okay?" From what he understood the uh birthing process could be complicated and dangerous for both mother and children. He liked children well enough they were devilishly clever and mischievous just like himself.

Oh good she was staying around for a while! Maybe they could go foraging for neat things together maybe they would find something interesting. "Did you use many herbs while you were away should we go get more some time?" She could maybe teach him more then the one herb he knew that numbed your mouth when you chewed it, good for tooth pain, bad for talking.

"I think someone had their pet step on their foot not to long ago, that would be a good place to ask if they have need of a healer, the woman in question is a merchant type I think so she needs her feet in tip top shape."

Well he hadn't sat in town completely with fluff in his ears so he had heard a few things that went on.

Bemused he realized she had put her hands where they had been before he twirled her.

"Ohoh! Look!" He spread his arms and twisted so that the sun caught his old wound now neatly healed. "It healed wonderfully," He noticed her arms didn't quite reach as far as his would, the thought amused him somewhat. She was darling truly. In deference to her arm length he stopped when he hit the first bit of resistance.

"Triplets, I can't imagine", he grinned, "I hope they were not all boys, the parents might never keep up." He chuckled. He peered curiously at the journal and marked his name down again with the note that indicated that his would had healed really well with little trouble at all. He brushed a hand over the books cover, he could tell deep down that it was something she cherished. "This is high quality," he complimented before handing the journal back to her.

"I have found that it is more interesting walking through Tale with someone else, even if we only find the more common plants I would certainly enjoy your company." He kissed the back of one of her hands. Then he corked the ink and handed it and the quill back as well. How lucky was he to have a beautiful healer as his friend, or perhaps even more. "It could er be more than a walk, would you be interested in a date?" He blushed but held still like prey spotted by a hunting radaku.

"Do you need some time to recover from your journey? Perhaps later in the evening we could go on our ..date?" It was an awkward word, date, the branch of a new relationship and the basis for it. All contained in one four letter word. Pfft. Maybe he better talk to his mother for advice on dating, he had zilch for experience, but it couldn't be that hard? Being alone together. And there was no one he would rather spend time with, she was just wonderful, gentle and kind.

"You know it was rather boring without you here," he grinned. "One too many evenings in the tavern with my father and the innkeep." He crossed his eyes comically. "I was exposed to more silly babble then I thought possible." And some pretty good advice too but well the babble outweighed it as there had been a lot more of it.

"Do you know where the uprooted tree is on the other side of town? Why don't we meet there, the other side is quieter then this side, less residences and more scenery with less interruption, I want to show you something in that direction, I think you will like it." It was his favorite place to go for some quiet, not many people knew it existed, he had been running away to hide when he had found it first. He had been very young then and the place had saved him much grief from the mean kids. But they had been slow and once he had figured out he could outrun them he did as often as he could.

He hoped that the time would give Ime some time to recharge, travelling could be hard so he was told and Jauhar was impossibly hot as he had found out on his sojourn to one of its villages. In the meantime he would get some fruit or something to eat when they got there.

"In an hour and a half, it will give us both some time to freshen up, and I need to gather a few things so it will be a proper date type thing." Not that he knew what a proper date looked like but he had ideas and seeing as this place was close to his heart, it felt like he was showing a piece of it to her and he was both hyper and petrified about it. It was sort of a sacred place for him.

He said goodbye and scurried off. He had a bath, fluffed his hair back up the way it was supposed to be and then gathered the fruit and tidbits for a picnic. Then he went to the tree to wait. He hoped he looked a little better then he had, less sweaty at least. He chuckled.

Thorn arose and bowed before her, "Hello, ready to explore a little?" He offered a hand, the other holding the pack of food on his back. "I brought along some lunch I hope you do not mind." He led her gently out into the trail, following subtle signs to his destination. "Here we are he gestured to the tightly knit copse of trees that were interwoven together. "This is my favorite place in the world. Not many others know that its here." He skirted around the edge and found an entrance. "I'll go in first, just in case there is something toothy in there."

After shooing a few poscuta away Thorn appeared at the entrance to guide her through the brambles. The trees formed a dome in which small threads of sunlight filtered through, making it look like a secret grove that you would not thing would be on the savanna at all. "It stays cool in the hot sun and provided me with my own personal jungle gym when I was small. Good for hiding from bullies, they were a pain when I was much smaller. Now for some reason they leave me alone." He chuckled. "Do you like it?"