"Where have you been sleeping, anyway?" came Dilahi's voice.
They were out foraging for food. No - foraging wasn't the right word, in Homewood. Many things here were edile, and normally Guitian was happy to eat, well, all of them. It was refreshing to be spoiled for choice, so it seemed wrong to be picky. He had to have some kind of favorite, though, Dilahi had said. The denizens of Homewood had worked hard for all of their bounty, and they'd wanted Vykeli's residents to enjoy it. Food didn't have to just mean sustenance, apparently.
"Wherever there's room," said Guitian. He jumped over a large root, certain by now that Dilahi had a firm hold on him. "No one has minded, so far."
"Is that what it's like in the Barrens? Turn left here."
"My family has a den," Guitian answered, remembering it. It was comfortable, for the Barrens, because they had worked hard to make it that way, over the years. "But...when we venture out, everyone sleeps in the same sorts of places." There was no use fighting out there - though of course, there were people who didn't understand that. Still - it was likely that they'd welcome visitors to their home, too; doing otherwise seemed malicious.
"You can do that here, too. But you seem to want to make things that last." Had Dilahi not been perched on Guitian's back, he'd have turned to look, at that.
"I do." It was strange how well Dilahi knew him already. Guitian paused here, surprised at the delicacy of the fragrance that was permeating the area now. He looked up, and saw flowers. "Are these...?"
They were no longer quite in bloom, but they lingered on the tree, and their scent was powerful. White and lovely, with deep red stems and bright yellow pistils. They fluttered in the breeze, delicate, with brown spots growing on their soft petals, and the ground nearby was covered with their brethren.
"Plum blossoms, yes." Dilahi sounded excited. "They're lovely - but the fruit that comes after is even better. They're my favorites - though a scuttle scale is far too small to finish one on their own. But the sharing is important, for me. There's no better pleasure than one that is shared."
"The only fruit I've had are cactus fruit," Guitian confessed. "But those, too, are rare."
"Are they your favorites?"
"I like them." Guitian paused. "Finding cactus fruit means that the cacti are healthy, though, and I think that's why I like them. It's nothing so poetic."
"It doesn't need to be."
They wandered, for a while, sampling leaves and tiny berries and pungent herbs. There was a lot of fascinating life in the Homewood, and much of it was tasty. Dilahi was surprisingly knowledgeable, too. "I do consider myself a bit of a scholar, as you know," they laughed, when Guitian commented on it.
"You're the best guide, then," Guitian answered. He turned a corner, nose to the ground to give them each a better view. The ground, apparently, was a good place to scavenge: fruits and nuts would fall, eventually, and mushrooms and herbs and plenty of other plants grew low. There were tasty roots, too, apparently, but Dilahi had deemed them a lesson for another day.
In the corner of his eye, Guitian spotted an herb - it had to be one, from the strong scent; herbs all had intense flavors - he had yet to sample. "What's this one?"
He was prepared for a lecture. Dilahi knew everything about so many plants: their life stages, their best uses, the preparations that highlighted their flavors best (Guitian had never considered heating water before, too scared to lose it to the Barrens' unforgiving sun, but apparently hot water and herbs made for a tasty drink), and the dangers of overconsumption.
"...bring me closer?" Dilahi asked instead. Guitian knelt, looking down at the plant in interest. It was pretty and leafy, with a pale center and a smattering of spots spread across the large leaves. The scent was pleasant, too, bright but not overpoweringly so. Dilahi stepped off his shoulder carefully: this had already happened a few times, as they traveled. A noulicorn didn't have nearly as delicate a hand as a scuttle scale, so it was best if Dilahi harvested.
Only Dilahi seemed hesitant to harvest this one. They kept walking little circles around it, tilting their head and flicking their tiny tongue out to taste the air.
"Does this one look like a poison, too?" Guitian asked.
"No, no - Guitian, I don't recognize this one."
That had Guitian swinging his head back for another look. "Is it...?"
"Likely a botanic's work," Dilahi confirmed, and Guitian could tell they were excited. "They've been reviving many interesting herbs, lately...there's something happening, in the Homewood."
"Do you know what it does?"
"I think that's for us to find out," Dilahi responded, and Guitian felt strangely pleased to hear the pronoun they'd chosen - us. "Hang on - "
They scuttled across the soil to harvest some particularly large, dark green leaves. "These are neutral," they explained absently. "I want to be careful, when I don't know the effects. I'll take - I should leave the roots, and the fruit. Herbs grow fast..."
They mumbled, but their work was efficient and quick - as usual, for them. Guitian bent his head down to let them back up. "Let's wrap up," Dilahi said, commanding again. "What did you like best? We should make you a meal."
Guitian had been sampling various delicacies for the better part of an afternoon, though. "I can eat more than you, but I still get full, you know," he laughed. "The grass by your den is plenty tasty. Sometimes it's nice to eat something with a taste that isn't so pronounced - then everything else can be appreciated for what it is." He paused, looking around to take note of where exactly they'd first located this new (apparently) herb. "If we leave more samples for another day, I'll remember them better."
"...you really are an artist," Dilahi sighed, gripping Guitian's mane again. "Let's head back home, then. You remember the way?"
Of course he did.
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