Copperline [SEASONAL EVENT]

MaeA She smiled rather bashfully at the comment, wondering exactly what color it was he saw in her eyes. Maea had heard them compared to everything from blue to gray, white or red or even colorless, if such a thing was even possible. "If you succeed, do let me know " she said a bit wryly. "I'd be very interested to know, as I've never seen anything remarkable. Neither in not with my eyes." Self deprecating though it was, she did intend the comment to be somewhat humorous, said with amusement as she began the planting. Once it was done and the could pick up the tools and the empty bucket, Maea nodded in reply to his comment and looked about the orchard as tshe led the way in the direction of the house. "Yes, I've done it more times than I can count. Or seen it done, by my brother and father, and my grandfather before that. My family has farmed this land for five generations now, if I'm to believe gramps, though he did have a fondness for telling tall stories." Picking her way up the slope, the house came into view once the hill was crested. It was not a large house, more of a rundown cottage that nestled into the sheltered delve below, the weathered panel and wooden shingles of the roof nearly blending into the landscape. Spread out around it was a few outhouses, toolsheds and the barn, currently empty as her wayward sheep had yet to be reclaimed from the woodlands. The trees of the orchard spread out behind them, as did a few small fields for hay and grain fenced by stone walls, and behind the main building lay a kitchen garden, large enough to poke out on each side of the house. "It's not much, but it's home" she said, not exaggerating the humility of the place. Maea attempted a smile for her guests, boy and unicorn alike, but it was marred by sadness and a great weariness that shadowed her features as she looked down. It was beautiful, in a way, with all the fresh greens and the budding trees, but all she really saw was all the work that needed doing. Shingles missing from the roof after the last storm, weeds growing on the yard, a broken water barrel leaking its content into a pool before the barn door. Litter and debris she had yet to fully clear away, and more. So much more, and it never ended. Standing around would not help matters either. Taking a deep breath, Maea pulled herself together and started down the other side of the slope, nodding Remi and Isla in the direction of the garden. "Come on, let's go round the back, and see where your seeds might like it. Do you know what kind of conditions they used to grow in?" Better keep talking than let the silence rule unchecked. Better lend out a patch of land than mer it choke with weeds and dit unused because she did not have enough strength or hands or hours in a day to manage it all. you're so cold, but you feel alive.