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It was Kara.
“Yes?”
“Joan’s here, she's carrying a message from Silver for you. I guess we're going somewhere. She said to pack supper.” Kara sounded a little bemused.
I changed into work clothes and walked downstairs, where Joan stood in the foyer, dressed in what appeared to be her concept of outdoor clothes. I would not have thought orange and green striped tunic and trousers would be an optimal choice, but at least it would keep her from getting injured by anybody who was hunting. They flapped around her slender frame, making her look like a scarecrow in neon colors.
Her scalp was covered with white fuzz. Her hair grew faster than most, judging by the length.
“Hi!” She smiled in my direction. “Ready for an outing? I’m driving. We have something to plant outside the Capitol!”
She sounded excited. I wasn’t sure gardening warranted this level of enthusiasm, but Kara brightened.
“Are we replanting some of the endangered species?” Kara asked.
“No, this is a special plant. I can’t tell you about it until we’re in the air. Do you have a change of clothes to bring, Kara?”
“Sure! Give me a minute to pack.” Kara bolted for her room, leaving us alone.
Joan’s eyes wandered over the room. I waited, since I’d ask questions once we were on our way.
Kara ran down. I raised my brows. She was wearing an outfit like the one that I typically wore to go outside, reinforced leather trousers, boots, long-sleeved shirt with vest with many pockets. She wore it well.
“Looks familiar,” I said.
She grinned at me. “I had it special ordered. It looks cool.”
I spent most of the flight white-knuckled. While some people commented on my flying style, Joan’s made me look like a law-abiding elderly person with several small children and sweating explosives packed in the back of my grav. Reckless didn't begin to cover it. I tried to distract myself to figure out what was in the cargo hold, but whatever it was, it was well shielded and gave off no emotional emanations.
On the bright side, the speed she chose to move at that did shorten our journey considerably. After only a half hour Joan dropped to a lower altitude. After gliding maybe another mile, we landed in a clearing nestled within the towering pine trees. Even with a gravcar, the vertical landing was impressive.
“Well? Let’s get going!” Joan said in an amused voice.
Dappled sunlight filtered through the trees. Their lush branches reached towards the sky, forming a natural canopy. Needles carpeted the ground, creating a soft and fragrant bed where there was no grass.
Vibrant wildflowers painted the landscape around the gravcar with bursts of color. Delicate lupines swayed gracefully in the breeze, their purple and blue petals attracting busy bees and delicate butterflies. Bright yellow sunflowers lifted their faces towards the sun.
It made the landing more impressive; Joan had avoided squashing the flowers by landing close to the trees while not hitting the branches.
When we steppedout of the vehicle a squirrel chattered at us and darted away, the fluffy tails flexing at us in what I thought was probably a rude rodent gesture. A pair of chipmunks scuttled across fallen logs, tiny paws moving fast. July heat still beat down so we wouldn't hear birds until evening. The rustling of leaves and the sound of a nearby creek filled the air.
A flash of white caught my eye as a deer bounded away. Smart deer.
Joan hauled the small sapling with a huge root ball out of the gravcar, setting it on the ground by Kara. Slender and frail in appearance, but strong enough to move it by herself? Was she made of steel wire? Dirt was heavy!
My breath caught and I stiffened as I recognized the plant. It was the Tree in miniature.
Emerging from the grav a second time Joan carried two shovels and tossed me one. “Ready?”
I caught it. “Why are we doing this again? How on earth did you get a sapling of the tree? I thought it was completely unique.”
And I wanted to hit it with the shovel but reigned the impulse in.
Joan surveyed the area, selected a point close to the center of the clearing and walked over it, sinking the shovel into the ground. “You're from Kalderon, right, you don't know much about the way things work in Capital beyond what you've seen at the Dumont’s. Something a lot of people don't understand is that not all of the families who have these,” she brushed her fingers against the crystal set in her forehead, “are rich. We have prestige, sure, but to keep that prestige we have to find ways to make money that don't involve doing what other people would see as a job. For a long time, I thought about my skills and decided that working for the Wardens would suit me. So here I am.”
I joined her in digging out the hole. “Silver is your boss?”
“My ultimate boss, but since he's the head of the Wardens I don't know that I would call him my direct boss. Kara, could you talk to the sapling and let it know what we’re doing while we get this dug?”
