Fruit Picking for Beginners

Writers: Ames, Chelle
Date Posted: 26th November 2010

Characters: Sarban, Lisadi, Trewlin, Dareera
Description: Sarban, Lisadi, and the children enjoy a nice afternoon together, with a bit of excitement.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 11, day 21 of Turn 5

"Come along children. Sarban agreed to meet us just outside. Trewlin hold tight to that basket or we won't have much for our lunch later!" Lisadi walked just a step to the side of the pair of youngsters, a smile, which they couldn't see, played on her face. Trewlin had _insisted_ that he could carry the rather heavy basket. Even Dareera had wanted to help, so she carried the picnic cloth they'd brought along. The dear girl was nearly able to keep up with Trewlin finally, though Lisadi knew Trewlin had slowed his pace to allow her to do so. She blinked back the sudden moisture in her eyes. She finally had a family. All those years of wishing and dreaming, and she finally had a family all her own. It wasn't what she'd expected or anticipated, but one thing Lisadi had learned since growing up was that life was full of unexpected surprises.

"I see him. Come on Dareera. Sarban is waiting for us!" Trewlin grinned widely at his little foster sister before turning and trying to hurry a bit towards the Steward. Lisadi glanced in that direction as well. Her eyes took in his form against the backdrop of the day. Her heart gave a little skip at the sight of him. She found his company pleasant and she knew Trewlin all but adored the man. Even Dareera had taken quite a liking to Sarban.

Due to the weather, he was wearing canvas shorts that came past his knees, and a light tunic that was sleeveless. There was a small hat on his head and he had a carisak slung over one shoulder. Sarban's sinewy muscles gained from turns climbing ropes were obvious. He was still very much a capable male. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show," he teased the children with a grin.

As the backlighting from the sun faded as they got closer, Lisadi found her breath caught in her throat. She'd been around Sarban many times since her arrival, but never before had she noticed the finely chiseled muscles in quite the same way as she did in that moment. She suddenly had the urge to remove her sun bonnet and fan herself for she was exceedingly warm even in the light sundress she'd chosen for the day. It accentuated her own simple figure and the skirt seemed to blow with the slight breeze that christened the day.

"The basket was heavy, but I carried it all by myself!" Trewlin said, hoisting the basket up to his shoulders as if to prove he was strong.

"I help," Dareera added, raising the picnic blanket high, just as she saw Trewlin doing. "Play?" She asked, looking to Lisadi and Sarban, a grin wide on her face.

"Soon, love," Lisadi said, finally catching her breath and moving to stand with the children. She placed her hand on Dareera's shoulder. "First, we should find a good spot for our things. Any suggestions, Sarban?" She inquired and almost regretted looking in his direction as she felt her body temperature begin to rise again. Her cheeks had to have flushed, but thankfully she could blame it on the sun and not her body's reaction to his fine form. "I think today will be a marvelous day for our adventure, don't you?" She asked the question hoping to hide her reactions by distracting the others.

"The dolphins said the weather is supposed to be good." He gave the children his attention first. "Yep we'll play, but we have to make sure we get enough fruit." He reached out for Dareera's free hand as he led them down to where the grove was. Most of the trees had been planted during the Long Interval before thread had returned. It had once been a very sizable tree farm, producing plenty of fruit for trade. Now, it was half wild, though Corowal's people did tend it for spare fruit for the table. "See the trees?" Finding a small mound across from a row so they could look down it, he let go of her hand. "I think this will do."

Lisadi couldn't help but admire both his ease with the children and he himself as she walked a few paces behind them all.

"You can speak to the dolphins?" Trewlin asked eagerly. There was so much he didn't know and he was dying of curiosity. "Could I speak to the dolphins someday?" Then with his basket in hand he followed Sarban and Dareera as they made their way to the chosen spot. With a hefty sigh, he finally plunked the basket on the ground.

Dareera, meanwhile, had just smiled happily up at the Steward. "I put," she stated and tried to open the picnic blanket and lift it high in the air and spread it out as she'd seen others do. Instead, she nearly lost her balance and ended up with the blanket almost covering her own body. She whimpered a bit at first, afraid of the darkness, but as the blanket fell to the ground, her whimpers turned to giggles.

"Here we'll do it together, sweetheart," Lisadi said, reaching for the blanket and working to lay it on the ground, all the while trying to let Dareera feel as though she was helping. Finally, with the blanket on the ground, she turned to Sarban, "Shall we go fruit-picking first or would you prefer a little snack first?" She indicated the basket with her hand.

"I think we'll need food for all the energy we're about to use." He watched the kids and settled down on a spot on the blanket first. "Well I don't talk to the dolphins. The dolphineers do. Then we get a weather report through the drums."

"Can I go meet the dolphins? I want to be a dolphineer!" Trewlin declared, looking to Lisadi as though expecting her to say yes right away.

"Trewlin, dear, we can't go visit them right now. It's _much_ too far away from where we are. I've never even seen a dolphin myself. Have you Sarban? You were a sailor. I bet you have." Lisadi settled the children on the blanket and quickly began unpacking the basket they had put together for lunch.

"Aye they're interesting creatures-beautiful. They're all sleek and gray, but with button heads sort of. They always seem to be smiling." It had been some time since he'd seen one last, certainly. It was a good omen for the dolphins to swim alongside the ship. "Maybe when you're old enough Trewlin, you could apprentice."

"Me! A Dolphineer!" Trewlin's eyes lit up. Before thinking he stood up and starting running in circles, moving his arm up and down in the way he assumed a dolphin might swim. "Look I'm a dolphineer!" He called out. Everything about him bespoke a happiness that hadn't been there when he'd first joined Lisadi.

Lisadi couldn't help but notice. Even as she buttered some bread for everyone, she smiled. "He looks so happy," she said with a sigh, then looked up and realized she spoken aloud. Her smile never faltered. He was happy and so was she. Reaching out she handed Sarban a slice of the bread, her fingers brushing his hand as she slid the slice onto his palm. She didn't linger long, though part of her had wanted to. Clearing her throat, she went back to buttering bread for the children's meals.

"Mmm and no small part because of you, I'd wager." Sarban said so that she could hear. He took the bread and took a bite.

"Thank you," Lisadi replied, feeling pride well within her. Trewlin was not her flesh and blood son, but that didn't matter to her. He was as close to one as she might ever have, and she already adored him, and Dareera, too.

"I always hoped I'd make a good mother," she said quietly, while Trewlin was still pretend splashing and Dareera was giggling happily. Then raising her voice a bit she said, "Trewlin, come, eat. There will be plenty of time to play." Trewlin heaved a sigh, but did as he was told and returned to the blanket.

"There's still time yet," Sarban said quietly before eating in earnest, careful to leave some for the children.

Lisadi wasn't sure what to make of Sarban's comment, but was so distracted from all else as she saw to Trewlin and Dareera's meal along with her own. When they were all full and satisfied, she sat back and smiled. "So how does one go about choosing the best fruit to pick?"

Making sure the children were listening, Sarban gave instructions. "Pick the redfruit that isn't bright red. That way, it'll be good for a little bit before it's completely ripe. The grapes need to be good and purple or light green. I pick the bigger bunches."

Trewlin listened with eager eyes and as soon as Sarban was done speaking he was on his feet, hopping and pointing to fruits he thought would be good choices. Then, he was off and running.

"Trewlin! Wait for us!" Lisadi called, shaking her head. Dareera was already up and standing beside Lisadi, grabbing her arm and trying to pull her up. Lisadi laughed. "I'm coming, sweetie." She shifted onto her knees ready to hoist herself back up off the ground to join in the fun.

"I'll go find him. The only thing..be careful about the snakes. They like to eat the fruit that's fallen down and rotted." Sarban said that quietly. He didn't expect any danger, but it was always good to be prepared.

She finally pushed herself to her feet, watching as Sarban moved after Trewlin. **That boy!** She thought with a slight shake of her head. "Come on dearie, we'll go over this way. Let the boys play over there. We can find fresh fruit on this side." Holding Dareera's hand, she moved off to the other side from where Trewlin and Sarban had gone.

Trewlin, who'd run ahead, had not heard the warning from Sarban. He darted into one of the thickest areas of redfruit trees, eager to get his hands on some of the sweet tasting treats. He never had any warning that a snake was in the path until his foot collided with something, causing him to trip and fall flat on his face. The sound he heard next left him nearly paralyzed with fear. He turned just enough to see the beady eyes of the snake as it hissed at him, moving closer. Trewlin tried to scramble out of the way, but the creature was angry. "Ahhh!" He shouted, frightened by the look in its eyes.

Lisadi, hearing the scream, grabbed Dareera and began racing in the direction she knew the boys had gone.

The steward got there first. In his younger days, most of the boys had grown up catching tunnelsnakes so he knew how they worked. Frowning, he spoke slowly and calmly. "Trewlin, don't move." Approaching quietly behind the creature, he brought his beltknife into his right hand. Bringing his hand out, he stayed low and crouched, coming closer. Timing his moment, he reached out lightning quick to catch the snake by the head. With the knife in his other hand, he sliced its head off. Breathing quick, he forgot where he was for a second.

He was already half frozen in fear, so Sarban's command just kept him in place. He watched wide-eyed as the Steward dealt the creature a final blow.

"That was amazing!" He breathed, his body still trembling slightly. He couldn't decide if he wanted to be sick from the sight of all that blood or go over and examine the creature with glee. He'd never _seen_ the inside of a snake before. Lisadi, with Dareera, on her hip arrived at just that moment.

"What happened? Everyone okay?" Her eyes darted to Trewlin, seeing he was in one piece, then to Sarban and the bloody snake in his hands. She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Clearly, had he not arrived in time, that snake might have been enjoying Trewlin for his snack. Dareera, seeing the creature, buried her head in Lisadi's neck. Her arms tightened around her as her lower lip trembled. "Dareera, love, it's alright. Nothing's going to hurt you and thanks to Sarban, Trewlin is fine too." The little girl still clung to her tightly, nearly cutting off her air supply.

"Em..I hate to say this..but it's good meat. Do you want to take it back?" Sarban looked over at Lisadi, questioning.

Lisadi nodded, even while she patted Dareera's back to comfort the small child. "Yes, we can put it in the basket and I'll clean it up later." She turned her attention to Trewlin. "Young man, do _not_ run off on your own again. You could have been hurt or worse!"

He pouted, but he listened, nodding mutely. "Sorry," he mumbled, digging the toe of his heel into the dirt.

Last updated on the January 21st 2011

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Fruit Picking for Beginners