Kneeling in the Herbs (Myst, Zeke)

[Thorn]

Jisene hummed happily as she worked the soil beneath her hands, preparing it for the tiny plants that one of the farmers had given her. She had collected several wild plants as well, knowing that they would go down well with the kitchen workers when it came to dealing with the burns that were all too common when working with the hot food.

Picking up the first of the sprigs, complete with tiny rootball, she set in the ground and soothed the soil down around it before reaching for the next one. She could feel her humming about to change into a song, but stopped abruptly when she felt someone watching her from nearby.

Turning, she searched the area. "Hello? Is somebody there...?"

[Mystery]

Zeke was always out and about in the weyrbowl. The chores back home had always left him outside because you couldn't ask a young lady to chop wood - though his sister was better at it than Zeke had ever been - and it was that skill for wandering around that had guided him over near Jisene. He was no less covered in dirt than her own hands, wearing a shirt that had obviously had the sleeves torn off to allow for freer movement of his arms, and he was hefting a rather heavy sack of what could have been anything on his shoulder like it was nothing.

Did Zeke care that he was checking out the girl's backside while she bent over the little plot of land and she wasn't paying any attention to him? Or that he probably looked a right mess with his hair as sweaty as the rest of him? Nope. Not in the slightest.

When she finally seemed to notice him, Zeke gave her what he thought was a rather charming grin, waving his free hand in greeting.
"Sorry! I heard you humming and wandered over. Are these your chores? Lucky you! I got promoted to "fetch and carry" boy." Not that he minded, it was a lot like home. Everyone had something to do and everyone did everything. It was familliar and comforting.
"You're Jisene, aren't you?"

[Thorn]

Jisene smiled up at him, a little unsure. Had he been staring at her backside...? She shook it off, but kept an eye on him as she dusted her hands off. "Yes, I'm Jisene. And no, these aren't my chores. I finished those a while ago, now. It was either this, study, or go looking for more wood suitable for bows and arrows."

She stood, and walked over to the buckets of water she had brought up with her earlier, intending to put some on the plants she'd already set out. "I didn't fancy studying or fighting my way through the jungle, so, here I am. You're Zeke, right...? You turned up to the Candidate's lesson without any clothes on." She grinned at him as she used the ladle to spread the water over her plants.