Gardening Quests

Out in a field of dead trees, a Treatling sighs and leans mournfully on a staff. On this staff are three large flowers in various stages of blooming, pure white things. This is the only sign of life out here.

Nowhere in this field does anything else bloom. 

It doesn't seem to get her down, or if it does, she doesn't let it show on her face. A Tweat runs over holding a watering can in it's tiny adorable little paws and she smiles at it, hiding her tired expression from before. "Did you water the trees I told you to water?" It nods back at her enthusiastically, then puts the watering can down and pats the star on its belly, as if to say 'If I didn't do my job, I couldn't be called sheriff anymore!'

Melea giggles and her skirt full of blooming flowers bustles as she straightens herself up. 

"That's good. We need to work hard if we want to see these trees blooming again! I know we can do it."

The Tweat nods at her tone with excitement. It wholeheartedly believes her line of thinking, unaware the Treatling is in complete denial about her trees. 

They're dead. 

Somewhere nearby, the wind blows through the branches of a blackened tree and several smaller branches snap off. They fall quietly to the darkened soil of the orchard. Melea will pick them up later, as she always does, keeping the ground clear of debris. Then she will take the branches to a shed and keep them there, as kindling or firewood for a rainy day. No point in wasting anything her trees give her, right? 

After she's cleared out all the fallen branches, which doesn't take long, she turns to watering the trees. This takes a bit longer, as she actually has multiple fields. Each field with a different variety of apple tree. This is why she's thankful for the help of her little sheriff friend. It takes the small Tweat a lot longer to water a few trees than it takes her, but it's alright. Any help at all is better than none.

She carefully checks each tree while watering it for new growth. A hint of gree would bring joy to her heart.

Every day, she never finds any. 

But that's okay! She hasn't given up yet. 

Every third day, she mixes in plant food with the water. After all, how could her apples grow ripe and juicy without proper nutrients! The Tweat helps her weed on these days, sniffing out any trees with encroaching vines or overwhelmed roots. Melea patiently digs these up.

There's no doubt in the world that this might be the world's most well tended orchard! It's only a shame the trees haven't borne fruit in so long. 

Somewhere, she's scared for her trees to come back, because she's scared she'll lose them again. They could always be swept away in a fire all the same, and she's not sure if she could handle watching it happen a second time. So she continues to tend to these blackened, dead trees on their blackened, dead soil. Like rows and rows of gravestones to friends whose death she hasn't completely gotten over yet. Whose names are remembered by her alone.

A heavy burden, indeed.