She paused in her actions as he spoke, frowning slightly. Jube had taught her a lot and when the books hadn't had pictures in, he sometimes drew them for her and other times, when they'd walked into the forest, he'd pointed them out to her. Being a Blacksmith's daughter, she knew more about metal and proofing than flowers and herbs. The only herbs she understood really were those for burns and such, since they were part of their lives.
But Jube had made it interesting, and relevant. She sometimes wondered if she listened and learnt from him because no one else had ever bothered to listen to him. She couldn't remember much about before she'd known him.
"Sure," she said. "I'll get it, but you need to rinse your hair, 'kay?"
She released him, washing her hands in the water and then swimming over to the clothes to see how they were doing. Once she was satisfied they were clean, she dragged them ashore to lay them out to dry, what she was wearing clinging close to her skin. It would loosen as she dried, but she didn't think about that.
She headed into the trees, taking in the surroundings as she moved through it. Some plants grew in bright sunlight, but others thrived in gloom. It didn't take her long to find the plant she wanted, but she spent a little time in the trees, enjoying the peace and coolness. She loved climbing, but this wasn't the time. Still automatically she assessed which trees would be the best to climb and for what reason, i.e. shelter, escape etc. She also listened to the bird calls. They made her think of home and what she'd lost to keep her freedom.
She headed back, brandishing the plant. She hadn't removed the root from it, because it would be easy to damage it if she didn't know it's purpose. Besides, most plants could be used in more than one way and different parts of them could be useful for other things.
Placing it down carefully, she wrung out the bottom half of her top, expelling the water that hadn't dripped away as she's walked, shielding her eyes to see if Jube was still enjoying the water.
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