Jouvi grumbled as she made her way out to the gardens, the human’s notes in the crook of her arm and a member of her department at her side. Upon seeing them, the plants perked up a bit but were still… well. Droopy. 

“I can’t believe I’m about to do this…” she sighed, then cleared her throat, “Look – your human is fine. He’s recovering from surgery and will be up and about at the end of the month.” 

The plants perked up more at this – the closest bushes of the Labyrinthine Hedge cautiously leaning forward. 

“He’s going to be the Head of the new Gardening Branch of the Groundskeeping Department,” Jouvi went on, “If you even… understand what that means…”

The plants swayed but, of course, couldn’t speak. Well, not the ones here, anyway. 

“So. He’ll be getting his own actual house. Does he… did he…” Jouvi sighed, “Was there a particular place in the Gardens he was staying…?” 

The Hedges rustled, then leaned in the direction of the Rose Cage Gardens. 

“Let’s go,” Jouvi sighed, leading the way. Normally, she would suspect a trap, but… well… 

The way this Braelin guy wrote about the plants, you’d think they were… people. People he clearly liked a lot – and maybe… she could give them a chance. A small one. With her groundskeeper that had Iescula as a patron. 

The roses used their blooms to lead them both to a specific part of the thickets, which opened. 

Jouvi grumbled and briefly considered having Exkla go ahead of her – but that would hardly be fair. So, steeling her resolve, she crouched down to walk through the tunnel open to them. 

“You don’t think…” Exkla cleared her throat, “You know, ma’am?” 

“That this is a trap?” Jouvi sighed, “I’m trying not to think that.” 

“Right,” Exkla chuckled. 

Jouvi estimated they traveled halfway through the wall of Blood Rose thickets when they came to an open area – relatively speaking. 

“Are these… clothes?” Exkla asked. 

“Looks like it,” Jouvi snorted, examining the makeshift roof and walls of mismatching fabrics of various lengths, “Not like anyone is going to report missing clothes from having some fun in the gardens…” 

Exkla hummed in agreement, setting the woven grass pack she’d brought down as they both looked at the space, “Not much here…” 

“Are these… Cradle Rose petals? As a blanket?” Jouvi asked, picking up the dried petals – the frowning, “Oh, they’re sewn together – and something is in the middle… well, whatever,” she said, rolling them, “We’ll just bring it.” 

“A dagger made of Blood Rose thorns,” Exkla’s brows rose as she studied it before putting it in the pack and gathering the other items, “A sewing kit – probably also pilfered by the plants…” 

The thickets around them rustled. 

“Or,” Exkla looked around in concern, “Someone… left it behind…?”

The rustling settled. 

“Maybe we don’t accuse the plants of being thieves while being in the middle of them?” Jouvi suggested, noting the makeshift pillow was a rolled-up Cradle Rose petal sewn closed. The bed was a simple affair of many more stacked petals – it was honestly impressive how much could be made with the same material, really. 

In total, they had the makeshift blanket and pillow, the thorn dagger, the sewing kit, a mismatched set of cutlery, a bucket that had gone missing from the Groundskeeping department some eight years ago – along with a few other tools that had gone missing over the past decade – and some other miscellaneous pieces of fabric likely used for patches and bandages. 

That collected, they made their way to the Medical Wards. 

Honestly, he’d probably be safe still living in the Blood Rose thicket, Jouvi thought to herself, If the plants can move out of the way enough, it might even be feasible to build something human-sized in there…

Jouvi nodded to the guard still outside the human’s room before entering. 

“Good afternoon,” Feyl, the King’s valet and friend – though she still didn’t know how that worked, really – greeted with a wide grin. He waved at her while looking at the human, “Braelin, this is Jouvi, Department Head for Groundskeeping – making her your new boss.” 

“Good afternoon,” the human said, looking… relieved for some reason, “I look forward to working with you.” 

“We’ve been going over etiquette,” Feyl said, leaning against the nearest wall. 

I’d be relieved, too, Jouvi thought, remembering her own lessons when she first arrived. She nodded, “Sure. This is Exkla – I’ve reassigned her to the Gardening Branch, so she’ll be helping you adjust to your new position.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Exkla chuckled, bowing her head. 

The human – Braelin, right – blinked at her and asked, “Veden?”

“I was born in Vede,” Exkla nodded, “That’s how I have Iescula – our Goddess of Sieges and Plants – as a patron.” 

“I see,” Braelin nodded with a hesitant smile. 

“I thought it also might be easier since she’s one of the few people around here with experience working with humans,” Jouvi added, “I mean, mostly imps, but still.” 

“We collected your things from the Gardens,” Exkla said, bringing over her basket and setting it by the bed, “Since you’ll be getting proper accommodations by the time you can leave the wards.” 

“Thank you,” Braelin said, leaning over enough to take a look inside, “Though I suppose most of this could be returned now…” 

“There’s nothing valuable enough for anyone to worry about that,” Jouvi shrugged – then sighed as she finally crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, “I want to talk about these notes of yours.” 

“Yes?” the human replied. 

Feyl laughed, “Well, since you’ll be occupied for the next few hours at least, I’ll take my leave for today.” 

“Ah,” Braelin scratched at his chin, “Thank you, Feyl.” 

The valet waved over his shoulder as he sashayed out of the room – though for whose benefit Jouvi hardly knew. She was only interested in women, which he knew, and she knew he was only interested in men besides, which counted Exkla out as well – not that she was high-ranking enough to draw a Sculi’s eye in the first place. But then, Feyl was weird for a Sculi. Maybe he had an interest in the human – the fad of human romance novels from a few centuries ago had made more than one demon curious on that front. 

As the valet had predicted, she, Exkla, and Braelin spent hours going over his notes about the plants – Jouvi was honestly surprised by how much he’d been able to gleam on his own. Braelin was happy to learn all the proper names for the plants, taking more notes about anything new Jouvi or Exkla could offer, though it was surprisingly little in comparison. 

“I thought maybe it would be good to make one of the Senior Groundskeepers the actual Branch Head of Gardening,” Jouvi sighed – intending to express her change of heart after realizing the breadth of the human’s skill. 

“That would be good,” Braelin said before she had the chance, “Anyone else you transfer in would respect a senior more, and I don’t really like being in charge of things.” 

“Really?” Exkla asked, “But no one is going to know more about gardening than you, Braelin – I guarantee it.” 

The human shook his head, “That doesn’t mean I need to be in charge, though – that part is usually more about people management and politics, anyway. That’s why I prefer a secondary role.” 

Jouvi laughed in surprise, “Well, you’re certainly not wrong! Very well – you’ll be… the Senior Advisor – then you won’t be in charge of anything but the actual gardening part. How about it?” 

“I like the sound of that,” Braelin smiled, then sighed, “Honestly, I’m still surprised I’m getting a job instead of the noose.” 

“Noose?” Jouvi asked. 

“Common human method of execution,” Exkla supplied. 

“Ah,” Jouvi nodded, then shrugged, “Well, our King is an odd guy, and Minaz is just doing what she thinks he’d want, so there you have it.” 

“Feyl mentioned the King will be returning in the next two to three months?” Braelin asked. 

“Yeah – we’re waiting for word that he’s successfully sieged Gaevoyga in the south,” Jouvi nodded, “It’s the last stop on his Reunification Campaign – once he finishes there, we’ll be preparing a feast for his and the army’s return.” 

“He’ll probably want to meet you himself,” Exkla added, then chuckled, “While appointing his Department Heads, he met with each Branch just so we could all get a chance to voice our opinion of his options.” 

“That’s part of why it took him so long to manage it,” Jouvi huffed, “Appointing us all, I mean – seventy years didn’t leave him much time for the Union Campaign itself. But then, he’s not the Beast of the Battlefield for nothing…”

“… what kind of man is he?” Braelin asked, “The King – it’s difficult to tell just by stories.” 

“Quiet,” Jouvi said, tilting her head as she considered what else to say. 

“He doesn’t show a lot of expression in his face,” Exkla added, “Or… at all, really? But I think he’s a kind man despite his military reputation.” 

“Honestly, you’d do better to ask Feyl – they’ve been friends since they were kids,” Jouvi sighed. 

Braelin chuckled, “I did, but Feyl described him… hm… annoying, I think was the main one.” 

Jouvi rolled her eyes, “I really don’t understand how they’re friends…” 

“Well,” Braelin sighed, “I’m being ungenerous – Feyl really described him as things like ‘annoyingly fair’ or ‘annoyingly willing to give others the benefit of the doubt’. But that doesn’t tell me much about his personality.” 

“… actually, he has a point with those,” Jouvi snorted, “The King is… methodical, but not in a calculating sort of way. He just never wants to move forward until he’s considered things from every angle – but once he makes a decision,” she chopped a hand down, “That’s it. Very little will move him from his course.” 

“Though he can be impulsive sometimes,” Exkla laughed, “He doesn’t always take a long time to decide.” 

Braelin nodded, “I suppose I’ll have to wait until I meet him for myself.” 

“It probably won’t be for a few weeks after he returns,” Jouvi sighed, “With the feast and all the rest he needs to catch up on.” 

“That makes sense,” Braelin said, then yawned. 

“Well,” Jouvi sighed, getting to her feet, “We’ll leave you to rest – by the time you’re up and about, the whole thing will be sorted.” 

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Exkla said, “So everything goes smoothly when the new branch is up and running.” 

Braelin nodded, resettling on the pillows, propping him up, “Until then.” 

“He’s not what I expected,” Exkla said when they reached the hall. 

“No,” Jouvi agreed, stretching, “It’ll certainly be interesting to see what the King thinks of him.”

“Yes, I agree,” Exkla laughed.