Chatoyant College Book 7: Upon What Soil

Chapter 11: Digging in Dirt

That evening, after their book club (which had so far turned out more like a social club than an actual book study club, but Edie was okay with that—she had plenty of books and studying in her classes), Edie met Leila in the orchard by the environmentalist co-op. They were no longer doing any magic to help the trees. Leila said it wouldn't help much now that they were not being magically attacked, and in fact it might hurt them by making them dependent on magic. Edie had asked whether Leila wouldn't always be around to help them, and Leila had avoided the question, saying it was best for the trees to grow as strong and healthy as they could on their own. That was okay, really. Edie didn't like to think about what would happen when she graduated and had to leave Chatoyant College—whether Leila would stay behind or what would happen, really.

Instead, they spent a few evenings a week (whenever they weren't with Leila's friends, or on the occasions when Edie stayed in with her own friends) working in the orchard, feeding the soil and checking the leaves. Leila said there would be a lot more to do in the spring, but for now, with the trees getting ready for winter, they could at least bolster them to survive. She always looked sad when she said that.

Edie had never much liked working with dirt, despite her father's attempts to get her involved in his gardening efforts, but she found she didn't mind getting her hands dirty with Leila around. For one thing, it wasn't as gross as she'd always expected, and she didn't encounter any worms; for another, she loved the way Leila's eyes sparkled when they both laughed at Edith's muddy hands and jeans.

Today, though, she was relieved to not have to do any digging in dirt. Instead, they inspected the bark of all the trees to see if it was intact. A few trees had scratches in their bark, which Leila said were most likely from squirrels. They wrapped pieces of cloth around those and tied them in place with string so that the squirrels couldn't scratch the bark any more.

After they were finished, as usual, they sat down with their backs against the biggest tree, relaxing. Edith shivered suddenly as they sat. The thin grass and dirt were cold against her backside. "It's getting chilly," she complained. "We might have to move this inside soon."

Leila regarded her with surprise. "The trees are outside. Though it's true that before long they will have gone into their winter sleep and there will be nothing we can do until spring."

Edith laughed. "I didn't mean the trees, I meant relaxing afterwards. I don't mind the cold as much when I'm moving around doing stuff, but it's not very nice when I'm just sitting."

"Well, I am sure I can help with that." Leila put her arm out and around Edith's shoulders, pulling her close. Edith smiled and rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. Maybe this was what she'd wanted all along.

They sat in comfortable silence as the stars began to peek through the canopy of branches and scattered leaves; the sun had set some time ago, but the light took a long time to fade from the sky, and it was a little bit cloudy. Edith watched a star that seemed to brighten and fade, then remembered a train of thought she'd had earlier today. "Halloween is in a few days," she said, speaking softly so that their quiet wouldn't be overly disturbed.

"Halloween? Oh, yes, Samhain." Leila gave a small nod. Edith already knew the word from books, but it was interesting to hear Leila say it, as though it were perfectly natural.

"We had to explain it a little to Troy—the Djanaea. Apparently his friend Link didn't think it was important enough to tell him about, which I think is ridiculous."

Leila smiled—Edith couldn't see it, but she could feel the movement of Leila's cheek against the top of her head. "I agree. It's a lovely holiday that you humans have come up with."

"So it's not a holiday that faeries celebrate?"

"Not exactly."

Edie waited for Leila to elaborate, but she just lapsed into silence again. She shifted position, sitting up a little straighter without letting Leila's arm slide off her shoulder. "I thought it would be something faeries would like a lot—you know, with the disguises and all."

"Hmm. I suppose some do. But disguises are so... well, they're just not very interesting to me. My sister's court does hold a ball for the occasion, but they hold a lot of balls. And I'm sure you won't be interested in attending."

Edith smiled at the way Leila's hand tightened possessively on her shoulder. "Definitely not." She lifted her head and kissed Leila, and in that way they passed a most delightful evening.