Indigo raced towards Iolaire’s cottage, his heart was broken and tears streamed over his cheeks. His violet form bumbled along through the plains until he reached his aunt’s home. He was obviously distressed, more so than he had been throughout his short life. His garden, his wonderful garden, was dead. His plants were losing their leaves and the flowers were dying. Indigo was sure that he would never be able to have a garden again, he’d just killed everything. His aunt would never trust him with another plant again. 

Ashamed, guilty, and sadder than he’d ever felt he slowed as he approached Io’s den. Head hanging low and his tail limp at his back legs he called out sorrowfully to the Armada healer. He sniffledd, hardly glancing up to the entrance of the cottage. 

The cry of Indigo had Iolaire on her feet instantly, heart thudding in her chest. What happened now? It was always something with these kids. Jumping off of a cliff, fighting one another, porcupine quills in the nose... Exiting the cottage where she had been working on her braiding, Iolaire looked down upon the sullen looking form of her nephew. "What's wrong, Indy? Are you okay? Where are you hurt?" She instantly began to look him over for injuries and wounds of some sort. What else could make him cry so? Though she gave him a quick visual inspection, she didn't see any wounds, which was a relief.

With one paw, she scooped the purple boy in against her chest and held him close. "Indigo... what's wrong, love?" Placing her cheek atop his head between his ears, she waited for an explanation. As she waited, she mused over just how big he and his male siblings were. Already he was almost her size. He was going to be huge just like his father.

Maybe Indy came to his aunt a couple too many times crying or upset, and this likely wouldn’t be the last. He was an emotional young boy, and he felt safe showing those emotions to his aunty. Io was quick to meet him at the door as he cried out, he should have used his words but they were so hard. There was so much emotion swelling up inside his throat he couldn’t speak. ”My heart.” He squeaked as tears dripped heavily from his sapphire blue eyes.

Iolaire pulled him close to her chest and offer him her physical comfort as he sniffled softly. He cried into her fur as she asked what was wrong, and he tried to catch his breath as he hiccupped pitifully. ”My garden…” Indy’s voice barely worked as he choked out the words. ”My garden is dying. He sobbed heavily, certain he was a total failure. His poor innocent plants, he’d only wanted to take care of them and now they were dying because of him.

Indigo said that his heart hurt, then went on to explain why. Io was relieved that it was nothing serious, but her own heart hurt at his words. He didn't understand the life cycle of plants yet. Pulling him close as he cried into her fur, the little woman hushed him and kissed the top of his head. "Oh, my sweet boy..." Gods did she love this child. To her, he was perfect in every way. His total and complete heartbreak over the falling of leaves just hammered that fact home.

Holding the purple child back at arms length, the woman looked into his bright blue eyes. "Come with me. Let me show you something." With a smile and a pat, she motioned for Indy to follow. She took him out into her own garden. There, many plants were already crumbling beneath the chill of autumn. "Some plants have to be replanted every year. These are called Annual plants. Perennials come back every year." She took him to the place where her Hibiscus plants should have been. They were gone. In their place were several empty holes. "We have hardy hibiscus plants. They will live through the winter, we just have to bring them inside."

Other plants in the garden were clipped short, their leaves and branches missing. "Some of them have a tough time in the winter. So, before the big frosts start coming, we'll wrap them in hides and protect them from the snow." Turning to the child, she nuzzled between his ears. "So there's no reason to cry. Plants live and die. Some live again. That's just the way of things. Some die, get absorbed into the soil, then help the next generation of plants grow." She offered him a smile. "No reason to be sad, darling. We'll get your garden squared away just like mine."

At least he wasn’t short on comfort in those difficult few moments. Io pulled him closer and kissed him on the head as she reassured him with her words and her affection. He could feel her love and he returned it as he squeezed his arms tighter around her. He sniffled heavily as she pulled away and told him he needed to see something. He sniffled again and wiped his nose on his fur before following Iolaire to the garden.

His jaw dropped in shock when he saw the state of her garden. It seemed like yesterday he had been relaxing under the shade tree or harvesting some mint with his aunt. This was nothing like he expected, but his tears dried up quickly as his teacher explained the life cycle of plants. Nothing was wrong, he hadn’t killed his precious plants.

Indy leaned into her touch as she nuzzled between his ears and promised that the would get his garden in shape. He felt sure it would be even better next year. ”How do we get herbs in the winter then?” He asked softly, wondering if he’d missed his own answer.

The boy seemed surprised at seeing her garden in such a state of emptiness and death. That was simply the way of things though. The plants that could be pulled were slowly getting pulled. The plants that would last through the winter were getting wrapped in the plethora of skins that she had amassed. It would protect them against the frost and snow. They would go into a dormant state until spring when she would unwrap them again.

Indigo questioned her about where they got their herbs from during the winter and Iolaire laughed aloud. "Come on..." She motioned for him to follow her back into the cottage. Once inside, she took him into a side chamber. Lining the ceiling were long, thing willow branches. Hanging from them were various herbs that were in different states of drying. "Once they dry, they get put into different containers. We use these during the winter since we won't have fresh. Some herbs are more potent when dried as well." Back in the main chamber, she pointed to the plethora of containers lining the wall. "Most of these are dried herbs. Others are salves. Everything is ready for winter. Then we'll have all spring and summer to harvest for the following winter." She grinned at the boy, hoping that he was absorbing it all.