if I could save time in a bottle

The trees were odd, unfamiliar silhouettes. He hasn't seen a tree that grew in such a configuration. As he drew closer, the bark was gnarled and warped in an incredibly fascinating pattern. The dried streaks of dark resin smelled pungent even after baking in the arid sun for the day.

Careful digits scrabbled and scraped at the bark, sending a cascade of flakes to the sandy ground below. A low rumble of intrigue burbled in his throat. And so he quickly sloughed his satchel from his shoulder and began to rummage about within it. One of the clay pots ought to be perfect.

Cranberry the cardinal was always happy to assist in the odd endeavours of his canine companion, and alighted on the trunk of the tree. Little claws grasping at the crevices in the bark, thick beak happily pecking at the tree to release fresh sap.

Together the two companions worked quietly at the strange tree, collecting the thick and sharply perfumed sap for future endeavours.