— to spit the sand that had collected in her mouth between them. “My ears work out here just as well as they would in there.” She inclined her head towards the thick, sturdy door. “And where is this ‘interested group of people,’ hm?” The tiniest smirk. “Close by, I hope.”

While they were talking, the teen glanced around and noticed @unlikelysun.bsky.social approaching the gate and quickly straightened, then turned around to face the botanist, and essentially the leader of the settlement as far as she could gather. Or the one that was the wisest, at least. “Hi, -