The sun was high in the sky and Linea was glad she'd worn a hat, though she could still feel the skin on her nose starting to crisp a little. But the carrot patch needed to be weeded, the tomatoes needed to be pruned and she wanted to cut some rosemary so it could start drying in the same sun that was making her a little uncomfortable.

"Oh well, I'll have to get some stronger sun cream. You'll just have to deal with it for now, nose."

She tried to look at her nose while she talked to it, and realised how silly this would look to an observer. Never mind, maybe the plants got a laugh out of it. Giggling a little, she stretched her back, knelt back down and continued to carefully pluck the weeds from between the rows of bushy little carrot plants. "The chickens are going to enjoy munching these" - into the chicken basket they went.

Despite the slight sting of her nose and the dirt on her knees, Linea finished filling her chicken basket and returned to her feet. She stretched up toward the sun, arms and legs extended to their full length. "You aren't great for skin, Mr. Sun, but you've done a great job feeding the plants for me." She picked up the basket and tucked the handle into her elbow. The chicken coop was just on the other side of the orchard, a pleasant walk that should help her knees recover from all the kneeling she'd done.

And boy were the chickens happy to see her. At least, she told herself they were happy to see her, and not the basket of goodies they'd been conditioned to look for. "You cheeky buggers," she muttered fondly as she unlatched the coop door and stepped inside. The feathered footballs immediately gathered around her feet, pecking at her boots and tugging at her pant legs. "You'd think I didn't feed you all less than two hours ago!"

Her chastisement was only for show, however. She reached into the basket and pulled out a small handful of soft weed sprouts, which she scattered on the ground in front of her. The chickens went crazy, their little beaks stabbing the dirt as they scuffled to get more greenery than the others. Being here with her flock brought Linea a simple peace, which she allowed to wash over her as the emptied the basket little by little into the eager beaks. When the basket was empty, she held it upside down in some hope that they'd understand she had nothing left to feed them.

Not that it ever worked. Yet she did it anyway, just like every other time she brought treats for her little feathered raptors.