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Tori followed after Hajime, the witch turning back every so often to make sure that she was still keeping up. “We’re just going to pick a few herbs today,” Hajime said. Tori hummed in agreement.
She never would have thought that she, the princess, would be assisting a witch in a forest but since Hajime had kindly taken her in when she was lost, Tori had to help in some way. It would take at least another week until she could leave.
This forest had magic imbued down to all the roots so it constantly changed. Until the forest organized itself back into the original pathways that Tori had taken, she should try not to be too much of a burden on Hajime.
Hajime insisted that Tori was a guest and didn’t need to help, but Tori didn’t like sitting around doing nothing while Hajime worked. So they were on another foraging trip in the forest, the both of them holding baskets in their hands.
The witch pointed to a plant on the ground, with multiple leaves shaped like ovals in varying sizes lined up next to each other. “This is purslane. It’s edible and tastes like a lemon.” She pulled it out and held it closer to Tori to examine. “Check the sap and make sure it’s clear.” Hajime demonstrated it, snapping off part of a stem. The end of it exuded the clear sap.
“There’s another plant, spurge, that looks a lot like it but it’s poisonous. That one has a milky white sap and the leaves are flatter.”
Tori nodded, noting it down in her head. She grabbed a similar plant from the ground and broke the stem, holding it to her eye. There was a bit of clear sap at the end. She placed the purslane in her basket.
The two of them continued in this manner with Hajime pointing out all of the edible plants and how to tell the difference between those and the poisonous lookalikes. Tori felt safe under Hajime’s guidance.
Once she left the forest and went back home, she could tell Yuzuru about everything she learned. That excitement dropped when she thought back to Hajime, who had been nothing but kind to her. She didn’t want to stop seeing her new friend– and crush but Tori didn’t want to rush their relationship. As they walked back to Hajime’s cottage, Tori thought about how to bring this up with her. She hoped that the witch felt the same as her.