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Hearing the water was a strange occurrence made Estelle briefly wonder if she'd neglected her education that much. She'd always lived by the sea, yet never wondered how far the freshwater sources had been. Now that Karina has mentioned it, she isn't sure any of previous ones had been as close as this pond is to the shore.

Quiet excitement was a perfect way to phrase it, Estelle thought. Though the feeling of terrible, new and beautiful was also a little too fitting in an almost uncomfortable way. Estelle quietly chuckles, realizing that any new place was bound to have those elements. Perhaps not quite like Land's End seemed to so far. Still, such elements likely piqued many people's curiosity, pushing on their need for adventure.

Maybe that's why this place is so empty... Estelle thinks of all the adventures that likely landed here, or how many would have begun from this very place. It fit her image of the space, like how no one would end their adventure here despite the paradise that lay before her.

Taking a deep breath, Estelle relaxes into the grass. Laying down felt like the thing to do here, and with an arm as a pillow it was perfect. The soft whisper of a breeze seemed to play around, though Estelle couldn't be sure she actually felt a breeze. Despite being damp, it was like the movement of the canopy spoke of wind that wasn't actually hitting her skin.

Looking to the side, she looks more closely at Karina's bouquet. "Do all of those flowers have names?"

Estelle's curiosity seemed to build up the longer she was here. Something about this place seemed to ask her to find the answers she's looking for. Even if that meant reading in a library. Perhaps she'd get the chance to learn about flowers, too.

Flowers have meanings?!

Estelle's initial shock at hearing it subsides quickly as Karina begins to explain the flowers, wholly capturing Estelle's full attention. She's so absorbed in such an educative explanation that she's not entirely aware of having sat up to listen closer. Hopefully, she won't drip on Karina's dry clothes.

"So it's a lot of positive meanings in a single bouquet," she thinks out loud. "Does the bouquet itself have its own meaning now that all the flowers are together? Or is it each flower brings its own meaning for an overall theme?"

Estelle's curiosity doesn't end there, but she refrains from asking who Queen Anne could have been. She also wonders what a cherry pie smelled like, or even was, but she'll have to ask the fridge for some to sate that curiosity later. For now, flowers were the focal point.

"Also, do a lot of vines and plants have their own meanings in a bouquet, even if their flowers aren't part of it?"

Right now, Estelle's questions are nearly rambling as the girl practically vibrates with excitement. Who knew learning could be fun? Estelle certainly hadn't experienced this before. She wasn't sure if the topic was novel and interesting or if it had to do with the person teaching it to her. Whatever the case, she was truly enjoying Karina's explanations.

"It sounds like a lot of complicated messages can be sent with flowers and bouquets," Estelle observes. "Though, would the receiver understand it is a whole other question."

She lets out an unpracticed laugh, realizing too late she was laughing at her own joke. Quickly quieting herself, she decides to settle on another observation. A kinder one.

Taking a much-needed breath, she decides to stare at the bouquet, suddenly appreciating its meaning that much more. "You're very good at teaching people things, huh," she states with what little self-control she had. "You explained the flowers quiet well even to a dunce like me."

The self-deprecation had come out of nowhere. Estelle could feel her face tighten, threatening to turn crimson out of sheer embarrassment. A bright spot of color catches her attention out of the corner of her eye. A bright red flowering plant opposite the pond from where they sat, one she definitely did not recognize one bit.

Hurriedly pointing to the plant, she rushes out a, "Like, what does that flower mean?"

She may hope to buy herself a moment to fight the blush, but she knows it's nearly impossible. It's only the two of them in this garden, not counting the pixies. And Karina was no dunce, after all.

Estelle's thoughts travel to an interesting time, dominated by flower language. She pictures gardens everywhere, probably with as much variety as the garden she's in now. The image of people spending their days cultivating gardens just to communicate struck her as a fanciful thought rather than the absurdity it would truly be to implement. Writing would be more favorable than cutting plants regularly, after all, but that didn't seem to occur to her.

Estelle notices Karina looking at the flower she'd pointed out, but without the expected explanation following it. Instead, Karina's words stab at Estelle's heart. She'd never been interested in anything taught in school, and the most patient teacher she'd had was the one that didn't use a classroom object to bang around when students fell out of line. She suddenly feels bad at having compared Karina to those who had taught her previously, as those were not fond memories.

The words of subjective meaning gave Estelle a brief pause in her racing thoughts and memories. A pause just long enough that Karina's compliment briefly short-circuited her brain. That's what it was, right? A compliment? Estelle couldn't really be sure, and she also had no idea how to respond. She simply sat there, with wide eyes like a deer stuck in headlights, the blush still obvious on her face.

Hearing Karina's soft tone explaining the flower she'd picked out at random, Estelle manages to calm her reaction. Her blush of embarrassment wasn't entirely gone, but she could at least meet the musician's eyes. Watching Karina stand next to the water, the sun catching in her hair, Estelle finds herself wishing she could draw, if only to capture such beauty forever.

As she takes another second to ground her feelings, Estelle hugs here knees tight before tucking them under herself. Her curiosity at something Karina had said bubbled to the surface of all her complicated emotions. She finally asks, "Why was the flower reclassified?"

It seems odd to her that a flower had been renamed without having changed. She supposes someone smarter than her had a good reason, and was wondering what the reason would have been. Karina seemed the expert to ask. After all, she was the one who knew about a recent reclassification, right?

"Botanists?" The question doesn't quite register to Estelle until after it left her lips. She presses her mouth closed, reminding herself to listen without interrupting. She hoped it had been quiet enough not to have been heard since the waterfall was a bit loud.

Focusing intently on Karina's explanation felt like the right thing to do. Though, she had a moment to wonder if she was listening too intently, as even after Karina ended her thorough details, Estelle was still thinking about them. Standing up to join her by the pond, Estelle is still a little lost in thought, staring at the waterfall. When she finally has her thoughts, she turns to Karina.

"So, people who study plants are always learning new things about them," she clarifies for herself out loud, "and sometimes that means a plant - or flower, in this case - gets recassified with a new name. Is that right?"

She hopes to prove her understanding of what Karina was so delicate in explaining to her. Then she had a moment of doubt. Was it a "recassification" or "reclassification"? It hasn't even been long since the term got thrown at her, either. Suddenly, Estelle is finding her toes rather interesting as she sinks them into the soft ground with a bit of pressure, mentally chiding herself for a potential blunder.

This is why none of my teachers ever liked me, she reminds herself loudly within her own thoughts.

Reclassification. Drat, I said it wrong.

Estelle barely has the chance to talk down to herself when Karina's praise stops her thoughts short once again. Two compliments in one day? Estelle isn't sure she can stand to hear any more, simply because she doesn't know what to say or how to react to them. Then again, it feels nice to be complimented.

As Karina picks up her bouquet again, Estelle briefly wonders how soon it would have to be placed in the library for it to last. She wished it would last a long time, the woven stems looking like artwork that should not be at all carelessly allowed to wilt.

Estelle dares peek at Karina as she explains botanists and all the things they do. It sounded like the kind of field only a really smart, wise person would be able to study. Suddenly, Estelle feels lucky, and a bit proud, that Karina is willing to share her knowledge so freely. Especially since it seems there are new things being discovered constantly.

"I suppose there's always more to learn about the world around us," Estelle observes, her gaze once again on the waterfall. She's glad her nervous, embarrassed blush feels gone.

Taking what feels like the final deep breath of fresh air by the pond, at least for the day, Estelle shakes her shoulders. It's just enough to remind herself she still exists as a person, and is living and breathing. It was one of those things that had simply become habit over the years.

"Should we hurry and get the flowers to the library?"

Hearing Karina say they didn't need to hurry somehow reassured Estelle. She wasn't sure of what, or if she'd been worried about anything in particular, but the reassurance felt nice. As Karina casually and slowly makes her way back, Estelle realizes she has time to grab her things.

Picking up her socks, she is shocked at how dry they are to the touch. Her pack is a different story, however, and she dreads going through any papers she has in there. Drying out her spare clothes and her notebook would probably take a long time.

Sighing to herself, she decides to just put the pack on for now. She'd deal with drying everything later. As she is adjusting the strap around her hips, she notices Karina take a graceful bow at the edge of the garden. Estelle stopped putting her pack on just long enough to see it, but felt embarrassed for whatever reason and looked away quickly.

In order to put her pack back on, she'd stuffed her socks in her opposite pocket. The socks would be newly damp, but Estelle doesn't really mind. She has already decided to walk back barefoot.

Approaching her boots, something about Karina having bowed here tugs at her mind. She decides that paying her own respects with a bow of her own wouldn't hurt anyone. She does feel grateful to the garden, after all.

"Thank you..." She trails off, uncertain of what exactly she is thankful for.

"Thank you for being here, tending to this lovely garden," she says with her head down in a simple bow, hearing the smile in her voice for the first time. For whatever reason, she feels the need to add a quiet sort of prayer as well. "May this garden be eternal."

Grabbing her boots, she half-walks half-jogs back to Karina's side. The woman's shambling pace has allowed her to catch up easily. Estelle briefly considers breaking the silence, but decides that walking comfortably and quietly would probably be best. Besides, she doesn't know where exactly the library is just yet.