Truthfully, if it were not for Nana Mama, T.J. would never lock his doors to his home or the greenhouse. He was already taken advantage of to his face, so it was a wonder that he had yet to be robbed. He didn't know how to live his life without trusting other people wholly. He just couldn't. But he supposed the donkey had a point when she scolded him for leaving the door open. 'If that's the only legal way you two boys are making any money, don't you think that you ought to protect the plants inside? Whoever decides to rob you blind won't be as courteous to them as you are.' He loved his familiar, even though he thought she was a little paranoid at times, but rather than force her to nag at him all afternoon, he locked the door behind him with no complaint. Which might have also been because he was a little too preoccupied at the time. Since breakfast that morning, T.J.'s thoughts had been with Toby and their house guest for the next... well, he wasn't sure how long Emyli was going to be staying with them. Nor did he mind. He was troubled only by how worried his best friend was. It was clear to the earth elemental that Toby cared for Emyli deeply, more than he was willing to admit even to himself, and seeing her hurt had scared Toby more than he could say it seemed.
He wanted to spend some time with Toby, really give the squirrel an afternoon to distract him from his worries. He had an idea that could only be considered brilliant; he was sure they had some kind of chocolate fondue machine in the kitchen somewhere, and he would grow all of Toby's favorite fruits just so they could chill out and dip it in the chocolate and stuff their faces. Of course, Emyli was more than welcome to attend if she felt up to it. T.J. just thought it would be a nice gesture for his friend and so he was elbow deep in the soil behind the house working his mojo on some strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and pineapples. His clothes were soiled from his time in the dirt... not just this day but the day before too. He was so busy thinking of how pleased Toby was going to be that he was surprised when Nana Mama's voice sounded in his head again. 'Just so you know, boy, someone just broke into the greenhouse. You'd better get in the house and call the cops right away.'
T.J. wouldn't call himself a brave man necessarily. In fact, when he met his familiar it was all he could do not to be terrified, but he legitimately couldn't understand why someone would break into the greenhouse unless they needed something from inside. And who better to give them a hand than him? Besides, that way he could keep track of what was taken and he could work to replenish their stock if need be. Ignoring Nana Mama's insistence that he was a damned fool and if she wasn't locked behind the fence she'd run over and bite him on the rear, he walked carefully to the greenhouse. He was sure he heard her mentally calling Toby and demanding that he call the police because T.J. was too stupid to do so, but still he walked on. He tested the door gingerly, finding that it was undamaged but certainly unlocked, which was not the state he had left it in to begin with, and entered the greenhouse. At first glance he didn't see anyone and nothing seemed to be missing. He was nearly convinced that Toby had fed Nana Mama some of the last batch he grew for them when he heard a soft clicking sound. Leaning, he found the source was a young woman sitting on the floor knitting. At least, that's what someone else would have seen. What T.J. saw made his jaw drop and his heart not only skip a beat, but trip over itself and fall flat on its face.
He didn't know her name or where she was from or even why she was there, but he was awestruck. It didn't even matter that she'd broken into his greenhouse.
"U-um, hi." His voice was soft and his words had this tendency to sound like he was trying to swallow them. He really didn't want to disturb her; she was quite possibly the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen.