It was becoming obvious that the girl didn't mind speaking her thoughts as they cropped up so Helena decided to address them in order as they fell in step. "He is nice," she said with a smile. "I think it's not so much a grudge against Pegasus as it is that Cross hasn't spent any time with girls your age since he was your age." She flashed the willowy blond a smile. She might be young but she was already an inch or two taller than Helena. "We try not to hold that against him." She gave their new arrival a wink.
"The food shouldn't be too much of a problem but there are small animals. We call them pesks and they are sort of hard to see unless they're moving quickly. They're like something half way between a chameleon and a flying squirrel. They're very curious but they seem to go after shiney things like earings or glasses before they go after food. Funny, hmm?" She paused to help Meredith scramble over a boulder that jutted out. "Our food situation is sort of dire but everyone is working on it to find new things. So far we've discovered a berry called roseberries. The bushes they grow on smell just like roses, even though there are no blooms. So you'll recognize them by that. There's also mirkweed - actually, there's some right now. Let's pull these up so I can show you what I'm talking about." She waded carefully into the knee deep stream and bent to grasp the tough shoots near the base. Tugging a couple of times the thick purple tuber came up. "There, see? The roots are very starchy and taste almost like potato. Also, there is this moss." She picked up a pink of the fragrant citruscress and offered it to her. "It's very tangy but you should try to eat some every day. We think it has a high vitamin C content in it."