The mild afternoon sun danced across the treetops, as clouds flitted by in the cool spring breeze. Lunette, Nebula, and Sam continued down the stone road as they passed by an elegant red pavilion in the middle of a large garden. Behind them, lush bamboo tops that peaked from beyond a charming wooden bridge waved at them in the wind, as if in farewell. The trio followed the branching road into the garden, and stopped at the pavilion, where they put down their loads. Lunette grabbed a soft blanket and pillow from her space bracelet and set it down on the stone table in the pavilion. She gently placed Gaia and Skye on the pillow, and wrapped them up comfortably in the blanket. She then took out 3 more large woven baskets with handles, and passed one each to Nebula and Sam.
"I'll go get some vegetables. You two go to the greenhouse and pick some fruit," said Lunette. She paused for a few seconds before she added, "only the ripe ones, or Melinda will throw a tantrum again."
Sam and Nebula both chuckled. Nebula kissed Gaia and Skye on their heads, and took Sam with her back toward the main road.
"See you later," Nebula said as she waved to Lunette and the cubs.
Across from the garden are two giant greenhouses. They cross over the main road and took another branching road toward the greenhouses with their empty baskets. The greenhouse on the left with peonies carved on the door was for nurturing flowers and exotic plants. The one on the right with two trees carved into its double doors was for out of season fruits and veggies. Both greenhouses also contained nurseries for their respective plants.
Nebula and Sam entered the double doors carved with trees, and greeted the wood spirits working in the greenhouse.
"Here to take more of my fruit?" crankily greeted a graceful lady in a light green dress, with wavy brown hair down to her knees. She walked over to the two adult pandas at the entrance of the greenhouse. The lady had a mature, yet delicate face with no signs of aging, and long pointed ears that were characteristic of the Elven race. She wore an intricate crown woven with petite flowers and vines on her head. Her beauty was disturbed by a light frown on her lips.
"Good afternoon, Melinda," Sam chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with one of his paws.
"Meli!" Nebula squealed before she put down her basket and pounced over to the elegant lady for a hug.
"Hello, dear Nebula," Melinda replied, while reciprocating her hug and rubbing her hands over her furry back. "You are as fluffy as ever."
"Ahem…. Ahem…. When will you get rid of your poor habit of manhandling my wife?" Sam asked irritably with twitching lips.
"My favorite panda loves me. Don't be jealous," replied Melinda with a roll of her eyes.
Melinda's assistants giggled at their interactions on the side, while diligently taking care of the plants in the greenhouse. There were two wood spirits and one male elf working in the vegetable section to the left of the entrance. In the distance, by the fruit trees, figures of two more elves and one more wood spirit could be seen intricately nursing their trees. All of the elves and wood spirits were very pleasantly attractive and seemed otherworldly as they went about their business.
Sam glared at Melinda, and grabbed Nebula's basket before walking over to the two ladies who were still cuddling together. He grabbed Nebula's paw with one arm and dragged her toward the fruit section, while Melinda let go and stuck her tongue out at him. Nebula giggled as she trailed after Sam. Upon reaching the fruit trees, they split up and went to gather different fruits.
Back in the pavilion, Lunette raised both her arms over the stone table where Gaia and Skye were sleeping to cast a barrier around them. She invoked the light elements with her spirit power to form a transparent dome over the cubs.
"That should be sufficient to keep the cubs from rolling off the table in their sleep," thought Lunette. She grabbed her basket and walked into the vegetable section of the garden. There were more than enough vegetables here to provide for their family every year. The rest of the sections in the garden were used to grow herbs.
Though there were limited vegetables to choose from in early spring, their vegetable garden was flourishing due to the care of the wood spirits and elves who tended them. Lunette picked the heads of lettuce that were mature and a lot of spinach. Then she walked over to the front of the garden where the asparagus and snow peas were growing.
"Hi Lunette," called a cheerful tinkling voice. A wood spirit with short green hair and pointed ears flew over to where Lunette was standing in front of the asparagus. The little spirit, which was only as tall as Lunette's knees, flapped her four translucent wings quickly as she twirled in the air. Her pink tunic fluttered around her. Her sleeves were rolled back to her elbows, and the white pants under her tunic were rolled up to her knees. The little sandals on her feet were covered in mud.
"Sue," Lunette greeted with a smile. "How's the garden?"
"Great! All the seeds have sprouted, and everything is growing well. We'll have many, many veggies to eat soon!" Sue exclaimed in excitement. "Are you here to get some asparagus?"
"Yes. Roasted asparagus for dinner tonight," Lunette said, as she bent down to harvest the asparagus.
"Yummy! Let me help," Sue volunteered.
The two ladies made quick work, and soon harvested enough asparagus for dinner. They strolled back to the pavilion, with Lunette's basket full of spinach, lettuce, and asparagus.
"Do you need anything else?" asked Sue.
"Can you help me bring back some tomatoes and cucumbers from the greenhouse when you are heading home?" Lunette requested. She forgot to ask Sam and Nebula to get those when they went to pick fruit.
"Yes, yes! Those are definitely yummy!" Sue replied as she danced in the air in excitement. "I can't wait for the tomatoes and cucumbers in this garden to ripen as well."
Lunette chuckled in amusement and sat down on a stone bench near the table, as she listen to Sue talk about her plans for the garden. Soon Nebula and Sam rejoined them at the pavilion with baskets loaded to the brim with fruit. Nebula has mangoes and oranges in her basket, while Sam filled his basket with apples, pears, and kumquats.
"I'm surprised Melinda let you leave the greenhouse in one piece with that many fruits," Lunette said as she watched them put their brimming baskets on the floor of the pavilion.
"This is nothing compared to her manhandling my wife," grumpily replied Sam.
Nebula stuck out her tongue, and said with a smile, "we snuck out the side door."
Both Sue and Lunette shared a glance and laughed. Melinda was like the mother figure of their adopted family, and was known to be very defensive about the produce that comes out of her garden. She was excellent at growing anything, and she only had a soft spot for Lunette and Nebula. Anyone else who wanted to take something from her gardens and greenhouses had to pay a big price.
After a brief break, Sam, Nebula, and Lunette prepared to head home. Sue went back to watering her plants, and waved while exclaiming, "I can't wait for dinner!"