Private Always on my mind

The person who had contacted Salal was among the first people to contact her about her ad. Salal had already done few jobs that helped her get her current residence, but that was it. So, every new job was exciting and every time Salal was intrigued to see and meet the people who had hired her. This island was full of fascinating, amazing people and Salal hoped to make friends with many of them. She enjoyed nothing more than good conversation and meaningful bonds. Although maybe she shouldn't put so many expectations on people who just wanted her to trim their bush fences. But Salal was ever so social and ever so hopeful.

Salal, looking at the map on her phone, arrived to the right address and looked at the residence. It was a pretty small house, a bit bigger than her own cabin. How big could a garden of a house this small be? Perhaps the owner enjoyed nature but was too busy to take care of the area themselves. Well, Salal would find out soon enough.

Salal walked up to the door, which was much shorter than she herself was at her 10ft, and knocked carefully. She already had a gentle smile on her face.

The door opened and a hooded figure stood before Salal. Salal was momentarily taken aback by both how the person looked and smelled, but when she heard their, his?, voice Salal relaxed. Their voice was...non-threatening, and Salal kept smiling as she nodded.
"Yes, I call myself Salal."
Salal confirmed, and went ahead and entered the house when the person, Selkiris as he had said in the phone, invited her in. Salal had to bow his head down a bit so she didn't bump it. The inside was a bit narrow for Salal and she was very careful so she didn't hit any of the peculiar and interesting objects littered all over. Salal took it all in with curiosity and almost missed Selkiris' question.
"Tea is tasty, you are good to offer. Thank you."
Salal said with a joyful smile. Her eyes happened upon a window, that was facing the backyard and the garden Salal assumed she was supposed to tend to.
"Your garden is lovely. It has a lot if life, I will be glad to help it."
Salal commented while looking out at said garden. She had a bag full of her tools, which Salal now carefully placed on the floor as she waited for Selkiris to prepare the tea. Now that Salal thought about, maybe she could assist Selkiris somehow. After all, she was a guest.
"Can I help you?"

Since Selkiris really seemed to be fine without any help Salal nodded. She moved over to the table but didn't sit down, fearful that she might accidentally damage the furniture with her weight and size.
Salal thanked Selkiris quietly as he poured the tea and carefully picked up the cup, careful of her claws. Salal sipped her tea and also gazed out into the garden, the views was nice from the kitchen.

"Life is busy, it is not your fault. You are good to have kept it well, now I am here to help. That is my purpose, I am here to keep your part of nature healthy and well."
Salal smiled and sipped her tea, it was quite delicious.
"Your tea is very nice, I like it. What is the taste?"

Salal was very curious as to why she couldn't see Selkiris' face, she knew hoods weren't supposed to be quite as concealing as the one Selkiris was wearing. But asking that was unnecessary, Salal could live without the knowledge and she didn't know whether or not the man wanted to talk about it. So she let it be and continued on with the conversation.

"No need for thanks, I enjoy what I do. Seeing you and garden happy will be good thanks."
Salal smiled gently, she was taking a pay from this job but her teacher had told Salal that she was demanding too little. Salal thought she was demanding just enough. The money was enough to pay her rent and food and that was more than enough for Salal. The true reward was being able to help both the gardens and the people.

"I can not read well yet, would not know the plant name. But if you let me sniff I know and can find."
Salal pointed at her nose and chuckled. Her nose was quite keen and just one whiff of a scent was enough for Salal to remember it quite well.

Salal took the bowl from and brought it closer to her nose. Not too close, though, because that was unhygienic and Selkiris wouldn't want to use tea that had been close to someone else's nose. Salal sniffed carefully, and although the herbs were mixed she was able to pick out separate scents. She recognized most of them, so she was confident that she'd be able to recreate the blend if she wanted to.
"I know this, I will make good tea. Thank you."

Selkiris asked about Salal's hours and Salal considered for a moment. She didn't have a calendar or anything that she could write her hours down, since Salal couldn't read or write properly yet, but she had great memory and could give Selkiris an answer after just few moments.
"I take weekends off, and I work on other gardens Monday and Thursday. Any other day free, probably need an hour or two every visit for taking care of garden."