Ivy: "Excuse me — are you Zara? My name is Ivy, and I walked three days to find you. I want to learn everything you know about healing."
Zara: "I'm Zara. Three days is a long walk — sit down first, and tell me what actually brought you here."
Ivy: "My mother died when I was twelve because the healer came too late. I don't ever want to stand next to someone and not know what to do."
Zara: "That's not a reason I can argue with. I lost someone that way too."
Ivy: "Then you already know why I can't just go back home without learning."
Zara: "Then stay. But I'll warn you — learning takes longer than three days, and some of what I'll teach you will be hard to sit with."
Ivy: "I didn't walk three days expecting it to be easy. Hard is fine — I just need someone willing to teach me."
Zara: "Good. We start at dawn tomorrow — not with herbs, but with listening. Come find me by the garden before the light gets full."
Ivy: "I'll be there. And Zara — thank you for not asking me to explain myself twice."