By this point in the morning, Susan has returned her bow and quiver to her rooms and is out again, this time in search of three things: a sense of how the orchards are coming to fruit, and when she might need to arrange time to preserve their splendor; clarification on whether the grasshoppers she spotted yesterday are a new species or whether a familiar one has simply migrated; and some flowers for her rooms.

She's just easing a grasshopper specimen into a well-ventilated jar when she spots the newcomer and rises slowly from her crouch. "Good morning."