"Neither," she said, giving the tree a final, loving pat. "It's a kind of complicated story but...the trees were a gift. From the divine powers of Deerington. Has anyone told you about Deerington? The place where a lot of us were...before."

That was the best way she could explain it. Ariadne had never been able to parse out much of the magical goings-on in the place. She'd left that to people who were much smarter and much more experienced. Survival had been first on her mind. The survival of her friends first and foremost. Herself a distant second.

"I was gifted with the orchard," she continued. "It was on the roof of a building that was over seven stories high!"

In her defense, that was really very high for Valerian standards.

"When I arrived here, I found the trees just waiting for me."