She thought about telling him that she wasn't going to fall. But that would probably sound like bragging. Which was never a good way to start out a conversation or a friendship. So she gave him a smile and a nod instead, before crossing to the other side of the roof, overlooking the entrance to the orchard itself.

There was no ladder.

Instead, she tossed her legs over the side, holding onto the lip of the roof with her fingertips, before her toes managed to find the smallest of holds. After that, she practically oozed down the side of the building. So fast that it might have seemed like falling.

Except she never actually fell.

Climbing a building wasn't all that different from climbing a tree. If anything, you didn't have to be nearly as careful, because a building wasn't alive. You couldn't hurt it if you poked too hard with your nails.

She landed with a little bounce, turning around to face the stranger and offer him a tiny wave.