"Are you okay?" The little girl asked softly.
She pressed a small wet cloth against the back of Tyler's head while he leaned awkwardly against the side wall of her house. Her hands were careful, far steadier than her age suggested.
"Yeah… I just fell," Tyler replied, wincing slightly.
"Why?" Rose asked, tilting her head.
"Huh… I was trying to pluck a mango," he said without thinking.
Rose blinked at him.
"That's not even a mango tree," she said plainly. "I don't even know if mangoes still exist."
Tyler paused.
"Oh."
"And that tree doesn't even have leaves," she added.
He cleared his throat. "Well… my head hurts. I'm new here. I might've been confused."
Rose studied him with narrowed eyes, clearly unconvinced.
"Oh… Are you a breeder?" she asked suddenly.
"A what?" Tyler stared at her.
Before she could explain, voices echoed from the main street— boots, shouting, metallic clanking. The heli-carrier must have landed.
Rose stiffened.
