"Who is this..." Eucali looked at her. "Are you the equine therapist?"
"Yes." Tie Xi looked at Eucali's red hair, then suddenly switched to District 14 language. "Hesta?"
"...Yes. Did you come from District 14 too?"
"I lived in Liangtouwang throughout my childhood," Tie Xi said. "When I was nine, my aunt's job transferred her to District 3, so I went with her."
Hesta suddenly realized something. "Then you can speak your native language together! Wouldn't that make it easier to express yourselves—"
"The client decides what language to use during treatment," Tie Xi interrupted before Hesta could finish. "We can discuss that when we have our first session, so... we'll talk about it then."
Tie Xi pulled her legs out from under the stool.
"Where's Stella?"
"At the studio," Hesta replied flatly. "It's not far from here. Look east from the blacksmith's cottage and you'll see their house."
"Great!" Tie Xi clapped her hands. "Thank you, I'll go find her."
"As for the therapy—"
"I'll be going into the city this afternoon, so there's no rush," Tie Xi said. "Even if everything goes smoothly, we can't start for another two weeks at the earliest. I understand that you're anxious, but things have their own pace. Let's be patient and move forward steadily, all right?"
Lairin vaguely sensed some anger from Hesta, though she did not understand where it came from. Tie Xi had indeed rejected Hesta's suggestion, but she had only stated the facts as they stood... Before things could worsen, Lairin stepped forward and patted Tie Xi on the shoulder. "You're going to the journalist's studio, right? I'll take you there."
"Thank you so much!" Tie Xi looked pleasantly surprised. "I won't make you miss your meal, will I?"
"It's very close. The round trip won't even take