"Yeah, that's totally how most people describe me. Intensely poetic," she says with a rueful little grin. "I mean, the piercings are just because I thought they were pretty, so it's not like I'm not a little vain, too."

Despite the light response, she's warmed by Herian's reaction all the same. It feels like much of her days in Kirkwall are devoted to practical considerations, putting out fires and trying to solve problems that have increasingly become more urgent. It's unexpectedly refreshing, talking about nature and art with Herian and listening to the water nearby.