More:
Rista wasn't expecting to take in a child on a permanent basis, and she's done the only things to raise her that she knew how -- teach her the craft and attempt to instill basic morals in her. She apprenticed to her predescessor in her teens, fleeing from a life that -- looking back -- probably wasn't as bad as she thought, but she's fairly content now. She knows the woods and the spirits therein almost as well as she knows the people of the surrounding townships.

Sample:
"What took so long?" She didn't look up from her work, checking the powdered plant matter for consistency. "For someone who didn't want to get wet, you certainly took your time."

The child flounced over to her table and deposited the sweetblossom without saying anything, then moved immediately to change into something dry. It was when she went for a cloth to clean up the mud and water she'd tracked in -- without being asked -- that Rista fixed her with a frown.

"Raine?"

"There was a man out there," she said, bending to scrub at the wood underfoot.

She arched an eyebrow. "A man? Did he do anything?"

"He just watched me."

The girl's hair had fallen across her face as she worked, but there was a distinct note of unease in her voice. Rista waited.

"He, um. He had antlers."

Rista's heart skipped. "Is he still there?"

"No ... he walked away right before I came back in." The girl brushed her hair back, turning her guardian a wary glance. "Do you know him?"

"In a way. You may have startled him."

Raine snorted. "HE," she said, "startled ME."

Rista laughed. "I imagine he did." She set her tools aside. There were very few reasons he would have come this close to a populated area, and none of them were particularly pleasant. "After you finish cleaning, grind up the sweetblossom and finish the poultice. I may not have time when I get back."

"Are you going after him?" The girl straightened where she was kneeling, cloth clenched in one hand. "Are you coming back?"

She got to her feet. "Of course I'm coming back." She strode briskly to the girl, pausing to rest a hand on her head. "He just wants to talk to me."

"Okay ..."

Rista smiled. "Have faith. The spirits of the forest have no desire to harm us."

Her expression became momentarily blank. "Oh."

She chuckled, then hurried into the room they shared for her cloak, heavier boots and a small lantern. He was likely to be waiting a small journey into the wood, if she recalled the clearing he favored. It would have to be during the spring rains, wouldn't it?

Raine was still scrubbing when she reentered the room. "Don't forget the poultices," she said, not waiting for a reply before slipping out the door.