Tokiwae

Tokiwae is the only scholar in The Great Panda City who believes that tasting bamboo is a valid research method. This did not endear them to the gruff Panda Council warden they were assigned to accompany on a search for a rare medicinal herb. For days, Tokiwae consulted scrolls while their partner navigated by instinct, the two operating in separate worlds. But when a patch of shimmering flora released a disorienting pollen, it was Tokiwae’s bookish knowledge of a nearby antidote root that saved them. Their partner, in turn, cleared a path through jagged ice with brute strength. They returned with the herb and a new understanding. One brings the ancient maps, the other provides the steady footing.