Re: The Unexpected Dangers of Hunting [Menel & Nocme]

[Nocme]

“Same fore me all the time, always the same set for each person that’s how she likes it. Um... Mine is generally Yew wood, cherry and cinnamon... I think...” admittedly she is not as obsessed with scent as her friend and she do have to sniff her own wrist to remind herself what was in there. “Though she doesn’t always have all of the parts of the same set, she say it depends on the season and whether she could find one that can be reduced to a scent. So sometime she would leave indicator that is just pure yew or cinnamon, or any combination of what’s in this one.” She lightly tap the pouch, this is the only one that is the whole set and one she treasured the most.

Even though that pouch has been with her ever since the day of departure for Valias, it is in perfect condition. Nocme take extreme good care of it and made sure nothing would ruin or degrade the scent for as long as possible. The only sign of wear and tear was the way the twine is always looking like it was on the verge of unravelling.

A little smile come up to Nocme’s face hearing that from the human. She remember her elder generally scoff at human hunter, that they would trample the land more than any other creature and they would often disregard all clues. Obviously she hasn’t been travelling enough. If she did, she would meet plenty of people, some may be like Menel. Wiser and kinder than the first impression – while still giving quite a good first impression.

“I know... I kept all clues as much as I can find... but... for years... I found no pouches, none at all. No trace of her in these woods. I guess I’m just too stubborn to give up.” Still her last hope is the two places she hasn’t yet searched, one is because its dangerous, another is because of sentimental reasons.

[Menel]

The swordsman felt that sense of warning again. These signs pointed to one conclusive worry.

If Nocme's friend had been leaving these pouches for some time, each with the same scents which she associated with a friend, and then suddenly they stopped, or there was no sign of them... That did not bode well. The swordsman tried to hide his concern, but he had never been terribly good at hiding how he felt. He could manage to suppress how he did feel, but he had never been good at hiding it.

Menel picked up his empty bowl, doing the same for Nocme's and Dace's as well. He gathered them together in a little pile so that he could wash them later. There was nothing now of the stew or the rabbit he had caught. Just empty dishes to be cleaned. "Much as I hate to say this... I worry that you might be looking in the wrong places for her. If it has been years since she has left something behind for you, since you've seen or heard from her..."

The swordsman shook his head softly. "Then something must have happened. I can't track by scent myself, but if you head to a city you can hire someone who can. I know a few people you could trust not to overcharge you or lead you wrong. Even doing that would be hard though considering how long it's been. Likely any trace of her scent on those pouches is long gone and they'd have to track by the scents she gave you which... will be everywhere."

He frowned. He really didn't want to suggest that she go looking for her friend in the slave markets. It wasn't the sort of place that he would ever suggest that someone go. "I have another idea I'll look into for you... If you could give me a physical description from the last time you saw her? Any distinguishing physical details or personality traits that someone would remember? And a way to contact you if I do find something... I don't think you'll want to follow me to all the places I'll be looking... And if you've been looking for her for years it might be a while before we find anything." The swordsman stood up. "You should send me anything you find too. I bet Dace could find me if he wanted to."

The swordsman flashed the xavar a smile and headed to the stream to wash the dishes.

[Nocme]

Nocme didn’t move hearing that explanation, it end up being Dace flew up and nudge the bowl out of her hand to pass it on to Menel. She just sat there staring into the fire, her hand clenched into a fist. After a long while she finally spoke up again, anger and frustration evident, “no, she is fine. Too stubborn to die and she cripple anyone she doesn’t like. Her parents are with her as well, they are both strong warriors she is going to be fine.”

She wasn’t quite sure who she was telling this to. Maybe it was for herself, maybe it was to rebuke the man. Either way she can’t deny the reasoning, the real danger these things happening to her friend. Still, she can’t help but hold on to the hope that she has just been a crappy tracker or that nature took those clues away before she finds them. Her friend is alright, she was sure.

Dace flew up and lands on her head, gently pecking her face trying to get her to lose the scary. It’s quite hard to stay moody when your friend is around to cheer you up. With a sigh she scratched the xavar’s belly, and balance him on top of her head as he flop on his back and enjoy the massage.

“I would search from Valias to Maquina for her, I would happily walk the whole Vida to see where she migrate to.” Not that she hasn’t already. Sometime contracts made her go to different continent for legitimate reasons and she would take the opportunity to search her friend out. Just not in slave market. Ceberas will never let herself land in there.

As for what she looks like, Nocme has to get up and Dace rolled off her head. He squawked in annoyance as he was enjoying the scratch, with a slight huff he flew off and land on Menel’s shoulder instead. Intending to sulk for the rest of the night there. She ignored it because in the end they would snuggle together in front of the fire or high above among the tree branch. It was just the way it is.

She went to her pack and dig around for a bit, before she pulled out an old diary, with yellow pages and worn leather cover. Opening it, anyone could see she was utterly serious and diligent in tracking. Scribbles, marks and numerous other leaves and small clues that she kept just in case they are what she thought it is. Even if they are disproven she tend to keep them just so she has something to compare against. With a quick flick of the pages she took out one folded piece of paper, and hand it to Menel.

“This is what her mother drew for us when we are young, she really is an artist,” she murmured softly while watching at that piece of paper. If he dare lose it she’ll cut off both his hands. On the paper is a charcoal drawing of the two young girls. Nocme is easily recognisable as she is the only elf there. While Ceberas just stood beside her with her black wolf ears and tail, her arm is also covered in dark fur and long claws can be seen coming out of the end.

Nocme sighed and put the glove back on, not before taking one last sniff at the scent her friend designed for her.
She missed her a lot.

[Menel]

He didn't blame her for disagreeing with him. In fact he didn't expect anything less. It was obvious that more than anything else Nocme wanted... needed to believe that the person she was searching for was alright, that nothing bad had happened to them. Menel wasn't going to argue, wasn't going to destroy that illusion for her. Which was why he would search those places for her. As much as he disliked the idea of going there, he would do it if it meant helping.

Dace landed on his shoulder and he stroked the xavar on the head as he washed the dishes clean. If only they knew with certainty what had happened to Nocme's friend. Though if she had known then it was likely Nocme would have already recovered her.

By the time Nocme had finished digging around in her pack Menel was done with the dishes and putting them away in his pack. She pulled a particular paper out and handed it to him. It turned out to be a picture, a sketch actually of what looked like a very young Nocme standing next to a wolfanthrope girl. She had a dark tail, and fur that traveled all the way up to her elbows down to clawed fingers. Dark ears rose from her hair and Menel handed the picture back to Nocme. It wasn't in color so he couldn't be certain but it was likely that the girl had black fur.

As young as she was though... finding her by that description would be a lot more difficult. "Anything that the picture doesn't show? I know I'm asking a lot of questions but it's like I said... Any small detail might be the important one."

[Nocme]

Nocme took the picture back and carefully tucked it in with her journal, packing it away safely in her rucksack.  She actually have to think for a moment on what other details she could include, completely forgotten how wary she was few hours ago. It’s hard to get Nocme to shut up once she started talking about a topic that interest her. “Her brand is on her back hip like most wolfanthropes of her clan. Always covered in dirt... and... Green eyes...” she murmured, it was the most distinctive feature for Ceberas. Her parents have yellow and blue eyes, a natural colour for any wolfanthropes. However green isn’t one of the natural colours, Nocme couldn’t help but smile remembering how sometime she was shy and frighten of passing strangers and would hide behind her and just stare, effectively creeping the others out.

“It’s just strangely vibrant and full of life its always the first thing anyone notice. Even when my parents met her they would be just drawn towards that shade of green its strange... and it stand out so much against the black. Kinda fun to scare people with actually,” It was even a common joke that Ceberas can sleep with eyes open, it just meant that the green was darker shade. When she wake up it would be bright green again.

And as much as she could see he is willing to go out of his way to help her search, there is just something that doesn’t sit well with her. “But no seriously if you are going on traveling to search for her, I want to be there.”

She wanted to see her for herself first. To be the first to rush ahead and crush her in a hug, because that’s what they would do to each other. It’s the first thing she wanted to do.

[Menel]

Green eyes and the location of her brand would in fact make it a lot easier to find the girl though he would have to be particularly careful as to who he told that bit of information to. The swordsman felt a little more secure in the idea that he might be able to find her now. Though he knew how much of a disadvantage he was at, trying to find her all these years later and not knowing what she really looked like. All those years could change a lot about how a person looked, and how they acted.

Especially if she had been... Menel tried to dismiss the thought. Just because it was the worst case scenario didn't mean that it had happened. He could hold out hope just as Nocme had.

Menel offered the woman a smile and a small shrug. "Are you going to follow me all the time?" His smile turned kinder and he leaned forward to touch her shoulder in a comforting way. "If you have been looking for her all this time, then you can be patient. I promise you that if I find any trace of her that I will contact you right away."

He let his hand fall. "Besides, I mentioned that I am a bodyguard right? The sort of work I do isn't very safe, and if looking for her takes me very far I'll have to take on a job or two to get there."

[Nocme]

His reason didn’t discourage Nocme much, in fact it made her laugh a little. “Pffft, like its any more dangerous than sneak into a rich old bags castle,” oops she revealed how she get by, but at least she hasn’t mentioned that she is also an assassin. Hopefully she never has to assassinate his body guarding target, which would not end well on so many levels.

She did however return his smile and patted his hand. Even Dace cawed aloud, pleased that his friend gain one social level, still has a long way to go but at least there is an improvement. He soon hopped off the swordsman’s shoulder and flew above disappearing into the night.

“Look like its bed time, he is going to check the perimeter,” it was a short check as well. Dace flew back down and landed in Nocme’s lap. He began to preen his feather before tucking himself into her body heat and poncho. She smiled and cradle her friend close. “Well goodnight, thanks for the meal,” she gets up and look around the camp site, seeking a good branch for to sleep in. It would be tricky to carry a sleeping Xavar and climb, but she still prefer a tree branch over bare earth.

“By the way, it was a promise right?” she asked absentmindedly while still picking out a tree branch feasible for her to get on. “You’ll come with me to the field and keep me safe right?”

[Menel]

The swordsman arched an eyebrow at Nocme. Sneaking into someone's house? Not for the first time he wondered just a little about the woman. She had secrets. Something more than this girl that she could not find. Was she some kind of thief? Menel kept his thoughts to himself. Even if she was, she had a right to worry about her friend. To find her just as much as anyone else did.

Dace took off from his shoulder to take one last unnecessary look around the perimeter of the camp. Menel checked it every morning and evening himself so he knew well that the camp was a safe location. Just as he suspected the xavar returned a moment later to Nocme's lap with no sign that there was anything wrong.

"Goodnight." He watched her looking at the trees. It seemed she preferred to sleep off the forest floor. It was a good idea, and a very safe location particularly for someone who didn't have a tent to use. For a moment he thought to offer her his tent, but he doubted that she would take him up on the offer so he focused on bringing the fire down instead.

Her question brought a smile to his lips and he nodded once. It wouldn't hurt for him to help her look around the field. They would have to be careful, but he wouldn't turn his back on her need so easily. "I will do my best Nocme. Goodnight."

[Nocme]

Hearing that, Nocme relaxed a bit more, smiling as she climbed the tree and settle in on the nook of the branch. Sometime she tie herself to the tree to double make sure she won’t accidentally roll over and fall off, but this time it was a perfect size hole and no matter how she shift she won’t fall off the tree completely. Carefully she settles herself in, tucking her whole body underneath the poncho while hugging Dace close. The poncho she wore was warm enough to act as a blanket and thus the two slept soundly.

It was nice to be just a little less cautious than usual. Still it doesn’t stop them from waking up extra early just to double check again. The sun was barely up between the trees. Dace still flew back to her just as fast, finding the area as secure as last night. Apparently the patrols generally just don’t come to this patch of grass for strange reason which she doesn’t really care. As long as they stay out of their way, then what they do doesn’t matter.

Quietly she jump down from the tree branch and look around. Wondering if Menel would be packing up camp, or will he just follow her to the field.

[Menel]

For a long moment the swordsman watched Nocme. Watched her settle down into the shadows in the cradle of the tree high above him. She would be safe enough there, above the reach of most any animal that might try to take an interest in the camp site. Menel stayed up just a little while longer yet. Making his own last check around the area not to ensure that it was safe but to reset his rope traps and for any signs of animals in the quickly fading light.

When he was done he settled dreamlessly in his tent, waking early in the morning before the sun rose. Nocme was still asleep in the tree so he made his rounds again, stretching his legs and body to shake off any lingering lethargy. None of his traps had caught anything, but he found a few fresh berries and some edible mushrooms. He had a bit of jerky in his pack so they could make a decent breakfast of all of it.

Menel returned to the camp just as Nocme climbed out of her tree. "Goodmorning!" The swordsman offered her a half-wave since his hands were mostly full. "I've got some fresh fruit and some mushrooms. A bit of jerky in my pack. Up for a bit of breakfast before we head out?"

The swordsman set the berries into one bowl and the mushrooms into another, sorting them a bit before heading to his pack to get the jerky.

[Nocme]

Nocme jumped a bit at the sudden sound, it took her brain a few moments to realize that Menel woke before her. “G-good morning,” she replied after steadying her heart, it has been a while since she was spooked and she tried her best to hide that from her face. However Dace saw that and laughed in his xavar way. He was not surprised since during his flight he already spotted the swordsman at the rope traps he set up.

The bird cawed a bit of his own greeting before tucking into the berries without invitation, picking them off one by one. “Geez you are always hungry...” Nocme sighed and shook her head. Still they have eaten quite a bit of the swordsman’s food supply, she felt a tad guilty considering she wanted him to help her, and she barely have enough money to pay him. Maybe she could get some job for him, it wouldn’t be hard for Dace to act as a mailman, he never gets lost.

“I have some bread as well, might be a bit squashed if you don’t mind...” she said and open up her rucksack. After a bit of digging she got two loafs of bread out, she hand one to Menel while trying to stop Dace from eating all the berries. Honestly she worries the bird gain too much weight just by hanging around the swordsman.

[Menel]

Dace dug into the berries quickly. Not that he blamed the bird. He just hoped that there would be enough for them to share. The swordsman pulled a large package of jerky from his pack and brought it over to where the bowls of berries and mushrooms were. "Hey now Dace, you better share or the next time I catch a rabbit I'm going to keep all the good parts for myself."

He laughed at his own words and offered the bird a piece of jerky. Likely it would be more to Dace's tastes than the berries were anyways. Nocme wasn't actually far off from worrying that Menel might feed her gluttonous pet a little to much, but then he didn't really see that as a problem. He had a hearty appetite too. "Bread, that sounds perfect!" Menel accepted the loaf, not minding that it was a bit squished at all. He handed her half of the remaining berries in return, adding some of the mushrooms as well, and a few pieces of jerky.

Raw mushrooms weren't particularly tasty, but mushrooms were a meaty plant that were filling so with them and the bread they actually had a pretty decent meal after all. Menel finished his off in record time as he always did. "I think we can reach the edge of the field in fifteen minutes or so if we head directly south, but it might be wiser to head a bit south west further away from the territory which stretches just to the north of us." That way they could avoid annoying the wolfantrhopes as much as possible.

[Nocme]

The bird was rather unapologetic in his action. Cawed three times before flying off to somewhere, taking the jerky with him, something Nocme is used to and does not question, but still happy to explain. “No I don’t have any idea where he is going, but he’ll always come back. We don’t even have to wait for him really, he can find us,” she said absentmindedly while tucking into the mushrooms. She has no care for taste and mushroom has always been such a good filling snack that she finished hers rather quickly. Still not as fast as Menel, but she was happy to listen to his plan.

It was a sound plan and she was glad they are going for the safer option. As much as she wanted to get to the field faster, much better to have no one else distract them while searching. The worse thing that could happen is that they have to fight against the wolfanthropes in the field. She has brought stuff that could keep them safe from the flower’s poison scent, it is not completely foolproof and best not to push their luck.

“I have mask that could keep the poison out of us as much as possible, but they are not completely battle proof,” she said while swallowing the bread and dug out a pouch. She opened it up to show two clothe soaked in unknown sticky clear liquid. “It’s completely breathable and all it really does is to eliminate all scent, so pretty much it should protect us from the flowers if we have to get closer.”

Hopefully they don’t have to, as there are other predators. Animals that are naturally immune to the flowers, they would live near them and use them to chase prey and exhaust them in the field. Thus she kind of expects the area to also filled with animal corpses, not pleasant to search around.

She tied up the bag again and hangs it on her belt for easy access. Stacking the empty bowls together, she helped washed up this time, but otherwise she is ready and rearing to go.

[Menel]

Admittedly hearing that she wanted to get close enough to the field of flowers that they might need preparations for going into it made Menel more than a little nervous. As far as he knew, there wasn't really any reason to think that her friend had even gone to the field save that Nocme knew it to be a place she frequented. Which meant even less reason to go into a highly dangerous area searching for a tiny pouch that they wouldn't be able to smell for fear of being intoxicated by the flowers.

In the end all they could do was the best that they could.

Menel washed the dishes quickly, grateful for Nocme's help though there wasn't much work to split between the two of them. He packed everything up in a matter of a few moments. Even taking down his tent. He'd already pulled his snares up earlier so that's all he had to take care of. That and drowning his fire, pulling up the rocks and putting the earth back into place. By the time he was done there were only a few marks here and there to tell anyone that there had been a camp in the first place.

The swordsman headed immediately in the direction that he'd suggested. While he certainly had not been gifted with an ability to cook, he had an excellent sense of direction. No matter where he was he always seemed to know where he was, or in which direction he needed to go to get there. The walk was quiet but companionable, the swordsman keeping his senses sharp for any sign that they were being followed or that they'd caught attention where they didn't want any. He'd never run into trouble with the wolfantrhopes, but now wouldn't be a good time for it to be the first time.

[Nocme]

Nocme is not really the type to sit by the side and watch people do everything, so she helped in packing up as well. Even though Menel needed no help, she really can’t sit still while he worked. She still have time to put up her usual clothing, wrapping her face with scarves from before to obscure it from outsiders. Not really needed but better to be safe than sorry.

The walk there is quiet, nothing come for them and they encounter no creature as expected nearing the field of flower. There is a lot more bones though. Most of them are fragments, but it was easy to see that they were picked clean. One or two human skulls are also scattered around, showing signs of battle. Nocme only paused quietly without a word to examine the injuries that can still be seen on bones. Even after all the flesh has been torn off she could see dagger marks.

“Someone choose to fight here...” she murmured quietly, before putting the skulls back down and catch up to Menel. It didn’t take them long to reach the field of flowers. Standing at the edge of the forest, she could see a sea of black flowers. They stand tall and sway lazily under the sun, shifting their white marks.

At that point, Nocme stop Menel and give him the leather bag with the mask. “She always warned me not to get out of the edge of the forest, and I’m not about to ask you to go any closer,” that would be too much to ask. So quietly she unravel the scarf on her face to put the other sticky one on. It felt awful, but it is the only protection she managed to search up.

Slowly she walked further ahead and look back only once or twice to make sure Menel is still there. Despite the mask, she kept a precaution and breathe as little as possible, holding her breathe and calmly shift through the edge of flowers. There is very little to find actually. Mostly half rotted meat that the roots grown all over.

However after a little more digging, she found her clue. Just not the one she wanted. It was a skull, but not one of wolf or human, it was a combination. Normal wolfanthropes will not stray here, not unless absolutely necessary, so who’s skull is this?

She doesn’t want to examine it there, and quickly run back to Menel. Tearing off the mask once she got to the forest edge and dunk it back in the leather pouch, the liquid was taking on a weird colour out on the field and it might be a sign that it was losing power. Still it is not the thing she noted first.

“Menel did you hear anyone around?” she asked while wiping off the excess from her face. She needed to make sure she wasn’t affected by the flower.

[Menel]

They reached the edge of the field without incident. The swordsman could see the flowers blooming from where he stood. There wasn't much of a breeze which was just as well since a breeze might have carried the plant's fumes around. She readied her mask and Menel immediately tensed, his blue eyes sliding over the flowers, the trees. His senses stretched out as far as they would go for any sign of a branch breaking or breathing where none belonged.

Even from here he could see the bones. Scattered among the flowers like a gruesome present. Animal bones, and he spied a few others as well.

His blue eyes flickered toward Nocme now and again. Watching to make sure nothing tried to sneak up on her while she was looking for what her friend had left behind for her. It didn't seem to take her long before she came back, shaking her head free of the cloth that was supposed to offer her some protection from the flowers she had been searching among.

Considering her expression Menel suspected that she hadn't been successful in finding any more clues. "No, I didn't hear anything. No sign of Dace yet either." Menel let his eyes slip through the trees one more time. "How about you, did you have any luck?"

[Nocme]

“A skull, wolfanthropes definitely...” she said with a sigh, trying to breathe and hide the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She sat down on the floor and carefully brushed away the dirt on the skull and the roots that are covering it. Quietly she examined the skull, even taking out a piece of curved glass to magnify everything.

It was easy to see how agitated she becomes, especially with the soft murmurs that she spoke mostly to herself. “Healed mark over the eye socket, should be deep enough to make the eye look weird... Knife mark on teeth and back jaw... not healed so it must have happened just as he died... no... this... is female... oh God....”

She gently put down the skull and back away a little, breathing heavily. Abruptly she stood back up again and took the mask. “I need to check something again, I really hope this isn’t what I think it is,” she explained hastily while running back into the field, back to the same position where she find the skull. A little more reckless this time as she rummage between the flowers for signs.

It didn’t take long for her to find the next thing – a small scent pouch. Unlike the one she have, this one is dirtier and caked in dried blood and dirt. With that in hand she run back to the forest. Although she kind of wished she stayed cautious rather than rushing in.

A shadowy creature run with her in the flower field, it was hard to see with the black fur and black flowers, and it was harder to tell if it was her hallucination or not. All she can do is to quickly run back to Menel and hopefully the thing is just an illusion. She doesn’t want to know what kind of creature that are immune to the flower.

[Menel]

The swordsman frowned. Wolfanthropes knew better than most to avoid places like this. Their sense of smell made it difficult to lure them to a location where they could be so easily parted from their senses. He was worried of course that the skull belonged to the woman that Nocme was looking for, but if her expression was any indication he doubted that was the case. She was upset, but not quite as upset as he suspected she might be if she had found the remains of her friend.

Something connected then? A relative of the girl he had seen in the picture? Someone who might have lead Nocme in the right direction?

He could see the skull from where he was, hear her quiet words until she lowered her voice into a whisper. The swordsman couldn't focus on that so much though, he had to keep his attention on the forest. On any signs of movement that might spell danger. Thankfully, there was still no sign of anything threatening.

She came back to him a moment quickly, the swordsman already frowning. Her eyes were dilated, her breathing a little to fast. "Come on, lets get a little further away from the flowers. I think you breathed in a little of their scent."

[Nocme]

Nocme shook her head, mostly to get rid of the way things seems to flicker across her vision. “I’m fine. Was there nothing else following me?” She couldn’t have breathed in the scent right? She could still see Menel there, but the shadowy creature could still be behind her. The rustling just seems so loud in her ears somehow. It was only when she could see blood just slowly dripping down tree trunks that she has to admit that some got in.

Taking off her mask there was a clear opaque area, where dark spores are caught in the liquid. It was so dark and mixed with the liquid almost dried it up. Which would explain how some slipped passed and enter her body. Nocme could do very little but just cough and sneeze trying to at least purge it out.

“Alright... lead on... I- I can’t tell...” she wheezed again trying to shake the nauseous feeling from her stomach. The dark anxiety that made her just skittish, it made her feel like things are crawling underneath her skin. She doesn’t want to imagine what happen if she breathed in more. Closing her eyes she grasp for Menel, hoping he would help at least ground her in reality. Her other hand still holding tight on the charm and the skull. They need to be examined as soon as she was more herself.

[Menel]

Menel shook his head, his concerns all but proven. Her eyes were dilated, flickering around as though she saw something on the edge of her vision that wasn't there. The swordsman knew with absolute certainty that there was nothing behind her, nothing for yards around them save for a songbird that was a few trees away in the opposite direction from the field of flowers.

When she took her mask off he could see dark spots caught in the clear liquid around her face, and he pulled a clean shirt out of his bag quickly, offering it to her and using the motion to wrap his arm around her.

He was hesitant to get close to her, out of concern that it would scare her. The last thing he wanted was for her to attack him blindly. While he had no doubt that he could handle her if it came to that he didn't want that to happen. Not only would it likely make her trust him even less in her current state of mind, but if she somehow managed to slip away from him... she could seriously hurt herself before he managed to catch her again. Better if she stayed close to him.

"Wipe your face off carefully, I think some of the spores got caught in that stuff, and the last thing you want is to breathe in more of it. Come on... I'll take you back toward the area we camped. It's this way." He led her in the right direction slowly but surely. Hopefully this would pass quickly and she hadn't breathed in to much of it. In large doses he'd heard that it could be deadly.

[Nocme]

She said nothing, just nodding and take the shirt to wipe her face clean. Still coughing and sneezing, at least she knows she is purging most of it out of her system somehow. The rest will take time to be rejected, she kind of wish she has something to get rid of it more quickly. Oh wait...

“The liquid I soak them in... those are neutralizers... edible...” it’s all she could mumble before almost shouted at feeling something touching her. It took her a few seconds to remind herself Menel is there, unaffected and he would knew what was it. Quietly she stumbles forward, holding onto him. Hopefully it is him...

All they have to do is to get back to camp, separate out the tainted liquid with pure ones and then purged the rest of the poison out of her body. However many times she jumps and almost run at the noise and the shadows. Even knowing its just hallucination it doesn’t stop her natural reflex to run. Thankfully Menel was there the whole time, stopping her from running off. She knew most suffers did not die from the poison directly, but rather everything that surrounds the flowers in their mad panic to get away.

Still it takes time for the poison to go, and it has to get worse before it gets better. One loud screech, that probably wasn’t there, manage to spook Nocme enough that she slipped out of his hands and bolted into the woods. She didn’t get far though, not in her perspective. Running blindly she manage to trip over a root and tumble down into a groove of trees. Dark and well-hidden from sight, and she lost conscious in there.

Usually when Dace sees that he would laugh, but knowing where they went beforehand, he just flew to Menel. Cawing loudly to try and get the swordsman to follow. To take him to that little place, where Nocme is now resting among another sets of bones, similar to the ones she is holding.

[Menel]

The moment Menel touched Nocme she tensed from head to toe. He could tell by the distant expression in her eyes and the way her body was posed that the effects of the flowers were kicking in slowly. He also knew from his experience with seeing what happened to those that came in contact with them before that it was going to get worse before it got better.

Menel wasn't exactly sure what she meant by the liquid on her mask being edible, but he needed to get her back to their campsite before he could do anything else. The pollen in the sticky residue would render the stuff on her mask useless anyway... Unless she had more of it on her elsewhere? Or perhaps the ingredients that made it up? Well he couldn't very well search her this instant.

Carefully he helped her toward the camp, and then suddenly she bolted; taking off through the trees like a strike of lightning. Menel took off after her as fast as he could, following the motion he could see to the best of his ability. He was glad for Dace's presence though when her form suddenly vanished. They went to where he'd lost sight of her and he saw immediately why he'd lost her. She'd tripped over a root.

Menel knelt, checking her head for any injuries. Aside from being unconscious he didn't see anything that needed tending to immediately so he carefully gathered her up into his arms. Actually everything considered her being unconscious was probably the best thing. She couldn't be driven into anything dangerous while she lay in his arms, and the nature of her injury meant that her rest should be as peaceful as it could be.

It took a bit of time for them to reach the campsite, the swordsman making a quick check to see if anyone or anything had taken note of their location. He sat her down and checked the bump on her head carefully, taking a clean wet cloth to her face to clear it both of the pollen and of the sticky residue that her mask had left in it's wake. The swordsman glanced at her companion. "I don't suppose you know where she keeps the antidote for this stuff?"

[Nocme]

Dace breathe a sigh of relieve at how quickly Menel found his fallen friend. He eyes the skeleton around the area for a bit but paid no mind to it, Nocme needed to be tended to first. At least she seems to be out enough that there shouldn’t be nightmares plaguing her. During the travel back he settled on Nocme’s stomach, just resting and staring at her with concerned eye. He stayed there until they got to the edge of the camp, at that point he flew up to do a preliminary check of the borders before landing back to Nocme and let Menel do his check.

As Menel returned and proceeded to help clean up the mess left by those liquid. Dace immediately went for her pack, opening up and squirming in. He didn’t really care about her privacy so some more... personal items... are tumbled out as he digs his way in. The only indication he give that he heard the swordsman’s question was a loud muffled squawk from within the sack. Soon he actually flap around inside to push himself out with Nocme’s notebook.

He squawked and nudged the book towards the swordsman. The bird is fully aware that there are private stuff written in there, like drawing and diary entries, as well as all the clues written in detail between sketches. However he also knew the antidote recipe was scribbled in. If he could read her horrid handwriting he should be able to clean any water - with herbs that he forced out of her bag - to make the antidote. Though he had little hopes in that front, her writing is akin to chicken scratch. In fact he could even claim he write better with his talons rather than Nocme with a charcoal. He already learnt to read, learning to write shouldn’t be too hard.

A small groan breaks the silence, Nocme trembled and began to breathe heavily. Her eyes were still shut tight, but she was squirming on the spot. Dace quickly flew to her side, gently nuzzling her with his head. His red eye glow brightly for a moment, the vapor trail swirls around for a bit before settling down, along with Nocme’s breathing. The xavar look back at the swordsman, glaring at him as if making him vow to never mention this to anyone.

For now he flew back to the swordsman’s side, carefully picking out selected herbs before curling one of his feet into a fist and made knocking motion on top of the herbs. Hopefully he doesn’t have to do anything more complicated to teach the guy to make the antidote. He doesn’t have that patience, he would just go with the more awful option of making her vomit it out.

[Menel]

Really he shouldn't have been surprised when Dace pulled Nocme's journal out of her pack. Like the xavar, Menel didn't care about the other things that came tumbling out with it, all he cared about was trying to figure out where the antidote was, or failing that how to make it from the raw materials available.

While Menel thumbed the journal open Dace kept pulling things out. The raw materials from what the swordsman could tell. He flipped through the pages and frowned. Nocme's hand writing was... abominable. The swordsman couldn't say much about his own hand writing, it was nothing special. Neat and a bit small but readable. Nocme's handwriting was actually hard to decipher. Which meant that in order to make sense of it he had to read through quite a lot of her journal.

Some of it was notes on this or that, but most of it... Was actually very personal. She talked about how much she missed Ceberas. How she was looking for the other woman. How much she cared about her. Occasionally she talked about Dace, and it was clear in her notes that Dace and Cerberas were the only people in her mind. She cared about them deeply, and though it had been years since she'd seen Ceberas she thought about the woman constantly. The other thing that she talked about almost constantly... was how lonely she was.

It was a sentiment that Menel understood intimately. He lived his life on the road. Some of that was purposeful, but there were times when he watched a group of close friends and realized that there were some things that were missing from his life. The only people that he met regularly were reoccurring customers who were friendly but not really friends, and others like him that bore the brand. They were more coworkers than friends, and he saw most of them to infrequently to grow close.

Even with Dace's assistance in identifying the necessary ingredients it took longer than Menel would have liked to figure out what amounts to use. Mostly because he had to search through Nocme's writing to find the proper dosage of each plant. Once he had it though he set to making it with a vengeance. It took a much shorter period of time to make than it had to actually find out how to make it. He ended up with a small concoction in a tin cup, tilting her head up and feeding it to her slowly through her lips. Menel had to be careful not to spill it, feeling as though it took forever for her to drink it down.

Maybe it was just the fact that every second seemed to long. He was worried that she'd wake up and run off, or that the poison had been in her blood to long and the antidote wouldn't work as well as it should. It would have comforted him if he could remember if the effects of the poison would wear off on their own eventually. Unfortunately he wasn't a doctor so all he could do was follow the directions he'd found and hope that everything worked as it should.

[Nocme]

Dace stick with Menel and as patiently as he could to helping him with the antidote. Reading over his shoulder to try and find the ingredients in her sack. Those that are missing he flew off and quickly come back with the plant in his claws. He watch with silent vigilance as the swordsman took the correct plants in exact does and begin creating to antidote. During those times Nocme slept on quietly. Unaware how much of her stuff is now strewn around the campsite. The xavar hopes that she won’t wake up too grouchy to be mad at this.

The only movement come only after the first bit of the antidote slid down her throat. She twitched a little at first, then her eyes flutter open. It was brighter and little more focused, but her body still felt weak and remain still to let him pour the rest into her mouth. Dace was relieved of the development and quickly flew to settle on Nocme’s stomach, watching and waiting. Once she managed to drink all of the antidote that she tried to sit up straighter, mumbling a quiet, “thank you”.

Still, the moment she could sit up straight she has to bend over to the side, coughing violently and spitting out dark bile. Dace didn’t waste time to drag over a scrap clothe from the sack and handed it to her to wipe her face and mouth. Also nudging her away from the place where she spit those things out.

“Well,” she coughed lightly and laid back down on the grass, “that is the last time I ever tried to go near that place again.” Dace made a small cawing laughter, agreeing and just mostly happy it was over and he wouldn’t need to fly anywhere near there. However the laughter was cut off easily by a strong pinch next to the beak.

She was smiling but one could feel the anger behind the smile, “Dace what made you think it’s a good idea to take ALL of my stuff out of the sack?”

Dace just shrugged and continue on laughing, wiggling out of her hand in process. It is kind of hilarious on how much of her stuff she managed to fit in her rucksack and now all of it are pretty much everywhere. She also noted her notebook was laid open next to some herbs. It doesn’t take a huge leap in logic for her to know what actually went on while she was knocked out.

“Umm... how much did you read before you got the antidote recipe?” she asked shyly trying to control the blush coming up on her face. Some her more personal thoughts are written in there and it feels really embarrassing that someone else found out about it.

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