Circe had decided that if she was going to set roots in these lands then she was going to have to prepare her shop and that meant gathering the many tools of her trade. With that in mind, how could she resist taking a peek inside the caves? Many would think them devoid of plant life and therefore useless to one such as herself, but Circe knew better. Caves, she decided as she padded down the damp passageway, were one of her favorite places to shop. Pretty much anything that grew in them was good for something. Now, the vast majority may not have been "good" in the traditional healer sense, but they certainly had their place in her profession. Here, the deadly rubbed caps with the harmless, the beneficial and the psychedelic. One good day down here and she could dabble in all parts of the profession she'd carved out for herself. Circe paused to snuff at a spindly bundle of tan mushrooms. She raked a quick, assessing look over them and then dismissed them. Those would do her no good, but their appearance was promising. If those could grow here then she was headed in the right direction. Somewhere around here lurked the psychedelic gems she was looking for.... "Circe" "Gwydion"

He didn’t often leave Abaven to go hunting, but when he did he made sure to get lost. He’d left shortly after taking his first trip around Abaven’s borders. He’d seen a small flock of turkey, and even though he hated messing with their feathers chewing on a turkey leg was one of his favorite meals. He followed them to where the cave opened, and had seen one make its escape into the dark opening. That one seemed like the easy target. Rhyme had been very wrong though, and hadn’t been able to find the blasted creature anywhere. He’d made his mistake when he saw the bioluminescent mushrooms. He was sure he’d recognized the species and tried to remember where he’d seen it, and it had to have been in the slaver’s pack. They always seemed to have recreationally used plants at their disposal, probably because they traded lives for their riches. He continued on, spying only one other species he recognized by sight but not by use. By then he wasn’t sure how to get back out of said cave. Sighing heavily he attempted to follow his scent trail back to the entrance, more frustrated with himself than anything else yet. "”

The soft, hollow thud of falling feet and the click of claws alerted Circe to the approach of another. She straightened and turned just in time to see a tall, dark figure glide down an adjacent passage. Circe licked her lips and glanced first down the way she'd been going and then after the figure. Did she continue on her mushroom hunt or engage the stranger? Ah, who was she kidding. She couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet someone new. Who knew what she might miss out on if she did. Circe crept to the corner and peeked after the stranger. By his scent and quickly retreating backside she could tell he was male and rivaled many of her kin in size. She found these few details promising. As she watched, the stranger seemed to second guess himself. He waffled, clearly indecisive about some choice, and then turned back and began to retrace his steps. Doing so meant he was now facing Circe, who was still half hidden by the corner. No doubt he could see her, though, so there was no point in trying to hide. She grinned at him; her expression open, friendly and perhaps a little naive. "Are you lost, friend?" "Circe" "Gwydion"

He might have to bring Vail back here to collect some of these mushrooms, surely they would have some use to her in the healing arts. However he had no doubt most of them would be more than harmful if they were ingested. Since he wasn't sure about their effects he wouldn't collect any today, but he did need to try and get back out. 

He turned back around, tearing himself from a particularly lovely garden. He sighed softly, enough to cover the sound of the other wolf moving. He didn't hear her but as he retraced his steps he was able to make out her form in the darkness. 

He found himself coming to a halt, looking her half hidden form over. She was tall, with delicate markings similar to his own around her bright eyes. Her voice made faint echoes in the cavern as she asked if he might be lost. Rhyme didn't want to admit his folly to her, because eventually he would find his way out on his own, but he wasn't great at being dishonest either. 

"Maybe just a little." he decided to admit to her, "Got distracted by the pretty colors." He managed to chuckle at himself.

Her grin widened as the tall male confirmed her suspicions. While the dangly bits meant he wasn't quite her type, Circe knew a fine creature when she saw one. He was quite the specimen and would make one hell of a catch. "Understandable," she said with a laugh. "I wasn't expecting to find such a beautiful array of colors down here, but I'm glad I did." She eyed him curiously and tried to gauge whether or not he had a keener interest in the fungi. If he shared her interest in the mushrooms and their properties then she'd lose an edge. "They've got more going for them than their pretty colors, you know." An idea was forming. Perhaps if she could just pique his curiosity... "Circe" "Gwydion"

She was impressive, taller than himself and quite lovely in the bioluminescent glow. Rhyme looked her over unabashedly, hoping the darkness might conceal his looking. She seemed understanding enough as he offered an explanation, of course if he tried hard enough he would have eventually found his way back out. However, having help from such a maiden was preferable. Though escape didn’t seem to be the first item of business on her mind as she mentioned the mushrooms again. He tilted her head curiously at her words, wondering what she might be getting at. He could identify a couple of species but not even close to all of them. Some of them were dangerous too. "I recognize a couple of them," he mentioned. Though mushrooms were not his specialty he did grow up with a healer for a mother and she had done her due diligence in teaching him her craft. "I wouldn’t be confident enough in my ability to ingest anything though." He added, figuring her knowledge of them was more complete than his own. ""

"I wouldn’t be confident enough in my ability to ingest anything though." Perfect. Those words were music to Circe's ears. She had a working knowledge of many of the fungi that were growing around her and was confident enough in her abilities to both eat (some of) them and to give them to someone else. "Aw," she said with a laugh. "But that is the best part." Circe padded over to where a patch of them grew. This particular patch wasn't at all colorful and it would be easy to dismiss considering its brighter neighbors. "As I'm sure you know, these are common mushrooms. Good for the immune system and perking up lackluster pups if eaten daily. But these?" She motioned to a neighboring patch that at first glance looked identical to the first. "These little guys are called 'destroying angel' and as their name implies they aren't as helpful as their cousins over there." It was easy to confuse the two, but doing so would have disastrous results. Another patch, this one vibrantly colored, was just a few steps away. These were the best of the best and their red caps and white spots made them easy to identify. "Do you know what these are?" As she looked back at him, Circe caught Rhyme looking at her and had to resist the urge to smile to herself. She had his attention in more ways than one, it seemed. "Circe" "Gwydion"

She was quick with her quip, making known she was disappointed in his experience with eating the fungi. Her laugh was lovely, and he watched as she danced towards the beautiful garden. Rhyme was going to receive an unexpected lesson in herbs. If he could trust her, he didn’t even know her name to begin with. He listened though, meaning to test the knowledge she offered with Vail one day. He blinked in surprise as she offered him two different mushrooms, though they did indeed look the same. Rhyme’s bright colored eyes widened in surprise as she told him the effects of the later. It seemed his instinct to avoid the mushrooms was not unfounded. She led him over to one more, one he actually felt more comfortable with. He smiled, sure in his little knowledge. "I don’t remember the common name, but I have a memory of my mother calling it ‘Mario Mushroom.” He paused for a moment thinking. "I never knew who Mario was though.” Rhyme looked back to the she wolf, this one of the rarer species he’d seen with the slavers. "I don’t remember it being poisonous?” "”

"Mario mushroom," she said slowly, savoring the name he knew the mushroom by before breaking into a grin. "Interesting name." Circe reached out to run a paw gently across one of the red caps before peeking over at Rhyme. "I know them by the name 'fly agaric'." After a beat, she admitted, "They are poisonous, but I've only ever heard of the foolish dying from them. In small doses they induce a curious state I found to be quite exhilarating." Not that she had actually tried them. She'd simply given them to another and watched the effects which by itself was exhilarating. Circe eyed Rhyme curiously. "I take it you haven't tried them?" "Circe" "Gwydion"

The gleam of her grin in the dusky light caught him off guard, her smile every bit as appealing as the sound of her laugh and the glint in her eye. She mulled over the name he gave her, not recognizing the name he remembered. Not that he was surprised, he was sure Rhythm had uttered its real name at least once, but he’d gotten knocked in the head a couple times since then. His gaze trained on her paw as she caressed the cap and reminded him of its potential toxicity. He eyed her as she went on though, describing effects in low doses that were not so deadly. She asked slyly if he had ever tried to eat them himself. "Not myself, though I’m sure I’ve seen a couple wolves attempt themselves. Not that I could accurately tell you what else they might have taken.” The piles of drugs the slavers had amassed had always induced a curiosity in himself. "What about you?” "”

"I have," she said smoothly; the lie falling as easily from her lips as truth. She had by proxy and that had to count for something, right? In any case she was well aware of the fungi's effects. It was actually for that very reason that she'd never tried it personally. The idea of knowingly impairing herself, of weakening her control over her mind, struck her as the worst kind of foolishness. But she was more than happy to encourage that in others. Circe eyed his curiously. "I came down here for the mushrooms. How about you? Might I assume that's not what brought you here and if it's not..." Her lips lifted in a slight smile. "What did?" "Circe" "Gwydion"

Surprise flashed over his features lightly as she mentioned that this was one mushroom she had indeed tried despite the mild poison. While he felt he had missed out on a lot of life Rhyme should have held more contempt for the abuse of substances. He didn’t judge though. Most of the time. Rhyme hmm’d Softly as she eyed him more curiously. These were the whole reason she was down here, obviously it was not why she happened to be. He wished he could see into her mind, what it was she thought he was here for. He was motivated by other vices, like his empty stomach. As if on cue his stomach rumbled quietly. He flashed a glance at his flank as he answered. "I followed my prey, a turkey. However, it escaped me and I found this garden.” Now they were all caught up. Rhyme found himself mirroring her soft smile. "”