Crooked Teeth

Rain had left the comforts of his southern home behind for the season. The heavy rainfall in Auster had waterlogged most of the plants he could find or caked them heavily in mud and mold. The abundance of tropical healing plants had become a haven for dangerous fungi and while Rain was happy to have more options within his stores of poisons he found the spores they released to be too unmanageable and far too risky while collecting.

His old home in Boreas it seemed was suffering from strange weather itself, the smell of fire and acrid dry soil clung to the air and the falls he explored now hoping to find new remedies to replace his flooded supply were a faint trickle. Most of the lush foliage surrounding the falls was now discolored and wilted but there were still a few that were salvageable.

He found the succulent leaves of the aloe first, the ends of the plant orange and curled inward. His silent companion strode on all fours beside him and dutifully began to harvest the plant per Rain’s instruction. “It’s good for burns.” He explained as the baboon worked in silence. “It can also be used as a water supplement and can be flavored.” The baboon worked on seemingly unaware that his companion was speaking. He had been in a foul mood lately although Rain couldn’t begin to imagine why. He suspected the monkey might have arthritis and he considered for a moment asking the hunters of the empire if they could supply him with cat grease he could use to make a balm for his dour companion. It was more work than he believed the monkey to be worth but Fauldr had after all been an irreplaceable asset to him in the year they had been together.

It struck him then why Fauldr had seemed moodier than usual. They had known each other and worked together for almost a year and Rain had done nothing to commemorate the occasion. He was surprised to think that the golden beast even cared about such a frivolous concept, but he supposed he at least owed it to him to recognize what they had gone through together.

“Fauldr…” He started. “Are you…” He cut himself off, he was being an idiot, and now was not the time to press him for such questions. He knew better than anyone the monkey never spoke outside of their confidence, deep within the dungeons of the Abraxas castle. He would ask him then, but for now he needed to salvage what he could from the droughts that had plagued the area. He found a bush of lavender growing in abundance and snipped several stalks from the sweet smelling blooming plant with his teeth before placing them in his pack. Slowly his eyes fixed on bell like stalks waving daintily in the breeze. Fox glove. He looked over at his companion who was now sitting sullenly in front of the picked aloe. “Fauldr come over here.” He called, attempting to keep his voice light in an effort to keep the monkey’s mood from becoming worse.

speaking Thinking   You