Baby Steps

Cináed began to lead the way by memory around the island and Satira was happy to let him be her guide. He had lived here once upon a time; he likely still knew this place like the back of his paw. She'd just get lost in this maze of buildings and overgrown paths. As they walked, Tira took in the sights around her. Cabanas and smaller houses lined the beaches and outer edges of the lush jungle. Inside the denser parts of the forest, larger structures began to dominate the area. Old walls were crumbled and covered with vines, mosses growing on old wood, and glass from decades earlier was either fogged with dirt and grime or shattered entirely. It was like looking into an alien world and Tira loved the vibe of this place!

As they walked, Ciná explained how he had spent so much time wandering around the island. Tira nodded her head. "Yeah, I mean, I guess you would if you lived here," she agreed, almost as if that was common sense. As they walked on, Tira would steal little glances up at Ciná, watching as he looked around at his former home. "Do you ever miss it?" she asked him, wondering how much he had been a part of Fenmyre before its fall. Not that she thought he was unhappy living in Valta now, but she had no idea what Fenmyre life had been like for him. All she knew was that he was a much different Cináed now than he was back then.

After some time walking, Ciná led them up to a massive compound of houses at the heart of the island. Satira gawked at the grandeur of the buildings as they passed by them. She was definitely going to want to see inside that place before they left! Making their way round the back of the main building, Tira saw the glass structure of the greenhouse rising up through the dense jungle and her curly tail immediately began to wag a mile a minute! Tiny speckled paws trotted briskly up to the greenhouse, and when they got up close it was apparent there was still a lot of plant life inside! "Ha, told ya!" Tira jeered in good humor, sticking her tongue out at Ciná before trotting her way inside, her floppy ears bouncing with every excited step. Inside smelled of loamy soil and vegetation. It sent a thrill of excitement running up Tira's back. This was a veritable treasure trove of plants! Walking down the center row between the plants, Tira noticed some glass shards on the ground and glanced up to find one of the panes of glass in the roof had shattered. "That's how they've been staying alive," she pointed out to Ciná. "Rain's been getting in from the ceiling, and the greenhouse helps keep all that moisture trapped in here so the plants can make the most out of every drop."

Satira began her grocery shopping trip, winding her way down every row of plants to see what rarities she could find. The healers of Fenmyre had certainly kept a wide variety of herbs! Ginseng root, Jewel Weed, lavender, chamomile, trillium, and more! She gathered up as many of the rarer herbs as she could, packing them neatly in cloth wraps and stowing them safely within her satchel. She found another section of the greenhouse with some more fun plants—cannabis, kava, khat, salvia, silphium, and pennyroyal. Recreational drugs and contraceptives. Tira was floored by the amount of contraceptive herbs being produced in Fenmyre! Blue eyes wide like a kid in a candy store, she carefully harvested bundle after bundle of the adult fun time plants with her sharp claws, a naughty grin on her face the entire time. "Well well well, what have we here?" she mused out loud, turning a teasing smirk to Ciná as she raised a brow in his direction. "What did you say you did in Fenmyre, Ciná? Cause this is a looooot of contraceptives." Tira giggled to herself and continued her harvest, still looking around for that one specific plant she was determined to find.

"Cináed & Satira"