ooc: navigation whisperer's gorge

Winding her way through the twisting caverns and passageways Rœkia kept her eyes peeled for some Salvia.  Spring was optimal time for herb hunting and she had stores that were in desperate need of building up.  She'd been lazy, focusing most of her energy just on exploring.  Now was time to get serious.  Wolf landed on her shoulders.  The magpie was only of so much use in the caverns and he'd been flying for so long that Rœkia chose to keep silent rather than poke fun at him.  The bird lightly nipped at her ears and sighed.  "Are you sure there's Salvia here Rœkia?"   The woman nodded. "I'm sure there is… well… relatively sure.  Give me one more hour and if we haven't found any we'll call it a day."

"Speech"

Ásvor was on a hunt. Not for anything in particular - just for something different. Something exciting. Maybe she'd catch a glimpse of something otherworldly, like the visions that came so easily to Runa, or find some trinket that Taufr would huff over if she didn't let him touch it. Anything to break up the monotony of everyday life. Spring was too easy - food was far more plentiful now that the winter had passed them by, leaving plenty of time for leisure and adventure. She wandered away from home again today, toward the gorge. She'd seen in from a distance, and had seen the twist of shadows that climbed around the edges, marking the entrance to caverns. It was a peculiar sort of terrain, and she found her curiosity sparked as she traveled closer today. The girl would peer into the gorge, her nose twitching as she tasted the air here. Nothing out of the ordinary; a few wolves had passed, but none of the scents were familiar. Slowly, carefully, she would make her way down the side of the gorge, aiming toward one of the caverns. The scent here was a bit stronger. Someone had been here recently. Asvor wondered if they were still in there. Curious, she narrowed her eyes as she peered into the darkness. "Hello?"  The girl would call out tentatively, though she took a few steps into the cavern, figuring she ought to explore it regardless.

Slipping around another corner Rœkia eyed a bundle of plants that were growing out of the dry soil but it was not the quarry she sought. Typical. Salvia wasn't even that rare but of course it was the herb that was going to give her the most trouble this season, she could see it now. Wolf moved up to settle between her shoulder blades. Her stomach rumbled. Oh beautiful… now she was getting hungry. Eyeing the sun in the sky she nodded her head confidently. Ok, she was finding that dam plant in the next hour so help her!

Confidently marching ahead she kept her eyes peeled but rather than find Salvia she found another wolf instead. Rœkia turned to see a young woman of similar height to her and beautifully marked. Stepping out of the darkness she eyed the girl for a moment before smiling sweetly. "Hello dear, can I help you?" Wolf opened one eye, his head turning sharply in the manner of birds as he looked the girl up and down.

"Speech"

Though wary, she was not afraid of the dark caverns. Cautiously she peered into the depths, sniffing more deeply at the air to taste the scents that lingered here. More than one animal was here, though only one was canine. Asvor's nose wrinkled slightly as she took the first few steps into the shadows. She didn't move far into the cavern before she was greeted by a stranger. The woman was older than her, and she regarded her with her plain stare, though her eyes were brimming with curiosity.  "I don't know," she'd answer curtly, her voice whimsical and light, a small grin toying with the corners of her dark lips.  "Is there anything you can help me with? What are you doing here, miss?" Her lips pursed as she watched her curiously in the darkness.

Rœkia's toes would kneed the earth beneath her in a slow, cat-like manner as she watched the youth before her. She would need to know more before deciding just what she wanted to do with this wee runaway though she was also wary of the girls scent for while it marked her a loner there was still the residue of a pack scent… a particularly dangerous pack scent. Rœkia had been to the north, she had seen the great trees of Yfir. A pack that was not to be trifled with.

The woman would bust out laughing as the girl spoke. "My, my you are a cheeky little thing. I can help you in all kind of ways my darling. For example… I could teach you manners." She grinned sweetly, lips pulling back enough to show her fangs, the tone both joking and threatening. "As for what I am doing…." she was tempted to reply with none-of-your-business but the girl was a bold little monster after her own heart and so she felt compelled to be honest, well mostly. Curious, in part, for the girls reaction. "I'm hunting poisons to give to naughty little girls."

"Speech"

Asvor was unused to being afraid; she'd lived most of her life in the comfort of familiar territory, and surrounded by familiar wolves.  Living in the north was a harsher sort of living, but it didn't seem to be a terribly dangerous life, either. She gazed curiously at the stranger she'd happened upon in the caverns, her wide eyes vacant of any trace of fear. The stranger's reaction was to.. laugh, surprisingly, which made her grin grow slightly. "My mother taught me plenty of manners," she insisted firmly, shaking her head. No, a lesson in manners didn't sound very appealing to her at all. The latter, though.. sounded much more fun. She was looking for.. poisons. Her eyes widened with interest that she didn't bother to hide even slightly. "What did these girls do to deserve such punishment?" she'd ask, genuinely curious; the fact that she might be referring to herself went completely over her head as she found herself suddenly, desperately interested in what sort of things deserved this kind of punishment. "I can help, if you want." She had no clue what to even begin looking for, but she was sure she could be of some use..

This girl had guts and she was starting to grow on Rœkia. It wasn't often she ran across a girl with such spunk, kind of reminded her at that age before life had tempered and bent her mettle. Did she want to test the mettle in this girl or would she play nice? Ohhhhh decisions. The girl was young but not so young that Rœkia feared her mother might be lurking close by. Not that it mattered much if the mother had no knowledge of poisons but surely poisoning such a little imp would be a waste no? "Oh… some were naive idiots who needed to be taught a lesson, some asked to many questions and some didn't do anything at all." She had a tendency to poison who she wanted when she felt like it. In her mind were constantly whirring experiments and if she had the poison and a test subject was readily present she wouldn't turn away. Of course the herb she was currently hunting down was quite mild and she was doing no further experimentations with it.

Rœkia chuckled as the girl stated she could help. "Well, I suppose an extra set of eyes wouldn't hurt. But what will it cost me? Or are you generously offering your services for free?"

"Speech"

Perhaps if she was less naive, she might see the danger of conversing with a stranger like this. For now, though, it seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to be hanging out with a stranger in these caverns.  "Ohh," she acknowledged with a small nod, a soft murmur falling from her lips before her jaws clenched shut again. She realized she'd been gaping slightly, as though in awe of the strange woman's words. Her eyes were filled with wonder, with the desire to know more. While she was tempted to demand more information, this stranger seemed to have a dangerous air about her.. maybe being uncouth wasn't such a great idea right now. "I'm happy to help," Asvor said, keeping her eagerness carefully in check. Truth be told, she was quite happy to learn about anything involving herbs. "Consider it free this time," she came up with. The girl wasn't sure that she had much to offer, other than a pair of eyes, and the knowledge alone was worth it for her. "Can you explain what we're looking for?"

Rœkia grinned at the girl's expression as she slowly closed her jaws before offering her services for free… this time. A child after her own heart! Rœkia casually wondered how attached the mother was to this child and half considered keeping the girl herself. "I'm looking for Salvia, my dear. It is useful for many things both good and ill. I find it helps to lessen anxiety and help patients sleep… though it causes hallucinations." A useful little effect that Rœkia had used to extract information on several occasions. Wolf took to the sky once more to continue their search. "It will have dark green leaves and can grow up to three feet tall. There will be deep ridges and texture in the leaves and-"

"Magpie I've found some but…" Rœkia looked up to see Wolf hovering near a small out-cropping high up and well out of reach of her jaws. "Ah… well… that's what it looks like if you can see, up there. Wolf good find! Gather a few leaves for me, we'll try and find something more on our level. Let's go girl!" Rœkia continued the search, climbing carefully along the gorge wall, following the curved paths but taking her time. She wanted to see if the girl could find anything unassisted.

"Speech"

Ásvor found herself suddenly wishing Runa was here. She was far more intuitive than herself, and surely her sister would know if this was what she ought to be doing. But.. she wasn't here, Ásvor was on her own and the prospect of learning from this stranger was simply too tempting to deny, even if she knew she shouldn't be so reckless. Her eyes widened as Rœkia described and named the herb. It was called salvia.. and sounded much less dangerous than she'd initially implied. The girl's brows pulled together, though she plodded along behind her, keeping her eye out for this tall plant with dark ridged leaves. "What do you mean by hallucinations?" she'd ask before they found anything, wondering; it sounded a bit like her sister's visions, only hers were real, and she doubted a plant could make real things happen like that. Before she could get a real answer, Rœkia's companion seemed to have found something. Asvor squinted in the dim light of the cavern, but she couldn't see the plant well, and willingly she would continue after Rœkia without question.

"Ah!  At last!" Rœkia grinned as she found a patch of Salvia closer to the ground and she quickly set about gathering it. Very delicately stripping the plant of its leaves and laying them out in on the warm stone to bake and dry.  Wolf flew down and landed next to her, using his sharp beak and talons to strip more pieces. "By drying the salvia we can keep it for a long time.  Wolf can you fetch my bag for me?"  It was a good sized bag but currently empty so she was certain her companion could handle it.  He nodded and swiftly flew off as she turned to address the girls question.  "A hallucination is when you see something that's not really there.  Like if I thought there was a bear behind you but there isn't, it's just a shadow in my own mind.  That's a hallucination.  Hallucinations can be useful for interrogation."  They had a good haul here, more than she really planned to use. She cocked her head to the side as she gazed at Ásvor. "If you like you may take some with you."

"Speech"

Ásvor was a bit disappointed that she didn't find the plant first, but she didn't even really know what it looked like. It was no surprise that the more experienced of the two was the first to locate it. The girl's tail wagged a steady beat behind her as Rœkia gathered the herb carefully, taking one leaf at a time and laying them flat. She explained that drying it helped keep it longer. "Will it work forever? What will happen if it's really old?" Questions like this, she had no idea about, and they sprung suddenly to mind as she considered everything this woman was showing her. Her eyes were wide and full of interest as she watched the process keenly. What she explained about hallucinations did sound a bit like her sister's visions, something inside her head - though if she saw a bear, that wasn't real, while what her sister saw was real despite it being in her head. Or so she thought. They were different, but similar. She offered her some, and the girl's eyes widened gratefully. "Sure!" she'd half-exclaim, eyeing the drying herbs. She didn't have anything like Rœkia's bag, and she suddenly felt deeply envious. She'd have to carry it back in her mouth, and if it could have negative side affects, she'd have to be really careful to not consume any of the herb. "Will the hallucinations happen if the herbs just touch my tongue?" she asked, wary of the answer - was it too dangerous to be worth it?

Rœkia shook her head at the girls question.  "Nothing lasts forever and the older it gets the weaker its effects." She was impressed at the questions the girl was asking.  Clearly Ásvor had a keen interest in herbology and she wondered if that interest was being met in the girls pack or if she was simply curious enough that talking with a stranger on the matter didn't perturb her.  Rœkia supposed she ought to give the girl dosing instructions, warnings and similar things which she would do if she were a decent responsible instructor but really the little tot would learn plenty experimenting on her own.  

Rœkia portioned out some herbs for her little apprentice then stashed the rest into her pack, shifting it on her shoulders as Wolf came down to perch on her back just behind the pack. "No, child.  You'd need to ingest the herbs for them to take effect although…. I don't think I'd let them soak in my mouth for too long."  Rœkia winked at the girl.  "Find some grass and you can tie them together and carry them in a bundle.  Now if you'll excuse me I really must be going on my way."

"Speech"

The older the herbs got, the weaker they got.. it made sense. She figured the ones that they'd just found would be extremely potent. Was she going to use them right away? She'd made a quip about poisoning young girls, but she'd also said it helped patients sleep. Did Rœkia know someone who was sick, and she was trying to help them? It was all very interesting, and suddenly she felt thirsty for more knowledge. There were so many questions to ask, and so much more she wanted to know. But.. the other woman seemed a bit dismissive, though she'd been pretty helpful up until this point. Ásvor really had no room for complaint. Thinking about how to tie grass together to carry herbs could very well occupy the rest of her energy today. Just thinking about it, and wondering how to do it.. she couldn't begin to imagine actually making something like that on her. Nodding, she watched appreciatively as the older woman tucked her herbs away and moved to leave. "Thank you," the yearling offered, feeling thankful - something rare for the young girl. She'd learned a lot today and she was not ignorant to the fact that the burning desire to know more was even more ferocious now that she'd spent time with someone who did know more. "Good luck!" grabbing a mouthful of the herbs that she'd given Asvor, the girl headed back the way she'd came, feeling as wide-eyed and awestruck as a pup leaving its den for the first time.