Since the day they had been taken in to see Aunt Ikigai, she had made several visits to the medical den. More often than not, she was able to explore alone- except for that one time she was met by Irilyth. But even that had turned out to be a useful exchange. That lesson was something that she replayed over and over in her mind. That, and the identifying features of a lot of the herbs that had been stored. Even though she didn't know all the stock by their names or uses, she could certainly pick them out of a lineup. Mariah had convinced herself that the identification part could come later. For now, she wanted to test her recognition outside.

The crimson-shadowed girl had worked her way down from the dens to the ground level. At first, she drifted in and out of the trees surrounding the lake looking for anything that caught her attention. But before long, she was taken aback by something that really interested her. In a clearing, there was a variety of plants and shrubs growing clustered together. Some of them she even recognized from the infirmary. It puzzled her, as they didn't match anything in the surrounding area.

Mariah made a casual approach to the garden, the gears of her mind turning rampantly as she puzzled out an explanation. Then it struck her. Could these plants have been intentionally put here? That had to be the answer.

The days begin early for the young Mendacium boy, his youthful energy often has him racing out of the den before the rest of his family begin to stir. A part of Malico is regretful that his crimson-streaked sister usually isn’t right behind him but he understands that they both have different needs and energy levels. It has been difficult for him but he always allows her time to gather herself. The bright autumn sun shines over the land on the cool, crisp morning, welcoming the pup as he races out of the family den and down to the grassy ground below.

Small paws thunder along unbeaten paths as Mal runs for all he is worth, short legs pumping as he zig-zags around the wide lake. Time passes and the day begins to warm by the time the pup slows his racing, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as he pulls in great breathes to slow and his breathing from the exertion. Sides heave as slowly walks back around the lake when a familiar crimson shadow catches the boy’s eye. His sister seems to be inspecting some flowers and plants so he angles his path to intercept her.

As he nears, Malico gives a small woof of greeting, trying to keep his voice soft since it is difficult for him to tell if his tone is too loud. Moving to Mariah’s side, the boy aims a loving, gentle bump of his skull against her own before plopping down on them… in case lips if he misses a word she says he can piece it together from her lips. Letting out a large yawn, he asks, “Hey Mar. What ya doin’? Feelin’ okay?”

He worries about her and the fact that she often feels sick but he tries to pretend that he is indifferent to the whole thing. Well, at least in front of his parents he does.


"Malico Mendacium"

The more she inspected, the more she became convinced that her initial thought was correct. The way the plants were arranged- they couldn't be anything other than intentional in placement. Which led her to her next line of thought. How do you make a garden? However, that train of thought derailed just as soon as it came to be. At the sound of a familiar voice, Mariah's silver gaze panned to locate her brother. Though, she wasn't left searching for longer than a brief moment. She answered Malico's greeting touch with a gentle pushback with her own forehead.

Her attention drifted a moment to the flowers that were flattened beneath her newfound company. But she did her best to quell the annoyance that it caused. After a yawn, Malico set into pleasantries, to which she found herself facing him directly before speaking herself. It seemed easier for him to hear if he could see the individual who he was talking to as they spoke. And while she wasn't interested in making everyone feel warm and fuzzy, she would absolutely make that accommodation for her littermate. "I'm fine." She answered back pointedly. "Just looking at the plants." The girl quickly added, waving a paw at the garden around them. "I've seen a lot of these before in the medical den. I was just ... memorizing them, I guess." Mariah explained a little more in detail. It was then she glance away for a moment. She knew that they didn't share the same interests, so she didn't really know why she bothered elaborating such things. But, to be fair, Malico asked. "What have you been up to?" The Mendacium girl asked, returning her attention to Mal as she spoke.

Mariah accepts Malico’s gentle head bump and even pushes back which brings a smirk to the boy’s lips. He does not realize that the plants he crushes under his body when he flops down are of interest to her and, blissfully unaware, he questions how she is feeling. His crimson and shadow hued sister turns to face him so that he can catch the words on her lips that his ears may miss. Tail gives a small wag of thanks to her, grateful that he won’t have to try and read only the side of her lips and have to fumble his way through their conversation.

Even if she isn’t focused on making him feel good, the knowledge that he does not have to try and pretend he can hear perfectly when it is far from the truth, sets the boy at ease. When his sister talks about looking at the plants and waves a paw around them, Mal’s turquoise eyes looks around the area. For the first time he realizes that this is a healer’s garden and that is why Mar is fascinated by it. Ears pick up the fact that she is still talking and his eyes snap back to her mouth as she explains about memorizing them.

With a small nod, the boy swiftly gathers his paws underneath himself and carefully stands, suddenly very aware of where he steps. He may not be interested in the healing arts but he will hinder his sister’s interest and, if she wished to name off the plants, he would patiently listen to each and every one. However, Mariah asks what he is up to and the boy gives a small shrug of his shoulders and nonchalantly says, “Was tryin’ to catch some of the rabbits that seem to like this garden.”

It is a half-truth as Mal does not wish to rub in the fact that he can run and enjoy the day while she is usually confined to the family den. And he does often chase the rabbits that seem to take an interest in this expanse of plants. They like to raid the flowers when no one is looking. An idea suddenly occurs to the pup and, arching a brow, he says, “Hey, you’re interested in healin’ right? Would you have any need for a rabbit pelt or two?” A wicked grin curls Mal’s lips upward. Maybe he can be of use to her and her healing endeavors!


"Malico Mendacium"

Maybe she conveyed something in her expression without meaning to when Malico tromped through the garden. If she did it was an accident. However, when he described hunting the predators to the garden, it brought a morbid grin to tug at her lips.  "Yeah, there is a lot of valuable stuff to protect. Rabbits would be wise to stay away." Or maybe they could border the garden with something poisonous, so when the rabbits went to eat ... well, they wouldn't be eating for much longer. She thought of the one she had killed with the yew berries. All in all, it wasn't that difficult to procure.

When she heard her brother's voice once again, she blinked away the imagery that played behind her eyes. Mariah was appreciative of the offer, but couldn't think of anything she could use the pelts for immediately ... until she recalled the supply bags that some of the healers carried around. " ... Yes. I would be interested if you happened upon some that you didn't need." She didn't know if anything could be made like that out of a rabbit hide. Maybe a small pouch? She wasn't sure. But she was pretty confident she knew someone who could pull it off if it were at all possible to do so.

"Maybe Avacyn could make them into something of use for me." Mariah mused, thinking of their very creative older sister. Honestly, she didn't know much about what Avacyn liked to make ... but she knew the young woman was crafty. And if Ava couldn't make it herself, then perhaps she could point her in the right direction. Then something else popped into the back of her mind. "How are your hunting trips going?" She asked with genuine curiosity to start.

While Mariah may not have meant to convey anything, Malico has found himself learning to read the subtle crinkling of lines in others features. His hearing may be compromised but he is finding other ways to listen. That is how he finds himself reading that this garden is important to his sister and, trying to be respectful of Mar, he careful stands. He also makes a conscious effort to be aware of where he places his paws.

He mentions the rabbits and then nods at his sister’s words about protecting the garden. Tilting his head, he says, “I can see about setting some traps to try and catch them. I know dad has talked about them and I am sure he can help me.” Eyes carefully watch Mar’s features, noting the way she seems to be mulling something over as he speaks. He then offers Mariah pelts and notices the blinks, seeming to pull herself out of deep thought. An amused smirk pulls at his lips as Mal wonders if she is thinking along the same lines as him.

The thought had crossed his mind that, if he set traps for the rabbits, it wouldn’t be too difficult to make sure that the little creatures he caught were alive. If he did that, Malico could give Mariah live test subjects to try out some of these herbs on. Still, uncertain if that is what she is actually thinking, he decides to begin by offering the pelts and is accepted. With a nod, the purple pup admits, “I don’t have much use for the pelts, so you can have ‘em. You know, I killed a goose the other day, you can have its feathers… if you want.”

A broad grin rests on his lips as he offers the parts to his sister, happy to be able to share some of his kills with his sibling. Malico nods at her statement of Avacyn making the pelts into something and decides, right there, to bring her all the pelts of the animals he kills. Maybe, when he gets bigger, he can track down the white and orange tiger he had fought and present her with that pelt too. Then, she asks about his hunting trips and the boy blinks in surprise as he finds that Mariah is genuinely curious.

Mal shrugs, trying not to be too insensitive to her situation as he says, “They are good. I get to go across the land bridge which is cool.” Turquoise eyes flick over in the direction where said bridge is and the boy silently mulls over something for a moment. Slowly, thoughtfully, he says, “You know, if you want, I could take you across. There are some strange plants over there that I think might be herbs.” Gaze flicks back over to his sister and he gives her a sly grin, adding, “Mom and dad don’t need to know. It can be our little adventure.”


"Malico Mendacium"

As she had already begun devising a plan on how to safely poison the garden against invading pests, Malico interjected with the mention of traps. That could work out just as well. She couldn't help but wonder what would happen when they captured the rabbits. Likely to be eaten. But perhaps they could be of more use than that. "Yes ... that would be excellent."  Mariah eventually responded. She would have to put a little more thought into what the rabbits could be used for. It was an interesting line of thought, to say the least, and she would most certainly revisit it.  

As he went on to mention that he just so happened to have goose feathers as well, Mariah brightened. She didn't quite know what they could use the feathers for. But surely they would come in handy. Maybe Avacyn would have an idea. The scarlet-shadowed girl slowly began to nod before she answered. "Maybe we can stash them somewhere in case they're needed at a later time?" Until she could figure out a use for them, rather. She was sure she would come up with something.

A pang of jealousy welled in her chest as Malico declared he had already been across the land bridge to Elysium's outer territories. She wanted so badly to go as well, but it seemed that no one had been given the opportunity to take her. Now that Malico was comfortable with the path, it sounded like a fantastic idea that they just go together. And with the mention of strange plants, she was hooked. "I would like that" She started.  "Maybe I could identify them." Even if she didn't know them from her own memory, she would definitely collect some of them to return with her. She was sure Irilyth or Ikigai could help her with something like that at the very least.

It was as if Malico had been reading her mind as he reiterated that they didn't have to tell anyone. "Our little adventure." Mariah all but purred back. "Yes. That sounds perfect." She already couldn't wait to they got the opportunity to sneak across the bridge.