Malico had promised Mariah that he would take her on a little adventure across the land bridge and, today, he is going to make good on his word. Since his sister’s energy can wax and wane, the boy waits until she is on one of her upswings to pull her out to go explore. Paws cut a path across familiar territory as he slowly walks with Mar, not wishing for her to expend all her energy on the trip when the destination will be so much fun. In short order, paws touch the grass of the neighboring land and he indicates that they have a little further to go.

Bright turquoise eyes try to sneak glances at Mariah when she isn’t paying attention as he silently tries to gauge how she is doing. True to his word, Malico brings the pair to a small cluster of strange plants and he proudly says, “Well, here you are! I think these are herbs but you’ll have to tell me if I am right.” An amused grin plays across his dark lips as he watches Mar, trying to see if he has made her happy with this little expedition.

After a moment Malico clears his throat and says, “There are always some prey lurking around here. How about, you check out this stuff and I’ll catch us a snack?” Brows lift in question, waiting for her approval of his plan before breaking off to begin anything.


"Malico Mendacium"

As far as her days went, it was a fairly decent one. The fatigue hadn't begun to set in yet, so when Malico prompted her to take advantage of the opportunity of being unsupervised, Mariah was all too happy to comply. Just as her brother had previously assured her, today was going to be an adventure to the mainland. So, they set out across the strip that connected the island to Elysium's adjoining territories. While she certainly gave it her best shot, she couldn't deny the burn in her lungs and the heaviness to her limbs and ignoring the sensations was proving to be more difficult than she liked. As the grassy moor opened up beyond the ocean, her silver gaze traced the ridged outlines of the scattered boulders. There was no denying it, the Rock Garden was certainly an interesting place.

When Malico came to a halt, and offered an enthusiastic explanation as to what he suspected to be plants of use- Mariah was actually pleasantly surprised. "Yes, you are correct. It's called Mint." She responded, facing her brother as she spoke. "Good eye." It was a very hardy plant that had no issue scaling the sides of the boulders and covering the surrounding ground. The rigid textured leaves were sweet and offered a cooling sensation when eaten or chewed- best for settling a stomach or quelling nausea among other things.

With the discovery of the mint, she was pleased with herself that she remembered to borrow one of the bags from the medicinal den- so she could bring more of it back. Just as she was deciding the best method of its harvest, her brother's voice caught her attention once more. Looking up from her task, she offered a gentle nod. "Good idea." She acknowledged. "I'll stay in this area until you get back." Grateful that Malico was able to entertain himself as she worked with the plants- as well as the opportunity to rest without feeling like she was slowing him down.

The plants that Malico had found are indeed herbs and a grin tugs at the corners of his lips as Mar confirms it. She names the plant and he absently nods while filing it and the scent away in his memory for future use. Then, Mariah turns to him and Mal catches her words of praise which has his grin growing. He suggests that she can pick the herbs and he can hunt some food for them while they are out here and his sister agrees. He knows she is strong and independent and the boy wants to give her space to do as she wishes.

Mariah says she will stay in the area and nods slowly, saying, “Okay. I won’t go too far and, if you need me for anything, howl. I will come running.” With a wink, Malico moves off, allowing her space and time to work while he heads off to find the rabbits he had scented on the breeze. Using the wind to his advantage, he allows the wind to push their scent toward him and the boy quickly tracks the creatures to an area a little way off from Mar.

Body hunkers down as he slows, not wishing to frighten the prey until he ready to run them down. A head with long ears comes into view as a rabbit stands up from behind a rock and Malico stills, waiting for his chance to strike.

"Malico Mendacium"

With Malico ensuring that he would also remain in the area in case she needed him for anything, she offered him a gentle nod of acknowledgment. She thought about making the same kind of offer to him but then thought against it. If things went as far south as they had to rely on her capabilities to pull them through ... they were going to be in significant trouble. Mariah's hueless gaze lingered on her brother's galactic frame until she could no longer see him from the cover of the rocks. Satisfied in her confidence that he would be okay, her attention returned to the mint in front of her.

The scarlet-shadowed girl propped her bag up on its end, leaving the top of it wide open for ease of storage. Once she felt she had everything in place, she began the collection. Getting down as close to the root as she could, Mariah snapped the small sprigs off in individual pieces. Once harvested, she gently placed each small stalk into the container. It was a repetitive motion, almost lulling in a sense. But before long she had a nice little mound of freshly cut herbs, packed up and ready to be taken home. As she was wrapping up, she wondered how her brother was faring in his task.

The boy cloaked in purple offers his sister a small grin before turning to leave and the excitement at the approaching hunt quickly pulls his thoughts away. Quickly, Malico catches the scent of a rabbit and he wastes no time tracking the small creature to where it is, a short distance away. Body crouches low as he stalks closer to his prey, pausing as the animal’s head appears to look around. Luckily, it is looking away from him since his bright coloration and lack of cover makes it impossible to hide from searching eyes.

To the boy’s surprise, and delight, three more heads pop out of the ground and he grins at his luck. A whole den of rabbits for him to choose from! Silent paws carry him forward and, without giving the creatures any warning, Malico charges at them. They have climbed up and out of the hole that leads to their burrow and the pup is on them before they can attempt to scurry back into it. The chase is on as the rabbits turn to flee and the pup races after the four plump prey animals. Soon, he will return to Mariah with some good food.


"Malico Mendacium"

When compared to harvesting plants, of course it would only make sense that hunting would take a bit longer. Especially if the hunted was resistant. Even still, she sat waiting, silver gaze inspecting the Mint she had collected. Based on what she knew they had back in the medical den- and what she had already gathered in her bag- it was sort of unnecessary to bring more back. But as the boredom of waiting set in, she casually picked another sprig of the plant. But instead of immediately packing it away, she raised it up close to her face, leaning in to get a close view in her examination. For a small leaf, it certainly had deep crevices throughout its surface. It almost gave it a wrinkled appearance that fanned out in a serrated edge. However, it wasn't sharp by any means, it just gave it a very distinct and recognizable likeness.

After a few more moments of close inspection, she tossed it in the bag as well. Allowing an audible huff to escape her lips as her impatience began to get the better of her.

The pup chases the fast rabbits a short way off, his little legs pumping hard as he tries to keep up the quick creatures. Honestly, if they had kept going straight, Malico would have lost them from their speed alone but luck, or stupidity, is on his side as two of the four make a mistake and suddenly break toward the right. The boy cuts away with them, chasing them into a dead end where he swiftly catches and dispatches of the two creatures. Gathering the two dead animals in his maw, the purple pup then makes his ways back to where his sister waits and finds her still there, still waiting.

Grinning around the dead rabbits, Malico comes to a stop in front of her and drops the kills, saying, “Got us a snack!” Sure, the beasts are small but, to their small stomachs, it can be a feast. Not waiting for Mariah to pick, the boy automatically pushes the bigger of the two toward her before grabbing the smaller one as his own and sinking down to his belly. Hunting takes a lot of energy and the pup’s stomach growls angerly as he takes his first bite. As he chews, Mal says, “So. Mint. Whatca gonna use it for?” Sure, he isn’t interested in herbs but Mar is and that means that will listen to anything and everything she has to say about them.


"Malico Mendacium"

When the familiar violet hues of her brother's frame caught her attention from her peripheral, she immediately looked up to find him. Even from a distance, she could see that his hunt had been successful judging by the lifeless carcasses that dangled from his jaws. Something similar to pride welled in her chest for a brief moment as a grin spread across her features. It wasn't that she didn't think he could hunt on his own, it just brought feelings of satisfaction when presented with results. As he allowed his victims to fall to the ground in the space between them, he announced their intended purpose. "Well done." She praised.

Typically she wasn't interested in sparing the feelings of others, however, Malico was different- she didn't have the heart to tell him that she wasn't that hungry after all. Mariah eyed the rabbit he had shoved in her direction. She hesitated a moment, before collecting it to take a bite, all the while watching her brother as he ate his much more enthusiastically. It wasn't until he asked her what the Mint was used for that she got a little more animated herself. "It's good for several things, but mainly Headaches. Respiratory Infections. Colds. That sort of thing." She explained. After the first couple bites of her rabbit, it was quickly forgotten. "Hey, do you think you could catch a rabbit and not kill it completely?" It was a little bit of a morbid sentiment, but she couldn't help the curiosity that called her attention.