Table & Art by Vethysnia

The beach was gentle beneath her bloody pads as the babe managed to crawl away from the old hag that proclaimed to be her aunt. Who knew it will come to this. How shamefull. She has been suffering her whole life, in misery due to this wrecked family and now they found her again. She won't know peace with them. Not now nor ever. Tips of shells peeked from holes, made by little creatures, seeking shelter in the soft sand. Mini dunes of beige dust soon to be soaked by the sea, gradually creeping its way further onto shore in her sight. The sun's rays peacefully float, resting on the warm waters as timid clouds are rarely exposed, leaving the sky to beam blue in the warm Spring. Few trees give her a touch of shade to lay beneath as she crawls further in the sand, leaving droplets of crimson liquid as she departs. A white ribbon of cliffs and rocks surround her and the bay, guarding her from what lies beyond. As she lay there her vision was blury, veins in her eyes exploded during the pressure of the figvht causing her right eye to become a reddish color, as her ears invite in the quiet whisper of waves, sharing the ocean's secrets. A graceful song, when birds calm calls break the silence in the settled scene, it was a good place to catch her breath.

Once again, Ara found herself heading to the eastern lands of Boreas. Perhaps she was simply being naive - hoping that she might catch a familiar scent of someone from years ago here, or that somehow Fiori might have been reborn. As she expected, there was nothing extraordinary to note, and any glimmer of hope she'd felt at the possibility of some kind of change was quickly quelled as she made her way through familiar lands. One thing that caught her attention, though, was the scent of blood heavy in the air. Frowning, Ara turned to catch hold of the scent and trail after it, hoping someone was not injured. Her paws carried her across the tan sands of the beach, finally spotting a woman in the distance with an autumn-colored coat. Slowly she moved to close the distance between them, her pawsteps hesitant and her head lowered to show she meant no harm. The iron stench of blood grew stronger as she approached, noting the trails of blood in the sand - and Ara cleared her throat to announce her presence before startling the woman. "Excuse me?" She called out, her voice soft and hesitant. "Are you okay? I.. I can see you're bleeding." If she refused help, Ara wouldn't argue, but she hoped if she was in pain that she would accept some assistance.

Table & Art by Vethysnia

Pain sears through the poor babe's abdomen better than a branding iron, her mind conceding to the torment, unable to bring a thought to completion. Without meaning to her reptilian bodice curls into something fetal, something primeval and all the while the pain burns and radiates. She squirmed on the ground like a fish on the floor, and with each step her stomach tightened and ached all the more. She kept swallowing, and her throat kept clenching, but no matter what she could not stop the warm feeling rising through her chest. Then she could taste it at the back of her mouth. The babe buckled over. A warm, clouded, cream coloured liquid spilled from her mouth, and sizzled as it splashed over the Mother Nature blanket. It was only then that she heard a voice before her, her mind fuzzy, voluptous ink blank lips stained with the containt of her stomach as she forgot about embarrassament, she wanted the pain to be over, as it was clear that she has been through a battle but she was not able to answer, therefoew she shook her regalia in a negative response praying the other will understand the meaning behind it.

As Ara moved closer to the stranger, it became more readily apparent that she was unable to communicate much to her. The pain must've been almost unbearable, because instead of responding, she simply writhes on the ground, curling into herself as though willing herself to disappear. Ara can't ignore the pull to help, no matter how badly off her patient might be. Her pace slowed as she drew closer, not wanting to startle the already injured woman or even scare her off with her approach. The worse thing she could do would be to try to scramble to her paws and run away, so Ara's movements are submissive and cautious as she approached her, head held low to the ground. The vomiting elicited a frown from Ara. Not a good sign, no matter the reason, unless she was with child, and she saw no indications of that. Slowly she would close the distance between them, observing her as best as she could, noting the blood-red color of her eyes. Slowly Ara moved to set her herb pouch on the earth, nosing through its meager contents. Luckily with the arrival of spring she'd been able to start building up her stores again, bit by bit, but it was hard to tell what could help this woman without knowing exactly what had happened. She grabbed a slightly wilted cannabis leaf and slowly set it on the ground, nosing it toward the woman.  "Eat this," she offered gently, her voice certain.  "It will help relax your muscles, and ease the pain so you can rest. It should help with the nausea, too." Ara wasn't sure if she would follow her instructions, but she hoped she would. If not? Well, she wouldn't force her and wouldn't really even insist much if she wanted to argue with her, but her gaze was compassionate and her brow furrowed in worry as she looked her over and tried to get a better idea of what had happened. A fight, of some sorts, maybe? She wasn't totally sure.

Table & Art by Vethysnia

She was laying in the mud, cold and beaten but alive, she managed to reach this far before collapsing but now the pain got the best of her. With one violent contraction the congealed contents of her stomach emerged in the light, nothing digested since the evening before. Acidic residue forming a shiny patch on her pretty maw and this was the lowest she has been, she wanted to crawl away and hide but not out of fear but out of shame. Having someone seeing her this weak, seeing the Demi-Goddess this weak, was unbearable. Her auditory system filled with the gentle words of the strange woman before her; weak, gentle pomegranate optics watched as she standed low, in order not to scare the babe further and refusing medication. What was she supposed to do? Refuse the help of someone that is strangely worried? That cannot be done. Even if the risk of poisoning was high she just could not take the chance of remaining in this agony for much longer or she will go insane. There was something wrong with her and if this woman could help then to hell with it all. The babe would attempt to nod her regalia in agreement before nosing at the herbs for just one second, their aroma filling her senses, rich, wild, if it could ease the pain then she will take anything. Before long her pretty, stained maw opened in order to drag the cannabis leaf towards her and begin to chew on it. Pain was the alarm of disease, the symptom that announces that all was not right with our bodies. Whether due to accident or illness, it was the most common reason that people were seeking medical assistance by either healer, shamans or priests. But because pain has many causes, some of which are poorly understood, it was often a vexing problem to treat. The babe does not know of any truly effective medicines for certain types of pain, and sometimes relief comes only at the expense of debilitating side effects but this leaf she continued to chew very slowly but certainly made her feel differen, better, a sign was definitely the way the babe whined her thank you towards the strange woman that she decided could be nothing but a healer of some sorts, judging by everything she carried with her.

Seeing a stranger in this condition wouldn't disturb her. Ara had dealt with far worse, and she knew this female wasn't doing any of this on purpose. Her only concern was making sure she was alright, knowing Ara wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't offer to at least alleviate her comfort. At the very least, that was something she could offer her. He brows continued to furrow in concentration as she watched Nephthys slowly nose the herbs, and finally grabbed the leaf and began to chew it. If she was forced to, she would've gladly taken some herself to prove she wasn't trying to poison her.. but she was grateful she didn't have to, happy to be of clear mind as she ensured Nepthys was going to be alright. While some poisons were obvious by scent alone - something might smell overwhelming, or bitter, or just somehow off, well.. she knew mind-altering herbs often didn't seem all that different from medicinal herbs, unless you were trained in the art. A gentle smile was offered as Ara watched Nepthys visibly relax. Perhaps the pain wouldn't disappear, wouldn't be cured, but she hoped the period of relaxation might be enough for her body to begin to heal itself. Whether from some kind of impact, or possible inflammation or - the worst case scenario, internal injury, which she wouldn't be able to help with - she knew time was the best healer. "Here," she moved to rifle through her back again, sliding another leaf towards her. "I'd get some rest if I were you, but you may want to take more of this later. Only side effect is you might find yourself hungry, and feeling sleepy," Ara explained gently, nodding. "Is there anything else I could help you with?" Perhaps she could find her voice if she needed something, or at least try to make some kind of gesture and Ara would do her best to figure it out.