At this point, following up with @Rivia was a bit of overkill. Sabine had already forced the woman to meet her several times and her wounds were healing fine. Really, there wasn't even anything more for Sabine to do, but she felt a constant, nagging urge to see her patient and double, triple, quadruple check her work. The swamp was not a convenient place for them to meet, but Sabine was trying to kill two birds with one stone.

    While she waited for her patient to arrive, Sabine rummage through the mud and thicket in search of herbs. She didn't often trek to this territory, so she wanted to see if there was anything here of use. Sabine gracefully maneuvered the roots of a mangrove tree, eyes focused as she foraged like a squirrel searching for nuts. That's what she spotted it; a bit of red contrasted amongst the still green jungle. Poison Devil's Pepper.

    Clambering through the sludge, Sabine carefully pulled the plant away from the earth, roots intact, then struggled back upon a thick root. Glancing at her mud caked paws, she sighed. She was not meant to be here, not in a place like this. It felt like another world compared to her home, compared to the sea and the shore, where the sky was in clear view and a cold breeze was almost constant on her face; however, collecting herbs felt right, even somewhere where she felt like an outsider.

+5 Follow up with a patient (1/2) - Medic
+5 Collect herbs (1/2) - Medic

Dear fellow traveler under the moon

I know you're out there in the shadows

code by corvus

my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
Cautious feet navigated roots like stepping stones as she traversed her way around the swamp to find the lynxling. She utilized the muscles in her shoulders and haunches to keep her agile and upright through this natural obstacle course. Rotten dead fall dotted the sickly green surface like gators lurking in the mire, taunting the naive with their mimicry.

The swamp was a spot she found less than favorable to spend her time in. Though, respite from the snow was nice. In one pass her foot slipped on tree-rot, sending remnants of the mangrove into the scummy water beneath her. A burp of trapped air wafted up to fill her nostrils with decay. Rivia sneered at it as she swiftly moved on.

She pushed her way through lichen curtains to find the form of @Sabine ahead just as she was struggling her way out of the muck. Rivia had to leave the comfort of the roots for a brief moment to close the distance between the two of them. The mud slurped underfoot, tacky and unpleasant in her toes. "I think I'd rather be back at the desert," she declared, lifting a foot to watch the sludge slither earthward and rejoin the bog.


Barbarian;
+5 Exercise to gain strength [1/2]

    Sabine placed the herb carefully in a nook on the tree, her claws digging into the bark for balance. She bounced away, dashing to another stash nearby. She collected the nuts of the crabwood tree she had placed down earlier, practically skipping back to set it amongst her newly found devil's pepper. She shifted her attention to the approaching @Rivia, positioning herself comfortably atop the root.

    She allowed a small laugh to escape her at Rivia's distain for the swamp. Sabine shared in such thoughts, but her findings left her hungry for a longer stay in this murky land. "Yes, yes," she said humorously, "Now quit complaining and come here, I must see how you're healing." As soon as the words left her lips, she sprang toward Rivia, giving the cat no time to even follow instructions if she wanted to.

    With the distance now completely erased between them, Sabine poked and jabbed at her patient. She probably needed to work a little on the appropriate amount of pressure she applied when checking wounds, but either way, she was pleased with what she saw. "How do you feel?" she asked, giving the other woman some space now that she had completed her exam, "Everything looks great."

+5 Follow up with a patient (2/2) - Medic
+5 Collect herbs (2/2) - Medic

Dear fellow traveler under the moon

I know you're out there in the shadows

code by corvus

my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
She was quickly settling into her role as a patient, steeling herself as @Sabine rooted around her wounds. Rivia was happy with how they were healing. She would be glad when tending to their care, or worrying about undoing all of her hard work, was beyond her. Beyond both of them. It was a two way street after all. Rivia shrugged, climbing back up to the safety of a root, shaking the mud from her paws when she was able. "Fine. I can sleep on my right side more comfortably these days." she explained, offering her some insight into how her progress in healing has been. "Whatcha got there?" She bobbed her chin towards her herbal cache.

    A smile worked its way across Sabine's face. "Good, I'm glad," she said, truthfully. She was happy @Rivia was healing, but it was more to appease her own pride of her work. She was happy that she was successful. Of course, Rivia healing did spark a small flutter within her gut too, but she ignored that. Sabine's fur bristled in excitement at the other cat's curiosity. "Oh!" Sabine squealed, leaping toward her collection.

    She gripped the mouthful of nuts and singular plant carefully, resting them below at her feet on a flat surface, careful not to lose them into the murky water. "I found some nuts," she began to explained, "They're from the crabwood tree over there." Her chin flicked in the direction in which she had found the useful nuts, her attention then pulling toward the more dangerous herb.

    "I also found this," Sabine said as she gestured to the uprooted plant, "It's poisonous. Basically every part of it causes some sort of issue to whoever consumes it." Her words were not laced in fear, but fascination, her fiery eyes gazing at the herb before her.

+5 Warn someone about a poisonous plant (1/2) - Medic

Dear fellow traveler under the moon

I know you're out there in the shadows

code by corvus

my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
Rivia felt a fraction of a recoil from the sudden excitement over her stash. Watching her bounce to collect and then present them. Her eyes wandered to the tree that produced the nuts that she had, seeing that they did indeed grow on that tree. What was more interesting was the other plant that she presented with a warning. She knit her brows curious and confused. "Didn't peg you as a killer, Freckles." Rivia said, though she wasn't serious. "Why have it, though? What's the point?" the questions came trickling forth, leaning back to inspect the poisonous plant laid before them. She couldn't help but feel curious as to what it would do.

    "Not a killer," she admitted with a small laugh, "You know better than most of my poor killing skills." Sabine had tried and failed to kill Rivia, more than once; though, the jury was still out on if she actually wanted her dead or more just...maimed a little. "It's quite interesting really. Poison Devil's Pepper is what it's called. You can use the roots, stem, or leaves of the plant to achieve your side effects," she said, "It's not deadly; though, I am sure, like with most things, an abundance could kill."

    Sabine paws at the herb, rotating it, studying it. Likely, she wouldn't bring this back with her, she had no use, but a small part of her wondered if she would ever have a need for poison. "It causes depression, insomnia, even impotence when congested," she commented again, glancing up at Rivia as she clutched the herb between two fingers, "Useful for making someone very uncomfortable surely." Without a second thought, she flicked her wrist, releasing the plant into the swampy waters. It did not sink, but floated on the muddied surface.

    She glanced at it for a moment before pulling her attention back to @Rivia. "I have no use for it, obviously, but it's important to know," she said with a soft shrug. "The nuts though," Sabine carried on, "They're good for all sorts of things, like bacterial infections, which you could have easily gotten had I not been so good at my job." She flashed her companion a cheeky grin, revealing all her teeth.

+5 Warn someone about a poisonous plant (2/2) - Medic

Dear fellow traveler under the moon

I know you're out there in the shadows

code by corvus

my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
Rivia tossed her eyes skyward at her comments about her killing skills. "Yeah, yeah," she dismissed, "Honestly, it's a wonder how you feed yourself." She commented, reaching over and prodding at her ribs. @Sabine offered a quick lesson in herbology between the two things that lay between them. First was the Devil's Pepper, eyeing it as she held it up into the air to inspect.

When she mentioned the side effects she twisted a lip. "Yup, that doesn't sound like a good time," Rivia nodded along with her statement. Much like her counterpart, violet eyes followed the sacrificial swamp plant as it lay in to rot into nothing in it's quagmire grave. The grey cat was all too pleased to continue her lesson, explaining the use for the nuts that remained. "Right, of course," she started, "How could I forget to bask in the glory of my savior," lowering her head and extending a paw in a mock of a bow.

    Chuckling, she grabbed the nuts once more, returning them to their safe nook for travels back to her den later; though, she planned to start a few well hidden cashes around Amaryllis so that she wasn't needing to race back to her den whenever she needed goods. It would be nice if she could somehow carry them with her. "I did a fine job," she stated confidently, taking a dramatic bow once the nuts were secured.

    Sabine shook her foot quickly, trying to rid some of the mud. "I will admit though, despite my findings, I am not sure how often I will find myself returning to the swamp," she said, her expression less than pleased, "The muck and sludge just doesn't suit my beautiful, long fur." Sabine struck a comically seductive pose toward @Rivia.

Dear fellow traveler under the moon

I know you're out there in the shadows

code by corvus

my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
Rivia felt a full agreement with the lynx, a distasteful sigh leaving her lips. "Yeah, it's not great here," she said, looking around at the rot and sludge. It was crazy that life could even sustain itself here. But, suppose everything had its place, even here.

As @Sabine flared her dramatics, Rivia shook her head. "You're going to make me roll my eyes out of their sockets," she chuckled, "Can't have that now, can we?" Her eyes looked for the way out of the mucky wasteland before falling back to her. "Let's ditch this mudpit and get something to eat. That way at least I know you've eaten something," Rivia quipped as a nod back to her earlier statement.