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The weather had been dreary lately, and from the cloudy sky that loomed overhead, it seemed that there would be no change in the pattern that day. A quiet, exhausted sigh poured from the mouth of the mauve boy, who had hoped to avoid another downpour. He hated being wet. It took forever for his thick coat to dry, not to mention the HOURS he’d need to groom it into something presentable. Now that he was feeling somewhat better (he finally had his infection under control), he wanted to look better too. And while it was an impossible task for the present, he wanted to be ready for later.

With a plain purse of kudu hide clutched in his teeth, Tai made his way into the thicket to search for anything that seemed useful — plants, mostly, but he kept an eye out for other goods as well. He climbed over thick roots and squeezed under others that had been exposed by weather and time. Most of the flora was young, only freshly sprouted, so there were hardly any flowers to harvest. There was, however, one plant that he found more readily than others: a tall, weedy looking thing with small, puffy blossoms. Not very pretty, but still valuable, perhaps …

After placing his satchel on a nearby root (to keep it from touching the mud), Tai turned back around to the flower and leaned in to better inspect it, beginning with its scent.

Possible XP

	+5 Collect herbs
	+5 Study the flora of a neutral territory
	+5 Warn someone about a poisonous plant
	+5 Help someone find a plant they’re looking for

@Bruno ♔

The thicket proved one of the most efficient training grounds of all, for how Bruno had to duck and crawl to get around those spindly branches. The young prince was going through intervals, his chest heaving and his heart racing with his efforts even without the typical heat of a sunny day.

He might have continued on like that for longer if not for the distinct shine of wine-red furs against dark, rough roots. Bruno slowed slightly, sucking in to cut off his haggard breathing. Oh, but it was too late for surprise, was it not? Tai would have to be utterly stupid not to have heard any of his rustling about, and Bruno only suspected him slightly so.

"Picking poisons to coat your claws with?" He called out his guess, veering his running path to try and approach the strange yearling.

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|| may y9 | 1y 9m | EM royalty | at thicket | @Tai ||
+10 - Exercise to gain strength
+10 - Discuss a battle strategy

+10 - Gather poisonous plants
double EXP in threads started/completed Dec 29 - Jan 29

_CODE

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It was impossible to miss the sound of scampering paws. Tai heard them, but it was only when they seemed to be heading his way that he lifted his head to better listen. There was, of course, some huffing and puffing — but he didn’t quite recognize the voice until it called out. That was when the realization struck.

@Bruno ♔.

A long, tense exhale slipped through his teeth as he ground them together. He started questioning his luck — before realizing luck had very little to do with it. Tai had teased Bruno before about following him, but now he had to wonder — was he really a creep?

His ears swirled back. Between his concern and Bruno’s taunting, the young eagle turned on his paws to face him. “Does it LOOK like I’m doing anything evil?!” he shouted, hoping to startle and humiliate Bruno with a view of his blinded eye, after he’d slung such a nasty accusation at him.

He was met with more fury than he could have anticipated, though was this not the usual for their encounters? Bruno lurched to come to a skidding halt, his brows furrowed with dismay at the venomous response. “Does it LOOK like I’m doing anything evil?!” The boy shouted at him, whirling around front-face. He tensed in preparation for an attack, eyes scrunching to try and protect them from a stray swing when he finally caught sight of Tai's secret.

"What?" Bruno stammered, wrinkling his nose with incredulousness as he struggled to catch up with the sudden shift. He knew he should care about the eye – knew he should be horrified, or sorry, or concerned. And yet, the prince found himself hung on Tai's words. “Does it LOOK like I’m doing anything evil?!” Bruno froze there, the question rattling in his mind as he struggled to process it.

"Evil... what?!" The question came out meaner than he intended, his tongue rolling with a scoff. He had merely been suggesting a tactic to get back at him, and now Tai was waxing philosophy.

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@Tai
+10 - Exercise to gain strength
+10 - Discuss a battle strategy

+10 - Gather poisonous plants

_CODE

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Oh, silly him. He’d stupidly expected @Bruno ♔ to know how to be empathetic. The only thing he’d succeeded in doing was somehow offending him — not that it was really hard to accomplish. It seemed that was the ONLY thing he was capable of doing when Bruno was around.

The boy’s ears were flattened in the white wisps of his mane, and they showed no indication of relaxing as he rolled his eyes over his rival’s response. “I’m busy here,” he grunted and turned back around, his paw reaching for the white weed. It was not poisonous, despite what Bruno probably thought (as if he was capable of such a feat). Rather, it was something that could be applied to wounds — to heal, not harm. He doubted Bruno could even comprehend NOT hurting others …

@Bruno ♔

He waited, tensed with hostility to match what he was met with when Tai merely rolled his eyes to turn away. “I’m busy here,” he insisted as he grabbed for a plant. Bruno pursed his lips with irritation, though it occurred to him that his company likely merely did not understand him.

"See, it's a battle move," he explained, attempting to press forward to near the other boy's side. "If you coat your claws with poisons, it only takes one swipe to take out an opponent." Bruno loomed there, searching Tai's gaze for understanding, trying not to fixate on the empty fog of half of it. What he called evil, Bruno called resourceful, and who could fault someone for that? Tai could, he answered his own question inwardly. Silence enveloped them, crawling up his skin uncomfortably as he longed to fill it with anything.

"What are you doing?" He asked the prickly boy.

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@Tai
+10 - Discuss a battle strategy

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