With hands so soft - delicate and sweet
Oh, this was not good. It really hadn't occurred to her how dangerous the thicket could possibly be, and so when she'd made her way out there to look for herbs she hadn't been as cautious as she could have been. So as she walked over what looked like a small hill, she didn't notice her paws sinking into the moss until too late, when she plunged through it into a hole created by fallen trees covered with a thick layer of moss and ivy.

It might not have been so bad if one of her front legs hadn't gotten caught in the ivy on the way down, and if the bottom of the pit had been solid instead of a lattice of the branches from a fallen tree. Her yelp of surprise turned to a yowl of pain as fragile bones in her wrist snapped and one of the thicker bones in her hind leg did also, caught awkwardly beneath her weight as it slipped sideways beneath some branches in the fall.

For a moment, all she could do was pant in surprise, blinking as her eyes tried to adjust to the dimmer light. She looked up at the hole she had fallen through as she tried to get up, but the pain immediately told her that wasn't going to be working. Oh no, she was in some serious trouble now.

Help! she called out, praying that someone might be around to hear her. Someone help! I'm stuck!

@Cassian

_{ART BY SPU · CODE BY DEE}

The boy was hard at work. Cassian was stretched out in the grass of the thicket, carefully stripping the seeds from the crab's foot plant that he found. He was somewhat careful when gathering these seeds; he knew that they could cause death and that's exactly what he wanted. Icefang had embarrassed him and his brothers and the boy was all about getting even. And the lesson that he learned recently was uppity lionesses deserved the ultimate end.

It was the thought at least until a voice cut through the silence and reached for him. 'Help!' A lioness's voice and at first it went completely ignored since it didn't sound familiar. 'Someone help! I'm stuck!' Her being stuck piqued his interest. The boy would loft his head and carefully sniff the air; no one else was around...his gaze would drop down toward the seeds he had between his paws.

Before trying these on Icefang he should make sure the rumors were true about these little seeds. "I'm here!" The boy would call out as he carefully bundled the seeds in a leaf parcel and picked it up before setting out towards the source of the lioness's voice. Upon finding her, he too would feel his paws beginning to sink down into the mossy landscape and instead of continuing forward he would take a few steps back so he to wouldn't fall in.

The boy would traverse about for a bit until finding a small opening to the cavern that the lioness fell into. His paws would eagerly carry him forward towards her as he looked down at her wrist and noticed it didn't look properly put together. No, it appeared very broken.

Cassian would perk his ears forward as he stared at her almost enamored. She was perfect. The perfect victim. Immobilized and no one but him was around to hear her scream. The youth would put down the leaf parcel as he moved over to the cavern walls and carefully began to remove some of the moss from it. "I'm Zyair," The boy would introduce himself; a blatant lie but she surely wouldn't know that.

"I brought herbs," the cub would chirp whimsically before glancing at the leap parcel but he would reach out and drag it closer to himself. "Who you?" After all, he needed to know the name of his test subject.

[ Tags ]
@Jun

[ Exp ]
+20 Kill a character without a fight
+10 Create a poison and its antidote (in the same thread)
+5 Learn or exploit a character’s weakness

art by chirpeax ♡︎ code by scorpixia

With hands so soft - delicate and sweet
Okay, well, she'd kind of hoped someone a little older would come along, because it wasn't going to be easy to get her out of the hole, she knew, and while he was clearly big for his age she didn't think he was quite big enough to manage hauling her up. She didn't see any other way of doing it, though, so encircled by trees and branches as she was. She mentally cursed herself for not paying attention and getting herself into this mess. She loved cubs, she really did, but one wasn't ideal in this particular situation. Well, maybe she could convince him to go get his parents.

Hi there Zyair, she replied warmly, trying to keep the pain and worry out of her voice to keep from scaring him. Oh, that's good, she added of the herbs, trying to think if any in the area helped with pain. Not that she knew of. Drat. She'd just have to wait then. I'm Jun. It's nice to meet you, though I wish it was under slightly better circumstances. Are your parents around? I could use some help getting out of here, she said.

@Cassian

_{ART BY SPU · CODE BY DEE}

'Calm down,' the boy would muse to himself as he desperately tried to still the beat of his rapidly fluttering heart. The lioness in front of him would help his studies on poisons — she the first in a long string of murders. If no one else in this wretched world would remember her; he surely would — one's first was always the most important.

'Hi there Zyair,' her voice radiates warmth even through the intense pain she had to feel. Was this right? The boy would splay his ears in uncertainty momentarily as he stared at her almost dumbfoundedly. How did she have it in her to restrain her pain...perhaps even for his sake? 'I'm Jun. It's nice to meet you, though I wish it was under slightly better circumstances. Are your parents around? I could use some help getting out of here,' this only causes him to frown as he listens to her speak. This was the right decision; he was already tired of the woman thinking he...a male was incapable of helping her.

"They sent me ahead with painkillers." The boy would allow the lie to smoothly slip from his tongue as he glances down towards her wrist. "They said they have to grab more stuff to help." After all they would have to set a bone and didn't have that on hand — but it too was a lie. But the youth continues; his paw reaching out as he unfurls the parcel of crab foot seeds.

"Jun, momma always tells me medicine don't taste good." The boy would warn as he carefully piles the seeds up and crushes a few with his paw and then crushes the rest into a fine powder before sliding the leaf with the crab foot powder on it forward towards her. "She always crushes it up for me when I get sick...takes longer to work but doesn't taste as bad." The lies slip from his tongue — practiced viper as his gut churns eagerly.

Jun. Jun. Jun.

Her name plays on repeat inside his thoughts; a phantom of excitement that refused to slip upon his face even as toes wriggled against the ground — excitement or feigned discomfort?

[ Tags ]
@Jun

[ Exp ]
+20 Kill a character without a fight
+10 Create a poison and its antidote (in the same thread)
+5 Learn or exploit a character’s weakness

art by chirpeax ♡︎ code by scorpixia

With hands so soft - delicate and sweet
Her brow pinched ever so slightly in confusion as he spoke of his parents sending him ahead while they got supplies, some red flag thrown up in the depths of her subconsciousness. She couldn't figure out what it was, though, and the pain was making it hard to think and figure out what it was. If she could have, it would have occurred to her that it was odd anyone would go get supplies without knowing what the situation actually was. That can be very true, she agreed instead as he warned of the medicine tasting bad. She knew as well as anyone that plants, especially healing ones, could be so disgusting that it made one almost not want to eat them, despite how useful they were.

She didn't get a good look at the seeds before he ground them up, and alas therefore couldn't recognize them as dangerous. Granted, the boy's youth helped him to sell the ruse, for who would be suspicious of a child? Children certainly didn't have ill intentions. Perhaps some would think that, but not her. Not the sweet and gentle Jun who was both medic and nursemaid. Very kind of you. What are these? she asked, though it was perhaps a bit late to be doing so as immediately after she asked, even while still looking to him for an answer, she lapped them up with her tongue.

While we're waiting, would you mind going up and seeing if there's any ashanti pepper around? It's a plant with orange berries, if you could bring me some of them, she requested. It wouldn't be the most useful for relieving the pain in her broken leg and ankle, but perhaps it would do something. Just enough to take the edge off.

@Cassian

_{ART BY SPU · CODE BY DEE}

— C A S S I A N —

---

He never thought that something that he made up would be agreed upon. Medicine never tastes good, medicine needs to be mixed with something. The cub would perk his ears as he sat with her in silence — a silent spectator to her demise. His body is rigid but then relaxes as she decides not to question him on his earlier lie. Instead, the boy would tilt his head lightly towards her as she spoke. "Hey Jun?" The cub would begin before trailing off, listening to her speak further.

But now she questions him on what exactly the seeds were and yet she swept them up upon her tongue and into her mouth. The boy would say nothing as he watched her; a breath of relief released from his lips as he watched her finish the powder off. "Something to help your pain." The cub would confess as he lowers his haunches towards the ground and wraps his tail about them. Perhaps it was cruel in a way — to promise relief even though it was not relief in the typical sense.

But then she asks for something else - an ashanti pepper. "What does it do?" The boy would question while wiggling his toes upon the ground. He couldn't just leave her be by herself - he had to track the time, how long it too, if there was any pain or warnings her body gave that she was poisoned. "@Jun, do you have any regrets in life?" The boy would suddenly inquiry with a small tilt of his head.

---

art by drifty ♡︎ code by scorpixia

With hands so soft - delicate and sweet
She'd been hoping for the name of the plant, but it seemed she wouldn't get that. Perhaps his parents or whoever had given him the seeds hadn't taught him the name of them, just what they did. If he was going to be a medic, she thought it would be good for him to learn the name of it eventually, though. She wasn't going to say that, though, because it wasn't her place to question another's parenting or teaching abilities.

It does a few different things, but its usefulness in this case is that the juice of the berries helps to relieve pain when it's spread on the skin, she replied, always happy to answer questions about herbs and healing. She shifted slightly, trying to stifle the wince of pain the movement elicited. She still didn't want to worry him, but she really was hurting. Hopefully the seeds he'd given her kicked in soon... she didn't know how long it might take, unfortunately. What she did notice was that her stomach was giving warnings of starting to be upset, but that didn't concern her at the moment. Some herbs did that even as they helped, and it was also easily explained away due to the pain radiating through her from her broken limbs. Pain could easily upset one's stomach.

Her taking an internal stock was interrupted by his question, the first thing about the situation that actually gave her pause. Perhaps it was in combination with the internal warning that had struck her earlier that she hadn't really paid attention to. Ah, well, I'm sure everyone does, she replied, not about to discuss such things with a man. Of course she did. She regretted that she continued to be a disappointment to her family by failing to find herself a husband and bear children, she regretted that she'd never found the courage to talk to Reti about how she felt, despite knowing it wasn't her place to. She regretted that she felt like she needed to at all because it went against her teachings. Right then, she really regretted that she hadn't been paying attention to her footing.

@Cassian

_{ART BY SPU · CODE BY DEE}