[Flashback]What grows here?

[Ssafirsotibones]

15 Spring 510 A rocky cleft, a tree sprouting strangely out of rock and dirt... Kalea was certainly not one of the most green places in Mizahar, though the views were often beautiful. Though it certainly did have more foliage than the deserts of the nearby region across the suvan. Here it was once more that Bones found himself, trying to find some fresh meat, maybe a bear, or a wolf, a mountain goat... It was hard to tell... But he was sure there was something around here to eat... He could taste the meat on the air... He often went out to look for food, but came back empty handed... But it was well worth it for the occasions he found something, and got to eat fresh meat, and not what was sold in the city... He came over a small hillock, to see a bit of a flat area, which was covered in bushes and some low plants.There was a goat eating at one of them, but it turned and jumped off as it heard Bones... "Petch..." Bones shouted, as his attempt at stealth and sneaking failed... But surely there was something else around... He could taste something else on the air... Some kind of meat... But he was not sure what.... Not goat though....

[Fatima]

Fatima sighed and wiped her brow. This area wasn't exactly bountiful with medicinal herbs, but that hadn't stopped her. She was nothing if not determined, and she would find what she needed even if it took her all day. She knelt down to search in the cravice between two large stones, and was rewarded by a peek of green. "Yes! I've got you now!" she crowed, reaching down to pluck the plant. "Ah, gumweed!" She was happy, gumweed was an excellent plant for treating patients with asthma and sore throats. She was feeling the sticky flowers between her fingers when she was startled by movement nearby. tensing, she crouched low, readying her quarterstaff just in case. Moving forward, she saw what had caused the noise; from here, it seemed to be a man, a very leggy man. Shyke, she thought, I hope this doesn't mean trouble.. She might as well make herself known, he was bound to notice her at some point. "Hey, stranger!" she called, carefully keeping her quarterstaff low, so as not to seem threatening.

[Ssafirsotibones]

He was trying to see what it was... Something nearby... Whatever it was had probably been made at alert by that goat jumping off from him. Bones moved one hand to the hilt of his gladius, held in its sheath on his back, ready to pull it out if something came up that was a threat or that he might have to fight. Bones turned as he heard someone shout out, always a bad idea to do to a stranger... Seriously, who alerted someone else when they were alone out in the wild to their presence. Apparently they were not to safety conscious, and wanted to be gutted and robbed... Luckily for them Bones was not the type to just randomly kill people. He did his best to avoid killing for no reason, and tried to give any death purpose, and not waste life or good food. Bones was careful to keep his distance, always one to be cautious of any threat, and looked around at his surroundings to make sure no one was sneaking up on him... It was a common thing with robbers to distract someone by a woman taking there attention, while someone else sneaked up from another way. "Hello... What are you doing out here alone? It isss not wissse for a woman to be out in the wildsss alone... Or do you have a deass wisssh?" Bones walked slowly a bit closer, being careful to keep a lookout for anyone else coming up on him by surprise... Though it seemed that this was not a trick, and she truly was out here alone... But then she certainly was not the smartest person around... Though if she was alone... It would not be honorable to leave her alone... He should at least make sure she did not get assaulted, and that she made it back to the city... His sense of chivalry was arising once more, which at times was annoying, but was just a part of himself. "Or perhapsss you would like sssomeone to make sssure you do not run into more trouble ssan you can handle..."

[Fatima]

Fatime narrowed her eyes slightly at the man's speech. What could be causing such an impediment? she thought. There were a multitude of ailments that could cause speech impediments; dental misalignment, cleft palate, malformed frenulum, even mouth sores...But Fatima couldn't see any signs of such disorders. She figured it must be a simple mispronunciation, perhaps learned in childhood. But such thoughts were for another time, as she was in a potentially dangerous situation. She knew there was little she could do but trust this man; her skill with the staff was meager, and she would be unlikely to fend him off if he attacked. "I...was out here gathering herbs, for medicine. I know it isn't exactly safe, but...I need them, and so do the people I treat." She puzzled to herself for a moment. She really could use an escort back to the city, just in case. "I wouldn't mind some company on the way back to the city, if you don't mind me stopping to harvest plants on the way."

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones of course had no way of knowing that the woman was a medic, or that she was thinking so deeply on the different reasons for why he spoke the way he did. Truth be told he had always done so, and did not know even see it as speaking oddly. She was though closer to the truth than she realized with her last assessment. She was also right on the fact that she had little hope of beating Bones in a fight, especially if all she knew how to use was the little stick that Bones now saw, or as he thought of it, "the twig". Bones was an accomplished fighter, skilled in many different arts of both the body and weaponry. His gladius could probably slice through the staff like it was a piece of paper. Not to mention his inhuman strength, which was one of the only qualities that carried over from his dhani nature into his human form. Of course Bones also knew that more than skill of arm decided a fight, and in a fight things could change fast. Along with that, he was not one to waste life, even "human" life, though he found it vastly inferior to his own dhani kind... Bones attempted a smile at the woman, which as usual, did not come out right, and looked more like a grimace... He just could not get that human expression down right, and no one so far had been brave enough to point out to him that he was doing it wrong. He figured there was little chance now of him finding anything else to hunt, so he might as well accompany her back to the city... He might even learn a bit about plants from her, a skill he had a bit of skill in, but certainly not to much. "I don't mind... In fact, I have ssstudied plants a bit... What doesss ssisss one here do?" He asked, having walked over and was pointing at the one the woman was trying to retrieve. He waited a moment for her to answer, before continuing on, "My name isss Bonesss... And you are?" Though Bones still kept on the alert... He found it hard to believe a woman would be foolish enough to come out here on her own, with all of the wild animals and monsters... It truly was dangerous, and so he knew she was either foolhardy in coming out here alone, or she was not alone and was a part of some trick to attack him... So Bones kept his guard up, making sure to watch his blind-spot, and keep an accounting of his surroundings.

[Fatima]

In an attempt to remain friendly, she smiled back at his frankly frightening attempt at a smile; even though it near made her want to take her chances and head for the hills. However, her smile became somewhat more genuine when he asked her about the flora in her hand. She was always happy to share her knowledge of herbs and medicines, though she was by no means an expert. She held out one of the stems to him, to let him feel the sticky flower on top. "This is gumweed, it has a number of uses. That's why it's one of my favorites. The leaves and stems can be made into a tea, which you can drink to calm a cough, or applied on the skin, to treat burns, saddle sores, and poison ivy. It's also good for calming, as if it is chewed raw, slows the heart a bit." She explained. "My name is Fatima. It's...a pleasure to meet you, Bones."

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones looked at the plant she had plucked, cocking his head a bit as he inspected it... It seemed interesting... It was not one that he had previous knowledge of, though of course he was not all that good with plants, only had a small bit of knowledge, which was more about handling plants correctly, than a knowledge base of different plants. Bones nodded to show he had heard what she said, and gave another smile as she told him his name. "Fatima... Ssat isss a nice name... Ssso... do you normally go out in the wildsss by yourssself? It doesss not really ssseem sssafe for a woman by her lonesssome..." After waiting for her response, Bones would look around for a bit, and then motion for her to follow. He was certainly not the best at navigating... But as a dhani, he did have a bit of homing instinct which was good enough to lead him back to Alvadas, were his home was... So he walked on, keeping aware of his surroundings, as usual when in a dangerous place. It was never a good idea to let down ones guard were it was so likely to have danger around any corner... As he faced away from her, Bones walked along, darting his tongue out for a moment to taste at the air... His sense of taste was still heightened in human form... And he could taste something on the air... Though he was not sure what yet...

[Fatima]

Seeing that Bones had listened to her mini-lesson, she withdrew her handful of gumweed and placed it into her pack, tucking it safely into a small pouch. She didn't want the stems to be crushed, and lose their healing properties. She wasn't as startled the second time he smiled at her, and even blushed lightly at his compliment to her name. "Normally I wouldn't be out here at all. I'm no warrior to go seeking adventure outside the city, but I can't let someone who needs my services suffer because I don't have the supplies I need. It's my duty as a healer." She said, conviction creeping into her voice as she followed behind him, scanning the ground for anything useful.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones continued to walk on, glancing occasionally at Fatima. Technically he had not been trying to seduce her, but apparently it had came across that way when he had complimented her, and so he had inadvertently been seducing her. Bones noted this time the reddening of the woman's cheeks, called "blushing", which she had done in response to what he had said, and he had only recently realized was a human expression of embarrassment.... Or he was pretty sure it was... It might also just mean she had been out in the sun to long, or that she was overheated... But he knew better than to ask her if she was overheated, and needed a drink... The last time he had done so was still vivid in his memory... It was best to just leave it alone for know, since there was nothing to gain from inquiring further... Bones continued to check his surroundings, as even though he could not pin down the reason why, he was sure there was something near... Maybe it was just animal intuition... Maybe he had just hunted enough animals to know when he was being hunted... But there was something out there... And he was not going to be caught by surprise by it... He glanced at Fatima once more, and then looking ahead responded, though in the way he spoke it was hard to tell if he was directly addressing her, or just speaking in general for anyone to hear, or even to himself... "I sssuppossse in sssome waysss you are brave... Being a healer... Looking for ssings to help ossersss... It isss an important tasssk, to protect life ssat mosser Caiyha hasss not yet sssaid ssshould passss on... Ssough a balance mussst be made... To much isss asss bad asss to little..." "Ssough do not forget your life isss precious to... You come and risssk your life for ossers, but if you come out here and die, what ssen will happen to ssose you would have cared for if you had not died?" As Bones said this last bit, obviously a question to Fatima, he looked her right in the eyes for a moment, obviously waiting for her response.

[Fatima]

Fatima laughed, not delicately like some women, but full-bodied and straight from her gut. Truth be told, she was never really lady-like, having grown up in the cesspool of filth that was Sunberth. Her time away from her hometown had tempered her rough behavior considerably, especially as far as her speech was concerned, but at times her 'Berthian manners still showed through. "Heh, no need to be nice about it. I know how stupid it was for me to come out here on my own. I guess I get over-confident, thinking I don't need help. But you're right, I should take better care. I'm trying to get a job with the Department of Succor, and they need dependable workers." Picking along the ground behind Bones, she sighed. She wasn't finding any more useful plants today, it seemed. She did, however, pick up a pretty stone, brushing it off. It was no gem, of course, but it had been polished smooth by time. Fatima had a bit of a weakness for bits and baubles. As she examined it, she didn't notice her new companion looking around warily.