Closed In the Frozen Peaks (Tess)

[Agnusha]

Winter 513 AV, 60th day.


Silver sky domed the entire horizon of Lhavit. Light of the day painted the air with joyous aura, bewitched and reflected by sparkle of skyglass. It was a perfect day for Agnusha to sit down in the courtyard, absorbed by her surrounding --hustle bustle of the city-- eyeing people, and may be seeking new friends. Well, she would love to do that. But there, under the same silvery sky, no one could spot the Lethaefal inside the gate of Lhavit. She was walking in the woods of Misty Peaks instead.

With her faithful companion -her long explorer staff- she strode heavily through snow coated forest floor. Bounded by her mortal flesh, cold element of winter slashed her fragile body with no mercy. Yet she didn't get this far without any precaution, she supplied her self with Tian's newest philter, Liquid Fire -herbal concoction that make you warm... until the effect wears off- and her thick cloak. Using her staff to break thick layers of snow, she had ventured Misty Peak for a bell or so. Unlike the last time she walked down the frosty canopy of the peaks, she was alone. No Shinya to be hired, even those particular Shinya, they seemed to get busier after Midwinter Festival. Well, It doesn't matter she shrugged a bit, shooed her worry that flew around like skyglass moths on starlight. She can not help but thanked the goddess Caiyha, walking in her forest always help tranquilize her mind.The forest was calm and quiet, but Agnusha didn't let herself to be unaware. Anything could hide behind the nearest of this or that tree. That certain Shinya always warned her not to venture to deep in the woods, especially when she had no one but her self. She knew not to follow his advice was a bad mistake, that's why she stayed near the ede of the woods. She didn't helpless however, her staff technique improved a bit. Anything that dared to disturb the daughter of Leth would suffer from her dog-beater-staff style.

Anyway She had a task to do. Tian had mentioned certain plant native to Misty Peaks that only bloomed around winter. Diversity of flora always tickle her curiosity, even if it means she should stormed into Misty Peaks wilderness in the middle of winter.She did not unfamiliar with Misty Peaks but snow a made huge differences. One could easily missed a path they would normally find in other season.

Zujin plant wasn't uncommon aquatic plant, at spring time when all flora cherished, everyone could stumble upon the plant without noticing it was Zujin --it wide leaves could easily mistaken as any aquatic flora. But when the blessing of Morwen glided upon the Diamond of Kalea and the ponds was frozen, it was the only plant who could survive. That information narrowed the place she should search. Misty Peaks had plenty of ponds inhabited by numerous flora. Therefore, the hard part was locating that sufficient habitat. You to need was a bundle of patience. Agnusha was excel at that subject, since Ethaefal however have all time they need.

She came across a fallen tree, where she crouched down untill her nose was an inch away from snow. She set her free hand to feel the frozen bark, everything looked normal and plain except for some abnormal dented spots. She observed those round mark awhile and smiled. She knew it! it was the same tree she where she harvested some fungi. The dent came from her knife when she removed the fungi from the bark. She looked away to her left, there were ponds nearby, if her memory didn't went wrong, a bit far from there but close to the Trail of the Waterfall. Could not help but feeling relieved, the trails was one of the safest route in this peaks. So She got up and started to walk eagerly, changing direction to her left.

Although she had a lot of trip to the woods, Agnusha was not the outdoor kind of person. Even with her ability to defend her self, and her awareness, she didn't realize that something was eyeing her for too long now.

[Tessa Bane]

Winter 513 AV, 60th day

It was just another routine plant collection, this time, with stranger plants. The petals of the winter-blooming Zujin plant. Several people had come into Tessa's Vials asking about it, and Tessa had met their requests with a curiously confused answer, What's a Zujin?
Obviously, this question hadn't exactly helped sales, as Tessa was supposed to be an experienced poisoncrafter by all means according to her clients. Unfortunately, this wasn't always the case. It was Tessa's first winter in Lhavit, and she hadn't quite made herself familiar with all of the flora and fauna yet. There were still many plants that were more difficult to memorize and identify than others. She had considered asking for a guide book, but there was a tiny hindrance in that plan, Tessa was illiterate.
Finding any other sort of mention of the plant was hard, but eventually another local philterer had pointed her in the right direction.
It hadn't been too difficult after that to hunt down a couple of ponds that had frozen over for the winter, Zujin flowers simply sitting on top of the ice, blooming in the cold air of winter.
Tessa had started out trekking through the forest in her bobcat form, her fur protecting her from the frigid winds that tore through any human clothing Tessa had obtained.
But after what happened earlier in the season, whenever she ventured out in bobcat form, she kept a knapsack of extra clothes in case the situation demanded her to be human.
After walking along the forest edge for a while, Tessa found a pond that had a single Zujin plant resting in the middle. This would be as good a place as any to start collecting.
She tested the ice's thickness with her paw, it would probably support her weight, but her rucksack with her cutting knife was too heavy. The flower would have to be picked by hand.
Nothing would happen, should she have to pick it by hand, the plant wasn't like the Kuhari, it had no external weapons, the poison it carried seeped out through the petals when they were split. Though, if she did split the petals, it could only cause a stomach ache, and cats had better immune systems that regular humans, anyway.
Tessa shrugged off the knapsack and stepped onto the ice. It held well, so she continued. Step after step, cautiously, so the ice wouldn't break. Falling in the water wouldn't be a pleasant experience, that much was obvious.
Step after step, towards the purple-blue flower that could harm or help, depending on how you used it. A curious plant, the Zujin was.
The ice seemed to be getting thicker, it was foggier and Tessa could no longer see fish underneath the glassy screen. She stepped more confidently now.
Once the plant came within reach, Tessa bent down, careful not to touch the petals of the flower, instead peeling the leaves of the plant out of the ice, freeing it slowly. None of the petals cracked, and the leaf hung drily from Tessa's fanged mouth. Every part was still in tact, no poison of any king dripping from the plant, and the bobcat couldn't taste any sap off the leaves, though lots of poisons were flavorless.
Spreading her weight evenly with the Zujin in her mouth, Tessa checked her surroundings. No more of the flowers bloomed on the pond, the one she held in her mouth seeming to be the only one. The crunching of leaves startled Tessa, breaking her concentration on the plant. Something was moving in the woods nearby, and it was far too large to be a simple squirrel or raccoon.
Crouching to the ground, the blooming plant still held tightly in her mouth, Tessa stalked closer to where the noise came from, paws sliding slightly on the slick ice.
Why would someone else be out here, though? It didn't make sense. Most game would be hibernating, now. Hunters would have no luck trying to find something. Not many Lhavitians ventured out during winter, never mind hunted. Creeping closer, Tessa made out a figure crouching beside a felled tree, examining something before striding towards the pond that Tessa was sliding around on. As the figure approached, Tessa scuttled backwards quickly, momentarily forgetting that the ground she stood on was ice, not land.
One of her paws crunched down on a thinner part of the sheet, sending spindly cracks spiraling out. The bobcat had barely enough time to let out an almost human-like scream as she plunged into the water, the Zujin flower floating softly down to the ice that had been just the tiniest bit too thin.

[Agnusha]

With new clear direction to forego, the black-haired Benshira trotted briskly through snow blanketed forest floor. She could see the pond but only a bit part of it. In other season the pond was shrouded by numerous thick bushes, but Morwen touch stripped those greenery, leaving only barren branches to fight without their spring coat. Silvery blue substance overlay the body of water, in some area it thickness create unique pattern that lined like frozen vein. Sudden excitement brighten Agnusha's day a little, she had just spotted some rich-colored spot in the middle of those silvery glen. Hopefully that was her main reason to go there.

Agnusha had just stepped beside the frozen bushes when sudden occurrance took place. It come as unusual crack and thud alongside with earstinging scream that distract the Eths concern. The scream alarmed her and force her head to turn around toward the direction, only to --barely-- saw a furry figure claimed by the depth of the water.

She didn't hesitate.

That was not strange indeed. Perhaps, if Agnusha was in her celestial forme, she would take time to consider what should she do and what she should do not. Death was normal series of the cycle of life, after all. And she would not dare to disturb Dira from her victim. However, bounded by her mortal flesh she acted based on reflect, and above all else by instinct. Those more primitive aspect of herself proclaimed that she, despite of all of the grace Leth gave to her -and to all Ethaefal- was a living being just like that miserable creature. All of her Ethaefalan logic vapored at once. The only logic that seems to be logical at that moment was this: Anything that scream is alive. And something alive should not meet death those easily.

So she jumped the last bushes that block her way toward those poor creature, her body was heavier in this form but she flew at high -the best she could do. The thought about green leaves that sprouted in the middle of the pond, or a strange colored something that floated near those drowned creature disappeared at once. She threw herself at the edge of the pond, her staff fell beside her when she swept down the bittercold water. Praise Leth! the water wasn't deep but the feline struggled hard to be able to breath. Agnusha dipped her her arms to her elbow before she pull the cat out from the water. Sheer cold bite her like thousand of needles were piercing her arms.

"It's okay now" She murmured in a calming note although she knew it was clear that the cat won't understand her. "Bad water won't hurt you anymore. Here," She couldn't imagine how these cat could manage the cold wave. She wrapped her thick coat around the trembling feline. Then her hands run through her leather sack until she grasped an ovoid glass bottle filled with reddish brown liquor. She removed the caps swiftly. It was Starry Chalice's brand new product, Liquid Fire. Made from herbal ingredients, the potion should bring no harm to any animal, a sip or two would be fine. She held the bottle in front of the feline's mouth "Now now, this potion would help you. Just take a sip and you'll fine."

[Tessa Bane]

Cold.
Everything is so cold.
It was as if her insides had frozen instantly, the water quickly turning from life-sustaining into life-taking. Tessa had been in the water for only a few short ticks, but it felt like years. Shock had quickly taken over the cat, her eyes taking on a frosty glaze. She was briefly aware her limbs where flailing at the ice, several parts of the sheets shattered, but none gave her any leverage to pull out of the water.
Then it was all over.

Just as her vision had began to darken, senses slowly removing themselves, a pair of arms yanked the icicles that had once been Tessa’s paws, freeing her from the Morwen’s cold grasp. Fuzzy thoughts began filling her head as shock drained away slowly.

A far away feeling told her that whoever had saved her life was saying something. Something about bad water.
A soft noise escaped Tessa’s feline throat, in her current condition of near-hypothermia, the only thought that allowed itself to remain concentrated on for longer than a chime was that phrase, bad water.

As she momentarily forgot her form, the cat tried to thank whoever had saved her. This praise escaped as somewhat of a slurred purr instead of words. Communicating was going to be an issue.
The figure wrapped a coat around her feline body, worming warmth back into her body.

Finally, the newfound heat helped stop the world from spinning, and Tessa could make out her savior as a woman, Benshira, it looked like.
Watching the woman carefully as she rummaged through her bag. It seemed she found what she was looking for- a small glass bottle, containing some sort of liquid. Tessa assumed it was something to help her condition, so when the opportunity came, she took several sips of the drink tentatively.

The liquid instantly set the icicles inside her alight, spreading warmth in the place of the freezing cold that had nearly claimed her life. Alertness spread through her mind as well, and Tessa quickly considered her options.
She could run away from the woman without thanks, causing her savior to think of Tessa as just another wild animal, or she could shift, possibly endangering her life more but allowing thanks.

Endangerment, or forever being in debt?
This was an easy question. Adjusting the coat so it would not get damaged or torn, Tessa backed away from the woman and dissolved into a swirl of bright lights, her cat form replaced with a shivering girl.

[Agnusha]

Although she knew the potion was going to work just fine, there was an inconvenient pause before she could grasp a visible result of the effect. She let a heavy breath flew out her chest, her heartbeat still thumped like a drum. She reminded herself to compliment Tian's skill in the next shift.

The feline purred and eyed the women, as if it took a time to considering something. Well... that was weird. A bobcat was not uncommon here in the peaks, but how could it tripped in a frozen pond? Examining the feline with curiosity now. But as she tried to reach the golden furred feline, it backed up a little. Then a piece of light twinkled in her eyes as new figure bloomed just inside her cloak. The golden furred bobcat was gone, a trembled girl replaced it place instead. She did not know much about Kelvic neither met one before so it much of surprise for Agnusha. She backed up a little, her hand instinctively reached towards the direction where her staff had fallen. If only she was able to see it. Her face bent into a startled frown. A bottle of Liquid Fire fell to the soft snow.

"Wh-what are you?"

In this very unlikely situation, a flash of memory caught her attention and rang inside her head. That is a strange place, the Peaks. You'll find almost anything.. It was his warning. That particular Shinya she cared about. She gulped her saliva and swearing in her head she would obey his warning next time.

A tick passed but the girl sat still. Shivering in the cold. Pair of sharp golden eyes strike boldly towards the Benshira. Not unlike the feline... and her golden hair was the same color of the feline's fur. Strange indeed. She knew about the wizards capable of transforming theirselves into something different, but what just happened was beyond belief.

"Here, may be you should take another sip?"

She found her courage and took the bottle from the snow. Once again removing its cap and held it's ovoid glass in front of the morpher.

[Tessa Bane]

The woman's reaction to the Kelvic girl's shift was not an uncommon one- It seemed as if Kelvics, although pretty common in Lhavit did not shift in front of humans, or otherwise, often. Tessa wondered why, it was as if these people were not aware that Kelvics shifted.

Shivering again, Tessa cautiously inspected the woman, who seemed much less savior-like when she was reaching for a weapon. Tilting her head slightly, Tessa opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again as another gust of wind through the frozen forest.

It was dreadfully cold out, and although last time Tessa had gone hunting- for game or otherwise, she had forgotten to bring the slightest scrap of fabric to stop frostbite from setting in. The short cold Tessa had caught after that had been a pain to get through, and this time, the kelvic had come prepared.

Momentarily pushing the woman to the back of her mind, Tessa hopped over to the bushes where she had stashed her small knapsack, drawing out of it a pair of clothes and cloak. She had planned ahead this time, and the extra load had paid off.

Once she was less freezing, Tessa turned to face the woman again. Outstretching her hand, Tessa smiled softly. ”Is there are reason you’re out in such weather? You could catch a cold, or worse, fall into a pond.”
It was a joke, but heavy gratitude was shown as Tessa said the words. She was very grateful, and she wanted the woman to know that.

As the woman extended the bottle of warmth that had helped in defense against the frostbite that had nearly set in, Tessa picked it from her hands, but didn’t drink it. What was the liquid? A magecrafted item, perhaps? Or was it…
Tessa started, poisoncrafting! That must have been it! The woman who had saved Tessa had been in the woods for the very same reason Tessa had fallen in the water in the first place, for poison crafting ingredients.

Eyeing the bottle carefully, Tessa handed the bottle back to the woman graciously, giving her a questioning look.
”Are you, by chance, a poisoncrafter?” Tessa paused, what if the woman had just bought the item, not created it herself? Was she grasping at straws? ”I mean, did you craft that potion?”