Poison 101 (Orin & Sylvette)

[Devi]

Evening of 41 Spring, 515AV - Soothing Waters Devi pored over the old pages, laying only the lightest of touches on the illustrated entries. Though she had never heard her mother’s voice, whenever she read through these pages she imagined one and slowly a personality breathed into life before her. She shifted on her stool and took a cautious look around her. Soothing Waters still made her feel uncomfortable, like an itch she couldn’t quite identify. It felt strange to be reading her mother’s journal here of all places. Still, it did concentrate her attentions on the content of the journal entries she was reading rather than the context. Devi tended to become completely distracted when reading Elysse’s journal. It was all she had of her mother. She concentrated on the personality behind the words written rather than the actual content. Sighing, she propped the book up against the wall in front of her and read the passage again. The young doctor was sitting in a quiet area of Soothing Waters generally reserved for the creation of medicines, poultices and the like. After bringing Orin to the bathhouse to have his concussion healed and reporting the whole ordeal to the Knighthood, Devi had been exhausted. Nonetheless she lingered, speaking to the employees of the bathhouse and learning more about the place. They had been... unusually accommodating. The woman she had met marked by Rak’keli, Calyna, had told her a great deal about the place. Serene as she had seemed when healing Orin, she was nonetheless a shrewd woman. Before long Devi had revealed her own frustration in a lack of facilities with which to practice the more specialised of her arts – the actual creation of medicines and the study of herbalism and poisons. She and the bathhouse owner had come to an arrangement, that Devi could utilise the room she was currently sitting in and all the equipment therein to practice. In return she would assist Soothing Waters in the creation of the medicines they needed to treat people in the infirmary there. Deep green eyes flickered across the page in front of them, concentrating once more on the particular herb they were describing. It was a flower called Delaviv. Her mother wrote that it was unusual but could be found in the forests surrounding the city. Its appearance was quite distinctive with tiny purple flowers and soft, round leaves. She took a moment to admire the picture, thinking that the flower was distinctive enough that even she would be able to identify it in the wild. Her mother had added a note to the side of the drawing. Useful for flushing mild poisons from the blood and stomach. She noticed her mother had also listed some of the poisons in question, neatly referencing other entries in her journal. Keeping a finger on the current page she flicked through to the entry on one of those poisons, Phantom’s Shell. It was created from the ashes of a number of different types of sea-weed which, when exposed to a person’s blood, would cause them to become more sensitive to pain for a number of hours. Vaguely she wondered where Elysse had travelled in order to detail the particular ingredients she saw listed but then her attention snagged on the later notes. She started to read about the particular symptoms of the poison in a person’s body, how to recognise it from a medical perspective. She realised her mother must have seen someone in considerable pain in order to have detailed the signs so clearly. She wrote that someone under the influence of Phantom’s Shell would naturally be more susceptible to obvious pain, cuts and bruises and the like, depending on the dosage given to them. However a better way to tell was to elicit mild pain such as rubbing the skin too hard. A person’s reaction to strong pain could easily be exacerbated by panic. A person’s reaction to mild pain on the other hand could be quite telling under the circumstances. Devi idly played with a lock of hair that had fallen loose from her braid, oblivious to the outside world as she read on.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin was exhausted. He'd carried Asen's armor, which was quite heavy, all the way from the Aylasa caves and his arms felt the burn keenly. In addition his wound had turned into an abominable pain. Asen's room had been crowded with her patrol who had demanded the story. So Orin had been forced to tell them the tale of the Kriital and how it had attacked them and if it hadn't been for Asen's timely intervention Orin and Sylvette probably would have died. Orin had played up her heroism. He'd also fudged the details about leaving Asen unattended saying he'd been operating under the assumption that she hadn't had a full concussion and was horrified to discover his mistake. Orin didn't think the Knights would take too kindly to hearing he'd essentially abandoned one of their own. Hopefully Asen's recollection wouldn't cause the Order to doubt Orin's words. Orin was probably just being paranoid.

The healer attending Asen was the same one who'd treated Orin. She had frowned at Orin when he'd been speaking but was too deep in whatever trace she entered to heal people, if that was the word for it, to question Orin further. Orin finally learned her name was Calyna when one of the other squires asked about Asen's chances and Calyna had informed them all that Asen would be just fine if she could be allowed to concentrate on healing the wounded warrior. Hearing this was a distinct sense of relief and Orin turned to go, intending to seek out Devi. Orin didn't think his cut was all that bad that it needed the attention of a healer.

Calyna, however had other ideas. Her voice, same as Orin remembered, halted Orin in his tracks. "You should get that wound of yours treated sooner rather than later young man. I'd hate to see you again because it got infected. I don't have the time or the energy to help you and this lady both nor does that scratch require magical assistance or the touch of Rak'keli. But there does happen to be someone here who can fix you right up using perfectly mundane means. My assistant will take you to her." There was a sly smile that Orin couldn't interpret on Calyna's face but her assistant gestured at Orin to follow before Orin could try and decipher it. The man had led Orin through the baths to a small room in the back, practically pushing Orin inside.

Orin was shocked to see Devi, the very person he'd been planning to seek out, inside the room. "Devi! What're you doing here. Don't get me wrong it's wonderful to see you and I am mighty glad I didn't have to go hunt you down. It's just well I thought you disliked the Soothing Waters." Orin barely remembered where he was and just managed to lower his voice before he caused an incident. And it was entirely possible that Orin wasn't remembering that night properly. After all he hadn't exactly been in the best state of mind, being severely concussed and all. So it wouldn't surprise Orin to discover that he'd entirely misread Devi's opinion of the Soothing Waters staff.

Orin suddenly remembered his manners. Sylvette had been padding along faithfully. Luckily since she'd been in cat form for most of the return trip, perched atop Asen's armor, Orin hadn't had to explain her to the patrol. Still it would be unforgivably rude of him not to introduce Sylvette to Devi. Indicating the cat, Orin quickly blurted out, "Devi this is Sylvette, Sylvette Devi. Devi's a doctor, she helped me out once before. Sylvette is my bondmate, ah I don't know if there's a more official term or phrase I should be using. Sylvette saved my life for the second time today. There was a Kriital attack and the three of us, there was a squire there, Asen, funnily enough, wait no it's not funny at all, she got a concussion. Which is why we're here. Ah Sylvette there's probably a towel or a blanket lying around if you want to shift." Orin looked away unable to look at either woman. He didn't want to explain to Devi that he lived with a woman who spent half her time naked. Orin almost didn't want to admit it himself. But Sylvette was bewildered at Orin's attitude towards nudity. And she'd agreed to stop calling him master. Maybe Orin could work on making an exception for Sylvette.

As he looked down Orin saw something that had completely slipped his mind. "Devi this is ah, for you. Was going to give it to you when I saw you and well, here you are! Just a small token of my appreciation and a thanks in advance for helping with my shoulder. Speaking of, could you take a look. Kriital beaks are sharp." Orin held out a flower for Devi. It was white with what Orin felt was a pleasing fragrance. Orin had no idea what type it was. It wasn't supposed to be a romantic gesture. Orin had assumed roses were the only flowers that indicated interest. But a creeping doubt was filling Orin's mind. It wasn't that Orin didn't like Devi, he did. He just didn't think he was ready for a relationship of any kind. So hopefully Devi didn't read too much into or get the wrong impression. But it was too late to take it back now.

[Sylvette Sciath]

Peaking around Orin Sylvette looked the woman over, She was paler than any person she had ever met before, though still very pretty. Sylvette let Orin do the talking as it seemed he was content to do so. It appeared that the woman had helped Orin out at some point in the past, doctoring him up after he had been injured. Orin proseeded to introduce Sylvette to the woman called Devi as Sylvette peered at her from behind Orin. She did seem nice enough but Sylvette had almost had her fill of new people, She had already almost fought with the Squire with the hard they had met earlier and then Sylvette had almost been shaken half to death riding one of those massive chargers the knights ride. So now that Sylvette was again in a situation where she had to come in contact with people she didn't particularly care for it. At Orin's insistence Sylvette shifted from her cat form to her human form still using Orin as a buffer to stay out of the woman's line of sight as Orin handed the woman a flower. Just what was their relationship? Now in her nude human form Sylvettte continued to stand behind Orin so that only her face would be visible to the woman. "It's nice to meet you, oh, and, uhm, thank you, for taking care of Orin" Saying that before again watching the woman from Orin's back. She was likely very nice, But one can never be too careful, especially not around people who called themselves doctors.

[Devi]

Devi jumped in her seat as a familiar voice rang out in the room. Orin had entered the room behind her, looking a little scuffed and worse for wear but much less concussed than the last time she had seen him. She chuckled a little nervously at his words, glancing behind him to check that no one who actually worked full-time at Soothing Waters was in earshot. “It’s good to see you too Orin.” She lowered her voice then, “And I’m still not especially keen on the place but Calyna is particularly... persuasive. She’s letting me use the facilities here to mix medicines and the like if I help them refill their own stores. I get to practice and they get to pass off some of the more mundane tasks to me.” As she spoke her eyes left Orin’s cheery face and honed in on his arms, his right cradling his left. She could see a dark stain on it quite unlike the dirt that surrounded it. In the sterile environment of the room she was in, she was surprised to find that she could smell that the stain was blood even from where she was sat. Devi was so used to home and working environments with their myriad of both pleasant and unpleasant smells rather than actual infirmaries as fastidiously clean as she was. As Orin proceeded to introduce Sylvette it took the doctor a moment to realise he was talking about the ginger cat peeking out from behind his legs. Little time as she had to absorb that tidbit of information, the chef then proceeded to explain that Sylvette was his bondmate, they got attacked by a Kriital and that a squire called Asen got a concussion. Devi opened her mouth and closed it again, quite distracted from Orin’s wounded arm for the moment. The ginger cat, Sylvette she reminded herself, then shifted and moulded before her eyes. The fur disappeared from her body and she grew to the size of a short, freckled young woman with long red hair. A memory stirred in her mind of another feline Kelvic she had met, albeit she had not actually managed to witness the shifting first hand. It was fascinating and over far too quickly. Devi mastered a mildly childish impulse to request to see it again. Her mind could not quite voice the request however whilst the Kelvic was most definitely naked and making no move to cover herself. She nodded, nonplussed, at Sylvette’s thanks. “There are towels...” She pointed vaguely but the woman seemed perfectly content to shield herself with Orin. Sylvette continued to watch Devi intently and not a little bit suspiciously as Orin handed her a white flower. Upon closer inspection the flower itself was formed of multiple small white flowers. It smelt lovely but there was something distinctly familiar about the sight of it. She brushed her hands lightly across the flower buds as it came to her. “Vyfox.” She said softly. Devi smiled up at Orin, wondering if he even knew the nature of the plant he’d given to her. “Thank you, it’s a lovely gesture.” She put it down beside the propped-up journal on the side and stood, eyes once more on the injured arm. Moving closer she could see that Orin’s shirt was ripped at the arm and that something had left a messy laceration underneath. She knew it would need cleaning first, given the dirt she could see surrounding it. She reached for her bag, pulling out a small pair of scissors and began carefully cutting the soiled shirt away from Orin’s arm. “So, you mentioned a Kriital? What trouble did you get yourself into this time?”

[Orin Fenix]

Orin grinned widely at Devi's incredibly diplomatic statement regarding Calyna. Luckily for them both Orin could voice what they were both thinking without fear of retribution. "If by persuasive you mean downright terrifying, I'll have to agree with you on that one. She's got quite a personality that one does. I mean, lovely and she does so much for the city and for the people but that doesn't mean that she's not also a force of nature. I'll tell you that I'd pit her willpower against almost anyone else's. I'll bet she could give any member of the Syliran Order a run for their money, the Grandmaster included." While Orin didn't remember much from the night he was concussed he'd gotten the distinct impression that Calyna didn't tolerate nonsense, either amongst herself or her employees. And her earlier performance with Orin clearly showed a woman who was used to giving commands and having her orders followed. So, Orin was absolutely sure that Calyna's attempts to get Devi to help out around here had been gentle, but very forceful.

Orin gave a heartfelt groan when Sylvette shamelessly shifted. "I thought I made it clear thar if you're going to shift in public you need to cover yourself up. Turning to Devi helplessly, Orin spread his hands out in front of him in an attempt to placate the doctor. "I'm so sorry about this, she really should know better by now and I'm still getting used to this Kelvic bond, being bonded to Sylvette I mean. I'm sure I do things that baffle her as well but really I mean is clothing really that hard a concept to get used to? I certainly didn't think so but again like I said, we're working on it." Orin was well aware that he was rambling but his mouth had a tendency to get away from him even when he was at his best. And right now with an abominably aching arm and a naked bondmate in front of a woman who had helped save Orin's life and who Orin wanted to impress and maybe even become friends with, Orin was feeling more than a bit stressed. So to him at least his constant speech made an awful lot of sense. Still Devi was a doctor so hopefully she was used to naked people. After all, doctors often needed to see the human body and clothing usually impeded that.

Since Devi was already looking at Orin's arm with some degree of concern and took out a pair of scissors to cut away at it, Orin had a flash of insight. He could kill two birds with one stone. "Devi, hang on. No need to cut it. Especially since this is my only shirt." Orin started stripping off his shirt. However, he'd underestimated the damage to his arm and it flared up. Orin hissed in the pain. Still, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, so Orin gritted his teeth and pulled his shirt off. Handing the shirt to Sylvette, Orin frowned. "Here. You can wear this for now. It's not much and it's dirty and a bit bloody sorry about that but it's better than nothing and at your size it should cover up most of the important bits." Hopefully Sylvette would take it from him. This also had the added benefit of giving Devi a better look at Orin's injury. Orin didn't know nearly enough about wounds to make a judgement on it. The sight of his blood made him a bit dizzy and he swallowed back a bit of gorge that tried to rise up. Better the Kriital than him. He held out his arm to Devi so she could examine it more closely. Orin pointedly avoiding looking at it.

The flower, Vyfox Devi had called it, seemed like a good neutral topic to focus on. Orin had to smile at Devi's reaction to it. It seemed very similar to the reaction Orin had when he figured out what an obscure ingredient or what went into a new dish Orin was tasting. A little less enthusiastic maybe, although Orin also tended to hide his exuberance in front of others. "I'm glad you like it. Does it, well do anything or mean something? For some reason I feel as if I've heard of it but I'm a bit ignorant about plants and flowers and whatnot to really figure what to do with them. Beyond their culinary purposes of course. I could go on all day about those but I'm pretty sure I'd just bore you to death wouldn't I and we can't have that seeing as I need you to doctor me up and all." Orin snuck a quick glance at the Vyfox flower. It was leaning up against the book Devi had been reading earlier. Orin was intensely curious about what was in it. Hesitating only slightly, Orin finally decided there was no harm in asking. "So, what were you studying earlier? When I came in I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

Orin grimaced at Devi. She seemed to be taking far too much enjoyment out of his pain. Although enjoyment was probably the wrong word. Of course, then Orin remembered that the only two times he'd met Devi was Orin had been attacked or hurt in some way. So perhaps her statement was justified. Orin felt that he should at least try to defend himself. "Well it's not like I go looking for trouble or something like that. I don't want to give you that impression at all. Of course seeing as you doctors and healers only see people usually when something is wrong don't you? Not that, I mean sorry I didn't mean to say that you don't see people under normal conditions, I suppose I was just talking about you job is all." Orin clamped his mouth shut and took a deep breath through his nose before releasing it through his mouth. That helped to steady his nerves. Trying again, Orin started with a shy grin. "My apologies. What I meant to say is that usually my life is about as boring and normal as can be, although I take pleasure in it even if most people wouldn't. I even like the drudge work like boiling water and cleaning the pots, or I guess mixing medicines for you although I think salves and potions and all that are incredible. But anyway I rarely get injured. Sylvette and I had a day off so we went to go explore the caves since there were all these rumors of treasure washing up. And I guess the Kriital was making its home there or something cause it attacked without warning. It took the three of us to defeat it and that was only because it was a particularly dumb one I believe." Orin shrugged, forgetting that the motion would send pain down his arm. Unable to contain himself, Orin let out a little gasp.

[Sylvette Sciath]

Orin could be a pain in the butt sometimes, Especially when it came o certain things, A good example of that would be clothing. something Orin maintained was necessary at all times. Though that was just another thing Sylvette liked about Orin hispersonality was very, amusing, for lack of a better word anyways. Anther amusing trait that Orin had was his inability to express himself at times. Especially times that involved pretty women. Watching Orin Flounder was amusing in itself as he simply couldn't just outright say things he thought. Well not to some people anyways, He had no problem telling me to put on clothes every chance he got. As Orin panicked as Devi began trying to cut off his Shirt Sylvette smiled, he got worried about the littlest things. Handing Sylvette the shirt He told her to put it on saying it would cover up her most important bits. Giving the short a short sniff Sylvette reacted by holding the shirt at arms length making a mild grimace. "Orin, as much as enjoy your scent, I think that this is a bit much even for me" the shirt smelled of blood and sweat and looked almost as bad as it smelled. Letting Orin continue to waffle with the doctor Sylvette merely shook her head at her partner, the man needed some help. Waiting for Orin to finish speaking Sylvette peaked out from behind orin before speaking. "he means to say that not Only does he find the work you do attractive, but you as well" After saying that Sylvette danced back a couple steps if Orin tried anything to get back at her. "though i think that he would do better courting while he was clean". Pleased with herself for teasing Orin after he had tried to get her to wear such a smelly shirt.

[Devi]

Devi couldn’t quite stop the bubble of amusement from sounding through her lips. Generally she wasn’t keen on cats but this one she could grow to like. A mischievous smile lingered on her face as she spun, picking out more dried Vyfox leaves and flowers, to match the fresh flower Orin had given her, from the supplies that dotted the room. She began measuring out the right dosage as she spoke. “This is Vyfox. It grows in great fronds out in the woods. Beautiful little flowers, lovely scent but its real use is medicinal. It cleans out wounds of things that can make you sick and it helps your blood to stick together and seal any breach in your flesh.” Once she had enough Devi looked around the room until she spotted what she needed next. In short time she had a bowl of water and a clean ramie cloth. Carefully she began washing the blood from Orin’s skin, her fingers gentle when they neared the wound itself. “As for what I’m studying...” She paused a little awkwardly. Her mother wasn’t a subject often broached even with her brother. It felt odd to her that it was open and exposed for someone else to peruse. Still, in all the times she had met him Orin had acted honourably. She found that she didn’t mind too much if he knew what manner of book it was. “That’s my mother’s journal. She was an herbalist here in Syliras. She travelled around the woods a lot with the knights and a few merchant caravans looking for new herbs she could use to help people. She kept a log of everything she learnt so she could pass it on one day. She even noted down anything poisonous so that she could use the information in antidotes if needed.” Devi dried her hands and picked the book up from its perch against the wall, unable to stop the bittersweet emotions she felt from showing on her face. She flicked to the page that detailed Vyfox and showed both Orin and Sylvette. A detailed drawing showed on one page, annotations instructing on the use of each part of the plant with more detailed notes on the opposite page. She replaced it against the wall and gave herself a mental shake, returning to the task of cleaning Orin’s wound. It was easier to think whilst her hands were occupied. She found herself planning out the process she would use to clean out the wound and bandage it up but found herself wondering if stitching it would be necessary. Perhaps not... her mind chirped, The poultice and bandaging alone might be enough to help it seal and if this Kriital is some kind of vicious bird then it would be good to draw out any infection before it settles. “So tell me... what exactly is a Kriital? I’ve heard stories but I’ve never actually been required to treat a wound caused by one. I’m assuming meat-eater from the wound.” She tutted under her breath, mind wandering to the other animal bites she’d treated in the past. “They attract infection like nothing else.” She ran a little water through the wound, catching the drips with the cloth she’d been using. She aimed for a reassuring tone as she continued, knowing that the action likely stung a fair bit. “Nothing I can’t deal with though.” Devi put aside the bowl and cloth and looked around for the other ingredient she would need for the dressing she was creating. “Also, you can’t say that you don’t go looking for trouble and then go on to explain that you spent your day off exploring some caves with a naked Kelvic following rumours of treasure.” She shook her head in amusement.

[Orin Fenix]

Sylvette rejected his shirt. However, before Orin could try to talk some sense into her he suddenly had something much bigger to worry about. I'm not courting Devi! Orin thoughts started spinning in circles as his mouth dropped open. He was going to kill Sylvette for this. Orin sputtered incoherently for a while before actual words started emerging. Not that they were any better. "That's absolutely, I mean well no it's not what, I don't even know. Sylvette is well she's, I mean you're so, Devi what I'm trying to, this is not making any sense is it?" Taking a deep breath Orin closed his eyes and dropped his head. As softly and slowly as he could Orin replied. "Let me try that again. I wasn't flirting for the record. Not that you're, I mean Devi you're gorgeous I was just being friendly. That doesn't help my case does it? Devi I'm just saying that I respect you very much both as a person and a professional." Turning to Sylvette Orin fixed her with his best piercing glare. He had quite a lot to say to her but it could wait until they were alone. "For your information, a man can be perfectly friendly to a woman with no ulterior motives." That would do for now although Orin still wanted to die from embarrassment. And he was sure the heat he could feel coming from his cheeks were from his huge blush.

Devi for her part took it in stride with a little laugh. Orin snuck a glance at her. Yes yes, very funny." If it hadn't been at Orin's expense he'd probably be chuckling as well. Thankfully Devi moved on and Orin seized the new topic. Herbs were probably safe enough to discuss. Vyfox seemed to be a great medicinal herb and Orin had picked it simply by accident. "That sounds quite useful. And now that I know what to look for I'll keep an eye out for it on my trips outside. Think either you or Soothing Waters would like it if I found some? No charge since I'm getting paid by The Rearing Stallion on those foraging runs. And are there any other herbs you think I could or should look for specifically? I'm afraid my knowledge of medicinal herbs is sadly lacking. Which I've basically already mentioned haven't I? I'm sorry I tend to ramble when I'm nervous. Anyway, medicinal herbs. Maybe you could help remedy that?" Orin genuinely wanted to learn more about the healing properties of plants. Mostly, though, he was keeping up a running chatter so he could distract himself from the pain. He didn't want to show weakness in front of Devi or Sylvette for some reason, even if it was simply pride. Devi's hands were gentle but she was cleaning and working on Orin's wound so a bit of pain was inevitable. Orin's reaction to it could be controlled.

As Devi brought the journal over Orin found himself missing her treatment. Whatever she's be doing had been helping even if it was just Orin's mind being satisfied he was getting help. As he gazed at the lovingly rendered and amazingly detailed image of the Vyfox before him Orin couldn't help but feel a great deal of admiration for Devi's mother a woman he had never met. Apparently Vyfox leaves could be made into a healing tea while the flowers were what staved off infection. "So do you make a salve or a paste or whatever you call it with the Vyfox flowers? I don't see an explanation here but I'm probably just missing it." Orin hesitated. He had more to say but he wasn't sure if it was appropriate. He recognized that expression on Devi's face and her tone of voice. Orin got it often enough to know when there were mixed emotions attached to the memory of a person. And Devi had referred to her in the past tense. Orin decided he would just do his best to ease into the question. "So, this is going to sound incredibly silly and it wouldn't happen in real life I hope since I never cook anything without knowing what it is, but one of my recurring nightmares is to serve some poisonous plant to someone by accident. Would you mind letting me either take a look or teaching me your mother's wisdom yourself? Based off that one page she seemed to really know what she was talking about and I bet that you do too. I guess it runs in the family, being a doctor I mean. She sounds remarkable, your mother. Ah, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to her?" Orin bit his lip. He hoped that he wasn't overstepping the boundaries that most people instinctively grasped when it came to conversation. Still it sounded like Devi was hurting and Orin wanted to do his best to help her with that if he could. And if she wasn't then there was no harm in learning more about Devi's past and venerating the woman who had raised Devi to be the person she was today.

Orin had no idea what Devi was doing but she didn't seem too concerned about the wound. If she wasn't worried then Orin figured he shouldn't be either. Once all the dried blood and assorted dirt and grime had been cleaned off it didn't look too bad after all. "So, what exactly are you doing? As you can probably tell I'm basically completely ignorant when it comes to treating wounds." Her question about Kriitals took Orin by surprise. Truth be told Orin didn't really know much about them either other than as cautionary tales told to children. Still after having seen one in the flesh Orin had a bit of knowledge to go on. "Well, I'm not an expert but they're huge birds. They've got some kind of bony plate over their face although the one we encountered didn't seem to have it fully grown yet. Maybe it was a fledgling? I don't know. It smelled awful like rotting carcasses and carrion. Which makes sense since it's a giant vulture. It didn't seem to clean, downright nasty actually. Oh and I've got the talons and the bone plate in my pack if you'd like to examine them. Don't know why I took the to begin with. Seemed like a good idea at the time, y'know?" However that would have to wait until he got the all clear from Devi that his arm was safe to use. Her words about infection were grim but seeing as she was aware of the potential problems Orin was confident she'd do her best to deal with his wound so that infection wasn't an issue anymore. That's what the Vyfox was for after all. As she set aside her bowl and cloth and began searching for something, presumably the next tools needed for Orin's treatment she uttered a comment that she found quite hilarious. Orin was indignant although not seriously so. "Well when you put it like that it sounds bad, Orin conceded but continued on gamely. "But it wasn't supposed to be dangerous. None of the other treasure hunters had encountered danger so how should I have known there was a Kriital in the area? Besides they had actually goods to show off and so I was reasonably certain we'd find something. Which we did. So there." Orin ended that with a wink at Devi. He kept a teasing tone in his voice, and he was amazed at how far he'd come that joking with a near stranger wasn't bothering him. Last season, Orin would've been too shy to even try.

[Sylvette Sciath]

Sylvette allowed some Mirth to spill out her mouth in the form of a small giggle, it was fun to tease orin when she could he was a good source of entertainment for Sylvette, keeping her distracted from where they were and why they were here. As Orin sputtered at what Sylvette had said he told her that one can be nice without having any ulterior motives. "Yes I suppose one could be nice just to be nice, but I don't think that's the case this time." That said Sylvettes jest was not full hearted, in fact it was almost forced along with the slight smile that accompanied it. The smell of the room they were in was getting to Sylvette. Sylvette found medicines revolting for many reason and doctors scared the living shyke out of her, If it wasn't for Orin's very presence in the room Sylvette would near have come near this place. It was't a slight to the woman called Devi, but doctors where likely the only things in the world that petrified Sylvette. She had had some rather unp;easant experiences with those who called themselves doctors in her past, her body still held many minute scars all over from the experiences. Using Orin as A buffer Sylvette did her best to stay out of the doctors sight, it wasn't that she wanted to fight the woman but be as far as possible from her without abandoning Orin. As Sylvette stood there avoiding the woman's sight her legs began to tremble slightly being here was bringing back all sorts of memories of poisons and unpleasant experiments. Looking up when the conversation turned to their adventure Sylvette listened to the two converse aware that she was being referred to as the naked Kelvic. It's not like she cared few people beyond Orin actually used her name anyway. When Orin began to she that he was pleased with his finds during their adventure even at Devi pointing out his injury Sylvette spoke up barely peeking out from behind Orin. "it's my fault he got injured, If I had been better at protecting him it wouldn't have happened". Hanging her head Sylvette contemplated, If she had been able to hold onto the Kriital better it wouldn't have been able to strike Orin. So in some way Orin's injury was caused By her own ineptness. Thus part of her punishment was to visit this place that caused her knees to tremble and her heart to waver. Sylvette hoped that Orin's preoccupation with Devi would not give him to pick up on how afraid she was, Sylvette didn't want Orin to know how weak she was.

[Devi]

“A gorgeous professional hmm? I can live with that I suppose...” A smile lingered on the corners of Devi’s lips as she continued to clean the wound, carefully wiping away all traces of dirt before she could ready the poultice. Once satisfied she took Orin’s free, warm hand in her own and secured it over the wound, holding a clean cloth in place. With her own hands free once more she bustled around the shelves, looking for the containers she would need. She spoke as she searched, turning this bottle and that packet around to see the labels. “You go on foraging runs? Oh I suppose you would, for ingredients and seasonings I assume?” Her fingers wrapped around an airtight glass container filled with ragged-edged leaves and she let out a small noise of recognition before continuing. “If you do find any Vyfox it would be invaluable – I use it all the time these days. You can quite often find them scattered around in the forest, especially when the flowers are blooming. I would pay more than the markets would if it’s fresh.” She looked up at the pause and clarified, “More potent fresh than dried.” Devi retrieved a pestle and mortar from the counter and popped open the glass jar. “This is Belltor, or rather, the leaves of a Belltor plant.” She paused briefly to flick through the pages in her journal, stopping on a page that illustrated a mass of roots running along the forest floor, from which had sprouted long, green stems topped with clusters of pink and crimson flowers. “The flowers and seeds you can use to make tea, so long as you keep them dry in something like this.” She indicated the glass jar. “Good for colds and coughs, it can help you breathe a little better. The leaves on the other hand are good for poultices. It helps seal your flesh, like Vyfox does, but can help it seal smoothly and reduce any scars you might get from wounds like this.” She began mashing the leaves in the mortar and pestle, occasionally picking a fresh leaf from the Vyfox stem Orin had given her to add to the mix. A thought occurred to her, an entry she had glanced through earlier with a similar illustration. “Be sure the flowers on the plant are red and not purple or blue. I’ve read about a plant called Acson that looks quite similar from above. The leaves are darker on top though and smooth rather than ragged. Acson’s good for animal poisons, snakebites and the like, but I’m fairly sure that’s because it tastes so bad that it makes your body want to expel anything it absorbed in the last season. Look out for the roots and the red flowers if you look for Belltor and you’ll be fine. As for what I’m doing – I’ve cleaned out your wound of any dirt or grime. I don’t think it’s deep enough to warrant stitches so I’m going to make you a warm poultice and bandage it in place for the afternoon. If you leave it for a few hours, clean out the poultice then re-bandage it should heal quite cleanly. Don’t worry, I’ll show you both how to set the bandage and tell you what to look out for – you can always come back and find me if you need to.” Preoccupied as she was, Devi quite missed the fear that was evident on Sylvette’s face and in her body language. The doctor knew she had ignored the question about her mother. She nodded instead at the description of the Kriital, thinking that if it was some kind of vulture that had pecked at Orin’s arm that it was a small mercy he was getting it treated so soon. She didn’t really understand why she felt so protective of the old journal propped up against the wall. The young woman had already shared its contents, though that was unusual enough. She thought back to her conversation with Sayana, thinking that perhaps she should have a little more faith in people from time to time. “She died giving birth to me. My mother I mean. She was more of an herbalist than a doctor. From reading her notes it sounds like she spent as much time in the forests gathering one plant or another as she did back in the city actually healing people. It sounds strange but there’s a lot of her personality in there. It’s given me something to know her by. Ronan tells me my father got rid of most of her things when she died but he knew this was special to her and he kept it hidden.” She chuckled at the thought, “He was only 6 years old at the time but he was already starting to look after me without even knowing it.” She shook her head to clear it, “In any case, there’s plenty of information in there about poisons, if that’s what you were interested in. What did you want to know?”