Open Gather Around

[Amunet]

9th day, Fall, 515 a.v.
9th bell
Outside of Endrykas

They had settled in the fall grounds. No sooner had the pavilions went up, her father was on her about a husband. The Ankhal, her grandfather, was putting pressure on the girl to marry. It was not right for a girl her age to not have a husband. Most girls her age already had a baby on the hip. Amunet had helped deliver a couple of those. The argument ensued with the red head storming out of the main tent. The tension was in the air as she got up and readied herself. It was still hot as she put her riding leathers on and her linen shirt. She would need to get another shirt, maybe two. Thoughts of winter clothing also crossed her mind. Today was a day that the women were organizing to go forth and forage the bounty of the grasslands.

It was also a chance to get the children envolved. Amunet had suggested to an elder that this could be used as a teaching lesson as well as extra hands to forage. The ladies brought with them children that were old enough to forage and learn. This was around eight to twelve years old in age range. A few of warriors from the watch agreed to help watch the group so they can focus on foraging and the warrior’s keen eyes could watch for predators. Amunet rode out to meet the growing crowd of people armed with her mesh bags she usually foraged with.

One of the elders gave her the group she was to have which was a handful of young women and equally young children. They placed an experienced forager with each group. Amunet did alright with it, but she saw this a good time to learn more from the elders and the extra hands, everyone would profit by increased stores for winter. The girl nodded as she nudged the mare to a likely spot as she dismounted. She got one bag in hand and two of them she tucked in and looped within her belt. Camile and Leia were both on the ground. Camile started sniffing around casually and Leia had found delight in tackling a waving feathery tuft of grass. The practice was good for her. The red head smiled tolerantly as she spanned out with her group. She looked over at the warriors that were relaxed but kept watch.

The elder started giving instruction on the various items they were foraging. “wild carrot, rutabager, turnips, beets, wild pumpkin as well as berries, fruits, nuts, wild grain heads, herbs, the bounty here is what feeds us. Semele gives and we give back with keeping the balance. We never take all of one location. Lets see here. We have wild turnip. See the broad leaves. The leaves are very edible also. The root will keep if you store it correctly. Loose dry dirt in a basket is best way to keep roots. It makes for a heavy basket but you will have roots through the winter. “

They started picking being mindful to take one, leave one type of stance. Amunet would pull up strongly and then skip the next plant or two . She then would get her hand around the base of the next plant and pull up strongly. The girl was rewarded with good sized roots. The strong smell of the leaves made her taste buds water. It would make a good soup. “Can the leaves be dried Auntie?” Everyone called this elderly lady Auntie. People swear she is related to half of Endrykas.

The old face smiled. “You can dry them for later use, but honestly its best to eat them in a soup fresh with bits smoked meat usually. “ The old woman relayed.

Amunet continued to fill her mesh bag with root and green of the turnips being mindful to skip. Once that bag was full she continued to pick and help the other women before seeing a smaller child struggle with pulling up one. “That is a large turnip little one.” The kid managed to find one that at the ground you can see the large mound of what looked to be a large bulb.

“I know, I want a big one so I can tell my brothers I got the biggest one!!” There was a determination in her eyes. “It wont come up. “

“Well looks like Semele is holding onto that one tightly. You think maybe if we talk to Semele it will let it go?” The young woman went behind the child and bent down to the base of the large root.

“You think that would help?” The kid blinked up to her with a hopeful expression.

“Let us see. “ Amunet guided the girl’s hand to the very base of where the root meets the stalk. Her legs were spread wide and she wrapped her hand around along with the girl’s. “Semele could you please let us take this root?”

“Pleaseeeeee?” The girl said as she pulled up with all her little arms could pull.

Amunet smiled as she pulled strongly. She had to do some steady pulling, using her legs along with the leverage of her shoulders to pull this one up. The soil gave way as it came up. “See?”

The little girl took the prize and ran over to her mother. The root was half the size of the kid’s head it seemed like. Amunet chuckled as Auntie pointed out the white flower head of the wild carrot. “The only difference between that and parsnip is the parsnip flower head is a bit more yellow. “ The elder woman said.

The young midwife nodded as she assisted in directing the young women who had enough turnip towards the vast spray of tall white flower heads. Amunet looked to the west and saw the edge of the vines . “Auntie, is that the wild pumpkin.” Her finger pointed at the vine and around the bin revealed a whole mess of the vigorous vine of this pumpkin. The green and white striped fruits of this vine laid out underneath a canopy of large leaves.

The Auntie came over and looked. “Yes!!” She motioned for the others of her group to converge on this. “wild pumpkin are good keepers. Keep them cool and dry. Keep a pavilion healthy throughout the winter. Don’t forget the seeds can be roasted too.” The old woman pointed out.

Amunet moved to help collect pumpkins as she pulled her dagger out to cut the thick vine from the fruits. They were about the size of a child’s head and heavy for their size. The elder lady had one of the women using a stick to smack the grass and leaves around to scare off anything around. Camile and Leia were chasing gods knows what, which made the children laugh. It was good for them.

[Dravite]

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Fawn was a lot bigger now and slowly starting to lose the white spots on her back. She followed Dravite closely, lifting her long, elegant legs to plant her feet wherever he had tread only seconds prior. The young doe never dared to walk ahead or venture out alone, curious but guarded and super attuned to every movement the Watchman made.

Today Dravite was helping safeguard a group of foragers out on the plain, assigned on behalf of The Watch to keep an eye out for danger and reassure the woman and children that had chosen to venture out of their comfort zones. Tagging along for the morning was his son Kyanite who had just seen his fourth summer; Dravite thought bringing him along would show the people that there was little to fear with so many of The Watch members posted on patrol.

The horse lord stood watch as the boy with the golden mop of hair ran back and forth amongst the tall grass, rolling around and stopping every now and then to pick up the odd flower or three. “Look!” Kyanite grinned, returning with a fistful of white wild flowers to offer up to Fawn who quickly turned her nose up at them.
“Go find some berries,” Dravite encouraged, “Ma likes the dark ones.”
“All right!” Kyanite beamed and wandered back into the grass again in search of shrubs.

Dravite kept the boy in his sights at all times; he did not want a repeat of what had happened in the marketplace last season and was extra vigilant seen as the sea of grass was a lot more dangerous than the busy market stalls. Fawn skipped forward to follow Kyanite and Dravite slowly followed her, dressed in his black riding boots and leather pants, choosing to wear his white summer shirt as a makeshift turban to keep the sun off his face. His bare shoulders were painted with a thin layer of grey clay that had dried and started to crack, while his Windmarks were set proudly on display. Dravite stood with his father’s bone spear in one hand and an arsenal of weapons attached to his belt, including his hatchet, dagger, and hunting knife.

After a chime Dravite decided to move forwards into the grass and couched down a few metres away from where he had been to search through a small brush he had come across, hoping he might find a nice handful of berries to fight off the thirst he was already feeling. Kyanite spotted him and ran out of the tall grass, pushing Dravite onto his back, “There is pumpkin!”
“Is that so?” Dravite smiled, “Sit a while, Da has to check something all right?” Wait, careful, listen, he signed before closing his eyes and drowning out the sounds around him to slip into a trance that would take him into the web.

The horse lord traversed the web quickly, moving out into the surrounding lands to scan the sea of grass for danger. Other than an aggravated strider, there wasn’t much to be found, so Dravite slowly looped back, circling the group of foragers once more before returning to himself. When he opened his eyes, Kyanite was nowhere to be seen. The Watchman raced to his feet quickly, startling Fawn and ran into the tall grass where he found his son hugging a wild pumpkin that was too heavy to pick up. He smirked and watched the child struggle for a while before offering him some help.
“Can we take it to camp?” Kyanite asked.
“No,” Dravite told him, “This food is for the clans to store for winter, not us.”

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[Pearl]

“Kyanite is with Da,” Belkaia explained to Garrison, “and Momma is at work.”
For all of Belkaia’s explanations and patience, she was awarded the terribly cute pouty face from Garrison, “me wan’ go too,” he told her.
“Are you giving Ma a difficult time, Little Man?” Pearl asked from the edge of camp where she stood with Knox; having obviously snuck up on the toddler.
Belkaia smiled as Garrison turned his back to her and backed up until he was plastered against her legs, then turned again and held his arms up in silent plea for his Ma to pick him up; which she obliged and settled him onto her hip. “What are you doing home? Don’t you have patients to tend to?”
“It’s a fairly slow day at The River Flower, so I decided to come home and see if the two of you would like to join me in The Gathering for a couple of bells?” She thought maybe Belkaia would like the activity, and the exercise would do her well through her pregnancy also. “What do you say?”
Belkaia looked as if she was considering it while Garrison reached up with one hand and turned her face so he could look directly at her, giving her that pretty, little boy pout again, “Please, Ma? I be good boy. I listen.” His little hands then signed to her as best as he could, please, listen, good.
Pearl had to bite her lip when he did that so she wouldn’t laugh out loud. He was so hard to resist when he did that sort of thing.
“For two bells, and that’s all. When I say it’s time to go, we go, no questions,” she kissed Garrison’s round little cheek and sat him down, shooing him over to his Momma so she could put him on Knox to ride while the two mothers walked along side and talked.

Garrison let out a squeal when they arrived, his little feet kicking at Knox’s back as fast as his little legs would allow. Knox gave a snort and shook his head, his ears twitching forward; not that he minded Garrison riding him, or even the kicking, it was the squealing that bothered him. “Da! Da!” the little one squealed again and pointed directly at Dravite. Pearl had to shade her eyes from the sun and look in the direction where Garrison was pointing. She wasn’t as worried or as mindful of landmarks on this outing as she usually was, but she did take note of their position and the hill with the copse of trees growing on it to the West, to be sure she didn’t get turned around when it was time to head back.
“Okay, okay, I see him,” she said,bewildered that the toddler could pick him out of the crowd so quickly; then again, Dravite wasn’t a man that blended in with the crowd. Pearl took a moment to admire her husband from afar.
Belkaia choked back a laugh, licked her thumb and reached up to erase the smudge of dirt from Garrison cheek.
“I’ll get him down, you lift him all day, I’m sure,” Pearl knew Garrison loved his Ma and loved to be held. She tickled his little tummy a tick and then scooped him off Knox’s back, laying him belly down over her shoulder with his head to her back and his little feet kicking in the air in front of her face while she held him securely. “Could you get the sacks out of Knox’s bags, please?” she asked Belkaia. “We can use them to carry what we gather.”

Knox was left free to graze while the three headed off in the general direction of Dravite, and the grass-hidden Kyanite. Garrison’s little legs were still kicking in the air as he held his arms out behind Pearl’s back and waved at everyone they passed; a huge grin on his face. When they were close enough, Pearl set Garrison down on the ground in front of her. “You stay where we can see you. No running off. Promise,” her words were as stern as the look on her face when she spoke them and she signed, promise, after them.
Garrison nodded and signed, promise.


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[Ruari Darkwind]

They belonged to an anti-social pavilion rooted in their ways and fighting amongst themselves, rarely lifting their heads to the greater happenings in Endrykas unless danger was imminent, and then they tended to forget their loss and resentment enough to become Drykas again.

Cidhna, of all his brothers, was perhaps one of the more aware of outside events. He sought power that he couldn't find readily available in his own pavilion, so when he scented a prize, he was quick to capitalize on it.

Ruari was the only one he could wrangle into joining a forage expedition, and he did so with a jovial sort of intimidation that had Ruari in a hurry to leave the camp, a backpack and waterskin on her person and genuinely disinterested in sticking around to find out if her father meant to harass her further.

The Darkwinds had little presence to speak of among the horseclans, having found themselves suffering great misfortune in the past and only lately beginning to reach back towards their people. They were bitter, though, and horribly reserved when it came to social situations. Ruari was little different from their norm, holding herself in reserve and careful in her interactions. She was there in body, interested in foraging if only to escape the overbearing nature of her father and mother, and it was all that mattered to her.

She followed the direction of her betters when it came to foraging, taking up the mantra of "take one for them, leave one for the rest", but she didn't know exactly what the things she was looking for should be like, aside from pumpkins and other distinguishable fruits she'd eaten or otherwise come into contact with. It was those she went after now, attacking a low-lying shrub in search of berries, but unwilling to identify the bush as one that didn't bear edible fruit.

Like a Darkwind, she took this in a forced sort of solitude, as unwilling to ask for help as she was to reach out to other people in need of help.

[Amunet]

The red hair was like a beacon to some. She cut the stem of pumpkins and handed them to little hands waiting to take it to the wagon or people with a way to carry them back to storage. Auntie waved her over as she nodded. Another replaced her in picking and cutting the pumpkins carefully. They kept to the tenet of take one, leave one philosophy. The young lady went over to Auntie who was directing traffic.

“Amunet, we are going to head to the wild plums and the walnut grove from there. Let the Watch know we are going to be moving soon.” The woman patted her on the upper arm and smiled.

“Yes, Auntie.” Her hand was on the old woman’s hand briefly. She was such a dear. The young woman moved towards where she thought she saw one of the men of the watch. She passed another woman (Ruari) looking or rather rummaging firmly through the bush for berries. The red head tried to be helpful “There are more berries going towards that way. Its on the way to the wild plum trees. “ The girl said brightly before making her way towards the man she saw.

“Tall man. Amunet was sweating as her muted red shirt clung to her slight form. Her leather pants made the walk a lot easier than skirts. Some ladies preferred them and managed to move around well. Her family would prefer her to be in skirts. She steadfastly and defiantly disregarded that preference. Muted dull red on dark brown leather and leather boots framed the diminutive form that located the tall man with the heavily tattooed windmarks and other marks. Her hand waved at him.
“Hello, I am Amunet. “ as she came by and gave the young boy a easy going and pleasant smile “Auntie said.. “ It was at that point that the silkena came bounding towards her with something in her mouth. It was a rather mangled half a rabbit. The girl sighed. The dog happily dropped the half a rabbit at her command to ‘drop it’. There was a long mournful sigh that came from her.

“Oh sorry. This is Camile. “ pointing at the now nicely sitting silkena. “Anyway, the Auntie wanted you to … “ It was at that point that Leia came bounding in chasing a mouse of all things. Her clumsy self tried pouncing on it and ended up rolling up to and against Kyanite. “Leia.. your all paws, girl “ The girl laughed at that. “Auntie wanted the Watch to know that the group is headed towards the wild plums and walnut grove beyond that.

The man was attractive but that often did not hold too much appeal to the red head. He was easy on the eyes but it was the eyes that caught her attention. Her sky blues would look directly into his grey ones. The cub was playful if Kyanite made moves as the poor cat had lost her mouse. “maybe better luck next time Leia.” The spirited girl had a heart light that shined enough for many and gave as much. She saw the big pumpkin the boy was trying to get. “oh,that’s a big one there big guy.” She said to the boy. She went to help him cut it, but it was going to take more than the boy to carry it.

It was then she saw Pearl. The girl waved at her remembering the Doctor and Garrison. “Hi!! Pearl glad you could make it.“ Amunet had no one to check on and no babies due to be delievered at this time. Shetanae lifted her head up eyeing the two stallions, nicker an acknowledgement of their presence and then put her head back down to lightly graze.

[Dravite]

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Fawn jumped away from the woman's intrusion of their space; though it was more likely the approaching dog had spooked her. Dravite took a subconscious step closer to his son and greeted the redhead with a wave, introducing himself as Dravite Blackwater of the Diamond Clan. Having met the animals belonging to Amunet, he grinned and waved to another Watchman standing some way ahead of the group to signal that the foragers would be moving soon, "I'll be sure to look ahead," Dravite assured the woman as she helped his son dislodge a rather sizeable pumpkin.

At the mention of his wife's name, Dravite spun around to see that both Belkaia and Pearl had showed up with their little one to do a spot of foraging. He scooped up Garrison and peppered the boy's cheek and neck with kisses, much to Garrison’s disapproval which came in the form of an infectious giggle-scream, "my little bear; look what your brother found," he set the boy down next to Kyanite to inspect the pumpkin before greeting his wives, kissing each of them hot on the mouth.

"Who is this?" Belkaia smiled.
"Amunet," the man announced, trying to figure out how she might have known Pearl; perhaps through their shared line of work?
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Amunet," Belkaia stepped forward and gave the woman a light hug before crouching to admire her dog, "oh my goodness she is so soft, husband; feel her fur."
"It looks very soft," Dravite agreed with a nod, glancing across at his boys who were trying to turn the pumpkin on its side.
"I would love a dog so beautiful," Belkaia beamed, making a big fuss of the animal that seemed to be enjoying the attention.
Dravite put an arm around Pearl and held her left shoulder so that she could not escape the kiss he pressed to the back of her head, "the foragers are moving onto the walnut grove; there might be plums there."
Belkaia rose, her eyes lighting up, "oh, may we follow? Plums are my absolute favourite," she grinned.
"She is not lying," he whispered to his second wife, "she will leave none for the rest of Endrykas."
Belkaia slapped her husband's arm playfully and took Pearl's hand, "come wife, you must help me get the good ones."
"I'll be along soon," Dravite promised, "take the boys; I must consult the web to check that the area is clear."

With that he kissed Pearl's shoulder and stepped between the women to pick up the heavy pumpkin, which was harder to lift than he had first imagined. With some strain, he was able to lift it into his arms and excused himself from the group to carry it over to one of the wagons that were being loaded up. After putting it down he clapped his hands together to remove most if the dirt and sat on the back of the wagon to close his eyes and slip into a trance that would take him out across the field to where the grove lay tucked away beyond a dry riverbed.

The horse lord stopped in the web momentarily to draw djed from his being and bridge a gap where a tear had formed in the webbing; the small correction opening up a whole new line to him that had not been there moments before. This was then he spotted a rather dangerous pooling of djed tucked away in the dip of the landscape, causing him to race back to his physical form and snap his eyes open; returning to the woman quickly to snatch up his spear and race ahead on foot without a word.

Dravite had to sprint a good fifty metres before he came across the next Watchman, who ran up to him on foot and waved out to one of the members on horseback; suddenly the group of them that had come along for the morning didn't seem like enough. As Dravite traversed the thick grass with the younger, slightly fitter boy by his side he managed to shout "Wolves!" To the member on horseback who galloped ahead even though Dravite had not been able to tell him how many. The young man next to him drew his bow and readied an arrow as the land rolled down into a slope that would take them out of sight.

Most of the foragers that had started to move ahead stopped or even turned back when they noticed all of the Watchmen make a sudden beeline for the grove. Dravite and his younger co-worker were third on the scene, where a group of at least six wolves were terrorising the horse that had thundered towards them carrying one of the men who now stood on the bank firing arrows at the pack. The strider had been bitten on his back, left leg but had done a good job of distracting the pack from his rider. Dravite eyed up a rather brave looking female that broke away to dart towards him. He came to a stop, adrenaline flooding his form, making him hyper aware of the situation.

With spear at the ready he stepped forward and lunged at the wolf, trusting his spear low to try and catch her in the chest. She paused just in time to skip aside and jump at him; catching his left elbow as he sent it her way to deflect the attack before throwing his weight down on her to open her gut on the end of his spear. She gave a high-pitched yelp and turned to bite the man; quickly silenced by a well-placed arrow that seemed to come out of nowhere. When it was all done, Dravite counted nine wolves in total and finished off three pups watching from the mouth of their den; they had been too old to consider taming or dragging back to the marketplace for a quick sale.

"Well that could have gone a lot worse," one of them smiled before plucking an arrow from one of the wolves that had tried to escape after realising that the odds were no longer in their favour.
"Is anyone hurt?" Dravite asked.
One of the men stepped forward and showed him a laceration on his right hand, "my horse needs attention."
"My wife is a doctor, she will look at your hand; we will have to walk the horse back to the city or send for a vet."
"I'll go," another man piped up, the only other member of the watch who had brought his horse along for the morning.
"Ask some of the foragers, one of them might be of use and a lot closer than the city," Dravite told him, "my wife doesn't go anywhere without her medical kit, if you find someone who can check the horse, they're free to use her bandages and tools I’m sure."
"I'll check with the crowd first," he agreed before galloping up over the rise.
"Get rid of those pups," Dravite ordered, "we don't want to upset anyone."
"Aye, one of the men agreed and tucked the pups away deep within the den while others helped collect arrows and pile up the wolves.
"Should we torch them?" Someone asked.
Dravite shook his head, "grass is too dry, we don't want to start any wildfires, leave them; I know I'm interested in skinning one or two."
The men laughed, "Aye," some of them agreed.
"Spread out, tell the foragers the way ahead is clear."

NotesRuari, feel free to tend to the horse.
Pearl, that hand laceration is all yours.
Amunet, come get a lesson in tanning with Dravite if you like.

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[Pearl]

Pearl returned a wave to Amunet as Dravite took Garrison from her hands. She smiled at the high pitched squealing laugh he gave. Garrison was all too happy to be sat down by Kyanite and quickly went about trying to help his brother heft the pumpkin from the ground. The sight of it caused Pearl to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing; though the bruised flesh was soon soothed with a welcomed kiss from her husband. She remained quiet through the introductions Dravite provided at their wife’s request of who Amunet was. As Belkaia stepped closer to fawn over the dog, she offered a quiet explanation, “Amunet works at The River Flower as well.” Her husband’s affections were welcomed with a smile and a hand reached up to rest over his upon her shoulder.

When Dravite’s teasing earned him a playful smack from Belkaia, Pearl couldn’t help but to chuckle. The family was adjusting nicely and it showed in the closeness of their bonds through their smiles and carefree, good natured teasing of one another. “You had that one coming,” she told him as she curled her fingers around Belkaia’s. As he pressed that kiss to her shoulder, she offered one in return to his head, kissing over the wheat coloured braids he wore in dreads. “Come boys, let’s go get Ma the best plums in the grove,” she beckoned to them as Dravite carried the pumpkin to the wagon. She glanced back to him as he sat upon the back or the wagon and drifted into the web, a gentle smile upon her face before she turned back to the rest of the family, and Amunet and began a playful game of chase with the boys.

Both she and Belkaia were romping around after the boys among squeals of giggles and laughter, catching and tickling and then letting them go so they could continue the game. It was almost something they felt as well as saw when their husband drew near and grabbed up his spear, taking off in a run, for both women each grabbed up a child and hugged them close, the boys immediately sensing their mothers’ inner tensions and quieted as if on cue, little arms wrapped around mothers’ necks and holding tightly. “Shh,” Pearl and Belkaia cooed to their boys as they watched Dravite disappear below the slope of the grasses. “Da’s got this,” Pearl assured them all.
Belkaia mouthed the word ‘wolves’, her hands full of child and unable to sign easily to Pearl who nodded in understanding.

Both wives stood closer together now, awaiting the outcome of the commotion they could hear just over the hill. It’s wasn’t long before they were rewarded for their efforts of remaining calm and saw the watchmen returning after things had quieted. Pearl scanned the returning men and when she didn’t see the form of her husband, she stretched, shading her eyes from the glare of the sun so she could see better; still no sign of Dravite returning. One of the watchmen approached her, having known her from treating the watchmen on a regular bases with their injuries, whether accidental during training with Bayon and her father, Trail, or otherwise.
“Pearl, one of the men needs you for a cut on his hand, and one of the horses is injured. That’s the worst of it on our end.”
Relief shown in Pearl’s eyes and she nodded before clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth and calling Knox closer to her. She exchanged a look with Belkaia and smiled, both women leaning in and brushed a kiss over each others cheeks as well as their boys.
“Come with me,” Belkaia spoke to the boys, “we have plums to pick. Let’s see who can find the biggest one,” turning it into a game for the boys.
Pearl watched while Belkaia and the boys merged with the others to go and pick fruits. “Save me one,” she teased.

Knox nickered as he approached and nosed at Pearl’s shoulder. She reached up and pat affectionately over his neck. “Time for work,” she said while reaching back to her yvas bags and taking her medical kit out. She and Knox walked over towards where the men were gathered. One was standing close to his horse and looking at his leg while holding his own hand out to the side of him, she noticed, and Pearl thought it might be him that was injured as well. “You and your Strider are the injured parties this go around?” she asked.
The man turned and looked to her with a smile. “Him more than me, but yes.”
“I’m Pearl, Dravite’s wife. Mind if I take a look at your hand?”
“Course not,” he held his hand up, but remained close to his Strider.
Pearl stepped in and examined his hand, noting that the laceration wasn’t long, but it was in a spot that it was likely to keep opening up if left unstitched. Drykas men were difficult to slow down and tended to keep working despite her efforts to get them to rest and allow their bodies to heal properly first. Regardless, she did what she could for them.

After cleansing the wound with some water from the one of the waterskins, Pearl was able to see the wound more clearly. The laceration was deep enough that it had the yellow, fatty part of the skin. “We’re going to have to put in a few stitches to ensure that the cut heals properly. You’ll likely have a small scar from it, but I don’t think I can help that.”
“It’s alright. Do what you got to, Doc,” the watchman said. “A little scar won’t even be noticed on these work warn hands.”
His quip caused a smile to form on Pearl’s face, “You Watchmen are all the same, tough as nails, I swear.”
He smirked. “Have to be with the likes of your father around pushing us through all the training.”
Pearl laughed.

Once she had everything in order, and the wound washed again after a treatment of turmeric powder over it to ensure that infection didn’t set in, she carefully stitched up the laceration. A small knot tied in one end and then she used a pattern similar to a ladder as she drew the wound closed with each of six additional stitches before tying the seventh in a knot at the opposite end of the wound. The skin in the middle was held nicely together and formed a small raised bump in the middle. It was so much easier working on the men of The Watch, she thought, they never shied away from a little pain, regardless of the source.

“A little of this,” she spoke as she applied a small amount of the calendula ointment over the wound and the stitches, “will help the healing process and keep the wound from drying out and itching quite as much. Give it about seven days and come see me at The River Flower and I’ll remove your stitches for you as long as everything looks like it is healing well enough.” She finished by wrapping a clean bandage around his hand, looping it around his wrist and between his thumb and forefinger to ensure that it was well covered, then tied it off around his wrist, being careful not to tie it too tightly so that he continued to have good circulation though his hand and fingers. “It may start throbbing later, after all the adrenaline wears off. If it does, elevate it to above your heart and rest. If the pain becomes unbearable, send someone for me and I’ll see what I can do about getting you something to help with it.” While she talked, she checked his fingers to make sure they had good circulation by pinching them close to the nail beds and watching to be sure the colour returned in an acceptable amount of time.

She gave him a small paper packet of crushed turmeric powder, “A little pinch of this in some warm milk, twice a day for five days to keep infection from setting in. And keep the hand and the wound clean, keep it bandaged,” she emphasized with a smirk, knowing full well it would be an afterthought to the man.
He smirked as well, “Yes Ma’am.”

As she packed up her things, cleaning them and placing them back within her medical kit in their proper places, she added, “If no one is available to see to your Strider, let me know and I’ll do what I can for him. Pearl wasn’t one to let an animal suffer, not if she thought she could help them, especially one of the Striders, but she did feel that a veterinarian was likely better suited to treat the horse, if one was available.
“Will do, thank you,” he said.
“Anytime.”



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[Lian Windrunner]

Lian had thought long and hard before he decided to join the others in foraging. He was a decent hunter, but he knew so little about finding edible plants, and indeed which ones were edible, and which weren't that he feared he would be more of a hindrance than a help to the group. Then again, perhaps if he did go, he would learn something new. It was that thought that made his decision for him.

When Lian reached the others, he was happy to see several people that he knew. Amunet was there, as was the pretty girl that Lian had given a hunting lesson to several days ago. Ruari Darkwind. That lesson had gone well, and Lian had found himself enjoying her company. He found himself rather hoping that she would want more hunting lessons from him in the future. Dravite and Pearl were there as well. Lian figured that Dravite was there as a member of the Watch.

Lian gestured "friendly greetings" to Dravite, and his family before moving towards a bush not far from where Ruari was working. Picking berries was about all he knew as far as foraging went, so he thought it best to start with that. He began reaching through the brambles as carefully as he could to pluck the large black clusters of berries. As he worked, he noticed that there didn't seem to be many berries on the bush that Ruari was working on.

"Do you want to help me with this bush?" he offered with a genuine smile.

"There seem to be more berries on this bush than there are on yours. And maybe we could talk as we work? I enjoyed our hunting lesson earlier in the season. Did you have any questions about it? Would interested in another lesson in the future?"

The black berries that Lian picked went into a yvas bag. One of several he had brought with him. But for every three berries that went into the bag, he ate at least one. The sweet, juicy berries were just too good to resist snacking on as he worked..
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[Akasja]

There had not been much activity at all at the River Flower, and Akasja found herself running out of tasks. Despite her newly earned position as Assistant Herbalist, Akasja still felt out of place in Endrykas. Reality was that she did not know many people, though she knew their faces and even some names. In Eyktol, family always came first. Community meant survival. Here, too, Akasja had found, those values were the same. That had made living in this settlement all the easier to get used to.

Before too long, Akasja discovered that a group would be heading into the outskirts of Endrykas to forage. While Akasja meant to leave the River Flower right when Pearl did, she ultimately found herself holding back, wanting a bit of time to herself and also a chance to find the group on her own. It would be confirmation to Akasja that she was getting more and more familiar with the geography of Cyphrus.

By the time that Akasja had secured her pack and mounted her horse, it was almost late in the morning. She followed the loose trail of Strider hoof prints away from the camp, so far the simplest part of her decision to head out alone. At first, it was not hard to see where all the traffic had been, though the winds grew stronger the further away from Endrykas Akasja traveled. The grasses and soil below shifted and obscured the clarity of the path, so Akasja slowed her mount and paid more careful attention to the terrain. Thankfully, as the Chaktawe and her horse moved ahead, she found the area familiar. She and Pearl had gone out here a few times before to forage. The lands were always rich with life.

Reaching her hand out around her, Akasja combed through the air, feeling immediately the motion of the grasses in the wind like a massive, rolling wave -but she sought the larger movements of horses and the Drykas group. It was not long before Akasja felt multiple movements at once and knew it had to be the horse lords that she was looking for. But as she and her Desertbred rounded a low hill, Akasja saw a group of men gathered together -the Watch, apparently. And the most familiar figure -Pearl- came into view. She seemed to be working on one of the men's hands. Something must have happened. Akasja tensed, urging her horse to pick up speed. But as she drew nearer to the group, she realized that the men were relaxed. No one had weapons drawn. There was no imminent danger. That part was over.

Akasja slowed her mare and dismounted, heading over to Pearl with her brows furrowed in worry and curiosity. Her black eyes searched the wounded man. Pearl had already bandaged him, and he seemed nonchalant about his wound, ready instead to guide the rest of the scattered group forward. Akasja turned to Pearl, offering a greeting in Common.
"What happened?" Akasja then asked. With a sweep of one hand to indicate the group as a whole, "How are you?"

Akasja was ready and able to help with anything that she could before the group carried onward -if anyone still needed tending to- but she had a feeling that Pearl had already seen to the major issues. That was good. But glancing again at the injured man, Akasja realized that he had turned his attention to his own mount. There was something wrong with it. Akasja quickly recalled what ingredients and mixtures she had brought with her. She might have packed something that could help the horse, but Akasja was yet uncertain. If there was a vet around, or if Pearl could perhaps provide guidance, Akasja was willing to help examine the wounded Strider.

[Ruari Darkwind]

Ruari was content to pick and would have eventually relocated to a greener bush before the strange woman with her chirpy voice pranced up, declared that she pick elsewhere, before flouncing off on her merry way. Rare to anger as she was, Ruari quietly prickled at what she perceived as a slight; she couldn't see handsign to get a different idea, and she thought there was condescension Ruari found rubbed her wrong.

She was loathe to move along, now, even though she was well aware of picking apart a bush that wasn't carrying edible berries. She didn't want to look like she was in the wrong, not if some woman came along and told her she was.

A more welcome voice spoke up as Ruari's mood soured the further she dug into the bush, rewarded with small scratches and the itching sensation of skin irritated by brambles. She looked up, first trying to find that red-haired woman among the mass of people there, before she turned to the familiar voice of Lian and signed a greeting as well as pleasant. When he invited her to help pick at the berries in the bush, she looked over at it with greater interest than she would have normally and eyed up the succulent fruit dangling from the branches.

"It does look like there is a good bit of fruit there," she ended up admitting, prying herself from her bush to meander over and take up the side alternate of him. When she'd joined the foraging expedition, she'd picked up a basket with which to gather the fruits, nuts, and other assorted goodies she found, and she placed this basket down against her feet so she could begin picking with both hands.

Unlike Lian, who seemed equally content to snack on the fruit as he was to pick it, Ruari didn't enjoy blackberries. She picked them at the height of her waist, avoiding both the crown and the skirt of the bush out of simple respect for the needs of the animals that would no doubt come along to the same bush once the people were long gone. It was something someone had instilled in her once, when she was very young; we do not take from the birds and we do not take from the foragers. It told her to not take everything so that Caiyha's own had none.

She didn't tell him this, though; her raising included knowing Caiha and his may have not. She would rather be glad to see him again, as she considered the hunt they'd had a success and was interested in doing so again.

"I enjoyed it, too," she admitted genuinely. Although she didn't look at him, she smiled. "I'm interested in going out again. There are more rabbits yet, right?"

She would have been eager to continue the conversation. People were easing away to a copse of trees that would have no doubt offered more to harvest. She'd move along with them once the bush was done, and she'd invite Lian to join her. She was so content to pick at the fruit that she failed to notice Watchmen running past her.

She did notice when one returned, asking for an animal doctor. Although Ruari was one, her mood was slightly sour and she fancied the notion of denying any veterinary skill. However, she wasn't in the habit of lying, regardless of mood, and she gave Lian a nod, as if to invite him with her with a matching wave of her hand, before approaching the Watchman.

"I treat animals," she told him. "What happened? Where is it?"

Regardless of if Lian joined her, Ruari would follow the Watchman. She followed him to a hollow in the earth, where there stood a good many other Watchmen and carcasses. When looking at the bodies, she could see that they were dogs. Wolves. And they were dead.

Her eyes slid from them, over the woman tending to the injured man, and to the horse.

The mare shivered, and although Ruari's study of horse medicine wasn't that strong, she thought it was because of stress. Ruari beelined for her, forgoing introductions and queries; she placed her hand upon the back right flank of the mare and lowered herself to kneel, getting closer to the wound. Although Ruari herself had no gear with her to treat an injury, she remembered the woman working on the hand of the man.

"May I have a hand over here?" She requested.