Solo Wolfberry Soup

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Not found on any map, Endrykas is a large migrating tent city wherein the horseclans of Cyphrus gather to trade and exchange information. [Lore]

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Wolfberry Soup

Postby Merevaika on September 26th, 2015, 9:08 pm

51st Fall 515

Merevaika didn't like foraging. It was slow, boring, and had none of the thrill that came with hunting. There was no excitement, or chases or suspense that kept things interesting; instead, it was a simply matter of walking and examining each an every plant in hope to find something that she recognised.
And while she did, she didn't know whether she needed it or not. Merevaika wished she had a list of what to gather.

She wore her cloak, a thick warm black material that covered her back and almost trailed along the ground. It restricted her movements very slightly, but it was warm and comfortable, and Merevaika wouldn't have taken it off even f=if she was made to.

The landscape around her all looked the same, plants-wise anyway. There was rabbitbrush, she believed it was called, and buffalo grass, but as far as she knew, neither were edible. If they were, they wouldn't be tasty. Beggars couldn't be choosers, but Merevaika wasn't quite a beggar yet. She still had money and time, and she was determined to find something nice.

A river flowed beside her, the water lapping at its banks peacefully. The stones around were large and smooth, small rippled patterns of black and cream that swirled in spirals. When she was much younger, she used to collect them with her sisters, loving their look. They would line them up alongside the tent, and her mother would make up stories about how the stones protected them from the monsters in the night, warding off evil with their beauty.

Merevaika smiled at the fond memory, wishing she was that young again, young enough to waste time with pointless tasks like collected stones, young enough to believe in stories like that. She stopped down, pulling her cloak back, and picked up three, rubbing her fingers against the smooth, damp surface. The mud was pushed off, the true patterns of the stone revealed. With a soft smile, she tucked them in her basket, the weight comforting. Whether or not her mother had believed it, Merevaika had, and even now a small part of her wished that they really did ward off evil.

Distracted by her thoughts, she didn't notice the approaching figure - a girl she knew, a girl not much younger than herself.
Last edited by Merevaika on September 28th, 2015, 9:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Wolves

Postby Merevaika on September 26th, 2015, 9:17 pm

The first was on her in a few moments, the tip of her spear pointed into the drykas' back. She tensed, feeling the point through the cloak, before stepping forward and spinning round, pulling out her knife and holding it tightly, trying to appear as if she could use it. The girl smiled, and her face came back to Merevaika. The face that had hunted her as an elk.

"You didn't keep your promise."

"Promise? Did you really think I meant that?" Merevaika replied, shifting to the side so she wouldn't be pressed against the river. It wasn't deep, or strong, or wide, but she didn't want to have to enter it - it was too cold for that and Merevaika didn't want to get wet.

"No, which is why I made sure to keep track of you. I knew you would back out, and I need to get my compensation."

"What are you going to do? Kill me? That's not going to benefit you, you know that? My possessions are far from here and if I die, there are others who will instantly take them, no matter what you say." Kei, for example, she added in her head, thinking of the annoying Kelvic she was stuck with. He would more than happily take what she owned and claim it as his. Or was that what Merevaika would do to his possessions? She wasn't exactly sure, although she leant on the latter.

At this, the girl actually showed signs of doubt, and Merevaika smiled, glad that she had managed to out do her. Somehow, she hadn't actually planned what she was going to do when Merevaika found her, which either meant she was really badly organised, or that she hadn't tracked her down. The girl had simply bumped into her, and had tried to used that as an excuse. Hopefully she had worked that out right.

"How about you just leave me alone, because I don't actually owe you anything? Go back to your hunting, or whatever it was before you bumped into me."

The girl didn't take this well, snarling and jabbing the spear forward, but Merevaika had intended this and side-stepped neatly out of the way, the girl lunging forward into thin air. Not realising this, she stumbled, slipping into the river, which pulled her down. Merevaika grasped out automatically, remembering her own experiences with the water, and grabbed the girl's arm, pulling her out hard and quickly. Her feet anchored on the ground as she heaved, falling back with the girl on top of her, wet and shivering.

Merevaika wiggled out of the position, pulling her cloak of herself. The breeze was cold, and she shivered, but not as much as the girl beside her, who she placed the cloak on top of. Vera clung to it tightly, as if it was her only chance of life, the shock of the fall still bursting through her. Water spluttered up out of her lungs, and her clothes stuck to her skin, and Merevaika felt sorry for her.

What was wrong with her? Why was she showing sympathy to a girl who had demanded things of her and treated her like that? It wasn't sympathy though - it was empathy, and Merevaika felt her fear and shock, knowing the feeling of the cold water rushing around her, knowing the fear she had felt when a similar thing had happened to her.

Besides, if she saved the girl's life and helped her, perhaps she would forget about the debt. Merevaika smiled. That sounded more like her thoughts. No weakness, just practicality.
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Wolves

Postby Merevaika on September 28th, 2015, 6:11 pm

Placing her basket down, Merevaikaw as glad that her tent was close enough to leave it unattended. Merevaika pulled Vera up, gathering her spear which had snapped in two when she fell. Vera coughed, splurting out more water, and stuck to Merevaika tightly, the cloak keeping both dry and warm. Pulling the girl onto her to support her, Merevaika hurried to her tent, aware that it was getting windier and colder with the second, the girl's coughs harder.

Dropping Vera by the firepit, she hurried into her tent, pulling out her blanket and the wood she had prepared for a fire that night. They would be put to good use now, as she placed them on the ashes of the old one, throwing the blanket over Vera, who rested against a mound. Her hands fiddled with her flint and steel, smashing them against each other until a spark finally was created. The fire beginning to grow, she turned to Vera, making sure she was alright. The girl shivered, still wet, and her face was white with shock.

"Stay here and stay warm. There are dry clothes and wood in the tent if you need anything." Merevaika was blunt because she didn't like leaving Vera here alone. Not because she feared for the girl's health, but because she feared for her possessions. After all, only a few chimes ago she was glad that the girl didn't know; now, she was leaving her with them alone.

But Merevaika was hungry, and felt like she had to help Vera. The more hospitable she was, the more likely the girl would "forget" the debt she believed Merevaika owed her. What better way to be hospitable than some home-made soup?

The basket was just where she had left it, and now, Merevaika had an idea what to look for, the recipe embedded in her head. The first ingredient wouldn't be hard to find: wild onions.

The smell wasn't hard to find, stenching up a small patch beside the river. A little digging around left her with a handful of wild onions, which she quickly put in her basket, shaking the dirt off them.

Around the onion was garlic, erupting in ranks of sprays, each with a pointed, green leaf on a single stem. The sea of them poured down the the river side, and as Merevaika broke one leaf, the smell came strongly. She gathered several stalks, breaking them off rather low, and arranged them in the basket, the smell strong of garlic and onion.
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Wolfberry Soup

Postby Merevaika on October 5th, 2015, 8:20 pm

Pretty, heart shaped leaves caught her eye, and she wandered over, certain that she knew what it was, and that it could be used. The stalks were furry, and the leaves darker on the top than bottom, soft and fuzzy. They hid under a large bush, enjoying the shady, damp area.

Interested, she dug up a stalk, finding what was called a rhizome, branched roots about the thickness of a stick at the thickest parts. It was only until she had broken a piece of, snapping it easily, did she realise what it was. Wild ginger. Perfect. She gathered more, brushing off the dirt with hurried motions. She had started to worry about Vera, or rather, her possessions, and urgency kicked in.

There were lamb's quarters nearby, something she recognised from occasionally purchasing it from the merchants. It was fairly tall, leaves coated with white powder, shaped like goose feet. They were in the soup too, and she broke off the leaves, pulling off as many as she could. One more ingredient left, and she would be ready to return.

Wolfberry bushes were scattered around this part of the river, bright red berries decorating a bush with leaves that looked dry, branches falling down to the ground. One branch held many, and she simply pulled it off, twisting and turning it to break off the branch. This she swung over her back, a few of the older berries breaking red against her shirt. She was ready to return, and happy to.

Vera still lay beside the fire, snuggled under the blanket, but had a stick in one hand and poked it gently, bored of just waiting. Sparks flew to the side, and she watched them, face still pale and still coughing badly. At Merevaika's arrival, she glared at her, before ignoring her, and Merevaika let her be, filling the pot with plenty of water and hanging it over the fire.

Taking some smoked liver left over from a previous, a small sliver that would be just big enough to feed both girls, she sliced it into thin strips, adding it to the pot. With it came the onion and garlic, chopped and shredded until it was in eatable pieces. The ginger was added soon after, and a tasty smell started to drift out of it, Merevaika fighting back hunger.

She took the lamb's quarters, tearing them into pieces and adding them to the boiling water, cooking until they turned bright green. Finally, she added the wolfberries, mixing them together. The soup itself wasn't too thick, rather watery, but the ingredients were well cooked, and would serve them well.
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Wolfberry Soup

Postby Merevaika on October 13th, 2015, 6:26 am

Merevaika left the soup on the fire, hoping that the water would leave as steam, and turned to Vera, who looked away. "I saved your life." Wasn't that enough, or would she still insist that Merevaika owed her an elk.

"I would have been fine." Merevaika didn't know how true that statement was. Vera had been cold and shocked when she had caught her; too shocked to swim, or not?

"Still, I took you back here, gave you blankets and a fire, and now I'm making soup for you," there was a moments hesitation between this and what she wanted to say, "Remove that foolish debt you think I owe you."

Vera snarled, curling her bottom lip. "You owe me an elk: simple as that, no foolishness involved." She picked at the ground beneath her, crumbling small clumps of dirt in between her fingers. "But that soup smells nice... Perhaps if you share, we can agree on half an elk." Merevaika sighed, picking up the half of the spear that had the sharp bit, pointing it at Vera.

"Now this looks familiar. How about no debt?"

Vera bit her tongue, giving up. She was too cold to do anything at the moment, let alone call up her magic. "Fine, you don't owe me an elk."
"Swear."
"I swear on my mother's life."

Merevaika laughed. That wasn't a Drykas promise, and both of them knew it. It meant nothing. "A real swear."
"I swear upon my Strider, I will not ask an elk of you."

That was it. Merevaika poured the soup into a bowl, passing it to Vera who began to sip it. Once she was done, Merevaika took it for herself, drinking the soup quickly. It was warm and tasty, with lots of flavourings. Not the best, but good enough.

Later that evening, Vera disappeared, taking her possessions with her. Merevaika never saw her again. She didn't want to, either.
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Wolfberry Soup

Postby Tribal on October 14th, 2015, 2:48 am

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G R A D E S

Merevaika

Experience

  • Botany: 3
  • Observation: 2
  • Foraging: 3
  • Detection: 1
  • Socialisation: 2
  • Subterfuge: 1
  • Bodybuilding: 1
  • Wilderness Survival, Plains: 1
  • Hostessing: 1
  • Herbalism: 1
  • Planning: 1
  • Cooking: 1
  • Organisation: 1

Lore

  • Botany: Rabbitbrush
  • Botany: Buffalo Grass
  • Subterfuge: Making promises you don’t intend to keep
  • Vera: Good at tracking people down
  • Botany: Rhizome
  • Botany: Wolfberry

Notes

Great little follow up to the last story. Some of your links on your skills are broken. Think a couple of them just have an extra space in the url bits; easy fix. Enjoy the rewards!
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Lost in the Tall Grass
 
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