Being the sage of the entirety of the Typhoon was stressful. To most, that would seem like a fairly obvious statement. After all, if you were the sole medic of an entire large group like the Typhoon, then you were going to be stressed out, weren't you? Still, that felt like such an enormous understatement when it came to how Roan felt on occasion, dealing with the near constant line of injuries that afflicted his friends and family. Part of him wished that he was able to ask for help more often, but honestly he knew that he was far too stubborn for that. Perhaps it was an inherited trait from the Roux side of his family, or maybe it was just something unique to him, but he felt like asking for help was losing. Especially when it seemed as though so few of the members within the group showed an actual interest in healing. How was he supposed to ask someone to assist and potentially learn from him, if they didn't actually give a shit about what they were doing? Not only would that breed a certain kind of distaste towards him from any potential apprentice, but it would also just lead to a lazy sage, in the end.

So, instead of going through the effort of trying to find someone to help him, Roan had decided to look into an... alternative method. Something else that would help relieve his stress, and something that was usually associated with sages and soothsayers anyways – magic. Specifically, potion making. It was something that he had looked into before, but he had never specifically done anything with it until now, mainly because he felt it was a crutch. He also wasn't sure how much he believed in whether or not it would work, but considering this was a world full of gods and shapeshifting... magic and potions didn't seem all that farfetched, at least not in the long run.

It had taken a few books – and even a little bit of asking around – for the sage to eventually find out how to make a potion for relieving stress. He'd gotten several different directions and recipes from the various sources he had consulted, but he decided to go with the simplest one first. After all, it was best to start off easy with a skill you had never practiced before, right? With that in mind, Roan had gathered up the supplies he needed, which was thankfully not a lot – just some water, a fire, and some lavender, along with a pot. Once he had snagged himself a pot from the tavern, along with a bit of water, he started a small fire in front of his house, carefully hanging the pot full of water over it. He waited carefully until the water was eventually boiling, idly shredding the lavender with his paws as he waited. The water began to bubble and boil before long, and he stood up on his hind legs, taking a deep breath before he dropped the lavender down into the pot, incanting softly, "Water of life, and fragrant lavender so sweet, empower this potion with your healing power. As I will... shall it be." He then fell back on all fours, glancing around self consciously to see if anyone had heard. The next step was to let the potion steep for a while, so he would be stuck waiting for the magical properties to catch up to him, at least for the time being.

— it had been a while, since the sting of the salt-water burned his flesh raw. since bleeding wounds cut away infectious static that left ament more beast than venadi. even now with his family there, on the edges of the borders, it was hard to shake; wrath so genuine shook down to ins marrow and rotted at the infections inside and out but roan- roan had cut out all that he could, he healed ament.

healed the beast, a thankless job, but ament was more complex than that; a curse and blessing at once. frigid eyes had watched the medik from their bed of shredded soft things. as bandages were healed and ament once again grew whole. Ament had grown stronger in his time there in the silence; in his time away from most- beyond the visits ament had grown wise too.

it felt like eons lying within the sickbed, mother's crooning voice edged with a desperate croon, a command [glow=#480000,2,300]s t a y[/glow]. ament watched the world work, watched roan in equal measure as he made his ways to and fro, frantically searching for herbs and scattering the entire temple in search; and the next moment picking up the peices of his ruin. building himself back up in the quiet when he thought everyone had fallen to slumber; ament watched. he made peace in the quiet and he found it's use.

his bones felt weak still, as he had moved early that morning, his wounds were healed beyond the slight buzz of attention under the bandages; but ament was a simple creature, complex but simple. a favor had been extracted from him, a boon like the plucking of teeth; wrenched away from him and ament saw fit to settle it.  it was in the quiet of the morning that the raptor left it's temporary nest. bandages trailed beyond him as the sun began to rise, and it was only in the ringing of the silence again that the raptor returned; triumphant. content.

hmm, maybe there was a hint of carnival pleasure at the thought of such a boon.

the magiks of the land were ancient as the sands crushed under them. the island of ancient manga spewed in violent torrents against hissing tempest. ament felt sick at the sight of it- the feel of it ringing in the air; a command not unlike the one that initially broke him- shot through the air and ament stilled, the sound of dragging body stopping as ament watched the other: weary.

his gift lay forgotten as the threat was assessed.

for a moment, he allowed the silence, and with a dismissive click ament had began again: a wound up toy the carcass of a large wildcat hung heavy in his jaws. he moved closer, stopping short only to drop it at roan's feet; and if the potion broke- [glow=#cc3232,2,300]shattered[/glow]? well, he were only a beast: wasn't he?

Roan had, on some level, known that this day was coming. After all, it was inevitable that Ament would end up recovering enough to eventually leave the temple, and the medic had honestly been looking forward to that day. After all, it only added onto the stress, knowing there was a creature that could maul him at any second sleeping only a little while away – even though he doubted the raptor would ever really do such a thing. However, truth be told, Roan wasn't sure whether this was better or worse than Ament just outright attacking him. The male looked up just in time to see the other lumbering slowly towards him, and he only just managed to yank his potion back in time for the best to drop his "offering." The body of the wildcat scattered the building blocks of the fire around, causing Roan to scowl as he hastily whacked them, putting out any flames that still clung to the bits of dried wood, before turning his gaze back to Ament. Tail lashing behind him, the siamese couldn't refrain from hissing, "Ament. I know you can't truly understand what you just did, but... couldn't you have please, waited to give me whatever this is?" The draconic feline did, on some level, know that Ament's prey was an offering, but he couldn't help the frustration. After all, nearly all of the lavender he had used in the potion had nearly just gone to waste.

Roan wasn't given much time to linger on his woes, however, as two other souls made their way over to his little brewing ground, causing his gaze to narrow briefly before he recognized them. Devland and Paola. He knew them, and... liked them, somewhat. Taking a deep breath to ease his frazzled nerves, he found himself muttering to Dev, shaking his head from side to side, "No, I don't accept sacrifices... Although if you'd like to offer up your heart, I'd be more than obliged to accept." The flirtatious line slipped easily off of the medic's tongue, although he found his chest tightening immediately afterwards. He had wanted to get back at Devland for all the teasing the other frequently felt necessary to do, but... what if the other took it the wrong way, or found it ridiculous? Eager to move on from that, he turned his attention towards Paola, and her question. Once he regained his composure, he explained slowly, gesturing his paw towards the still hot pot of boiling lavender, "I... I was making a potion for relieving stress. I felt as though it would be useful, to help me get my work done more easily. I also thought of maybe making some for Goldie..." His cousin constantly needed something to help take the edge of being captain off, and that was more apparent now more than ever before. The feline was, as expected, unaware of why Paola seemed to be offering him a grateful smile, but he didn't reject it. Instead, he offered one of his own in return, trying his best to come off as friendly. It had been a while since he had truly made any new friends, and as much as the thought of it made his gut twist... it might be a good decision.