WATCHING THROUGH MY FINGERS / gathering herbs

[bubblegum]

DEAR FRIEND as you know,  your flowers are withering
your mother's gone insane, your leaves have drifted away.
    but the clouds are clearing up
        and i've come reveling, burning incandescently,
                                              like a bastard on the burning sea.

YOU'RE JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER,
BURIED DEEP UNDER THE WATER.

While the rest of the crew seemed to be bustling with activity, all caught up in their own vices, the tigress spent most of her time within the temple. The state of her head was still weak, and some days were better than others. Some she'd spend waking up to a migraine, and falling asleep with one, unable to move from the pain, and others she'd be able to wake up with plenty of energy and fall asleep feeling refreshed. Today was something in the middle, waking up with a headache, but able to rest enough to eventually work her way to getting up and being productive. She'd have to do something that wasn't too physically tasking, but still productive enough she wouldn't feel as if the day had been wasted. Her plan for the day was something fairly simple, but something she'd consider quite important, given it was partially what her life revolved around at the moment, and that was to gather more supplies for the temple and soothsayers to use.

It was hard not to notice Roan's absence, when you stay within what is essentially his home every day and night, and given the fact he was her main caretaker, Rosemary stepping in where she could. But, whatever had happened to the feline, she couldn't do much about, other than note the disappearance to her ma and continue on to the best of her ability in the meantime. Whenever he'd come back, she decided, he could at least come back to his supplies still fully stocked. And with how much time she'd been spending there, she was starting to get a good idea on which ones were the most important to collect, and what could be collected easily. So, the female would grab a small basket, tie it around her neck, and begin her journey from the temple downwards into the jungles, using her nose and eyes to guide her towards the medicine they'd need.

[michael t.]

Roan's absence was felt not only by Goldie, but by the soothsayer's uncle as well. The dealer had some idea of where the draconic feline could've been taken, but he didn't know for sure – without evidence, he wasn't about to tell Rox to go attacking anybody, after all. However, he would always put aside a bit of time every day in order to go and check the temple, looking for any signs of whether Roan was back or not. Unfortunately, days had gone by without any sign of the siamese returning, and Michael had to admit that he was beginning to get frustrated. He was tempted to just go and do some recon work on his own, but the bobcat imagined that Roxie would be frustrated if he did so without her approval. As proud as he was of her, it really was a pain having his sister in charge now. He had been intimidated by Goldie, sure, but at least she wasn't prone to boxing him around the ears for fun.

Speaking of the former captain, Michael had been heading towards the temple to once again check for Roan, only to spot her as she was heading out. He felt a sense of anxiety pass through him, knowing that Roan probably wouldn't want her out and about too much, even with a bit of time passing since her injury. Seeing as the soothsayer wasn't around to make sure Goldie didn't hurt herself further, the thief supposed that he needed to step in on the job. He spared only a brief glance into the temple – just to ensure that Roan wasn't inside – before he turned and headed off after her, quickly. He had to admit that he was a bit nervous about going into the jungle, as he had never liked doing so ever since he had gotten lost. In spite of this, he continued on into the trees, pushing at the underbrush as he called out to Goldie, "Hey, Goldie! Wait up!" He let out a soft hiss as he pulled himself away from a vine that tugged at his leg, a heavy sigh leaving him. Once he caught up to the tigress's side, Michael muttered, "What are you heading through the jungle for? Herbs? I would've figured Rosemary and Roan could handle that..." His mismatched gaze focused on the basket tied to Goldie's neck, a faint frown pulling at his muzzle. There was no way that Roan would approve of this, and Michael wasn't sure that he did, either.

[bubblegum]

DEAR FRIEND as you know,  your flowers are withering
your mother's gone insane, your leaves have drifted away.
    but the clouds are clearing up
        and i've come reveling, burning incandescently,
                                              like a bastard on the burning sea.

YOU'RE JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER,
BURIED DEEP UNDER THE WATER.

The sound of someone approaching would cause her ears to twist, and then head to turn as she heard Michael's voice call out her name, a request to wait. She would do so, having no reason to walk away from the other. The female would wait quietly as he caught up, tail twitching as he began to speak up, features forming a slight look of indignation towards his words.

"What? You seen Roan, n' I haven't?" the female would question towards his comment of Rosemary and Roan being able to handle their own supplies. That would be pretty disheartening if that were the case - to think of the other avoiding her to the point he didn't show his face in his own home. But, it seemed unlikely as well, so she kept her doubts. "I can handle m'self fine; I know my way 'round the routes I was gonna take, n I wasn' gonna go far. Everybody helps out wit' everybody's job, why can't I be useful too? 'm usin' up a lot o' the supplies right now anyway." She continues on, shaking her head lightly towards the male, tone determined now. If he was so concerned, he could go with her. Two minds were better than one, or some other saying of the same capacity, even if a portion of her own was severely damaged. It'd be better, for whenever Roan would return to them, that their herbs would be stocked up properly. He may be very tired, or take a while, for all they knew, and she didn't want to lay around doing nothing in the meantime - not unless her head forced her to.

And so, the female would lift her paw once more, slowly heading in the direction of where she believed the nearest patch of herbs would be found, lowering her head to sniff closer to the ground for them. Not in a way to brush the other way, but possibly prove a point that she was still capable, and nothing he said would change her decision.

[Keona.]

[table][tr][td]

keona sibéal ní faoláin.
the typhoon.
the blind dealer.
information.

[/td][td]

[div style="width: 360px; font-family: palatino; color: #2a4971; text-align: left; padding-top: 15px; padding-left: 10px; letter-spacing: 2px;"]Idir brí is idir muir, Tá mé i dtiúin

Keona long since accepted Goldie had a stubborn streak.  A fierce push inside her to help.  To put her best effort forward.  It was the cause of her workaholic tendencies.  But it was difficult not to say, that the tiny dealer felt the same.  Unwilling to idle.

It was nice to hear the determined tone of voice.  It felt familiar.  The petite wildcat trotted over quietly, pale hues flickering between the sounds of Goldie and Michael's voices.  "The work could be good for her," she agreed softly.  They wanted her to get better right?  Strong again.  "'an we can help."

Truthfully, the dealer knew little about herbs... Little more than recognizing their scent.  But perhaps that could be useful enough.  It was something.  And it was her little brother they would be helping.  He was worth the effort.

[/td][/tr][/table]

© MADI

[michael t.]

YOU NEVER GAVE UP ON ME; WHY DON'T YOU?
I'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU SEE; WHY WON'T YOU?

Michael's ears briefly flicked back at Goldie's words, a soft sigh leaving him before he muttered, "I haven't, actually... I didn't realize that you hadn't seen him, either. That's a bit... worrying." The bobcat's claws briefly dug into the ground, thinking back to how Torsten had been taken from them. Had the same happened to Roan? For the moment, the thief shook those thoughts off, not wanting to think of such a dire possibility. The far more likely conclusion was that Roan had just decided he needed some alone time... maybe a lot of alone time. It seemed odd that he would keep such a thing from Goldie, though, considering she was his patient. He then said, raising a paw to his head to scrub lightly at his own head, "But... I guess that it's fine. You shouldn't feel like you're 'using up supplies,' though. It's not your fault that you're hurt, and I'm sure Roan wouldn't want you to feel that way either." Goldie wasn't a drain on resources, no matter what state she was in.

Keona's approach caused Michael to shift a little, glancing over at her and offering lightly, "If you need any help identifying stuff, Roan taught me a little bit. Not a lot, but..." He shrugged his fluffy shoulders, turning and heading after Goldie as she began to scan the jungle floor. He pushed his way slowly through the undergrowth, muttering to Keona as he poked at some of the nearby plants, "Unfortunately I'm not really sure we'll find much. It's still winter, and most of the stuff is still dead or regrowing. I guess it is beneficial to have all three of us out here to find stuff... I'm guessing you've been paying attention to what Roan and Rosemary have been giving you?" His last question was directed at Goldie, pausing when he spotted something growing nearby. As he moved in close, he found himself struggling to remember if it was something that Roan had shown him in the past – he really should've been paying more attention.

— Reggan