Closed Fruit of the Poisoned Tree (Asim and Sylvette)

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love 33rd of Spring, 515 AV The woods in spring were much more beautiful and pleasant than they were in winter and Orin reveled in the fresh air and warm sunlight. After the winter Orin honestly could not get enough fresh air. While there were many benefits to living in Syliras, to someone who had grown up in the open air of Mithryn and was used to spending almost every day outside, the atmosphere in Stormhold could get oppressive. So, Orin definitely was glad to get out for a while. He didn’t even mind that he was out on a fool’s errand once again for Rondo. Not with the birds singing and the air filled with the scent of growth and new life. As Orin has become accustomed, that haughty chef had declared himself disgusted with the quality of the fish being brought in by the merchants. He had ordered Orin to get more, and when Orin had made to grab some of the cash in the kitchens, Rondo had stopped him. ”No. You catch them yourself. These merchants are cheating us I swear. Giving us inferior goods, as if they think we won't notice” Orin had practically been sputtering with anger. He wasn’t a fisherman, and even if he wanted to, he didn’t have the necessary equipment. He had no rod, no line, and no hooks. Since Orin had unable to come up with a response, Rondo had taken his silence as acquiescence. Remi had rolled her eyes. When Rondo’s back was turned, she had pressed a purse into Orin’s hand. “Go buy some from the market later. Silly man won’t know the difference. Take the day though. Rondo and I are about to have a little chat about his behavior and it would be best if you weren’t here.” Though Remi had been whispering, her tone made it clear that she didn’t approve of Rondo’s ongoing treatment of Orin. She had hit the word chat with a particularly Orin had seized the purse and fled. He wouldn’t turn down what had essentially just become an entire day off. Orin even had a plan for what he would be spending his time on. He had placed a notice on the bulletin board asking for someone who knew about poisonous plants to get in contact with him, but so far hadn’t heard anything. Having had no luck with the board, Orin had decided to take matters into his own hands. He had made the trek out to the woods, reveling all the while in the changes spring had brought to the region. While winter had a certain stark wonder to it, Orin wasn’t a particularly huge fan of the snow and the cold and the wet. Although coming in to work was much more a blessing in the winter than the spring. And it would be positively unbearable during the summer. Finally, Orin penetrated far enough into the woods that the citadel was almost lost in the distance. For some reason, there appeared to be an abundance of rabbits. Everywhere Orin looked he could see them, munching on crashing, hopping into and out of bushes, or occasionally staring curiously at the intruder to their homes. Orin had a feeling that he’d be seeing a lot of those cross his kitchen. Rabbit stew would be the dish of the season. Orin decided he should try and catch one, just to see if he could. Unfortunately, the only trap he knew required much more preparation than Orin wanted to deal with, and was for a larger animal anyway. So, Orin would have to do this all by hand. Stalking slowly and carefully towards one of the stupider looking ones, Orin unsheathed his dagger. It chewed on a mouthful of greenery, whiskers moving in a charming motion and slightly amusing way. When Orin was within arms length, he sprang, trying to spear the bunny on his dagger. Of course, even the stupid looking animals had quicker reflexes than Orin did. Ask he flew through the air, it darted away, terrified. Orin sprawled to the ground. His wind was knocked out of him. Wheezing, he sat up, trying to get enough air into his body. Finally, he felt himself returning to a more normal level. It was good Orin was really here to hunt rabbits because as he’d just shown he was terrible inept. Orin stood up cautiously. He was still dealing with dizzy spells at inopportune times. Luckily, he managed to get up without incident. Brushing the dirt off his front, Orin returned his dagger to his hip. Orin had to admit that while he might be very adept at cooking meat, he obviously had a long way to go when it came to catching it. That was fine though, since Orin didn’t need to be a hunter and a cook, at least, not at this particular time. Orin crossed his arms across his chest. Looking about at the woods, Orin finally realized that he was completely incapable of performing the task he had come out here to do. After all, while he knew what most of the edible plants looked like in their natural form, there were quite a few other herbs and whatnot to examine. Likely, only a small minority of them was not safe to consume. The others were probably not actually poisonous, but potentially indigestible. At a loss Orin stood there uncertainly. He was about to turn back, miserable about his wasted time, when he noticed something unusual. It was quiet. Way too quiet in the woods. There was no birdsong and the small rustlings that indicated there were animals moving about in the underbrush had ceased entirely. Orin felt a touch of fear begin in his stomach. When the forest went silent, it usually that meant something had disturbed the animals. And that meant there was either a large group of people out there, or even worse, a predator stalking its prey. And Orin was deathly afraid that prey might be him. Gripping his dagger tightly, he backed up until he hit the trunk of a tree. Orin knew that if it were a dangerous animal, running wouldn’t get him anyway. His best bet was to scare it off somehow. Or, climb a tree.

[Sylvette Sciath]

Following her master to work had become like a daily ritual for Sylvette, she felt the need to keep an eye on him after all the trouble he managed to get himself into from his frequent dizzy spells to his general clumsiness, sometimes she genuinely worried about it. Today was no exception, After his boss the kid woman called Remi had let him have the day to himself, what did he do with it?. why go traipsing off into the woods with intent to learn about plants and catch some animals. So Sylvette had ended up following him into the woods, and well, she came to the conclusion that, He needed all the help he could get, especially after watching a particularly embarrassing attempt at catching a rabbit. To be nice, he was unskilled, to be blunt, trying to spear a rabbit with a dagger was possibly the silliest thing Sylvette had ever seen Orin attempt to do. Well, If it was a rabbit he wanted, then she would get it for him, after all rabbits where just like large rats that hopped a lot, so they weren't that much harder of a target, for a decent hunter like herself, taking her time after locating a rabbit, Sylvette slunk down tell her belly was nearly dragging against the earth, using the underbrush to hide her slow approach upon the rabbit that was munching away on some clover, Inching forward taking what felt like ages to approach the animal until she was right upon it. Then all ot the tension built up from her coiled position and her time spent waiting Sylvette launched out of her hiding place like bottled lightning going straight for the rabit's jugular, biting down with all her might as the rabbit thrashed about for a moment, one of it's powerful legs catching her in the stomach making her wince in pain, it would likely leave a bit of a bruise later, though it was the price to pay when hunting quarry larger than was regular for her. though after a few moments the rabbits movements ceased and Sylvette was able to lift the thing by the scruff of it's neck and carry it to where Orin was, though after finding him Sylvette immediately dropped the rabbit she had previously caught to watch her master warily it seemed something had made him nervous, what could be making him feel that way though? Listening for whatever could be the cause of the disturbance. Sylvette listened before realizing the issue was not something that could be heard but the lack of something to hear. Considering her masters safety her primary concern Sylvette took a stand in from of her master who's back was against a tree, Hackles raised Sylvette waited on whatever danger might come ready to fight it headless of any danger to herself.

[Asim]

A loud snuffling, and a crashing in the underbrush accompanied the silence of the wildlife in the area. Shortly after, a rather large grizzly bear ambled into view, from behind a tree, lazily sniffing at the ground every few feet. Glancing up, he saw the human, and the cat in-front of him, and stopped, staring at them.

He remained in that position for a few seconds, before rearing up to his full height, and letting out a long growl, before he lowered himself back to all fours, and bent his head to sniff at the ground again. Letting out what sounded like a pleased snort, he sat, and then disappeared in a swirl of light, only to be replaced by a rather large, unkempt, naked man. Without even looking at the human, or the house cat, the man reached towards the ground, and pulled a plant from it. Lifting it to his nose, he sniffed at it, before shrugging a pack off his back and slipping the plant into it.

Finally, he glanced up at the pair, and lifted a eyebrow, more at the fact that there was a house cat in the middle of the Colbalt Mountains, rather than the dagger held in the mans hand. "You're gonna hurt someone with that toothpick, boy," he stated. "And probably not who you want, if you fight like you hunt rabbits," he continued, lowering the eyebrow as he shifted a few fallen leaves and sticks aside, to pull another plant from the ground and sniff at it. With an approving nod, he slid it into his pack, before tying it shut and slipping it onto his back once more.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Gods above protect us, or something to that effect ran through Orin’s mind as an enormous grizzly bear stepped out from the trees into the clearing. The thought wasn’t anywhere near that coherent but the sentiment was certainly clear. Orin knew this was the end. Him and Ginger, who was valiantly standing her ground before him as if she could make a difference if the bear decided to maul them. No, their only chance was if the bear lost interest in them. Holding out his knife, Orin stilled his trembling hand. This was one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. Although, the two encounters he’d had with yukmen had been just as bad. As had coming face to face with a cold-blooded killer. As had watching his home burn to the ground. Actually, you’d think he would be used to terror-inducing situations now. But apparently he wasn’t quite inured to them. Eyes darting everywhere for an escape, Orin remembered the rabbit that Ginger had kindly, but misguidedly, caught for him. A wild and crazy idea popped into his head. Nudging the still warm corpse forward with his foot, Orin grinned as widely as he could. ”You want the nice rabbit? Come on, eat the nice rabbit. It’s all yours, take it, I’m not going to eat it, please just don’t eat me or my cat, we’re off limits, but the rabbit is yours for the taking.” The bear simply stared at them for a moment before rearing up to its full height. Orin’s knife dropped from his sudden nerveless fingers to fall into the dirt at his feet, as Orin involuntarily pressed backwards, as if he could become one with the tree. The grizzly crashed down and Orin let out a bit of an undignified yelp. It sniffed at the ground as if searching for something. A note of confusion was entering into Orin’s mind. He was sure he should’ve been a smear against the ground by now. However, apparently the surprises weren’t done for the day. In a mysterious swirl of light, the grizzly disappeared and a man appeared in his place. He was incredibly tall and heavily muscled, with brown hair highly reminiscent of the grizzly that had been there moments ago. And he was completely, totally, nude. Orin’s jaw dropped in surprise. He’d never seen anything quite like this before and his mind couldn’t even begin to start processing what had just happened. Of course, his tongue was not necessarily directly connected to his brain, and the open mouth was apparently an invitation for Orin to starting blurting out awkward statements. ”I ah, guess you won’t be wanting the rabbit then will you? Offer still stands I suppose, but only if you’d like,” Orin said in a dreamy, breathless tone. The man bent to pick up a plant, sniffing it, before placing it into the pack that had magically appeared on his back. Or maybe it had been on the bear the man had been and Orin just hadn’t noticed it, too focused on the fact that there was, well, a giant grizzly about to eat him. When the man spoke, Orin snapped into a bit more of a semblance of normalcy. Blushing furiously Orin went to retrieve his dagger from where he had dropped it. At the same time, the man grabbed another plant, this one from under a pile of dead leaves. When they both were upright again, Orin had come up with a retort of sorts. ”Yeah? Well at least I have clothes!” It might not have been the most eloquent of responses but it was the best Orin could do under the circumstances. Of course, now that he was beginning to accept that the grizzly bear was somehow a man, Orin was free to focus on other issues, including the one he’d just brought up. ”Don’t look down, don’t look down, do not look down! But it was taking all of Orin’s willpower not to, considering the man’s state. And with his height, it wouldn’t require Orin to tilt his head all that much really. Orin could feel his blush deepening by the chime. ”Actually, do you uh, maybe have clothes in there?” Orin asked, gesturing at the man’s backpack. Orin really hoped he did since it was finally warm enough for Orin not to be wearing his cloak. Although, considering that he kept running into naked people, maybe he should bring it with him everywhere, just in case. Finally, Orin couldn’t wait any longer to ask the question that had clearly been at the forefront of his mind as soon as this incident had begun. ”So wait, are you a human or a bear or what? I mean, you don’t see a lot of bears turning into humans, or, well, at least I don’t, maybe it’s more common where you come from, which is where exactly?” Orin clamped his mouth shut. He was quickly learning to recognize when he was babbling and was getting a bit better at recognizing when he was doing it. He truly didn’t want to antagonize this man, who seemed like he could snap Orin in half with one hand. And that was without getting into the whole bear issue. Taking a deep cleansing breath, Orin smiled trying to diffuse his anxiety and whatever the man might be feeling. ”I’m sorry, I have a tendency to ramble and go off on tangents when I’m nervous or stressed. I’m Orin, Orin Fenix. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Orin stuck out his hand gingerly, eyeing the man’s viselike hands with caution. He could probably break Orin’s fingers with one squeeze. Suddenly remembering seeing the man picking up plants Orin had barely recognize, Orin brightened perceptibly, his whole demeanor transformed. ”Actually, you might be able to help me! I’m a cook see, and I already know what plants are edible around these parts but I wanted to find out what’s not safe for consumption since, you know, poisoning someone would be bad but I realized after I’d already gotten out here that it’s hard to look for something when you have no idea what you’re for, if you catch my drift and I’m doing it again aren’t I?” Orin caught himself, cutting off the stream of words as quickly as he could. ”I really would appreciate the help. That is, if you’re not too busy and you don’t mind me tagging along.” Seriously, looking down would be a terrible idea right now

[Sylvette Sciath]

Still standing between The bear, and Her master Sylvette raise her hackles and let out a long hiss, She wouldn't let a thing happen to her master if she could prevent it, and for a moment it was like all of time had stopped, the bear who was Gazing at them simply did so before rising to it's full stature that was quite imposing easily dwarfing the height of her master master and herself. Sylvette coiled her body in the wake of the bear preparing to strike even if it meant dying it was likely she could give Orin the time to escape. Though right as things were at their worse The bear began to glow in a familiar light and before she knew it, She was no longer looking at a bear but a Kelvic. Not that that improved the situation much. he was likely dangerous in both forms and Sylvette would not be lured into calm just by the bears new form. It was then the Kelvic leaned down and deftly harvested a plant that Sylvette was unfamiliar with, before warning her master that his actions would likely not be productive for him if he intended to fight. which as much confidence as Sylvette had in her master, she begrudgingly agreed that he was likely not the most deft in combat. Her master proceeded to ask the Kelvic he would be interested in teaching him about plants after asking the bear to robe himself, though it wasn't particularly cold so she wasn't sure why he cared. It seemed that Orin was trying to turn the situation into one that was less dangerous by appealing to the Kelvics possible Kind side, which Sylvette Hoped would exist, though she never once dropped her position in front of her master, She would defend him to the last.

[Asim]

"Not interested in the rabbit," replied the man, as he shifted his position, to move from sitting to a squat, and then standing. Hearing the remark about having clothes, the Kelvic snorted, as he watched the man pick up his dagger. "Of course I have clothes. Not exactly easy to walk around Sylrias naked as a human all the time," he responded. "I just don't wear them outside the city limits. They're really restricting. Even more so when I need to change quickly."

Finally, he glanced down at the cat, who stood there bristling. Eyeing the cat, he slid the pack off his back, opened it, and tossed a smoked fish to her. "Good kitty," he remarked, smirking at her. Turning back to the man, he tilted his head, staring at him. "You're telling me that you've never heard of Kelvic? Where in the name of all the Gods are you from? Mithryn Outpost?"

Blinking at the sudden flurry of words shooting from the little mans mouth,a thought crossed his mind. Gods above, he talks a lot. Then the Kelvic leaned forward and narrowed his eyes."You the one who posted that request on the board in the city? I thought about finding the poster and offering my services, but then I saw the name of the inn. Heard about a lot of death happening there, last time I was near the city. Akalaks and what-not, picking fights with the Knights."

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Guess I’ll be looking up. At his face. Let’s stick to that. Definitely watching the face. Orin was shocked that anyone would think that public nudity was acceptable under any circumstances. While Orin wouldn’t call himself a prude, he did have certain customs drilled into his brain. And one of them was that one tried to be as presentable as possible at all times. But Orin guessed that he’d have to broaden his horizons if some people thought being naked was freeing and not horribly embarrassing for both parties. Orin felt his cheeks redden even more. He opened his mouth, trying to convince the bear, man, whatever he was to cover himself for decency’s sake, then shut his mouth. He truly didn’t want to piss the other man off and he was afraid that insisting he wear clothes could be a sore point. Instead Orin settled for a simple, ”So, ah, you come out here often then? Without clothes?” The shrugged off his backpack and tossed a fish to Ginger. It looked smoked, not fresh. Orin knew that she much preferred raw fish but if she had to would settle for less. Orin’s estimation of the man raised a few notches, although the fish could be drugged or poisoned, but Orin thought that unlikely. Why would anyone waste poison on a cat, after all. Though Ginger was fiercely protective and under the right conditions could wreak havoc, against this man she’d basically be helpless. If he turned into a bear again nothing either of them could do could stop him. Orin wasn’t exactly filled with civic pride towards the Outpost but the implication that it was a backwards settlement with no culture at all made his irritation rise, though he kept an even temper this time around. ”As a matter of fact, I am from Mithryn, where we might not know about Kelvics, but at least we have clothes. And wear them.” Suddenly, the much more significant portion of that sentence permeated Orin’s thick skull, and he gasped, leaning against the tree to steady himself as he felt his knees try to give out. ”K-Kelvics are real?! You mean, people can really turn into people, and animals can turn into people, and shapeshifting is possible? I mean, of course I’d heard of Kelvics but I swear I thought they were a myth!” Orin’s mind was having trouble processing this information and working it around what Orin already knew, or at least thought he knew, to be true. So, he might be catching on a little slowly. ”Wait, so you’re a Kelvic?” That certainly explained how he could turn into a bear and back. Seizing on the more neutral topic with relief, Orin babbled out, ”Yes that’s me, I’m the one who put that notice on the bulletin board, isn’t it funny how these things work out mister…” Orin’s eyes narrowed in confusion. ”I’m sorry I don’t think I quite caught your name.” In fact Orin was almost positive that the man had never given it at all. Although it wouldn’t surprise Orin if he had just missed it, considering the situation he had been dumped into. ”I mean, I know a little bit about plants so maybe I could be your helper for the day in exchange for your knowledge?” Orin thought it was a reasonable offer. At the mention of death in The Rearing Stallion, Orin blanched. ”What do you mean lots of death! No one has died in The Rearing Stallion, at least since I’ve been there.” Admittedly that had only been one season, thereabouts, but the Kelvic didn’t need to know that. ”I mean, we had a tavern brawl and some drunken patrons but that’s about the extent of the excitement. You’re telling me someone died there?” Orin gulped, not sure how he felt about this. While death was nothing new to him, it certainly put a damper on his job. After, he’d keep thinking about whether he was walking in a dead man’s footsteps. Although, come to think of it, it would be much more likely that the fight happened in the common room. Orin resolved to ask Kevith when he got back if the man didn’t have any more knowledge of the incident. And although Orin was loath to ask any more questions of him, he did need to ask one more. ”So I know you think I’m an ignorant savage, but, what’s an Akalak?”

[Sylvette Sciath]

As her master conversed with the Kelvic, the chance of immediate danger seemed to slowly decrease, and with it so did the entensity of Sylvettes posture, until she was again in a semi relaxed stance sill between her master and the bear Kelvic listening as they interacted, it seemed that for the most part the bear kelvic simply lacked interest in conflict, not that this was a bad thing by any means.. Eyeing her for a moment the bear Kelvic tossed a smoked fish at her, stepping forward to smell it tentatively, Sylvette decided it was safe to eat and begin to idly nibble on the morsel still watching the two interact. To sylvette, her masters aversion too nudity was mildly confusing though, that was one of many things Sylvette didn't quite get about her master, though that was part of the fun in being around him, learning ore about him when she could. Still trying to convince the bear Kelvic to give him a lesson on local flora Orin continued to badger the bear, before finding out about some apparent killings, which quickly changed Orin's goal in the conversation to finding out about what an Akalak was, and just what had happened in the stallion, Sylvette deciding that this was going to likely be along conversation found a nice spot of moss to lay in and listen to the proceeding conversation. mildly disinterested all the while.

[Jasmine Stormblood]

let me know if I missed anything. Asim and Sylvette let me know when your seasonal expenses have been deducted and I will get your grades posted

 

Orin Fenix

XP

• Socialization: 3 XP
• Investigation: 2 XP
• Logic: 2 XP
• Stealth: 1 XP
• Hunting: 1XP

Lores

• Orin: wants to learn about poisonous plants
• Orin: works at the Rearing Stallion
• Orin: from the Mithryn Outpost
• Rearing Stallion: has a rough reputation
• Rondo: gives Orin a hard time
• Remi: kinder to employees
• Stealth: make sure your prey doesn't notice you
• Rabbits are faster than they look
• Hunting: large traps don't work on bunnies
• Asim: kelvic grizzlybear
• Logic: offering a fresh kill to a predator
• Kelvics: humans that turn into animals

 

Sylvette Sciath

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Lores

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Miscellaneous

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Asim

XP

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Lores

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Miscellaneous

• Mizas (+/-) | Amount
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