[Orchards] Making Lists (Rhy)

[Elem Bree]

84th of Summer, AV 512

The sun was just passing its zenith and yet it wasn't nearly as hot as it had been. Elem still had a good bit of unpacking to do, but the first thing he had chosen for the day involved a quill, a blank book and some ink. He would be cataloging the plants and fruits that grew in the massive orchards near the Sanctuary. It made sense to know the people and places in his immediate vicinity, anyway. The sun in his eyes made him wish for a hat, so he stopped at a waist high rock and dipped the quill. The first line on the first page soon said, Buy a hat!.

As he approached the Orchards, the smells of sweet fruits wafted to his eager nostrils. It was enough for him to quicken his pace. There were plenty of people about, including the imposing Akalak. Elem suspected he would become accustomed to seeing them before too long, but their sheer size and girth was unsettling to him. One backhand and he would be his own primary patient. As he approached the ramshackle entrance, it was apparent that the Spring storm had certainly ravaged the area. The initial smells he had received were from baskets of recently picked fruit, while there was much visible damage throughout the orchard. Much had been done to heal the area, but it would take some time for it to get back to where it had been initially.

[Rhy]

While Elem has his eyes fixed to the Akalak and the trees above his head, Rhy has her eyes firmly fixed upon the ground. There are a few harvests this late in the season; a few early apples, maybe some late peaches, but the summer harvest is almost done. Now she figures is a good as time as any to try and reap some spoils. Namely damaged fruit. When the workers harvested the orchards they rarely bother with the bruised or overripe fruits. And they would typically leave them where they fall, to be retaken by the earth and nourish the fruits for next year. Unfortunately the spring storm changed this rather wasteful way of thinking. So when Rhy wanders the Orchard looking for salvageable scraps, she finds very little of anything. This would be the reason she now wears a scowl on her face. Earlier this afternoon she was fully dressed in breeches, an ill fitting shirt and her hair scraped back into a high pony tail. Since then that shirt has been stripped from her back and tied at the neck and sleeves to make a sack for the boatload of fruits she expected. Although all she has found so far is two peaches that are so soft they leave perfect handprints and a handful of rocks she has mistaken for nuts. She rubs the back of her head absently and hikes her makeshift sack over her bare shoulder. This is not really working, and she knows it. Her eyes shift to the baskets full of fruit on the ground, then travel up to the apple tree in front of her. Most of the branches had been torn off in the storm, but the ones still standing bear the small, rock-hard bulbs of new fruits. If there were fewer people around, or if she could be sure their is no constrictor hiding in the leaves, she would chance climbing up there and snatching one to compensate her meagre supply of questionable fruits. She swallows hard around the hard knot in the back of her throat and continues to stare at the sweet, juicy prize. How do I get up there... But her train of thought is interrupted by the new face wandering through the rows. He is singled out by being both white, male, and carrying a clipboard instead of a basket. She abandons her apple tree in favour of this human curiosity, but with an unspoken promise to the tree to be back later to tackle this problem. "Hello!" she calls in Common. Her most comfortable language is Takant, but being both male and non-Akalak brings up the typical stereotype that he doesn't speak the native language. Unfortunately the stereotype is usually correct. "Why do you write notes about the trees?"

[Elem Bree]

Elem's fingers traced the scars on the bark from the storm. His quill wrote the fruits that were apparent, as well as any varieties of colors or shapes that might be interesting. He certainly had his work cut out for him in the area near the Sanctuary. It was surprising to him that the Gods had not protected this area, but considering the hard approach to life the Akalaks took, it was probably some sort of test for them, he imagined.

His thoughts were interrupted by a greeting in Common, which sounded nice on his ears. Most of the populace had a language of their own, Tukant, which Elem needed to learn eventually. It was very melodic to him but served little purpose otherwise. His attention shifted from the written scrawl on the page to a girl. The most striking thing about her to him was the strange shirt basket she had made. His work in the Infirmary had helped to dissolve the mystery of the female form, so it was mostly curiosity. She was no dog to look at, of course.

"Hello there. I haven't heard anyone speak Common in a while. It's a nice change. I can actually understand." He chuckled as he approached her, his hand automatically extending to her. "Elem Bree of Zeltiva." In response to her question, he looked down at the book in his hand and the dripping quill that hung in his fingers. "Oh, I was making some lists about the resident fruits and vegetables in the area. I recently got hired at the Sanctuary, so I am trying to learn my way around and keep notes."

[Rhy]

The man's hand extends for the ritual shake upon introduction, and Rhys surprise at the gesture makes her hesitate for the slightest moment. Its not that kindness is any sort of surprise to her, as there are very few who are openly rude to Kelvics, its the respectfulness of it. As much as people are considerate to her race she is still regarded as less then a pet in terms of standing. She manages to repays the act in kind with an awkward shake around his fingers. "Ah, Rhy. Of Riverfall." Up close it becomes obvious just how large the man is for a human. He fills out the space around him with a solid, handsome frame and an easy disposition. But besides that is expression is the calm and friendly type that hints at a healers heart. She continues to brazenly look him over as he explains how he is making a list of the fruits, and how he has come to work for Sanctuary, all in a thick Zeltiva accent. If he inclined to a more Sevefra accent, or the heavily inflicted Pavi, she would have a better time understanding him. Since those particular people rotate through the port city like the seasons. But Zeltiva is a bit more exotic, and much harder to understand. Thank the gods she has excellent hearing. "Then welcome to the Riverfall," she smiles with a mock bow. "You're a bit late for Harvests but I can show you what is still out so you can write down things. Though if you be working at the Sanctuary I doubt you will need such things." Her Common is passable, if not elegant, but she soldiers on anyway. "Then I can show you more excitable things then fruit and vegetable, ok?" She plucks at his sleeve and laughs breezily. "There is much more out here then the maps-es say. You must know these things if you plan to living here."

[Elem Bree]

Elem thought it was interesting that this person seemed to regard his gesture of friendship in an odd fashion. Rhy, as she was called, made it clear with her strange shake that she was not accustomed to it. Maybe they chest bumped in Riverfall. "Pleasure to meet you, Rhy.", Elem said, his smile genuine. As he was speaking, he could tell that she was staring at him. It wasn't an unpleasant situation, just unfamiliar. It did give him an idea of what women probably felt like in his presence, though he surely hoped he didn't just gawk as she was doing.

Her Common was a bit broken, but Elem was finding that Common was a relative term, it being the general road all travelers could find common ground on. When she smiled and made her bow, Elem noticed that she had extremely large canines. They were also sharp, as if they were used often. She spoke of his need for writing and why he would not need to know so much being at the Sanctuary. "Well, I just like to know what is of use around here. The City is a good walk from here, so I am just trying to see what is offered closer to the Sanctuary, to save trips to town. Excuse me for mentioning it, but those are rather large canines you have there. Are you human?" It seemed silly to ask that, mostly because of his human city of origin.

Her recommendation to explore off the map did not fall on deaf ears. Elem closed the book, corked his vial of ink and shook the quill out before placing the gray feather behind his ear. "I'd be very interested to see some of these other places, Rhy. I'll try to keep up."

[Rhy]

Rhy licks the point of her tooth thoughtfully. Smart man. Even though a girl of her age running around half naked is usually attributed to insanity or feral nature, he picked out the feral and slapped it onto a 'she's not human' banner. Her lips twitch as a thought passes through her mind; why not have some fun with this? Put his observation to the test. "No, actually, I'm not. Good on you to pick it out. I'm Kelvic. Dire Kelvic bear, actually. But I like you, so I wont eat you." Well, if he plans to work at the Sanctuary then identifying Kelvics would be useful. And identifying Kelvic species would be even better. So she'll keep an eye on him to see how long it him takes to figure out she's lying. She smiles sweetly to cover the impish glint in her eye and motions with the back of her hand for him to follow her. It's oddly satisfying to pull this human off the beaten path to the things she has found. She tries to think of something he might find useful himself. Something medical maybe? Something rare? Suddenly she knows exactly where she's going, and she takes his hand as she pulls him along. The first sight they come to is what looks like a bed of clouds stuck in the tall grass. Its less then a five minute walk from the edge of the orchards, and right in front of the sparse fringe forest. millions of Cottonwood sheaths litter the ground like a fresh snowfall along the edge. But a large amount has been caught in a natural barrier of a tall, stiff green shoot grass, making what could easily be described as a snowbank. "The cotton trees only shed at the end of summer to the middle fall, but see this." She plunges her hands in the cottony drift, and after feeling around, comes up with a handful of a small blue flowers and the unmistakable smell of mint. "This is a Cuckoo plant. Its kindda hard to find since the animals love to eat it, but they don't tend to bother when the fluff is in the way. And the fluff has a really strong smell to us and dampens the smell underneath. There is also a lot of mint in there. And some sort of weed that might be Ribwort, I think. I don't think no-body else knows about this." She throws her hands up and lets herself fall forward, sending up huge drifts of cotton and a feathery laugh. "Its also very comfy."

[Elem Bree]

Elem's eyes widened a bit, though he did his best to conceal the fact, when Rhy licked at her canine. Her tongue seemed unnaturally long. Of course, unnatural was a relative term among the Kelvic. She seemed pleased that he was aware of her kind. Elem was happy that she was not a mind reader, as his experience went a bit beyond the scientific. His nose probably wrinkled slightly at the mention of dire bear, mostly because he knew that a Kelvic's humanoid form tended to give clues as to the animal beneath. While he imagined she did have fur, due to her canines, she would be much larger as a bear. Or maybe not. He would have to observe her further to be the judge.

Her hand grasped his at the mention of new places to explore and he found his pace quickened. It wasn't too difficult to keep up, his eyes mostly on his feet. It would be a shame to smash his ink from tripping over some hidden root or stone. the pair meandered through the area until they arrived at a surreal scene. A large area of white fluff covered the tall grasses ahead of them. Elem found himself very interested in the plants, having never seen them before. He listened as Rhy explained to him.

He took the small flower and examined it as she explained it to him. He could smell its mint neighbors on its leaves, his eyes examing the shape and color of the flower in order to remember it in the future. He watched her excitement as she fell back into the cottony ocean. Smiling, but interested in the mention of ribwort, he placed his book and ink on a small flat rock and got on his knees at the edge of the tall grass. Sliding his fingers between the blades, his eyes caught sight of the heads of the weed. Practiced hands gingerly pulled a plant from the ground, roots and all.

Standing again and examining the plant, he thought he might give his own lesson. "Ah, ribwort. A very helpful plant for medicine. It generally grows wild, being a weed, but I will definitely be taking some samples back to the gardens. It is very good to staunch bleeding, being an astringent. In fact, while I have not done so myself, I have read that simply the heated leaves can be placed on wounds in order to seal them and aid in their healing." He took care to place the plant in his pocket, now observing the frolicking so called dire bear.

"Now, how often do you see a bear frolic in high grasses? Personally, I never have, but then again, I have never seen a bear in the wilds. I don't believe they have greater canines, however. I think you might be pulling my leg a bit."

[Rhy]

Rhy lies still for a moment and lets the cottonwood float back overtop, nearly concealing herself completely. It really is lovely. She's never owned a downy blanket, but she bets it feels like this. The cotton is soft, and under the musty scent she can smell the crushed mint and the tiny blue flowers, even the humans ink stained hands. "Maybe. I wanted to see how good you were." She sits up and shakes out her hair to hide her smile. "You pass. I'm a bitch. Or, if you want to get technical, Luvanor Grassland Hunter. Hmm, I'v always liked the way that sounds. Its kind of impressive, as titles go, don't you think? She pulls herself out of her fluffy bed, fishes around for her improvised sack, and dumps out the contents. To her dismay she finds the peaches she took so long to find are nearly ruined from being bounced around with the rocks. As now that she has a second look, she realizes the nuts she thought she had gathered really were just that: rocks. No use complaining about it, she reasons with herself as a flash of hot frustration whips her cheeks. She picks up a damaged fruit, grumbling, and licks off the bleeding juice. She knows better then to offer the second to the human. They all seem to have some sort of exorbitant standards about this sort of thing. And they always seem so easily offended. "I didn't know that about the Ribwort. I just thought it was an ugly, tough plant that got in the way of its much more beautiful neighbors. But the Sanctuary seems to go through a lot of it. The Cuckoo is a digestive I think... And mint just makes a tea as far as I'm concerned." She eyes him from around the fruit in her hands. "Is that what you do at the Sanctuary? Are you a gardener?"

[Elem Bree]

A bitch. A Luvanor Grassland Hunter. he was unsure of the breed, but guessed at her being a dog due to the more recognizable and former term. She certainly was a cute puppy. "Very impressive. I'm not familiar with the breed, however. Is it a native species?" He imagined with her knowledge of the area and Tukant that this was the case. He hoped she might indulge him a showing of her true form. Not that the image of a young girl licking peach juice with an abnormally long tongue bothered him, either.

" May I have the other one? It's still a bit hot and I could use the refreshment." He kept speaking, regardless of whether he was offered the other. " Yes, I imagine the Sanctuary uses it often. I had never seen this cuckoo plant, but I will have to study its effects when I return. As far as mint goes, it can also be used as a rub, since it is cooling and its scent relaxes one's mind." He could probably use some relaxation at that particular moment. Cooling. He could understand a bit of the Akalak's quandary , the desire...

Another question. Good. He turned slightly, looking out at the scenery as he spoke. "Gardener, yes. Many things. Herbalist, healer, doctor." He showed the sigil of Rak'keli on his right hand, the sunlight shifting against it. " I have been marked by Rak'keli, it is my duty to heal."

[Rhy]

Surprised, Rhy tosses him the other fruit. He makes for one odd human, with his lists and his niceness, and now his suspicious lack of human food standards. Maybe he's have to salvage his own food too. And then there was his mark. She has met a very limited few with a healing gnosis, and both of them work at Sanctuary. It seems quite natural that he work there too, with a mark like his. Her eyes widened momentarily but she doesn't go in for a closer look. As much as she respects the healing, she wants nothing to do with the gods or their ways. But she thinks carefully over his question about her breed before she answers. Its finally one she can understand, and she is determined to show off her knowledge in the area. "Mh-hm, they were... ah, 'made' in the Grasslands. For hunting," she explains. This information, however, seems to small for a man like him. He strikes her as the curious type, and a very knowledgeable person with the way he spoke of the herbs and listened so closely to what he didn't know. She racks her brain for whatever else she knows about the breed, which admittedly is not much. She concedes that a description might do. "Ah, they are very big. I'm about this tall," her hand hovers just above her hip, "with clipped ears, a deep chest, long legs. And...And," at this point her Common fails her as she tries to spit out a description of her fur. So she parrots a phrase she has heard to describe her, one she knows to be very flattering: "Beauty brindle." Still not enough. She blows out her cheeks and looks around for inspiration. Nothing. Well, a practical demonstration might be enough. But it wastes so much energy that she is loathed to shift into her other body. But she really, really wants to impress him. Cant be helped, she concludes, and without warning she has shoved her britches down her narrow hips and steps out of them as they pool at her feet. Once again displaying Kelvic inhibition at its finest. "I'll show you, ok? But you must give me ear scratches in return," she smiles playfully. Just then there is a moment of soft light before the dark, skinny girl is replaced by a large sandy gold dog. The dog turns in a fast circle, ears up and pointed in an inquisitive manner. Will he be impressed? Disgusted with her real nature? Is he scared of big dogs? Maybe he finds her beautiful. All these thoughts jumble in her mind as she looks for a reaction. Dammit, why am I worried?, she admonishes herself and trots forward with a huff. Once within range she sticks her cold nose into his hand in search of scratches.