Closed Drooling Dogs, Healthy Heath, and Splinters (Nost)

[Leila]

Timestamp: Spring 12, 513 Leila was sitting on a mossy rock, journal open upon her lap, as she stared at a Hairy Aster. It was such a fine specimen, growing in the wild. All by itself, she saw no others of its kind nearby, it grew tall and wide. Large white flowers, with wide yellow centers, thin stems and branches, all reaching for Syna's grace. She held her charcoal steady, a single stem ending in a white flower between her teeth, her tongue twirling it as she concentrated. A quick, deft stroke up to make a single curve of the stalk, smooth, simple, followed by a matching fellow. A short slant for a branch, topped by several quick jerks to make the pointed leaves. She continued this process until all that was left was the flower itself. Which was the difficult part for her. It was made up of several small, thin, curved petals, with a bumpy center. Lines were a lot easier than curves. She began with the center. She started with a single lumpy bump. Then she spread more lumpy bumps around it, hugging them close. She kept at this until it somewhat resembled the center. She looked at the flower. It definitely wasn't a perfect match, perhaps mediocre at best. She then began on the curved petals. She tried her best to make them look curved, but the ended up looking like sword points. They wrapped around the center, poorly. The circular shape of the flower had translated into an oval shaped flower on paper. She sighed. She'd gotten better with the stems, but her flower looked ridiculous. She added in beneath it, "Hairy Aster, also known as White Heath Aster. Can be used to resuscitate unconscious people. Also can be added to baths and steam for relaxation purposes. Lives best in half and half shade and sun." Shaco, who was laying out her feet, perked up his head as he detected someone, or something coming. Leila quickly stood up, the flower from her mouth falling out, and unknowingly getting entangled in her. She straightened her dress out, a blush already rising in her cheeks, a flutter in her stomach. She really hoped that it was Nost coming to meet her. She bent down to scratch Shaco's head, "He's going to be so excited to meet you! I hope you like him, but I'm pretty sure you will. He's a really nice guy, and he likes to draw like me. And he's so good looking." She continued rambling on like a schoolgirl with a crush, not paying attention to whoever or whatever approached.

[Nost]

Four days had passed since the pleasant cup of tea with Leila at the Quill's Rest. She had left before he could even say goodbye, and he would not miss this opportunity to meet her again... and Shaco, her pet, of course. He kept the note she gave him that amazing day, and placed it his work table, so he would not forget his extremely important appointment. There was no way I could forget it, anyway. He thought, as he prepaired for leaving. He washed himself, and got dressed. Hey, kid. I know she is cute and all, but you can't stop from working just because you are starting to socialize! The voices were right. He hadn't done anything since the meeting, because he was too excited, and nervous. He cleaned his workbench, and started studying. This time, it was something about mechanic, from the book he inherited from his father. The laws included in this section were already known by the student, so he decided he would go for something a little more complicated. He turned pages fastly until he encountered something that was unknown for him. He started reading the chapter while he wrote the math in his journal. He ended up with three pages of mathematic formula dedicated to a fairly simple excercise, since he had commited an innocent yet significant mistake. "I'll keep reading on my way there". He grabbed his journal, a quill, and his ink vial. He also brought with himself the "Guide to Mathematics and Physics", along with the note. "The Shrine of Rak'keli..." He said as he left his home. Nost wasn't really a religious person, yet he was amazed at the beauty of the world, and sometimes thought of the many ways it could be created, sometimes questioning the usual model, one of the reasons of why he was usually rejected. Yet, when he did agree with the Gods possibility, he thought of certain goddess. Eyris, the goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge, was something that trully amazed him. According to what people said, she was the responsible of what he studied. He had always wanted to meet her, yet he has never had the chance. His thoughts were disrupted with the annoyance of the voices. This time, it was only one, the voice of a man, who suddenly started to sing. We are no strangers to love. You know the rules, and so do I! He was unsure of what happened there, but he was sure it was interesting. The complexity of his own twisted mind always, althought annoyed him, amazed, and amused him. This thought went around his head until he saw, in the distance, the figure of a girl, and a dog. He walked, serenely, to the shrine, and arrived where they were. "Hello! Is this little Shaco?" He greeted and crouched to pet the dog. "Remember, when you pet a dog you haven't met before, put your hand below his mouth and scratch it. That way, they will know you aren't a menace". His father was a wise man, and he had never said anything that could harm him. What could go wrong?

[Leila]

A little yeep escaped her lips as Nost greeted her, having been lost in her own little world as he approached. Her cheeks immediately flushed from embarrassment, watching as he introduced himself to Shaco, who in turn licked him happily. Shaco always loved meeting new people. "Of course it's Shaco! He's not so little anymore either! I'm glad you came, I sort of thought you might not have... I hope you don't think less of me for leaving you like that, you were just so... focused... and I didn't want to disturb you. Please don't hate me... but if you hated me you probably wouldn't have shown up in the first place... So then... now I'm rambling again, sorry sorry sorry. How've you been?" That's when Leila had no idea what she'd planned to do for them to do today. She silently panicked within herself, knowing he'd offered to help make a compost bin just for her, but she didn't want to start with that. She definitely wanted to make him dinner, so it looked like she'd have to gather some supplies for that. And in order to sound like she had it all planned out, she deigned to keep it mysterious, "Let's get going, we have a lot to do today." She gently took his hand, and began pulling him into the bushline, leaving the shrine and entering the foothills.

[Nost]

Leila and Nost started having a nice walk, yet, at some point, he had to stop. The pain in his back inmobilized him, and he couldn't walk until his body rested for a while. "I'm sorry, I had a little... accident this morning". He lied, so he would not have to narrate his violent encounter at the bar. He remembered the fight he had at the Kelp Bar, some nights ago. His disorder had sharpened to the point he couldn't sleep, yet he was unable to do anything else. He tried to keep walking as normally as he could, enduring the pain he suffered, yet always had a smile in his face, because he was in company of Leila. Shaco, on the other hand, seemed to have certain... curiosity for his leg. "Anyway, tell me, how have you been?" He asked politely, while petting the dog, distracting him from the affair with his limb. The day seemed calmed, yet the sun was brighter than it usually was, leading to a presumably hot day, which, in turn, started to dehydrated the young man. He wasn't the only suffering because of the weather. Shaco also started to breath faster and faster. Nost knew dogs couldn't sweat, and their cooling system was their tongue. Ha ha, you are sweating! Now she will think you are gross, you will never see her again, and everything back to normal! Nost frowned as the voices were talking, not noticing that perhaps Leila had seen him. This provoked embarrassment to the young man, and, when Nost was embarrassed, he became nervous, even more than he usually was. "Um... what... what do you have planned for today?" Was his exit from a possibly awkward situation. He kept walking, holding his back, hoping for her not to notice the many emotions he had expressed in such a short amount of time.

[Leila]

Leila immediately noticed that he was walking a bit strangely, followed by his explanation of an accident. "Oh no! What happened? Are you okay? Do you need to rest?" But he continued walking, asking her how she'd been, so she decided to try and humor him. "It's been interesting, uneventful mostly though. Visited East Street and the Denvali quarter a couple days ago. I've also been thinking about maybe one day trying to open my own shop, to sell herbs, and remedies, and the like. But it seems like such a daunting task, to open one's own shop. My father tried and failed at his, and he was never really the same after, his dream crushed." Leila was now glistening under Syna's rays, her skin growing moist, her thin white dress sticking to her skin, revealing more of her feminine shape than she realized. But she loved being with nature, it made her feel truly alive. There were some days she wished she could live among nature, but that's not what people do. Nost was also sweating, but she didn't mind, papa always said that men sweat and women shine. "It's a surprise, but right now I'm collecting a few items for the dinner I'm going to make for the three of us. A few vegetables here, a couple of herbs there. I love collecting ingredients from nature, sometimes I wonder if it is a trait that is lost on many people. Papa told me that if you know how to gather and make your own food, you'll never starve. And you've seen the starvation our town experiences, yet, I've never experienced it first hand. A lost skill indeed it seems. I'd love to learn how to fish though... One day." Leila thought about making beef skewers tonight. So she'd need to find peppers, onions, potatoes, or any other vegetables to put them on while out here. Carrots too mayhaps, since they are more likely to be found. Maybe a berry medley as well if they found any good bushes.

[Nost]

Nost paid attention to the plans of Leila of opening her own herbal remedies shop. Now that he thinked of it, that was a great idea. He had never heard of something similar, and it was about time for someone to do so. It would be a great opportunity. "If... if you want me to... I can help". He said. "I don't have to do too much in the toy store, and I have enough time to help you with your business". He asked himself if he wasn't being much of an intruder. Maybe he was being too intrusive, and he was not wanted there. This thought spinned around his twisted mind for a long time, slowly advancing, changing the principal theme until the point where he had forgot what was he thinking about, and his mind was somewhere else. This was a common problem for him. His attention wasn't really the best, and many of his ideas were lost in the depths of his subconscious because of the lack of attention he had. And then again, his thoughts kept flowing, but this time something interrupted them. He felt pain in the side, where the "accident" occurred. The sweat his skin had released flowed through his body, arriving to the scar the knife had made, irritating it. His hand touched the injuried skin, trying to appease the grief, only making it worse. The scar hadn't healed yet, and it bleed once in a while. His fingers, now stained in the red liquid that kept him alive was now delator of his lie. He tried to hide his expression of surpirse, with not much success. He hid both of his hands behind his back, leaving to Shaco the duty of cleaning the mess. He kept walking as he waited to the dog to lick his hands, and then he would act like nothing had happened. OOCI beg your pardon. I'm not a responsible roleplayer ;-; I'm sorry if this is too short, but now I have school and homework, again. Maybe I will not be as active, but I don't have to do any legal duties anymore, so I'm back!

[Leila]

Leila soon found herself waist deep in some brush, while Shaco and Nost fell behind slightly. Her eyes searched while her arms cut a swath through the plants, as she tiptoed along, trying to not unduly hurt any of the flora. She'd found some brambles, snagging at her dress, but pressed on, ignoring the mint leaves, the random flowers, save one large purple, multiheaded one. "Ah ha!" could be heard coming from her spot, as she dropped to her knees. Wild onion had been found, and this was a big one. She gripped the plant at the base, knowing the roots, which were the goal, were shallow. A quick tug later, and the plant was free, little white bulbs dangling amongst the dirt. She brushed a lot of the loose dirt back into the divot formed by the missing plant, then slowly, one by one, plucked each little onion off their roots, and slipped them into a pocket of her dress. She then began plucking off all of the leaves, for they had a good, strong odor, and would be good for cooking. She knew she wasn't likely to find peppers out here, and it was too early for potatoes and turnips now that she thought about it, so they'd have to go to market. She buried the rest of the plant, the parts unused, back into its originating divot, and hoped it could take root once more. She hated to waste anything, it truly was unnecessary. She stood up, happy with her find, and made her way out of the brush back to Shaco and Nost, "Why don't we go down to market, see if we can't find anything nice there?" She slipped her arm around Nost's, and began dragging him toward town. His deflection of her concern for his back hadn't gone unnoticed, "So tell me how you got injured, stop hiding it. I might be able to help after all."

[Paragon]

Leila

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Drawing	1
Botany	2
Herbalism	1
Leadership	1
Socialisation	1
Observation	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Plant: Hairy Aster
•	Hairy Aster: Restorative Plant
•	Finding Wild Onion

Other: + Approx. 2 handfuls of Wild Onion


Legend Becomes Reality

Shame this didn't continue Nost, if you deduct your living expenses and update your CS I can release your grade also. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can work from there.