Iris sighed, what a strange person, she thought, as his face grew beet red. "Sure you're alright?" she asked, one last time, tilting her head slightly to the side, wondering why he was so darn red. Was he angry? Embarrassed about something? About her rubbing his back and trying to make him feel better? Iris shook her head, she certainly didn't understand human behavior. Shrugging, she said, "I'll go and try to find something to eat, maybe you should make a fire or something in the mean time," and with that, Iris turned abruptly on her heels, strode over to her bag, and slung it over her shoulder. "I'll be back as soon as I can," Iris called over her shoulder as she stepped over small pebbles and small swirls of dust twisted around her feet.
She walked silently for a long time, looking up at the sky that seemed so very far away. Thankfully, it was a sunny day, and very few fluffy white clouds dotted the sky, assuring Iris that it would more than likely stay that way for quite some time. She smiled pleasantly as she walked along, not truly paying too much attention to where she was going while she searched for food. She wondered how Kain was doing, if he was starting a fire or feeding the pony, or perhaps even himself. There wasn't much for Iris to think about, other than how the gravel beneath her feet was rough, and her legs were growing tired and stiff, and how her stomach rumbled softly. But even so, she wondered why her mind had wandered off to her traveling companion; especially his piercing blue eyes, nothing like the sky, and nothing like the sea. Usually, blue eyes were like one or the other, at least in Iris' opinion, but his were neither, they were more like a blend of the two... like ice, even though they weren't cold or icy looking. Iris sighed, she wondered how she could find something so beautiful if she couldn't even find the words to describe them or how they made her feel.
Iris looked down at her feet, she had started stepping over a series of green shrubs. They were small, and close to the ground. Their leaves were green, small, and shaped like a teardrop. Iris dropped to her knees to look at them more closely. She lowered her neck to smell them, but the plant had no scent, at least, not one that she could discern anyway. Thinking it best not to try her luck with some sort of mysterious plant, Iris got back up and continued on her search.
As she walked along she started to smell something... something strangely refreshing. Iris instinctively followed her nose to the source of the smell. When she happened upon the plant she was certain was producing that lovely smell, she closed her eyes and bowed at the waist. She sniffed the tiny foot tall plant that rested at her feet. The plant had a hairy green stem, and toothed, hairless leaves. The leaves were tiny, maybe three inches long, and divided into segments. The flower closely resembled that of a daisy, but smaller. Feeling refreshed, Iris opened her eyes, and decided to gather the plant simply because it smelled so nice, if for nothing else. After all, Iris wasn't sure she could even eat the thing, maybe Kain would know, she thought, as she opened her eyes again and reached into her bag. She pulled out her eating knife with her right hand, with the fingers of her left hand, she gripped the top of the flowers, and slowly, brought the blade across the bottom of the stem, slowly slicing through them. It didn't take Iris long to cut the flowers, and as soon as she had finished, she put her knife back in her pack and got up. She brought the flowers to her nostrils one last time, allowing herself to take in their subtle sent before gingerly placing them in the front pocket of her bag.
Iris looked up at the sky, the sun was steadily crawling higher and higher. She sighed, she should be getting back to Kain soon, she didn't want him to worry about her, even if she did come back, essentially empty-handed. Did nice smelling flowers count as a food source to him? Iris wondered, or would such things only cut it for her? Or perhaps a rabbit or something. Shrugging, Iris skipped merrily back in the direction in which she left Kain and the pony. She skipped along, kicking rocks out ahead of her from time to time, the ground reacting with an angry outburst of dust, but nothing more. It was eerily silent, even though her steps seemed to echo, softly through the mountains; everything seemed still; silent. And her journey back seemed to be taking a long time.
Finally, Iris reached the spot where she was certain she had left Kain, after all, she spotted the pony still tied to the tree, angrily stomping on the ground. His tail swishing, his nostrils flaring as he snorted. Maybe he wanted someone to brush him? Or something to eat, Iris thought as she walked up beside the pony and patted his nose. "We should get you something, but I don't know what you like," Iris whispered, as she looked past the pony, wondering where Kain had gotten to, she didn't see him anywhere.
"Kain?" Iris called, as the pony's ears twitched and his feet stomped on the ground some more. The shape of its horseshoes imbedding themselves in the dirt. "Kain?" Iris called again, ignoring the fact that the echoing and loud noise may be upsetting the horse, who was snorting even more loudly now. Iris walked away from the horse, trailing her hand along its side as she walked, looking for her companion. "I brought... flowers," Iris said, pulling them out of her bag and holding them tightly in her hands. The stems were starting to wilt, and the hairs on the stems tickled her skin. "They smell nice, but I am not sure if they are edible... sorry, but I didn't find much," she called.