[PRP] Armed Guard (Tethys, Kluna, Zephyr)

[Epine de Rose]

"Keep your head down," Tethys ordered as he swept into the pride. He had deliberately avoided the main township, utilising his own warband to mask the Hlare's entrance. It was in everyone's best interests that her presence was kept low key for the time being. Suffice to say that he had already caused a bit of a stir and this would add far too many questions to the list that was already growing astronomically.

However, it was a risk that needed to be taken as he led the pink lioness towards the High Priestess's home. He had mentioned, albeit vaguely, that she would be in receipt of new information soon, he simply hadn't clarified that it would be a lioness who brought it. Regardless, Kluna had always been the adaptive sort and she would be more than capable of acting diplomatic in the presence who had the same sharp tongue she did.

...It seemed to be a running theme in the females he met lately.

"I have no need to keep my head down when you are all so tall," Zephyranthes replied. Taking in the scenery, she couldn't help but admit that there was a certain amount of rugged beauty to the land here. While it wasn't nearly as soft, it had it's own unique properties. The smell was sharper, the features much more pronounced and sharp. Like the pride itself it was hardened and rugged, a curious sort of beauty, but still something to be appreciated in the grand scheme of things.

"And I can just say I am your thrall, wasn't that the plan?" she clucked her tongue slightly as they rounded the corner towards the High Priestess's abode. It was here that she took a breath, though she wasn't afraid, there was certainly a small amount of pressure on her shoulders.

"For the time being, yes," he stated plainly as his band came to a halt and he left their side briefly to knock his paw against the lioness's den.

"Kluna, I require an audience," he spoke, his tone firm, but certainly not an order.

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Check.

Check.

Check.

The high priestess was organizing and tallying up the ingredients that resided within her den and felt satisfied that the necessary items were present and accounted for. The only article that was low was the water that typically almost overflowed the basin that appeared purposely carved from the dens wall. Of course this meant Stylter was missing when a voice rang out and echoed on the walls of her home. The voice was familiar, but sounded a touch to together for who that voice belonged to.

"What is it now..." Kluna began to speak, her tone was harsh and verbally seeking to punish the lion who approached without preparing her. Unfortunately that lion was not alone and she had to collect herself, quickly. Fortunately this was something she found that she was good at and immediately corrected her actions, including her tone, even the air surrounding her seemed to rest and relax. "Tethys, come in." Kluna moved, freeing the entrance for her visitors.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Zephyr afforded Tethys an amused look as she caught the initial sharpness in the lioness's tone. Kluna might have been quick at remembering herself, but Zephyr had always been a perceptive creature. However this firecracker of a Viking was, she certainly didn't take any crap, especially from this particular Captain. It was rather curious how those sorts of dynamics worked... She would have quite liked to query this particular relationship.

After all, that tone seemed to indicate that he had done something to her and the pink lioness was frightfully curious as to what might achieve the scorn of a viking female... She sincerely doubted it was going to be because he picked the wrong shell for her collection.

Tethys on the other hand, didn't even flinch as Kluna addressed him. Kluna was as sharp tongued as always and he had a rather thick skin courtesy of both her and his sibling - literally, in some cases. Given that he had come by rather unannounced, and with a guest in tow, it was to be expected that he would be chastised, if only for a brief instant.

"Thank you," he replied and nodded for Zephyr to enter the den first. "Wait here," he added to those who had shielded the lioness from view. He trusted them enough to turn away the curious and blind the prying eyes. It was only after Zephyr had stepped inside that he followed.

"Oh, well isn't this..." Zephyr paused as she took in the den that Kluna called her home. "Atmospheric," she said finally.

Suffice it to say that Tethys shot her a rather peculiar glance.

What kind of a description was atmospheric!

Diplomacy at its finest he supposed.

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Many things gave away that the lioness before her wasn't from around here, but if there wasn't anything it'd be the way she described her home. "Atmospheric?" The lioness could have been a leader of a pride at that point, but she was still a guest within her home and the word didn't sit well with Kluna, but she kept her cool as best she could.

"Tethys, could you please explain."

Her words weren't said as a question, but rather a statement - he better and he had better explain quickly as to why the lioness, not so silently judging her home, was even here to begin with. Had the lioness turned her back to Kluna it would have received a nasty glare.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Yes," Tethys ceased in his incredulous staring at the pink lioness and cleared his throat. "This is one of the leading Hlare of the Bahari'mtoto," he motioned with his paw to Zephyr, who appeared to have lowered her head to inspect some of the herbs with renewed curiosity. "Their alchemists, I believe," he added after a few moments of thought.

"It's Zephyr," she said without looking round, electing instead to admire another set of herbs. Kluna certainly had an impressive collection, come of these didn't even come from this particular region. Ah, but perhaps that was the benefit to these vikings and their expeditions?

"Her name," he clarified and shook his head. "They have some of the best alchemists that my mother happened to know, I was going to ask them for information but this one politely informed me that I lacked the mental capacity to communicate it effectively..." he pulled a face and in those moments Zephyr spun round with a warm smile.

"Apologies, I'm just used to places having a lot more colour," she finally explained her choice of phrase and chuckled. "This region is very different from my home, not without its beauty, but very..." she pursed her lips a touch. "Grey." She said at last. It wasn't an insult, merely and observation, and her warm tone would hopefully communicate that to the priestess.

"Your Captain here was seeking information in regards to the properties of specific herbs, some of which are exclusive to rather far off provinces, given the complex nature of such a question I thought it might be best to work out precisely what it is that you are looking for," she added.

Tethys took a seat, right around the same time as the pink lioness gave him a dismissive wave.

"Perhaps if I have an understanding of what you want I may be able to more efficiently determine if we even possess what you need," she finished.

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

"Ah."

Was all she said at first, dark blue eyes watching the brightly colored lioness who seemed to be eagerly peeking through the high priestess' collection of various herbs. Momentarily she felt a booming amount of pride, but let that feeling pass quickly to keep this particular conversation on topic.

"Zephyr, as you've heard I am Kluna - High Priestess of the Stormborm."

Of course she was sure the lioness would have already known who she was meeting, but the meeting seemed to be a bit more formal than going without a proper introduction. When Tethys spoke a smile began to form on her lips, suddenly she felt a small connection to Zephyr. "Her words, important as they are, would be wasted on you - Tethys." The high priestess remarked to his statement, had expected some form of defense? At that point she made the space between her and her guest smaller, so they could speak a touch better - not that she had removed Tethys from the conversation, but this was their time now.

"That makes much more sense, though I'm no den maker I thought I had a decent handle. My den is compiled of useful articles rather than decorations for the most part." The lioness admitted, it was the truth as she hadn't considered adding any items of little to no use. At most she had a couple stones that Stylter had brought back from his trips to get water. Even those were his and not really hers either. "Perhaps I'll have the opportunity to travel with you and see this place filled with color." Her interest was swept away when they began to talk business.

"Necrosis. This is something we hadn't encountered before, from recollections of several individuals who are a part of Tethys' warband the lions who sought them out and attempted to carve up a number of them used something that caused necrosis to the wounds and surrounding skin."

Kluna was ignorant to these issues, though a high priestess and though she had encountered many things in the way of illness and injury these wounds were beyond what she knew. At the time she knew how to help enough, but they hadn't been beyond help. If one had returned beyond help and covered in necrotic tissue she'd have had little to no way to help them..

"Have you heard or seen this before? Lions with the ability to cut and kill using poisons that cause necrosis?"

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"That must be what you had," Zephyr glanced briefly at Tethys and clucked her tongue. "It certainly explains the scarring anyway," she added as she took the opportunity to assess some of the more deeply cut tissue. Fur had grown over it by now, but the damage would never truly repair itself, what was done had been done. All things considered the god of scars might have been impressed with the handiwork of whatever had done this.

"It is," Tethys confirmed from his corner. He'd picked a spot where he wouldn't get in the way or knock anything over. It was in his best interests not to cause havoc or hell would hath no fury like a High Priestess scorned. He didn't want to have to crawl back to this lioness for a blessing when she was in the worst possible mood with him.

...Call him superstitious, but he wouldn't tempt fate.

"We've seen it and we know what it is but..." she pursed her lips thoughtfully and shook her head. "From what I understood of the limited number of times we've had to treat it, it can come from a variety of sources," she clucked her tongue gently. Given that it came from any number of things, and it seemed none of these were a guarantee, she surmised that it wasn't a 'sure thing' that it could be reproduced.

Except that it could, they had just said as much.

"I can create balms and salves to stem it but the healers of the Bahari are the ones who typically do the dirty work," she tilted her head to the side and regarded the High Priestess. "They can certainly clarify how it should be treated in its initial stages, the most the Hlare can do is show you how to make the balms necessary to treat it."

"Can you reproduce it?" Tethys interjected.

"Possibly," Zephyr didn't sound confident and she went on to clarify. "We would need to work out whatever your enemies were using to produce this effect, or we would have to develop something similar ourselves -" she paused.

"But you can't test something that causes necrosis without living tissue," she pointed out hesitantly. "And that isn't something that our King will approve of, regardless of the reasoning behind it..."

"How alive?" Tethys demanded.

"Alive enough to still be bleeding..." Zephyr murmured, though based on her facial expression, it was clear she wasn't entirely clear on where he was going with this.

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

The fact that he had moved off to the side impressed Kluna, and she offered him a smile - rare, but a treat. That smile faded as the Hlare continued to speak and explain to them what she knew or may not have known as well as who could help.

"Your number of times overwhelms ours." A laugh, also rare, bubbled from the High Priestess, she could be a pleasant host if need be and duty was calling to tend to the relationship between herself and the Hlare. "You would be willing to teach my apprentice and I the ways of making these balms and salves?" Kluna questioned lightly, truly intrigued by the concept of medicines outside of her own.

When Tethys interjected she shot him a look of annoyance, but waited to hear what Zephyr had to say. The question wasn't one she had entirely anticipated, but thinking on it she should have known the idea would creep up on the lion she was becoming all to familiar with.

"We can certainly find test subjects, some thralls or drunk reavers looking for a good time would do."

The high priestess waved a paw as though that was nothing - they certainly weren't seeing a shortage of available bodies. "I tell you what, if Stylter isn't back soon you can use him." It was clear the maned wolf was likely to be scolded upon his arrival home.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Oh good gods no, you can't use living hosts!" Zephyr looked horrified, indicating that there were most certainly differences between the two prides. These differences clearly extended beyond a love of colour and into the realms of not harming other living beings... unless it was to eat them of course. Hunger was a perfectly reasonable cause to harm an individual, but beyond that? If she could have paled she would have.

She waved her paw rather dramatically as if to reinforce that. "Not only would our King completely forbid it you could possibly kill them," she pointed out. "On occasions the individual succumbs to the dying flesh and their death is a slow and painful one, it is far from dignified," she coughed.

"Calm yourself, it wouldn't be alive," Tethys murmured vaguely and waved his own paw. He didn't go in to any details, but he already knew enough of the Bahari king from his previous encounters to know that this was a very quick way to get them all thrown out on their a**.

"Right...yes," Zephyr took a breath.

"We would be more than happy to teach you what we know provided that you are not aiming to test whatever it is you wish to develop on our sands," she paused briefly, by the expression she knew that she had to face the reality of the situation. "What you choose to do in your own territory is entirely up to yourself, of course."

Tethys had to give it to the pink lioness, at least she knew better than to assume that her ideals would follow them back to their home. It was highly like the High Priestess would have her own ideas when she finally returned to the Stormborn... Even he was largely against using thralls in a manner that could potentially kill them as well.

...But not every Stormborn operated on the same principles as another and he knew better than to force the issue.

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

The dramatic response to Klunas idea weren't expected, not even a little bit and she gave Tethys a look that said 'is she for real?'. "Some of them would earn this type of death." She retorted. "But I'll work with your conditions." She agreed and was entirely surprised how well Tethys had gone about handling the situation, impressive.

"Not a soul will be harmed in the making of this product while our paws touch the sands of your home." Offering a pledge was just about all the high priestess could do at that point. "We will appreciate your willingness to teach us, of course if there is any teachings we can offer? Or herbs you may need for back home that are not readily available you are welcome to my stock." A smile appeared on the females face once more.

It was admirable that Zephyr understood she wouldn't change the minds of foreigners. All ways would be the right way depending upon who she would speak too.

Of course she made a mental note in regards to the mentioning of harming creatures so she wouldn't repeat her mistake while in another land - perhaps it was a personal opinion.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"If you bring a fair number of them back with you and your apprentice, we can compare what we have available," Zephyr smiled warmly and glanced at both Vikings. They were both very practical, but their preparedness to hurt their own kind was a touch disconcerting - this was the way of their pride even if she didn't understand it entirely though.

"Occasionally we have a wandering herbalist who visits us, he brings some very rare ingredients that we don't always have. They may be the same as some of those you have or they may not, but we don't generally keep stock levels similar to your own," she confessed. She glanced briefly back at the neatly stacked shelves and then returned her attention to the pair. "We have no real need of them in the Bahari'mtoto, deadly injuries are rare and a need for poisons isn't typically the norm..."

"For now, anyway," Tethys murmured vaguely and nodded to Kluna. "How long will you need to ready yourself and Dione?" he asked curiously. Depending on the High Priestess's answer it may be more useful for him to have the Bahari alchemist escorted home with a promise that Kluna and Dione would follow behind. Alternatively, if it wouldn't take them too long, he could simply wait and have them all leave at the same time.

Given that only Kluna would know her personal requirements, he felt it more appropriate for him to be told...

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

"That sounds reasonable to me."

Kluna felt her interest pique at the idea of a traveling herbalist - how useful. It was also entirely understandable that they had no need, from what she was gathering they were a peaceful people never resorting to violence unless it was the only way out. At least that was the impression she got.

"We can be ready fairly quickly, I'm sure. Will you fetch Dione for me and update her? I can begin to gather samplings of our herbs to bring as well as pack some personal items." Her only other concern was to decide on bringing Stylter or not and in the end she decided he ought to. He'd make a decent courier if necessary.

"Send word when you are prepared to leave or I will send Stylter to let you know when we are on our way."

Either way someone would be aware of when to leave - it'd be soon.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I'll let her know," Tethys gave a nod as he ducked out of the High Priestess's den. He gave the pink lioness a nod to follow, one that she obeyed and then promptly deposited her in the care of her escort. She wouldn't move from here and she was the chatty sort - to assume that Zephyr wouldn't at least entertain his brothers was an understatement, she'd rather grown on some of them. Ah, she might have been 'weak', but she certainly had a personality and made for some good company.

Nevertheless once he was certain that she would be well cared for and kept out of trouble, he made his way to his own sister's den. She might find herself somewhat puzzled by the sudden orders, but she'd come along as per Kluna's instructions.

...Particularly when he mentioned that she would have the opportunity to meet their brother wherever he might be hiding. He hadn't met him yet himself, but their mother had said that was where he lived. It would be possibility for her to explore during a quiet moment to say the least.

Mysses Greenie

/fin!