Such interesting beings, the plants were. So many variants and species, at least twice as many uses for every single one of them. This verdant jungle was home to so many of them, and almost all the plants here were dangerous if not handled properly. Larisa was grateful for the knowledge she had of this plant life. Were it not for that she would surely be dead ten times over by now. Reading wasn’t fun, but being alone in this jungle did not provide Larisa with many fun activities and you couldn’t just hunt all the time, could you? So in the end books were good for something. To get to know the plants and their characteristics, as well as to provide some semblance of activity that was not only meant to keep her alive. And she had plenty of those books back at the cave. They were a good pastime in the rainy seasons.
As she trekked to the place where Farre’s pack was supposed to be she saw many such plants that could be useful with the right knowledge. For example, hikora trees were numerous in this part of the jungle. They were tall and sturdy trees with a crown of verdant, shining leaves; covered in a dark brown bark. A great tree for bow and arrow making, but also for creating a paralysing toxin. One would only need to get some of its bark and boil it on the right intensity of the fire and for a specific amount of time. After that you got yourself a paste that would paralyse almost everything. Very useful thing to know. Most of Larisa’s arrows were covered in it; she would usually also put some on her dagger. It saved her trouble fighting some beasts, like the recent cienja.
Then there were also akantus bushes. They yielded tasty berries. She saw some as she passed and marked the place to pick it up later, if she’d get the chance.
Then there was yun grass, three leafed bush and some rdest as well wherever she looked. It looked to be an abundant area. Some of those things were visibly nicked, meaning this was some beast’s territory. Thankfully a plant eating one, though it didn’t always mean the beast was an easy opponent if encountered. Basilisks for example were herbivores that liked to travel in groups of three to five. They were simple, skittish creatures that normally tried to avoid as much fighting as possible. Which they mostly succeed at thanks to their fast legs and ability to run for long periods of time. Although, when cornered by a predator they could be a nasty opponent. Thanks to their numbers and speed, as well as, sharp talons that they usually used for digging out tubers and roots, they could hurt someone badly. Farre was an example of that.
Larisa suspected that’s what might’ve happened. Basilisks didn’t look like a standard herbivore. They were covered in green and blue scales with a long snout full of sharp teeth. Their front legs had big and scary looking talons and they were a quite big compared to some other animals around here. Larisa thought she was much taller than Farre when she first had a look at her, and a standard basilisk typically reached to just her ribs. To Farre, the beasts probably looked massive and scary. Considering how fast a pack of basilisks can be, Farre might’ve thought that they were charging at her and then she attacked them out of a feeling of self-preservation. The poor basilisks were probably only trying to defend themselves and they succeeded. They struck one successful blow at Farre and then ran away. If it was any other predator, Larisa though she wouldn’t get to meet Farre alive. Or in the state she was in, having all of her limbs still attached that is.
As Larisa trekked through the thick shrubbery she noticed an odd coloured thing in the corner of her vision. It was a green pack with a bright red circle on it, surrounded by two grey triangles. Such a strange pattern immediately caught her eye. This must’ve been Farre’s pack.
Larisa went to retrieve it. When she picked it up it was quite heavy, although it looked like it used to be full if the stretched material were to be any indication of its previous state. The upper fold on the pack has been ripped apart, and wet stains covered the area around where it used to be. Larisa smelled it and a stench of rotten meat and putrid acidity covered her nostrils. Some predator got around to it, she suspected. When Larisa looked inside the bag she noticed some things that looked like clothes, those would be useful. Other than that she also saw a box made out of some sort of metal. It hummed with the Essence. Larisa picked it up and opened it.
Inside it was some sort of blue powder. Its hue was similar to rocks she found at the cave she sometimes went to. Those too hummed with the Essence, although they were more potent than this. This hummed while the rocks Larisa was familiar with practically screamed with a potential. She never found out what they were or what to do with them, so she left them be.
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This powder though had to be of some use if Farre had it in a thick metal box with a strong latch on it. She might ask her about it later. For now, she should hurry and bring this pack back to suffering Farre. She took a lot of time wandering already.
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“Took your sweet time, didn’t you?” Were the words that Farre greeted Larisa with.
Larisa could see that Farre has gotten weaker. She now fully laid down on the thick jungle floor. Her hands were still clutching at her leg, although Larisa could tell that some blood leaked out anyway. It was time for some proper bandaging.
“Got your pack. Lay still while I work.” Said Larisa as she pulled out some clothes from Farre’s pack.
“I’ll do my best.” Said Farre. Larisa hoped she’d do her best, it would be much more difficult to bandage the wound if Farre moved.
The clothes she pulled out of the pack did not look too good. They had many holes in them and some were stained by what Larisa suspected was blood. They were not clean either, if the smell emanating from them was anything to go by. Why did Farre even had them with her? They were rags, not useful for wearing.
“These are not good.” Larisa threw them at the ground some distance from where she kneeled next to Farre.
“Hey! Those are important! Get them back here, you dumbass!” Farre let go of her leg wound and Larisa immediately grabbed her hands that were now trying to reach for the rags she threw away.
“Calm yourself. They’re not going anywhere.” She put Farre’s hands back on the leg wound. “Put pressure on here. I’ll get some of my clothes then.” Farre huffed and did as instructed. Her eyes did not look as alert as when she first saw her. She was truly getting weaker and weaker.
Larisa had many layers on herself. Underclothes, leather armour and cape made from a bear she skinned some time ago. It was a good way to blend in the bushes and to fool some lesser predators.
The jungle’s climate was warm and humid and wearing less layers would certainly make Larisa more comfortable, but less secure. It was not a trade-off she was willing to make. It was not hot enough to scare her into overheating since she was always sort of partial to warm, so the underclothes she wore were rather clean. Or cleaner than whatever rags Farre told her to fetch.
First she took off the bear skin. Then unstrapped the leather vest she wore underneath as well as her bracers. At least some part of the shirt would be usable to bandage the wound. The more permanent solution could wait.
As she put the vest and the bracers down she noticed an emotion leak into the Essence. A massive amount of fear and disgust filled the air with its heady stench. Larisa’s spirit sang, as it always did when she felt such potent fear, but this time the feeling was overshadowed by the source of it.
She looked back to Farre and was surprised at what she saw. Eyes, as wide as the moon, and a new layer of sweat broken out on her skin. Larisa could tell, since a stray ray of sunlight broke through the crown of trees above and lightened up Farre’s skin. A glistening image emerged before Larisa. An image of someone truly terrified by what they saw.
She looked behind her to see if maybe a beast sneaked their way up to them, but there was nothing wherever she looked. What Farre was fearful of must’ve been Larisa. Why?
“What?” Larisa asked and Farre jumped out of whatever trace image of Larisa’s body put her into. Larisa was sure she looked like any other human female, if the books on the anatomy she’s read were anything to go by.
“You have scales.” Said Farre. Larisa had to strain her hearing to make out what she had said.
Larisa did have scales. There were patches of them all over Larisa’s skin. Mostly her arms, but also her back, her neck and most of her legs. She’s never thought much of them. They bothered her a little sometimes. They could get itchy and make Larisa’s skin irritated but that usually passed in a week or so. In the books she read there was never anything mentioned, but they were such a small thing that Larisa suspected it was simply omitted.
Farre’s reaction made Larisa questioned her belief that they were just a part of any other human. True that she didn’t see any scales on Farre, but that could just mean she had some hidden under her armour. Though, now Larisa thought that maybe she simply didn’t have any.
“I do. What about it?” Larisa asked as she ripped her under shirt. There was still a big leg wound she had to take care of. One layer of the cloth might not be enough. Larisa looked around to see if she could spot the tree leafed bush she passed by earlier. The leaves were useful for crafting, since they were elastic and strong. They would be great to tie around the bandage.
“Nothing. Just surprised, is all.” Said Farre. Some of her previous emotion left the Essence. Though, even if Larisa could not tell what Farre was feeling any longer, there was something that did not sit right with her about Farre’s response. There had to be something that she was not telling her. No matter. The wound first. The talking later.