Challenges

[Omio]

He managed to uncurl a bit from Saira's touch. However, he was still bitter. "Tch, how can anyone be proud of forbidden alchemy...? Now I can see why my father was such a jerk..." And he sighed. "Though I do have to thank you..." And he finally uncurled completely, face-up on the ground, with his head resting on Saira's foot. "...I guess the talk about admitting past guilt being tricky is true..." He realized where his head was, and began to blush slightly once again, without realizing that he was blushing. He didn't feel like moving, though. "...especially when you've only tossed it aside, and let it merely sit."

[WolfEnchantress]

Len uncurled fully, his head resting on her foot, and Saira breathed a sigh of relief. She saw his blush and smiled down at him, glad he was oaky.

"Forbidden? Sarora took me in when I had nothing left to go back to and raised me, when it is strictly forbidden by her kind to do so. She was kicked out and told never to return on penalty of death, for both of us, and I am proud of her for staying with me, even though I do feel bad about her being kicked out. It's my fault, really."
Saira recalled the numerous times they were chased away from Ularian Ridge by the Ice Dragons.
"Besides, why would she not be? Forbidden or not, it's what you're good at, and you're her son. If I was her I would be proud of you."
A crash of thunder sounded outside, and the rain began, falling in driving sheets immediately instead of starting out at a trickle.

[HoudiniDerek]

Kimara ate some stew just as the thunderstorm broke out. It would hit the forest harder because the trees were thinner there this time of year. Saira had better find cover if she didn't want doused in a little bit. Kimara had some more stew and then offered some to Sarora who was sitting silently in what seemed like a huff. The dragon declined and Kimara smiled while cleaning up the campsite.

"Sarora, what is the matter? You can't be that lonely already can you? Or am I just not that good of company?"

[WolfEnchantress]

The dragon blinked, then loked at Kimara, unfazed by the crashing thunder.
No, it is nothing like that. It just worries me. She is out on her own, alone, for the first time in her life since I adopted her. She is with a person who she desn't know, and she is too trusting. She would hand her own killer a sword if they so much as said please.

Sarora was overexaggerating a bit, but to a lesser degree it was true. She'd always been there to sheild Saira from anything that could harm her, and now, just like that, she was alone. But there was another thing, lurking in the back of her mind that she was more reluctant to admit.

She is adapting well. I am happy for her, truly I am. But if this test goes well, it will prove she does not need me. I do not want that, Sarora admitted quietly.

It was difficult to explain. she was immensely happy for Saira to be getting along so well, but it saddened her at the same time. The girl wasn't even phased without Sarora's presence in her mind. So if she came back unharmed, was it time for Saira to be alone? If she was a dragonling, she would have been kicked out of the nest long ago.

[Omio]

Upon the statement of them getting exiled from their village, Len sat up, turning to face Saira. He looked to be somewhat shocked, slightly apologetic, and somewhat disgusted. "...That's no law posted by any human in any area whatsoever. This must mean that Sarora isn't human - not that I mind, but to do that kind of thing is rather cruel to the other races..." Not even the Elves do that, and I've treated three of them... Also, that means opportunities for new alchemy over there, too; though with the way it sounds like, I'll probably have to get a hold of this 'Sarora' being... "Hell, if I had a home at the moment, and someone else was in need, I wouldn't cast them away with that much cruelty... yeesh, it's like asking to get targeted for a fight."

[WolfEnchantress]

Saira shifted a bit. Heck, why not tell him? He already figured out she wasn't a human. She's have to learn to be more careful with thet in the future.

"Sarora's race isn't exactly the kind you just get a bunch of friends and go fight with. You'd have no chance whatsoever." She laughted at the thought of a band of humans up againnst fifty angry dragons.

"Sarora is a Dragon, daughter of the ice dragons on the western point of Ularian Ridge. Her race hates humans. Well, they hate anything that isn't a dragon because they hunt the dragons. She's the one who killed those bandits and took me in because she couldn't bring herself to kill me."

Saira shrugged, wondering if he'd believe her and thinking of an explanation if he didn't. Dragons were a rare sight, and very few people ever got to meet or even see one in their lifetime. He would have every reason to be skeptical.

[Omio]

He looked about ready to drop his jaw. He was unable to think silently, being in so much disbelief. "...What? Are the dragons so afraid of other races as to exile them completely? Then again, this kinda is the chicken before the egg question being inversed. Maybe if there was someone that actually cared about them in their ranks and of a different race, things might turn better..." And he sighed, letting it all somewhat drop. "Any which way, I'm worrying about something out of my reach."

"As to dragons, I might have to see this 'Sarora' for myself. I wouldn't blame her if she used me as a scratching post, as much as I rather she didn't; I'm not exactly in a condition where that would be a good thing, and I don't think I'll get to that condition anytime soon."

He then blinked, in realization; he had been the most open about himself now more than ever with anyone else. "I've said a lot more to you than I have to anyone else about anything in general... Maybe either we're both too trusting of the other, or we're both trustworthy..."

[WolfEnchantress]

"No, they are not afraid. They just...I don't know, dont trust anyone, which in it's own way a form of fear," She said, then she laughed.
"Sarora wouldn't hurt a hair on your head unless you hurt me first. Then there won't even be a head for there to be hair left on." She wondered, though, how Sarora would react to her bringing Len to meet her. And kimara, for that matter. She wished that Sarora hadn't blocked off all contact. Then she could ask.

She didn't reply immediately to Len's last statement, instead thinking about it, brushing her black hair from her face. He was right, she had told him a lot, and it seemed like he spoke openly enough to her.

"I like to think I'm a trustworthy person," She said at last. "I don't want people to feel like they can't tell me anything."
Another crash of thunder.

"And you seem trustworthy to me. I think. You're not going to tell people about Sarora, are you? The last think we need is more hunters to go after the Ice Dragons." She honestly didn't think he would, but it didn't hurt to check. She thought he was a person she could trust.

[Omio]

Len laughed. "Me? Tell anyone? Please, anyone looking for that kind of information's going to get..." And he stopped, looking for the right poison; he had three to choose from before he pulled one up, and held it out. "Wolfsbane Root extract, a rather awful blood contaminator. Affected target goes into delusions, hallucinations, seismic conditions for about 5 minutes, has severe pains for about an hour, and then dies from going outright psychotic. Also note that the target is rendered untreatable upon dosage; to translate: One splash of this means you're going to die miserably." And then he smiled, soon to get into sarcasm. "Why, want a swig?"

[WolfEnchantress]

She stared at the poison, studying it. "This extract can do all that?" She asked in wonder. It was odd to think that a small amount of anything like that could kill you. Vaugely she wondered who was horrid enough to deserve that kind of death, but was fairly certain that if she thought about it a few names would come to mind.
then she smiled back. "Well, maybe I do," She challenged, making a mock grab for the vial of liquid before pulling her hand away. "Hmm, on second thought, I don't think I'm ready to die a horrible, painful death quite yet. Maybe another day though?" She rolled her eyes, laughing.
Outside, the rain lessened. Thunder quieted and lightening died away until only a steady downpour remained.
"Is Alchemy hard?" She asked him, curious. It had to be somewhat of a challenge, if it was so uncommon. But that may have been just because it was outlawed. Did that mean anyone could go around making lethal poisons? It was a somewhat scary thought.

[Omio]

He put the vial into his crib, not wanting to let the sarcasm get realistic, though he doubted she would. She asked about Alchemy as a job, in terms to difficulty - he had a long answer for her, though a rather detailed one. One that would make her somewhat reluctant of the trade.

"It's tricky if you aren't government-recognized, like me - then you have to get into rather dealings, and use people that would normally be killed as test subjects so you can find out the short-hand effects; be it a healing potion, a poison-curing potion, or whatever. Anyone can do it, but it usually takes years to get anywhere near close enough to know what exactly to do; though if a well-known alchemist dies, and someone takes their book, the notes in that book are often more than enough to learn."

He then shifted himself, and then pulled a rather thick book out of it, opening it to about two-third through the book - the left page was full, and the right page was blank. He pointed to the page on the left. "From here on back took me almost ten years. That goes to show how long it takes to really build up your skills, and make effective combinations and whatnot." He smirked. "So obviously, if you're going into Alchemy, you'd have to dive in, and almost never come out until you're absolutely ready to retire."

If I gathered one herb around here, I could make an effective charm potion, but that wouldn't serve much good; besides, I'll probably need two or three clean vials, about an hour to find said ingre-- He chopped his thought off, remembering it was raining out - he undid his belt and took the crib of vials off of it, putting it aside as he dug into his backpack, and pulled out seven empty, but dirty, vials. He went outside, into the rain, washing them out over and over. "Don't mind me, I'm just washing my vials out so I can use them again later on."

He sighed, contently once he was out in the rain. This rain is rather comforting...

[WolfEnchantress]

She lisiened as he explained the difficulty of alchemy, shocked at how long it actually took. His ten years of work was in a single book. It took some serious dedication, and you had to probably be okay with handling with guilt, if the experiments were done on humans. She nodded as he went out to wash his vials, studying the crib of vials he had set aside. Gently she touched one of them, then pulled back, figuring it was wise to not fiddle with things that could potentally kill her.

She watched the rain fall, more thn a sprinkle, less than a storm. Maybe there is a stream nearby? She thought to herself. If so, she could wash, and was almost positive they were near a stream or river on the way here.
She crawled to the opening of the cave and out, putting up the hood of her cloak.
"Len, I'll be back in a half hour, okay?" She told him. "I'm going to find a stream. Or lake."

She was right about there being a stream nearby, and it widened into a river, then a large pond that appeared abruptly through a line of trees in a relatively short length, only about 100 feet from their camp. Which didn't bother her, it just meant she could find her way back easier. Shedding and draping her clothes over a hanging branch that was relatively blocked from rain by the thich boughs above and stepping into the frigid water, she shuddered at the coldness of it and quickly washed her hair out. She hadn't expected it to be as cold as it was, but didn't mind too much. When you lived on a snow-covered mountain, even inside water didn't exactly warm up very much.

About ten minutes later she waded to the shore and stepped out of the water. And was met with a large, feline-like thing. It growled, and she let out a short scream, cutting it off abruptly as she kicked it, her body instantly remembering the combat she hd learned. It worked, and it ran off. She sighed and began walking back toward her clothes on the opposite end of the lake, shivering, so she could head back. She tried to peer through the underbrush after it, but it was impossible to see past the line of trees.

[Omio]

A scream. Saira's voice. This drew panic within Len, setting the vials down before he made a jump into the branches, jumping from large branch to large brach to where the source of the scream came from. However, this resulted in him spotted her, nude, and searching for something else. He ended up so flustered, he fell from flinching, though managed to land on his feet after an unintended backflip. However, he remained crouched, blushing like mad before standing. He knew that she would've heard the 'thump' from his landing, so he didn't bother hiding the fact he didn't see her. However, he turned his head away, as if to give her time to change. When he tried to talk, his mouth opened as if to speak, but he couldn't get the words out.

[WolfEnchantress]

She spied her clothing and trotted towards it quickly, wanting the warmth of her cloak. The rain had mostly stopped with just a mist raining from the sky and big, fat waterdrops dripping from the trees.

There was a thud to her left, and she jumped, startled, snatching her cloak to put around herself and scanning the woods before finding the source. Len stood not far from her, looking away. She turned six shades of red at the discovery and stepped back. Even with his head turned she could see he was a fair shade himself.
How long has he been there? She thought to herself, stepping into clothing in record time before again wrapping herself in her light blue cloak.

"Len?" She questioned, voice tight with embarrassment. "How long..When did you...Why.." She stammered with a dozen questions all trying to get out at once.

[Omio]

"I-I ...heard you scream." It was difficult to speak for Len - still not turning his head as he turned redder (realizing the situation worse than he expected). He didn't even have enough willpower to speak anymore than that. He felt about ready to just curl up, and kinda scream, expecting to be called a peeping tom, and probably have to live in even more rejection. God-dammit, I hope to hell she doesn't jump to conclusions - if she does, I can forget about finding the village she's looking for... ...and possibly forget about living...

And that was when he shed a tear, his emotions showing themselves despite his inability to speak. A sigh further made him seem miserable, his ability to speak coming back in a slight wallow. "I-I'm... ...I'm a peeping tom, aren't I..." And he sat, about ready to curl up, and just let her go on.