Young Writers Society

"Ah... yes." So she just meant those sorts of things. For some reason he thought it would've been something different. Not that he had any idea what that could've been anyway. "We've discussed weapons already... there's not much we can do for that unless you know how to pull swords out of thin air. As for feeding your horse, well... I don't know if it'll want roots. We could try and fetch some plants from outside if you think it would help. Otherwise, I'm not really equipped with horse feed."

"She ate this morning, she'll be able to skip a day or two. We all have. Once the rain dies down a bit I can go see if I can find anything. I can't pull swords out of thin air, no, but we might be able to improvise something, like some sort of barricade or polearms." Polearms, that was a thought. Javelins, too, maybe - anything ranged.

"I mean... that's not a bad idea. I just don't know where they'd fit in to the plan. Not that we have it set in stone yet anyway. It sounds like we'll have to wait a day or two after the rain stops to go for it though, considering we want your horse to be ready." James took another bite into the root, hunching over by the fire and drawing close to get warm.

"But honestly I don't know how to give more clarity. There's no way to perfectly time it because we don't and can't know exactly where the grangor is and when it will come out, if it'll take the bait, or if it'll do it's own thing, or any of that. There are so many unknown variables that are near impossible to control because it'd mean going outside, and when I do that, I want to be ready to kill it, because I know once I leave the cave it'll be there."

He was right, even if I didn't like to admit it. I dealt with the unknown every day, but I was used to working with a team I knew well, fighting monsters I'd been raised with, and doing it all on my own turf. Now, my team was made of strangers, my opponent was anything but familiar, and I was in some place with glowing plants.

I nodded and leaned back against the cave wall. "At any rate, we should probably get some rest."

"Ah. Yes." James got up, finishing off the root with a swallow and turned to his things - of which, he didn't have many, but he grabbed a blanket, and handed it to Tasha. He handed his other to Ralys. He only had two.

"Well, you're free to find the most comfortable spot of the cave as you'd like, if it's sleep you want. Or you could just huddle by the fire. I'll keep it going. I won't be sleeping for now."

What he planned on doing was cleaning the cut on his shoulder, just to be sure it didn't get infected. And maybe washing his bruised and scratched up face.

"No need - I have one," I answered, digging through my saddlebags. "Thanks though."

"Oh. Yeah, sure." James nodded, taking the blanket back with an apologetic shrug. He set the blanket down on the ground by the fire and then grabbed a small towel from his things. He went over to his water supply and with a small cup, dampened the towel just a bit, and began to wipe the blood from his shoulder, dabbing at it slowly. There really wasn't a rush... it would be a while before the rain let up, since, he'd learned, in this forest, once it started it could go for a day or so before stopping.

I wrapped my cloak around me, sitting next to the fire as I watched him dab at his wound. "You got herbs for that?" I asked. I had some in my bags. Normally I wouldn't be so sharing, but sometimes the circumstances forced cooperation and teamwork.

James looked over to Tasha and paused. "...Yes. Some." Although, they probably weren't the kind of herbs she was talking about. Being out in this strange forest for a long time meant he had to familiarize himself, as best he could, with the strange plants and flora in the area. So the kind he had he didn't know the name of, but he'd learned through trial and error that this purple leaf acted a bit a numbing agent. Was it good for him? Well he didn't see any negative side effects. There was also a glowing white flower that seemed to disinfect, to some degree. Only reason he'd tried it was because he thought he remembered seeing it in a book on medicinal plants a long time ago. It was a faint memory but he chanced it and it seemed to work. So, suffice to say the "herbs" he had were... unconventional to say the least.

"Some... herbs native to area, I should say."

I just nodded and leaned back.

James silently returned to tending to his wounds, taking time to wash his face, his fingers lightly touching the tender bruises on his cheek and forehead. Though he had no mirror, he was sure it didn't look pretty (not that he really cared about appearances for practicality's sake, proven by his already unkempt look - though now that he was with people for the first time in a long time, he did begin to care).

He gathered a pre-prepared treatment he'd made from grinding the plants together into a purple, semi-glowing mush. He carefully scooped a little dollop with his hand and rubbed it into the cut on his shoulder and on a cut on his face. It left the wounds with a slight shimmery glow to them - odd, but he was used to it. He took few moments to put things away and rearrange a few things once he was done, and then returned around the fire and sat on the blanket. Now that that was over with, he just wanted to focus on being warm. His clothes were mostly dry now, but still a little damp from the rain, so he scooted close to the fire, hoping to warm up soon.

"How'd you learn the plants?" I asked, trying to keep from thinking about the monster that lurked outside in the nighttime rain.

James hugged his legs and rested his chin on his knees. "Trial an error. Out of necessity, really. Had a few allergic reactions from some and quickly figured out what didn't work. I guess I'm lucky I didn't die from them, cause you know, some plants are poisonous. Oddly though, most of the ones in this area seem to be helpful, or mostly harmless, apart from weird rashes or swelling."

"I guess it's nice that the plants aren't as dangerous as what dwells in them. Hah. Gives ya one less thing to worry about."

"That's for sure." But there's no telling what's poisonous to her, is there?

"I don't think anyone's too familiar with this area anymore, though, so... there's plenty of discovery to be had. Or rather, there... could be." James commented, trying to think of questions or something to push the conversation forward, but coming up with nothing. The result, being an inward frustration.