[IC] Botanist And Bards

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

"Eat you?" Charlotte turned away from where she was hanging up the skin, glad she had actually decided to put away the bones and not to try and preserve any of the organs for now. She gave Cait a disbelieving, somewhat annoyed expression. "Why in the name of the stars would I do that?" She replied with obvious hostility. "That is something reserved for the uneducated barbarians that I'm certain roam the lands here." Charlotte huffed irritably, giving a dismissive wave of her hand. She of course, didn't mean to imply that Cait or her people were such things but if that was how she took it, there was little she could do to take back her words.

"Now, if you don't mind...it might seem like an odd request," Charlotte paused for a moment, thinking of the best way to ask this. There was really no way to go about asking this delicately, was there? "A lock of your hair. May I have it?" Honestly, her curiosity was getting the best of her here. It was likely a bad time for asking considering their...rocky, relationship but she might not get another chance to study it if she didn't ask. "I would simply like to run a few tests on it."

There wasn't much she could learn with her limited supplies and materials, but she wanted to take a chance on potentially learning something, even if a little.

[Roleplayer001]

The native let out a sigh of relief as she was assured that she was not in fact about to be eaten, although the comment about uneducated barbarians made the orange haired woman raise an eyebrow. No one on this island ate people, or even the friends in the wild. What sort of absurd notion was that?

Although the train of thought was interrupted as the other woman decided to instead ask about having a strand of hair. After blinking a few times in though, the native offered a reply as one of her hands ran through her mane, picking out some loose strands and handing them over. "... It would be detrimental to cut it, but you can claim what falls out." The foreigner would realize the strands that were disconnected still had a slight glow in them. Caitriona was curious about what Charlotte's plans were, but she didn't bother asking.

"Also, none of our people or anyone on this island even touches the bodies of our friends, why would we harm eachother?" The native clearly was a little ticked off, but she wanted to learn what the other girl had to say.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

"Hmm...this will do, though I am curious as to what would happen otherwise..." Charlotte stared at her for a few seconds as a few theories ran through her head. Afterwards, though, she simply sighed and turned back to her desk. "...your people are surprisingly kind, then." If she sounded a little surprised, or perhaps jealous she was a little of both. Back in Astril, those that lived outside of the tower in the wastes were...well, not the kindest sort. Especially to the residents of Astril. Granted, she supposed they had every reason to be hostile given some...events. Even those in Astril weren't...'kind' to one another. It was a corrupt Meritocracy at its finest, really.

For the most part though, Charlotte didn't elaborate. She wanted nothing to do with the place ever again, if she could help it.

Instead, she set to work on whatever it was she normally did. She placed the given hairs inside of a glass flask, before filling it with some sort of clear solution from a hollowed out coconut shell. It'd do in place of glass for now, until she had time to make more.

[Roleplayer001]

The native raised an eyebrow as the other woman commented. Surprisingly kind? Did ... did her people kill each other frequently, then? For a few moments, Caitriona watched the other woman work her alchemy with curious eyes then looked off to the side. Despite her friendliness, her gifts, and her aid the other woman was as closed up as always. It was irritating to be truthful, but the native didn't feel a lot like asking the other woman about her life specifically.

But perhaps a simple question wouldn't be too much?

"Do your people ... hurt each other frequently, then?" The girl's hair glowed slightly more brilliantly - along with that in the solution if it wasn't hampered in any way - as the night sky continued downwards. "Is there not enough food to go around? Is that why you must kill friends and each other?"

That was the only thing the native could imagine driving people into conflict.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

"Food? No," Charlotte replied with a scoff. "We have an entire floor dedicated to both growing food, as well as breeding livestock." She swirled the solution around, with a cleaned, wooden stirrer she crafted causing it to bubble slightly before letting it sit in a corner of the desk by itself. Really, this was not a conversation she wanted to have with the native. Naivety was bliss, as some might say at the tower. It was...refreshing, really, as somewhat annoying as it was.

"A shortage of food isn't such a silly motivation. There hasn't been famine in the tower for...well, not since the Grand Deacon Astril." She commented, walking away from the table and past Cait and towards the small cot she made for herself. Besides, she was sorely misunderstanding the sorts of things that went on at the tower. They didn't exactly kill each other, not, even that was a bit of a taboo to kill a colleague. Them dying in the name of 'research' though, was perfectly acceptable. And to those outside the tower...well. A lot of things happened in the name of research.

"Now, unless you have any other inane questions about things I don't feel like explaining," She said, once again not elaborating on exactly what caused them to 'kill' each other. "Perhaps you can actually be of use for once."

[Roleplayer001]

It was a relief that there wasn't a shortage of food ... but then why did they kill each other? The girl's thoughts were interrupted as Charlotte called her questions 'inane' and implied she had never been of use. The woman's tone was eternally serious, and it was rather apparent after all these weeks that it wasn't a joke. The tall one hardly seemed to acknowledge her or her gifts, and aside from a little teasing she had been nothing but cooperative - even when Charlotte ate her friends.

The glowing hair shifted slightly as Cait's head adjusted, her slightly higher pitched voice lowering itself. "For once? Unlike when I delivered food, or pottery, or taught you how to climb the trees? I'm sure you'd be doing as well if I had just left you on the beach." The shorter girl glared at the other one, stomping one of her feet on the ground in frustration. "You act like I'm stupid just because I don't know how your mechanizations work, and while I've been completely cooperative in teaching you our language you tell me nothing about myself. If it hurts you too much to say anything, then just say so!"

Bright eyes looked up at Charlotte, trying to remain steady. It was hard to be aggressive with one so large ... "And you are allowed to smile, you know. I don't know if it's your people or just you, but I've never seen you happy!"

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

Charlotte blinked, quite surprised Cait had lashed out at her in such a manner. Okay, so, maybe yes she could have worded her sentence a bit more carefully and acted a bit 'nicer' but that would simply be sugar coating things. Why should she be nice to someone she didn't even like all that much? Granted, she had mixed feelings about Cait's company in general. Perhaps she could work up the effort to be at least a little less...hostile in the future. Right now though, she didn't feel like it. For the moment, Charlotte just coolly glared at Cait in her usual fashion and answered her question first.

"Hah. I'll smile when there's something to smile about." Charlotte replied, standing up from the cot. It was mostly just her, though. She had a tendency to not smile about anything at all, except when she was doing research or felt particularly proud about something she had made. "And it doesn't hurt," Charlotte continued with a dismissive huff. She folded her arms, looking down at Cait. "There's just no need to relay useless and irrelevant information. All you need to know is that I came from far away, and I am never going back." Her tone was as serious as ever as she spoke.

"And if you're going to get upset over the way someone speaks, then you must not have talked to many people. If you're going to keep doing it, then you can kindly leave me alone."

[Roleplayer001]

Cait raised her eyes up to those of the lecturing and obviously upset woman. Initially the native was simply made upset by the new person's antics but a few moments after she finished speaking ... the orange haired girl just felt sorry for her. It was rather obvious that Charlotte had been through a lot of pain in her time back in wherever she came from. So when she finally said, "... I'm sorry ..." it would be hard to tell if it was motivated by some form of regret or some form of pity about Charlotte's background.

Perhaps the woman had been abused in a way? Such things were rare, but they did happen. "... Our people tend to be more kindhearted than yours, I think. It's not your fault but ..." Any assumptions about black hair's background would probably be irritating to the alchemist anyways.

"... so how can I help ...?" The native wasn't truly sure why she hadn't just gotten up and left this meat eating barbarian yet, although she knew the answer. Contact with her home village should be kept at a minimum for the next month at least, preferably two.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

Charlotte brushed off Cait's apology with a dismissive huff. It seemed to irritate her a bit, but she didn't say anything regarding it. She didn't want pity nor did she want some sort of false apology. Those were the worst, really, apologizing only because it was 'socially appropriate' she'd much rather respect someone who didn't apologize and stuck to whatever it is they said...but whatever. It wasn't like Cait would ever hold such beliefs.

"Apologies aren't what I need." She replied, shaking her head. "What I...well, what I would like is a map." She replied with a sigh. "Obviously mine is sorely outdated. You remember it." She pointed towards her desk where the practically ancient map was laying, smoothed out against a small desk off to the side where it wouldn't be bothered. She was of course, referring to that one time when she first arrived weeks ago. "I don't know where you got those...pottery things or whatever else from, but I am assuming you have some village or something around here where you and others of your people live." Of course, what she was asking would be obvious here. She wanted a map for whatever reason, and it was logical to think Cait's people might have one she could use.

"I need a more current one."

[Roleplayer001]

The native watched as the other woman simply became more irritated, and pouted slightly in response. What exactly did death-hair want anyways? Did she simply enjoy some sort of hostility between everyone?

However, the fire haired girl simply got confused as the other woman started mentioning a 'map'. It was one of the few words that had no meaning in her language, and so Charlotte simply used her own for it. Truthfully, the native had never asked nor Charlotte bothered to explain what this apparently valuable artifact was. She lifted it and wondered if the object was beneath it, but it wasn't.

Going over to it once again, Caitriona looked at it and tried to understand what it was depicting, but the more she looked at it the less sense it made. What were the strange drawings supposed to represent? The girl got a slight headache, shook her head a few times, then thought about how to respond to the black haired woman.

"I do have a ... group ... I live with. Perhaps the Great Mothers could aid you, but this artifact is strange to me." Of course, Caitriona would have to offer a little explanation, although her face flushed uncharacteristically. "... now is not the time to go there, though. What is the purpose of a 'map'? Does it use something like the cave solution to work?" To show what she meant by 'cave solution', the girl pointed over to the glasses the woman had acquired.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

Cave...solution? Did she not know what a map was? That was...surprising. Well, perhaps not entirely surprising. She hadn't expected something completely detailed, but she had assumed that they would at least have some sort of...way of keeping track of the land or where they were. Even the neanderthals living in the frigid lands outside of Astril had a basic understanding of the land, how to travel it, etc. They weren't nearly as detailed as Astril's maps of course but...well. To say they even lacked this basic advancement...she sighed, shaking her head, not noticing the shorter womans flushing face.

"No," Charlotte replied, holding a hand to her forehead. This was just abso-fucking-lutely great. No maps! "Its paper. A form of it at least. You know what paper is at least, correct?" That probably came out a bit more hostile than she intended. "A map is something you use to...record the landscape of an area. So you can travel it easier and remember where certain landmarks are the next time you go somewhere." She frowned, removing her hand from her head and walking over to the map and running a hand over it.

"This map, however...is almost as old as the tower itself. Its sorely outdated and using it to travel would be...difficult." If Cait didn't even know what a simple map was, then she doubted the 'Great Mothers' whoever they were would be of any more help. "Nothing more than legwork, memorization, and a little math to make sure the scale is correct." She grunted. Well...this was bloody great. She had expected to not have a map at all, but when she had run into Cait a small part of her hoped she would have a map. After all, it was something extremely basic any society would have, isn't it? She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up, really. It was foolish of her to do so.

Sometimes, she forgot the rest of the world was sorely behind Astril in terms of technology...

"If you don't have one, it doesn't matter...I can make do. Always have." She grunted irritably, moving back over to the alchemy table where the solution that she had melted Cait's hairs in had finished bubbling. "I doubt your...Great Mothers would be of much help." It'd take the rest of the night for them to finish, and she had nothing better to do other than write and record a few things.

She didn't feel like sleeping.

[Roleplayer001]

The native nodded somewhat as the woman explained what paper was. Of course she knew what paper was. But ... recording the landscape? How could one do that at all? If this foreigner had some method of tracking the lands aside from speaking to the animals, Caitriona was curious to see what it was. But it was obvious that the other woman was frustrated for some reason.

However, the second times she spoke of the great mothers in a derogatory tone Cait scowled for a moment before forcing herself to pick up the flute and play a little song to let her frustration out. It wouldn't be useful to yell at the woman in this situation, and the orange haired girl was starting to think there was a major misunderstanding.

As fire hair finished, she finally spoke to the other girl obviously a little irritated as well. "The Great Mothers would be able to aid you, I am sure of it. They speak of lands far away and likely have a better mind and gatherings for how things work. Their length is far longer and stronger than mine is, at least." Cait's eyes looked up to her own glowing hair as if she was disappointed before continuing.

"It's obvious you are not satisfied here, for whatever the reason ... although you seem too closed up to speak of what your aims are, if you do know them."

Suddenly the native had an epiphany. She gestured outside before looking at the other woman. "Why not speak to the friends? I am certain of their ability to aid you, if you'd only be their friend too!" Cait was still upset about the entire fiasco earlier, and was hoping Charlotte would understand that small critters weren't exactly food.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

"Meh." Charlotte grunted when Cait started speaking. She had her doubts. Certainly they were likely older and knew more about the land than she did, but...it seemed a bit of a stretch that they'd be able to help. "My aims? I do not aim to live here for longer than I need too." Charlotte replied, shaking her head. She had no intention of hanging around forever, after all. She had something she wanted - or rather, she felt like she needed to do, after all. She couldn't do it sitting around here any longer than she needed too. However, at Cait's next suggestion, Charlotte turned around and gave Cait a deadpan expression.

"You are joking." She knew what that meant. She wanted to go out there and try...'talking' with a bird or something. Aside from the fact animals couldn't talk, her and them tended to not get along so well. Or perhaps rather...they got too friendly for her liking. Her old roommates pet Snow Hawk tended to get a liiiitle too friendly. And by that, she meant that it liked using her head as a nest when she was sleeping.

Annoying bird...though, she missed it.

"No." She simply replied. Cait would likely have to do a bit of tugging to get Charlotte out there.

[Roleplayer001]

Cait nodded, a little saddened as the other woman seemed to want to leave. But it was understandable. However, her reluctance to play nice irritated the native to no end. The native grasped the flute in her hand and pointed towards the door with a serious expression. It was obvious the other woman needed a little encouragement to make friends. "Come on, why do you hate them so? I am not teasing you. You need to learn to speak with your friends or things will turn out badly here for you." The orange haired girl was going to get this girl out of her cave one way or another.

If Charlotte hesitated for too long in leaving, her butt would suddenly start to sting as the shorter girl swatted her butt in encouragement with a smirk on her face. It had worked last time, so it would work this time. "Out, now." Cait would use whatever effort was necessary to get this woman outdoors.

The native then looked at the small fire from before, and after having the alchemist sit on the ground as she set up a small flame in the same spot before putting it into her flute. "You've been inside all day anyways, a little moon on your skin won't injure you!"

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

There she was, going on about 'friends' again. Charlotte really didn't like where this was going. At all. Turn out badly for her? She could handle a few wild animals. Easy enough to shoo them off. Charlotte simply glared slightly at Cait, frowning and not making any sort of movement at all to head outside. Of course, she had not expected the swat on her butt once again. Her eyes widened, face reddening in slight embarrassment as her glare towards Cait became cold enough to freeze even fire solid. Ugh, why did she have to invade her personal space so...easily? With a sigh, Charlotte finally gave up trying to resist.

"Fine!" She said irritably. "I'll go...sit outside or something." Charlotte walked outside, steps hitting the stone floor with obvious annoyance as she made her way out. Once outside, she took a seat near the mouth of the cave, crossing arms against her chest, largely ignoring Cait.

[Roleplayer001]

Cait ignored the other woman's irritated glare, instead focusing on her work. Plucking a few herbs from her backpack and combining them with a stray strand of her hair, the woman lowered them into the fire within the flute and watched the smoke rise and then lower itself to the ground as if it was some sort of fog.

Then the orange haired woman began to play, hair glowing in the starlight. The song was pretty and upbeat, although gradually grew more down in tone and mysterious. Various animals began to come around the local area, and the black haired woman would probably start to realize that there was a slight mental effect from whatever the reagents were as her thoughts became more primal and complex equations and thoughts were slightly harder to organize.

Pointing at a rabbit who wondered nearby the campfire and then looked at Charlotte curiously, the native spoke to the other woman with a smile. "See? Aren't they very friendly?" The fire haired girl moved closer to the irritated woman, lowering herself into a sitting position. "Why won't you say hi?"

"Hello! Who is this?" An excited voice filled the air, coming straight from the direction of the rabbit. Caitriona looked at the small thing, giggling slightly as she reached into her bag and offered the rabbit some greens.

"Sorry my good rabbit, I was talking to this miserable woman named Charlotte." The small creature looked up at the black haired woman, seeming to be curious.

"Miserable? Charlotte simply looks irritated to me, Cait. But what's her problem?"

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

Whatever Cait was doing, Charlotte was hardly interested in it. She was content to pout, glare, and sulk until Cait was satisfied with her being nibbled on my forest creatures. Whatever she was doing though, was obviously some sort of...chemical reaction. Alchemy of some sort? That is what it looked like, and despite Charlotte's annoyance she was a bit curious as to what the smoke was doing. It didn't seem to be harmful, and Cait was playing a fairly...relaxing tune.

In fact, it was getting a little...difficult to think. And that terrified Charlotte. It was brief, though, very brief.

But that fear was quickly suppressed by whatever this thick smoke was doing, and Caits flute playing. It definitely had some sort of mental effect, but Charlotte couldn't place what exactly it was. Any sort of complex or complicated thoughts were deadened, locked away behind some sort of...fog. In fact, Charlotte didn't even seem to be paying attention to Cait. She was too busy trying to think.

"H-huh?" Cait's words snapped Charlotte out of her thoughts, or at least, out of her trying to reclaim them. She looked over to the rabbit, frowning slightly at the creature with a small glare. She expected it to waltz up and start nibbling on her shoe. What she hadn't expected was for the rabbit to start speaking. She looked from the rabbit, then to Cait, then back to the rabbit. She had been drunk before. She had accidentally gotten high a few times off of some fumes. But never in a million years had she ever heard one speak. It took a moment for Charlotte to fully process this though, and ended up staring at the rabbit for a few seconds.

"E-eeeh?! D-did that rabbit just talk!?" Charlotte jumped up, moving swiftly back a few seconds as if she had just been confronted by some sort of demon. She looked back to Cait.

This...this wasn't right. Animals didn't talk. That was...impossible. She turned her head to Cait, and instead of seeming her normal serious self, she looked more than a little distressed.

"A-animals do not talk!" Was she going crazy after all this time? No, no, it was likely that smoke or whatever it was Cait had done. It obviously had some sort of psycho...psychost...mind-altering effects.

That was not okay, and she might just smack Cait for this. Her knowledge and mind was one of the few things she had in this world she allowed herself to feel happy and a small amount of pride over. She would not take anyone messing with that lightly.

"Cait, what did you do to me?!" It would be increasingly clear to Cait that Charlotte was becoming less and less okay with whatever this was by the second.

[Roleplayer001]

The native smiled for a few seconds as she watched realization run across Charlotte's face, although that was short lived as black hair started to question the world and obviously was sent into a small panic. Cait really didn't understand why it terrified the other woman so much ... wasn't it great to hear the voices of nature? Although other things the Great Mothers showed terrified even some of her people when they were done for the first few times. They had length, and it was strong. It would probably be best to try and calm the other woman down in a similar manner to how they calmed down others.

The orange haired girl approached Charlotte slowly before grabbing her hands and trying to calm her down. "Shhhh dark one. It is fine and normal and only temporary. My strands have this power, and I will explain ... later. Now shhhhh ... you had some questions about the land, did you not?" The shorter woman tried to have as sweet of a voice as possible, and hoped giving her hard working companion an objective would set her mind straight.

"Hey, is your buddy alright? She looks pale ..."

"She'll be fine in a moment. She just needs a little water." The orange haired woman passed the canteen into the other girl's hands. "Now let the calm of the forest fill you and ask away of the friends. You are a smart one, surely you can hold this for later and embark on the thoughts of the world while they last?" Hopefully helping to calm the other woman down, Caitriona started to play a song on her flute as if this was perfectly normal, trying to keep the music to calming tune. She didn't add anything extra though, thinking it was probably best to let the high drop from here.

The excited voice returned. "Anyways tall one, Charlotte! You're not from around here, are you? You smell distant to me, but nice!" The rabbit's sat down and tilted it's head at the tall woman.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Charlotte LaChance~

---

Strands have power? Her hair? That...that was a pretty amazing property for something to be able to do. Interesting, but that was all she could think of it with the current haze her thoughts were in.

"Calm of the forest?! This is the exact opposite of what I consider calming and normal!" Charlotte replied, barely registering the canteen being shoved into her hands. "Just...a little water? Oh yes, because that would make everything just a-okay! Just a little water would make all of this seem completely normal." Cait was right thought, she should try calming down. Just a little bit would help get her thoughts in order. Besides, that tune she was playing was pleasant enough at least...after a few seconds, the dark haired woman gave a tired, defeated sigh, retaking her seat and practically chugging the entire canteen of water before managing a mostly calm reply.

"No, I am not." Charlotte replied to the rabbit. Play it cool Charlotte. If she could remain level headed even when faced with a blood-thirsty, screaming, axe-wielding mountain barbarian, she could keep her cool and talk to a rabbit. "Really great observation there, rabbit." Despite her sarcasm, it would likely be obvious that she was still troubled.

Honestly, this was a...completely troubling development.

Logically speaking, animals shouldn't be able to talk. However if they could, also logically speaking...and they were as sentient and intelligent as people were...then wouldn't that effectively be the same as murdering another human being? Was that what Cait meant by 'friends'? In a literal sense instead of a more pet-like familiar sense?

She honestly felt a little sick.

[Roleplayer001]

Caitriona felt a little relieved as the other woman calmed down after another short outburst, a slight smile crossing her lips as the other woman downed the water as instructed. The native tried to be patient as this was almost certainly the first experience of this kind for the other woman. At a break in the song, the orange haired girl patted Charlotte's shoulder comfortingly a little bit before continuing her music in a lower volume so the rabbit could speak more clearly.

The furry creature replied to Charlotte after a bit, the natural exuberance and enthusiasm breaking through. "Thanks Charlotte!" The voice spoke of the small puff ball's complete trust in the other woman, although after a few seconds the rabbit turned it's head towards Caitriona. "Cait! News from overtheriver!" The native raised an eyebrow and nodded at the rabbit in an indication for it to continue. "It's spring, and Aislinn seems to have already begun her search! The highrocks shifted towards the latesun, although the wavefront has remained the same. The BlueFeathers will be distant for a bit!"

The orange haired girl stopped her music, giving the world an irritated look as Aislinn was mentioned although seeming glad as the blue feathers would be distant this year. Others would suffer, but their presence in the last year had taken a toll on the local animal populations. "Thank you my little one." Caitriona obviously wanted to continue the conversation, but a look over at her newest companion suggested that perhaps it was time to let the other woman process ... whatever she was processing. "May your travels be safe and carrots plentiful and springtime well enjoyed."

The rabbit let out what seemed like a high-pitched snicker before grabbing a last bit of food handed out by Caitriona and hopping off into the forest in an adorable manner. Caitriona played a quick tune to keep other animals away before crossing her legs more tightly and looking over towards her black haired companion. "See? Friends!" For a little bit the orange haired girl put on a false smile, before frowning slightly. "Charlotte I know I told you to stop being serious, but this expression suits you worse." The bard forced herself to put on another smile, then played a soft tune for the other woman in hopes it would make her feel a little more ... at peace.