[b]Village Square (Dawn)
Adrian Westley [/B] 

A set of bony fingers grabbed the plant by the stem and pulled sharply, uprooting the whole thing. Shaking the clumps of dirt off the stringy roots, Adrian gave the bushel a little sniff before tentatively biting into one of the leaves and chewing. Shuddering at the bitter taste, she tore all the leaves off and tossed them into the little burlap bag she had brought with her this morning. It was full of strange items - bulbs, weeds, nuts and fruit - some recogniseable, others torn from their defining features. 

Once she had filled the bag, Adrian went down to the village well and stood still until someone came by for water. They looked at her, then tentatively brought the bucket up using the crank. Adrian watched all of this with interest. She waited her turn, and did the same; but instead of pouring it into a subsidiary bucket, Adrian dumped the pail of water directly into the sack and gave it a good shake until the water ran out of it muddy, and the contents within were significantly cleaner than before. A few of the villagers laughed, for they were used to basins and cooking, and did not understand why Adrian risked covering her front with water just to wash a few foraged vegetables.

But Adrian was not listening to them. She was looking at the wagon in the stables at the end of the street. From all the stares, the one coming from there (and there was one coming from there, even though she could not see it clearly from this distance or make out who it is) set her on edge. Adrian was good at staring though. She stared back until she felt that uncomfortable feeling subside, then scurried up the path and into the inn.

[b]Bradle’s Worth Tavern
Victor Strade and Adrian Westley [/B] 

Victor was not a morning person. Adrian had been capable of slipping out in the dark, once she had woken up, to go on her little foraging trip unattended. Now that she had secured enough food for breakfast she was a little less subtle in her approach, and though the shutting of the door did not awaken her companion, the thump of one of the many roots and tubers she had scavenged made the disheveled, greasy man jolt in his chair.

The sight that awaited him was Adrian with her clothes soaked down the front. She was sat before a generous heap of foliage and was quite complacently chewing her way through the leaves first. She stared at him blankly. Victor stared back for a silent moment letting her crunching noises fill the air before asking with a worried tone: “Adrian. What’re you eating- what’s in your mouth?”

“Leaf,” came the muffled reply.

“Adrian spit it out you don’t know-“ he cut himself off, pushing the chair aside and then reaching for her and squeezing her cheeks and holding a hand before her mouth to get her to spit out whatever it was. “Adrian- Adrian. Spit it out. Stop.” He egged her on. A soggy clump of green reluctantly slid out onto his palm.

“Hungry, Victor...” Mumbled Adrian confusedly.

“By god- you don’t just go picking random plants, Adrian! The book! You read up on them, all these common ones are documented!” He grimaced at the clump of leaf on his hand before tossing it out of the window. Adrian closely followed him, peeking over his shoulder.

“Book? What book?” 

Victor stared at her in disbelief before slowly presenting her with the handbook he was using for himself - a common guide to Telurian herbs. Adrian stared at it in her palm. She turned it around then back again, and leafed through the pages. She gave it a sniff then started to rip one of the pages out.

Victor let out an audible yelp, too late to react to the tearing of the first page he managed to snatch it away before anymore damage could be done. “-NO-!” he scolded, sticking the torn page back into its place and shutting the book. “Don’t do that again.” he regained his composure and standing off his chair with a groan.

“Okay.” There was a pause. Tentatively, Adrian decided to investigate. “Why? How do you use it?”

Victor gave Adrian a long pregnant stare, unsure of how to treat her question. “... you read it.” he lowly whispered in disbelief.

“I do not know how to do that,” Adrian replied nervously. “Everything I know was dem-..de-...” She stumbled over the word for a moment. “ It was shown to me. Or told to me.”

“Okay, well maybe one day someone with more patience can teach you.” he tried moving the situation on. “Go, pack your things. And don’t eat unknown plants.”

Adrian stared at the food she had gathered wistfully, and packed it up into her bag, for it was one of the few belongings she had. She opted to munch on some of the smaller berries and nuts on the sly when Victor wasn't looking but it didn't stop her stomach from gurgling. This was exactly what she endeavoured to do whilst Victor went into conversation with the somewhat begrudging barkeep, and she quickly hid her bag behind her back when Victor distractedly called her to his side. She chewed on some roots as they wandered down the street, towards the stables where Adrian felt those eyes on her back. She jogged to catch up with Victor and tugged gingerly at his sleeve. “Be careful,” she suggested.

Victor didn’t need Adrian to tell him that. Even though he’d faced similar situations before, it was always a sometimes pleasant and sometimes not so pleasant thrill to be beckoned by a stranger. Obviously with Adrian in his care this all felt too suspicious but that didn’t prevent him from approaching the wagon parked at the end of the stables. “We’ll see what she wants.” he notified Adrian.

As they neared the wagon Victor voiced out: “Hello?” in an attempt to catch the mysterious stranger's attention.
([@VeridianSeeker])