[center][h2][color=F0E68C]Asteria[/color][/h2][/center][hr][hr]
Though she'd done her best to gouge out the rock, she'd made a very shallow indentation at best, destroying her rudimentary knife in the process. Creating a proper bowl/mortar would take hours. What she’d done so far would have to suffice. Fetching the Bugward. Kilm and Nullven plants, she set to work. First, she examined the Healing herb Ed had given her, so she’d see its full properties. She found a decent sized oval-shaped rock, and first ground the whole Bugward flower into paste. Next, she added the Kilm’s sap and roots, mixing it with the previous paste thoroughly. Before proceeding with the last plant, she tested the mixture of the two she’d combined so far. Asteria nicked her own tail slightly with a tooth corner, then put the paste on it, observing the effects. Finally, she added half of the Nullven to the paste, made another cut on her tail, and tested the final product on it again, noting whether the Nullven had changed the paste’s properties in any way despite in not quite having been an extract. The remaining half of the Nullven, she ate, though she’d have preferred to make a tea out of it.

When her medical dabbling was done, she settled in front of the hole and spent the remaining of her time on guard meditating. She closed her eyes, choosing to focus on the nature’s sounds, breathing deeply. Thinking it might speed up getting the meditation skill, she activated mana sense, letting the natural mana surrounding her permeate her being, actively draining a part of it. If at any point she got the feeling of having too much mana, she would also attempt to reverse the effect and return some of what she’d gained back into the earth, air, and to whatever metaphysical presence the energy-mana might have taken shape as. When Ed tapped her to trade turns, she gratefully joined mother rat in their temporary hide-out and fell asleep. 

Early morning dawned sooner than she’d preferred, but nonetheless, she heeded Ed’s call and woke up, stretching all muscles a bit. [color=F0E68C]“Will do, let me just try and get mother rat to stay here. Or at least make sure she won’t be concerned about our whereabouts…”[/color] saying so, she went to the still sleeping dire rat, touching a paw to her gently. She closed her eyes and concentrated on what she wanted to convey. Over the telepathic link, she sent feelings of reassurance and safe, but laced with her desire and expectation for her mother to be patient, calm, cautious, and to wait for them at home until they returned. Then, she followed Ed in the direction of the shack, muffling her sounds as she did so.

[hider=Action summary]
Examines the healing herb with Plant analysis I.
Grinds the Bugward and Kilm into paste.
Nicks her own tail and tests the paste.
Adds half of the Nullven to the paste.
Makes another nick on her tail and tests the new paste on it.
Eats the other half of the Nullven.
Practices meditation, trying to get a better hang of it with the help of Mana Sense and Mana Drain.
Goes to sleep once Ed takes her watch.
Stretches for a few minutes upon waking up.
Makes telepathic contact to Mother rat to get her to stay at the hole while Ed and her go out and about.
Follows Ed stealthily.
[/hider]