By the time Entangled reached the makeshift shop, she had heard quite a few tales about the doe who had dreamed the name of Drooling Blood. As a dedicated researcher, it was in her best interest to realize her limitations - she was only one doe, a mite among Matope's extensive swampland. She was mortal and, while still technically young at the moment, she would one day die. At first she had been content to wander the land with some hope of figuring out how it all fit together, but now... Now she needed direction.
Entangled had been to the edge of the swamp and seen the plains beyond. She had wandered the gravel-rough edge of the marsh that led to the overpowering smell of salt beyond. In her journey, she had given birth twice - both in shame of foolish dalliance. While she had been no sort of mother to these children -just as her own mother had a higher path to wander- the realization that both of these broods were of age (and indeed, the last she's spoken to her father, she'd been told Facade had gotten herself thick with child) was not... ineffectual on her perception of self.
Now, when she saw another kimeti in her trek, she would ask rather pointedly about what the swamp had to offer in the way of interesting. Of course, she'd get answers like 'story-telling night' or, fauna forbid, 'you're looking at it' often enough, but every now and then, she'd get a good lead. This pond holds the most unique fish, a kimeti might tell her, or this insect can grow so big it preys upon birds. There's a doe in this part of the swamp that makes concoctions out of beetle guts.
Entangled had always known that there were certain things one could do with plants. Her father was well-versed in the sort of flora that crept along Matope's underbed, or clung to the trees. He had made her eat nettles the first time she'd been pregnant (and, truth be told, a little afraid) and had advised her against the plants she would surely not be allowed to eat until the matter was over and done. She was aware that some animals were poisonous in the way that they could sting and kill her if she wasn't mindful of where she walked, but there was so much of that in this world. The thought of using a creature's body for something beyond a diet was... intriguing.
So here she was, drifting through a copse of trees where the ground seemed like it had endured the beating of quite a few hooves in its time. Entangled keened her ears and searched the bends of bark with her sanguine eyes. She could hear the clamor of insects nearby, which was a good sign, seeing as she was searching for some sort of spitting beetle. It was nearly noontime, so she didn't expect to find Drooling Blood herself at her sales post, but she was willing to wait. It would do her good to sit a while, even if her mind whirled on incessantly.
Behind her, long-limbed and proud, strode a crane. He didn't stray far from his doe this far from water, though he tipped his head this way and that on the occasion that the light through the trees caught a leaf in a way that made it shimmer appealingly.
