R* [PRP] Deadwood (Davvyd + Obwain)

[Ellanoire]

Davvyd had hardly been back in Homewood a day after his quest at Grandfather Tree when Fulsome presented the idea of heading back to the Ruins. Fulsome had heard from a different aqua about a stash of books, and he couldn't resist checking them out. Fulsome also mentioned another expander who could have a look at the strange trees Davvyd had found. While the friend certainly wasn't a pretty doe, he seemed like an alright fellow, so they'd all set off through the Barrens together. Plus it wasn't wise to travel alone, even in normal times, yet alone strange ones like these.

After their trek throught Barrens they'd arrived at the Ruins tired, dusty but unscathed. Davvyd had left Fulsome to search for the mysterious books, and was now doing his best to remember just where the strange trees were. Golyath hovered over him, trying to direct from above.

"Remember bud, don't eat any berries this time." Golyath chirped indignantly, not wanting to be reminded of his last mishap. Davvyd nodded to Obwain, "You too friend. Last time, they were poisonous. I know how to heal it, but better not to tempt fate."

As they walked down a row of dilapidated buildings, Davvyd become more sure of his surroundings. The Ruins could be a confusing place for newcomers, but he'd been out here many times before. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the trees are right through here. Past that break in the buildings." Golyath zipped forward, scouting ahead.

Sure enough, where the tumbling down buildings ended there was the dead grove of strange trees. Davvyd glanced to Obwain. "I haven't seen anything that looks like them in Homewood. You think you can heal 'em? Are they even worth healing?" Davvyd was pretty sure that not every plant was worth healing. It was little different than what he did, after all.

The trees were tall and spindly, and very very dead looking. He'd be impressed if his new acquaintance could do much of anything to them.  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

Obwain didn't know Fulsome well but knew him in the way many Expanders knew each other - allies working towards common goals. So when he'd been approached by Fulsome and his friend, he'd been fairly open to the idea of travelling with them. Besides, the ruins were dangerous alone and he'd be pretty dumb not to take a chance at exploring them with a Vivify there to make sure he made it back in one piece.

Traveling through the Barrens was never fun, but they did it anyways. He never thought he'd be glad to see the stone and metal towers of the Others, though. Fulsome left them alone and it was just him and his new friend Davvyd.

He raised a brow at the faery and then at Davvyd, but nodded agreeably. "No berries. Got it."

He followed them through, a little excited to see these trees they'd been searching for. He was happy to let the other buck take the lead, as he'd never spent much time in the ruins at all and wasn't about to let himself get lost. The trees in question were... unique, to say the least. Tall, weedy, and not particularly attractive in their death.

"I've never seen anything like them either," he admitted. "Not inside Homewood or outside it. They must be unique to this area." He drew closer and squinted up at them, inspecting the bark and the branches. "I'm a new botanic, so I don't know that I can do much, but I can try giving them some sap and seeing if I can bring one back to life even a little?" He wasn't quite sure if that would work at all since he'd never tried before, but he was willing to give it a shot.

"Maybe it'll be something fruit-bearing and useful."

ellanoire

 

[Ellanoire]

Davvyd nodded. "Well, I'm glad I wasn't wrong and these trees are all over Homewood and I just didn't seem 'em. Then we dragged you out here for nothing." He laughed. "I guess I'll just uh ... step back and let you do your thing? Can't say I know anything about healing plants. Only nouls."

Davvyd took a few steps back, not wanting to crowd Obwain. Golyath settled down on his head, to watch the action. "I hope they grow something tasty." Golyath did love fruit. Maybe a little too much.

"Don't think you should be the first one to test 'em if they do buddy. Remember last time?" Golyath grumbled, but didn't say anything else.

DarkHeartedSorrow

 

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

Obwain wasn't really sure he could say he knew anything about healing plants yet, either. But he was willing to give it a shot, at the very least. He got closer to one of the trees and examined it closer. In theory, he should be able to give it some sap and if it wasn't too far gone, maybe they could get a glimpse at what the tree could be. He didn't think it would last very long, but it would give them an idea.

As he examined it, it listened to the two's chatter. "I dunno, seems like the best time to find out if a fruit is poisonous is with a vivify."

There wasn't much more he could do to delay despite his nerves, so he took a deep breath and touched his horn to the tree. Eyes closed, he reached to his weak magic and channeled it into what would be the sapwood of these trees. What he didn't really know or consider, though, was that the long-dead vascular tissue would be resistant to stretching to allow the sap in. Unfortunately, that meant that he channeled way too much into the tree, and with his eyes close he couldn't see the wood expanding. In a split second the trunk of the tree creaked, then groaned, then finally snapped.

The entire tree top came crashing town on Obwain. He realized too late and tried to run, but the tree caught him first, knocking him out with its heavy branches and beating up his body. He crumbled to the ground, leg bent at a slightly off ankle and fully unconscious.

Ellanoire

 

[Ellanoire]

Davvyd watched the other noul work his magic from a safe distance. He didn't know if healing plants was risky, but better safe that sorry. Things seemed to be going more or less okay, until Golyath pointed out the trunk. "Does it look like it's getting fatter?"

The faery was right. The trunk of bulging outward. Not a lot, but some. "Yeah. But maybe it's supposed to. I don't know what healing a plant is supposed to look like."

The faery chirped. "I don't think like-" the rest of his response was cut off and the tree exploded. Davvyd ducked, trying to avoid any shrapnel. He stood up as the air cleared, quickly checking on Golyath who seemed just fine. ... The same could not be said for Obwain.

Davvyd rushed towards him. "Well s**t ..." The dead tree had crashed onto him. His leg was sticking out at an unnatural angle and he appeared to be unconscious. Who knew healing a plant could be dangerous. Davvyd frowned. Obwain didn't seem to be coming around on his own, though surely the hunk of tree pressing onto his lungs wasn't helping matters. Davvyd bent down and shoved the big piece off the fallen noulicorn with his shoulder. It was easy enough to move, being so dead and dry. Some sap seemed to be leaking out of it the end. All around him was still a tangle of shattered dead branches and tree bits, but you didn't often get to choose where you performed a healing.

Davvyd closed his eyes, and reached for his now very familiar magic. He used to to probe the fallen noulicorn, and immediately was able to detect the broken leg. He figured it would be best to solve that before trying to wake him up. Healing broken bones wasn't exactly pain free. Davvyd eased his magic towards the break, willing the bones to knit back together. He carefully directed his power, trying to ensure a smooth mending. Wouldn't do to have this fellow unable to walk back to Homewood. After prodding the bone with magic to ensure it was properly knit back together.

Satisfied the situation with the bone was sorted, he moved on to attempting to restore Obwain's consciousness. It was hard to tell if the bump to the head was the culprit, or the shock from having his leg broken. Regardless, it was a tricky thing to manage. Davvyd very carefully used his magic to pull some of his own lifeforce and push it into Obwain. He carefully tried to weigh the amount, not wanting to take too much. If he knocked himself out they'd still be in a pack of trouble. He had to give just enough to wake the other noulicorn up. Then they'd need to find Fulsome and sleep off this particular adventure.

"Can you hear me bud? Took quite the bump there from the tree?" Davvyd was relatively sure he'd managed to pull the healing off, but the bit with the lifeforce transfer was still pretty new to him. It certainly left him feeling exhausted. He yawned before Obwain could even respond.

Golyath circled overhead, keeping a lookout for the pair.

DarkHeartedSorrow

 

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

There wasn't really an in-between. One moment Obwain was awake and running, then there was black nothingness.

And then, thankfully, there was Davvyd's voice. It was muffled at first, like he was talking underwater, but as seconds slugged past like millennia, Obwain finally understood. He blinked his eyes open and immediately groaned and shut them again tight against the barrage of light. His head swam, and his leg throbbed slightly. But he felt something pushing all of that out of the way, numbing it and making it easier to breathe.

Slowly, he opened one eye and peered at Davvyd blearily. "I'm alive, just give an old man a second."

He could feel the vestiges of Davvyd's magic and realized it must have been much worse than he even knew. Certainly he wouldn't be without pain, his whole body throbbed dully, but Davvyd must have healed something much worse. With a sharp inhale he finally pushed upward and shakily got to his feet. It ached, but wasn't impossible.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see what the sap was doing and that was stupid. Thank you for saving me." He finally noticed the yawns and frowned. "Lets get back to Fulsome, I think we both need to lie down a bit." Or like, for a whole day at least. He blinked hard again to clear the last bits of fuzziness from his head and get his bearings. "Come on, bud, this way," he said and limped off.  

[ll Grandfather Tree ll]

REDEEMED

rolling for exploration - Ellanoire

 

[ll Grandfather Tree ll]

REDEEMED

rolling for exploration - DarkHeartedSorrow

 

[ll Grandfather Tree ll]

REDEEMED

rolling for equipment