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 Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:34 pm
 It was a few weeks before Truth had the nerve to revisit Tiger Balm's little shop in her alleyway. He had intended to go back anyway, but from the moment he walked in, it was clear his need for her herbal knowledge and remedies was greater than the reason he first tracked her down.
The young unicorn had clenched in his mouth a basket of brilliantly-colored wild flowers, at least some of which Tiger Balm was likely to recognize - a deep indigo flower known as Blue Lobelia, a vivid spray of blossoms commonly called Butterfly Weed, and pale, 5-petaled blooms with curled stamin and light lilac petals with gradually darker tips, often called Rapunzel as a species of Rampion Bellflower.
However, the state in which Truths was in was not so pretty as the contents of his basket. Angry, bright welts and marks of a rash stood out on his legs, underbelly, and face. They were a little hard to make out due to their similarity to the foal's natural coloring, but the grief they were causing him was more obvious. He kept scratching at them with a hind hoof or his horn if he could reach.
Setting down the basket in her doorwary, he called gruffly, "Lip Balm? You in here?"Ruriska ((As usual, let me know if there's anything I need to change!))
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 10:28 pm
“Yeah, hang on a sec!” Tiger’s Balm called out from the back as she finished chopping the last batch of vegetables and turned the heat on under her pot. Not a tisane or healing brew this time, but rather, her dinner. It would need a couple of hours for the pumpkin to cook through and she wanted to get it on early. With her job done, the Flutter left the pot and walked into the store, brushing past the faded grey curtain that was her version of a store. Her first reaction to finding her guest was Hard Truths was ‘what now?’ followed by a roll of her eyes as she noticed his current itchy predicament. Even from a distance she could tell just from the way he was standing that he had a skin irritation. “Alright, what did you fall in?” She asked as she approached. Those rashes certainly looked nasty up close. Tiger Balm inspected the flower basket, lifting a lobelia flower with a hoof. If he’d ingested any of that while picking it there was going to be trouble. Kitomyx As always, everything's good. ;D
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 7:26 am
"You don't need to come out," he answered, turning back toward the alleyway. "I just wanted to be sure you were...in...here..."
Though he had decided on leaving the moment he heard her voice, the unexpected sight of the grown flutter stopped him cold. Recalling how Mooncake had just recently gotten Old Enough himself, Truths began to wonder if flutters really did grow faster than other phonies. Then again, he had no idea how old Tiger was; perhaps older than he or Mooncake. All he knew was that the last time he'd seen her, Tiger Balm had been smaller than him.
This was no longer the case. Caught staring when she asked her question, he shook his head to clear it before clearing his throat as well. For some reason he could not explain, the sudden proximity of the now Old Enough mare made him somewhat uncomfortable. It was all he could do not to take a few steps back.
"I - it's nothing," he insisted, attempting to regain his composure as he pretended her growth wasn't all that remarkable. "Possibly poison oak or maybe ivy, from what I read. Hell if I know." Truths rolled his eyes." As I understand it, they're not really poisonous, so it's not as if I'm going to die or anything." The colt nodded toward the flowers.
"Those are for you. I borrowed a library book about medicinal flowers. Hopefully I brought the right ones. I don't quite have your eye for plants, but if I recall correctly, you mentioned something about girls not being that picky. Assuming you consider yourself feminine enough for that to apply to you." He couldn't help it anymore. He had to scratch his side. "...Consider it payment for your help in locating those herbs from before. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take my leave." He didn't want to owe her even more - particularly after all the trouble he had gone through to find and gather those flowers.
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 5:31 pm
It hadn’t occurred to Tiger Balm that the last time she had met Hard Truths, she’d been somewhat more diminutive. She’d settled into her new Old Enough self easily and hadn’t looked back. “Nah, you won’t die,” Tiger Balm agreed, “but you’ll regret not asking for help. Poison ivy rashes aren’t exactly a pleasant experience.” Her gaze dropped back to the flowers, surprised. Yes, they did indeed all have medicinal purposes. She could use them. But he’d actually collected them for her? Tiger had presumed they were for his little girlfriend he had been so keen on last time. Well then… “Fella, you walk out that door and I’ll tackle you the ground. You scoffed at my a**-kicking skills before, I assure you now you wouldn’t stand a chance.” Tiger Balm was a healer at heart and there was no way she was going to let someone with an ailment she could easily help with just wander off. “I’m going to make you an ointment while you sit there like a good boy.” She pushed the flower basket gently aside. “And hey, thanks for the flowers… they’re really good cuttings.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:37 pm
Truths grunted in response to Tiger's warning. He certainly agreed about the rashes as an experience, but in regards to asking for help, he wasn't so sure. It almost seemed the lesser of two evils to let his body suffer instead of his pride. He truly detested being in others' debt, and after just having paid off his previous, it wouldn't have done to have incurred even more.
The threat to tackle him sincerely worried him this time, however, and he abandoned all hopes to leave. While he might have been able to take her on before, the unicorn had no doubt that the flutter would have him pinned in seconds now that she was grown if she set her mind to it. Yes, he was smaller, and there was some amount of humiliation to be considered...but after the uneasiness he'd felt at her recent proximity, his main concern was that he didn't know what he'd do if she ended up on top of him.
"...I don't doubt that," he replied grudgingly in response to her 'assurance', "but somehow I feel that those cuttings I did manage to collect aren't sufficient enough to cover both last time's and this time's favors - no matter how good you say they are. If you're going to treat me, then I'm going to have to request you come up with some sort of favor or other form of repayment that I can give in return."
He kept as straight a face as he could to indicate he was serious about the matter, but then he began scratching his rash again as he added unhappily, "As long as it isn't more flowers. I don't think I'm going to go looking for strange plants I see in books anymore until I can correctly identify every single one I encounter..." His gaze drifted to the wide variety of Tiger's herbs for sale as his voice trailed off. At least until she called him a 'good boy', causing his head to snap up indignantly.
"What do I look like? A dog?" he asked as he sat, though he realized the irony of his question when he found himself trying to scratch at his rashes with his hind hoof. Embarrassed, he tucked it back under him, studying the floorboards as Tiger thanked him. "...You're welcome," he murmured. "Normally I find the idea of giving flowers to be cliche, but in your case, I thought it was appropriate." The sounds of delight that she had made during that trek into the forest some time back had never been forgotten. "I hope you...find them useful."
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 11:14 pm
Pleased he had taken her advice and was staying put, Tiger Balm got to work grabbing what she needed. She already had a base ointment, something she made regularly due to high demand and it would only need a few tweaks. The older phony seemed quite content to leave him there as she went about her work until he said something that got right on her nerves. "Repayment?" She echoed, pausing in the middle of poking her head into a cabinet. She settled back, giving him her best unimpressed look. "I’d say it's sweet you bothered to get me flowers, but if it’s just because you hate being in someone’s debt... well…" Tiger Balm finished grabbing what she needed and then slammed the cabinet door. "I guess you really didn't learn anything about girls after all."Tiger Balm gave a wry smile. "I’ll find them useful. But listen here mutt, I don’t do this because I want people to feel indebted to me and I sure don’t treat people expecting them to pay me back, especially not like this. You wanna gift me for helping you out, fine. But don’t expect me to ask for it. Especially not from a kid."Come up with a favour just to make him feel better? Whatever. The Flutter left him there and finished the ointment, returning moments later with the little tub. "Alright, show me the bits you can’t reach and I’ll do them now."
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:33 pm
Truths blinked, looking puzzled. "Would you rather I not have done anything...?" he grumbled a little disdainfully. The way he traced circles on the ground and avoided her gaze suggested his guilt, however. "I never claimed to know anything about girls in the first place. I doubt I ever will." He thought he understood what she was really getting at, but to acknowledge that...? Well, that would have told more about him than he wished anyone to know.
He wasn't supposed to be a nice phony who did things just because; he needed to have an excuse so people didn't question his established self-image. The little unicorn sighed, exasperated. The rash wasn't making him feel much better, either.
"Mutt?" he repeated, outraged. "What did I do to deserve being called that?" The colt scratched furiously at his foreleg. His fury lessened, however, as Tiger continued. He knew she was right.
"I...I never expected you to ask for anything," Truths conceded. "I know you're selfless. It's admirable. But...that's where you and I are different." He met her gaze. "I don't like accepting anything from others unless I know I can repay them. It's a sort of code I try to keep. So let me rephrase my earlier statement." He took a breath, searching for the appropriate words. "If you would...be so kind as to...give me a list of herbs or a chore or something I could do for you, it would help me out a lot. I wouldn't feel so...indebted, and I'd be able to sleep better."
He shook his head. "In truth, I know what you've done for me both in the past and now - what you've done for all phonies, really - cannot be repaid with something as meager as a basket of medicinal plants. In fact, there's probably nothing I could give you nor do that could equal the help you offer to others with your talents. But still...it pacifies my conscience a little to at least try. So...will you allow me to do that?"
Glancing at the tub dubiously, the unicorn got that awkward feeling again as he thought of the mare being in such close proximity once more. What was this? Shyness? Since when had he felt this shy, even in front of girls? If he wasn't so naturally red in color, he was pretty certain it'd be obvious he was blushing. As it was now, he wasn't even positive his face hadn't darkened from vermilion to crimson. "I think I can manage on my own, thank you," he said, reaching for the ointment.
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Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 6:55 pm
“I’m not selfless,” Tiger corrected with a shake of her head. “Not by a long shot.” Simply plying her craft gave her the most joy and while helping people was great as well, she couldn't let someone go ahead and call her selfless. Not when she’d quite happily give someone the runs if they pissed her off. There was far more to her and what she did than sheer altruism. The Flutter listened and eventually nodded. She understood where he was coming from and she couldn't fault him for not liking to be in someone’s debt, whether from kindness or otherwise. “Sure whatever,” was all she said, as she gave a shrug. “I’ll find you something to do. You don’t need to go on.” Her words seemed flippant but she smiled knowingly. Tiger Balm snorted and held the ointment away. “Don’t argue with me on this one.” Kitomyx sorry this took so long QoQ
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Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 10:27 am
"Actions speak louder than words," he retorted. "And that's not what I'm understanding from them."
"Thank you," he answered, feeling somewhat relieved. But that relief was short-lived when he realized Tiger Blam wasn't going to let him put the ointment on himself.
"What?!" he cried. "Why not? I - I have this thing about other phonies touching me!" the unicorn stammered, embarrassed.
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Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 5:15 pm
"Oh whatever, I'm can't be bothered arguing with you."Tiger Balm dropped the ointment in front of him and grabbed up her basket of flowers. She turned away, stalking towards her back room. "Get lost. Come back tomorrow at 9AM. I'm sure I'll have thought of something for you to do."
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Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 8:22 am
Exhaling deeply, the colt wiped the sweat from his brow before snatching up the ointment. And then the flutter mare was retreating.
"Oh. Alright," he said, feeling a little suspicious of such an easy victory. It seemed almost everything was a struggle with Tiger Balm, but then again, hadn't he done enough to get his way? At least for now. Perhaps she'd make him pay for it the following morning. "...Thanks," he said grudgingly.
And then later, because he wasn't sure if he wanted her to hear or not, "...I didn't originally pick those with repayment in mind, if that counts for anything." He just remembered the excited noises she'd made when among the wild flora and the comment about girls being happy just to have been thought of.
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 3:33 pm
The Flutter stopped, looking over her shoulder at the young colt. Then she smiled, just a quirk of the mouth. "It does," she said and then was gone, disappearing behind the back room curtain.
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