[PRP Sauti] A Word of Advice | Jakkoa and Uquin

[scarlett arbuckle]

Ever since she was a child, Padma had always eagerly joined him on his frequent trips through Jauhar, Tale, and Sauti, and so in the past few years Uquin had stopped even asking if she wanted to go. After all, why wouldn't she? In Yera, tending to the garden and her chores, the girl moved with little energy, stir crazy even within a day of coming home from a trip, and when they traveled he saw a light in her eyes that conveyed her pleasure at being out on the road, seeing the sights.

So when, this time, he was due to head to Sauti to trade for Zenan goods for his healing stores, he was shocked when his daughter decided to stay home instead. The two hadn't been separated for years, not since before... well. Weeks into his trip to Sauti, Uquin knew he still had a good amount of time ahead of him before he could consider heading home. In his circuits through eastern Tale and Sauti, he had become something of a familiar face, and the moment he ran into a group of wind earthlings he knew he'd have his hands full tending to their needs.

He didn't normally mind it... he was, after all, a healer and he was eager to use his expertise to treat those who had gone a length of time without seeing someone for their ailments, but with Padma on his mind he felt impatient and itched to move on.

Grinding his teeth to keep from snapping at a young man who was looming over him as he inspected a discolored bruise on an older woman's leg. Leaning back, Uquin finally nodded to the calm old woman, "It's just a bruise. It doesn't seem tender, so I doubt there is a break.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Yellow-orange.

The weight of his late aunt’s prayer beads hung at Jakkoa’s hip, tucked and fastened by the sash he wore there, and they reflected the morning light in their curves. A new feeling, still. Though he had made his decision to take the healer’s path some weeks prior, they were not familiar yet, and a niggling whim at the back of his mind cautioned that they might never be. What if, for all the time that he carried them, they were still ‘his aunt’s’ beads in his own mind, and not his? Ever an alien addition, holding him out to be something that he never became? What if the choice was premature, or ill-founded, given his struggles to tap into the magic necessary to execute even basic spells?

Jakkoa tucked the thought away, smiling warmly instead to a passerby as he made his way down the simple, half-cobbled dirt path that ran its way through the small farmer’s village of Tind. Though his family was there on a social visit — paying a greeting to early friends of his father — that in itself was in part an excuse to take a longer break from travel due to his sister’s illness and give the family a much needed reprieve. While he hesitated to call the resulting feeling he experienced ‘restlessness’, there was a quiet energy in him, and being already on the cusp of his decision to travel out further on his own regardless, he saw no reason not to further his inquiries in their current location while he had the time and opportunity afforded him.

After assessing the atmosphere and faces of those up and about in the morning hour, he eventually opted to step inside the single full ‘shop’ in the area: a modest wooden building, likely constructed by the owners themselves, given its hearty but simple design structure, and waiting with its door propped open by a small stone. At the counter, a girl near to his age — perhaps a year or two older — waited, chewing idly at something with her focus turned down to some small, in-progress wooden carving that she was chipping away at. He scuffed his boots on the front entrance rug, clearing his throat and tucking a finger back through his hair to draw her attention at least briefly up to him, before making his way into the store, and around.

Knowing that making some form of sale was priority and tended to foster favor in any merchant, he took the time to move about, studying the selection before taking a small handful of wrapped candies from a sweet display and bringing them to the front. He smiled. “Good morning.”

The girl, already setting aside her wood-piece, glanced over him, gaze lingering a half-second on his ears before returning to his face as she returned the look. “This it for you?”

“It is,” he said. “Though…” As he sifted through a small coin pouch at his hip, he continued, “…I was hoping, if you know the area, you might be able to help me with something…” He set two coins on the counter, her eyes studying him.

“Lived here all my life,” she said after a moment. “What’s bitin’ you?”

The corner of his lip edged up, expression warming. “I’ve only been through Tind a handful of times myself,” he admitted. “But I was wondering if there were any local physicians, or traveling healers currently in the area? Our family knew of one who frequented here, but we heard that she moved further north…”

“Ohhh, aye, yeah, Ms. Kaniss, was it? Her daughter’s still here,” the girl said. “Runs a small spot just up the road, though she specializes most days in being more of an animal doctor if you get me, for the locals. Illis is her, and she’d be happy to talk to ya, I’m sure. There’s also old Gunther. He used to practice, but I don’t know how great his eyesight is these days…”

For several minutes, they talked, discussing the local options. It wasn’t until he was thanking her, though, and stepping to leave, that she snapped her fingers.

“Oh, oi, and there’s a traveler—what’s his name, I forget. He drops through every so often makin’ his way up the long haul from out back in Tale through to the snowy mountains. He’s a favorite when he’s about, and has made his way through a great many places, so if you’ve got a real question on your hands, might be useful to see…Uquir, I think…Uqim…U…something like that.”

After blinking, Jak smiled again, tucking his purchase into his pocket and nodding. “Thank you kindly. I’ll be sure to seek him out, and I appreciate you taking the time…”

“Oh, yeah…” She flashed her teeth in an almost playful grin, gesturing about the place, empty of customers in morning hour. “Real generous of me, seeing how busy we are.”

“Incredibly,” Jakkoa agreed, and — after attaining some guess from the girl where she thought the traveling man might be, as well as his appearance — he set out.

All things considered, it took less time than he anticipated.  

[scarlett arbuckle]

The Only Black Uke

"That bruise looks awful! You can't tell me that a bruise is all it is!" The son of his patient objected, gesturing to the old wind woman's injury. It was painful to look at... a spidery cluster of green and yellow discoloration, tinging to a purple-blue at the center. Indeed, on a younger person Uquin would be tempted to agree with the young man. But, now, having already concluded with his prognosis, the leaf man looked up and fixed him with a harsh stare and a scowl, before instead turning his attention to his actual patient. The woman, at least in her seventies, sat serenely before him, her wrinkled hands patting down her skirt as she lowered it once again over her wound.

"Shush, child - the healer knows what he's doing." She scolded kindly, moving to stand without any effort. Despite this, her son rushed to her side and grasped her arm for support she clearly didn't need, features contorted with worry. "Listen to your mother. She knows her own body and its limits better than you." Uquin responded, voice dismissive as he turned to his bag, shifting through it as he searched for something. It clearly hit a nerve with the young man, who froze where he was and turned back to him, furious. "You aren't even going to heal her? You can't just use magic to make it better?!"

Uquin made a face, but ignored him... instead continuing his search until he finally retrieved a small parcel, wrapped in embroidered cloth. His face softened as he unwound the cloth, gently setting it aside as he revealed a small jar, sealed with wax at the top. Uncorking it, he fished out a seperate small pouch and measured out a careful dosage, only stopping when he was satisfied it was enough. Perhaps he even took a bit longer carefully eyeing the contents of the sack, if only to watch the impatient man shift from foot to foot infront of him. Finished, Uquin stood with a quiet grunt of discomfort and held out a small cloth bag filled with a fragrant orange powder. "... Fine. To stop your fussing, have her drink this. Make sure it is mixed with warm milk each morning for the next week."

"Finally! Thank you, we will." Holding the pouch reverently, the man fished out a handful of coins (Oban in origin, though it seemed to have hit it off with many in the north after the war, due to their convenience) and dropped them into Uquin's hand before hurrying off. No doubt the fool thought they were some sort of magic or rune infused concoction, judging by the price he paid, so Uquin wasn't too quick to correct him, or to tell him that it was simply a ground root that energized the blood.

Shaking his head and murmuring disparagingly under his breath, Uquin knelt once more to close the pack. He was tempted to throw the bag over his aldabuck, Ishtu's, back and leave the settlement during this brief respite in customers, but... if his previous visits were anything to go by, soon enough another group would amble along for treatment. Bent as he was, organizing his goods, Uquin ignored anyone who came up just yet, instead focusing on his bags.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

“You can’t just use magic to make it better?!”

Sensing that he was arriving in the middle of something, Jakkoa lingered out of range of notice at first, listening as the conversation already underway carried forward and — fortunate for him — finished shortly after. Further satisfied by the content that this was indeed the man he was looking for, he waited, eyeing the older-woman-and-younger-man pair as they exited and then staying a moment longer where he was before moving in on quiet feet, gaze already studying the man.

Long, deep red hair, straight as described and held back simply. Deeper tan skin, showing the signs of early aging — the wear of travel and a persistent sun — but not enough so to classify him fully as ‘old’ yet. Middle-aged. But with a stature that suggested the temperament of someone who carried more mental years with them than physical.

“Can I help you with any of that?” Jakkoa asked at length, both in earnest — it never hurt to offer aid first if the goal was to put someone in a mood to return the favor — and as a means of announcing himself. “You’re Uquin, the traveling healer?”

Though the girl at the local store had given him a small handful of all equally incorrect names, her guesses, combined with the man’s profession and description, had been more than enough for Jak to work with when making inquiries to other locals—a process which fairly quickly earned him enough consistent answers that he felt confident he’d come on the right one.

“The town speaks highly of you…I feel fortunate to have found you before you move camp.”  

[scarlett arbuckle]

The Only Black Uke

Pausing in his motions, Uquin tilted his head to regard the boy with his good eye, giving him a once over, before turning back to his work. "Would take longer to explain it." He said, simply, taking his time as he set the last few jars where they belonged. The brat surely was brightly colored, bright enough that Uquin wondered if he'd go blind from all the whites, pinks,and blues, besides the gold of his skin and face. In his brief glance, he took in the beads hanging at his hip, and he distantly wondered how such a fancy fellow would react to being wrist deep in a gushing wound?

Such mulish thoughts stayed silent, thankfully, as Uquin finished his work. Finally satisfied, the older man stood once more, dusting the Sauti dirt from his knees.

"I am. ...Now, why would you be seeking me out, of all people? Spit it out, boy." Maybe he was rude, but the princess clearly wasn't injured, and didn't appear to be sick. He was young... fresh faced and spoke confidently with measured words. If Uquin hadn't already been so distrusting, he may have been swayed by the praise. As it was, he grunted softly as he adjusted his weight, crossing his arms with evident impatience.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

A lot could be discerned from the first few moments of interacting with someone. As such, careful attention to everything in that period — body language and tone in particular, since they often proved more telling than a verbal response alone — was crucial.

Everything about the man was closed.

Not quite dismissive in his entirety, but certainly not welcoming either, he reminded Jakkoa of a wagon shuttered up. Or an old house built along a mountainside with wood over its windows: sturdy, but inviting no one in. Of course, interactions were easier when the other person responded to the simplest baits — flattery, a pretty face and smiles among the easiest of all — but Jak was self-aware enough to know that if his looks weren’t winning him any favors on their merit alone, he didn’t precisely ‘look’ the part of someone to be taken seriously, either, and this man was evidently unimpressed by small talk.

Jakkoa adjusted his strategy accordingly. Abandoning the triviality in his smile and mirroring the older man’s more serious disposition as his posture straightened, he folded his hands behind his back. “I’m looking for a cure to an illness no one seems to understand. A family member of mine is sick. I was hoping a traveling healer might have been exposed to more oddities than those who keep to a smaller area…but if I cannot pay you in compliments or a helping hand, I’m afraid I have little in the way of coin. Unless you have something else that needs doing? I’m stronger than I look and I have the morning free to spend.”  

[scarlett arbuckle]

The Only Black Uke

... Hmph. At least the brat looked like he was taking it seriously now, not simply fluttering about like an overly colored nondwa. The foppish smile dropped from the long-earred wind earthling's face (and Uquin wasn't even going to think about how on earth that had happened), and his disposition morphed into something more regal and refined. Thankfully, he was equally forthcoming in his words, and Uquin was sated in the knowledge that the boy had taken his words to heart, or at the very least had listened to his reprimand.

An illness that no one understood around here? It wasn't the first time he'd heard such a thing, but the leaf earthling wasn't cocky in his abilities. Gnawing on the inside of his cheek thoughtfully, Uquin finally released a scoff and shook his head, reaching to pat a hand against the neck of his aldabuck, Ishtu, who stamped his foot against the grass, wondering why he had been saddled up when they were still standing here, talking! "I'm not some kind of mercenary." He shot out, finally, his tone sharp. Then, as if he reminded himself to hold his manners, the healer relaxed once more and gestured roughly towards a shape in the distance, the makings of a mountain of rocks that looked to be at least fifteen minutes travel out of the settlement. "Help me get some hard-to-reach herbs from this area, and I'll help as best I can." While the words themselves seemed reasonable, even helpful, Uquin's tone carried on with its incessant monotonous tone, as if even agreeing was an effort.

"Are they here? What sort of symptoms are they suffering from?"  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Some kind of mercenary.

Initially, it threw him, and Jakkoa’s shoulders stiffened, brow furrowing, because was the man looking to start a confrontation? “It is not only mercenaries that appreciate payment for a job well done,” slipped from his lips before he managed to censor himself. “But if being compensated for your work offends you…”

‘Forgive me for offering. I certainly won’t force my labor on you…’

Jak did manage, though, to stop his tongue at least before the thought was fully finished and listen instead as the old healer — Uquin — calmed himself, and Jak made mental note. The man was easily set off. But that didn’t make him impossible to work with, and if he knew anything useful, the efforts would be worth it. They already were worth it, simply for the value that a chance of success had. Thus:

“I can manage that,” he said aloud. “Which are needing gathered? And…she is, though she is with the rest of my family at present, just outside of town, by the residence of one of the locals. Her symptoms are…periodic, but the same each time they re-occur, only worse. She coughs long into some nights, and gets chills as her body heats with fever. We’ve had more than one healer see to her and say it’s blue fever, but she also has periods of disorientation, memory loss…and waking terrors. She’ll…” Jak frowned, hesitating only a moment before finishing. “She will see things that aren’t there.”  

[scarlett arbuckle]

The Only Black Uke

Well. It was clear that something he said had struck a nerve. Had he been any other person, he may have considered explaining his meaning, or trying to smooth over the other man's apparently ruffled feathers. But instead Uquin gazed at him steadily, and didn't respond to the sharp words. Thankfully, the youngster appeared to regain himself, just as Uquin had moments before, and the two agreed in forced amicability.

"It's a tree. It grows in the shade of the rocks, and produces a fruit that is a useful component for many medicines." Uquin answered, explaining just enough to prove that it was, indeed, of some use. Beyond that... the difficulties of gathering the plant could wait to be explained. For now, with the boy agreeing to the task, Uquin reached down to grip at his aldabuck's bridle, clicking his tongue against the inside of his cheek to urge Ishtu upwards. Unhappy with being roused from his comfortable spot, the old beast bleated in complaint, but eventually rose, letting himself be led forward, and away from where they had previously been settled.

As he moved, Uquin pondered the mystery of the boy's sister. The symptoms sounded like blue fever, sure enough... but if she had been diagnosed already, then she should have long since been healed. If she had been sick this long, he didn't want to think about how her lungs had suffered...

The bigger mystery, was that if it was blue fever, while it wasn't impossible to contract it while recovering from a previous bout, what on earth was the infection vector? If she was, truly, being moved around then it meant more stress on her body... possibly a recurring infection that wasn't being cured fully? ... But, Zenans and Sautians knew better than to do that, unless truly necessary. But if that wasn't it, then it couldn't be an environmental cause. ... Foul play? Was someone making her ill on purpose??

Truly a conundrum. Chewing his lip thoughtfully, Uquin finally decided it might be a good idea to look back at his companion to make sure he was following, crooking his brows upward in question. "Those can all occur with a high fever - but it's a risk to her body to suffer it too long. You're at least treating the symptoms, I assume? How does she react to fever reducers? And how does she seem after the period has ended, and she's regained her health?"  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

“Which medicines are among the many?” Jakkoa asked, taking after the older man as he moved and keeping pace.

He didn’t mind aiding in the process of gathering materials, ‘hard to reach’ or not. Quite the opposite, even. Despite his chosen style of presenting himself to the world with fitted clothing that advertised his youth and figure, carefully styled hair, and manner of speaking, Jakkoa was — in the end — a fit and capable young man, experienced with the nooks, heights, and complications that came with Sauti and its wildlife. He felt confident he could get to wherever the man needed, and beyond that, it presented him with the open opportunity not only to speak with the man longer and learn what he could from him—temperament aside—but also was, in itself, a learning experience.

Useful as they were, books provided only so much help and information, and the practical, hands-on activity of locating, identifying, and harvesting remedial herbs or other ingredients to be foraged from the land had its own innate value. Whatever the older healer was willing to tell him about the process as they undertook it, the better.

“We treat her symptoms as soon as we can, when we can,” Jak answered. The words, ‘Our family is not especially wealthy…’ came to the tip of his tongue, but he let it rest, reconsidering at the last moment and instead sharing only what mattered, for the time being. “When she comes under a spell and a healer is available, we seek aid and she is treated. She responds positively at first. The fever reducers do lessen her symptoms and in time, they fade and she recovers. Once recovered she is tired initially, but if the period in between is long enough, she sometimes returns fully to herself as she normally is. But then she will come under another spell again, worse, and the treatment only seems to temper it…I want not to temper it, but to cure it from her. If she drops into fevers any higher than those she has recently suffered—”

When his schooled, civil tone clipped upwards into something sharper at the end with his mood, Jakkoa cut himself off. Impatience in front of someone attempting to help would only hurt, not help him.

“I appreciate you taking a moment,” he said instead of finishing. “I hope I can help you gather more than what you need immediately, so you have some lasting benefit.”  

[scarlett arbuckle]

The Only Black Uke

So no permanent effects of the fever, for now at least. But Uquin certainly came to the same conclusion that Jakkoa had. For now, he needed to ponder the information, to turn it over in his mind and think over the symptoms.

It was a miracle in itself that a settlement had been erected here in this no man's land of Sauti, and so despite the fact the road in and out was a major thoroughfare, it was small and winding, a road only in name. It was more of a well worn path through the rocky outcrops and crags. Outside of the town, they walked downhill along a small stream that fed into a pond, but from there it would all be uphill, and so Uquin kept his gaze on where he was walking, occasionally looking up to take note of the local landmarks as he picked his way back to where he remembered the plant growing.

If it had been Padma asking the question, Uquin would be more keen on explaining it, but when Jakkoa asked he couldn't help the instant sharp huff that was torn from him. It wasn't Jakkoa's fault, not by a mile, and even Uquin could distantly recognize this fact, but even so he had never been the best of teachers. The boy was a healer, though, and so Uquin couldn't deny him such knowledge, not when it could help someone in need in the future. "Drundfruit. The pit of the fruit can be ground into a paste that fights infections. If diluted, the sap can even be used to relieve pain, and the bark can be used in a tea to reduce fever." Of course, then came the downside. "However, in its raw state, the sap from the tree will numb you, but also greatly damage your skin, and the fruit and its juice will cause blisters and burns. My daughter normally helps, but with one person it is simply too dangerous to attempt to harvest it. ...So." Shrugging a shoulder, Uquin cast a look at the younger man, frowning despite his next words.

"I must thank you for coming along when you did." A rueful thanks, at best, but a thanks it still was.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Having been born in the mountains of Zena and raised all his life on the paths and through the rocky crags and ravines that made up Sauti and its frigid neighbor, Jakkoa was more than used to the particular breed of ‘road’ before them. He picked over it with practiced care, taking in the surroundings as he did, and sparing no small amount of attention to his company.

Whatever the man’s issue with him was, it wasn’t immediately obvious beyond the fact that evidently he had one. It wasn’t severe enough to dissuade him from taking Jakkoa up the path, though, or speaking with him, and that, Jak reasoned, was enough for his own purposes, so beyond that, it mattered little how much or little the man liked him personally. Still, he held his tongue so as not to be invasive, and listened with greedy attention when the man answered his question, ignoring the short scoff of discontent that the question initially inspired.

Blisters, burns, and skin damage.

Jakkoa kept his hands where they were, but felt an itch to rub them just the same. He liked his skin very much the way it was: smooth and undamaged. Outwardly, however, he kept the thought to himself, debating privately how best one would go about attempting to harvest such a double-edged fruit. He supposed he would find out in a moment. Thick gloves, though, seemed a logical start.

“What I learn is more than thanks enough,” he said aloud. “There is only so much I can take away from parchment.”  

[scarlett arbuckle]

The Only Black Uke

At least the boy was aware of his own ignorance. Uquin nodded sharply in approval, his gaze sweeping the skyline until- yes. There. Picking his way from the edge of the path, the healer released his aldabuck's guide, confident that the old Ishtu was too road weary to wonder far, if at all. From his bag, just as Jakkoa had predicted, he fished out a pair of thick gloves, tugging one onto his dominant hand, while shoving the other for Jakkoa to take.

There, as Uquin had known, was the drundfruit tree. Almost like a vine, it grew in the crevices of the rocks, leaves peeking out from beneath to greedily bathe in the sunlight. The trouble in harvesting was more in the location of this specific tree; because it grew under a particularly large rock, the fruit hanging in the shade, where the leaves were harder to avoid.

Procuring a stick from where it was secured on Ishtu's back, Uquin held it out for Jakkoa to take, motioning vaguely towards the leaves. "Your job here is to keep the leaves and limbs from touching me as I harvest, as best you can." And, with that said, the older healer knelt with a soft grunt of exertion, shimmying into the tight space, pointing to a glistening, brightly colored bunch of fruit further into the space.

[7/10]  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Jakkoa opened his mouth. If he was to be holding the stick and nothing else, why did he need a glove—? But a moment later, he closed it, inspecting the glove instead and resisting the compulsion to smell it before putting it on.

Surely it was clean.

Surely.

He wriggled his fingers inside it, adjusting the fit and closing his fist. Overly large, but that wouldn’t matter. A glove was a glove when it came to dirty work, and his eyes were already skimming up the target tree: gnarled and winding, clinging to the rock like like a wooden vein. As Uquin moved in, he angled ‘his’ stick, prodding and lifting away the leaves to tuck them clear of where the older man would need to reach.

“How long have you been in the profession?” Or, more specifically. “Do you happen to know any other physicians in the area or that you’ve come upon in your travels?”