[SRP] Nothing of Use (Tethys x Zephyr)

[Epine de Rose]

He'd been directed rather quickly; to be honest he really should have known better. Ram was not the greatest alchemist in the world, he clearly specialised in diplomacy, or at least that's what it seemed like. Healing, medicine, and any of the more hands on and caring professions simply weren't in his remit. In hindsight the Captain really should have pursued the feedback from the Hlare to begin with but he had figured that Ram might have a rough idea of anything 'useful' and he could have killed two birds with one stone.

Sadly, he had only been able to receive the more political answers.

Thus he soon found himself back in the Hlare compound, smiling merrily to his sister as she watched her wander passed. It wasn't that he didn't want to catch up and get her thoughts on various parts of the excursion, but for now it was in everyone's best interests for her and Kluna to be gathering their things in preparation to return home. Besides, the two Priestesses had never had the opportunity to explore the Kizi lands either so they wouldn't have been able to provide him with anything useful.

"Zephyr, can I have a word?" He called out, coming to a halt by her doorway to give it a quick knock of his paw. He knew it was likely that she would be just as busy as everyone else, but generally speaking these alchemist seemed to be relatively good at giving the short and sweet answers he needed...

Words: 254

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I suppose you can," The reply came from within the den, but eventually she did appear with a variety of herbs slung over her shoulder. He'd clearly caught her in the middle of her work, and given that they had already had their compound piled high with supplies, she didn't really appreciate the interruption. Nevertheless, she knew it was only for a few more days and then she could get really down and dirty. Not that she didn't mind being diplomatic, but if the Captain wanted results then he was going to have to let the Hlare, and the Priestesses, do their work...

"You'll have to make it quick though, we've got quite a lot to do and you haven't really given us much time," she reminded him with a chuckle. At this point she ducked her head and slung the herbs off to one side. Giving a quick nod, she motioned for him to follow her inside so that she could continue with her work.

As usual, her home was a mass of herbs, pots and peculiar smells, though on this occasion the scents were decidedly more putrid than normal. It definitely seemed that the Hlare had finally ramped up their research into the less desirable fields, moving away from immediate medicinal matters and into the realms of poisons to find out exactly what his opponents were using... or at the very least, find something similar that could be used to counteract their weapons.

"Unless you don't mind any delays, in which case, you're free to talk my ear off," she teased.

Words: 264

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Wonderful, you always were the accommodating type," Tethys replied merrily as he stepped into her den. He would have been lying if he said he hadn't reeled at the smell that hit him like a brick wall. They definitely were working on things that were less pleasant than they had been before. He wasn't quite sure how they were functioning without gagging, but as the lioness continued to walk about in her own home as though there was nothing amiss, he couldn't help but find himself impressed.

...For all the comments his sister and her mistress might make, the Hlare had their merits and certainly had the backbone to go with it. Just because they might shy away from live test subjects didn't really make them weak. He couldn't quite place his paw on it, but there was definitely something he was missing here, there was a reason that this pride had gone untouched for so long and it wasn't just because of luck.

Maybe Ram was a subtle example of why.

Pacifism didn't necessarily mean you were weak...

"It's about the Kizingo'zaa," he said finally and took a seat. He rarely waited for an invite here, they never seemed to give them anyway. They were more inclined to expect you to feel at home, rather than giving you permission to do so. "They have several bizarre plants that they use in their uh...latest concoction. Are there anymore we might find useful over there, or have we got access to everything here...?" he hazarded.

Words: 256
Total Words (Tethys): 510

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Several, and almost all of them are used here," she replied smoothly and shook her head. The open borders and pleasant relationship with the Kizi had ensured that both parties were perfectly comfortable with sharing their resources. The only resource that they were absolutely forbidden to transport was the peculiar flower they used to promote their insanity. Fortunately she had picked the brains of one of the alchemists within the Kizi and while they hadn't been able to confirm how it was brewed, they had confirmed that the plant did very little when not used in conjunction with the appropriate compounds.

At most, it gave a soar stomach to anyone who attempted to ingest it. To say that Ram had been relieved at the discovery of this had been an understatement, he'd been delighted when the Hlare had been able to reassure them that this was the case. Despite the decisions made by the Kizi in regards to their choice of beverage, the plant itself was harmless and was perfectly safe to admire. Eventually Ram might be inclined to allow it to cross the borders when he was certain the Kizi weren't drug addled, but for the time being he didn't agree with the risks.

"Those that aren't used here wouldn't give us anything useful anyway," she added and shook her head. "At most they give soar stomachs when consumed, my understanding was you needed something that did significantly more than that," she pointed out with a wry smile. "Everything else is something we trade back and forth openly, so what we've been able to provide here won't differ much there," she finished.

There was a pause and then she smiled.

"Does that settle your curiosity?" she asked.

"It does," he confirmed with a wry smile. "Unsurprisingly, Ram had the right of it when pointing me towards the correct individuals."

"He is rather reliable for that, yes," she teased.

"I'll leave you to your research then," he gave a small nod and rose to his feet once more. "To be honest this saves us a lot of time," he murmured and began to take his leave. "And probably saves them the headache too," he added with a grin.

Zephyr gave him a smirk as he disappeared from view.

Words: 307
Total Words (Zephyr): 571