The morning was early, the sun had began to rise in the horizon painting the sky a myriad of pastel colors but the sea witch was hardly intrigued by such things and turned a focused eye away from it. He'd ventured out of the Bay with the intention of continuing the build of his medicinal cache supplies. He was making a good start and what he didn't have to solve basic issues that might arise he could easily find a substitute within the Bay. He'd stumbled across some forgotten cache and some things — such as cobwebs — had been salvageable but any of the medicinal plants buried had been rotted with decay and he'd had to dispose of. Slowly, Riptide had become aware that he was not as alone in his head as he'd once thought — a voice from within that was very different and so very demanding. Not those of a wraith but of another...piece of him. Not one that he deigned to explore. The gangster omitted an aura of calm rage and the sea witch as content to share with the one the spirits whispered to be Arturo but it had been some time since the gangster counterpart had been in control.

Admittedly, this suited the sea witch just fine. He got work done, he worked to build his presence, to prove to the Leviathan that he would be a good choice for witch doctor, carelessly tearing the seams of what Arturo had established. Riptide ventured into the Bear Claw Valley, heading immediately towards it's river which bubbled lazily where it cut through the valley, searching specifically for water hemlock. The plant was spoken to be poisonous, in small doses could cause numerous of issues but if left untreated would lead to an unprecedented death.

He was a medic, first and foremost, but there was no telling when a variation of poisons might become useful. Dropping pups into the sea as either a rite of passage or a sacrifice did not make him, nor other sea witches particularly benevolent and Riptide needed to be feared as much as he was admired. Especially by those that would prove themselves enemies of Skellige and those who pledged their loyalty.

The sea witch kept his attention focused upon the water, where the cool ripples of water lapped against his long legs, splashing up onto the fur of his belly even when he heard the sound of approaching footfalls. There was an assortment of colorful rocks in the riverbed, a fish carcass, silt from mud. Some larger rocks that were slick and slippery with moss. Riptide frowned visibly at the water, pausing in his steps as he moved through a thick patch of cattails. Also not what he was looking for. As Arturo spotted it a few feet from him a soft, “Ah, there you are,” to the poison only for his fiery red-orange gaze to lift to the black and white colored male who had also discovered it and had leaned down to sniff at it. Surely, that was not the only water hemlock to be found and Riptide probably could have went to found another patch to collect from but ...there wasn't any fun to be had in that.

Besides, the sea witch argued, it was his duty to let the other know it was a poison, wasn't it? Perhaps the bi colored wolf knew, and perhaps he didn't.

The sea witch's head canted ever so slightly to the side, assessing the male as he approached, his steps confident but sure to leave distance between them, because the sea witch did value his personal space. “Do you know what that plant is? Do you know what it can do?” Glorious and horrible things. Only something that someone as demented as Riptide would possibly enjoy watching — at least when it came to experiments and his enemies. Skellige's enemies. Perhaps even Arturo's enemies. Perhaps watching them suffer and die very slow and painful deaths would get the gangster to trust him. A small, almost hysterical giggle left the sea witch's lips as he thought about it, his salmon pink tongue swiping across his jowls before his eyes snapped up from the water hemlock to intently rest upon the younger male, waiting for his answer.

The sea witch let out a small scoff when the black and white wolf spoke that water hemlock was good for keeping away pain. There was an arch to the coywolf's brow as he contemplated that. Out of everything Riptide had for taking away pain he would have never used water hemlock. It was a poison and the purposes he knew it for did not include in easing pain. “In small doses it causes minor symptoms that if untreated will cause death,” The witch doctor corrected with a shake of his head. “It's a poison.” Said in a matter-of-fact tone that was sharp. “If you're looking to rid someone of pain,” Riptide drew with an airy sigh. “Poppy seeds and opium is your best defense.” Admittedly, opium was addictive and if taken in high enough doses over a stretch of time Riptide had heard that it could turn one's fur silver. Whether that was true or not he couldn't say — but it sounded like a fascinating experiment nevertheless! — though not one he deigned to try upon himself.

“Opium is addicting,” The sea witch drew with a lofty shrug. “but the death the addiction will bring you will be a lot less painful and slower than death caused by water hemlock.” Fiery red-orange gaze fixated upon the stranger with a smile tugging at the edges of his lips and a cant of the coywolf's head; but if this young man knew something that he didn't, the sea witch considered, he was willing to learn. There was power to be had in knowledge and like Arturo this was something that Riptide hoarded.

Riptide studied the bi-toned male with a curious expression upon his face, intense as if he were trying to dissect him with his gaze alone. The young male spoke that the sea witch had misinterpreted his words, though also curious he spoke of himself in a third person. Very curious. Perhaps this was where the gangster would have been better — Riptide was not one for word play or coy phrases. He said what he meant and expected others to do the same. He didn't see the need to over complicate something that was in his reality simple. “Why not say what you mean? Why all the word tricks?” The Sea Witch was annoyed and the whispers within his own head (though he would have sworn they were carried upon the wind) were not helping matters any, always present as they were away from the Sea.

“Opium plants are...sometimes there are flowers but there are green pods that if you cut open will see white opium capsules within, but sometimes it oozes out of the pod. There's a crown on the top of the pod and if it's points are standing straight outward or curled in it's ready to be collected, the pods are more potent but they dry out quickly. Poppy seeds are the best bet for storage.” Riptide was glad to rattle off the information, though he got the feeling that he wasn't telling this stranger anything that he didn't already know. Perhaps this was just another word trick: but Riptide was a straight-forward sort of beast and thus he responded with straight-forward answer.