Blackfeather Woods I'm not dead, I'm stuck in Jumanji

@Cicero Brother-sister thread?

Potema organized the herb stores, her snuffling echoing through the tunnels as she went through each packet of leaves, each crevice, pulling out old leaves and chewing roots and berries to test their remaining usefulness. She was pleased to see that the herbs had not been ignored — of course they wouldn't, not with Cicero and Kendra still around — but she had her own ideas of how to organize the Dark Brotherhood's stores. She had already started wandering through the Wilds in search of caches that she could pick through later, but she needed to see what remained, what they needed, what needed to be restocked, what needed to be added.

Old leaves, wrinkled and brown, clattered to the cave floor and the witch, deciding that the floor was getting too cluttered, swept them out of the cave into a pile outside the entrance. Once she was finished she could bring them outside — maybe she could use them in that little garden she saw not too long ago...hm..

yesss! :D

There were various caches of Cicero's hidden throughout Blackfeather Woods, though many of them were well-hidden enough, and all of them were marked by his urine so that any wolf would know not to tread near, if they knew what was good for them. The clever observer might have noted that over time, less and less of Cicero's caches contained healing herbs and mushrooms, and more and more of them contained either poisonous herbs and mushrooms or unknown ones — those he had yet to test. Cicero had always had a penchant for pain and he had always been keen on experimenting on himself, but recently his experiments had turned more frequent and less... experimental. He would tell himself he was testing some circumstance or the other but there were times when he would be chewing down well-tested herbs or mushrooms to find his own limits, to stretch his own limits, to find himself vomiting and curled up with a stomach ache or an itchy body all through the nights.

Yet somehow feeling pain was better than feeling nothing at all, and for some reason Sheogorath was well-suppressed underneath the pain. Cicero's right leg was beginning to heal again; the festering blisters that had been produced by putting poison ivy on them, and it had taken over a week for the blisters to diminish. Eventually they, too, had scabbed over and the scab looked ugly now, but was about ready to fall off.

Cicero, on the lookout for more herbs to fill his caches — and maybe his own stomach — with, found himself on the trail of Potema's scent when he wandered by the entrance to a cave. He didn't know it was hers, not until her presence became so clear, and Cicero found himself curious in his sister's endeavours. What with things with Damien still tense, perhaps spending time with her would be good, particularly after they had been separated for so long. He chuffed before entering the cave to make his presence known, not wanting to intrude on anything he had no business in.

Potema gathered the browned, shriveled leaves into a pile, then paused, just wondering how she would get all of this debris out of the cave. She mulled over the possibilities: sweep them out with her tail and feet? Grab a larger leaf. She looked at the pile and then back at the herb store, then deciding that it would be easier if she got every bit of shriveled leaf out before she began removing them.

Satisfied knowing that she had the obvious-looking leaves out, she rooted through the rest of them, chewing off small bits and tasting them. She was wary of those she recognized as vomit inducing, and tentatively chewed laxatives, but she found that her taste test was effective. Most of the plants were still good, and she left them alone, but some needed a double taste. One leaf in particular was confusing her, and she chewed it thoughtfully. It remained in her mouth as Cicero's chuff filled her ears and she turned to greet him.

Hey, Cic' She said, continuing to chew the leaf as she looked over her brother's body. His scars was something of importance that she desperately wanted to ask about. Some...no, most of them looked infected or irritated. Cicero was more than capable of tending to himself, which made it all the more worrying. Just cleaning up.

"Potema." A smile lit up Cicero's face ever briefly as his sister came into view. The looks she gave him did not worry him, for he was used to having wolves look upon him with worry and at times pitty. He wondered about the ruddy wolf briefly while he followed his sister's gaze towards the dried up blisters along his right leg. He could not do anything but hope that the wolf was doing good.

His mind wandered briefly towards his brother while he wondered if Damien would ever accept their love as a natural thing — yet it did not matter much, for regardless of his brother's fondness Cicero would always hold him dear. He would always watch over, and his affections would always be for Damien alone.

"Has Potema learned much in her journeys? Any knowledge of toxins she wishes to share?" He did not care as much for the healing herbs, though would not object if she were to teach him anything in that direction.

She knew that Cicero could use herbs almost, or perhaps as well, as her, and while she didn't know what kind of herbs they were, she knew that poisonous herbs had inflamed the wounds decorating Cicero's body. There were inflammations that only herbs could deliver, with blisters and other sores accompanying them. Those blisters could come from nothing else, not even from the worst attack from a cougar (isittoosoon?) or a bear. That revelation told her more than she thought. Her brother was more than capable of finding test subjects in the woods or beyond. Mother had taught them how to trick others into eating herbs for research, and she had done it herself many a time. Potema's face didn't show her worry, and she ducked her head away to sniff through the herbs again as she thought of why Cicero would hurt himself. But that was a topic for Burke to unravel, right? She was no therapist like him, or mediator like their Mother. Magic and herbs were her realm.

Does Cicero want to escape reality or to just feel pain? She asked quietly, lifting her head up. I know of herbs that can do either, or both at the same time. She herself was fond of hallucinogenic mushrooms, the little fungi helping especially with spells and Sights, though she tried her hardest not to use them too frequently. TRIED.

It intrigued Cicero that Potema would ask him right away if he wanted to escape reality or feel pain. When he thought of it, perhaps it was both, but even he could not truly decipher his own fascination with the pain. Yet what intrigued him most about the way she had asked was that she assumed that he wanted to use whatever knowledge she could share upon himself and not upon the enemies of Blackfeather Woods.

A charismatic smile danced across the philosopher's face a moment as he said, "Cicero never said they were for himself. He just wants to expand his knowledge with whatever Potema picked up on her travels." It was true — he wasn't specifically looking for anything. Truthfully, he just wanted to experiment and he wanted to gather all the knowledge. Knowledge was power to him as firmly as control was power, and whenever he could gather more of it, he would. Perhaps that was, aside from the pleasant feeling the pain gave him, the reason he experimented on himself — aside from the fact he did not want to bring bad blood upon the Woods or harm another, preferrably, experiencing the results of an experiment himself was just, well, more accurate. More real.

@Cicero continuing this thread

Potema could never match Cicero's rhetoric; she never bothered trying. The witch licked her lips, removing what traces of herbs clung to her mouth before she spoke again, adding a shrug to puncuate her words. I know you didn't say it. But if you still want them I'll give them to you. She kept the offer open to her brother, unintentionally feeding into whatever little tick of his he was exploring now. Potema didn't even think to consider the long term deteriments to the self-administration; she was only focused on helping her brother through whatever he was going through. But, I did learn a few things. Most of which involve magical spells, hexes, charms and the likes, but I did find a few new recipes for toxins and healing poultices. She scanned the piles of herbs, quickly identifying those that she could in the low light. Once I get this place re-organized I can see if I can show some to you.

Cicero shared an appreciative smile to his sister, though he did not ask her for anything. Whatever he needed, he could find by himself. Yet he stored the information for in case it would be needed in the future; he would be thankful for the offer then. Potema then offered to teach him what she had picked up on her travels. Cicero was mostly interested in the toxins; he knew a thing or two about healing herbs but truthfully, that interest had faded over time when he had gotten more interested in poisons.

Ragged ears cupped forward and Cicero said, "What can Cicero do to help?" For the sooner her den was organised, the sooner he would receive the knowledge that he desired.

Sorryyy @Cicero

Potema looked at the tendrils and shrivled up carcasses of the herbs at her feet. This needs to be sweeped up first. She said, beginning to push the herbs towards the entrance of the herbstore. Then we need to find new bedding and moss, as well as some new ways to effectively carry supplies. She thought of the fox carcass she had stowed near her den. It was a long way from rotting entirely, but she would have to remove the pelt soon if she wanted to start tanning it. I've thought about using animal hides. I haven't tried it yet but if it does work we can get large amounts of herbs in a shorter amount of time.

Cicero glanced at the littered floor, and decided that that would be a task better suited for Potema herself to do. He looked back at his sister as she mentioned looking for bedding and moss. "Cicero will get those," he decided. As for ways to carry supplies, Cicero was not sure what would work best. Cicero said: "Animal hides will smell from the meat." Cicero was not one to dismiss an idea quickly, but this one did not sound like a very good idea to him. There was no way to expell all the meat so that there was only a hide left, in his view.

"Cicero will think about the issue of carrying supplies. He shall look for bedding first, while Potema cleans." With those words, Cicero turned away and started leaving the den, unless stopped — he'd return later, bringing in moss and bedding throughout the day to cover the den floor with.

my last post :)

Thanks for the thread! :D

She hadn't even considered that at all. Perhaps there's a way to overpower the smell? Ah well. She would have to try it at a different time, when their herb store was organized completely. She trusted Cicero to find a different way of efficiently carrying herbs; he was clever like that. She was left with the near-herculean task of organizing everything, which he was smart enough to let her do alone. She had a broader knowledge of herbs than her brother. With a huff, the white witch began sorting the remaining herbs about, staying in the den for the rest of the day until her task was complete.