Phantom Hollow We need to talk, like, seriously

It was time to lay her disloyalties to rest, with her newfound respect of the Shadow Queen. Veritas wanted okay relations with the pack, and to have bad ties with it's alpha wasn't a good thing for the pack she wanted to form. Besides, if Malice wasn't going to listen to her, she'd push her mate to trying to coerce her to take her meds. But let none say that Veritas Jabez Requiem was an extreme doormat, because no way in hell was she going to let the foolhardy king run her over.

No, she either got a compromise or became an unmoving brick wall. She finished collecting the last dredge of honey she'd take (so the bees could survive on the rest), depositing it in the small dips she'd found before removing herself from the sanctuary. The sanctuary she'd built for herself and future generations amidst the chaos. Even when chaos ravaged the lands, this hidden beauty would remain tucked away somewhere safe, hidden by carefully-placed vines and moss, protected for those who sought life. 

Even if death knocked upon their doorstep, Veritas knew in the deepest recesses of her soul that her Healer's Den would always be a safe haven, where the darkness could enter, but harm none inside. 

But now, it was time for something else. "@Cogitemus of Moonlit Hills, I call upon thee here, now. Heed my call, Alpha of the Dead Forest, take to heart my words. It is time we talked." Amber-gold optics swivelled left and right, watching the trees, the shadows to discern whatever position whoever may have chosen to take. "Likewise, Queen @Malice Lanius of Moonlit Hills, come to me, for there are matters I must discuss with thee." Like you never following my instructions, and once we get things going, I'm going to stuff a pile of herbs down your throat.

The man quickly came to his summoning. "Greetings dark Veritas, how may I comply your summoning?" He spoke, eyeing the herbs around the woman. "Is there something uncertain with Malice?" He asked, looking around for her, who had not come yet. The dark healer had summoned both the Dark King and Queen, so it had to do with the both of them. Maybe it had to do with a pack mate, hopefully not in this case.

Sorry! Sort Mobile post :(

@Malice should come in now :)

The femme acknowledged his presence with barely a head nod, preferring to concoct a mishmash of leaves and plants for the Alphess to take. She chewed them up, mixed with water from the nearby diversion she'd dug and added honey to remove the bitterness of some herbs. Then, all this was ladled onto a large, broad, leaf and left to sit.

"You really don't have to do that, King," Veritas emphasised on the word 'king', still pissed about her encounter with the man. She couldn't keep the thing out of her voice, though she wouldn't be doing that later. There were more pressing matters to discuss, aka Maiice's health and the new den. "But anyway, yes, it is your dearly beloved. A few more things after that." 

More like how I despise you, but I'm going to get along just for the sake of the pack. That was left unsaid, in her thoughts, though it never showed in her behaviour once. "Firstly, this den. As you can see, this is the Healer's Den and future generations of healers will live here. Medics and the sort. It is well-provided for, herbs and a diverted water stream at your doorstep. Herbs can be dried in the sun and stored on ledges of rock while fresh ones can be kept in the cool areas too.

"There are toxins in this place, Cogitemus. I would recommend you do not get too close to one of them at let a naturalist do their job." She'd discuss Malice later.

XD alright alright, Malmal's comin'! short post because it's just morning and I don't have an awful lot of time.

The queen trotted around the borders like almost every single day, geez girl, get a break. But no, Malice couldn't sit still for even 2 minutes. Just as her patrolling and refreshing the border duties were over and she had nestled herself under a tree, too lazy to walk to the den, she heard the familiar voice of their healer calling out for both the king and queen. What was it now? Was she already planning on leaving? What was so important that she needed Cog? Malice didn't know, and was not going to ask. Instead, she got up, a few dead leaves sticking to her fur that she gently removed before sprinting to where the voices were heard.

She barged in, a bright smile on her muzzle and greeting them both with a small nod before giving her lover a lick on his cheek. She was just too late to hear their whole conversation, something she wasn't fond of but she wasn't going to ask if they could repeat themselves either. Good morning, Veritas, Cogitemus. She greeted, and still cracks in her voice could be heard despite her having rested her voice on the trip to the South. What's the matter?

Posting order for this is Veritas. Cogitemus, Malice after this post.

"The matter," Veritas stated plainly, "Is you" Frowning, she pushed the leaf towards the younger woman. "These are herbs for your throat. I thought the ones I'd given you would work, but it seems like they're only short term. These should keep it away for the duration you need to heal." A severe look was directed towards the woman, and Veritas kept the stern gaze on her face. It bode no room for disagreement, not even for negotiation. Just to remove the threat, she added, "You'll come back to me, every day, for this mixture."

She turned to Cogitemus, to see if he had anything to say.

The man frowned as the Dark healer explained what was happening. Why wasn't Malice listening, this would help her. The man gave Malice the look. "You need to do this, I will come with you to make sure you take it." He said. He didn't want to treat her like baby, but she wouldn't have a choice with him around.

The queen's ears lowered in embarrassment, her gaze going from the healer to the leaves and to her lover over and over again. She knew it was best for her though. She stepped closer to the leaf filled with weird green things and gently licked it at first to get a taste. The taste wasn't as best as she had first thought, though it wasn't something that would make you go hhmm! Yummy!. She ate it, as slow as possible, the smell of it making her a bit nauseous. After eating it all up, the queen indeed felt better. She raised her muzzle to face the two again before saying anything.

Alright, I'll come back every day. Thanks to both of you for taking care of me. She said, dipping her muzzle. She didn't deserve all the goodness she got, but she still embraced it. 

Freezing gold eyes seemed to lock the queen in place when she had finished, as if the silent look she received was commanding her to stay put where she was. Nodding her head in silent approval, Veritas turned and went back into the den. Looking about the shelves, she selected dried chamomile flowers and the fresh stalk of a lavender plant, pale purple flowers smelling sweetly of the gentle herb. Belladonna from her stores too, to ease swelling of the throat and vocal cords. 

Carrying the plants back out in a large, broad, leaf, Veritas carefully instructed the queen and her husband on what to do with them. Chamomile was to be eaten, helping to calm the queen down, reducing the possibility of her losing her temper. To be taken once every night. Lavender was to be crushed, the oils collected and smeared onto an area near the nose. It would help to relieve stress and calm down a wolf. Belladonna, she gave only the berries, not sure how to use the flowers and leaves yet. The berries were to be eaten - two per dose, three times a day. These would reduce the swelling and prevent painful rubbing. 

But she had a more serious request to make. "Malice and Cogitemus, I need to ask of you something that could potentially harm your lives."

The man was proud of Malice, and he showed it by giving her a lick on the neck. When the dark healer spoke about life in danger, he turned his head quickly back to her. "What?" is all he could muster. He looked from nauseous Malice to the Dark healer.

Malice stayed put, not even moving when Cog licked her proudly on her neck, and watched as their healer went back in the den and out with a bunch of plants. She only recognized one of them, that one being the lavender. She had smelled it before, somewhere in her past, but even then couldn't tell exactly what it was. She only knew that it smelled really nice.

As the words of Veritas sunk in, her eyes went wide. What was she talking about? What is it? She asked in the same tone as her lover.

The atmosphere was tense, serious with the sudden introduction of a new, unknown element. For the healer who had been through this once before, she knew what to do and how to go about the procedure. But it was long and hard to follow through, and she needed to put forth this idea before implementing it. "I want to poison both of you." Her voice was heavy, a weight that settled down onto the minds of all present.

"I don't want you to be assassinated one day just because you haven't developed immunity to them." The process would be simple. A small dosage of a poison would be taken so that it affected the body, but not too badly. It was taken weekly so that a resistance to it was built up over time. Then, after arduous months of bearing through terrible effects, the wolf now possessed an immunity to the toxin. 

Veritas turned and walked inside her den, picking and choosing from the least dangerous of them all. Start out small, right? Apple seeds. Four, two for each wolf to take. "When I became the healer of this pack, I made a vow to protect its members, and especially its leaders. But I offer you the choice of doing it and once you start, there is no going back." She fixed them with a look conveying all she wanted to say in that moment, hoping they would understand just how much commitment this task would require. It was their choice whether to do it or not.

The queen's eyes widened upon hearing the healer's words. Poison? Was she planning on killing them? Well, at least she was being totally open about it then. But no, as she spoke more it became clear to Malice that she was trying to help them. She had never heard of immunity against poisons, but hey, there was a first time for everything. She kinda liked the idea of being immune, despite how horrible it sounded to get that immunity.

The healer went back in her own Healer's Den, coming out with weird seed things. Malice had never seen anything like them, which was good, right? If she hadn't encountered the weird seed things before, it meant that she hadn't eaten one and was already dying. I see... She murmured, trying not to use her voice much. It sounds rather interesting, definitely worth trying. She said, nodding to Veritas. She was willing to do this.

The man shook his head. "You have got to be kidding me right now. You expect me to say yes to letting you poison me, and for the love of all that is holy, I will not let you poison my mate, without you telling me a bit more of what will actually happen." He said, glancing at Malice. He wouldn't let Malice be voluntarily poisoned. 

"I do like your idea, but I would like to hear more about this." He said. He wasn't blowing off the idea, but her sure as hell wasn't going take these at random. "I'm not disagreeing, I just need to know more."

Result as expected, score one for Veritas! Score two for plans that knocked sanity straight off the charts! Score three for confused recipients of her deranged schemes! The healer merely shook her head, explaining the simple yet outrageous process. She outlined all the details, presenting the method in a cold, clinical manner - the only way she'd been taught with dangerous procedures. 

"It involves taking samples of toxins, small ones enough only to cause discomfort until you've built up an immunity to them." Veritas pointed at the apple seeds on the ground - small, brown things that looked like they couldn't hurt a fly. Or they could hurt a fly, yes, by crushing it but she was off the track. For fully-grown adult wolves like Malice and Cogitemus, about two or three should suffice.

And she was getting ahead of herself. Veritas didn't even have the go-to to do so yet, but she was hoping that it would be approved.

Don't know how to handle this thread now with Lauren being banned and all. Perhaps we could play it off as if Cog was not interested and walked away to never be seen again?

Malice watched as her lover sort of denied the offer, walking away with a grumpy face. Oh well, she was sure he'd be back. Oh, how wrong she was...

She returned her gaze to Veritas, listening carefully. She had already agreed to do this, but extra information on what she was getting herself into was always good. It didn't sound like it would be so bad that she would have to sleep in the den to forget the pain. Nor did it sound really pleasureful, but who cared. Immunity took pain.

Sorry about him, don't know what has been going on with him lately... She murmured. I really do think this is a great idea, and would like to continue with it.

Hopefully, she'd not see that bastard's face again. It was good he left, now could he pretty please desert his pack for good? And all would be well, the raven woman would have thought if Malice had not interrupted her mental ranting. "Yes, yes... Well, we can start today." Her voice was firm, though it was as if the speaker was somewhere far, far away in her own world. Indeed, Veritas was content to let Malice start and finish the course.

"Three seeds, report any effects you feel are too strong to handle. I'll just go get another dose for your throat..." Veritas returned, disappearing into her cave of secrets.

Last post from me! Sorry for ignoring this thread :(

Just a quick post before I archive this :)

aye aye, captain! She chipped, now staring at the seed thingies before her. She gently picked one up with her lips, stuck her tongue out to make it stick to it, and gulped it down. It didn't really have a taste, but it still wasn't a pleasant thought that this was poisonous or something. She continued though, gulping the two seeds left down before complaining. Veritas left again, this time not returning, so Malice returned to the borders.