Daisy Chains and Lazy Days (Salvinia, open)

[Django]

Rivers were always far too wet for Victoire's taste, but as long as she could find a dry rock to sit on, far from the water, she was content to watch her otter friend dive for that special river moss only available on the undersides of sunken logs, or whatever it was she foraged for underwater. Vicky only cared to touch liquid when she was going to consume it or use it for a healing elixir. She may dislike water but she wasn't going to discount its healing properties because of her own preferences. 

She flipped through the pages of her third spell book, landing on an unfinished spell for removing unwanted dreams. She picked an aged leaf from where it had been pressed into the pages and fanned herself in the summer sun, twirling a piece of charcoal with her other paw. She'd found a good rock to perch on in the shade of a young willow, its branches still a ways from brushing the riverbank. She could see the splashes Salvinia was making in the water, happy as a clam in her natural habitat. Vicky smiled and looked down at her words.

"What's a nightmare scared of?" she thought aloud. That was the question to answer. If she solved this one, she could keep nightmares away for good. Not that she was a chronic sufferer of nightmares, but the odd fatigue- or stress-induced bad dream could be annoying. Plus, there were plenty of beasts out there who did suffer nightmares, and perhaps she could help them. 

A sucking splash alerted her to Salvinia emerging from the water. Victoire slipped the leaf into her book and put it in her rucksack, careful to keep it out of the way of her near-constantly dripping friend. Vicky's skinny tail waved cheerfully when she saw the otter through the willow branches.

"Find anything good?" the mouse inquired.

[markab]

Underwater Salvinia couldn't hear much but the roar of the current in her ears as she made her steady way downstream, and it made her -- a little antsy. Sure, collecting what they needed for their spells was important and she was the only one of the two who could swim well enough to grab the stuff that only liked to grow on the riverbed and on the logs and branches that had long since fallen into the stream -- river moss on rocks and bark and the clumps of algae-like weed springing from the saturated dirt, the rushes and reeds that were too close to the swampy sinkholes on the riverside. But she was always aware of the risk that some rat or weasel or what-have-you could come tromping along and the first she'd know of it would be to leap out of the water and find her closest friend gone.

She scraped another handful of moss off a nearby log with the points of her claws, and hastily stowed it in the correct pouch on her front. No use blending the different plants together, that would only get confusing. She tightened the drawstring on the bag and popped neatly out of the water, now quite a ways downstream from where she'd left Vicky, for both a breath of air and to take a quick look around.

This part of the stream wasn't exactly rich in reedy plants either, but it was wider, calmer, and she had enough of those tied roughly in a bundle to one of the vines looped around her chest. But --

"Oh," she said, peering down at the water lily she'd almost run directly into. They didn't usually grow in rivers, but then this one was probably deep enough to do the job. And when she did see them, the flowers were usually secondary and she was gunning more for the roots. Ripped a lot of them up, actually, for -- sedative purposes, right. Or the particular wax on the leaves. This one, however, had actually grown some impressive flowers on the top, and it was perfect. Vicky liked to press flowers and this was the best looking water lily she'd seen yet.

She still didn't have a knife, but the tips of her claws were enough to snip the biggest flower off its stem. She'd just have to hold it on the trip back, so as not to crush it in a pouch.

With flower secured, she plunged easily back into the water, flipped around with a twist of her body and took off back upriver. The current flowing back was actually fairly strong, but no match for an otter; still, it was a few minutes before she managed to swim all the way back and hop back out onto shore perhaps a little inelegantly, with her claws occupied, and waved back at Vicky with one hand.

"Find anything good?"

"Yeah," she said brightly, snapping the bundle of rushes off their cord. "Bullrushes, clubrush, pond sedge. I got more river moss and algae and a lot of watercress, if we want that for food later too. And," she proffered the flower, "I found this! I thought you could, maybe, press it in the book if you want to." The book. Which was far too small to press an entire full-grown water lily. "Or, um. Something." Smooth.

[Django]

"I found this! I thought you could, maybe, press it in the book if you want to. Or, um. Something."

Vicky stared at the water lily. It was a beautiful specimen, and it was big! Too big for pressing in the book, but if Vinnie wanted it pressed, then by the seasons, it was going to be pressed. The mouse's eyes were wide with surprise, and she felt a blush creeping into her cheeks. A flower. For her. Salvinia must've made dozens of flower crowns for her over the years, picked hundreds of flowers, and Vicky never could quell the fluttering in her heart and warming of her face. 

With delicate paws, she took the proffered flower and held it near her face, hoping the big petals would hide her blush. She couldn't keep her tail from waving with excitement. She murmured a tiny, "Th-thank you!" and turned away to put the flower with the rest of her things. She cleared her throat.

"S-so, uh," Vicky continued to rummage in her bag for something to distract her. "Hungry?" She pulled at the corner of a cloth she knew was filled with blackberries she'd recently picked. Unfortunately, as she did so, the cloth flew open, littering berries all over the ground. "Whoops!" She tried in vain to catch them as they scattered, managing to spear one between her tiny claws. Its juice ran down her paw, and she offered it to Vinnie.

"Um, here!" Vicky tried to smile, tried to pretend it was all okay. It's good. It's cool. Be cool. BE COOL.

[markab]

Salvinia was already at this point ready to vibrate right out of her skin. Admittedly, she was used to being flustered because everyone (maybe just her parents) back in the traveling collective had liked to tease her, but of course it was never particularly fun when it happened. Kind of awkward, actually. And of course she'd had to pick the biggest flower instead of one that made sense, because she hadn't even been thinking about the damn book when she picked it, because even though she was practicing being completely oblivious (and in all honestly, as this proved, failing miserably) she was really bad at not making herself look like an idiot around Vicky. 

She watched Vicky take it, and put it up to her face, tail waving as she did so, and because Salvinia was an adult and absolutely did not run screaming from things like emotions she stood there with what was probably a really stupid smile on her face and just kind of shuffled in place and fiddled with the drawstring on her pouch of watercress as her best friend murmured, "Th-thank you!" and went to stow the flower with the rest of her belongings, lying on a nearby crop of rock.

"S-so, uh. Hungry?" 

Vicky hadn't turned back around, was still rummaging around in her pack for something, and as Salvinia, relieved of the immediate pressure of the encounter, squinted at her back and opened her mouth to reply a veritable waterfall of blackberries poured out of their confinement and began rolling towards the river. More on instinct than anything the otter immediately dove for them, using her hands as makeshift barriers and managing to salvage a couple of handfuls, but the vast majority crept around her and splashed directly into the water.

"Um, here!"

Hands full of captured blackberries, she looked up to see Vicky offering her what was apparently the only one to have been caught mid-fall.

Planting one arm on the ground, she let all the berries pile up against her fur and accepted the lone survivor with a slightly less awkward grin before nudging the captured berries forward. "Um, I saved a few of them at least. Where'd you find them? Maybe we can go gather some more?"

[Django]

Vinnie to the rescue again, saving even their blackberries from drowning in the river. Well, most of the blackberries, at least. Just like the otter had saved Vicky years ago.

"Um, I saved a few of them at least. Where'd you find them? Maybe we can go gather some more?"

"B-back on that t-trail," Vicky stuttered. Trail? This is the forest. It's made of trails. And trees. Trails and trees. "Yesterday, I think." There we go. "Be-before we got to the river. I mean, we don't have to. Uh, I have--"

She turned to her bag again, carefully this time. Another cloth full of fruit lay inside, and she made sure to cup it gently with both paws before bringing it out. She held it in her lap and unwrapped a pile of elderberries, the fabric stained with juice.

"S-sorry... about that," she said, offering the properly-handled berries. "We--I should pick some more. Today. Before we, um, move on." She offered a single chuckle, trying to put a good face on the disaster that was her clumsiness. 

[markab]

Salvinia scooped up her two handfuls of berries and, with a bit of a struggle, stuffed them into the most convenient pouch she had available. They were probably easier to wash that way. She tightened the drawstring, plucked the pouch off its cord, and held it up in front of them dramatically, satisfied -- not so much by it as the fact that Vicky had provided a convenient distraction from what was already officially becoming the Flower Incident, capital letters and everything thank-you-very-much.

"B-back on that t-trail. Yesterday, I think. Be-before we got to the river. I mean, we don't have to. Uh, I have--"

She lowered her hand as Vicky turned around back to her bag, producing another cloth sack stained purple with juice. Inside it, thankfully not trying to make a similar daring escape, were a pile of elderberries that Vicky offered her.

"S-sorry... about that. We--I should pick some more. Today. Before we, um, move on."

Vicky chuckled. Salvinia did too, more out of nervousness than anything, and accepted a small pawful of them. "It's okay! I, um, I think I saw a few bushes down on the riverside earlier." She gestured vaguely with the berries in the approximate direction of where she'd just been, as if it wasn't obvious, still holding the stupid bag out in front of her with the other paw. "I could go get them, and, uh, maybe shrimp or something? To go with the watercress. If we're staying here long enough, I mean."

She was kind of hoping Vicky would agree, too, so she could swim as far downstream as possible and then spend at least 5 minutes repeatedly smacking her head against the most readily-available log or tree stump.

[Django]

"I could go get them, and, uh, maybe shrimp or something? To go with the watercress. If we're staying here long enough, I mean."

"Sure! Uh, if you want," Vicky popped a few berries in her mouth to keep from embarrassing herself further. She carefully placed the cloth on a flat rock beside her, keeping the berries piled together with her paws. As she swallowed, she had an idea that would get her out of Vinnie's company and let her heartbeat regulate again.

"I can--can go find some herbs f-for a soup," she said. "You get shrimp. I'll get herbs. Okaybye." She grabbed her bag and jumped off her perch, grabbing another pawful of berries on her way. In a flash, she disappeared into the trees, ducking behind a thick oak trunk.

She pressed herself against the bark and clutched her chest. Calm down. She's so cute. Calm down, calm down. She's your friend, don't be weird about it. Deep breath in... deep breath out... in... out...

Okay. Vicky adjusted her bag and quietly stepped into the underbrush. Some basil would be nice in a soup, she supposed. Coriander, if she could find it. She sniffed the air, following her nose and her notes she'd pulled from her bag. Flipping through until she found the page on basil, she focused on the task. She tried very hard not to focus on the adorable look of surprise on Vinnie's face when the berries had fallen everywhere. Or the kind smile she'd offered. Or the--

Focus! Basil. Coriander.

[markab]

((i'll skip forward a little & maybe alice can post after this if she wants))

"Sure! Uh, if you want."

Salvinia nodded. She could work with this. She set the patch of salvaged blackberries down along with the elderberries on the rock, dusted her hands off and edged back to the river. "Yeah, I can do it."

"I can--can go find some herbs f-for a soup. You get shrimp. I'll get herbs. Okaybye."

Vicky grabbed a handful of berries and was gone into the trees before Salvinia could so much as blink, and as soon as the mouse had vanished all the tension bled out of Salvinia's shoulders so rapidly it was like some sort of switch had been pressed. She groaned and dragged a paw roughly down her face. "Do you even think before you do anything, Vinnie," she muttered, slinging her pack over her shoulder and crouching down to dig out one of her makeshift fishing nets. Shook her head, like she was trying to get rid of an irksome fly. Of course she didn't. Too impulsive, her parents had always said. Well, Hestia had too. She just never listened.

And she couldn't just be calm about it either. She snapped the bag shut with perhaps a little too much force and slipped back into the river, reveling in the feel of the cool water against her fur and adjusting the net as her tail and back legs pushed her forwards. Shouldn't be hard to find what she was looking for and by the time she got back they could both. Pretend that hadn't happened. Or she could, anyways, she was good at that.

---

A couple of hours saw the rather dented cooking pot ("FOOD ONLY" scrawled in faded ink on the side after several near-mishaps) perched atop a stack of dry wood crackling cheerfully with flame. The sun had just about set, leaving little light to see by. Cooking was hardly her forte, but she could make a mean shrimp-and-hotroot soup; she was almost certain that was a requirement of being an otter as her parents had been much the same. And making it without most of the spice, in acknowledgement of the fact that not everyone enjoyed having their tastebuds singed off, only required skipping a single step.

"Almost done!" she announced, lifting the ladle like a club over her head. "Did you find any basil?"

[Django]

"Almost done! Did you find any basil?"

As an answer, Victoire produced a cloth bag that had probably once actually belonged to Salvinia, but was now full of basil leaves. She sat next to the FOOD ONLY pot and began tearing leaves into it. Hestia had always said torn leaves gave more essence than cut. Tearing was much more savage an action, and the plant responded accordingly. 

"Smells great, Vinnie," said the little mouse. Her heartbeat and body temperature had both calmed on her trek through the woods. Despite her boiling feelings, she did often feel calm around her friend. On a pleasant evening like this, when their only task was making food and enjoying each other's company, she could relax. She didn't dump all the basil into the pot, just enough to add the herb to the already delicious smell wafting into the air.

"I, um, I thought of how to press that flower," Vicky continued, pulling out one of her full journals and the water lily the otter had picked. "Single petals in a flower this big still ha-have plenty of the o-original properties. S-so..." She deftly plucked three petals and set them on a page side by side, then flipped to the next page, set down three more petals, and so on. "We've got several spells' supply now!" she looked up at her friend with a delighted smile, glad to have figured out something useful for once.

[markab]

Ladle still held in mid-air, Salvinia waited as Vicky produced a bundle of fresh basil leaves from an innocuous cloth bag, tearing them apart to let fall into the soup pot as they'd been taught. Salvinia sometimes felt that she was holding more useless knowledge in her head than anyone should ever need, but then again every day she discovered or remembered some new and wonderful practical use of it. The idea of imparting that all to someone else like Hestia had done, however, was less than pleasant. She kind of liked to imagine them never bothering and showing up at the gates of Dark Forest to Hestia refusing to let them in until they'd spent their allotted time trying to teach children how to properly cook herbs.

The basil gave just a faint difference to the smell of the soup, and Salvinia grinned, pleased with her creation, as she stirred the thick liquid in careful clockwise motions, let it simmer to a finish. There was always something very pleasant about these nights, just the smell of food and the sounds of water and wind and insects chirping faintly from the trees. It was objectively less safe, considering all manner of things liked to skulk about at night, but it felt safer to her. It didn't have to make any sense.

"Smells great, Vinnie."

She grinned brightly at her best friend as the last of the basil was sprinkled into the mixture and she gave it a final stir. "Bet it'll taste even better," she said cheerfully, leaned back against the nearby tree stump to let the few minutes pass that it would take for the flavor to sink in. For a second she just closed her eyes, enjoyed just. Being there. Safe, with nobody around but Vicky, with food ready on the fire. It felt good.

"I, um, I thought of how to press that flower."

Salvinia cracked an eye open and leaned forward again before she'd even processed what, exactly, Vicky had said. Then it registered. She squinted as the mouse pulled out the cause of the day's severe embarrassment, but the conversation topic seemed innocuous enough. "Yeah?"

"Single petals in a flower this big still ha-have plenty of the o-original properties. S-so... We've got several spells' supply now!"

Vicky had her spellbook pulled out, setting a few petals down on each page. Salvinia watched as she set the book down and gave her a delighted smile, which of course the otter immediately returned. "I didn't even remember that," she admitted sheepishly. "But. Good! I'm, uh, glad it worked out."

She rummaged around in her own pack for two wooden bowls, the first of which she handed across the soup pot to Vicky. "Here's this, too," she said, giving the liquid a final swirl and holding the ladle up, filled to the top with soup. She blew on it, dipped the very tip of a finger in, sampled just a taste and, finding it to her liking, offered the ladle in her friend's direction. "Taste?"

[Django]

Vicky's mind went to... other places when Vinnie said, "Taste?" The mouse cleared her threat and took the ladle with a nod, giggling nervously. She took a tiny sip of the soup, and let out a happy sigh. The otter never seemed to be satisfied with her cooking, but the mouse thought she was a great chef.

"It's perfect," said Vicky. She took a largel ladleful and poured it into Salvinia's bowl, then served herself. "Gosh, Vinnie, I... love your cooking." She helped herself to the savory brew, settling back against a nearby rock. She had not almost said that. She hadn't. Totally hadn't.

Talk about something else. And stop blushing! "So, I, um, I thought we could, uh, m-maybe head to... to the abbey. Soon. We don't have to. It's still a... ways. But, uh, maybe we could get, I dunno, some more recipes? From them." A plan is good to have. Articulating a plan like that is not a good thing. Good thing she'd never had a speaking role in her parents' shows.

Going to the abbey would also put them around other beasts, and hopefully would distract her from her feelings. Help her ignore them. Right now, she was trying to eat them, serving another helping of soup into her bowl.

[markab]

"It's perfect."

Salvinia offered up a pleased grin in return as Vicky ladled the soup into both bowls, accepted hers and took a big spoonful, completely oblivious to the earlier nervous laughter. Shrimp soup always reminded her of the stuff her parents would make back with the performers. Also made her wonder. Well. How they were doing.

"Gosh, Vinnie, I... love your cooking."

Oblivious to that, too, she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Thanks. Only good because I've made it so many times, though. Remember that time I tried to bake bread?" She shuddered, perhaps a bit overdramatically. It hadn't been nearly that bad but the result couldn't have been called edible even by the kindest eater.

"So, I, um, I thought we could, uh, m-maybe head to... to the abbey. Soon. We don't have to. It's still a... ways. But, uh, maybe we could get, I dunno, some more recipes? From them."

Salvinia perked up, eyes bright over the rim of the bowl. "No, that sounds good! I bet they can actually make bread. And it's not like we have anywhere else in mind, right?"

[Django]

"No, that sounds good! I bet they can actually make bread. And it's not like we have anywhere else in mind, right?"

"N-not that I can think of," Vicky replied. The girls went quiet then. For a few seconds, it was awkward, but the warmth of the soup and the cool evening air began to relax even the thickest of tensions.

This was a testament to their friendship. Comfortable silence after several minor disasters during the day. This wandering life was still new to them, an obligation placed upon them by a strange old hedgehog. But at least Vicky knew, and she believed Salvinia knew, that this was what they were always meant to do.

Hestia believed what she did was real magic, despite her ingredients being nothing but plants and minerals. Victoire wasn't sure about real magic, but she could be convinced of it. Every time Salvinia sang, she could swear it was like magic.

________________________________

The next morning, the two friends broke camp, got their bearings, and headed in the direction of Redwall Abbey. The tension from yesterday had dissipated, and they walked together, joking and laughing like they had done for years.

What was to be gained from ruining this? Vicky thought as she walked beside Vinnie. This was perfect. She shouldn't make it difficult by admitting these silly feelings. She'd be putting so much needless pressure on her best friend, and things might always be as weird as they were when she'd spilled those berries earlier. She didn't want that underlying embarrassment making their lives different. This was good. This was all she needed.

Sunlight spilled through leaves, making freckled patterns of green and gold on Salvinia's piebald pelt. Victoire smiled to herself. Yes, this was all she needed.