In Sickness and in Health [Rhiiiii!]

[Blue]

Lavi immediately pressed the bandages to her small nose, inhaling deeply like a hound taking in a scent. She held it for a long moment, and then finally let out a sigh and dropped the bandages nearer to Alex. Her large eyes flicked down to her brother's face, and again they exchanged a strange, silent conversation.
There was nothing yet, but the wound was bad. It had gone deep. He knew as much, but it was a dark revelation. He needed to live...he needed to take care of what was left of his family...
He would survive this, even if he had to rely on the help of a human.

Next the girl sniffed at the salve, and then took some onto her tongue and rolled it about in her mouth. Everything was done slowly, carefully. She was studying it with knowledge far beyond her years. She made a scrunchy face, and Sorin let out a weak breathy chuckle.
She looked at him, her face again blank, before taking a tiny fingertip's worth and pressing it to his lips for him.
He too seemed to ponder it for a long moment, pink tongue disappearing back into his mouth.
"It's not bad. A question now. What is it lacking."
Lavi stared at him for a moment, but her eyelids had shifted a bit, and it was clear to him that she was thinking. Then her eyes shifted slightly.
"Do you know?"
She nodded in response, almost eagerly.
"Don't go alone. Take him with you."
She frowned visibly at that, practically a disgusted look. But his own expression didn't change, and she knew she had to submit. She glanced up at Alex, huffed, and then handed him the jar.

Finally, the strange boy returned his piercing eyes to the man tending him.
"Once she adds what's necessary, next time, you must push it into my wound. You'll only need to do it once, but it should stop deep festering."

[Rhindeer]

Alexander watched the silent exchange with a perplexed expression, brow drawn and eyes locked on the pair. How the boy could tell so much from a taste, he didn't know--but that was also why he wasn't a healer, he supposed, and had made a life soldiering.

The conclusion that the salve was lacking something, however, made his crinkled brow rise, and his knee-jerk reaction was to ask how that could be. The wise woman had been tending their village for years, and she had helped many a person survive ailments that they might not have otherwise overcome. Surely these strangely couldn't know more about herbs and medicines than her? Especially not children?

And then to have the boy wake up and immediately start ordering him around...?

...A near-death boy.

With a worried little girl.

Alexander bit back his irritation, which, he guessed, was more from lack of sleep from tending the boy than it was due to the actual situation, because the request wasn't so outlandish, and certainly wasn't something he couldn't humor. He was no healer. He didn't know how this worked. And if it would at least ease their fears and make them relax a little more, alright, fine. And maybe that was the point--to give the girl a task so she would stop fretting. What was the harm? Worry that he'd be robbed blind while they were out?

Drawing himself up, Alexander let out a quiet sigh through his nose.

"Very well," he said, and gave the boy a quick once-over. "I think I can handle that. Mind telling me what it is we're looking for, and how you're sure this thing won't just harm you more?"

[Blue]

Sorin stared up at Alex, unblinking, for a long unsettling moment. He likely should have foreseen this sort of response. He debated on whether or not it was worth trying to explain.
It wasn't.
"I doubt you know it by the same name we use. I know it will help. Even were I wrong, this situation would not turn out much differently. I would die. I may still die."
Lavi tensed up visibly at the very thought of Sorin dying, and she clearly struggled to keep the pain and fear off her face. It ended with a red nose and watery eyes, but she managed to keep an otherwise blank expression.
For his part, Sorin had spoken rather dispassionately about dying. Ultimately, it was simply a fact of life. After all, every natural creature dies at some point. Of course, he'd rather his time not be now, but who was he to say? All he could do was the best he knew how.
He gave Lavi a glance, and she sniffed and nodded curtly before bouncing off the bed. She scooped up the still sleeping Lumi, and settled the toddler into the bed near Sorin, under the covers. She then marched silently up to Alex and glowered up at him with large eyes. It was time to go. Hopefully this big thing could keep up.

[Rhindeer]

It was all a shot in the dark, but Alexander, personally, trusted the experience and knowledge of the wise woman over this kid. But with a sigh, he simply shrugged and nodded. "If you insist."

He didn't have to do this, any of it. He could easily refuse. But the girl would probably run off anyway, and as they weren't his prisoners, he would let her. But he didn't feel good about letting her go alone, anyway--she was so strange, she would stick out like a sore thumb and draw suspicion, but if he went with her, he could come up with something. Relatives from the north or some such.

Yeah.

He would figure it out.

Either way, he knew less about herbs than anyone here, so...so be it. If this went wrong, it wasn't on him.

"But," he said, frowning down at Lavi. He hadn't bothered with her before, and had been too occupied with the boy to deal with her anyway, but if they were going outside, they were going to have to take care of a certain problem real quick. "Child, you can't go out like that. Wait here."

Alexander left the room briefly, and returned several minutes later, a small bundle of clothing in his hands. He held one item out to her--a small knit tunic, child-sized. "There. Put that on. It's, well...it never got any use, so I figure..."

[Blue]

Sorin actively worked at keeping his face entirely passive, even as Lavi gave him a look. This was a good opportunity for her to handle things herself. As Alex returned with the clothes, she gave her brother another look, but still received nothing.
Finally her sharp gaze was returned to the large man, and she wrinkled her nose at the tunic. Ugh, it smelled just like this place. Humans really did have a habit of covering every available piece of skin aside from their faces, didn't they? No wonder they couldn't feel the earth or sky. All these scratchy clothes in the way.

Snorting like a displeased cat, Lavi turned and scampered out of the room and toward the back door. That big thing could follow her if he wanted. She needed to go into the forest from where they arrived, to search out the herbs necessary. The only real fear she had was that those whom had been hunting them might still be lingering - and she didn't really expect any sort of protection from Alex. Honestly, she wasn't even sure why brother had insisted on them going together...unless he wanted some time to himself to think out a plan without having to entertain that big thing's questions? That could be it.

[Rhindeer]

And just like a wild thing, the girl turned and scampered away from him and the tunic. Or, perhaps, less like a wild thing and just...a child. Children often hated wearing clothes out of some sort of rebellion. According to his parents, as a toddler he'd torn his clothes off and gone streaking places he really ought to have been dressed.

She was a little too old for that sort of behavior, though, but judging by their clothes and set up, they weren't exactly...civilized. Well. As long as they lived under his roof, they would just have to act civilized.

With another sigh, Alexander walked after her and found her near the back door. Tunic still in hand, he put his other hand on his hip and motioned to her with the tunic. "Now, young lady, I don't think so. We're not going out there until you're decent. If anyone sees you like this, child, they'll...well, it will be awkward. Let's just make this easy, now. Put this on, then we can go and get the thing your brother needs. Okay?"

[Blue]

Why was this big thing being so persistent? Lavi pressed her back against the door to keep as much distance between them as possible. She was NOT going to wear the scratchy thing, especially not while outside.
Still apparently unwilling to speak, Lavi instead gave out a hiss and then squeezed out the door in a flash. Her tiny dark frame went streaking across the lawn and into the brush just outside the forest, her footsteps silent. She moved like a wild thing, all liquid grace, and was out of sight in a moment's hesitation.
Alex was going to have his work cut out for him, keeping up with her.
In the darkness between two trees, a puffy head of hair popped up as Lavi stared at Alex, a very clear 'well hurry up already!' look on her face.

[Rhindeer]

"Wait!" Alexander made a grab for the girl, but too late. She was already out the door and into the trees. With an aggravated sigh, Alexander set the tunic on a nearby table--he wasn't going to be getting much use out of it now, from the looks of it, and he wasn't about to wrestle with her out in the open. Too much noise, and the point here was to not attract attention because oh dear Ansgar. Things would not go well if people spotted the little shirtless girl, running around with her strange necklace and looking so obviously Not From There.

"If this is how you want to do things..."

Stepping outside, he shut the door behind him, looked both ways, and then jogged to the treeline. Reaching her, he crouched down next to her, feeling pretty ridiculous, sneaking about like that.

"So, here we are. What now? What are we looking for?"

[Blue]

Alex should likely stop expecting much different, for once again Lavi simply stared at him with intense eyes, not offering up a single spoken word. Turning about, she pattered off swiftly into the undergrowth. The ground was moist and spongy, and she enjoyed the feel of it beneath her feet immensely, and dug her fingers into it whenever she happened to use them to vault her forward.
Now and again she would pause, on her knees, and sit motionless. Other times she would sniff at the air, or turn her head slowly as if scanning the tree line. She essentially ignored Alex's very presence, although she was very much aware of the great big thing was.
Finally, she stopped and began digging at the roots of a plant with both hands, blunt fingernails peeling away the earth rapidly.
Seemed she had found what she was looking for.

[Rhindeer]

Yeah, he really should stop expecting an answer of any kind.

Much less quiet than the girl, Alexander strode along behind her, a few times having to take a different route than her since he couldn't fit between all the places she could. He wasn't used to moving as quietly as she was, though, for he hadn't had to live among the wilds, so rather than move silently, leaves and twigs crunched between his boots, plants rustled as he passed them, and branches whipped back when he pushed them out of the way.

Though they didn't speak, he was content to follow and watch, simultaneously fascinated and horrified by her behavior. She...the child truly did act like an animal. The way she moved, the way she sniffed the air...

What on earth was the story behind them?

Because while he had heard legends of feral children, children raised by wolves and such, he had never believed it.

It was fairly unsettling.

But soon the girl paused and began to dig, and Alexander grimaced as dirt went flying and she soiled her hands. Coming over to her, he crouched down beside her. "If I had known there would be digging, I could have brought a spade. Do you need one?"

[Blue]

Lavi simply grunted softly at Alex, not bothering to even glance at him now. Honestly she could close her eyes and know exactly where he was. The man couldn't be silent even if he tried. Even his breathing was horridly loud.
Ugh humans...
She tore up the earth surprisingly easy, muscles working in her small back, and finally she was rewarded with a prize - a gnarled root. Bending down so close she nearly kissed it, she whispered something into the earth. Only after that did she break the root off, and then she carefully replaced all the dirt into the hole.
Hands covered in soil, she stuck the root into her mouth and then took off again into the undergrowth, holding her prize between her teeth.
Much quicker now, she appeared to track down another ingredient - this time a flower. Once again, she leaned in so close she tickled the petals with her nose, and whispered. Then the flower too was plucked, and both plants ended up poking out of her lips. Not the least bit disoriented in the maze of forestry, she stood up to look at Alex, and then was off again in what was the direction of the town.
Alex would likely only catch up to her because she had stopped fast, frozen, next to an otherwise inconspicuous piece of ground. She was staring at it, mute and wide-eyed.

Barely visible was an indentation - likely a footprint. By scent and sense alone, she knew to whom it belonged, and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

[Rhindeer]

Watching all this, Alexander furrowed his brow. Was she...speaking to the ground? Or the root? So she could speak after all! Feeling a small chord of discomfort--both at the fact that she could speak but chose not to, and the fact that she was talking to the ground or the root. A chill went through him, a reminder of what he was dealing with here, and what he had suspected--mages. But not just that, potential witches. And he was harboring them.

Unsettled, he followed her as she collected the flower and repeated her...her ritual, feeling that same sense of dread. Mages were one thing, people who had magic but didn't necessarily use it. Witches were another, people who did use their power. And if they were witches...God, but he wasn't sure what he would do. He couldn't keep them here, not without putting himself in danger for harboring them, or the village in danger from the magic. But he couldn't in good conscience turn them in to be executed. Not children.

Children who probably had no idea what they were dealing with.

As they made their way back to his home, he struggled with himself. He would have to find out what was going on first before he decided on anything, and there might still be time to save them. They were young, after all.

There was time.

He was still wrestling with himself, strangely quiet, when the girl came to a sudden stop.

Or more than that. She hadn't just stopped. She was frozen. And staring at a point in the ground.

"What is it?" he asked, though he didn't expect an answer, and moved closer so he could get a better look at whatever it was she was seeing. Which...didn't seem to be much of anything. There was a slight indent in the ground, but it had no discernible shape. At least not to him.

"What's wrong?"

[Blue]

Lavi shuddered, as if shaking her body free from something unpleasant. She shifted her lips about, making the two plants wobble, before she finally stared blankly up at Alex. Of course he couldn't even see that which was plainly there. She hadn't expected much else.
Spotting this evidence of their pursuers, however, simply made her want to get them out of here that much faster. Brother had to heal quickly...they needed to get moving again. They were like sitting ducks, waiting in that house for somebody to come and find them.
There was even the potential that this big thing would turn them in himself. He was probably too dull to realize what they were, but eventually he would catch on and they would be helpless.
Unless she could get her brother healthy again.

She took off into the undergrowth one last time, not stopping until she had already raced across the short grass and made it to Alex's back door. She didn't bother waiting for him to catch up, and instead pressed her hand onto the door to use her magic to move the latch, before slipping back indoors.
She went into the kitchen to search for a mortar and pestle, or something similar. She'd use his tableware if she had to.

[Rhindeer]

Whatever it was, it had spooked the girl something fierce. With a grimace, Alexander took off after her and had enough difficulty keeping up that he lost her in the undergrowth and didn't find her again until they reached his home...which...

She had apparently already gotten inside, somehow?

Hadn't he locked it? Maybe he'd forgotten to lock it. He had kind of been in a hurry...

Scratching at his beard, eyes narrowed, Alexander finally went to the door and stepped inside.

Noise coming from the kitchen drew his attention, and so Alexander slipped inside to find the girl searching around for something. He cleared his throat loudly to get her attention.

"This would go a lot easier if you'd tell me what you need," he said, and added, "I know you can understand me. And I heard you talking to those plants."

[Blue]

Turning on Alex, root and flower bobbing about between her lips, she gave him a withering sort of look, yet those large eyes were rimmed in red. It was hard not to cry. This was still scary. They were stuck in this place, with one of them and Brother was dying and it was just her. And those others were out there still, searching! She felt trapped, and she did not at all like it. She had been trapped only one other time, and it had ended in the deaths of everybody she'd ever known or loved, save Sorin. She would never forget his rescue of her, of their escape, regardless of how young she'd been. She'd never forget what these humans had done, and she'd never forgive them either.
She had to protect Brother. She had to save him. Not just because she didn't want to be alone. Not just because she loved him more than anything. Because he had done the same for her, and she couldn't betray that.

So she took a deep, shaky breath through her nose, and let the plants fall into her dirty palms.
"Mortar and pestle."
She spoke, her voice scratchy with disuse, but soft and quite mature. She wrinkled her nose then, knowing he had no idea what she'd said to those of Nature's bounty. He wouldn't understand. Too slow, too loud, to dulled. Humans didn't know how to see, didn't know how to listen, didn't know how to speak.
It was endlessly frustrating.

@Rhi-Rhi

[Rhindeer]

"You speak Common, too?" Alexander said, and could have laughed. All this time, all those charades, and she could have just spoken! But even as he said it, he moved to fetch the items, snatching it off a shelf and handing it to the girl. It was a little dusty from lack of use (his late wife had done all the cooking and had use it to grind up things for baking), but it would work fine.

"Why haven't you spoken before?" He made sure to keep his voice soft, not wanting it to sound like an accusation. "I can help you better if you do. You and your friends.  And I do want to help you, but I can't if I don't know what's wrong."

He kept his distance as he spoke, though, hanging back away from the girl to give her space. She was skittish and distrusting as a wild thing, and like with any wild thing, trust had to be earned, not forced. "Something spooked you out there. Someone wounded your friend."

For Alexander had personally seen to the injury, and he had treated many a friend on the battlefield. And he had hunted plenty. He knew what wounds made by people looked like. It was an arrow that had done that to him. "Whoever did that, are they still out there?"

[Blue]

Lavi snatched the items from Alex's hand lightning fast, immediately squatting onto the floor to use them. The plants went in, and the little girl hunched over her work, working them into a useable state for adding to the salve.  She didn't bother answering the big thing's questions, nor did she believe he wished to help. She did not trust humans, could not trust them. Even if he was helping them now, he would soon change, she was sure of it. They had to leave as soon as possible. She had to help brother get better, no matter what, even if it meant being temporarily stuck in this man's home.

Task completed, she stood with the mortar cupped in her hands. His final question elicited a response, those staring eyes turned on him for a moment. Her jaw was set, her lips pressed into a grim line, shoulders tense. The answer was there to see, if he chose to truly look. Then she was darting off again, back to Sorin and the salve that would hopefully save him.

Her brother was always pale, but this was a different sort, a pasty sheen that made her tremble. There were deep shadows beneath his eyes, and he breath was shallow. She swallowed hard, and then quickly began to prepare the salve, all the while weaving intent and praying to the gods and goddesses that this would work.
Lumi still slept curled next to Sorin, the toddler apparently pleased for the soft bed and a chance to sleep soundly, her slightly runny nose leaving a damp mark on the pillow.

@Rhi-Rhi

[Rhindeer]

So they were still out there. Alexander bit back a grimace, but he remained quiet for the moment so the girl could work, and simply took a seat on the chest at the foot of the bed. If whoever--or whatever--did this was still out there, they may still be actively looking for the kids. And if that were the case, he wondered how well these kids had covered their tracks?

Probably not very well, with the oldest one wounded and bleeding. They would have left tracks. They would have left footprints, the dragging gait of the wounded, and a spattered trail of blood. They would be easy to follow.

Easy to follow straight to his home.

Alexander tensed at the thought, and finally spoke up as the girl tended to the boy.

"Who did this to the boy?" he asked, looking up at her.