Into the Aftermath || RP Log

Misteltein ||

It had been maybe... several days since the rune ceremony? All the most involved cats had found their own ways of coping with the situation. Misteltein didn’t really know what most of them had been doing- he had shut himself inside his tent most of the time, hence the reason it was hard for him to tell how long it had been. Not long ago, he had destroyed a wood carving he’d been working on for a while with his hammer. Then he fell asleep for a while after having lost his temper. He wasn’t really feeling like himself at all- in more ways than one.  

Even before the rune ceremony, he’d been stuck inside the healer’s tent for a while with a fever, chills, a stuffy nose, and a cough. A result of going out hunting in the rain a few too many times during the storm. Even now that his fever was gone, he was still feeling sore and exhausted. The whole 'cursed death runes' stress certainly didn’t help either. But, he felt useless being too tired to hunt so maybe the healers would have some herb to give him energy? Or they’ll just tell me I need to rest more. He hoped his fever hadn’t come back because that meant that this was turning himself in to be trapped in here for longer. 

“Hello?” the tom called as he emerged into the healer tent. “Anyone here?” his mew betrayed how tired he was- there was no energy behind it.

Lif ||

Several days to think of how her and her fellow peers would be damned. All because somebody had to mess around with the sacred shrine. Lif ran her mind over and over again seeing the rune come to life. The iridescent glow was unlike any she had seen in her whole life. Enchantingly sinister, it was hard to avert her gaze when it occurred for the whole city to see. 

Those she had come to see like family would scrutinize her like she carried the plague! No better than the rats that  ate kits ravenously, as some of the more gruesome stories told. Lif had continued on like the whole fiasco had been one bad dream. Like everyone bit into a sour herb and needed someone to lay the blame on. 

The blame was on the youth. 

Her ginger fur shone bright as the sunlight dared to shine through the healer's tent. Lif's pale paws were sorting through various leaves, a wind having scattered them during the night. The she-cat puzzled herself on where to begin only to hear the voice of someone else pierce through the silent tent. "Yes, this way." Lif called over the tom, casting a sideways glance. He looked terrible as usual, but that was the new normal. Cursed death runes and all of that nonsense. "What is ailing you, Mr. Mist?"

Misteltein ||

In spite of asking for someone to answer, the response being so immediate made him fluff up a little, startled. "H-hello, Miss Lif." He dipped his head to her in his usual polite greeting, although honestly everything he did felt strange and far away. With a little bit of a sniffle, he walked over to where she was, his tired gaze resting on the novice. Gods she had grown a lot. Sure he'd seen her plenty since the tunnels, but it was hard to imagine her as that same little novice in the tunnels with them. "Sorry to bother... I was wondering if there was something I could take to help get energy back so I can get back to hunting. I've been sleeping for a while and I still have no energy and uh- I'm still sore too." And my nose is still kinda stuffy but I can live with that. I'll just stick to checking traps 'til that goes away; I don't want to sound too complain-y....

Lif ||

Suspicion laced Lif's thoughts regarding the hunter. His worn out appearance was still worrisome but he was older. He didn't need to be heckled to look after himself, there was already Glyem to do that. "Right." Lif nods curtly as she asses the current stock. It would have been good to have either Col or Rura to check over her portions. The last time she handled herbs on her own, well, she ranked at the very bottom of the festival. In fact, she always did poorly in just about every single contest she got to participate in. 

No wonder she was cursed. "I can give you chamomile to soothe your soreness and restore energy for now. How long have you experienced these symptoms?" She asked worriedly, looking over her shoulder as the search for a pile of chamomile was on. It left her scratching her head, having to pluck the information out of sick cats like teeth. No longer did she sat there small and rotund, she was close enough to Misteltein's height and had the attitude to match it.

Misteltein ||

Misteltein nodded as she said what she'd give him, not really putting any further thought into it and just trusting the healer novice. She was smart- just like her father. What does Mr. Fritjof think of the curse? He wondered as Lif began to look through the herb stores. Oh- right- she asked him a question. Yeah, it had just been Rura and Colborn in here during the storm.... "I was sick in here during the storm before the ceremony, but since my fever had gone they said I was good to go. So I guess..." He mewed with a slight throat clear. "...however long it's been since that day." Thinking back... did they mean he was good to go completely or just that he had been good to go to the ceremony? He didn't know, actually... He was pretty sure they meant in general though.

Lif ||

"Forgive me, I only asked to better treat your current condition." Lif attempted to excuse her unusual nosiness. It was a healer's duty to do their job well lest the whole city becomes sick. Though with a father who had his mind set treating her like a walking bad luck magnet, she may be removed from this position all together. Misteltein was his apprentice as she would come to learn, possibly why he treated her the way he had always did.  Did he think any lesser of her now after the ceremony? Did he differ from the council's way of thinking? 

With all these questions in mind, she had mindlessly selected coltsfoot instead. Lif hid her frustration with a neutral expression, sticking the coltsfoot back to where it was originally stored. "Yes, this should do you some good. You'll have to eat some chamomile for now. We have some poppy seeds to aid your sleep if the chamomile doesn't work out." After finding chamomile, she places it gingerly at the hunter's paws. "Perhaps the harsh weather has taken a hold of you?"

Misteltein ||

"Oh you don't need to apologize, you're just doing your job." Misteltein shook his head, then dipped his head to her. "If anything I should apologize for bothering you." You need to stop being so needy- maybe you should have dipped into your own herb knowledge so you didn't have to put extra work on the healers. He thought- a harsh self-critique. He seemed to be staring into space once he straightened up after this bow: a tired, far away look in his eyes. In fact, "straightening up" was a stretch to say because he was slouching a lot.

Only as the herbs reached the large tom's paws did he seem to break out of this daze he was in- if only slightly. "...perhaps." He echoed softly, staring down at the herbs. He lowered himself to the ground to take the herbs he'd been given. Luckily for Lif, even if he was hesitant to give his symptoms, he was one of the easiest cats to give herbs to. "But," He started, swallowing the last of what Lif gave him. "Not for long, right? With winter coming I can't afford to be down- the city will need food." He gave Lif a bit of a smile, trying to sound optimistic and playful even if the words themselves were serious.

Lif ||

It was overthinking anyhow, the responses that came from Misteltein had been nothing but kind. He didn't have a mean bone in his body to turn her help away. "Hmm, it isn't all that uncommon. I wouldn't be too shocked if I were you, you're always welcome to rest here if you feel like it." Having said that, the healer made sure tuck back the other herbs that been laid about. There was a twinkle of hope in her eyes that this was just another bad day. Nothing that could be traced back to the troublesome ceremony.

"Just know that the body must rest or it will be sore even longer the more it is strained." She gave Misteltein the advice, a nagging voice in the back of her mind that there was more to address. Lif may have been a healer but some parts of Gleym's worrying was starting to rub off her. "There's countless other hunters in the city, Mr. Mist. Taking a day or two off would be better off helping you than overworking your limits. You've done plenty providing the city food in the past. Now let us healers provide for you." Lif didn't bother adding a gentle tone but a cautionary one that begged the hunter to think reasonably.

Misteltein ||

He gave Lif a soft smile. He knew by now that all this nagging was just cats caring about him. He'd heard the same and similar from Colborn, Mr. Fritjof... probably Gleym and Rura too. "Yeah..." His mew was hardly more than a whisper, a gentle exhale coming with it. "I don't mean to worry you all, or be selfish, but hunting is also my way of getting rid of stress." It was a little more than that- sitting idly built stress in him. "Th-that's no excuse though- I just wanted to explain another reason I want to get back to it soon." Honestly by now Lif and Bengt were probably used to him over-explaining himself around them.

Honestly it was the best way he had to relieve stress. Clearly wood carving like Mr. Fritjof had recommended was not working with the level of stress he had considering that pile of splinters he had turned it into. He hadn't... snapped like that before. And when Revna came in... what if her presence had not melted that anger away? What if he had hurt her? The thought of that made him feel dizzy and sick. Hurting someone was one of the last things he wanted to do. At least he was already lying down so he didn't further worry Lif from swaying or flopping over or something.

Lif ||

A subtle twitch in her tail, her bat familiar peeking out of her scarf. "I see...that's rather unfortunate." Lif gave a disappointed sigh. She was only training to be a healer, maybe she was over reacting. Compared to other cities, Forseti showed great care to balance work and rest appropriately. She finally got the herb stock ready, clean for the next time it needed to be used. "I trust your judgement, you haven't proved yourself wrong. If you wish to hunt, at least take someone else with you. For your sake and ours." Or else. Lif waved away the excuse with one of her paws. 

Bengt was an expert when it came to acting polite. Yet Lif was doing the hunter a kindness by at least broaching the issue that has turned everyone's world upside down. "If I can pry, what's one of the roots for your stress? Do you need more leaves for your mane?"

Misteltein ||

You really shouldn't trust my judgement- I don't even trust it. He would sometimes take other cats to hunt with him, but he felt a little more hesitant on it since his... outburst. Still, he could just make sure he did so until he was feeling better. She probably just didn't want him passing out while hunting and getting hurt. He rested his head on his paws, looking rather lethargic. He hoped he'd have enough energy to hunt soon....

His eyes opened more widely again. Gosh he hadn't even realized they were drifting closed. He shook his head to clear it and raised his head again so he could stay awake. Gosh it would probably be troublesome if he fell asleep in the middle of the floor like this. The root of his stress, hm? He hadn't considered that as part of his being trapped in a thorn bush analogy, but if one were to rip out the bush at the roots, it might make it possible to escape. "N-no I- well- I suppose. I don't think my lack of leaves is really a root of my stress though." Truth be told- he was completely leafless at the moment. They had washed off when he and Rura were trying to groom the water from his fur to prevent him from getting sick, and then he'd been trapped in here and then it had been the ceremony so he hadn't the time to get new leaves.

"I guess I have a lot of roots for my stress, let's see..." He pondered a moment, taking on the focused expression he did when he was thinking hard. "Besides all the obvious things that have gone on lately, probably..." What, are you going to tell a novice that you constantly belittle yourself in your mind? No, he wasn't. But he did feel a little more comfortable than he expected saying what he had on his mind. "Lately I've realized there's a lot about myself I don't like. The gods did me a favor of helping me see some of that through my familiar too." Honestly he couldn't believe he admitted that out loud to anyone. "So I want to change for the better."

Lif ||

Hunting should not require one to work themself to the bone, unless that’s how it’s always been. Even then, such work ethic seemed unethical - what good was food when no one was in good health? She turned her back on Mistel, pretending to fix up the Matt on the floor to silently glare daggers into.

By the gods, his head was filled with leaves! The death rune could at least work its magic and destroy all of his leaf clutter. “That cuts down one possible reason.” She joked dryly, fixing her posture to sit up straight.  From the manner he spoke, it seemed to be the genuine truth. Misteltein was still running on fumes yet his mane had no assortments of leaves in sight.

Then again, maybe if she squinted hard enough, she could maybe fine one.  “If you’re seeing things you don’t like, you don’t have to change immediately. Take it one step at a time, if this was the worst state you’ve been in then there is hope things could be better. Not many can say the same.” Lif took a seat beside the hunter, leaving room between the both of them. It was the bitter truth, if memory served her right there have been numerous deaths across the cities. 

Her bat companion squeaked indignantly and sunk deeper into her scarf. “The gods have certainly… forced their will, letting us see the worst of ourselves. Yet it takes immense wisdom to recognize by your own will that things can be improved upon. Recognizing is the first step. I mean, I was basically dead weight to the whole city during the majority of my youth. I’m trying to make up for it by keeping my head out of trouble but, well, you know what happened regardless.”

Misteltein ||

He nodded slowly, his drowsiness clearly increasing. He seemed a lot less stressed than when he had entered, not jumpy or fluffed out. But was it from the talk or an effect of the herbs? "Suppose so, yeah." Where did the novice get all this optimism? He looked over to her as she settled next to him. Seemed like her familiar actually liked spending time with her. His avoided him like the plague. 

He listened to her, frowning as she said that she was dead weight for much of her youth. "You know Miss Lif, Rura was actually sick for a lot longer than you were. But that doesn't make her dead weight at all. No, she's one of the smartest, most amazing healers I know. And you're following in her and the other healers' pawsteps so well already." He gave her a gentle smile of gratitude. "As for what happened..." A small amount of anxiety hit his stomach, although because of his lethargy and drowsiness it was diminished. "Only some of us know the full story. I think we just need to trust the council to figure out what it means for Forseti." He lowered his voice for the next part, recalling that the council members said they weren't to speak about what they found, but Lif had been there so... "Like I said that night, I still think it's possible that i-it's everyone." His voice shook a bit and he could feel his heartbeat quicken. But he didn't zone out and panic like he had that night. Instead, he focused on Lif, keeping himself grounded.  

"Was anything else important said other than not to tell anyone?" He whispered. "I... honestly don't remember much beyond that and the... visual." He had been so out of it and stuck in his own mind, he didn't even realize that Tusmorke had yelled at the council members as well as the young adults- saying he hoped they were all cursed. He was very out of the loop... possibly for the better.

Lif ||

It was becoming more and more apparent she may have given the hunter more than he could chew. Mentoring under the likes of Rura and Colborn were paying off, though the latter was distant. “Yeah.” Lif repeated in a deadpan voice right back at Misteltein. The looming presence her father was notable, though she doubted it was just his mentorship that did this to her friend. 

“Things were different back then, I am a different cat from Rura.” Lif protested, reaching to pet her familiar. She shook her head, yet coming up empty to refute his claims. “She’s an amazing cat, quite grateful to learn from a healer like her. I don’t think I could have ever asked for anything else. Me? I have little to say for myself, I’ve dragged the city down with me during the competitions at the festival . I acted like a blubbering kit when that one Laguz cat was losing her temper. When it matters most, I drop my guard and make an utter fool of myself.” The healer in training let out a deep sigh, getting that off her chest. 

“Though if we’re going to bring up the event,” Lif ears perked up at the topic of the rune. “It’s best to keep things frank.” Her tone switches to one that is hushed, secretive “The shrine may have been desecrated, though that’s more of a theory than truth. Such an act doesn’t seem like an actual act gods could commit. Seems more like a deliberate move to make us seem worse than we already are.” With ever ounce of her being, she says it.  Lif continues to look down on her bumbling paws. “Tusmörke is worryingly… unique with his colorful words. Bengt wouldn’t have such things if his life depended on it. I’m afraid there isn’t much to be told from what little I know - not even the gossip I hear.”

Misteltein ||

"Of course you're a different cat. But neither that nor how you placed during the festival games nor how you responded to Laguz being brutes says that you aren't growing into an amazing healer. And I mean that- praise is something to be earned not just given away after all." With all his training with Fritjof, he learned that lesson well. From his experience with Lif, all he could see was a blossoming young sapling growing into another amazing healer. If he thought there was something she could do better, he'd say it. His sleepy mind was awake enough to recall that chamomile was something meant to be relaxing, part of why his stress was noticeably lessened, but surely he would regain energy after a good sleep. 

His ears flicked forward and he leaned in to listen to her more secretive mew. He nodded. "Possible. It doesn't explain the glowing runes but... let's hope so." He sighed. But who would do such a thing? Honestly was it possible the shadow monsters or voices they had met in the tunnels had something to do with it? He wasn't sure. But... if he could find the culprit... perhaps that would gain him some amazing reputation with the council. Mr. Fritjof would be proud of him too. Even if he wasn't Misteltein's mentor anymore, the tom still craved approval from Fritjof. 

He couldn't help but yet out a yawn and feel the urge to stretch. "Thank you, Miss Lif. I appreciate all the help. I... may have to take you up on your offer to rest in here for a bit." He admitted, looking to the novice with a tired smile.

Lif ||

"That's not what I meant, I-" Lif cuts herself short from rebuking Misteltein's kind words."Nevermind." He didn't understand that wasn't the problem, but something else entirely. It wasn't wise to waste breath to put her particular issue into words. Instead, she looks away from him, rolling her green eyes.

Maybe this is why they're all like this? She knew how to repair the body but not the mind. Not yet and not for a long while. Lif's whiskers twitched at the mention of the Rune. "The runes are certainly peculiar but with critters like these," She motions with a paw to her familiar. "You never know if we're one cycle away to finding out that something isn't what we thought it to be." The siblings at the festival, their faces were seared into her memory. Not that she assumed they had something to do with this incident, just  another example of the secrets under the surface of their magical world.

"I should go out and forage a bit, the seasons are making it a perfect time to forage. While I'm out, would you like some leaves? Fresh ones, of course."

Misteltein ||

He was glad she didn't respond to deny his words. He was too tired to argue. Thankfully he was also too tired to get mad and snap like he had at his carving earlier.  

He listened to her words and nodded slowly. The familiars were a sudden, large change in everyone's lives and surely there would be other changes the gods had in store... but the eerie thing was how calm Lif was about this situation. He really didn't understand Lif- she was one of those who was cursed for certain, why wasn't she more freaked out about it? 

Regardless, her calmness was probably a very good thing especially considering her job. In fact- perhaps her job was part of the reason- the ability to remain calm in stressful situations was essential for a good healer. And thus she continued to prove her "dragging the whole city down" thing wrong.  

"Nah, I'll decide on getting some later- save your energy on useful herbs." He mewed, waving off the idea with a paw. "We'll need as many as possible given winter coming again." Man, the novices had now experienced all seasons... and come spring, he'd have experienced them all twice. It was crazy to think about.  

He put his head down and gently drifted off as the younger cat left the den to forage.