define('WP_CACHE', true); Chapter 71: Soquan’s Cold – Crossed Paths – Logs

May 26

Chapter 71: Soquan’s Cold

Chapter 71:  Soquan’s Cold

In Which The Otter Takes Ill.

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Chris: The hare opens the door rather loudly. He makes his way down the stairs and begins to move a few boxes.

Catamount: The hare’s movements wake the ferret, who blinks blearily in the filtered light that makes its way towards where she and Soquan bedded down. She yawns and stretches.

Arrin: Beside her, the otter makes a noise of protest against her moving, and tries to huddle more into the warmth of both the makeshift bed, and his bedmate.

Catamount: Soquan’s snuggling is in vain, though, as Jozra sits up and regains her bearings. Now that she thinks about it, it is about breakfast time.

Arrin: Soquan gives up his search for warmth, cracks open an eye sleepily – not that it does any good to him anyway – and makes another soft noise. “Whasamatter?”

Catamount: The ferret stretches again and scratches just between her shoulder blades. “It’s morning.”

Arrin: Soquan grumbles and attempts to huddle back under the blankets. “The sun’s lying.”

Catamount: Jozra chuckles. “I don’t see any sun down here. There’s people eating breakfast upstairs, though.”

Arrin: He grumbles some more, “They’re lying too…”

Catamount: The ferret gives Soquan a light shove and then rubs her belly. “I suppose you’ll say my stomach is lying next?”

Arrin: He gives her a small, wry grin. “Yes.”

Catamount: Jozra rolls her eyes and shoves Soquan a bit harder. “Gettup! Lets see if the rain’s stopped.”

Arrin: Soquan attempts to roll over. “Bugger off Sihayadda.”

Catamount: The ferret smacks the otter upside the head. “Well in that case, stay in bed, sleepy head. I’m getting some breakfast.”

Arrin: Soquan huddles further into the blankets. “Fine by me.”

Catamount: Jozra harrumphs and gets herself up. After making herself a little more presentable, she approaches the stairs.

Arrin: With a glassy eyed look in the ferret’s general direction, Soquan reaches out to grasp the ferret’s tail and drags her back towards the sleeping area. “You should get some more rest, I doubt you want a relapse.”

Catamount: The ferret struggles out of the otter’s grasp. “I’m fine, and it’s definitely time for breakfast, you… hey, are you feeling alright?”

Arrin: Soquan pulls a grimace, attempting to get warm again. “I’m fine Jozra, there’s no need to shout.”

Catamount: Jozra quirks an eyebrow at the otter. “You’re as bad as me. I’m going to get you some tea and maybe see if there’s a healer in the house.”

Arrin: The otter merely gives a soft groan and rolls over without comment, pulling the blankets over his head while he curls in on himself.

Catamount: Jozra glances at Soquan in a concerned manner and then heads for the stairs, finding the tavern already open for business and with a decent amount of clientele for such an early time in the morning. This could probably be explained by the delicious smells coming from the kitchen, though.

Chris: The hare looks up at Jorza from his upturned bucket and waves her over, taking a quick drag from his cig.

Catamount: Jozra notices the hares beckon and makes her way towards him. “Er, good morning.”

Chris: His disillusioned eyes meet her good morning. “Want anything?”

Catamount: The ferret nods. “Right now a cup of tea to take to Soquan, I think he managed to catch a cold. Some breakfast too, of course. Ah, there wouldn’t happen to be a healer around, would there?”

Chris: The hare barks a nearly indistinguishable order to his chefs, getting up and stamping out his cig. He begins walking away toward the back of the tavern.

Catamount: Jozra watches the hare walk off, a little unsure of what to do with herself. The tavern keeper has proved to be quite capable, though he didn’t exactly answer her question… Gah, just our luck if Soq’s sick.

Chris: The hare returns with a small leather bag. He gets a chef’s attention and nods the cup of tea over. He pulls out a few vials, crushes some herbs and drops the mixture into the cup. “If that doesn’t work tell me.  Your breakfast should be ready shortly.”

Catamount: The ferret nods thankfully, still feeling awkward but not quite as much. She takes the cup of tea and warms her paws around it, thanking the hare before she heads back towards the cellar.

Chris: He nods his thanks and sits back down on his bucket, lighting a new cig.

Arrin: Back down in the cellar and curled under a few blankets, Soquan has fallen back asleep, his light snores easily heard to anyone nearby.

Catamount: Jozra carries the tea down the stairs, surreptitiously smelling the steam and putting it together with what she saw the hare put in the cup. Not that she didn’t trust the hare, she just felt that some certain skills could use some dusting off. A tiny taste confirmed what she thought, no trace of poison. And now she had to figure out how to wake the otter without spilling the tea.

Arrin: Blissfully unaware of the ferret’s presence, the otter sleeps on, happy to feel warm, even if it’s just for a little while.

Catamount: The ferret nearly scalds herself and the otter before she decides to set the mug on the floor and shakes the otter awake. “Hey Soq, I brought you some tea.”

Arrin: The otter starts awake and pokes his head out from under the blankets to give her another glassy look. “What? Tea?”

Catamount: Jozra picks the tea back up and tries to give it to Soquan, realizing all the while that she hasn’t a clue as to how the otter managed to take care of her when she was sick. “This will make you feel better.”

Arrin: Propping himself up while keeping the blankets around him, he makes a grab for the cup, missing it completely. “Ugg.”

Catamount: The ferret chuckles a little. “Slow down, river dog.” She moves the cup towards one of his paws, letting him feel the heat radiating from the cup. “It’s right here.”

Arrin: Feeling the warmth from the mug, Soquan grasps it in his paws, taking a long drought of the tea. “Ugg, damn rain.”

Chris: The chefs quietly come down and set the food on a couple of portable tables a little ways from the scene and leave.

Catamount: Jozra calls out a ‘thank you’ to the chefs as they leave. “They even brought us breakfast in bed, Soquan.”

Arrin: “Wonderful.” He grins and chuckles half heartedly, gulping down the rest of his tea before rising onto unsteady paws to move towards the food.

Catamount: Jozra gently pushes the otter back down onto the bed. “Here, I’ll bring it to you.” Carefully she helps him settle a plate on his lap.

Arrin: He gives her another smile. “Thanks Joz.” Settling himself again, he proceeds to pick at his meal.

Catamount: Jozra wolfs down her own breakfast. She was awoken by a rumbly tummy, after all. As she polishes off the last of the meal, she looks over at Soquan. “Feeling any better?”

Arrin: He nods, swallowing his mouthful. “Yeah, a bit, I definitely feel a bit more like myself.”

Catamount: The ferret breaths an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. “That’s good. Maybe you should rest some more, I’ll go find out about the trail ahead.”

Arrin: He pushes aside his half eaten breakfast. “Are you sure you sure?”

Catamount: She nods and scoops up their plates. “Yeah. It’s still drizzling a little outside anyway. You might as well get some more rest.”

Arrin: He gives a quick nod and settles back down again. “Alright then.”

Catamount: “If you need anything, just holler. We’ll hear you.” She balances the plates in her paws and makes her way back up the stairs.

Chris: The hare frowns at her, getting up from his bucket. He takes the plates off of her paws and stalks a bit angrily into the kitchen, giving one of the chefs a few nearly indistinguishable stern words before depositing them into his paws, stalking back to Joz trailing a cloud of smoke. “Good?”

Catamount: Jozra nods. “Yes, thank you.”

Chris: He nods, taking another drag and sitting back creakily back on his bucket. “And your friend?”

Catamount: “Better, thanks to your tea. He’s resting now. Hopefully it’s just a little cold.”

Chris: He nods again and takes a drag, looking out into the tavern.

Catamount: The ferret rubs the back of her neck uncomfortably for a moment, then decides that there’s probably no better person to ask. “So, er, we’re heading South. Anything about the road we should know?”

Chris: He nods pausing thoughtfully for a few seconds. “Don’t stray too far from it. And I’ve been hearing whispers, tales, what have you; either way just take with you that… the farther south you go, the harder it’ll be to keep going.”

Catamount: Jozra nods thoughtfully. The hare’s words indicate she wasn’t just hearing things when she received the orders tapped on trees. There was definitely something South that needed checking out. “Thanks.”

Chris: He nods. “Check with me before you leave.” He waves a paw half dismissively and half goodbye to cut off any potential further discussion.

Catamount: The ferret nods sort of half-heartedly, feeling awkward. She looks around the tavern aimlessly for a few moments, trying to figure out what to do with the day.

Arrin: Sometime later, after managing to pull both himself and their stuff together, Soquan slowly makes his way up the cellar stairs and into main tavern area with both bags slung onto his back. He tries in vain for a few seconds to gauge where his friend is before deciding to call out to her. “Joz?”

Chris: The hare, still stationed on his bucket, turns his disinterested, glassy-eyed gaze toward the otter and watches.

Catamount: The ferret jerks up from where she was sitting, staring into the hearth fire. “Soq! What are you doing up?” She’s out of the chair and at the otter’s side in only a few smooth steps.

Arrin: The otter gives her a small smile. “I felt better and I decided you could use some company.”

Chris: The hare half-cocks a grin and slumps his head back down.

Catamount: Jozra chuckles a little and guides Soquan back towards the fire place. “The sky seems to be clearing up a bit, it’s only sprinkling a little now and then.”

Arrin: He gives a nod. “When do you want to head out then?”

Catamount: The ferret looks the otter over critically and then considers the beasts entering the tavern for an early lunch. “Tomorrow morning sound good? It’s nearly lunch time now and you should make sure you’re over this cold.”

Arrin: He crinkles his nose, hating the idea of staying longer, but Jozra was right. “If you say so…”

Catamount: Jozra chuckles. “I know, I know. But at least it’s only one day and not weeks…”

Arrin: Soquan nods and after placing the bags on the ground, he plunks into one of the chairs by the fire. “So you got any ideas as to how to pass the time?”

Catamount: The ferret shrugs her shoulders and sighs. “Not a clue.”

Jozra

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