RP:Too Little Too Late

Part of the Rise of Larket Arc

Sabrina was sitting on the riverbank, cold as it was it didn’t seem to bother her as she tended to scrubbing debris from her hair while she tied her leathers to a prop, allowing the current to take with it the filth that coated them. Her boots were flung on the bank while she squatted unceremoniously somewhere between ankle and knee-deep. Beside her was a bowl stained with stagnant water that still had the lingering scent of half-rotted flesh along with a few tidbits of some lifeform stuck inside. By the looks of it she had inadvertently become the wearer of what used to be in that bowl.

Xzavior was heading up the riverbank about to head up to the spot that had offered him peace when everywhere else was way to chaotic for his taste. He had with him a satchel of food and something to read, he had planned to be there for a while at least. But as he caught the unusual scent of rotten flesh he grew curious as to what was the cause and went to go check out the source. Upon finding the source he sighed and looked away as he saw Sabrina bathing in the river. Great this is the second time he stumbled upon a lady bathing. With a small quiet clearing of his throat he tried to slip away unnoticed.

Sabrina stood up to face him, wearing not much more than skivvies but, elves… what can you do. She tied her hair back in a high pony, a slightly complicated pony that drew mid-thigh lengths to just above her shoulders. Around one shoulder is a scar, encircling the entirety of it lending the idea it had at one point been completely removed, across her rib cage was a wide and rough section taking up most of that side and there was no clear indicator of what could have cause that sort of damage- let alone how she would have lived through it. Finally, across her chest was a mark, the design magical in nature but its details were lost beneath the fabric that covered her ample bosom. Aside from the obvious there were no other indicators of any strife her skin had befallen- not so much as a tan, as the elements had little effect on her being. “You are not as quiet as you think you are.” She was not shy, never cared to be, and besides- at best her attire could be diluted to a bathing suit so there was nothing primal that could be carried into the situation. She picks up her pants, vest, and sleeves, shaking them out and giving them a sniff. The sanitized water did a good enough job on its own but she headed up the path from the river, garments draped over her arm. Her boots and gloves were left by the shore. She speaks over her shoulder, Elvish tongue. “Coming?” If he looked up the path he would see something that he may not have noticed before, a stunning homestead glimmering into existence- a view anyone would swear they had not seen before. Ara had that way of only showing up when it wanted to, and that made it a very special sanctuary for those seeking refuge.

Xzavior shook his head and followed her, replying in her tongue, "So I've been told. Interesting that I'm not given that I'm a snake, but I'm not been one for sneaking though I probably should. Seems it could be a useful tool." Xzavior was a well read sort of person so language came as a plus, that and having been a traveler most of his life, not knowing a language in an area where no one speaks common was detrimental to his health. As he looked passed her to see where they were heading and quirked a brow, it was an interesting sight to behold, a building he hadn't seen the multiple times he had been here but didn't question it.

Sabrina smiled at his excellent conversion from common to Elvish and appreciated that it would make talking to him that much easier. Once up the path she would hold the door open for him, bracing her full weight against the hefty door to hold it until he passed. Once inside she would drape her items over a stand at the entrance and make her way to the kitchen where she would offer him a drink. She hoped he liked wine, it was either that or water since she came home to a starkly stocked house. “Red or white.” And it would seem that the rest of their conversation would take place in a tongue she felt most comfortable. She grabbed a long white shirt for his benefit and pulled it over her form before exiting the kitchen with two brand new bottles in hand. She placed them both on a table before him but would not venture within arm’s length for reasons very much her own and reasons she was sure she had made clear upon their last encounter. “Tell me then, what is the range of your knowledge in the art of healing?” Right down to business as usual as she sat perched on the arm of a plush sofa, crossing pale legs in a she-doctor thinking position.

Xzavior gave her a small bow as she held the door for him and took a look around the place. When she offered wine he nodded with a smile, "Red if I may." He was fine with most drinks and he had no problem speaking in elvish for any extended period of time, "The range of my skills. I've had a hand in childbirth, sadly the mother bled out. I've done a few surgeries and I know all toxins venoms and most poisons and the antidote to each. I've stitched up large open wounds and realigned broken or dislocated bones. There are more than likely subjects that I've missed but I know the things I've needed to handle while at the sick bay with Artia."

Sabrina is impressed with his knowledge base, it was more than she had expected but it would make helping him that much easier. “And you have learned to diagnose the differences between viral and bacterial infections, poisoning, and curses?” She asked this question with purpose, having still been confused at Artia’s explanation of the current on goings; if the crisis was via poison or viral engineering. “Have you taken apart the bodies and subjected them to autopsy?” She reaches for the red wine as well, not that it would do any good to render any state of calm that came with it. She didn’t possess enough wine stocks to maintain any level of insobriety. She shifted on the arm of the chair, forcing her body to slide down into a sitting position, legs propped lazily over it as she stared at the ceiling as she awaited his findings.

Xzavior gave her a nod, "Of course, though I haven't had a run in with any curses yet. Other then one but that was before I began my training. As for the Fermin incident, I have gotten involved. They have been poisoning livestock and anything that eats the infected meat also gets poisoned. It's quick acting so anyone who falls victim to it dies almost instantly, it rots organs and creates flesh eating blisters all over the body. We've already discovered what the Fermin have been using and it is a mixture of snake venom, spider venom, and fermin blood. Which made it a bit complicated to try and get rid of without going after all of the toxins at once." He took a drink of the wine and gave a small smile, he might not drink wine often but he could appreciate a good bottle.

Sabrina didn’t know how they had begun treating it but she works through the most obvious first. “Bois canot root for the open blisters, and I trust you have bled the victims to create the antibody?” As for the Fermin blood she recommended a simple antibiotic from the Hyssop. “And so your cure should be nearly complete, I would begin treating the livestock- although… those who have already ingested the meat should probably come directly to me… provided they live that long.” She was happy she didn’t have to step in, she had spent some time convincing herself that these humans needed to start relying on one another if Larket was ever going to work out, with the help of Naga or not they needed to get organized. She had clearly moved on to talking to herself at this point as if deducing the solution to a very complicated math riddle

Xzavior shrugged and thought of a better way to explain, "Like I said, it's all venom based and we have the antivenom for those along with the antitoxin for the fermin blood. We just needed to mix all of them without each of them mixing or diluting each other then we're set. And sadly, unless they were struck with it right at the Red Ogre and we instantly moved them there might still not be time to actually save any of the victims."

Sabrina nods approvingly. “However antidote is only as good as the ability to administer it in a timely manner. My thoughts are slightly more preemptive.” She sat up, clutching her wine glass neatly. “You need to reproduce the poison and dose the locals without killing them. Immunity, in my opinion is your best option.” Thin legs swing over the cushion to lean back into the chair, staying still was clearly not her strong point. “You can’t cure death, at least not without the proper skill set, even then…” Her lips pulled back in a frown, lowering her chin with tense lips and eyebrows drawn together. “still questionable.”

Xzavior chuckled awkwardly, "though I would agree with you that building an immunity to the poison would be the best case. Since we wouldn't even need to worry about the cure, human livers are not as great as dealing with poisons as other races," He sighed and came to a stand, but remained in place. "We'd have to give them an extremely small dose with how powerful it is and even then there is a risk." He paused and looked over at her with a smirk, "And I'd also not like to see any zombies or anything walking around."

Sabrina understood the frailty of the race, but she urges. “But a series of graduating doses administered after each cycle of sickness that would follow… although there is little chance of a hundred percent survival rate, I can make myself available in only those instances.” It wasn’t like she was going to poison the flocks and take a walk. “I am sure Artia is an expert pharmacologist, just switch managing herbs to dealing with live toxins.” She lacked a certain confidence in Artia’s area of expertise, their meetings had been so fleeting she didn’t get enough time to get a good read off her. In hindsight she realized she just offered to babysit sick humans and decided that now would be a good time to stop talking.

Xzavior bobbed his head side to side. Despite what they were talking about and the seriousness of the situation he actually enjoyed having these kind of discussions. Planning, evaluating all that. Though he wasn't sure just how well he was hiding it so with a quick flick of his head he spoke again, "I'm not saying we shouldn't do it, more as we'll have to be extremely cautious while doing so, and if there is a serious case during the trials the people are more likely going to head for either Artia or I. They trust her more then, no offence, someone who had just resurfaced not to long ago."

Sabrina didn’t immediately know whether to take that as an insult or not, she’d have gone with the alternative choice in that she was an Ardent- but most came to her for life or death and not a cough or a sniffle. “In my experience, when someone says ‘no offense’ it is usually followed up with intentional offense.” She didn’t seem bothered by that point, almost as if she were used to it. She was irritated with the idea that laced his comment “I can say this; a seven-month interlude does not merit a ‘resurfacing.’ And it is good they trust her, especially if she intends to ever be good at what she does, but any intelligent being” an insult “would know that what takes a Human a life-time to accomplish is a mere blink for those who live past their early scholar years.” He must have hit a nerve, she suspected he understood the risk when he challenged her ability to a life-long pursuit in the wellbeing of all living things. Druid or not, she was still very much a well-bred Elfess and with that came an ego to match. “I can resurface a hundred years from now, and those same sniveling pretenders would still do better to be served by me then some insolent, babe of a species with so little of an understanding how things really work that they think their knowledge is new- original.” She was standing at this point, the smallish and generally passive female radiating an aura of pure and genuine anger. “With their recycled and polished versions of cures and potions- enhanced with a bit of glitter but remedies that have been tried and tested by generations far before their own pathetic existence.” She was not yelling but stern and the sheer emotion she emitted would touch him even from this distance. And such was the way of her kind, Ardents- and the ability to control infractions just like these took years to lock deep inside. “Trust, is a very liquid state when lives are on the line.”

Xzavior sighed and cursed under his breath, "Look, I'm sorry. I just wasn't sure just how things exactly were, I've been here a little over a month so all I know in terms of anything is that there is some very serious conflict in Frostmaw." He paused and awkwardly added, "That I got myself involved in." Turning back to her he gave her a slight bow, "I meant no disrespect nor was I questioning your skill in any way shape or form. I know the feeling of being ridiculed. Trust me I'm a nage. I've heard a lot more than just a few sneered names. It was not my intention or my goal to piss you off, especially when you've been kind enough to even offer to teach me. So please accept my apology."

Sabrina was still hot, only slightly short of inflicting some form of wrath upon him. But she was also very in control at the moment, spending a great deal of energy containing all that was building beneath the surface. The mention of Frostmaw brought a level of distraction that enforced her calm. “I will excuse it, but only once.” She had a high tolerance for a great many things, but underestimating her was unacceptable. Comparing her ability with a Human was a core insult that under normal circumstances would have resulted in some version of intense and searing pain. The tension in the room began to thin, the genuine anger dissolving into a distinct feeling of manufactured calm. It was a technique she used on many patients, inducing a sort of drug-like serenity that forced the brain to overproduce oxytocin- An Ardent’s version of faking a pleasant smile.

Xzavior , for being a cryomancer, was surprised he was actually able to heat a room and only just barely cool it down. "Like I said, it won't happen again. It was a stupid thing for me to say, even without meaning to cause any harm from it." He bowed again before sitting down and offering her a smirk, "If you still feel like hitting me or something I probably won't oppose. I'm not made of glass so." He trailed off with a shrug

Sabrina didn’t hit, in truth she avoided all non-healing contact with most things with very few exceptions. She appeared confused. “Why in Sven’s name would -I- hit you.” She was after all ridiculously outsized and it simply would not make sense given all the others things she could do to him. With brows furrowed she pads off to the kitchen to drain her wine into the basin there. She was oddly silent- that woman kind of silence where you know you messed up, and she knows you messed up, and there is only time to pass before she can properly brew your mistake and throw it back in your face. The silence breaks “So what -is- your plan?” Gods, it was like everything she said to him at this point had a stain of sarcasm clinging desperately to it.

Xzavior was prepared for most anything she threw his way so when she asked him why she would hit him he gave a shrug, "Hit me, burn me, chastise me without remorse. Whatever you feel necessary. I hate being on bad terms with people and feel even worse when it's unintentional. As long as you're not trying to kill me or permanently scar me." As she came back in with her second question he shook his head, "You're going to have to be a bit more specific. If you're talking about the Fermin, then just go along with the plan."

Sabrina pushed away from the counter and headed for the stairs. “Let me know how it works out for and your human.” With thin fingers gracing the staircase she adds. “When the body count rises, you know where to find me.” She didn’t leave him room to put in a word edgewise. She did not imply she wasn’t going to help- on her own, but if they needed assistance they would now have to ask for it. Larket had more problems to contend with, all springing from her short absence- proof that she was not an expendable resource in these lands. She wasn’t about to waste her time battling the ramblings of idiots that were in way over their heads. She begins up the stairs to retire for the evening.

Xzavior sighed and took a stand, "Alright. I'll come back later. Rest easy." He neither waited for a response, he was more then certain he wasn't going to get one either way. Gods he hated being able to find that one thing that pissed people off. It was a good thing that he learned from it and not just blatantly threw it around without thinking of the consequence.