Another day of walking aimlessly around this swamp. He really only acts out of instinct. Eat, drink, protect yourself, sleep. Recently, he had realized that walking too far away and staying away hurt. He didn't know why, but he found out that he just needed to come back to the swamp for the pain to subside. Was it something he ate? Did it have to do with where he slept? Was he just too used to the environment of the swamp now that being away from it for too long had physical repercussions?

He wished someone could explain it to him. But too many kin he had tried to approach in the swamp either looked at him with fear and ran away, or were too put off by his ignorance and manners that they didn't stay long enough to give him any of the answers he sought.

Today he walked to a nice meadow covered in plants and flowers of various shapes, sizes, colors. Maybe one of these will make him feel better? Will let him walk away and stay away from the swamp again?

There was only one other kin here, a Kiokote doe that looked to be picking through the strange plants herself. He didn't want to bother her, although she looked kind and might be one of those kin who would talk to him for a while before deciding that he was too odd to give more of their time to. Regardless, he still did not want to bother her in case she was doing something important. Instead he just walked up to the most vibrant colored plant and started chewing on it; flower, leaves, and stem.

Lutz wrote:Please help my ignorant boy not to die.

Hang the Moon had eventually left the sea, needing to return to her normal parts of the swamp to tend to her plants. The summer was wearing on and harvesting would begin soon and it had been quite the journey to get to the ocean in the first place. The way back was long and arduous but Hang the Moon kept her spirits up by investigating new plant life, meeting new kin, and planting a few seeds along the way in hopes that the flowers and herbs might take root for others in the area to benefit from.

She'd decided to take a bit of a break about halfway back to her main area of the swamp, her hooves aching from the constant walking. She needed to rest for a few days, let them stop throbbing, and possibly put on a bit of weight. Her adventures had certainly taken her to many interesting places but she had to walk to all the new biomes she'd visited. That took a lot of energy!

So she found herself poking through a meadow, inspecting new plants and grazing as she went, when a kin made his way into the clearing as well. Hang the Moon watched him from a distance at first, his appearance quite startling but interesting all at once. His horns were quite imposing and it almost looked like he was wearing some kind of helm that covered his face. Not only that, but he had large spikes protruding from his back and a tail that shouldn't function as easily as it did. It looked like it was pure bone, no skin, fur, or muscle on it. His markings were quite striking as well and he almost seemed to glow.

When it became obvious that he wasn't going to attack her Hang the Moon decided she should introduce herself. It was then that he took a bite of a flower she'd been studying for the better part of the day which made her approach quicken quite a bit.

"Oh! Um! Excuse me!" she said as she changed from a slow walk to a gallop. "I wouldn't eat that if I were you!"

doomsayer wrote:She'll try her best!

His legs clenched and his tail straightened out--his body preparing itself to strike--as he heard the Kiokote doe call out to him and move in his direction. He wanted to say that it was instinctive, but it was a fight response ingrained into him by trauma. He needed to actively will himself relax his body once he realized the she was not a threat, but in doing this, he did not immediately process that she was asking him to not eat the plant with the bright orange-red flower and yellow dotted leaves.

Looking at her gallop to him, he chewed a few more times before he realized that his tongue was stinging and the rest of the inside of his mouth was starting to tingle. By the time she closed the gap between them, he finally understood that he needed to spit the plant out, but some damage had already been done as he did so. His cheeks were starting to swell and tears were starting to well in his eyes.

While crying and with a tongue that was starting to swell, he could only voice out to the doe, "Why? ... I'm sorry..."

Lutz wrote:

Although she'd called out a warning it took the Totoma a few moments to heed it. Could she blame him? Although he looked fierce, she was the one charging at him! She'd be startled too! Finally her words proceed and he spat out the flower but as she drew close enough, it was clear the effects were already taking hold. Oh dear.

"Oh...don't apologize," she said as the stricken Totoma spoke. It wasn't his fault, he clearly hadn't known the flower - it's stem, really - would cause such a reaction. It was the plant's natural defense...while raw. When baked in the sun until all the wetness had leeched out, it could be crushed into a very good localized numbing paste that could help with taking the pain away from injuries. In its natural form, however...well. The Totoma was experiencing the unpleasant sensations it caused.

"Don't worry, you'll be all right," she assured the larger kin. "If you come with me I have something I can use to reverse the effects. I'm staying in a little den just past the meadow's edge down the way a bit." She hesitated, realizing it might be odd to go with a stranger. "I'm Hang the Moon, I'm a healer. And if you'd rather wait it out, I can guarantee you it doesn't get much worse than what you're experiencing right now. It won't kill you, but you won't be able to eat or talk very well for the next day or so." The swelling and odd sensations would disappear over time but she had something that could help in the moment if he trusted her.

doomsayer wrote:Sorry for multiple tags, I saw a lot of typos -facepalm-

Iron didn't like what he was feeling in his mouth. He wasn't exactly in pain, but he felt like his tongue was a lot bigger than it usually was and his entire face was hot, causing him to tear up.

He tried his best to keep eye contact, looking at Hang the Moon in the face as she spoke to him. But he couldn't help but blink every few seconds because his eyeballs were starting to itch. His discomfort made him slightly disoriented and did not let him register everything she was saying. When she stopped talking, he nodded as enthusiastically as he could manage to acknowledge that he was at least aware that she was talking to him, but all he could say back to her was, "Plant not good for eating. I go with you. You help me?"

Just the act of talking caused him to tear up again, but he was glad that someone bothered to care about him to offer help. He followed where she led with his head looking down in embarrassment.

Lutz wrote:

Oh, the poor dear. Hang the Moon wasn't sure if the plant was causing him to speak in broken sentences or if that was just how he talked, but she wasn't about to ask him. Not when he was in such clear discomfort!

"Yes, I'll help you," she said, turning to lead the way back to her temporary home. She kept her pace brisk but ensured the Totoma was keeping up, giving him gentle encouragement as they walked. Once they reached the little den in the side of a gently sloped hill she motioned for him to stay, then headed inside. She dug around in her satchel until she found the root she was looking for. It was best when it was ground down into a powder and re-hydrated with fresh water, but chewing the root and letting one's saliva hydrate it as they ate it worked in a pinch.

And this was certainly a pinch.

Bringing her prize back out, she set it down on the ground and nudged it towards the other kin.

"Here you go, eat this. It will help with the discomfort immediately as you start to chew. The swelling will go down in a few minutes." She looked at him with concern in her golden eyes. His tongue was certainly swollen but so were his cheeks, giving him the appearance of a very large chipmunk. Had he not been so uncomfortable it would have been a humorous sight.

doomsayer wrote:

He nods in acknowledgement of her instructions as he picks up the root and starts to chew on it. Blinking through tear-filled eyes, he can finally make out that she wasn't just a blur of blue. Hints of gold markings in the shape of crescents spread throughout her torso and flank. She had golden, kind eyes.

After a few minutes of chewing, he could finally feel that his tongue had returned to its regular size--or at least a size enough that he could speak properly. He gathered his thoughts and formed the words he wanted to say in his head. He knows that kin here in the swamp speak with more words to better convey their precise thoughts, so he needed to change his way of speaking from the curt, shortened expressions he was more used to in the mountains.

"I express to you my... gratitude... for your help. I am Iron. I... was only... trying to find... something that would... let me leave... the swamp."

He made sure to keep chewing the root she gave him as he felt that his cheeks weren't all the way back to normal yet and his eyes were still irritated.

Lutz wrote:

Hang the Moon watched as the root did its job. Slowly the Totoma's swollen features began to shrink, his speech much easier to understand now that his tongue was going back to a normal size and the tingling sensation left. She studied him carefully, wanting to make sure that he was completely healed before telling him he could stop chewing on the root. It wouldn't be a bad thing if he just ate the whole thing, of course. But she knew it wasn't the most pleasant tasting of roots, though she would happily eat it herself if it meant not swelling up like she'd swallowed a whole beehive.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Iron, even if the circumstances aren't the best," she said with a small smile. His reasoning for eating the flower made her smile falter a bit. Leave the swamp? Oh dear...

"I see...you weren't born here, I take it?" she asked gently. "Keep chewing the root until I tell you to stop," she added. "I'd like to make sure your swelling has gone down completely before you spit it out."

doomsayer wrote:

He shook his head up and down, agreeing with her deduction.

"Yes I... was not... born in the swamp. Sorry... for how I... speak. I am... still not... used to... big long sentences. I... ran here... from mountains... after family was overwhelmed... by predators. But I.... would like to.... be able to travel.... without hurting. Do you know... why leaving swamp.... hurts?"

He hopes she wasn't put off by his ungraceful way with words, but she was kind enough to help him and bring him all the way to her shelter, so he felt that she might be able to help him in finding the answers to his questions. It had been so long since he spoke to another kin. He only realized now that, before this, he felt alone.

Lutz wrote:

"Oh, you don't need to apologize," Hang the Moon reassured, her expression as soft as her tone of voice. Her heart ached as she realized Iron would never be able to go back to his home again for any extended period of time. Perhaps if he lived near the Obelisk he could visit but that was about it. She tried to formulate a simple way of explaining the Ache, but there really was no good way to simplify it.

"Iron...I'm so sorry," she said gently, finding it was her turn to apologize for something she had no control over. "No one really knows why, but once you visit the Swamp you cannot leave without experiencing the Ache. That pain that you felt, that's what it's called. It draws us back to our home. For those born here it's not much of a problem, it's something we live with with little consequence. But for accidental visitors..." She trailed off, not sure what to say to comfort him.

"You can leave for a little bit, but it's not wise to travel too far. Though there are means to travel a far distance in a short period of time, but the Ache will always flare up."

doomsayer wrote:

His shoulders visibly drooped as Hang the Moon explained the mystery of the Ache to him. How does this unexplained force simply trap kin to a location without there being an issue with there eventually being too many kin to share in the resources of the land? Or perhaps, he thought, it was a cruel way of putting them into that situation to create conflict--to cull the numbers of kin so that their numbers would not overwhelm their surroundings? Has there been no known case of someone overcoming the Ache and leaving the swamp altogether?

He was lost in his thoughts for a moment before he realized Hang the Moon was still looking at him and that he initiated this conversation so he really should continue it.

"Is there... no way to... overcome the pain? To eat... some herb... or take some animal... that would let... one... go away? Have kin... perished from... fighting against it?"

Lutz wrote:

Hang the Moon could see the Iron was lost in thought at the news. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to accidentally cross the border of the swamp without knowing the consequences. She felt like those that lived close to the border must know, but kin that spent their time further from the edge of the swamp clearly had no idea. If only there was a way to warn them that stepping into the swamp would forbid them from returning home...

"I'm afraid not," she said gently. "Other than to return to the Swamp as it begins to grow. And...I'm not sure," she added, her voice more apologetic than thoughtful. "I've only heard stories of kin trying to resist the urge, only to end up returning. It's not only physical pain, but a desire to return to the Swamp that permeates the mind. It turns into an all-consuming thought until your hooves are bag on soggy ground." She'd never heard of someone perishing from the Ache...but she'd also never heard of someone successfully resisting the pull to return.

"I'm sorry, Iron. I know it's a lot to take in especially since you didn't know before hand. But the Swamp is a wonderful place," she said, trying to make his new home not sound like a prison. "And there are ways to travel further than the Ache normally allows. Have you ever heard of or seen an Obelisk? A large, dark stone rising from the ground?"

doomsayer wrote:

A clear look of recognition and trepidation crossed Iron's face as Hang the Moon described the obelisks to him.

"The standing stones... among my kind we... told stories of it... Kin would go in.... never come out... we were warned... even as young... to never touch the standing stones... They lead to place... outside of understanding.

Before someone explained the Ache to him, he was simply frustrated that he could not return to mountains that were his childhood home. But now that it was clearly shown to him that the Ache is an insurmountable force and that he would not be able to leave the swamp for good ever again, he felt only a deep sadness.

"Now... I know.... I can't go back. It is... sad. Swamp...does not... feel like home. But I... am grateful... to you for... fixing me. I am... not familiar... with the plants of the swamp. I... have hard time... getting other kin... to explain to me. They all run... afraid of... how I look. Thank you... for not running."

Lutz wrote:

Ah, so he was aware. But it sounded as if Iron didn't know just what the Obelisks could do. Yes, there were strange things within them, but if you continued walking and didn't get preoccupied you could end up in different places. Perhaps those that had gone through the large stone had ended up in the Swamp much like Iron had and could no longer return back to their mountains.

She could see the resignation on Iron's face, even behind his helm. Those glowing eyes almost seemed to dim as he spoke again. Her heart ached for him and she wished there was something she could do to make him feel even the smallest bit better, though she supposed she had by giving him the root to chew on to alleviate the swelling in his mouth.

"They shouldn't run," she said gently, unsure if a nuzzle would be appreciated or not. There were things about Iron that she had questions about - how did his tail stay together when it looked like it was made of bone, for instance - but it wasn't her place to ask. "You may look different, but you're just like the rest of us. You'll find kin here that accept you, don't let it dishearten you. If you'd like, you can stay with me. I'm traveling back to the part of the Swamp I call home. There's more kin in those parts, Totoma like you even. I could teach you about the plants here and what life is like in the Swamp." She'd been happy to travel alone at first, having bumped into kin along the way, but having a companion for the rest of the journey home would be nice. That, and Iron could hopefully feel comfortable in his new home by the time they reached her own stomping grounds.

doomsayer wrote:

Iron was taken aback by Hang the Moon's offer. He was a stranger to her just a few moments ago, and now she was offering to have him accompany her to her home in the swamp. The first thought in his mind was that kin here were so complacent in their assumption of safety that they would do such a thing, but after considering the kindness and concern that she showed for him--a fearsome looking Totoma she did not know that obviously did not belong here--perhaps it was not complacency. Perhaps the easy life in the swamp actually breeds kindness.

He smiled at Hang the Moon, his glow intensifying slightly as it mirrored the joy he was feeling, "Thank you. You are kind... and the only one... to actually speak... to me for... a long time. It... has been... very difficult... being alone... in this place... I do not know."

"If I... would not be... a burden to you, I... would like travel... with you for a while. I am a powerful hunter and.... can take down prey... much larger... than I. I am... not familiar with plants... here in the swamp.... but I grew up in the mountains... and can tell you about plants and other animals... from there... if you... would like to... know about... those things."

Lutz wrote: