The plant gathering expedition

I sat by the fire in the Library, picking brambles from my stockings while Lyra waited impatiently by the stairs. Rellis strolled in greeting us and asked, “Anything of interest happening?"

“We’ve been out collecting plants,” Lyra replied. She tapped her foot with impatience, “Joah, can you help me unload these? I need to get them out of the sack and ready to press. There are some samples for Rellis to analyze, too.”

"I'm just taking a bit of a rest," I replied, plucking a bit of grass from the lacings in my boot. "Hold on a second, Lyra. I want to pull this off."

“I can't believe you even wore that to collect plants.” Lyra rolled her eyes at my black silk dress, my torn stockings, and my heeled boots. “Not very practical.”

I continued plucking grass and weeds from my stockings and the top of my boots. "I know . . . rather foolish of me, I think."

Rellis’s ears began twitching at the word “plant.” “Any I can look at now?” he asked.

Lyra opened her pack and started to show Rellis what we had found. But when I finished tossing the weeds in my hand into the fire, I looked up and saw a new woman in the Library. She had wandered over to the desk with a large pile of books and appeared to be asleep. “Just a moment, Lyra,” I said as I walked toward the woman.

Lyra continued showing plants to Rellis. “We will have to use a few references to identify some of these I think. I'll leave it to you to study them and determine their properties, if any.”

Rellis furrowed his brow in concentration. "I already have my note book. I’ve never seen some of these before.” He began pulling out a few rather more cautiously than usual.

“Hopefully, none of them are poisonous,” Lyra grinned. “I guess we'll find out.”

Thinking of some of Rellis’s earlier mishaps in the lab, I glanced back at him and Lyra. "Let's not take anything out until we get to the lab, please." Both nodded a silent yes and began putting plants back into the pack. Lyra pulled out the extra bottle of water she’d brought for me and laughed about my being unused to hiking around, while Rellis murmured an apology about being a bit to eager to delve in.

I then turned my attention to the woman, who indeed was sleeping face down in a handwritten book. I tapped her on the shoulder and she raised her head groggily, ink stains on her cheeks. Her name was Ares Mizin and she was looking for books on protective magicks. I pointed her to the far right corner of the stacks, then returned to Rellis and Lyra and headed upstairs.

Lyra walked straight to the crates at the back of the lab, asking Rellis if he’d found an identification guide yet. She slipped off her pack and muttered something about needing a few more tables upstairs, as she lifted two plant presses from one of the boxes and hauled out a drying oven from another. She set everything the floor. “Would you like to do the honors, Joah?” she asked.

I nodded and pulled the plastic bag out of Lyra’s backpack as she arranged the presses. "Perhaps we should have used individual bags," I said, looking and the snarled mass of greenery within. Meanwhile, Rellis wandered over to the stacks upstairs and began combing the shelves for plant references.

Lyra shrugged, “This is the way I've always done it. Let’s get these pressed and into the drying oven before they mold.” Lyra took off her backpack and laid it next to the wall. “Ready, Joah?”

I nodded. We certainly didn’t want the plants to mold in the Toxian air; we wouldn’t be able to preserve their morphological integrity if they did. I opened the bag and pulled out a dark green vine with small clusters of individual purplish-black berries. I laid the vine upon the table and glanced at the presses, “How many plants do we have room for, Lyra?”

“We can stack several plants in each press, I think," she replied. As I reached in the bag to grab another plant, an odd thing happened: a puff of what appeared to be tiny pink achenes attached to tufts of fine hairs wafted from it. Then Lyra reached in the bag and pulled out a tangle of samples all at once. Pink flew everywhere. “What’s that?” I coughed. We hadn’t collected anything with pink buds or flowers or clocks.

Lyra choked a little, waving the floating particles away. “I’m not sure, probably pollen,” she said. "Have you ever done this before Joah?”

“I have,” I replied, “But the traditional way: either bundling and hanging the plants upside down to dry or using blotter paper and books.” I glanced at wooden frames of the plant pressed, wondering how to tighten their woven straps. “Well, let’s separate the samples and give some of each to Rellis.”

Rellis had begun sneezing as the pink cloud drifted through the room. "What is that?" he muttered, trying to clear his nose of pink particles.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Lyra said as she ran over to get a stack of newspapers from the small desk in the corner. She began untangling and placing plants between two sheets of newsprint, then laying the package between two blotters.

Rellis sneezed again as he started grabbing books from the shelves and setting them down on the lab table. He took a small glass phial and stirring rod from the lab table drawer, knelt down on the floor and began to push the pink particles into it.

Lyra continued placing plants, while I assisted. “We’ll stack them all, put the press on either side of the stack and tighten it,” she explained. “Then they’ll need to go into the drying oven.”

I wondered aloud whether we should use the drying oven or let the plants dry more slowly, when Lyra suddenly dropped an entire assemblage to the floor. “What *is* this pink stuff?” she mused, tracing her fingers in the air, then catching a tiny achene and rolling it between her thumb and index finger.

Rellis sneezed again and growled, "Joah, please get this stuff out of the air. It’s really starting to bother me for some reason."

“This wasn't there before was it?” Lyra drifted her hand upward, pointing at something behind her that didn’t appear to be there. She breathed deeply and sighed, as though her sense of smell had just grown keener.

I coughed again, trying to clear my throat. Lyra walked toward me, a sleepy smile on her face, plants forgotten on the floor. Stopping just inches away, she began caressing my arm, “That is such a pretty dress, Joah.”

I looked down at my dress and brushed a few of the pink achenes away. "That stuff's all over me," I sighed, but the particles felt silky and I found I was longing to smell their scent.

Lyra touched my face and ran the back of her hand down my cheek, “Yes, it is all over you,” she murmured, stroking softly. I tilted my cheek towards Lyra’s hand as she began twirling the fingers of her other hand around my hair, purring. Her tail swished back and forth.

I began to feel very warm. I’d quite forgotten about the plants, breathing in the wonderful aroma. My lips brushed Lyra’s, "Thank you for the compliment,” I said in a low voice as I began stroking the soft fur on her face.

Still playing with my hair, Lyra glanced over at Rellis, whose eyes had begun to widen as he muttered something about a releaser pheromone. “Have you found that book, handsome?" she said dreamily.

Rellis appeared to be trying to gain some composure "Please try to control yourself, Lyra." Clearly, he was trying hard to do the same.

“Control myself?” Lyra asked with a sparkly laugh. “What is there to control? I feel . . . good.”

I stretched and ran my hands down my sides, "Mmm . . . I do, too," I sighed contentedly.

“Maybe we can just press these plants later,” Lyra purred as she began running her fingers through her own hair, enjoying the sensation. I nodded, thinking of tail snugs by the fire.

“Try to keep sane here, Lyra,” Rellis interjected. "It’s something about the plants . . . making you. . . . “ He stopped suddenly and grinned. “Umm . . . you don't look bad," he said, making an odd grunting noise.

Lyra laughed again. “I don't know what you are talking about, Rellis. You fuddy dud!” Lyra walked over to the chairs in the seating area, plopped down in one and began running her hands over the fabric. “Mmm, this chair is soft,” she murmured.

I walked over to Rellis, put my arms around him and began stroking his ruff. "Must find," he began, and then almost purring to himself he relaxed. "Well . . . maybe later," he trailed off.

Lyra rested her head against the chair rubbing her face against it. I smiled warmly at Rellis. “Calm down. Everything is just fine." I leaned over and kissed him on the snout. "See, I told you so."

Rellis chuckled as he nodded. "Guess so—I don't even remember what I was stressing about. Let’s head down."

And we did.

Speaker for the dead

Lorne asked me where I had been.

How to describe it? I’d been out of the city. Ferried away to a place where ruin walks more strongly than in Toxia, as hard as that is to imagine. I speak for the dead. When I am summoned, I must go. I cannot refuse the call, nor can my presence be refused once I am sent. They call me from their dreams.

But there were so many dead this time. So much loss. So much chaos. Over and over I researched, I talked to the survivors, I spoke trying to describe each life and give meaning to the way it was lived. I neither justify nor judge. I try to give meaning to the flaws, the misdeeds, and the intentions gone awry.

Some think me a priestess, though I am not. I mark the span. I tell their lives. I cannot help but reveal their secrets, the mysteries of each intricately woven together with the others by deception, guilt, and love. Thirty-two stones. Thirty-two tolls of the bell. I traced the Tree of Sephiroth around my neck, with the tips of my fingers, marking the Path for each one, Malcuth to Kaether Elyson.

The heat rippled off of the crumbling houses as the people left quietly and the cicadas buzzed in the trees, an electric hum permeating the air.

I speak for the dead.

Rellis's box

I was sitting in the Haven, talking with Nicholette and Regg when I heard someone shout, “I don’t see any Omegans here.” Looking toward the door, I realized that it was Gomi Graves, with Frew and a Cyber woman I did not recognize. He sought consultation with the Institute over the T.A.R.D. sentry in the South City. We met in the Library to discuss the matter, and as the Cybers were leaving, Rellis arrived.

He seemed distracted. I wondered what new potion he’d been working on. I knew that Rellis had recently moved from the Library’s lab to his own little one hoping to cause less damage to the Library itself, and perhaps hoping to spend less coin on broken equipment and glassware. He sighed and sat down, then asked for an update, gesturing toward where the Cybers had been.

I looked up from my perch by the fire, finished my notes and tucked my notepad and pencil back into my skirt. "The Cybers? They were trying to find out whether anyone Library had been working on upgrading the T.A.R.D. sentry in south Toxia. It's the robot sentry designed to fight the monsters down there. I don't know if can fight the new beasts, though."

Rellis nodded. "I was down there when the wild tree attacked. I was eager to study it, but I thought it better to stay away.”

I smoothed my skirt, plucking at a stray thread. "Could you tell me what happened, Rellis? I've been out of the city a while, speaking for the dead." I felt weary with the weight of it. "Much seems to have occurred while I was away. Since when do trees in Toxia attack?

Rellis sighed deeply again. Wild trees seemed to be the furthest thing from his mind. “Well, Zillinger is dead. Executed. He killed Aurelia.” He folded his hands in his lap. “New monsters have appeared in South Toxia. . . .”

I knew that Rellis had had a troubling relationship with the slaver. “I heard about Zillinger.”

Rellis shrugged. "Well, he is dead now, no need to worry about him anymore." Pulling out a note card from his robe, Rellis suddenly changed the topic. "I have a few more potions that I made . . . but I am not sure if I should hand them out. Please look at this if you will."

I took the report and began to read it as I meditated. I wondered why Rellis was so eager to turn the talk away from Zillinger. But my thoughts were quickly diverted as I glanced over the Rellis’s notes for a highly unstable, explosive potion. "Unstable?" I frowned. "Rellis, have you made any of this up?"

Rellis shifted uneasily in his chair. "Most of the potions I make I keep in a box upstairs. This box is magical. It holds an infinite amount. I make most of these failed potions by accident. There are only a few of them now but more can be made if needed. There are a few others, although they are not much better." Both of his ears folded back as he turned his head to hide his shame about making such things.

"Even a magic box might not be able to hold an unstable explosive, Rellis.” I shook my head in consternation. “What if it reacts with other potions in the box? I think we need Mirah's help to ward it. "

Rellis nodded a bit as he sighed. "This is true and I agree. I set some wards myself already but I can only do so much."

“Wards to protect the box from someone getting into it are good, Rellis. But this potion is unstable. Someone could cause an explosion here by merely trying to take the box. Or it might go off on its own. I'll try to contact Mirah. You should too, I think.”

I suddenly stopped meditating and stood. "Please show me where you have hidden it."

Rellis shook his head yes, stood and headed for the stairs. I followed him to the bookcase by the wall, in back of the laboratory equipment. "In here?" I asked.

I watched as Rellis moved behind the bookshelf, pulling a seemingly small and almost book-sized box from behind it. "Here it is," he replied.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I examined the box. "I'd rather you hold it since you are familiar with the wards you've placed on it. Please turn it slowly so that I may see it."

"This box has all but a few of my potions inside of it, ranging in the thousands," Rellis explained, softly setting the box down on a nearby stack of crates. He slid his claw across the top of the box and lifted the lid a slightly. Only four phials were visible.

"It must be larger on the inside than on the outside.” Seeing only four phials confused me. “How did you make this box, Rellis? Or was it made for you?””

"It’s not exactly larger," he smiled. “The holds are magic. Call the name of the potion, specify the slot it is in and it will appear."

I peered into the box, wondering about the potentially unstable potions contained within. “Rellis, if I have need of the box, what must I do to use it?”

Rellis ran his claw around the top of the lid. "That is the tricky part. First, you must know the language only shamans know. For our luck you are one, so that part is okay. Second, you must know the potions that are inside the box. After that getting them is no problem."

I began hoping that Rellis’s description of "thousands" of potions was a figurative, not literal, statement on his part. "Tell me the words, please. For safety, Rellis, someone other than you needs to be able to access that box. If anything happened to you. . . .”

Rellis’s ears began twitching. "Ma’am, this is my life’s work. There are literally thousands of potions in this box. But I know a way to make this a little easier. I’ll need time to work with the box to fix it."

"Then fix it, Rellis," I said curtly, worried about the unstable, explosive potion inside. "Are there other failed potions in there?”

Rellis nodded. “"There are a number of failed phials, ranging from explosives to poisons." He continued, “I can change the command to go with the effect of the potion dose. That way if you need a healing potion you can say ‘healing potion’ and it will appear. The only problem is strength and such. I will need to work with it." He scratched the back of his head as he studied the box.

"I see." I pursed my lips. "Then I'll need a list from you of the 'failed' potions-what they do, why they are dangerous." I studied Rellis carefully. “But there may be another way if you are willing.”

Ears continuing to twitch, Rellis looked thoughtful. "And that is?"

I said nothing, but began to push toward Rellis, fingering the cross at my neck. Black beads of sweat began to form at my fingertips. Rellis flinched a bit, his eyes widening as he murmured, “Oh.” He whispered, “Well . . . it would make my life easier." He gulped a bit as he tried to smile.

“I can take that memory, Rellis, leaving a copy as it were. I won't touch anything else. Not any of your other memories, though I will see them.” Something had happened to me after taking the Holy Water Mirah brought from Notre Dame des Eaux Sanctifiees My palm had burned with the bit of Eden’s earth, till the bright fire spread up my arm and throughout my body. I felt stronger; I could reach farther, and hear more. I could see others’ memories, hold them, and take them away.

I increased the push, spreading warmth toward Rellis. "I would feed, too. It should only make you feel . . . relaxed. I won't still you."

Rellis nodded slowly. He sighed, "Well, this would be the easy way. I am sad to say that some of the information I have you will not like. But it is the only way." He breathed deeply and began relaxing from the touch. "Do as you will."

I nodded and began reaching deep into Rellis, sorting through the dreams and memories in his mind. My eyes closed as the droplets fell from my fingers. I could see him working over beakers and phials, plants and animals cut and splayed before him. "Crippling acids . . . more explosives," I whispered, then stopped, my eyes flying open. "A soul stealer?" I frowned, wondering to what good purpose such a potion could be brought.

"Was working with demon blood," Rellis muttered.

My eyes narrowed as I resumed my probe, drinking in Rellis's vitae quietly. "Potions for blindness, paralysis . . . you have more in common with me than you know. " I pushed inward a bit more.


Rellis flinched, then chuckled weakly, "Really, I did not know that. . . .” He began to relax as I filled his mind and spirit with my being, drawing gently.

Memories, friends, his life, my life. His thoughts one with mine. I stopped short and suddenly pulled away, withdrawing from Rellis with a cold snap as I sawing him handing a potion to one thought dead. "He's alive,” I said, shocked. "You're helping him." I spat at the floor. "The slaver. I do not believe this.”

Rellis staggered beneath the cold slap in his spirit and began growling. "If you look again you will see why I help him."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Seal the box and replace it. Then I will look," I ordered.

"Very well." Rellis closed the box. "Just to say I am not happy at the moment." He moved to the bookshelf again. I watched him steadily, my arms folded, as he put away the box. Smiling slyly to himself, he pulled out a small phial the size of his paw and clenched his hand around it so it seemed that he was balling his fist. "There. It is put back."

Without warning, I pushed in again. “You believe him to be demon possessed.” I withdrew, a bit more gently this time. “"Your compassion is misplaced, Rellis."

Rellis still flinched and growled. "Yes, he is possessed. I have seen the demon himself. So has Aurelia. Her spirit still wanders these lands and helps us both."

“I trusted Aurelia,” I replied after a moment. “I will trust you. But I caution you, be very careful. Some are possessed and some invite.”

Rellis nodded, loosening his paw to show the small phial inside. "Guess I will not need this, then." He slipped it into his robe.

I smiled without mirth as I eyed the phial in Rellis's hand. "A blinding potion?" I had taken a bit of his thoughts with me.

Rellis nodded as he smiled. "Was not planning to stand here defenseless.”

I took a step backward and appraised him. “You have nothing to fear from me, Rellis. But I should warn you: whether I see with my eyes or not is of no consequence.”

Straightening, Rellis asked, “Are you going to inform the rest of Omegans? Get me banned?" Both ears folded back and as he looked at me with a strong face.

“I will not say anything at present to anyone but Omega.” I paused. "Do you agree to this, Rellis?”

Tilting his head he sighed, "So it is up to her. Very well. I will still get my research to you, but know this: even if banned I will continue my research."

“I will do my utmost to ensure that you are not banned, Rellis,” I replied. “I understand your reasons.”

Rellis spoke softly, "Let’s hope that it helps." His ears lay flat, as he sighed and walked away from both the box and me. He sat down in chair by the corner windows and began to write. “I will have those potions to you by the end of tonight."

Nodding, I returned downstairs.

The missing Omegan doctor

From Joah's tablet and sheaf of GrrBrool's notes, written in pencil, and ringed with tea stains.

I walked into the library, having fed, expecting a quiet evening. What I found instead was a red-haired man, head down, wearing a mask behind which came a whirring noise. To me he was an unfamiliar figure, but I gathered from the Omega’s expression, not an unknown one. He sat in a chair across from the fireplace: slumped masked and wrapped in clothes. I quietly settled in and watched him carefully, listening to the whirring and coughing, waiting to see what he would say. Mirah sat by the fire, fur bristling, and eyes wary.

GrrBrool entered the Library and began sniffing. He frowned and crossed behind the man, taking a seat on the central cushion, back to the fire. The Lady's chair was to his right, the stranger before him. I learned later that Grr and the stranger had exchanged words the night before in the Diner, brief but telling. The stranger’s name was Dominic Salming. A doctor. The missing Omegan Doctor, in fact.

Grr's posture neither was that of encroached territory, nor hostile nor threatened but ill at ease. As the stranger gave no introduction, GrrBrool watched and waited. A deep sigh and a whirring from the face of the stranger finally stirred Grr to speak. "Ya seem ta sit there pretty comfortably, like yer used to it." A mumbled response to the affirmative came from the man, eliciting a frown from the Praetor. "Not been here fer a while then?" Another monosyllabic sentence came in reply.

Grr blinked incredulously at the stranger, then looked to his right to Omega and back. "I guess ya've missed out on a lot of things then." Again, muttered answers, followed by more whirring from the man's face, behind the mask of cloth. Grr bristled slightly and pressed on, "So, where have you been?" Yet another unhelpful answer grumbled from the man. The frown on Omega's face could have cut glass. GrrBrool flattened his ears and continued "Awright then, what’s that whirrin in yer face? I ask cause I worry it could be a bomb, ya never know. And yer all covered."

With a great huffing, coughing and dramatic sighing the stranger unwrapped his face and sullenly exposed his noisy-cybernetic optics. GrrBrool was quite irritated at this point and was in no mood for further evasion. "Look, after our talk last night I checked the files. I know who ya are so why dontcha give me a report?” Once again, the man muttered a less than helpful response: "Research." GrrBrool looked again to Omega, whose expression had smoothed to the cold indifference reserved for the most tedious of interlopers. "Maybe ya don't know me, maybe that’s what’s got yer gander up, well I’m GrrBrool, Praetor of Tha Institute and THIS" he gestured expansively with a paw, "in case ya fergot, is Her Ladyship Omega, who's Institute ya serve, so I suggest ya start reportin where ya been and whatcha been doin."

It was Omega's time to speak. "Oh, the Doctor knows very well who I am." Having enough of it, the Omega rose and crossed the room. “If you've no intention of sharing your research, and in fact will not even announce yourself, as is courteous . . . I wonder - why are you here?”

The man called Dominic Salming let out a tired yawn. "Good to visit every so often ain't it? Also, my notebook got full." It was the most he’d said thus far.

The Omega spoke quietly and with authority. “As a member of this Institute, certain things are expected of you. The disclosure of information, as you know, is one of them.”

I looked toward Dominic, not knowing what to expect. Frankly, I’m unaccustomed to seeing disrespect of the Omega by one of her own. I knew the Lady would not brook it.

"Sorry. I must have forgotten while I was away. Please forgive me.” Dominic yawned again, but this time he took out his notebook. “Most of this would be hard to understand anyway."

“Well, with you here to explain it, I'm sure we'll manage. Won't we?” Omega held out her hand. Dominic placed the notebook in her palm, grumbling and swearing under his breath.

With a small nod, Omega took the notebook and handed it directly to GrrBrool with a smile. “Thank you,” she nodded to Dominic. “Now you've gotten yourself into quite the mess.”

The doctor turned, pointing to Grr. "Rip any pages, and I'll be coming for you."

Mirah’s hair began to stand straight up as she said softly, “You may want to rethink those words.”

“I can assure you Dominic, My Praetors are not in the habit of damaging things I place in their possession. And I dare say if you were foolish enough to ‘come for him’ as you say - you would find it to be the last error you made.” Omega’s words were steel. “Things have changed since you were away. Or perhaps you have changed.”

The Lady raised her hand and the books began to rumble. Small arcs of lighting danced on the shelves and down the pillars of the library. “You will not threaten me or mine again. Do you understand me?”

The doctor's one good eye narrowed as he nodded slowly, “Perfectly.”

I studied the group: All were quiet. Even GrrBrool blanched at the dressing down that the erstwhile Doctor had received. Mirah’s eyes never left the the man. Hers was the stillness a cat ready to pounce on prey. Suddenly, the Omega bared her fangs at Dominic, closed her raised hand into a fist, and the Library stilled. I thought of Nareth’s burned hand, knowing that the Omega’s commands are not to be breached lightly.

The doctor’s cybernetic eye twisted and buzzed as it focused on the Omega. "Glad to be home at last." He words were full of double meaning.

“I'm sure you are,” Omega replied in a cold voice just above a whisper. “Let us hope we can share in your sentiment soon.”

I silently agreed.

The incautious herbalist

It was an odd evening. I walked into the Library to find a man in rather large cybernetic armor, another man professing to be a Time Lord, and my friend, MaryCat discussing – well, who knows what they were discussing actually? The conversation seemed to center along lines of chain smoking, deals and exoskeletal weapons systems – I gave the usual warnings about arms in the Library. The armored man denied he was powering up any, even though the books in the Library had begun to stir. At my insistence, he finally stood down.

As everyone drifted out into the street, I could hear Rellis puttering around upstairs. Rellis – lycan, herbalist and botanist – possibly the clumsiest scientist I know (with the possible exception of Sorenz). I heard a loud pop, then a sizzling sound. "Crap,” Rellis muttered, “Look out down there . . . a bit of acid coming your way."

“Oh, my God. Rellis!” I quirked my head toward the ceiling with exasperation, watching the hole begin to form.

"What!?" Rellis yelled. I could hear him breaking more glass in an attempt to get the acid under control fast. "I do this all the time. I’ll get it fixed!”

"You'd best move quickly, Rellis." I drew a small ball of flame from my palms, flicking it back and forth, preparing to toss it up to the ceiling if the hole did not close immediately.

Rellis shouted, “Hold your horses. I always fix what I break up here, although I do have to say I am having some bad luck today with the new potions." That, I thought, was the understatement of the year. I headed up the stairs, two at a time.

A woman was sitting near the windows, reading. I ignored her for the moment and headed straight to Rellis, watching the acid still eat away at the floor. "Rellis, we've either got to help you become . . . a bit more coordinated, or invest in unbreakable supplies.”

Rellis scrambled, dropping some liquid over the floor and tracing something in the air above the hole. “That wouldn’t work. I need to see what happens with the potions.” He stood up, and began making another mixture, all the while referring to his notes as he worked. Finally he swirled the phial and knelt over the floor again. “A lot of the breaking I can easily fix." He poured the new potion on the floor at the edge of the hole. It began to fill.

I sighed and began to meditate, floating in the air and flicking the ball of flame back and forth in my hands, waiting to see if this fix would work or create another problem. I could easily envision, Alice-like, the floor beginning to grow. "What are you working on today, Rellis?"

Rellis brightened. "Just random mixes. I’m using this herb as my independent variable." He held up an odd looking bit of plant that looked as if it would lash out at you were it alive. My curiosity was piqued. I continue to wonder whether there exists in the city a plant and animal hybrid. "It's really hard to get these!” He held the plant between his thumb and forefinger. “Although it is starting to look like I would not want them anyway."

I studied the plant carefully. "I am an herbalist, too.” I thought about how I’d used my art mostly to better purposes since becoming Omegan. I’d found less need for poisons here. Mostly. I could imagine the plant curling and lashing. "I'm quite curious about plant and animal hybrids. So far I've seen plants that have animal qualities . . . but no sentience.” I gestured toward the windows. "Who knows what might thrive in the waste?" The little ball of flame still hovered in my hand.

Rellis chuckled and cut a small piece from the end of the plant. "Now. . . .” He laid the plant in a marble mortar and began grinding it with a pestle, smoothing it into a paste. "Well, I found this in the city, that’s the reason I’m working with it. I don’t see much coming out of it though.”

I thought Rellis hasty in his pronouncement. I’ve observed that he sometimes jumps to a conclusion, when a more thorough analysis is warranted. The mutated skunkweed for example – he rushed to find a cure before Lyra’s analysis was complete. While he believes the serum to work, it has not been tested. And nothing has yet accounted for the days-long blindness Mirah experienced after exposure. Not even Lorne’s magicks were immediately effective. Pontifex surmised that perhaps Mirah suffered some sort of allergic reaction. But we still do not know. Nor do we know if the skunkweed can be distilled into a potent weapon.

I continued to watch Rellis calmly crush what little life remained out of the plant. I could see a gray-green aura rise from it and dissipate. "It looks as though that might be useful for poison." I gave my wrist a little flick. With a pop, the ball of flame disappeared. I stood. "Perhaps you and I should begin methodically collecting and cataloging what plants we can find here."

From the corner of the room, I heard the woman’s clothing rustling as she laid down her book and began looking around. “I already have,” replied Rellis. “I’ve found three different plants so far. One of them is in my potion of essence." The famous potion of essence, I thought. Powerful, but difficult to use. Rellis pulled a small sheet of paper containing the recipe for the essence potion from his robe and handed it to me. He then began scraping the paste from the mortar and attempting to get it into a phial.

A murmur came from the seating area by the window. “Oh my, I've done it again.” I glanced over to the woman, then began to read the instructions for Rellis’s potion of essence. The woman rose and walked over. “Sorry, I trust I wasn't interrupting?”

Rellis kept working, ears twitching. "Not at all.”

"It is unusual for anyone other than Omegans to rest up here. But we have no secrets. Your are welcome to stay," I replied. I returned to reading.

The woman appeared a little distracted. "I come up here to read sometimes and I just lose track of time." She peered over the lab table. “What are you working on?”

Rellis virtually ignored the woman; he was absorbed in the phials in front of him. “Now, a little of this and. . . ." He waited a second as the mix settled, then tilted his head. "Well, it seems good right now,” he muttered, taking a close look at the phial. Rellis began smiling. “It seems we have a stable one." I rather doubted that. Personally, I just hoped the concoction would remain in the phials on the table or in his hands and not end up on the floor in shatters of glass.

The woman smiled. "Thanks. I guess I'm an unofficial 'Friend of Omega' since I hang out here so much. I'm a friend with Poncho and Merma."

I looked up from my reading and welcomed her. "You look very familiar to me. Perhaps we've met before. I'm Joah. This is Rellis."

"I'm Penemue. My friends sometimes call me Penny. I answer to both. I usually work at the Haven, when I work." Penny glanced at the different ingredients on the table. "Oh, my. Nasty looking plant."

Rellis did not ease my concerns as he began poking about in the drawers of the lab table, talking to himself. "Now where did I put that?" He snapped his fingers, then started looking in his robe, going through the same pockets over and over.

I folded the paper and handed it back to Rellis. "The problem I see with the potion of essence, Rellis, is that it requires healthy DNA to have been extracted prior to the illness in order for the potion to work. I daresay few would be willing to allow such sampling here." The potion of essence is a healing draught. Rellis says it heals physical injuries to the point at which the injury was inflicted.

I turned back to Penny. “Have you been working at the Haven long, Penny?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “Off and on. I was away from Toxia. Just came back a few days ago.” Penny seemed very interested in Rellis’s potion. “Defeats the purpose of a cure if you need prior DNA, no?"

I agreed. “Much mischief can be done with a DNA sample. I would not be willing to allow mine to be stored somewhere.”

Rellis nodded in abstraction, setting the phials he had been working on in a stand on the lab table. He smiled and pulled out a stoppered phial from his robe. The liquid within was white in color with a bit of black swirling inside. "Here it is.” He was clearly proud of his discovery. “It takes a bit of work to make, but it counters a lot of poisons and it helps me test a lot of potions I could not before." He pulled out the stopper, tipped the phial to his lips and downed it one gulp. "Mmm . . . always tastes good, too."

"Lycans," I laughed, thinking it a waste of a perfectly good essence potion.

Rellis waited a few seconds as the potion settled, and then he grabbed the new one from the table and downed it. A scientist who uses himself as his own lab rat may one day wake up to find himself in good company with Mr. Hyde.

Penny grinned. "I'm just impressed he can do such delicate work with such long claws. I'm clumsy enough, and my nails are pretty short."

Well," I glanced at the shards of glass in the waste bin, "Rellis does run through quite a bit of glassware."

Penny’s eyes roved over the remaining glass on the floor and what appeared to be a patched up hole.

Rellis nodded. "It takes a lot of practice. And I am not always the most graceful with my work." He pointed to the spot floor on the floor that was now mended and much cleaner then the rest. “Well, that potion is a dud . . . nothing." He began mixing another batch of the essence potion so that he would have his spare back.

“Have you found a home since returning to the city?” I asked Penny. “You are friends with Pontifex and Merma; you would be most welcome in the Library.”

“I've thought about it, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am joining a group. Although if I were to join any, this one seems a good fit.” Penny leaned over the lab table, poking the plant with the tip of her finger. "That looks like a mutated goldenseal flower."

“One of your fellow bartenders is Praetor here. Have you met Grr yet?” I wondered if I might snag a bit of the goldenseal-like flower for a tincture. “He’s lycan. Red wolf. Aussie.”

“Penny shook her head. “Grr? No, I don't think I've met him yet.”

Rellis chuckled. "He’s a nice guy. He’s the one who got me into the Institute after I left the pack." Rellis opened a drawer, pulled out a piece of rubber tubing and tied it around his arm, just above the elbow. He clenched his fist a few times, and then removed a syringe from a pocket inside his robe. He uncapped the syringe with his teeth and stuck the needle in his wrist, drawing blood from his arm. He spat the cap onto the table. "There we go.” He pulled the needle from his vein and injected the blood into the new phial of essence potion. It immediately began to turn white. “Another potion of essence ready to go." Rellis plugged the phial with a stopper, tucked it into his robe and untied the tourniquet from his arm. He seemed unaware of the blood dripping from his wrist.

“Rellis.”

He turned toward me. “Yes?”

“I think we need to formalize the process of plant collection,” I began, trying to be very clear about what I wanted, given Rellis’s tendency toward abstraction. “Please write a formal report on the three plants you found in the city. I'd like to know where you collected them and at what time of day. I want a thorough description of each with a complete analysis.”

Rellis laughed. "That could be a problem, hon. People can get hurt by these plants."

Hon, I frowned. “Rellis. You will not address me as 'hon'." He looked at me uncertainly, slowly realizing his words were far from appropriate. “As a Praetor, I have assigned you a task. I expect you to complete it and submit the report to me at your earliest convenience.” I paused. “Are we clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Rellis glanced downward. He then pulled a small pad and pen from his pocket and began to write. “I will write it in elemental speak, so that few but shamans can read it.”

“That is acceptable, Rellis. I’d like intact specimens preserved, too. You should work with Lyra. At minimum, I’d like your written report by tomorrow evening.”

Penny interjected, "It might help helpful to collect when the plants aren’t blooming. Like morning glories, they might only bloom at a certain time of day. If you want, I can collect a few of these while I'm about town.” She pointed at the remains of the plant Rellis had been working with. “I think that one bit me once,” she grinned.

“That would be helpful, Penny. Rellis can instruct you on any precautions you need to take.” I smiled at Rellis a bit ruefully. "Though his talent with beakers and phials is somewhat questionable, he is a powerful herbalist and botanist."

“Definitely powerful,” Penny grinned. “I'll keep an eye out. In the meantime, however, I gotta prep for work. It was great meeting you two."

I nodded. "I must walk, myself. My hunger grows. Be safe, Penny.” I turned to wave a goodbye to Rellis, but already he was bent over his pad of paper, lost in thought. I wonder what his report will reveal.

Subita morte exstingui

For Larissa

When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me:
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.

I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain;
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.

Christina Rosetti

Baby blessings

The balloons swayed in the gentle May breeze. The brightly wrapped presents seemed full of promise, paper and ribbons glistening in the late afternoon sun. The smell of hot chocolate, fresh date bread, cupcakes and cake filled the air mixed with the almond scent of oleander, and the sweet fragrance of yellow jasmine.

It was to be a small gathering of friends, a celebration of new life, a gifting to Larissa for the birth of her little one. I was making a few final arrangements, lighting the candles on the cake, straightening the tablecloths when Larissa arrived. She looked around in amazement, taking in the waterfalls and the tropical greenery, her eyes moving to the tables with their adornments.

Blushing and grinning, she greeted me as she looked around. “The waterfalls are beautiful. The balloons!” Larissa poured herself a mug of hot chocolate, plopping in several marshmallows. “I have a cake!” she laughed. “A Warm Welcome to Toxia’s Newest Little Hellion,” it read amidst whirls of icing.

I gave Larissa a hug, as Lyra arrived with a bottle of wine and a square box, wrapped in blue. She kissed Larissa, sat the box on the gift table, put the bottle in the grass by a log, kicked off her shoes and sat down. Uncharacteristically for the scientist, she wore a party dress. She looked rather more sweet than stern. “I didn’t know if we had to dress girly,” she grinned. Hopping up to grab a mug of hot chocolate, she asked, “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“Definitely a girl,” Larissa replied. “Abigail.”

“Abigail? That means ‘father’s joy,” Lar.” Thinking of Lorne’s seeming indifference to the birth of his child I said, “Interesting choice.”

Larissa frowned a bit at this, but patting her tummy gently she replied, “I still love the name.”

I breathed in the clean, warm air. “Living in the city makes one forget that the sun still does shine.”

Lyra nodded. “My partner and I live on the beach. We have a little dojo. Our living quarters are above it.”

“Dojo?” I asked as Merma arrived, giving greetings to all and a hug to Larissa. I grinned at Merma. “Apparently, Lyra is skilled in the martial arts.”

“Eh . . . a lot of good that does me,” Lyra laughed. “I’m much better with a book than a katana.”

“Anything can be a weapon if you use it right,” Merma said with mock seriousness as Larissa helped herself to a second slice of cake. Merma joined her. “That cake is sweet!” they echoed in unison.

After relaxing and chatting a bit more, we got down to the serious business of gift opening. Lyra went first, handing the blue box to Larissa while winking and teasing about a gift to help her get started on the next baby. Larissa tore off the gift’s wrappings, then begin to blush furiously: SexGen T.B.C. Toybox, it read. As she began to examine the contents, she burst out laughing.

“Oh my God,” Merma giggled. “Dear Lord, who gave you that?”

Larissa cleared her throat, “Umm, thank you, Lyra.” She rewrapped the package carefully.

My notions of Lyra’s scientific aloofness had been completely revised in the past few days due to her recent conversations about the habits of incubi with Severus, and her gifting to Larissa. Clearly, behind the lab coat there lurked a minx. “I have something for you too, Lar. Perhaps a little less risqué.” I handed Larissa a box wrapped in red paper, tied with a gold bow.

Larissa unwrapped the box and began grinning. “She will love this Joah.” I know that rollerblades aren’t usually considered a baby gift, but, given how fast the baby had been growing inside Larissa, I thought little Abigail might be playing with them sooner rather than later.

Merma’s gift was large, wrapped loosely with pink paper and a silver bow. Larissa pulled off the wrappings to reveal a beautiful crib made of burnished oak. “I didn’t know what else to get,” she said softly.

“It’s lovely,” sighed Larissa. “Beautiful,” I agreed as Lyra popped the cork on her wine and poured a glass, lifting it in toast to Larissa.

Tracing her hand along the crib railing, Larissa turned to Merma. “The gift of your blessings would be great, Merma.”

Merma smiled with great affection. “You know you have those, Lar. They’ll put a little good into that demon child.”

Lyra sipped her wine. “Why does everyone keep calling it a demon child? That’s not very nice.”

Merma began, “Because she’s half demon . . .”

“Lorne is the father,” I said.

Larissa interrupted. “She is still half me.”

“And that part of her will be sweet and strong, Larissa,” I replied.

Larissa patted her tummy again, “Ah, she is gonna be a rascal.” Lyra began muttering something about not knowing about having kittens.

I sighed, hoping for blessings. “That reminds me, I suppose I’d best give you the last gift. It’s a message from Nareth.” I walked over to the table and picked up a small parchment envelope, sealed with red wax, and handed it to Larissa.

“Speaking of Nareth,” Lyra began, “I haven’t seen her in forever. Where has she disappeared to?”

Larissa looked thoughtful. “She is . . . distant,” she murmured, gazing at the note she had removed from it’s envelope.

“Would your read the message to us, Larissa?” I asked.

Talking softly, Larissa read: “Nareth gives to Larissa a promise: I will do my best to insure that no action of mine hand, and no omission of action by mine hand, brings your daughter to harm. And I shall watch over her, when I may.”

We listened quietly, till I finally asked, “What do you make of it, Lar?”

Larissa smiled. “That she loves me,” she whispered.

We sat in silence a few moments, the rose to explore the caverns.