A Cure for Every Wound [Silk Suture] [Concluded]

[20monkies]

The night was over quickly without a hitch. Raven slept almost the instant she had shut her eyes, dreaming strange and wild dreams. The images seemed to revolve around the claw that was stuck in her wing, and she couldn't help but think they meant something or another. There must have been a clue to what it was - or what it came from. She tossed and turned a little in the morning hours, but had settled to a more sound state. Raven was unaware of the noises that were coming from the shop below, ponies entering and exiting. It wasn't until she heard her cat meowing by her side.

Opening her crystal ice blue eyes, Raven stared at Black as the feline circled around her and then went towards the window, pawing at it. Of course, the cat had her needs she needed to attend to just like she herself. Raven looked back at her wing, folded against her body, and tested it. It was still a little sore and pinched where the dressing was but it was more tolerable than how it was the night before. Stretching out her tired limbs, feeling more rejuvenated than before, the mare stood up and flexed her legs, opened the window for the cat to go out, and then folded up the blanket, putting it away in her saddlebag. She decided to keep her bags there for now. There was no way she was going to actually carry it right now, not when her wing was still injured and there was a chance that the bag would rub up against the wound and cause more damage than anything.

It must have been in the afternoon hours when Raven climbed down the stairs slowly and quietly, watching a single pony browsing the shelves of the pharmacy. Raven looked around and spotted Silk, smiling a little.

"Good afternoon." She said as she approached the stallion, stopping just short of a distance from him. "I was quite sure it would be night again the next time we met. How are you?" Raven pawed the ground a little, seeing that the blood stains were cleaned off the wooden boards. She blushed a little, feeling really bad that he had to clean up her dirty mess.

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture didn't manage to stay alone forever, as a customer stepped in through the door. Of course the pony was asked if they needed any help, but apparently none was needed. While it most likely would be faster to actually ask the pharmacist running the place where something was or what would be good for something, some ponies just wanted to look around themselves. He wasn't someone to force his help on ponies like that, they were happier when they were allowed to do things their way. And there was nothing wrong with that. Silk just nodded and left the other pony alone, close enough that he was there in case he was needed.

Silent hoof-steps descending the stairs caused the pegasus' ears to perk up and turn his gaze towards the sound. Raven had finally woke up, coming downstairs, looking a bit better now. Less tired at least, she didn't look like she could fall over any second. Silk's eyes followed her as she came down and walked up to him with a greeting.
"Yes, good afternoon," he replied, calm as ever. Now that the mare was closer, the pharmacist could take a better look at her, still not looking like she was doing terribly poorly or anything. A good night's sleep did wonders to make one feel better, indeed.

"Just fine, as usual. I think it would be better for me to ask how you are doing. How do you feel?" Silk Suture asked the more important question, raising an eyebrow at the same time. She looked better, but he wanted to know how she was feeling – especially how the wound was feeling now.
"I believe now would be a good time to change the dressing, as well. We'll get a better look at the wound, too," the stallion kept his eyes on her face as he spoke, reminding her that it was rather important to change the gauze, especially after such a long time.
"If you wish to do it yourself, you can. But I believe it would be easier for me to do it," he added, of course knowing that part of treating wounds like the back of his hoof. Raven might have insisted on doing it herself now that she was feeling better, seeing how she had behaved earlier at the start. She did seem to accept his help more easily as time went on, so perhaps the mare wouldn't have any issues with Silk doing it this time, either. He was of course perfectly capable and willing to help her – it was his job, something she shouldn't forget.

[20monkies]

Raven Feather knew that she needed to replace the dressing with fresh gauze and more of the healing salve that Silk Suture had provided her with. She would have done so first thing upon waking up, but figured it was better that the pharmacist took a look at her to determine the state of her wing and the wound before she went ahead and took care of it herself. At least that was his job as well.

"I'm feeling much better. Not as weak, but not one hundred percent either." When he mentioned the changing of the gauze, she nodded her head and turned her body so that her wing was facing the other. "I thought you would want to take a look. I can change the gauze after. There is still some pinching, and a little burning. A very dull throb, but better than last night."

She turned to face away from him so that he could attend to her wing, while she examined the room. Her mind wandered a little, realizing that he had a shop to run and that he wouldn't exactly have much time to do research as was in her own agenda. Black had already left, and was most likely out finding breakfast for herself. Raven would probably do that as well once she got out for some fresh air. She still shuddered thinking about going outside, a little nervous that the thing that had attacked her might still be there, coming after her, waiting.

"Have you had breakfast?" She asked, making small talk as he worked on her wing. "I can bring something for you, if you would like."

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture nodded as the mare started to explain how she was feeling, something he was interested in of course. Better was good, and he hadn't exactly expected her to feel as if she was already healthy yet. It hadn't been too long since she got injured, the wound needed time to heal and Raven still needed a lot of rest. With more time, surely everything would be just fine, just like before she got wounded by something in the Everfree Forest.

"That is good to hear," the pegasus kept his eyes on the mare as she turned so the wound faced towards him,
"And you are right when you thought that, it would be a good idea to let me take a look," he let Raven know, though it was probably pretty obvious that he wanted to do something like that, because of his trade. She most likely already knew, it wasn't something she really just thought anymore. It was certain.

Silk started to remove the gauze, carefully so he did not hurt the other pony. Luckily the gauze came off easily, the salve making sure nothing got stuck on the wound and make for a painful removal. Said salve was absorbed by the skin by now, not obscuring the wound so the pharmacist could actually take a look at it. Definitely not healed yet or anything, as it had just been a night, but it didn't look very red or anything. It seemed like it would be just fine in the end.
"Right, it doesn't look bad. Seems like it will heal just fine at this rate," the stallion reported what he saw and walked over to get the jar of salve he had used yesterday on the wound, slathering some of the cool cream on Raven again.

"I'll just get it wrapped up again, tell me if it's too tight," he added after the salve was spread over the wound. Some gauze was cut from a roll which was then used to get the wound dressed.
"I haven't eaten yet, so yes, something would be nice. A sandwich maybe," Silk Suture wasn't wasting much time obsessing over what he should say – after all, he didn't have that much time to do so as it didn't take him long to finish his task. And he hadn't eaten nor was there that much time for him to go anywhere himself now...
"There, I hope that feels comfortable," the pegasus said once the gauze was wrapped around the wound.

[20monkies]

As Silk Suture worked on her wing, she winced a little when he would pull just a little too much, or tug on her wing joint by accident. Raven listened as he explained how her wing looked, and she felt a bit relieved that it wasn’t as red. She wasn’t expecting it to be completely healed, of course, but somewhat better in terms of how it looked in appearance. So long as there was no risk of infection, it was better for her wing in the long run. Watching him work so intensly and focussed on the work at hoof was really refreshing to see in a pony. There was just some sort of determination in his eyes, she could see.

Raven exclaimed softly, “Careful!” until finally, her wing was wrapped up nice and snug and it didn’t need to be moved around much anymore.

“Perfect.” She said once everything was done, settling her wing against her side. Raven smiled warmly at the other, nodding her head. “It’s comfortable now. Thank you.”

She considered the other’s words when he mentioned a sandwich would be nice. It was the least she could do for him saving her wing. “Sandwiches sound great right about now. I’m starved too. If it’s okay, I will go out and bring some for us to eat. Unless you have something in the kitchen I can whip up?”

At that moment, the pony that was wandering the shelves came around looking a little frazzled.

“Excuse me, sir, but I just have to ask. What IS that strange plant that is growing at the back of the room? It seems to be… moving!” Raven blinked in confusion, looking at Silk. She didn’t remember there being any plant at the back of the room. Unless…

“What?” was her automatic response.

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture tried to work as carefully as he could, but now and then the mare winced and jerked under his touch, when the sore parts of her body were pushed too far. It only made him be even more careful, of course, his touch and moves as gentle as possible to minimize Raven's discomfort. She did seem a lot better once the wound was dressed again, just snug enough without being too tight. Perfect, the mare said. Silk just nodded, as long as she was comfortable, he was fine with it as well. He quickly cleaned up the supplies he had needed to take care of the wound for now, putting them away for the next time they were needed...

Raven agreed that sandwiches would make for a good meal to two famished ponies. It was simple and fast – and there were some places that sold excellent sandwiches in Ponyville, the pegasus had noticed, as he made use of the services. He didn't really have any time to go anywhere right now, so if the mare went to buy something to eat, he could easily have a quick lunch break and keep an eye on the shop and any possible customers.
"I rarely make anything for myself," Silk Suture started as Raven offered to actually make something herself, using whatever ingredients he had stored in his kitchen,
"So, the kitchen honestly serves more as a storage room right now. I learned to eat outside and it's a habit I seem to have kept," the pharmacist pondered, allowing his eyes to wander for a moment. He was a big city pony at heart.

His moment was cut short as the customer browsing the shelves came back. Of course Silk was expecting to help the pony sooner or later, so his attention was immediately directed in the direction of the voice. However, the pony looked... Odd. Confused, a bit scared maybe, even. Now, the pegasus always looked quite serious, but now his expression really took a serious turn. Something wasn't right, and the words were odd at best.
"I don't have a pla–" the stallion voiced his suspicion of the words, before it really hit him. The realization, the cold rush through his body, his eyes opening wide. A strange plant that was moving, something that wasn't there a moment ago. Something was really wrong.

Even if Silk didn't want to, it was his store and home that was in danger now, not to mention the customers. Or, a customer. And Raven. Cautiously, he started to move towards the back of the room, not saying a word, his body tense and steps quiet.

[20monkies]

Raven had to fight back the bulge that was forming at the base of her throat. She felt like her vocal cords were tying up into a knot, swallowing hard. If there hadn't been a plant there before, then surely what she was thinking was what it really was. And Silk seemed to also have the same idea hit him as he had begun to move towards that part of the store.


Raven had to follow after Silk Suture, watching his body language change from cautious to tense to utter horror. The customer was following right behind Raven, peering over her shoulder and pointing a hoof.

"It's over there. I'm pretty sure it was moving!"

"I don't think it's anything to worry about, I assure you." Raven reassured the customer, even though her own voice sounded quite unsure itself. But there it was, when they had reached that side to where Silk had placed the claw imbedded in her wing, upon the counter, was the claw piece. Only... it wasn't a claw anymore.

Raven had to do a second take and realize that it was a seed! It was split in half, opaque tendrils spilling down the side of the counter. There was one long green stem speckled with white spots stretching out from it's center, pointing up towards the sky, with a small black bulb forming at the very tip of it. It seemed to be swaying a little, the roots wriggling like little worms. It was hardly bigger than a hoof size, but considering it's size and how much time had passed since it was placed there... at least now they had an idea of what had caught her off guard in the Forest.

"What do you suppose it is?" Raven couldn't help saying, despite knowing that it was some sort of a plant - and most definitely not a friendly one. "You... wouldn't know anything about it, would you?"

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture hadn't asked for anyone to follow him, but he couldn't really tell anyone to not do so. Even if he felt it was his obligation to protect a customer and an injured patient, there wasn't much he could do in a dangerous situation if he did get attacked. He wasn't a fighter and alone he would be in trouble. Having other ponies to back him up actually was a good idea, even if the pegasus wasn't fine with placing them in danger. But was there another choice, if things came down to that? It's not like he wanted to get himself hurt either, if he tried to play the hero.

The stallion's steps were cautious and slow, but his pace was still determined enough to make it certain for everyone – even the pony himself – that he was going there. He didn't even need to be told where the thing was, oh he was sure that he knew it already. Raven tried her best to assure the customer the pharmacist honestly was way too busy to console now, walking closer to the counter where he had left the piece of claw that had been in the mare's wound.

A claw. Horsefeathers. It was now a flower. A small one, but it was moving – and it was absolutely huge considering that it hadn't been there for long. Without soil and water, even! Truly another strange mysterious beast from the Everfree Forest.
"The Everfree Forest has way too many possible ponyeater plants to start guessing," Silk's voice was strained as he looked at the monstrosity. Still small and perhaps cute as it wiggled around, but he was quite certain this wasn't how it was going to stay. And they most likely didn't have much time to be wondering about it right now.

"If that thing manages to spread any seeds, we already know how fast they can grow and seemingly they require nothing to do so. They could easily overgrow the entire town," the stallion voiced his main concern, carefully – and slowly – sidestepping around the counter and the plant to get to the kitchen,
"I'll trap it in a jar. That way it shouldn't be much of a problem until it starts growing some more, so we get to buy some extra time and it won't hurt anypony," Silk Suture talked about his current plans, eyes on the plant until he had to avert his gaze to pick up a glass jar that was large enough to allow for a bit of growth, not knowing how big or fast the growth spurts the thing might have had. But if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that it was going to grow bigger. And luckily he had a need for jars in his trade, so he had a lot of those stored and on hoof...

[20monkies]

“Did you say the… Everfree Forest? A… a… a… p-p-ponyeater??” The customer behind them exclaimed and began to freak out. She began to scream, stomping her hoofs in place before she bolted for the door, the front door left swinging in her path as a gust of cold air blew in. Raven was left watching after her before feeling a shiver rush up and down her spine. Great. Now all of Ponyville was going to panic, with this mare running around screaming her panicked self away. They couldn’t deal with this. Ponyville couldn’t handle another invasion, considering what had happened some months back. All of Equestria had heard of the Everfree Forest invasion, and every pony had been dreadfully on edge. It seemed like Ponyville was the center of all things supernatural, and all odd doings despite it being homely and friendly.

“Spores are the last thing anypony would want. This thing needs to go back to where it came from before it’s too late.” If only Raven had woken up earlier, she could have run to the library and checked into the literature on such plants and creatures. There was really no time for that now. As Silk had gone to find a jar to put it in, Raven watched the plant intensely. Before her eyes, the plant seemed to jerk for a second and suddenly… grow a few inches in length. Root tendrils dropped further down the counter, stem stretching out higher, the black bulb growing in size as a few flecks of pink spotted it’s very tip.

“Silk… I hate to be the bearer of bad news… but, it’s already grown some more.” Her voice was cracked with some fear. That same fear that had gripped her the night before. She really shouldn’t have gone out last night. What a stupid mistake she had done. Now she felt it was her responsibility to take it out before it outgrew them and started to overtake their strength. She was steadily forming a plan in her mind as well.

[Silk Suture]

Right, that was the moment when Silk Suture could only mentally kick himself for being so blunt with his words. Of course it was going to cause someone to panic, there was a third, unknown pony with them who didn't know what happened yesterday. And everyone who happened to be sane would stay far away from the Everfree Forest and its dangerous and foreign plant-life, which seemingly had already hurt a pony. At least finding a seed in someone's wound was a good indicator that the plant was capable of hurting others, especially when said plant actually did move right in front of his very own eyes.

But that was something they didn't have time to take care of, first they would have to take care of the plant and then worry about the rest of the ponies screaming an panicking. Otherwise it might be too late, if the strange plant grew bigger as fast as it had this far, if it could quickly make more of its kind to grow in Ponyville... It all would be over. Well, perhaps there could still be hope, but it would be something out of the hooves of normal ponies.

"Just great," Silk muttered from the kitchen loud enough for Raven to hear as she mentioned that the thing had grown already. They had even less time than he had thought. Quickly, the pony rummaged through his shelves to get the biggest jar he could find, bringing it with him back to the main room. While the glass jar wasn't huge or anything, it hopefully would prove to be large enough to contain the little monster for long enough. Right now, it should still fit, the roots just would have to be scooped and pushed in...

With one quick move, the jar's lid was removed and the jar's opening positioned above the flower on the counter, the stallion's hooves pressing it firmly against the surface... Well, the edge above the roots was kept raised just slightly, Silk Suture didn't know if the plant could feel pain and what it would do if it did – not to mention he had no idea what would happen if the roots were to be cut. Could new ones grow from them? Could they slither away and hide, for them to never find them again until it was too late?

"I'm going to need to turn the jar up, could you push the roots inside? Maybe use that broom in the corner, I don't think you should be touching this with bare hooves."

[20monkies]

Raven watched Silk cover the plant in one swift motion and automatically moved forward, being cautious around the wriggling roots. They needed to be pushed into the jar as well, and they weren't going to risk actually touching the... thing, for fear of either poison, or any further harm to be done. There was no knowing what this plant was capable of at this young size.

"Okay." She nodded her head, picking up the broom with her muzzle and slowly aiming the bristle end of it under the roots, lifting them up carefully and gently. As she did, the plant decided to shudder and twist it's roots around the bristles. It was gripping onto the broom and wasn't letting go! Raven pushed it a little more forcefully, hoping that the plant would co-operate with her but it didn't seem to want to. The broom was wavering under Raven's grip until suddenly, it cracked. Right down the center. Splintering the wood, the roots snapped the pieces and tossed them to the floor and Raven was left aghast.

"Well... if thats how you're going to play it." She said to the plant. Raven looked around the room for something, anything, to throw at the roots to hold onto, at least enough so that she could push them into the jar. "Silk, just hang on for a moment. Just be careful, and don't let it's roots get squashed." She knew Silk was being careful, but just had to remind him. For his sake, so that the roots didn't decide to upturn the jar and smash it into a million pieces on the floor. There had already been a mess to clean up - Raven was sure Silk didn't want anymore messes to clean up after this.

Raven hurried outside, for a split moment, to find a couple of small twigs. She quickly went into the kitchen to find a metal dust pan, if there was one. Once she did, she placed the twigs in the pan and brought it back to where Silk was waiting patiently.

Only, it appeared that in those moments the plant had wanted to grow another couple of inches from it's original state - the white spots along it's stem now bumpy - roots longer, bulb half pink, half black.

"Okay, I hope this works. Once it's in, I'll keep the dustpan over the opening so you can turn the jar over, and then seal it up." Raven had to take a breath and calm her beating heart, ignoring the fear that was there before she moved the dustpan forward.

The roots, as expected, wrapped up the pieces of twigs and had curled up. As they did, Raven pushed them up and under the opening until they were slid into the jar. She slid the dustpan under it so that it was covering the opening and kept ahold of it for Silk to do his work.

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture kept the jar still, keeping an eye on the plant in case it started to do anything... Funny. There was no need to look at Raven right now, the sound of her hoof-steps being enough to tell that she was actually doing what the stallion had suggested, fetching the broom to use it to push the roots inside the jar where the rest of the plant was. Surely the plan wouldn't be foolproof, but for now, it was the best – and quickest – idea he could think of.

The mare did start pushing the roots in with the broom, but it seemed like the plant had another idea. The roots, prehensile and worm-like, seemed to think differently of the intruder gently lifting them, not wanting to play along nicely. Soon the roots had wrapped themselves around the broom's bristles, causing the pharmacist to actually look at Raven's struggle a bit better, removing his main focus from the jar and the plant. The roots seemed to be quite powerful, not letting go and definitely not moving even an inch closer to the jar now that they were putting their force behind driving off the broom! The shaft started to slowly give in, the middle part splintering before finally loudly snapping in two. Silk couldn't help but flinch, looking at the destroyed parts of what used to be a broom the plant's roots had thrown on the floor. Well, it was a good thing no hoof was used to push it in...

His orange eyes immediately snapped back to the plant, obviously quite dangerous and something one had to keep an eye on, so it couldn't get the upper hand by just being unnoticed for too long. The stallion had no idea if the plant understood any speech, but he doubted it; Raven's threats were most likely going to go unheeded.
"That is the plan," Silk Suture voice was strained from concentration, still keeping the jar from squishing the roots. What else could he be here but careful? Perhaps he was even hoping that if he didn't touch the thing, it wouldn't even know that he was here and thus, wouldn't even try to attack him! He was way too close and he was in danger.

The stallion glanced at the mare as she ran outside, not entirely comfortable being left alone with the thing, but he couldn't really move. Maybe that made him feel even more helpless and uncomfortable, but he was going to have to trust Raven. She had an idea. Though, the sound of the plant moving caused Silk to doubt it for a moment, seeing the thing grow right before his own eyes into something... Different. He could only hope that Raven would hurry and come back soon with something that was going to work.

Luckily, she didn't stay outside for very long, but quickly ran across the room to the kitchen, past the quite focused and nervous pharmacist, still holding the jar over the plant with surprisingly steady hooves. Raven had fetched some... Twigs? And a dustpan. Which she was now going to use to shove the thing inside the jar.
"Careful," the pegasus warned her through gritted teeth, his body tense. They had a plan, now they just had to execute it without anything going horribly wrong. Silk Suture nodded to show that he was ready, looking intently as the plant wrapped up the twigs it was given as a decoy. Working fast, the metallic pan was used to block the plant from coming out of the jar, giving the stallion enough time to flip it over. He didn't need to be told to quickly grab the lid and use it to close the jar, that happened quite instantaneously thanks to the adrenaline rush he was going through right now.

[20monkies]

Raven was on edge, watching keenly as Silk was swift and quick to flip the jar over and close it. The plant was wriggling maniacally inside, aware that it had just been trapped. Raven couldn't help but feel like she was on pins and needles the moment she found out that it was a seed that had been implanted in her wing. What if this thing grew inside of her??? She would have been ripped apart in mere seconds - she would have been rendered useless. Her heart was skipping a beat, her breathing hitched a little. But she put her hoof down and moved forward to claim some sort of ownership to the incident.

"Silk." She said, sternly, albeit a bit breathless. "I must take this plant out. I should take it to the Everfree Forest. I don't think you should endanger yourself on my account." There was no way she was going to let this interrupt his daily routine. He had a shop to run, after all. Was she convincing enough? The other wasn't built physically for saving himself if he had his life in danger, Raven could tell just by looking at him. His wings looked a bit weak and she wasn't sure if the other ever used them considering his work as a pharmacist... would he be able to flee quickly? Then again, her own wing was damage and wouldn't be of any use but she still had some sort of physical strength to account for.

"I'll be hasty and be back before you know it." She was used to doing dangerous things like this on her own. That with the exception of her pet Black. Whom she wasn't sure of where she was at the moment. Raven hoped that her cat would be back soon. "Don't worry too much about me. I may still be recovering, but I can still put up a fight if I have to."

The plant inside was wriggling some more now, having broken the twigs into a dozen little splinters of which appeared that were sticking into itself. It was... screeching? Was it even possible? Raven looked at the jar closely and noticed that the bulb was opened just a tiny bit, pouting like a mouth. A thin pink wormlike tendril was snaking out of the bulb and sweeping around it's roots, wrapping up the pieces around it.

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture's heart was beating fast, still keeping his hooves on the jar's lid, despite it being tightly sealed already. The whole jar rested on the counter and his hooves no longer were needed, but... Well, maybe he just didn't want to take any risks here, even though what he did didn't actually help in any way! All it really did was calm his mind, which actually was a good and much-needed thing. A long and deep sigh finally managed to make its way out of the stallion's lips as his tense muscles slowly started to relax. While this whole situation was far from over – and the worst probably was still ahead – right now they were allowed a moment of relaxation. It would only help them think better.

The pegasus had allowed his head to drop during his little moment of relief, but now it was being slowly raised back up again as the mare called out his name. His orange eyes didn't seem amused, barely blinking as they watched Raven straight in the eyes with an odd mixture of extreme focus and tiredness. Silk was listening, but it was quite obvious he didn't like what he was hearing. The stern voice of the mare was met with eyes that were just as stern and unrelenting. It was obvious that it was going in this direction from the start...

"No. We're absolutely not doing that," the pony said right away, disagreeing with Raven's outright suicidal idea,
"You're hurt. Got injured in the very place you're about to venture in, even," he made quite clear how dangerous he thought this all sounded. And that just wouldn't do! Sending ponies to their doom wasn't a pharmacist's job and well, of course he didn't want to send himself to his doom either, but he wasn't about to request to go alone, unlike the mare.
"You never know when you need another set of eyes or someone to pull you to safety," Silk Suture moved away from the plant for the first time since he had trapped it in the jar, his pace something that would still be considered walking but certainly faster than the older pony's usual speed. He wasn't the fastest or the strongest pony, and he didn't really have any way of defending himself... But just having him along could be a lifesaver, you never knew.

"We don't have a lot of time to argue about this, so it's better if we just move. And make it fast," he continued – the mare did just promise to be quick, so this either would end up being fast like she had thought or something would come up... Something where the pharmacist might be needed. Silk quickly fetched his saddlebags, putting the jar in. Perhaps it would buy them some time to have the plant in another container of sorts in case it managed to either escape from the jar or break free by growing too big. The only downside was that they couldn't see what it was doing, but at least the stallion felt more comfortable not having a glass jar that might be broken into sharp little pieces by the thing right in front of his eyes.
"We go in as deep as we have to and not any deeper, leave the plant and run back as fast as we can."

[20monkies]

Letting out a sigh, Raven Feather knew that there was no way she was going to be able to convince the other. In a way, she felt relieved that she wouldn't have to go completely on her own. It would always be better to have someone there, a second set of eyes, to keep an eye out for anything unusual or dangerous. And he did make a point. Silk was dead set on going with her and Raven knew they didn't have enough time to argue. The plant could grow instantaneously and shatter the glass jar that it was contained inside and cause havoc.

For some reason, Raven still couldn't settle the feeling inside her stomach. Something unexplained that this seemed a little too easy. She feared there may be something more to this than just leaving it out in the Forest and coming back and everything would be normal. There had to be a catch. But Raven didn't want to worry herself, or Silk Suture. So she simply nodded her head, feeling a little defeated in her attempt to go alone, and watched Silk fetch his saddlebags.

"If you insist, you are right. Let's get out of here. The sooner, the better. Give me one second, and we can head out." Raven hurried up the stairs to the room she was staying in, nosed through her saddlebag until she found her father's knife and tucked it away under her wing. It was safer to be prepared, just in case. Hurrying as fast as her tired legs allowed her to, Raven returned to Silk and moved past him towards the door. She gestured to him to get going.

"You will have to follow my directions. I'll head up behind you so I can keep an eye on the bag as well. We don't want to take any chances, with that plant."