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

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture could quite understand how dumbstruck the other stallion was hearing Raven's request. When he had heard it himself, that was about his own reaction. But by now, the pegasus understood the reason quite well, feeling how empty his stomach was and how his fatigued body screamed for some nourishment to be able to keep going. It still didn't stop the request for food sounding quite strange and anticlimactic after the dangerous and fast-paced trip through the Everfree Forest. Perhaps this hero and savior had expected something similar to that this time as well, but... Honestly, having them ask for food was probably going to be quite easy for the stallion, not forcing him to do anything dangerous to actually fulfill the request.

The stallion did agree, causing Silk to just nod as he started to lead the mare inside, staying by her side in case she suddenly grew weak, to give him enough time to actually help her stay on her hooves. The first floor where the pharmacist had set up his shop was quite cold and closing the door didn't immediately fix that problem, but with time, the building would start to get warmer again now that the heat wasn't forced outside through an open door. The pair of ponies walked across the creaking floorboards slowly, both exhausted and cold.

"I believe that was more than enough excitement for a month for me," the pegasus replied to Raven's musings of what happened, perhaps a bit too matter-of-factly. Silk Suture was far from a pony who lead an exciting lifestyle, being a stallion who enjoyed safety and calm situations more than anything. His style of dealing with the aftershock of almost suffering a very unfortunate fate was heavily based on logic and rationalization, calm thoughts easing his own mind to finally calm down as well.
"Considering that I wasn't the one taking a swim in the freezing water, I'm quite sure I'm the one of us much better off at the moment. Don't worry about me," the pharmacist looked at the mare. Yes, both of them had eaten nothing and were hungry, both of them had to push themselves too hard and were tired, and they both were cold thanks to the weather. But it was Raven who was injured, the one who had to fight off the Giant Mousetrap's charms and the one who had ended it all by freezing herself even further when she had jumped in the water. Compared to her, Silk must have been feeling extremely comfortable!

"Can't say anything about that," was his current thoughts on the matter of working tomorrow. He didn't know how he would feel tomorrow. Technically... Today had been a bad day for business and it was something he would like to make up for the next day, but that was something he didn't really want to mention the mare. Climbing the stairs was obviously difficult for Raven, but that's why the stallion made sure he stayed close so nothing bad happened. It was already a lot warmer upstairs – seeing that the heat had a tendency to rise up – and Silk was certain that the empty bedroom would have a very comfortable temperature. The mare's fumbling of course caused the pharmacist to dash to help her, but was quick to stop in his tracks when he noticed she had caught herself already.
"I do want to make sure that you're going to be alright," Silk Suture responded as he closed the door behind them to keep the room as warm as it was now, of course having planned to stay with Raven until he was comfortable with leaving her alone. And that would require her to get warm.

"I am going to have to clean your wound soon, I'm afraid the dirty water is going to cause some complications," the pharmacist finally managed to sit down, enjoying the possibility to relax in his own house,
"Perhaps I will brew some tea soon enough, would you like some?"

[20monkies]

Raven was relieved to finally be inside of the bedroom. It was a safe haven compared to what she and Silk just went through. Warm, cozy and relaxing. She immediately moved forward towards the small bedding area, unclasped the button of the labcoat she was still wearing, and gently placed it on the ground, folded. Then, she went ahead and tucked herself under the blankets.

“I hope you don’t mind.” She felt a little awkward being the one to go ahead and ease herself into a more comfortable position, but her body needed it and she was sure Silk understoof. She watched as Black padded around the room, pawing at her saddlebags that were still by the door. For a moment, she was lost in the comfort, eyes drifting. Then she opened them up quickly, nodding her head as she heard Silk speak about her wound.

“Of course. I hope no complications are caused. I don’t really feel anything in my wing right now.” She said, testing her muscle gently by shifting her shoulder. “They still feel somewhat numb.” It was at that moment she realized something. Something pinching her on the other side. She leaned over and plucked the small knife that was hidden within her feathers under her wing and placed it on the floor in front of her, frowning at it. It was her father’s knife, carvings of dragons intertwining around the shaft. The mouths faced outwards, small flames shaping out the hilt. There were a few black markings on the short blade itself, but nothing readable.

Raven was lost in the memory, of when she had stolen it from her father’s work shed because she found it intriguing. Now it was just a faded memory of a time when she was innocent and fascinated by the thoughts of dragons.

“I kept the knife, just in case. I thought I might need to use it, but I didn’t.” She spoke, thinking back on that time. But she didn’t realize she was in the present until the sound of a meow interrupted her and brought her back to reality. Her lips curled into a tilted smile, blowing a few stray strands of hair that were drooping over her eyes as she looked back up at Silk Suture.

“Tea sounds just about wonderful. Maybe after that gentleman returns. Having you here is making me feel at ease.” She wasn’t sure what would happen, or how she would feel if Silk left her at that moment. She was still mentally disturbed by the plant that seemed to have caught it’s grip on her mind. She was just hoping that while Silk left her, nothing of the sort happened to her in that duration. Just the thought of it sent shivers down her spine. Raven further tucked herself into the warm cocoon she made around her with the blankets.

[Silk Suture]

"Of course not," Silk Suture responded, not as shocked as he could have been when he heard her wondering if it was fine for her to get under the blankets. The pharmacist was most likely the last pony that would mind when another pony wanted to rest under warm blankets after running outside with a crazy plant trying to eat them and swimming in the freezing waters. It was important for her well-being that she would rest and get warm, before something worse happened to her! Well, it honestly wasn't too strange for sick and injured ponies to apologize for their condition either, that certainly being something the stallion had witnessed many times during his life. What Raven said wasn't too strange to him because of that, but it still was a bit strange. There was nothing she should be worried about, she was with someone whose job it was to help others to heal their various ailments!

"I hope it will be nothing serious as well, but the water you were in wasn't exactly sterile," the pegasus looked at the mare, his eyes surprisingly calm in this situation,
"But that is why I want to clean it, to reduce the risk of an infection," he continued, sharing his thoughts on the matter and what he was going to do later to take care of her wound. Both of them were tired and Raven was risking herself if she didn't get warm soon, so Silk was more than happy to wait for a while before going after the wound. The condition threatening Raven right now was hypothermia, not the wound.

Silk Suture's ears rose and pointed forward as he leaned over a bit, noticing the mare getting something from her wing. But instead of being... Well, anything that might have hurt her, it was a knife – and not a knife that had struck her, as it was clean. A certain cold chill made its way down the stallion's back, as hidden weapons really weren't what you would expect to see every day. It made sense though, Raven was a traveler and did need to protect herself or otherwise use a sharp tool like a knife in her daily life. But if she was someone who couldn't be trusted, the mere idea of having an armed, suspicious pony like that around the pharmacist was a frightening one. Still, there was nothing Silk could really say, nothing he had to say. The knife was there and it had hurt no one – or no thing.

The pegasus just let out a very quiet chuckle, rarely being the one whose presence made others feel at ease. He didn't really have the looks of someone who would help and be easy to be with, perhaps even being frightening to the youngest of fillies – but his job included plenty of helping and he was good at that. First impressions were often more negative when it came to him.
"I'm not going anywhere. Yet," Silk agreed to stay, taking advantage of the situation that allowed him to rest his tired hooves for a while as well. As long as the mare stayed warm, she would be fine. Soon they could get something to eat and he could finally clean the wound so it would heal as fast as possible.

[20monkies]

A smile found it's way to Raven's mouth, her eyes droopy from exhaustion. Her tired limbs were warming, aching joints creaking from the melting chill. She rested her chin upon her hooves and let out a soft sigh, stretching out her good wing out beneath the blanket. Black came over to her, saw the knife and nudged it away back to her saddlebag. Perhaps the cat knew she didn't need it, or maybe she just wanted something to do. Whatever it was, at least the small weapon was put away and Raven didn't have to worry about it now.

She noticed Silk looking at the knife in that contemplative manner and gave a lopsided grin.

"Don't worry. I've only ever had to use it once ever since I first got it. And that has been quite a many years." She heard some sounds in the shop below of a door opening and closing, the clopping of hooves on the floor boards creaking up the stairs and pausing in silence momentarily in the hallway. Raven stiffened for a moment, a little frightened and worried that the plant may have found it's way back and was just biding it's time. But Black just seemed to be as relaxed as she was when there was no danger around and meowed close to the door. The door opened, and there stood the orange stallion that had helped him out earlier.

He was holding a couple of paper bags and seemed to blink in curiously before smiling widely.

"Hello there again. I've got some food for the both of you." He seemed to just come in without any invitation and placed the bags in front of the two pegasus, grinning. "Sorry it took me a while, but I had to see who was open and willing to give me anything. All the ponies are a bit spooked. They're saying something about pony-eating plants..." he frowned at that moment, words fading as he seemed to put two and two together, looking at the two now suspiciously. But Raven seemed to be quick in noticing and, seeing how one pony could put another at ease with just a little lie, she glanced over at Silk and gave a shrug. After all, no one really needed to know the truth, right? Otherwise the rumour would spread true and they really didn't need everyone in full-panic-mode.

"A pony-eating plant? I'm sure somepony crazy came up with a wild story like that." She tilted her head at him. "Silk Suture and I had some urgent business to attend to in the Forest. I just lost my footing and didn't see where I was going." Thankfully the other didn't see that she had a wounded wing. And their words never betrayed the real reason for what actually happened. "We really appreciate that you have helped us out, and especially with this odd request as well."

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture had dropped any questions about the knife and wasn't going to voice any of his concerns now even though the mare brought the topic back up again, explaining a bit of her background with the weapon. The stallion did raise a questioning eyebrow, but left it at that. He had been quiet before, so it was better to stay quiet as well. Let bygones be bygones, it didn't really matter to him what had happened – after all, the pegasus didn't really want to believe that Raven had been a fugitive before meeting him! It was plausible of course, but he at least wanted to think he had gotten a good enough look at her character to be able to say that she wasn't a criminal and feel confident about it. If she had required the use of a weapon, Silk was going to believe it was done with a good reason.

The sound of the door opening downstairs caused the pharmacist's ears to perk up. Fighting his need to go downstairs to meet the visitor at the door, the stallion just looked in the direction of the sound, following it with his eyes and ears even though he couldn't see it. He was quite certain he knew who is was, and it wasn't going to be a customer. Still, good manners would have required him to actually welcome the pony – definitely a pony considering the sound of hooves on the hardwood floors below – in his home, but... Well, this situation was different, an exception. Silk Suture had already invited their helper stallion in before, so surely this would be okay.

He did at least rise up on his hooves once he heard the other stallion get upstairs, judging him to be close enough to at least properly meet the pony without cutting too much into his resting time. The pegasus met the other pony with a nod once the door opened, not surprised to see the stallion in his home carrying brown paper bags. He was asked to get food, after all, and being the kind pony he was, the stallion had done just that. Before Silk had managed to invite the other in however, he had already taken the initiative and trotted in proudly like it was nothing. The smaller stallion had just started to say something, but was now just forced to shut his mouth and... Let it be. He had helped them, saved them. Bought them food. It was alright.

"Yes, thank you for all your help and sorry for the inconven–,"Silk Suture started, but stopped once he saw the stallion's suspicious eyes. He was almost able to treat it like it was no big thing, like it was his fault but he was going to apologize but... The way he was stared at wasn't pleasant. Feeling Raven looking at him as well, the pharmacist looked in her direction to see her feign ignorance. Now, the pegasus certainly was more honest than he looked, but perhaps in this case, she was right. It would cause too much panic to admit to it.

"Indeed sounds a bit... Crazy," he was forced to admit, his voice a bit strained. Well, technically he was the one starting the rumor, so he was only making fun of himself here. But he probably deserved it, not thinking what he said. The paper bags were gently nudged towards the mare, Silk letting her to start eating right away – after all, he would rather go get them some tea before he sat down to eat as well.
"Very urgent business, yes. Would you like to have some tea, Mister...?" The pegasus was clearly not too good at keeping the lie up for too long, so he tried to change the subject.

[20monkies]

Accepting the food bag as Silk nudged it towards her, she pulled out what looked like dandelion sandwiches, blueberry waffles and apple eclairs. There were some carmelized apples, ginger snaps, apple tarts and fruit salad in the other bag, for which Raven Feather was thankful for. There was plenty of food here for more than two. And a large variety that could be shared amongst them all.

Black appeared beside Raven, just as hungry as she was feeling. Silk Suture was getting up and about to head on down to get some tea. Raven felt a tinge of panic in her heart that he was going to leave for a while, but had to calm herself down. Black was there beside her, as was this stallion.

"Well..." the stallion began, but then was distracted with the offer of tea. "Hay. Just call me Hay. And tea? Oh no, sir, thank you. I don't enjoy tea so much. I best be going, it's getting rather late." He bowed his head. "Don't mind helping out again if I can in the future. You two take care of yerselves, I've got some work that needs tending to. You don't need me intruding on your peace and quiet." He blushed heavily, awkwardly pawing at the ground.

Raven looked up at the other and noticed his body language. He was going to leave as well. He had been much too kind and Silk was being just as generous as anyone could be.

"Stay for a bit. At least until Silk Suture returns with the tea." She really didn't want to be left alone for a minute. She was never this dependent, always the independent type doing whatever she wanted however she wanted. Considering what they just went through, of course it was expected that she would want some dependency.

The stallion hesitated, looking at Silk, and then to Raven and nodded stiffly, standing by the door like a guard. Maybe he was just waiting to dash out of the pharmacy the chance that he got. Raven wondered if he hadn't really suspected the rumors to be true. After all, such things must happen every now and then in Ponyville... right?

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture just nodded as the stallion turned down the offer, not enjoying a cup of tea according to his own words. A crazy thought, that, but the pegasus was going to let ponies have their own opinions of things, not forcing his own down the throats of other. Especially when this other pony happened to be someone who had done a lot for the pharmacist and Raven when they were in a great need. Even if he couldn't imagine how life would be without tea, he was just... Going to have to deal with it, letting the stallion who introduced himself as Hay to do as he wished. It might have been the right thing to insist on being a good host and offer the stallion at least something, but Hay seemed to be much more comfortable with the idea of leaving. Perhaps the little lie hadn't gone through and Silk couldn't blame anyone for not believing, but in the end, it didn't matter that much to him.

The pharmacist was on his hooves and ready to head downstairs to brew some tea. Raven would hopefully be busy eating what was brought to them – and looking at the amount of food that was pulled out from the bags, there was a lot to eat. Perhaps even more than two hungry ponies could possibly fit inside them!
"I'll be going, then. Thank you again for the help," Silk nodded in the direction of the other stallion, grateful for all his help and bidding adieu if this was the last time they would be seeing each other. However, once the smaller stallion had managed to walk to the door and place his hoof on the handle, the mare's voice caused him to look behind him. Raven didn't seem to be want to left alone, which was understandable. There was no way the pegasus could stay with her and do everything he had to do, so his gaze was directed towards Hay, who seemed quite unsure. Finally, he agreed however.

"Right, I'll be right back," Silk Suture told to the two ponies forced to wait for him now, heading outside the room and closing the door behind him so the bedroom would stay warm. He didn't really have the energy to be running around, but tried to head to the kitchen as fast as he could without pushing himself, his hooves clopping down the stairs. He might as well use the opportunity to his advantage and try to get everything ready, starting to gather some supplies after he put the water on the stove. The wound was still going to have to be cleaned, so some clean dressing and more ointment was going to be needed. The water boiled for the tea could easily be used to clean the wound just like last night, so he would just bring the entire pot upstairs and worry about the tea there, so he wouldn't have to be carrying too many containers full of hot water up the stairs. Everything was neatly placed on a tray that was then carried upstairs, once the water had boiled. It had taken a while and there was nothing Silk could do to speed up the water, but he was only trying to stay away for as long as he had to, doing everything else back upstairs.

Soon his hoof-steps could be heard approaching, his steps careful so he wouldn't spill or drop anything. Just as carefully, the stallion reached for the handle on the door, opening it and taking a look inside before walking in himself with his supplies.

[20monkies]

As starved as she was, Raven Feather ate slowly despite wanting to gobble up everything in 10 seconds flat. What kind of manners would that be? She didn't want to finish up before Silk Suture returned back with the tea. She wanted to savor the delicacies that Hay had brought for them. She was steadily nibbling on a sandwich, more thirsty than she was hungry. Her throat was sore and dry from breathing in the crisp air as they had run.

She looked up slowly at the stallion standing nervously by the door, looking every which way around the room except at her. Him being nervous, and clearly showing it, was making her feel on edge. Just a little bit. But she ignored it, and pushed a small piece of the sandwich towards her cat, who more than happily ate up all the crusty bits.

With new ponies, she wasn't much of a talker. She wasn't sure what she should say to their savior - if it weren't for him, they would still be trudging along the path of the Everfree Forest heading back to this room. That might have taken them all night at the pace they had been going. So in a way, she did feel in debt to his kindness.

"You look like you're about to bolt the second you get a chance." She commented, peering up at the other with a raised brow. "You don't need to be so nervous." He nodded his head at Raven Feather, and just cleared his throat.

"I'm not nervous. I just have a lot of work to do before I get home, not that I mind taking the break. It can get boring carrying the weight of hay back and forth from the farms to Ponyville. I just can't leave it unattended for too long, if you understand."

She nodded her head. Merchants and vendors were always worried about their property - especially when it was their only source of income. Raven, on the other hand, only had what she had in her saddlebags and it never once crossed her mind that if she lost them, how she would feel without the only things she carried around with her. Her mementos - her mother's flute.

Her mother...

She heard the clattering at the same time Hay did, coming from the hallway. Hay had stepped aside as the other entered in with a tray of supplies. Boiled water, tea ware, utensils, gauze and salve. He came well prepared and had brought everything up given that he was also cold, tired and hungry.

"Oh Silk..." She sighed, shaking her head. "If you needed help..." she looked at the other, who realized what she had said and offered his assistance again. The peppiness in the other seemed to have deflated, and seeing that Silk was perfectly balanced with the tray he backed off. He saw the supplies in the tray and grew even more wary and suspicious. Gauze? Salve? If Hay grabbed hold of everything, well, boiled water and all would fall and scald everything in it's path as well.

Raven Feather suspected just as much he was worried the rumors he had heard were true and didn't believe them. Yet here he was, having helped them without so much as a clue in the beginning.

Ce la vie.

They might not cross paths again, she knew.

"Thank you so much, Mister Hay, for your help. Truly appreciate it."

The other nodded and bowed his head.

"If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask." He turned to the other stallion and bowed his head to him as well. "It was a pleasure to help out. I'm sure you two will be fine from here on out, so I will take my leave to leave you two with peace and quiet. If you don't mind. Have a good night!"

And the stallion stumbled his way out of the pharmacy.

Raven watched him hurry away and sank down into the bedding, feeling more at ease now that Silk was back in the room.

"Come, have something to eat. The sandwiches are delicious."

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture glanced in Raven's direction when she mentioned help, not really needing it right now. It was a lot to carry, but he was doing it just fine. Slow and steady wins the race – especially when it was a matter of keeping many little things balanced. He wouldn't even have accepted help from the injured mare as it was now her job to stay put and rest, but her implications did cause the larger stallion, Hay, to step in and see if he could help. But as the pharmacist was handling himself quite well, he was quickly give some space as the other pony backed away, allowing Silk to walk in properly and gently lower the tray on the floor, letting out a sigh of relief when he actually did get in without dropping anything.
"I'm doing just fine over here, don't worry," the pegasus responded after he was no longer forced to concentrate on the task, giving Raven a look.

Before he managed to start getting everything ready however, it seemed like the other stallion was leaving – just like Hay had wanted to do earlier already, but hadn't when the mare had asked him to stay, being the helpful pony he was. Raven already thanked him, and the pharmacist answered the stallion's slight bow with a nod to signal both his thanks and goodbyes. Silk wasn't someone who could easily explain exactly how great of a deed someone else did and a situation like this where someone had truly saved them – possibly from death – made it all very overwhelming. What was there for him to say that would explain exactly how thankful he was? He couldn't even put a tiny sliver of it all into words!

"No, go ahead – and have a good evening. Thank you for all you have done," Silk Suture looked the larger stallion in the eyes, watching him awkwardly leave the bedroom after he felt like he was excused. Unfortunately he couldn't escort Hay to the door, but perhaps the other pony was going to be happier being as far away from the pharmacist as possible. He was probably looking like a rather suspicious pony at this point! And well, he couldn't blame Hay...

"In a moment," the pegasus pony responded when Raven asked him to come and eat, praising the sandwiches. A hungry pony would probably always find food delicious, no matter how good it actually, though...
"I'll get the tea ready," he continued, turning towards the tray and its contents. A bit of hot water was poured in a small bowl for later use once it cooled down a bit. The rest of the water would be used for tea instead of cleaning the wound, and as it took a while for the tea leaves to release their flavors, it was better for Silk Suture to get the process started now, sit down to eat for a bit and then serve tea. And sure enough, once the stallion was done, he did walk over to Raven and sat down, getting out a dandelion sandwich for himself as well.

"How are you feeling now?" He started before biting in however, looking in the mare's direction with a sandwich in his hooves.

[20monkies]

Raven watched in quiet admiration as Silk Suture readied the tea, prepared everything that needed to be used for cleaning her wound and finally settling down with a sandwich. She was still eating slowly, but once the other was more at ease, her body wasn't as tense as it was a few moments ago. She took a larger bite of her food now, the grumbling in her stomach like fire in the pit of a dragon's stomach.

She nudged some of the fruit salad and blueberry waffles towards Silk, keeping some for herself as she continued to feed into her hunger.

Even Black seemed to be munching down every bit of the crust off of Raven's sandwich.

"Better." She replied to Silk's question. "Starting to get some feeling back in my limbs. And there's still some pinching in my wing, but for the most part it's numb." At least, from what she could tell when she shifted the joint at her shoulder that she could move it, but she couldn't open her wing all the way as the wound was still fresh.

"How about yourself?" She finally got a chance to ask Silk in return. "I know we didn't get much time to spend, seeing how there were other priorities to deal with... at least, for now, the worst of it is over. I'm still a little worried that the plant might come back. I don't feel that strange beckoning as I did while it was growing, when we were in the Forest. It's like a dull throb in my mind."

She finished up her sandwich and moved onto the salad now, picking up a few carmelized apples to dip in, scooping up a few strawberries and mangos along the way.

There was a faint smile trailing along her lips.

"Still a bit on edge." She was quite sure that Silk Suture was also in the same position, in feeling about everything.

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture finally managed to sink his teeth into the sandwich, getting his first bite of food. There hadn't been any time for a breakfast and the lunch had to be skipped as well, so finally being able to sit down and eat was great. The stallion only really realized how hungry he had been now that he was actually eating, feeling how much his body needed this. Still, he took his time, not wanting to gulp everything in one go even if his stomach would have liked it. First of all, it was better to keep one's manners, and secondly... Well, wolfing everything down might very well upset an empty stomach, and suffering from a tummy ache didn't sound like a very nice thing right now.

The pharmacist nodded appreciatively as Raven pushed some more food in his direction, still going to finish his sandwich before digging into the rest but appreciating her gesture anyways. He chewed and swallowed slowly, enjoying the taste of the bread and dandelions, not wanting to hurry.
"Good," Silk managed to reply once he swallowed his mouthful, of course liking it when a patient was feeling better. The mare needed to rest and it seemed like the warmth was already doing the trick, warming up her cold body.
"I'll be taking a look at the wound later and see what I can do," he continued, taking another bite of the sandwich.

It was only a given that Raven would be interested in the other pony's condition now, but of course the stallion found it a bit strange when someone who was much worse off was worried when it came to him. Of course he had to push himself further than he should have – or ever did – today, but considering all that... He was actually doing pretty well.
"Nothing a little rest and food won't fix. And hopefully that will be the same with you as well, for the most part," Silk Suture nodded as he closed his eyes for a moment, as if pondering about something. He couldn't claim that he was completely fine as he was obviously exhausted, but he wasn't injured. He was quite certain that his legs would be screaming in agony come the next day, muscles sore after such physical activity.

"I can't say I know too much about the plant-life of the Everfree Forest, but I'll be taking a look at a few books and see if there's something we should be doing after... The encounter," the pony's orange eyes narrowed a bit. He wasn't certain how Raven should be feeling, as he had certainly never been under the influence of a Giant Mousetrap in his life... Nor had he really run into anyone else, either! Was the connection severed already, or was there something else to be done left? Could the plant find the mare or had it already given up? Surely it couldn't get inside on its own as they were inside – and it would have trouble sneaking in when it had to go through Ponyville first. That would cause a commotion and the plant might not even make it in alive...

"Just in case, but we should be safe now," Silk pondered, seeing if he could at least try to calm Raven's nerves a bit. She had been in grave danger and had many reasons to feel the way he did – in fact, the pharmacist couldn't say he wasn't feeling a bit spooked after everything that had happened. It must have been worse for the mare.
"That makes two of us, then," the stallion gave a small, lopsided smile as he let out a dry chuckle, agreeing that he too was a bit on edge himself. Perhaps they were a bit of a sorry sight, but they had been through a lot. More than many could handle, surely.

[20monkies]

Silk had reassured her immensely, realizing that in truth – if the plant did come after her again there was a whole town to get through. She wasn’t sure if anyone would want to face off with the menacing thing, but most likely in such a case even the Mane 6, who were Equestria’s saviours and living here in Ponyville, could definitely face such a problem and deal with it in a more appropriate manner.

Still, it didn’t help that she could feel a dull throb at the back of her head. There could be something done about it. Sleeping might help put her mind at ease, the weakness in her limbs surely a cause of her impending migraine. Food and sleep were the main priority too.

“If you’re going to go to the library, I will gladly accompany you. If I’m still not feeling up to par, the least I can do is rummage through a couple of books here with you.” She didn’t want to sit around, recovering, with nothing better to do. She was active, always on the move. Tied down to a warm bed was tempting enough to keep her there, but she still needed an activity to keep her mind busy. Raven wasn’t sure she could handle the mental torture that isolation and an idle mind would cause.

She let out a soft giggle when he agreed with her. Who wouldn’t still be on edge after that?

“Do you think the tea is ready? It smells amazing. Is that a special blend of yours? Because it has a uniquely distinct scent.” She sniffed at the air towards the pot where the tea was steeping.

[Silk Suture]

Silk Suture nodded as the mare brought up her interest in digging through the books with him, understandably being quite interested in what happened to her and what could be done now. Well, at least he assumed that she was interested in that. Raven didn't really feel like the kind of a pony who would enjoy staying in bed for too long, so perhaps reading or at least doing something without getting up would make it easier for her. That's why the pharmacist didn't outright say that she couldn't do anything as she was supposed to rest. But only time would tell when the mare was ready to get back on her hooves...

"We'll see if you're ready for it once it's the time for that," the stallion wasn't promising anything, but allowed Raven to at least have some sort of hope,
"I have some books myself, as well. While I'm more interested in plants with actual medical qualities – which the Giant Mousetrap lacks – and my books reflect that, it's always possible we could find a mention of it in what I already have. It is, after all, a plant. And I have plenty of books about plants," Silk continued before he took another bite of the sandwich, concentrating on eating for a bit longer after all that talk.

After a moment of munching, the sandwich was placed down as the pegasus pony got on his hooves, lifting his tired body off the floor. A small nod was given to Raven before Silk Suture walked over to the tea, still giving it a moment before actually pouring it in the waiting cups.
"It is my blend. Hibiscus, mostly," he replied nonchalantly, picking the teapot handle with his mouth as he started to pour the tea. It was of course first served to the mare, seeing that she was both a guest and freezing, so it was important to have her warmed up quickly. Once Raven was given her cup of red liquid, Silk returned to his sandwich, sitting down with a teacup of his own waiting on the floor next to him.

[20monkies]

Raven Feather nodded her head, continuing to sniff at the air. It was a gorgeous, sweet and floral scent. Hibiscus. Her mouth watered just thinking about it. And rightly so - she was thirsty after eating all that food.

"I'm sure we'll find even mention in a plant book. But for now, I agree. Just rest, and forget about it for now."

As the cup was set in front of her and Silk served her the tea, she blew gently at the steam coiling up from the liquid. It was a gorgeous colour. She could tell good tea when she saw and smelt it. Chamomile was her absolute favourite, as was Jasmine, but Hibiscus was close to the top of her favourite teas to drink.

"Your own blend?" She asked curiously again, tilting her head. "You must love tea if you make your own blends." She let out a soft breath over the drink once more before taking it into her hooves and slowly taking a sip of it.

Flavour flooded her mouth, the liquid warm and soothing as it trailed down into her belly. It warmed there, spreading quickly to fill the gap felt in her stomach. The thirst was still there as she took another sip. Raven closed her eyes and lay her head down, sighing.

"It's beautiful." She commented. "I've never tasted anything like it before. Sweet, but tart." She licked her lips and lifted her head up again, ice blue eyes opening to look at the stallion in front of her. "Have some more food." She pushed some more food towards Silk Suture, not sure if he wanted anymore but still making sure he ate plenty. She continued to sip at the tea slowly and carefully, not wanting to burn out her tongue. Going from one extreme to the next - well, that wasn't going to be pleasant.

[Silk Suture]

It was good that they were finally moving on from the previous subject. The Giant Mousetrap and the Everfree Forest weren't pleasant things to remember, so revisiting the dangerous scenes in their memories certainly didn't help them feel more at ease. At least Silk Suture couldn't say that thinking back to the time when things could have turned out very ugly calmed him down. Relaxing with a cup of tea next to them, now that did a much better job at calming two nervous ponies, surely! The pharmacist allowed his tea to cool a bit before drinking, concentrating on the dandelion sandwich for now, swallowing a mouthful before he spoke.

"Well, yes," Silk nodded as the mare brought up his hobby of brewing tea, making the correct assumption of a pony like that having to really like tea to do all that,
"I have mentioned my liking for plants, and making a proper tea blend is all about picking the right plants to use for the best flavor," he continued, taking another bite from the sandwich. Or perhaps it was tea that got him interested in plants in the first place, the stallion wasn't that certain anymore now that he thought about it. But it didn't really matter...

"Tea is an excellent drink with many pleasant tastes, I can't say I remember a time when I didn't drink tea," the pegasus closed his eyes as he now took his first sip of tea, allowing the room to grow silent so both of them could enjoy the flavor in peace. That was important after such a hectic adventure, a moment to just sit back and enjoy a cup of tea. He kept his eyes closed, not really having to taste it to know that the brew was good but still allowing the flavors to dance on his tongue, warming his body as he swallowed.

"Good to hear that you like it," Silk Suture opened his eyes, looking at the mare with the tiniest smile on his lips. The pharmacist wasn't really one to show a lot of emotion on his face, but his eyes were calm and appreciative. Tea was something he was passionate about, of course he actually wanted to be good at that and have others enjoy his brews, as well!
"Yes, thank you," he nodded as Raven pushed more food in his direction, quickly finishing his sandwich before gently sliding some fruit salad closer to himself, not digging in just yet.