sixthiterationlogs | Poison Is a Woman's Weapon

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Poison Is a Woman's Weapon

WHO: Lucrezia
WHERE: The Inn
WHEN: 7/15
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: None

Despite her misgivings, she had ventured into the woods, keeping close to the path. There were a number of plants she recognized, many that knew there were uses for but couldn't quite remember. There had been a book in the Vatican that mentioned herbs and plants, as well as their medicinal uses, but she hadn't had the chance to study it or begin her own experiments, as she wished. But now...now there was time, even without the book.

Spreading out the leaves, roots and berries over one of the tables, she sniffed and inspected the plants studiously. There had been a few pieces of paper in the schoolhouse. Using a bit of charred wood, she sketched the plants to the best of her abilities. It was messy work, but she would at least have a record of what she collected.

A few were easy to guess, aloe, lavender, rosemary, but so many others were a mystery to her. But they were beautiful and delicate, entrancing her in her work. Someone took the seat across from her, stirring her from her thoughts as her blue eyes shot up in surprise. "Oh! Forgive me, I didn't see you."

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The look on Moana's face was enough for Lucrezia to forget her work. Despite the black soot on her fingers, she reached out to clasp Moana's shoulder. Gently, she pulled her into a hug, trying to offer what little comfort she could. Moana had spoken of the heart before, enough that Lucrezia knew how much it meant to her. While she didn't completely understand its magic, she felt for her friend.

To be given something from home well loved and precious, only to have it taken away, it had to be difficult to bear. She didn't have to suffer it alone, at least. "The heart...why would it suddenly die?" Was something drain it or taking the magic from the stone?

Her fingers glided lightly over it, tracing the spiral, willing it back to life. "I'm so sorry. What will happen?" Would it harm Moana at all? How closely was she tied to it. "How did you come by it in this place? We came with nothing from our worlds."

Moana moved like paper pushed by the wind, falling into Lucrezia’s arms and resting gently in the woman’s hug. She liked hugging and knowing that she wasn’t alone helped though it didn’t completely erase the pain, worry and uncertainty that filled her heart. The light of the heart was fading and Moana didn’t know what it meant. She had reached it before, called out to the heart with her own, and it had responded. Now… now it was just a rock.

At the question Moana shook her head, giving herself time to put strength into her voice. "I don’t know. It had been dormant before, when I first found it but I could always make it glow." She could make it live.

"I found it beneath the waterfall. A few weeks ago now." She looked down at the heart as she spoke. "I don’t know how it found me here. The ocean had given it to me, that’s how I first got it… I thought that maybe the ocean was returning it." That it somehow found her here.

She had always been shielded and protected by her brother, finding solace in his arms and hugs. She knew how much it meant to feel that there was someone offering strength and comfort. Moana didn't seem to have family here, much like Lucrezia. If they were without family, they would have to give that comfort to each other.

"Perhaps this world has drained it?" It seemed possible. There was a great deal of darkness in this place. While it wasn't a literal darkness, there was a looming sense of danger and chaos. Perhaps to stave it off, it needed the stone?

"Maybe it was a gift from an observer? They seem to hear wishes. If you were longing for home, they returned a piece of it to you." It was a thought, however unlikely it was. She might at least find comfort in it.

Moana's grip around the heart tightened as she pulled it against her chest. "If it was a gift... then why is it fading?" Her voice was tense as hysterics threatened Moana's rational thought. She knew that there was more to it, a reason that the heart had arrived and that she had found it but why was it dying.

"It's her heart." Moana's voice lowered to a whisper and her head dropped. She didn't know why she was telling Lucrezia this. Perhaps because she had no one else to talk to and she didn't know what else to do. "I can't fail, I can't." Her voice cracked and Moana knew that she was close to crying.

She didn't want to cry.

"And if it's drained..." She continued, trying to keep her voice from breaking. "Then there is no way to save my island."

She didn't want to speak her mind and further add to Moana's fears. A part of her believed, though couldn't prove, that it was brought into this world for a reason. That possibly, it's power was being used for something else...though what, she couldn't say.

"Perhaps it won't matter, if it is returned to your world? Maybe it will be returned to the moment it was taken, unchanged and full of power?" Just as they were when they returned to their time, as she had been told.

She hugged Moana closer.

"Don't give up hope yet. We don't know yet if it isn't the same for the stone as it is for us."

Moana nodded her head softly, feeling a numb sort of fear settle in her stomach. There was no way for her to confirm that the heart would return with her. She hoped but hope could only get you so far. Even if it didn't return with her, what could Moana possibly do about it? She didn't know how they got here or if she could get back on her own volition.

Her face pressed gently against Lucrezia's shoulder. The hug helped. It made Moana feel like she was a little bit stronger.

She slowly pulled away, the heart cradled against her chest as she looked down at it. "I won't give up." Not yet. "Thank you…"

Moana paused, a thought rattling restlessly around her head. She looked up at her friend, her lips twisting at their edges as she let her thoughts settled into place. "Would you come with me to the falls? Maybe there is something there. Something that I might have missed." Having an extra pair of eyes would help.

She hesitated, uncertain about wandering far from the village. While she had spent time in the woods, hunting and riding before, this world was different. Strange things happened and there was little reason to doubt that there might be something lurking in the darkness.

"I'm not certain it's wise." She glanced out the window apprehensively. "How deep in the woods are the falls?"

She didn't want to be a coward. A Borgia never cowered, but she was wise enough to know her limitations. If there was something in the woods, she would not be able to fight it herself.

Moana had been to the falls many times but they were right next to the woods which were often deemed unsafe. "The water fall is at the canyon wall. It's next to the forest, at the end of the river." She bit at her lower lip.

"It isn't completely unsafe." She had traveled a fair amount through the woods and around the falls and canyon wall.

She was stubborn and familiar with getting herself in and out of dangerous situations.

She shook her head. It was deep enough to dissuade Lucrezia from wandering away from the safety of the inn. What little she had come to understand about this world was that it was dangerous and full of curious things. The woods themselves were not entirely normal.

It was unwise to leave, despite wishing to help Moana.

"I wouldn't know how to protect myself against wild animals."

Moana knew a few people who were scared of the woods. She also knew a few people that thought that men should do work that both sexes could perform. It wasn't something that she understood since everything in her village was equally shared. It was true that women tended to gravitate towards certain tasks but they could fish or build if they wanted too.

At the same time, Moana knew that she was odd. Even compared to those on her island.

"I'll look then and let you know what I find." She had a spear that she took with her into the woods. Moana wasn't afraid but she was more careful after being attacked by a bear.

Living in Rome and in her mother's palazzo had not prepared her for the wilderness. As much as she wished to learn to protect herself, as she had in the Sforza estate, it seemed impossible to with the odds against her. She couldn't hunt or fight, as some women seemed capable of. It was better to have a care of where she went, if only to lessen the risk of coming across something that could harm her.

She nodded, a bit disappointed that she couldn't see the falls herself, but knowing it was the right decision.

"Perhaps someday I will be able to go as well. Be safe."

Moana nodded her head, pushing herself up to her feet. "I will." She promised in a soft voice before she turned to go. She felt a tinge of disappear settle in her chest as she slipped the heart back into the blue shell necklace but she had hope now, thanks to Lucrezia. She had to try one last time.

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Poison Is a Woman's Weapon

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