ORIGIN

Kethri's own thoughts were halted for a moment as she thought. What... did she do? So far she'd been a bully and a loner. She had nothing to truly brag about other than her beauty- which, honestly, wasn't all that great when she was covered in dust and having been dragged all the way from Orion to here. What a trip that had been.

"... Nothing,", she mumbled, "I'm a nobody. That's why Delta brought me here, because no one would miss me."

She'd lied to herself since she'd hatched from her egg. She was important! She was beautiful and everyone should love her! And then they didn't, and she grew bitter, and the lies never stopped.

"I'd like to be something,", she continued after a second, "Like you. I don't know if I could help people... I'm not too fond of others, generally, but... I don't know. I could assist you, if you'd like. I don't like sitting around if I can help it."

Kethri fluffed up her feathers and got back to preening what she could, scowling at the amount of broken ones that had been snapped or dislodged by Delta's manhandling. Though she couldn't expect a heathen to understand the level of work that went into keeping herself clean and pristine. Her feathers were all she had. If they were gone, then what was she? (ooc- a man)

Until she had something that she could pride herself on, she'd focus on her feathers.

@Doctor

Doctor studied the owl.

Everyone had categories they subconsciously slotted others into. Kethri had rapidly gone from 'test subject' to 'potential socialization candidate' to 'possible helper,' and he perked up at this; no one had taken interest in his actual work, before. Not like this--not outside the vague 'how does this help us?' mentality.

Enthusiasm rocked him, and had she been faking it he'd never have known. "Well, finding a calling is certainly a wonderful thing!" he assured her brightly. "And science, I think, can use help. Not enough wish to progress," he lamented, with a dismissive flap of a wing. "You are certainly welcome here! Welcome to help. Tell me, is there anything I have mentioned that interests you, ah, more or less than the rest?" Doctor asked, curiously.

He could always use others to bring rats; but he had enough of those, and anyway Kethri struck him as more distinctly useful. More intellectual than that. Perhaps... an actual partner in science was at hand!

@Kethri

Kethri blinked, her head feathers fluffing up in interest. She turned her body around and hopped down to stand in front of Doctor, eyes wide.

"A-all of it?", she said, laughing a bit nervously, "Um... The herbs. How did you find out what they did? You couldn't have just used rats, since they can't speak and tell you what's happening. Did you test things on yourself, or get others to? Did you test it all on rats before moving on to 'person testing'?"

Kethri was amazed, if she was honest. The plants she'd only really known as bitter tasting and a pain in the ass to get out of her feathers had so much more use under their green appearances. They could take pain away, help heal, she wanted to know what else they could do, and what she could find.

"How did you suspect the plants had uses in the first place?", she asked, "Did you learn from someone else? Did you see lessers using the plants and wanted to test them yourself?"

She'd seen lessers eat particular fruit over others, and eat mushrooms that sat right next to identical ones, avoiding them like the plague. The not-eaten ones were toxic, while the others weren't. Perhaps Doctor had observed the same thing.

@Doctor

Instant interest perked him up--and something else that became clear, after a moment, as a sort of lamenting melancholy.

"Oh, I have only tested them on rats! -Well, you see, they change behavior a tad when the pain is less; they are not always paralyzed at the spine. But there is so much I have yet to discover-!" His wings spread to half of their ten-or-so-foot-span, for a moment, as he vaguely gestured with them outward, as if to indicate the whole world. Or, at least, the caves. "There are so many plants, and we know so little of them! It is one of the lacking pieces of knowledge, yes." One keen, dark eye regarded Kethri with hope.

"Might that be something that has your interest-? Finding and testing the plants of the caves? Why, I had almost given up, ah, categorizing them all--finding them, testing them. Each one, and there are so many. And who is to say what might strike a bird one way, and a rat another; what might heal one creature and poison a different one-? It is not an easy job," he added, thoughtfully.

@Kethri

Kethri nodded slowly, mind racing, then she nodded eagerly, "I could do that. I'm afraid I don't really know how to document everything, for I may forget. Perhaps... we could make symbols? Like... a skull for poisonous, drawn in um... green for less, yellow for middle intensity, and red for highly toxic, and have that be a level for most things. Like healing medicines or pain medicines. Though for the 'positive' medicines and herbs, green would be higher, and red would be lower. Perhaps I could draw a picture to go with it."

She flexed her talons and narrowed her eyes, remembering a berry she'd seen a lesser eat. It had started to shake, foam at the mouth, and then it died soon after, barely having taken a few steps. She drew a circle on the ground and started to add some detail, like the jagged edges of the leaves the plant had, and then put a skull underneath.

"Like this,", she said, "But with color, and done more permanently. Once I can fly, I can probably go collect dyes and maybe paint them on something like slate slabs."

The owl was already interested in the research part of her new job, her feathers relaxed and no longer preening restlessly.

"... Though, Doctor,", she finally asked, "You said you have only tested the effects of medicines on rats only. Have you tested other things on Gembound like us?"

@Doctor

He watched with equal eagerness, eye bright, as Kethri sketched out her idea in the red dirt. Feathered fluffed and he eyed her. "Excellent idea, I'd say. And as an addition--some of the Gembound in this tunnel can create clear stone from sand. Perhaps we might use that-? This way, it would show against any background--we can move them, view them against other colors... We would need dyes, too. And perhaps something to fix the dye so it doesn't fade. A brilliant idea! Well done." He was wondering what sort of other images, icons, they could use to depict safe, or healing, or edible and the like, when Kethri spoke again.

She asked of his chances to experiment on Greaters, and he shook his head, his tone one of lamenting. "Sadly, no. I must find my own rats to test on, usually. I have had a single Greater subject, and right now in a sense you are one. But perhaps we can find a way to test on Greaters, too-?"

Doctor thought about this, and without any of the associated questions of morality. It simply didn't occur to him; it was, after all, for a greater good. He thought more about logistics. How to choose subjects, how to find them, how to subdue them and bring them here--or convince them to cooperate willingly (which, for more deadly tests, was... questionable). "We would need to figure out how to get them here. Hmm..."

@Kethri

"The moment I'm well I will start collecting materials,", she said with an excited trill, "And then I ill start cataloging. Not only will it keep us organized, but as you said earlier about it being tedious, once it's done, all we need to do is look at the slates and find the corresponding herb- or herbs."

"What kind of people work for the Sentinels?", she asked, "For if there is someone rather... large, or even sneaky like Delta, we could task them to find Gembounds for us. And of course, we could test positive effects on ourselves. Have you found antidotes to poisons? Like from berries?"

Ideas floated through her head like they hadn't before, growing and branching out into many different things. She was flourishing.

"I wish I could heal faster,", she said, "Then I could start all of this now."

What a positive thing to come out of something intended to be negative.

@Doctor

"Antidotes-?"

Doctor considered, and then gave a shake of his feathered head. "No! There's so many available combinations... And what if the best antidote or the best poison is a combination on its own? Oh, there are so many possibilities," he added, and it was half excited, half dismayed. It was... a lot to do, really, and for a brief moment the ruffle-feathered vulture felt how overwhelming it might turn.

But the owl's other question had him thinking, too. "As to who is large enough--well, many of them; but convincing them to help may be another matter. They're--they've been busy, lately. But perhaps once that business is all over, we can approach them together-? Once your wing is better?" he offered, hopefully.

For a moment, he considered. "There is a way to put your own magic toward healing yourself, though I'm afraid I can't teach it. It isn't a thing that can be taught-! But you could try; it might mend you faster?" he suggested. "I do not know if you have some way to sense magic, but allow me to demonstrate, if you do-" and here, for a moment, Doctor focused.

His magicka flared up, and though he had no idea if the owl could detect magic casts, he demonstrated anyway. Or--tried to. As it so often did, nothing happened, and he sighed, clacked his beak, and shook his head. "Never mind--it doesn't always cooperate. But you may still try!" he added, in encouragement.

@Kethri

Kethri nodded enthusiastically and hopped forward, "I'm so excited- I can only imagine what things could be found!"

As a contrast to Doctor's dread, she herself was practically over the moon, very close to bouncing and rebounding off the walls like some kind of feathery basketball without a net. She shook her good wing in glee and bobbed her head, stopping herself from rambling before the conversation got too off track.

"I sure hope both things happen soon,", she said wistfully, "I'm both thankful and regretful that I had to get injured to get here, but I suppose it'll keep me from overexerting myself before I even have a plan to do anything. I could show you Eridanus once this is over, if you have time. There's a few things I think you'd enjoy there, like some interesting Lessers, some herbs and plants I witnessed having some gruesome effects, among other things."

Kethri perked up at the mention of a spell that could heal. She watched and listened closely, leaning in a bit in order to hear. She blinked when she saw nothing, interested by the idea that magic could fail. She wondered if something could cause that effect... Hm.

She ruffled her feathers to try and call her own, attempting to direct it towards her wound.

Instead of healing, her eyes suddenly darkened and she began to feel cool. Wait- that was the wrong thing entirely! What the Hell- and it failed??

"... So I see what you mean when you say it doesnt work,", she said, feathers wilting a bit in distaste, her vibrant cyan eyes now black and rather... creepy looking.

Oh and she was cold now, thanks magic.

@Doctor

"Oh, I would certainly enjoy that trip," Doctor assured her. He blinked, and then laughed--startled--at her abrupt shift in appearance--and in temperature?

"Ahh... it tends to do that, yes. Magic, I mean. I suggest rest--your wing will need it, as will the rest of your body, and your mind, and your magic too. I will not be far, if you need something," Doctor added, helpfully, waving a wing toward his potted plants and water. "Feel free to pick any place, and have a rat if you need one. Ahh--though in the future, do ask--in case they are, well, poisoned. These are safe."

@Kethri