>>5353299>>5353309>>5353369>>5353421>>5353552>>5353565>>5353637>>5353718>>5353935Experience has taught you to be suspicious of aid given freely, and relying on none but yourself has been something of a matter of pride in your life up to this point. It could be that the stressful transition to a new lifestyle has stricken you with some bizarre brand of insanity, or that you are, scarily enough, unwittingly adopting surfacer attitudes, but you choose to accept their healing. The power of the land mends your bruised ribs, and you supplement it with one of the healing potions you purchased to bring yourself to peak condition.
The High Ranger leans against a tree as injuries are mended and embellished stories are swapped, clicking her tongue at regular intervals while looking upward. A small mammalian that resembles a rat clambers across the bark, perching itself on her shoulder. She offers it a dried berry and chirps, accompanying the noises with hand signs. "What is this?" You inquire, pointing at the creature.
Willow folds her hands contentedly as a powerful smirk takes over her face. "This here's a squirrel. Says he's willin' ta take us ta where the black-bloods take their meals, 'n' help us steer clear of ambushes, too. We're gonna get goin' as soon as our folk catch their breath." The creature voraciously gluts himself on the offering. "Squirrel..." you repeat under your breath. One of Princess Summerbreeze's forest friends. Talented rangers of the Realms are able to converse with fauna, a fact you learned during your brief attempt to apprentice as one during your adolescence, but in the end the demands proved too much. You do not consider yourself squeamish, but the prospect of subsisting on maggots and drinking your own urine to survive on a regular basis turned you away from the lifestyle.
