Not exactly the Elf on the Shelf (closed)

[GypsyGirl84]

Name: Awnohr
Race: Hill Elf
Age: 22 (in elf years )
Height: 1.68 m
Weight: 55 kg
Measurements: 36DD-25-35
Description: Visual Reference(bathing) Like most elves, Hill elves live four to five times longer than the normal human. And like most of their kin, they are preternaturally adept in the woods. And from there the similarities end. Hill elves tend to be shorter and less 'aesthetic in looks' than the other races of elves. Their skin is darker, ranging from light to dark olive. Their ears are less prominent, so that a hill elf, if she chose to, could cover them and pass as human for a short time. Hill elf ears, however, are actually maneuverable, and a Hill elf will use this ability for tracking and scouting purposes. Hill elves are as at home underground as they are in the forest above ground. Their senses are remarkably better than other elves, and their skills in the outdoors are unsurpassed. And as far as marksmanship is concerned with the bow, it is said that if a hill elf heard two bees discussing her five hundred paces away and one made a disparaging remark, she could slay the offender with a single shot, and not disturb the innocent bee. Hill elves have their own dialect of Elvish that is almost a language onto itself, and one that outsiders rarely learn, especially non-Elvish outsiders. Hill elves understand other dialects and languages, but are either unwilling or unable to speak anything but their own dialect, which sounds considerably harsher than standard Elvish.

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Almost a year at war with the neighboring human kingdom had made Awnohr come to a singular conclusion: males were idiots.

The war had started because males have to posture. And once a male postures, he can't stop posturing. The third son of a minor noble transgresses on elven land because of the rumor of a vein of precious metal. Outside of her own people, elves don't mine. Something could have been worked out to allow humans to investigate this vein of precious metal, which did not even exist. But the son had to prove himself to his father, so he did not ask. And of course he was caught. Even her fair skinned cousins could hear a pack of humans bumbling through their woods. Caught in an illegal act, the third son should have made his humblest apologies. But he refused to. And the male leading the party that had captured the humans could not take into account the third son's youth for his foolish behavior. So he summarily executed the trespasser and his company. A harsh but legal remedy. But the minor noble father had to make his posturing, and one thing led to another. And two kingdoms that had always enjoyed a more or less peaceful and amiable relationship found themselves at war.

The mountain goblins got word of the development quickly, and stepped up their raids on human and elven villages at the base of the mountains. In Awnorh's opinion, that should have been enough to start peace talks. But these were males, so rational behavior was out of the question.

Females like Awnorh, who were just as adept as their male counterparts, were recruited to stem the goblin flow and keep an eye out for human incursions that might indicate an attempt at coming at elven warriors from a blind side.

The much larger Goblins were even more bumbling than humans, and it was incredibly easy to sneak up on a raiding party. Unfortunately, once she started loosing arrows, Awnorh realized she might have been overly optimistic about her ability to eliminate the entire raiding party in one attempt. She had been successful, but she had taken a swipe from a goblin blade in the side. Fortunately, she had a poultice among her supplies, and knew the location of a nearby pool fed by a hot spring.

She allowed her body to soak in the pool and let the poultice and her own amazing constitution do their work. But she allowed herself to become too relaxed. A snapping sound in the nearby woods immediately brought her to her senses. Her ears shifted, she sniffed the air, and her eyes focused in the direction of the source of the sound. She mentally cursed herself. How in the hells had she allowed a human male to get this close? She glanced over at her clothes and her weapons, but even a human warrior would be able to get her before she could get to her bow. There was only one thing to do.

She stood up, lifting her arms above her head, and refusing to show the embarrassment she felt at having her private parts, including her sex, sparsely covered as it was by pubic hair, to be seen by a strange male.

"Binom maprins" she shouted. "Medindre duer foroptat vedsyne abrystene, laoss fadette vergivels overat."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Name:Jason Longstrider
Race:Human
Age:25
Height:1.9m
Weight:80kg
Measurements:7inches by 4inches, Athletic muscular.
Job:Human army scout.
Description: Scout Jason was one of the best scouts King Frederick had. He had been sent up here once word of this war had reached his ears to try and curtail any incursions of the mountain goblins into Human territory. other scouts had been sent further down but he was the only one deemed responsible enough to go this close to Elfen lands. He was the son of a high ranked General in the Kings on Army and came from a proud line of military serviceman. It had been a shock when he had chosen to be a Ranger but he soon proved he was good and then excellent at it and now his father was proud of him. He had a gift for languages and was right at home in the woods. He was going to relish this chance at the Goblins and hoped beyond anything he got to meet one of the Hill Elves.

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Jason cursed as he blundered onto the dried stick. He was in worse shape than he thought if he was making simple mistakes like that. He reached up and felt his head again and once again it came away bloody. Damn this was not good. He had been bleeding for over an hour now and although it had stopped to a trickle he was still loosing too much.

Those damn Goblins. Where the hell had they come from and why the hell had they been running so fast? One minute everything had been calm and he was easily tracking a large party of them heading deeper towards Elfen territory. He was just about to turn back thinking he was getting too close and had relaxed too much when five of the brutes had burst from the other side of the clearing he was crossing. He had no time to hide and they spotted him easily and charged. Whatever they were running from was forgotten in their thirst for blood.

He had taken down two easily with arrows through their eyes and crippled another with a shot to it's knee, before he had to throw down his bow and draw his sword and dagger. The next few minutes were a blur of thrust, parry, counters and jabs as he tried to keep both larger and stronger creatures at bay. He tried mainly to dodge their blows instead of taking them on his weapons knowing the damage they would do to his arms, but he still had to take a few and the strength of the blows numbed his arms. Finally though an opportunity presented itself and he speared one of the brutes in his guts and left him to bleed out and concentrated on the last one.

He was good and now frantic, raining blows down on him and forcing him to block more and more. His arms were getting steadily weaker from absorbing the heavy blows and he knew he had to end this soon or he would loose when his strength failed him. He risked everything on a strike to the brutes throat with his dagger and was rewarded when it sunk in deeply. However as he fell the Goblin was still able to lash out and catch him on the temple with his sword giving him a nasty gash.

Now here he was approaching the only body of water he knew of within leagues to dress his wound. He finally broke free of the trees and stopped dead. Before him stood one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, stark naked, with her hands raised and a defeated look on her face. On her side was a poultice like the one he was about to make for his head meaning she was injured so why this show. Then she shouted and he understood.

"Binom maprins. Medindre duer foroptat vedsyne abrystene, laoss fadette vergivels overat."

So she was Elfen and thought he was going to take her prisoner. Damn this was going to be complicated. No one knew the Hill elves language but he did know three other elfen languages and high elf. He decided to try that first as all Elf languages supposedly came from that according to all the elders he had spoken to.

He gestured for her to put her hands down and to get back down in the water. Then in very basic High Elf, "I am not going to harm you. I am not from invaders army. I am only here to kill Goblins not elves." Then he sat down and almost keeled over as he started to lay out his weapons in front of him and then rummage in his sack for his own healing poultice and food. Sharing food was always a good sign to show peaceful intentions.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

This is an interesting development, Awnohr thought to herself as she lowered herself back under the water. A human who could speak High Elf. And not half badly, though his accent was atrocious. Still, he was understandable, more or less, though some of the more aristocratic elves would pretend not to understand him unless he got every last syllable and intonation correct. And she had to wonder what kind of human actually took the trouble to learn High Elf, however badly.

She obliged him by lowering herself back under the water. She also studied her captor in more earnest. Like her, he had suffered some wounds, though his appeared much more grave than hers. She cursed herself for overreacting. She realized that the human had stumbled onto her by happenstance, and she could probably have just slipped away without him knowing she had ever been there.

Her modesty appreciated the human allowing her to remain below the water, but it wasn't like she could remain in this pool forever.

Then the human put food and what she took to be a very poor poultice on the ground in front of him. Was he offering them to here? Awnohr almost snickered. She only knew the bare minimum of herbal lore, but she suspected that she knew enough to make a poultice twice as good as whatever the human had just set down on the ground. And as for food, this was her land. If she had a mind to, she could gorge herself in an hour on what was around her.

Still, perhaps the human would allow her something else.

"Tesuper ampus penel hain?" she asked, gesturing at her clothes lying on the bank. "Rulea înjuru gonu etreab mea."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Jason was getting ready to apply the poultice to his head when he heard the elf call out again. He looked up and saw her gesturing over to a pile of clothes and weapons he had failed to notice. Oh great he was in really bad shape if he had missed that. Obviously she wanted to get out of the water and get dressed again.

He decided not to try talking again. He knew how bad his speaking voice was. He was much more fluent in tree elf and had hardly an accent in it. Instead he just gestured towards her clothes and turned his back to her and started to put the poultice on his head. He winced as it made contact with his wound but he did the bandage up tight while he listened to her movements. While he was pretty sure she would not do anything, she was still classified as an enemy and he had to be ready for anything.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Awnohr lifted herself cautiously out of the water and made her way to her clothes as the human male turned his back. Most of her was relieved at his respect for her modesty, though a surprising small part of her was disappointed that he hadn't taken this opportunity to see her nude form again.

He must be more injured than I thought, she wryly mused.

She quickly dressed, keeping an eye on the human male while doing so. Once she had her undergarments on, as well as her trousers, blouse, jerkin, belt and various pouches, she considered the human male again. His back was still turned to her, and he seemed more focused on tending his own wounds than minding her activities. Wordlessly she picked up her weapons, then disappeared noiselessly into the forest.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Jason had heard her dressing and then the pause as she decided what to do. He still did not turn around giving her an opportunity to take a shot at him or attempt to attack him.However he heard her move off, but could not discern the direction she took. Truly they were masters of moving through the forest.

He had finished bandaging his head and moved upstream from where she had bathed and gathered water in his skin to drink. Then moving back into the shadows of the forest he used his small knapsack as a pillow and laid back and ate a small meal. He did not feel like eating but knew if he did not eat and replace the blood he had lost he would be in no condition to move lrt alone fight tomorrow.

He stayed awake for the next several hours and changed his poultice twice. The second time there was no more blood and he sighed in relief. Finally he could keep his eyes open no more. He packed his kit and quickly scrambled up a tree, hiding himself in it's leafy canopy. Finding a comfortable spot that he would not roll out of he settled in and quickly fell asleep.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Awnohr woke Jason up with the point of her dagger's blade on his throat. She put her blade back in its scabbard when his eyes opened up.

"Inu afost ichi serkarea dea fitcut," she told him, the disgust in her tone apparent. She then pointed at the poultice on his forehead, her nose wrinkling in distaste. "Capute canaib. Estino rocos masi nuo pisi copac nenoro kite." Awnohr stood up on the limb Jason had been sleeping on, though her weight and movement didn't seem to have any effect on it. She held up a bota bag in one hand and one of her own poultices in her other. "Lasmus currana sia puso catapla smapeel, carnu vatrag toa temtur tord strad troz demile."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Jason woke with the feeling of a knife blade at his throat. Damn how had anyone found him up here? Slowly he opened his eyes and looked up to find the Elf from yesterday peering down at him. Well that answered that question. He sat calmly awaiting what would happen but she calmly sheathed her dagger and then looked at him.

She said something and by her tone he was pretty sure she was disgusted with his skills at choosing a hiding spot and at blending in. Then she pointed at his poultice and her nose wrinkled in what he could only describe as distaste. She pulled out a bag and what looked like another poultice. Jason could smell the healing herbs from where he was sitting. Again she talked and as he listened he could almost start to understand her. The language was very similar to all of the elvish he had heard but more guttural and slightly different. He knew if he could keep her talking though he may be able to pick it up.

Still her meaning was pretty clear. She was offering him medicine and food. He smiled at her. "Thank you pretty maiden. I am honored to share your food." He decided to just talk human for now. He was pretty sure she understood it. After all she was a scout and what sort of scout would not learn the language of the enemy so that they could overhear pieces of vital information. He reached out and took the poultice and changed the bandage on his head and felt the power of hers immediately. Oh this was ten times better than his. He looked at her and gestured to her bag. "So shall we eat up here or on the ground?" he smiled.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

He's a smooth talker, isn't he, Awnorh thought to herself as the human scout took the poultice from her hand. She was taken aback at the fact he didn't clean the wound first before changing out the poultices. Still, she was glad that he had gotten that nasty one off his head.

Then he pointed at her bota bag and asked her if she wanted to share it up in the tree or down on the ground. She stared at him wide-eyed, then started softly chuckling.

"Chiari goblini nuvor beakest," she replied, still laughing. Picking up the discarded poultice and hefting it, she added, "Cumai strata keast pefrun stedin colod emin. Dupam scadeea, vavo aduk eceva demank areade vurat." Still chuckling, Awnorh leaped nimbly up to the limb above Jason, then ran along it, disappearing into the night.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Well obviously he had gotten that wrong. Jason sighed and looking to where she had disappeared he chuckled. She really had been nice and very good looking, even fully clothed. He settled back down and went to sleep again.

The next morning he awoke feeling refreshed and a lot better. He scanned the area before climbing down. He took the poultice off and laid it down carefully before undressing and wading carefully into the pool. The water was cold and it shocked him fully awake but he adapted to it and he waded out up to his chest then dunked his head under and then cleaned out his wound washing the dried blood from his hair and scalp. He then scrubbed his body with soap root growing along the bank and then relaxed a little. It was good to feel clean again after weeks of not bathing.

Cleaning up

 

[GypsyGirl84]

A loud whistle drew the attention of a listener to a beautiful elf maiden wielding a bow almost as large as herself. Awnorh had it drawn with an arrow pointed straight at Jason's heart. Once she had his attention, she set the bow down, but there was a scowl on her face.

"Suntoti oameni akest orcreti ninonrociti?" she demanded. "Existo patrul goblini olig lanor," she declared pointing to the north, "Unpache telup lasud," she added pointing to the south, "Sipent rutot cetu, arpute fipe carp," she concluded, touching herself over her heart. Shaking her head in mock despair, she pointed at his clothes. "Mibrac teși vover ifica ranaca." She tapped her head at the place where Jason's wound was. "Niplu, tiam adumi culjun." Awnohr produced four large purplish fruit, that looked to be a cross beteeen peaches and apples. She started casually juggling them as she turned her back on Jason, though her ears began moving constantly.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Hmm it seemed like he was being watched Jason grinned. Still she was not killing him which was good, maybe he had made an impression on her after all. It looked like she was actually inviting him to breakfast this time and she was being polite by turning her back. Still his clothes were over there. Oh well he had seen her naked so if she wanted to look he would not begrudge her that.

He strode from the water and walked over to his pile of clothes. He wiped himself down with a rag and then proceeded to get dressed. He only belted on his dagger, leaving his sword and bow to be carried. He had not seen her turn around but he had been distracted so who knew. He had seen her ears twitching and knew for certain she had known his every movement.

He left the poultice off. It was time for his wound to get some air on it. He had always healed quickly and with whatever had been in her medicine he felt a whole lot better. He moved and waited a decent distance behind her. "I am ready madam." He told her. "If I gathered right you are telling me that you are from the hill tribe of the elves here to scout on the Goblins making their way into your lands. I am truly grateful for the medicine you gave me for my head wound. It was much better than the ones provided to me by the doctors in the Barons camp. I have a feeling they were keeping the good supplies for themselves," he said bitterly. "The fools, I can't wait until the king arrives and punishes them severely."

He then looked at her wide eyed knowing he had said too much and hoped she did not understand too much of that last statement. "So am I to assume we are to have breakfast together this morning, or are you going to disappear again."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Awnohr arched an eyebrow but otherwise made no comment. No matter how good the poultice was that this Baron could have given the human male, she doubted they could match the poultice she had given him. Those had been made by her sister, known as perhaps the most gifted of those with herbal lore. As for the politics associated with this human's supplies...since there were not only humans involved, but males besides, who could tell?

Awnohr easily tossed the four fruit so they landed on a grassy spot near the human in a pyramid. She wondered if the human had had this type of fruit before? Oh, they were delicious! Awnohr allowed herself a brief smile as she remembered gathering them as a child. She could easily gorge herself on a gathering, which would irritate her sister to no end, as her sister would want extra to practice distilling their spirits. It was a shame the season was still early, and the she could only find four. Still, she felt confident the human would enjoy them.

Anwohr settled on the ground, sitting cross legged, and gestured at the fruit. "Manank inprimu rund, siapo amdeg pentrua verifik moduran asevin deca," she said, tapping her own forehead in the location that Jason's wound was located in.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Jason sat down opposite her on the other side of the fruit and smiled at her.

"Ah so I am going to have the pleasure of your beautiful company this morning, I am honored fair maiden."

He reached up and touched his wound and then smiled at her. "Oh yes the poultice you gave me has done exceptionally well." Then he thought about her gesture a bit more. "Oh do you mean that this fruit will also help with my wound as well? Well then I will gladly eat it although I would have certainly eaten it anyway. I always eat food when it is offered by a beautiful woman such as yourself."

Jason reached for the strange fruit and took a bite of it. He was not afraid of being poisoned, after all if she wanted to kill him she could have done it several times already. As the flavor of the fruit hit his tongue his eyes bulged. This was like nothing he had ever tasted but it was exquisite. He couldn't even begin to describe it but it almost tasted like an apple one second then a peach the next then a combination of the two that tasted so extraordinary it was sending his taste buds into spasms of pleasure.

"My god this is amazing. What is this fruit called?" he asked in amazement.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Awnohr just rolled her eyes and shook her head at his compliment, giggling. Such a honey tongued talker!

She cocked her head to one side, considering, as he talked about the fruit's healing properties. She supposed it did have some restorative powers, but she didn't know. Her sister certainly wasn't shy in asking her to find some for her to distill for her elixirs. She'd definitely have to ask her in the future.

Then the human asked her something that took her aback. He wanted her to teach him? She leaned back a little, eyes wide, the flat of her palm over her heart. Everyone taught, of course, but it took a certain special wisdom and patience to be a true teacher. Awnohr did take younger ones on hunts and treks with her, but they learned by watching. She wasn't skilled in discovering where the gap was in their knowledge or how to try to bridge it.

Still, she would try.

Remember to keep it simple, she reminded herself, as she picked up one of the fruits.

"Dimina țopuni," she said, pointing at the fruit. "Dimina topini."

She then held the fruit above her, closed her eyes, and tried to mimic the sun hitting her face. "Dupamia doponi. Dupamia doponi."

She moved the fruit so that it was at arm's length, and shivered dramatically. "Seirra duponi. Seirra duponi." Awnorh had a self-satisfied smirk on her face when she remembered one more she she should teach him. She held the fruit in her palm in one hand and began undulating her free arm and hand. "Sarpaza bopini. Sarpaza bopini." Awnorh smiled happily as she gently tossed Jason the fruit back. "Acumanunk, astfeln kitsa potver ificaran adela capata dinnor," she instructed, again tapping her head in the same spot where his wound was.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Jason watched her very closely and saw her smile. Well that just made her look more beautiful now didn't it. He laugh was too and Jason smiled as he heard it. Now they were getting somewhere. If you could get the other person to smile and laugh then you could be on the road to friendship.

Then she stared at him and picked up the fruit. "Dimina topuni," she told him in her high pitched but harsh voice. Well to say it was harsh was not quite correct. He only considered it harsh because he was used to elfish being so sing song. This was closer in tone to the human tongue but still milder in tone than that.

"Diminia topuni," he tried pointing at the fruit. "Dupamia doponi," he said looking up to the sun and making a gesture similar to the one she had, imagining the sunlight hitting him. "Sunlight is that right," he asked her. "Seirra duponi," he tried. "Is that cold or winter I wonder," he asked more to himself. "Sarpaza bopini." He thought about that one. It could have several meanings but in the context of the things she was explaining he thought he knew what she was getting at. "Would that be river or water dear lady?" he said pointing at the water and then making the same sign.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Awnorh sighed in exasperation, then shook her head at the human male.

"Nuvin ata," she said apologetically. "Unusu tudook upro fesorb." She put her finger under her lip, trying to think. Then she grinned. What was the phrase her friend the scholar used? The base word, that was it. She had to treat the human as a small child who was just learning to speak.

Leaning over to pick up the fruit, she held it up and said, "Koponi. Koponi."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Oh right Jason thought, she must have been explaining complex meanings. "Ah I get it. We are going to keep it very simple. Well back to grade school for me again," he smiled. "Koponi," He said. "Fruit, yes or is that the name of the fruit." He dug in his bag and pulled out an apple. "I am sorry to be so dense," he apologized to her. He pointed at the apple and asked "Koponi".

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Awnohr wrinkled her nose in distaste as Jason produced an apple from his bag. How long had it been in there? Even if she traveled far from her own lands, Awnohr was fairly sure that she could find fresh food. Surely the human wasn't going to offer this to her, was he?

Then he started asking if "Koponi" meant any fruit, or the fruit he gave her. She visibly relaxed. She would, of course, eat the dried apple if the human offered it to her. The guest bond that extended between the two demanded no less. Still, she hoped the human would limit the use of the apple to his vocabulary lessons.

She pointed emphatically at the fruit she had brought him and said, "Koponi! Koponi!" She looked up at the rising sun and decided they had wasted enough time. "Acumanank koponi ta! Atuncip otver ficapul. Amiros ipre amult dinzi," she said, gesturing at the fruit she had giving him.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Okay, well it seemed like the fruit she had brought him was called Koponi and not all fruit. At least he had cleared that up. By the way she was looking at the sun and gesturing at the fruit he gathered he was supposed to eat it quickly. Obviously she had somewhere to go but did not want to leave until he had finished his meal. he obliged her by quickly wolfing down the remaining Koponi fruit and then smiling at her. "Thank you for the Koponi." Jason realized he did not know her name but wasn't sure if she would give it too him but he would try. "My name is Jason," he said pointing to himself," Jason." Then he pointed to her.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Awnohr waited for Jason to give all his name, but he just sat there, waiting for her to reply. She blushed, having forgotten that in the languages of others, even their names were rocks that had settled to the bottom of the stream.

"Awnohr," she replied, tapping herself over her heart. She then pointed at Jason's head, making a 'come here' motion with her hand. "Acumas masuv ducar ana," she instructed.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

"Awnohr," Jason repeated, knowing full well it was only a fraction of her full name. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman." He saw her gesture and crawled across to her and allowed her to examine his wound. "Don't worry, I have always healed fast, and that medicine that you gave me was simply the best I have ever used. I would guess that was made by another member of your tribe," he asked. "Well when you see them again tell them thank you for me and I owe them a debt that they are free to collect at any time."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Awnohr made a noncommittal 'hmmm' sound as she took a look at the wound, lightly touching the area around it. She wasn't a healer, of course, but she did have some skills in that area. The wound had healed nicely, but it still looked a little inflamed. Better safe than sorry, she decided.

She took the bota bag off her belt, pointed at the bag, and then at Jason's forehead. "Sungo itsa tarne stape frumt. Osa intep canaib," she added, her face wincing. She opened up her bota bag to let Jason smell its contents. It was a wild grain, twice distilled. A very nasty smelling concoction, Awnohr though, but almost guaranteed to kill any infection.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Jason winced a little as Awnohr gently probed at his wound. By the feel of it, it was probably slightly infected. Well what would you expect from a Goblin weapon. Still nothing a few days of dizziness wouldn't cure. He would just have to make sure he drank plenty of liquids for awhile.

Then she pulled out her water skin again and pointed at it then his head. Oh she was going to wash his wound, well he supposed it could do no harm and she could see it a lot better than he could. Then she winced and Jason suddenly knew what to expect. It wasn't going to be water in that skin. She handed it to him and he smelt the contents and his nose did more then wrinkle, it tried to retreat into his face. It smelled like off beer and very powerful beer at that. Well it couldn't be helped but he just knew this was going to sting.

"I am in your very capable hands My Lady." He then grinned cheekily at her, "If I don't scream do I get a kiss from the nurse?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Awnohr couldn't help but laugh at his roguishness.

"Ameni menus rut. Darpi pentru tonvo akeo septi," she replied with a wink and a winsome smile. Then her face became serious as she produced a cloth and poured some of the foul smelling liquid on it. As gently as she could, she began slightly dabbing it on Jason's wound.