"So what exactly are we looking for?" Claire asked. She knew the name of the ingredient but not what it looked like.
"The Tyr flower, found natively only on this mountain. It has a blood red color, bit darker than your hair and a noxious smell. Not a good flower for a gift, but its roots are used to fight viral illnesses." Jasmine explained. " It's normally grown every spring by alchemists, but around here, its harvesting is a very good starting quest for adventurers."
"Ohhhh, I remember Lily has those!" Claire exclaimed. She remembered getting sick when she was younger and the local alchemist bringing her herbal tea. The taste was so bad, she physically cringed thinking about it.
Jasmine laughed," Yup! Looks like you remember the taste as well."
"Its flower can also be used to treat wounds. Grinding it to a paste and coating the bandages can fight off infection." Ana spoke up. "The nectar is also used in some alcoholic beverages. When boiled, it has a bittersweet taste to it."
Jasmine frowned and started thinking. "I didn't know that, maybe we grab the whole flower then. Maybe have your mom make us some drinks when we get back."
"M-maybe…. Not too good with alcohol." Ana replied meekly. Her moment of confidence as she spoke about facts passing quickly.
The two women smiled at the shy girl, her face starting to redden as they stared. Two pairs of eyes ogled her as she tried not to meet them. Claire licked her lips and the thought of Ana getting tipsy and letting loose for once entered her mind. Would she be more conversational or louder when drunk? Claire would like to see that.
"I bet you're a talkative drunk." Jasmine added. Her smile widened as she spoke. "The shy ones always are."
"I can see that. She'd probably ramble on about something she found interesting or her sister. I hope she's a touchy drunk too." Claire joined in. "Maybe she'd be less embarrassed when drunk."
"Hopefully, would like to see a more…. active Ana at some point" Jasmine mused.
"C-c-can we focus on the flower?" Ana said, her voice tapering off. She looked at the ground, not being able to look at either of them. She wasn't good with the attention she was getting.
Claire got that urge to tease her. Her chest began to burn as she closed the gap with the girl. She gently lifted the girl's face to meet hers. A move she learned from a romance novel. "Aww, but it's so gross. Much rather talk about something appealing…" She semi-whispered to the girl, letting the last word hang in the air.
After a pause as Claire tried to get Ana to look at her, she felt Jasmine wrap her arms around her waist and rested her chin on Claire's shoulder. Her warmth fed the fire burning in her chest right now. Her breath caught as Jasmine spoke." Trueee, it's so boring talking about the flower when we got something better right here."
A silence fell over the trio as Ana started to tremble. Her knees gave out as she fell into Claire's arms, she couldn't take it anymore. She felt Claire's arms wrap around her, a feeling of heat and safety enveloped her. Her eyes were closed and her heart beat rapidly in her chest.
They stood there for a while, no one saying anything. Their breath being the only sounds as their bodies embraced each other. Slowly the sounds of the mountain filtered in, birds chirping, wind hitting the branches. All the sounds of nature she had subconsciously ignored, now filtering in. Ana opened her eyes and finally took in the sight before her.
Before her was the land they traveled, filled with fields and forests. She could see the road they took and how it snaked with the land. She saw how the sky met the earth to make the horizon and it took her breath away. It was a view she'd read about and even seen paintings of, but the real thing was so much better. The blue sky met the green earth and she could only imagine how the sunset would look from here.
She took in the sight, forgetting the predicament she was in. Her eyes followed the road back towards the mountain range. The forest they passed with a sea of trees and the lake nearby. Everything looked so small from up here. Finally, she refocused on the embrace she was in.
She looked up to her embracer, her green eyes staring down at her. A smile burned into her face as she looked at Ana. It made Ana's heart beat faster and she could feel her face burn. She looked at the other woman, her gray eyes watching her. A cool half-smile on her face.
"There she is," Claire whispered. "Finally looking at us."
"Mmhmm" Jasmine added. Her hands moved from Claire to Ana as she pulled the two closer to herself. "Seems she finally noticed how beautiful it is up here."
They slowly shifted to the ground, parting for now, as they turned towards the horizon. They took in the scenery in silence, both Ana and Jasmine rested their heads on Claire's shoulders. A different heat filled Claire's chest, similar to before, but more comforting than passionate.
Jasmine finally broke from them," Gotta start looking, I don't trust Elsie to stay with the cart for too long."
They trekked up the manmade path they were on, taking in the sights as they walked. Birds came and went, rabbits occasionally passed by, and the varied plant life added to their walk. Claire was so caught up in the walk, she forgot what they came here for as she picked flowers to bring back to her mothers.
Jasmine spoke up, reminding her. "The flower should be around here. You can see how the trail splits off in all directions. Keep an eye out"
They both nodded as they kept walking, their eyes wandered the environment. It didn't take long for them to find the flower, its fragrance was the first thing Claire noticed. It smelled slightly rotten and she wondered how anyone thought to add it to alcohol. They barely had to leave the main path before seeing the blood red flower patches.
It looked similar to a daisy, but the white petals were a dark crimson. Its nectar also oozed from its petals making it look like it was bleeding. How anyone thought to consume this plant was a mystery.
They quickly started harvesting the flowers, pulling the flowers up from the bottom of the stem. It didn't take long and the whole process was uneventful, but they got a pretty good haul of the flowers. About 30 of them were placed in the bag that Claire had. Overall, the whole thing was uneventful.
Even the walk back was calm and peaceful. No signs of monsters or predators. The only problem being Ana's constitution. She was lagging behind and panting heavily. Claire noticed and decided to help her out She had noticed Ana's glances at her and how she reacted when she offered to carry her. She nudged Jasmine and pointed to the tired girl.
Jasmine nodded and stopped. Claire walked up to the girl and offered her arm. "You doing okay?" She asked. Ana grabbed her arm and took a deep breath.
"N-not really. Haven't walked…. This far… ever" She said between heavy breaths.
"Want me to carry you?" Claire asked
She perked up at that and she nodded. Claire slowly lifted the girl into a princess carry. Claire was used to carrying feed and armor for hours, this dainty girl would be no issue. Claire caught up to Jasmine and they continued to walk towards the carriage.
Ana slowly caught her breath as she took in her situation. She was being held by Claire right now. Her teenage fantasies were slowly coming true. That dream she had after discovering Claire training so long ago was coming true. Claire noticed her staring in awe at her and she smiled.
"You doing okay? Your breath has slowed." Claire whispered.
Ana nodded and tightened her grip around Claire. "Yeah…. Sorry I'm not used to this much walking"
"All good, you'll get used to it." Claire mused." I could help you with your endurance."
Claire meant with training but Ana's brain went in the opposite direction. Her thoughts went to lewder ideas of endurance training. Her face reddened deeply as Claire realized how it was taken and giggled. "I meant training, but we could do that too."
Jasmine also laughed, eavesdropping on their conversation," To be fair to Ana, I would have taken it that way too. Goddamn these things truly ruined our minds."
Claire nodded," Yup, so many things have a new meaning. And I gotta be conscious of this bulge in my pants whenever I think that way."
All three laughed in agreement. Their new appendages created so many new issues they weren't used to. Having to be careful about innuendos and checking to see if anything was sticking out was entirely new. They silently decided to come up with solutions for the group.
They finally made it back to the carriage where a bored Elsie was laying in the driver seat. "Finally! Thought you guys got lost." She said with irritation.