For Her

3. Breached

"Ahhh, g-goodness gracious." Maxi grumbled, shaking her head irritably at the products on her desk with a frown. "I-I messed up a-again."

"Nah, you're good. You don't learn without making mistakes." Ruth muttered without taking his head out his book. "Just remember to apply liquid hemgrew slowly to the mix with the powder. Mixing too fast will burn it too quickly basically and it won't bond right."

"O-okay, thank y-you." Maxi properly disposed of the product and frowning as she glanced at the strange burnt black and blue leaves that Ruth had bought at the market, she had to ask. "Isn't t-this...p-poison and w-why are we using it?"

"It's poison if taken wrong and in too many doses." Ruth muttered. "Otherwise it is a rare plant to gather and anything is useful if tried right. It's like a numbing agent if made right." Ruth turned his book around so he could show the pages he was reading, talking about this particular plant. "In it, a researcher found this plant and they grew far too close to a den of werewolves and fearing being eaten alive he decided to consume the plants, assuming them to be poison." Maxi's eyes widened horrified but Ruth continued, sounding almost curiously delighted. "He thought he died because his heart slowed down but it didn't kill him. The werewolves went past him and he came too eventually but was numb and slow until the plant was worn down."

"S-so it slows the b-body down enough-"

"To play dead. Yes." Ruth suddenly narrowed his gaze at her thoughtful wary, frown and he immediately cut in sharply "Nope. No! We aren't doing that. It's still much too dangerous to try something like that. Even I wouldn't try it even if I have right sizes and amounts to make such a thing. It's not worth that risk to anyone." Maxi flustered at his sharp mutters and she shrugged defensively. "What's not a risk is making it into a numbing cream. If someone was infected by werewolf claws or teeth, a single leaf of this, crushed and mixed with that powder, makes a strong numbing agent and allows easier fixing without pain."

"Ah, b-better than the ones...I-I have." Maxi muttered pettily and Ruth scoffed.

"Stronger maybe but not better. It's best to utilize everything we have in the best ways possible."

Maxi rolled her eyes at Ruth's incessant mutterings and started to grind the leaves and powder together until it became a thick sludge and she didn't stop until it was smooth without any lumps and Ruth looked over and nodded.

"That looks perfect. We'll need to test it eventually but not now. That needs to boil for an hour at least."

"Okay." Maxi diligently placed the mixture in a small bowl and over some heat, allowing it to gently heat thoroughly while stirring it slowly. A strange smell wafted through it was sharp and made her nose burn like she had a cold. Ruth shuddered as he sneezed heavily behind his book.

"At least the smell is good for the sinuses." Maxi laughed at that, and once heated and cooked through, the sludge became a dark blue, clear liquid that she tipped into a small pinky sized vial and popped a cork in it. Maxi raised the vial, looking at it through the light as she wrote down her final notes.

"It's...n-not what I w-was expecting it to l-look...l-like. It's less l-like cream."

"Yeah, I know but it says in here that it's meant to be dark in colour but in the liquid looks indigo blue and bubbling after made." Maxi gave a thumbs up and Ruth grinned, scratching down something on his notes before stretching his arms up with a groan and glancing out the window, he sighed tiredly, scratching his back. "It's late. We missed dinner time."

"Ah yes." Maxi sighed in relief, packing her things up as she put everything on the shelves. Her ears picked up on noises of hurried movements outside the infirmary, making the current patients shift annoyed. "L-late training sessions." Maxi shook her head at the thought but not surprised. The men had so much energy especially the young apprentices and squires. Ruth gave a strange look outside the window as he shrugged lightly.

"Doubtful, but kids these days-" Sudden shouts cut Ruth off and he tensed, straightening up with a heavy frown as he muttered, "What the-"

"SIR WIZARD! MY LADY!" Maxi and Ruth jumped in surprise at the sudden barrage of yells outside and then closer as voices mingled together and Garrow Livakion burst through the door, slamming it against the wall with harsh bang. The patients groaned, jolting awake. Garrow's dark eyes found us and he shouted. "Sir wizard, my Lady, there's been a breach!"

"WHAT?"

"What is it?" Maxi stood up immediately, her face taut as she prepared for anything to come. The knights laid on the cots immediately started to climb up, warily grumbling as the shouting grew closer and closer and a ferocious snarl. Garrow glanced back in horror and burst through the infirmary, slamming the door shut, just as something slammed into it, jolting the young knight and making everyone jump in terror. Ferocious snarls and jagged scratching as something violently attacked at the door, as Garrow shouted at everyone.

"WEREWOLVES!"

Maxi's blood ran cold and Ruth straightened in horror as Garrow continued to hold back the door despite locking it and other knights quickly grabbed anything they could to block the door and closing the windows and covering them up as the creature snarled and howled to his comrades.

"WEREWOLVES HAVE BREACHED THE CASTLE!"