Aramil stared back the the little critters intently for a few moments while he chewed on the fruit the first one had given him. Aramil cuatiously accepted the othetr two tributes as well, and nodded to his little furry friends in appreciation.
The squirrels all tilted their heads and watched his hands move the food to his mouth. Finally they watched the leaves intently, waiting to see what he would do with them.
The leaves didn't look very familiar. They felt somewhat dry and leathery and had a greenish red hue to them. Despite being dry Aramil could tell that they weren't going to crumble to pieces when bent.
Aramil's squeeze revealed the leaves to have a consistency much like the leather they felt like. The squirrels simply tilted their heads to the other shoulder watching his movements.
Aramil's skin was not reacting with any sort of rash, nor were there any numbing juices coming out of the leaf. Instead all that was noticeable about the leaf was it's leathery feel and property.
All the while Aramil was observing the leaves, the squirrels had sat silently tilting their tiny heads from one shoulder to the other.
Aramil heard what he could swear as being laughter that came out as a high pitch from the three squirrels in front of them. One had actually fallen on it's back from the action.
The leaf tasted disgusting, sapped all the moisture from his mouth leaving it dry, and made his teeth sore as if he had bitten into old jerky.
Aramil could not sense any mana resonating from the squirrels. Though that could be due to the island and water exuding large quantities of blue mana.
Two of the three squirrels had darted behind a tree opposite of Aramil in fear when they saw his face. The third got off it's back and grabbed one of the leaves. Then jumping on the leaf, the squirrel and the leaf slapped against Aramil's thigh where the wound was. The action sent a jolt of pain through Aramil that the squirrel was oblivious to as it patted the leaf down.
The leaf quickly drank up the blood sticking tight to Aramil's skin stopping further blood loss from that wound. The third squirrel that had grabbed the leaf had it's back turned to Aramil pushing the leaf into place with it's bushy tail high in the air.
The other two squirrels remained hidden behind the tree with their heads poking out. Aramil felt like their expression was conveying an utter lack of understanding to his words. Meanwhile the squirrel that had forced the first leaf into place looked at Aramil expectantly...
Aramil felt a soaked gooey pouch in one of his pockets. Taking it out he noticed it was some of the rations from the base. The squirrels seemed to catch a whiff of the Golgari Recyke and immediately withdrew. The squirrel that had been expecting a treat jumped off Aramil and loomed at the pouch with disdain.
The squirrel gives Aramil a sad face that could almost border on what one would call puppy dog eyes. The other two squirrels that had been hiding behind the tree turn and ran away, apparently no longer interested in Aramil.
The squirrel gave what might be interpreted as an upset face if one were to read into the expressions of animals. Regardless of the squirrels actual mood, it bounded off towards the beach. There it found a rock and perched itself there, sitting on it's hind legs. It's eyes were looking out across the water and it had the air of someone who was waiting on another...
Aramil only saw the rippling waves lapping at the beach. The squirrel on the other hand seemed to react to something and began making a hyper clicking sound, jumping up and down. Following the squirrel's sight...
All the while Aramil was observing the leaves, the squirrels had sat silently tilting their tiny heads from one shoulder to the other.
The leaf tasted disgusting, sapped all the moisture from his mouth leaving it dry, and made his teeth sore as if he had bitten into old jerky.
Then, thinking to himself, Aramil tried to see if there was any mana resonating from his furry friends.
Two of the three squirrels had darted behind a tree opposite of Aramil in fear when they saw his face. The third got off it's back and grabbed one of the leaves. Then jumping on the leaf, the squirrel and the leaf slapped against Aramil's thigh where the wound was. The action sent a jolt of pain through Aramil that the squirrel was oblivious to as it patted the leaf down.
The leaf quickly drank up the blood sticking tight to Aramil's skin stopping further blood loss from that wound. The third squirrel that had grabbed the leaf had it's back turned to Aramil pushing the leaf into place with it's bushy tail high in the air.
Turning to the other two he added, "I'm sorry I startled you. I misunderstood what your little friend intended with those leaves."
The squirrel looked away from the waters to Aramil as he approached and then back to the waters...