As they entered Lexi's room together, Eromaug was waiting with a scowl on his face.
"If you had been much longer then I was going to come and fetch you myself. Trust me when I say that is not something that you want me to be doing." He growled darkly as he pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on and stalked over to them.
"My apologies," Aoife said, bowing deeply, "It took longer to prepare the necessary medications than I was anticipating, but I have everything I need now."
A flicker of surprise crossed Eromaug's eyes as they flicked between Orynn and Aoife, changing quickly to one of suspicion.
"Why are you suddenly so amenable?" He asked warily..
"It's amazing what a good nap and a fresh perspective on things can achieve." Aoife said nonchalantly as she lifted the bag in her hand and Eromaug indicated for her to lay them on the table in front of them.
"You had time to nap, prepare all of…these," He said gesturing to the items from ehr bag that she had begun pulling out, "and to ponder your circumstances enough to change your attitude?"
"What can I say, I've always been good at multitasking." She quipped as she placed her now empty bag on the table next to the assortment of vials and pots and improvised dressings.
Eromaug grunted as he picked up the closest pot to him and inspected it carefully, taking off the lid and sniffing at the contents inside.
"Don't worry, it will all do the job that it's meant to do, efficiently too. I had no idea that you would have some of the harder to find ingredients here. I'm impressed actually." Aoife said.
"Ah, so that's why your attitude has changed." Eromaug chuckled, "Did you not think that we cared for our population here? We are well supplied and have parties that leave and return frequently to collect necessary items for our stores. We even have several well stocked greenhouses, each climate controlled for the particular requirements of species that they hold."
"That's good to know, but that's not the reason I decided to stay." Aoife shrugged.
"Then why?" He demanded bluntly.
"Look, I have nothing back home, right? My mate and his family betrayed me, and as far as I can tell, the only friend I have is lying there in dire need of assistance." She sighed, "So what else should I do? I have the knowledge to take care of her and the people that matter to her so I can do that for now. Once she's recovered, who knows? Maybe I'll find some meaning in my life down here."
Eromaug hummed thoughtfully as he watched her move around the table gathering the pots that she needed and various dressings.
"Actually, talking about the people that are down where I was…" Eromaug shot a look across to Orynn who grinned unapologetically, "If what I do remember about Lexi is true, if they're in bad shape when she next sees them, I think that's going to cause issues for you. So, in the interests of making everyone's life here a little bit easier, I prepared a generalized balm and also a tonic that will aid in healing any injuries or infections that your clearly incompetent staff seem to constantly inflict on prisoners in your care."
Eromaug eyed the bottle and pot cautiously, picking them up and examining them carefully.
"They're perfectly safe. I would just rather spend less time treating injuries that have been allowed to get as seriously infected as Lexi's has. Prevention is the best cure after all!" She said over her shoulder as she made her way to Lexi's side and busied herself with changing the dressing and cleaning the wound out again in order to apply better treatments.
Eromaug followed her with his eyes for a few moments before turning angrily to focus on Orynn.
"Don't think that I don't know you had a hand in that," He snarled, "As much as I want those males to suffer painfully, I believe the witchling has a valid point. But next time you think to somehow make decisions on my behalf of how I should do things, I won't hesitate in sending you back to Narcissa. Don't forget that I only needed you to take care of Lexi…now I have her friend and the only thing keeping you here is Lexi's apparent fondness for you."
Orynn trilled and shrugged in response, his unbothered attitude infuriating Eromaug to the point his lips had pulled back in a furious snarl.
"If you want me to heal her properly, can I suggest that one of you remove yourself from the room? Having ill intent in the immediate vicinity around a sick patient is not conducive to an ideal healing environment." Aoife snapped irritably from her position at Lexi's side.
"That means you, dragonling." Eromaug hissed, "Make yourself useful and take those damn herbal concoctions down to the thieves in the basement. Try not to cause any trouble on the way down, hmm?"
Orynn narrowed his eyes as he inclined his head just enough to please Eromaug and headed over to the table, grabbing the items in question before sauntering out of the door.
"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" He asked Aoife through their mindlink.
"Of course I am. Just make sure you get that letter down to them. The sooner they know your plan, the better. Aren't you worried about being caught by Narcissa?" she asked, a hint of worry creeping into her tone.
"No. Even if I am caught, the orders come from Eromaug…well done on acquiring his permission."
"It's not difficult when you know what motivates a person." Aoife snorted, "Okay, I need to focus Orynn. Good luck."
With that, the link between them went silent and a grin appeared on Orynn's face as he navigated the tunnels.
Things were looking good for his mothers plan right now and if he could figure out a way to have all three of them in the dungeons in a position where they were able to assist, rather than being incapacitated, things would be even easier than any of them had anticipated.