Day one
"Come in! Yes. yes, you are hurt? Sit!"
The little hovel of a home was as it had always been in the years that they had known one another. Game hung by their feet from the ceiling, nestled between bunches of fragrant dried herbs, each surface cluttered with trinkets of bone, shell, wood and wax. As the breeze from the opening door caught the room, a small clatter, like wind charms would be heard, but not wind charms of metal or the like, these were of a different purpose and a different make. Jackilyn sat on a squat stool, though only after lifting up several books from it piled high in a higgledy piggledy fashion.
"Hurt? Oh aye, aye a bit but that'll be alright, had a dwarf fix it. Came for a favour."
The pretty woman, moon touched yet kind, bent down to look into Jackilyns eyes, looking to the left one, then the right, then the left again. She then pulled the young womans head back and touched around her neck.
"Something has happened yes? Something bad"
"No! No..oh and she liked the crutches, I'll see you get them back when she is done. No, favour I wanted is, remember that big book we'd always look at when I were small? The one with the nice pictures?"
The woman in rags held up a finger and scurried away, only to return with a dusty, black tome which she opened up against her chest, the illustrations outward to show Jackilyn. Stretched across two pages would be a rather grim picture of a ribcage, the skin stretched out either side to show all the bones in their gorey glory, the head of the victim wide mouthed from the agony of their death, likely from having their guts suddenly explored. Quickly Jackilyn looked away with a grimace.
"Not that one! The one with the daises and things. The healer I know, who said he would teach me things? He got angry earlier because I were looking at one of his books about them things to do with plants"
The young woman knew in an instant where to go, amidst the chaos of the room. She stood upon a rickety box, tiptoeing as she wriggled a book from a high shelf, the box rocking back and forth. Slowly, with much persistence and pushing back other books that wanted to tumble down, she managed to get what she was looking for. Hopping off of the box, she did as before, opening the book out against her to show Jackilyn, the pictures inside far more pleasant to the eye.
"That's the one! Can I borrow it? I promise to be careful. I was meant to be learning things see, and he didn't have time to teach me and the dwarf is gone now too"
The strange woman, offered the book to Jackilyn. It's cover old, possibly leather, though she suspected what animal it would have come from given the odd girls mistress.
*Yes yes, borrow! Skarly has another, she copies, always copy because you learn yes? You are going to the cursed house? To get plants again?"
As Jackilyn held the heavy book, her fingers already turning the pages to look at the spider like writing that would weave between the illustrations, she nodded.
"All plants safe, but not ones behind house, do not take those, they bring death. Mistress is gone, she is not upset with Skarlys friend, she is upset with the others."
The woman closed the book, repeating the warning just to prove to the owner of it that she understood.
"You are a good friend, thank you for this, I will copy things and bring it back soon, promise!"
At these words, she was then held, the scrawny arms of the pretty creature holding her tightly in a sudden hug.
"You do not call me witch, Skarly will always help little bird, always"
Just as suddenly as she was hugged, she was released. They spent a few moments more, the -not a witch- asking of news, talking of the frogs, and of the man who once visited her. In turn Jackilyn spoke of how the butchers boy took a beating from his mother, this making Skarletta giggle with glee. Though, before the sun rose, they parted ways, and Jackilyn, book in hand, made for the cursed house.
