Kara swats away the lower-hanging branches that get in their way as she leads them to where she estimates the accommodation will be. She occasionally looks back, checking on Nia.
She's getting slower and weaker, they can all tell but can't bring themselves to be the first to say anything, like they will jinx their likelihood of getting her help if they say anything. Instead, they do what they can, kicking away rocks that she could stumble over and holding branches out of the way.
Nia's breathing is heavy and based on the way she holds her hand to her body, the pain is still raging through her hand.
Kelly joins Kara at the front, lowering her voice. "Are we getting close? The sun is already beginning to set, and I doubt we will be able to find anywhere in the dark."
"We're in the general area from what I can tell, all we can do now is keep walking and keep an eye out. It'll be a fairly large building, so we won't miss it."
To say that Kelly is relieved would be an understatement. Nia's sticky situation aside, she is very nervous about having Esme with them trudging through unknown territory in the dark with dangerous plants mysteriously dotted about.
They keep on trudging forward, eyes peeled and searching. They don't understand how they don't see it, surely a building in the middle of the forest would be decently easy to spot.
They come to a stop so Kara can get her map out again and re-evaluate where they are and where the accommodation should be. She places her pack down onto a rock and begins to unzip it when something catches the corner of her eye. Vines.
Vines shouldn't be in this area of the forest. Maybe if they were heading directly East towards the Jagged Mountains but not this way as they point west towards Magnetic Mountain. Of course, it isn't all mapped out exactly to the mile so she could be mistaken, it has been decades since she studied this kind of thing as a child.
Still, it's odd. She looks at them for a second more before Alex clears her throat to get her attention. "Hurry up, we all want to get there as soon as possible."
"Yeah, just…" She diverts her eyes. "Never mind."
She pulls the map out and just as she had suspected they should be practically right on top of it…or underneath it. Her eyes shoot up and a self-deprecating chuckle leaves her lips.
Alex is clearly in a grumpy mood as she snaps, "what are you laughing at?"
"Look up."
They all track their eyes up and see a grand building made of vertical wooden logs and dark green crystals that seem to be almost cobbled together to somewhat resemble leaves.
They have been walking right beneath it this whole time.
Kara finds her attention drawn back to the vines and finds them leading right back up to the accommodation. "The vines are used to transport nutrients up to the crystals to keep them alive, it's self-sustaining."
Smiles littered the faces of the group, all of them happy to have finally arrived here so they can get Nia some help.
Kara follows the vines with her eyes, searching for a way to get up into the building. She traces over them with a soft touch as she walks in a wide circle, the others waiting back where they were before but watching her with interest.
Her hand brushes from the vines over to the trunk of a tree, much wider than the others. "Bingo."
She presses slightly, feeling for any difference. Her fingertips catch on what appears to be a hinge, so she pulls, and the bark comes away, swinging down but still attached to the tree, able to be clicked back in place.
Underneath the bark is a keypad of Kryptonian symbols. There are only four. One for communication up to the accommodation, one for entering the accommodation, one for further camouflaging the accommodation, probably with some weird science trick that Kara doesn't understand and one final button that simply states is only to be used in an absolute emergency.
She clicks the one for entrance and snaps the bark back up onto the tree.
Their jaws collectively drop as a spiral staircase made of the same green crystal from the building drops down from the base and stops just an inch from the ground, so it doesn't disrupt the forest floor. "Clever," Lena whispers as she takes the lead in going up the stairs.
They all take in a breath as they enter the crystal accommodation, dropping their bags at the entrance.
Kara finds another keypad not far from the entrance and brings the staircase back up into the building. It is raising up and filling the empty space that was above where the stairs were before.
She follows the main passage from the entrance to where the space opens out into a large living area with smaller passages coming off of it periodically around the perimeter.
Kara is the first to find her bearings in their new setting, having been inside one of these accommodations before. They all have a similar layout, but this is the first she had heard of being in the treetops.
She makes quick work of reading the signage over the doors and pointing to where the bedrooms should be. "Take Nia down there, you'll find somewhere to let her lie down whilst we find something to help her."
Kelly and Alex direct her, ready to catch her should she fall since she has now become quite unsteady on her feet. Nia, ever the stubborn woman she is, refuses to let them help her and pushes their hands away when they try to help her. "My hand is hurt, not my legs. Let me breathe momma bears."
Lena and Kara watch them go as Esme wanders around the living room, curiously eyeing the alien objects scattered around the room.
Her grabby hands find the nearest strange-looking object and she rushes over to show them what she has found.
She runs up to her aunt and godmother with excitement and holds up what she has found. Kara's breath catches in her throat.
"What is this, Aunt Kara?" Esme passes it to her but doesn't take her eyes off it for even a second.
Kara clears her throat and chokes her emotions down. "This, Little One, is a spy beacon. They usually come in pairs and use can use them to contact whoever has the other one. It doesn't look like this one has a partner though." Esme listens intently.
"That's cool! If we find another can we use them?" She jumps up and down, unable to contain herself.
Kara slips the device into her pocket. "We'll see. Now go explore, I have to go look for something to help your Auntie Nia."
Esme does as she's told and goes back to prancing around the room, taking in all of the foreign decorations.
Kara makes her way to the medical supply closet, sliding the door with a little more force than was required and wincing as it slams open with a loud thud.
She begins to read the labels, but her brain comes to a screeching halt as she understands that whilst she can read the names of the medications, she has no clue which one helps with what and which one Nia needs.
"Crap." She mutters under her breath.
Alex and Lena join her in the supply closet. "Hey sis, did you find it? Nia's not looking too hot."
Kara shakes her head. "I can read the labels, but they don't say what they're for. I need to see if there is some kind of index so I can see what each does and the dosages."
Lena and Alex share a worried look. "We need to find it quick then. We'll help you look. Will there be a book somewhere?" Lena directs her question to Kara.
Kara nods slightly. "Either a book or an information crystal. Can you just go find anything you can and bring them here? I'll keep searching here and then I'll check to see if you have anything that can help."
They don't waste any time in leaving and going room to room, picking up any book they find or any crystal that looks vaguely interesting that could be an information crystal but to be frank, they haven't got the slightest idea what they are really looking for or at.
Whilst Alex and Lena search around the accommodation, Kara is searching through every inch of the supply closet, trying desperately to find something that can at least buy them some more time.
Her hand falls on familiar packaging. It's nothing special and certainly not strong enough to solve the issue in its entirety but it will help them out.
She turns the orange tube in her hand, smiling a sad, reminiscent smile as she recalls her Aunt Astra applying the antiseptic cream to her forehead after she tripped as a child playing a game of chase and she hit her head on a sideboard.
She sets it aside and instead goes on the hunt for some sutures or something of that kind.
She moves over to a large cabinet and pulls each drawer out as far as it will go, starting from the bottom up. She finds a box with medical needles and thread. "Thank Rao."
"Guys, come here!" She hollers out of the door. They come running, looking at her expectantly when they get close enough.
"It's not a lot but this might buy us some time. I have stitches and this is antiseptic. I think it has a mild painkiller in it too. I remember it from when I was little." She holds the tube up and goes to hand it to Alex, but she hesitates to take it.
She does eventually take it out of her grasp so she can turn the tube in her hands and inspect it, not that she can read it though. "Are you sure? I need you to be certain because this can be really bad for Nia if it isn't what you say it is."
Kara nods. "I understand that. I'm sure that is the same kind of cream that Astra used on my forehead as a kid when I split my head open on some furniture."
Lena takes the tube from Alex. "This gives us more time to find another solution. I trust you, Kara."
Lena turns to leave, and Alex gives her arm a squeeze as she follows suit. "Keep looking, I trust you too."
She watches them leave down the passage and spots the pile of things that they had dropped at the entry. She heads over and flicks through what they brought.
She has to hold back a giggle at some of the crystals they added to the pile since they were mere decorative pieces. They may as well have brought her a vase.
Underneath the pile, she finds a small stack of books and flicks through the titles. None of them is anything useful themselves but all have an insignia emblazoned onto the bottom of their spines.
Each book is carefully balanced on its side as she lines them up on the floor so she can take a better look at the insignia.
It's an answer and a question.
Why is there a picture of a red tree on each of these books? If there is a scarlet tree on the spine of every book in the accommodation, there is no way that it isn't connected to the spreading of the Scarlet Forest.
Each of the books is science-based and on the inside cover is a number. Every book is accounted for as the numbers ascend.
She takes note of the fact that these books must be a few of many and knows that there must be more around somewhere, so she picks herself off the floor and takes a single book with her.
With quick steps, she makes her way into the main living room and spots Kelly and Esme in the kitchen through an open door. She makes her way over to them with a smile.
"What are you two doing?"
Esme is standing on the counter with Kelly behind her, so she doesn't fall. With a bright smile on her face, she pulls boxes and pouches from the cupboards. "We're foraging!"
Kara can't help but beam back at her niece. "That looks like some good foraging. Shall we take a look at what you've found?"
Kelly sends her an appreciative look, pulling Esme off the counter and placing her on her hip so she can still see.
Kara picks up a few of the items and reads the packaging, figuring out the translations to the best of her ability. She holds up a box. "This is sort of like a pasta, it expands a lot when you cook it though, so we don't use too much. Based on the instructions, one-tenth of the box feeds four people."
Kelly's eyebrows lift. "We'll be sure to take the extra with us then."
"Well, we'll see if you like it, Kryptonian food is a little different to Earth food. I can't fully explain it, you'll just have to see for yourselves."
Kelly and Esme share an intrigued look. "Esme, I think your aunt is offering to cook us a meal."
Kara rolls her eyes. "Alright, I will but let's find some snacks because I can't get it all started for a while, I still have some work to do first."
They nod their agreement as Kara roots through the cupboards, pulling out what appears to be some kind of fruit crackers and hands them the pack. "These will fill you right up until dinner time. Feel free to take a nap while you wait, I know it's getting pretty late."
Kelly peeks out of the crystal part of the accommodation, it is formed to make what appears to be a floor-to-ceiling window and looks almost completely void of any green tint, allowing them to see through it from the inside despite not being able to see in from the outside. It is dark out now, so she decides to give Esme the crackers and let her nap for a while.
Kara sets aside a few things that she will need for later when she starts the meal. It will only take about half an hour to make so she has some time to go searching for the books. She can at least rule out the kitchen for that. There is nothing but food and utensils in here.
She takes the time to properly read the signs over each door, evaluating which would be her best bet for finding more books. There's sleep areas and bathrooms and even an entertainment room. They really pimped this place out just for some nerdy scientists.
There is even more rooms of all kinds scattered about, but none seem to be a fit for what she's looking for. She settles on one sign. Study. That sounds promising.
Her feet take her there on instinct and what is inside shakes her to her core.
It is practically a replica of what her father's office used to look like, bookshelves and all. She guesses that his office was built with the same designs as the accommodations.
The bookshelves span across the entire room and are floor-to-ceiling with two stories. Each and every book is emblazoned with the same insignia as the books Alex and Lena had found before.
She closes the door behind her, needing time away from the others to think and find the answers she needs.
Every book has its place, that's clear enough to see from the numbers and the empty spots reserved for the books that were found in the other rooms. She finds the slot for the book she brought with her and places it neatly in place.
She lazily runs her eyes along the titles of each book as she passes it, waiting for something medical-related to catch her attention.
Nothing on the first floor does so she eyes the spiral staircase up to the next floor. She has to admit, Kryptonian architects sure do love a spiral staircase.
The stairs squeak with each step, and she briefly wonders if it's from overuse, underuse or just from lack of maintenance. With their location, it should be underuse but if that is the case, why were there books left out?
The upper floor seems to be organized differently. The books aren't ordered by number but now by genre, this helps her out immensely as she finds the medical books within a few seconds. She takes as many as she can hold, breathing heavily with the weight and curing the fact that she doesn't have her powers here.
With careful steps, Kara lugs the books over to the desk at the side of the upper floor and plops them down so she can begin her search for the right medical care for her dear friend.
Book after book gets tossed aside as she flicks through them, perusing through for anything related to either the plants of the Scarlet Forest or any medications to help with antiseptic and burning symptoms.
It's a long search that doesn't prove to be fruitful as Lena comes in search of her a little while later. "You look very studious."
She gives Lena a tired smile. "Well, they do say to fake it 'til you make it, right?"
Lena perches on the edge of the desk. "No luck then?"
"Not so far. Just to clarify, Is the cut actually displaying burning on her skin or is it just feeling like it's burning?"
Lena nods along as she talks. "No burns on her skin, just the cut that feels like it burns. I was thinking that maybe it's the plant's defensive trait. It's sharp and coasted in a layer of something that hurts really bad."
"You could have made that sound a little bit more scientific."
"My brain is too tired for that, and I really want to hurry up and find a way to help her, she hasn't been able to rest because of the pain and she is pretty weak."
Kara looks worried. "Is she getting sick from it?"
Lena shakes her head. "Not so far, just really tired from the walk and she can't sleep."
"Wait, I have an idea." Kara flips through some of the books and finds the page she saw earlier. "I saw some herbs in the kitchen that are perfect for making tea to help you sleep. Maybe she can sleep a little and give her body and the antiseptic cream a chance to heal her.
Lena furrows her brows, thinking. "It could help but I'm not really sure as though this is something a good night's sleep will fix."
Kara shrugs helplessly. "It's the best I think I will be able to do for now. We still need to eat and rest. None of us can think straight when we run ourselves into the ground and honestly my mind is all over the place."
Lena doesn't look entirely satisfied but nods in agreeance. "I get what you're saying but it doesn't mean I'm happy with it. I want to get Alex's input on it and have Nia make the ultimate decision. If she wants to stop for the night then we will but if not, I want to keep looking."
"Oh absolutely. I wasn't going to stop anyway, just make dinner, send everyone to bed and carry on." Kara enjoys watching how protective their family is over one another, the constant reminder warms her heart.
Lena offers her a hand to help her out of the dusty old chair. "In that case, let's go ask the others what they think and get on with dinner. I'm starving."
Kara holds her stomach dramatically. "I know! I'm so hungry that I could eat everything in that kitchen."
Lena pushes her through the study door playfully. "I will be mad if you don't save any for the rest of us."
"No promises."