'You're carrying a lot of herbal remedies. Did you pick them all yourself?' 'Yes. I wanted to help Harmonia with these, but the medicine I make doesn't even work to treat a headache. I can't do anything for her... If we hadn't been found by a Rhodes Island operator, Harmonia would be gone by now.' The Feline sits down on a chair, and calmly regards the Vulpo. 'I'm just so useless... Harmonia caught Oripathy because of me, and I can't even ease her pain...' 'Not necessarily.' 'Thank you, but you don't need to comfort me—' 'That wasn't my intent. How did you have her take these remedies? Directly?' 'I know a whole set of ways of processing herbs, but none of the finished products did anything at all.' 'Try making some.' Blearily, the Vulpo lifts her head. 'Try making some here. If you feel conditions are lacking, you may borrow a Rhodes Island pharmaceutical laboratory.' 'N-No, that's fine, I can just make it here.' The Vulpo blows her nose, and quickly enters work mode, using the herbal tools she carries with practiced hands. Dry, chop, grind, soak, percolate. She wastes no time at all. In a scant ten minutes, as exact as a machine, she has turned the herbal remedy into a sparkling liquid in a test tube. 'What color is the liquid in the test tube?' 'It's a very pretty green.' 'Has the liquid you've extracted always been that color?' 'I want to say yes, but also... I'm not sure. Harmonia was so sick, and I was in such a rush making so much per batch, I never stopped to note what color it was... 'Make it again.' In short order, herbal liquid fills a second test tube. 'Keep making it, and do not stop. Continue until all the test tubes in front of you are filled with this medication.' Feeling gratitude to Rhodes Island, the Vulpo stifles the doubt in her heart, and busies herself as directed. The sun falls past the horizon. She is finally free to look at the results of her efforts, but the sight before her leaves her stupefied. The medicines are all lined up in a row, every tube labeled with a time. The older they are, the more their color has deepened, first to as dark green as a forest, then finally to a complete black, as if a kind of grave hint. The Feline stands up. 'People wish to use medicine to extend the lives of others—an eternally praiseworthy effort. However, they always forget that the life of a drug is often far briefer than a human's.' 'Keep in mind the brevity of life, and the Rhodes Island Medical Department will open its doors to you.'