I'll tough it out, I won't give in

It was late afternoon by the time Álarr emerged from his den. He'd been sleeping in since they returned from the festival. He was absolutely pooped! He was also kind of hungry but figured he could wait until dinner time. Exiting his den he headed off to do some exploring and see what everyone else was up to. Afi was still asleep in the den and he wasn't quite sure where Brynhildr had gone off to. He was on his way toward his dad's tractor when a clump of bright orange flowers (marigolds) caught his attention. Those looked cool! Bounding over to them he began to sniff the flowers as he wondered if they might be good for anything. Or maybe they were poisonous? Sometimes bright colors meant poison in animals but that really didn't seem to be the case for plants. So how did he know if it was poison or not?

Rhythm was doing better, outwardly at least. She was no longer drunk, though she joints pained her so much she wasn’t much use with the pups anyway. She was able to sit and teach though, and whenever one of them brought her any questions she was eager to answer. She tried to make herself more available to Arpeggio as well, though she knew the outcome had likely not helped in the relationship between this side of the family and Rhyme any. She had to get to Abaven someday soon, she knew she had a new litter of grandchildren waiting as well as the almost yearlings she needed to see.

Time continued to slip away from her, but today was a good day. She was able to leave the den, and with feather guiding her they managed to corner a young rabbit. Rhythm finished her meal and started back towards the knolls when Feather let her know about the pup on the loose. Rhythm tilted her head curiously and made her way towards Alarr. ”What are you up to Alarr?” She asked softly as she stopped near where he stood.

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr didn't think plants could poison you just from touching them so he reached out and pawed at the pretty flowers. Course that really didn't tell him much. Afi had warned him though not to stick anything in his mouth if he didn't know what it was or the cat was going to go potty in his bed. If he knew anything about cats it was that their pee smelled forever. Maybe Chaos should send Afi to go mark the border. While he was gazing at the plant in thought he turned to see his auntie Rhythm approaching. His tail immediately started wagging. "Hey there auntie Rhytm! How are you today?"

He glanced from the older woman to the plant. "Well… I'm trying to figure out if this plant is poisonous or not. Do you know what it is? Is it safe to bite?"

The boy was quick to answer her cheerfully, she smiled brightly. She felt warmed by his words and his eager attention as he asked how she was. ”A little sore,” she downplayed her physical pain. ”It’s a good day though.” She assured him as he answered her question. He was quick to make his intentions known as he asked her about the plants. Rhythm sniffed at the plant delicately she he might not notice her doing so. This was certainly Marigold. ”Well, Alarr you know that I can’t see. Tell me what it looks like, my curious pup.” She could tell already that Alarr enjoyed learning, and it seemed plants were a point of focus.

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr flinched as Rhythm brought up her lack of sight. He had forgotten and he felt very embarrassed that he had. "Aw man, I'm sorry auntie." He didn't know how she managed. He couldn't imagine living without his sight. Álarr stared at the flowers and tried to decide how to describe them. "It's an orange and red flower that's really ruffly. The leaves are kind of fern-like." He hoped he was describing it well enough but if not he was sure that his aunt would ask for more details. Maybe if she recognized it she could tell him what it was for, if it even had a purpose. He knew that some plants didn't have a real practical use.

Alarr had indeed forgotten that she couldn’t even see the shadows of shapes. Rhythm couldn’t see anything at all. There was only blackness. The boy was sweet though, and she didn’t want the guilt to be too heavy. ”It’s no matter dear, but you should know how to describe your plants to others.” She told him with a smile before putting a thinking face on and putting a paw to her lip as she ‘thought.’ ”I think you’ve found some marigold.” Rhythm told him with finality and a quick nod. ”You can use the petals to alleviate bug bites, stings, or on burns and cuts to help heal the wounds.” She told him easily, it was a common herb and he’d be able to use this information almost anywhere he went. ”Do you want to harvest some for your collection?”

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

"Marigold? That's a pretty name." It was a good name for such a pretty little flower. Even if it wasn't useful for healing maybe his dad would like some. Assuming you could give dads flowers. No one had every really quite explained flower giving to him. She then went on to explain the uses of the plant and Álarr was pleased that something so pretty was also quite practical.

"Oh, yes please! I would love to, I can harvest some for you to if you want. What parts of the marigold plant do we want to gather?" If it was just the leaves he'd strip them off but if the whole plant was good he figured he may as well just dig a few up entirely.

”It is, isn’t it?” She commented softly, imagining the flower he spoke of in her mind's eye. She could no longer see the world around her, but she remembered a lot from her younger days. Getting lost in the past was easy, and she felt sentimental, especially here in Imperium’s old lands. Rhythm allowed herself a bright grin at Alarr’s enthusiasm, she loved his young passion. He may not have been from her womb, but he was a child of her heart.

”If I remember correctly,” (or Kat googled right…) Rhythm started, taking up her thinking pose once more for effect. ”We should only need to harvest the flowers themselves.” She told him most confident in her assessment. The flower was common but that didn’t mean she harvested often. ”We can dry some of them, or make them into tea or a salve.” She continued, her mind thinking about the possibilities. ”Be careful not to damage the green parts, it’s getting close to winter but we might get another harvest if we’re lucky.”

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr desperately wished he knew of a way to restore Auntie Rhythms sight but as far as he knew there was no way to do so. According to Afi some injuries were just permanent and there was little anyone could do about them. He listened as she spoke, stating that all he really needed was the flowers. Alarr dove enthusiastically forward, tipping his head to the side so he could snip off a few flowers.

While he worked he listened to Rhythm as she said they could dry them or make them into a tea or salve. Alarr soon tried to be more carefully as her words reached him. He'd mangled the first few but the others were removed more easily. "How's this?"