Kitsune sat prim and proper in the shrine territory of Ashen. She wasn’t near the shrine itself, sitting just on the main land near the pathway to the islands her mother owned. She felt like here would be a good place to begin. She had an assortment of herbs laid out before her. It seemed a good place to start - to quiz the young girls knowledge, and see where the two should be starting. She had never taught anyone before, and while she wouldn't admit to it she was as nervous as she could be. She hid those nerves behind decorum and her own training.

Well, there was nowhere to go but forward. After a short, calming breath she raised her head and called her pupil to her. Today, their very first lesson together would begin.

"Kitsune"

Seere is lounging out near the family den, daydreaming of what the future holds for her when a call reaches her ears. Perking up, the small girl turns her head to look in the direction of the call before quickly standing to shake out her monochrome coat. This is her first official lesson and she wants to be semi-presentable for Kitsune. After all, her cousin had kindly taken her on as a pupil.

With that done, her legs swiftly carry her to where her fiery, antlered cousin awaits and the excited girl slows as the herbs laid out before Kitsune come into view. Stopping before the assortment of herbs, Seere looks to Kit and wags happily as she says, “Kitsune! What are doing today?” With that she plops down in front of her teacher, ready and eager to learn.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

It wasn’t long before the eager young girl came into view. Slowing to a stop before Princess and herbs, and seating herself in front of Kitsune. The antlered girl gave her a warm smile, before the more serious expression she often wore took over again. She cleared her throat, hoping she sounded more sure and confident then she spoke. “Before us are three herbs. One is a poison, one is a cleaning agent, and one is a pain relief.” She explained, her eyes on her pupil rather than the plants carefully resting on three wooden boards in front of her.

“First, I want you to tell me what you would do to discover the properties of each plant if you were encountering them for the first time, and then I want you to tell me which, if any, you can identify” She looked to her student, and it was clear it was her turn to speak

Ooc: deadly nightshade, Trillium, Meadowsweet.

"Kitsune"

Seere appears and sits in front of the fiery-pelted Princess, a happy smile on her lips as she looks to Kitsune, her very own mentor! The lesson immediately starts and mismatched eyes fall to the three boards with the three different herbs as her cousin asks how she would discover the properties of each.

Face scrunches up in concentration as she looks between the boards, pondering the puzzle that has been placed before her. After a long pause, the monochrome girl looks up to her mentor and gives Kitsune a small smile as she says, “Well, first I would see if the plants structure looks similar to any plants that I know. If that doesn’t prove useful, then I would try smelling them for the same purpose.”

The smile grows as she looks to the board with meadowsweet on it and Seere points a small paw to it, happily stating, “That’s meadowsweet! It helps when you’re not feeling well. Like uh… really sick.” Looking to the other two boards, she shakes her head with a frown and says, “I don’t know those ones.” Mismatched eyes look to the Princess, tail thumping the ground as she waits to hear what those plants are.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Kitsune nodded her head, agreeing with the younger wolf's tactic of testing a herb. “Sight and smell are very important, but the most important way to test a herb you don’t know and can’t ask about is this: Rub a small amount of the plant on a soft exposed part, like the top of your paw pad. Wait 12 hours, and see if it reacts to your skin. Then, place a very small amount in your mouth. Hold it there for a couple minutes, and spit it out. Think about how or if it affected you. If none of these things make a reaction, you can swallow a small piece, and wait again. These all give us points of data on what the plant does” she explained.

She felt a little shy about saying so much, but she didn’t let it show. Instead, she nodded approvingly. “Meadowsweet, that’s right. It's good for pain relief, and if you have a cough, it helps!” She picked up the meadsweet and put it centrally between them. “let's start with the meadowsweet. We are going to make a poultice with it, okay?” she explained. “First we are going to grind it up. Here, do you want to start?” she handed a small knobby tool to the young girl.


"Kitsune"

Seere watches Kitsune with wide, curious eyes as the fiery pelted princess explains about how to test out the herbs. Nodding in understanding, she says, “That makes a lot of sense. The paw pad will help to know if it is an irritant to the skin. If it is, it would not be good to consume. The tongue will tell me if it is bad by tingling. I now because I once tried to eat some poison ivy. My mouth was weird for a week!” The small girl giggles, thoroughly enjoying her mentor and the lesson Kit has prepared.

The smile she wears grows as Seere points out the Meadowsweet and Kit gives her praise. Tail thumps the ground behind her as she watches Kitsune pull out a knobby tool and pass it her for creating a poultice. Eagerly she takes the tool and small bowl that is offered, moving to place the Meadowsweet into the rough stone bowl. Taking the knobby tool in her mouth, Seere carefully begins to grind the herb down while listening to Kitsune for further instructions.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

“Exactly!” she said, excited and pleased that Seere understood the process. Now she would know the safe way to explore new herbs if she didn’t have someone to tell her what they were.

She watched as Seere started to grind the flower. Kitsune placed petals in for her as she did so. Watching it slowly grind up into a good powdery substance. “Now, I'm going to tip a little bit of water in, keep grinding to help mix it, okay?” she instructed. Grabbed a small jar of water from the ground next to her and began the process. Tipping it slowly, watching as Seere mixed it, until they had the right sort of texture. “Now it's a thick paste that can be applied to the skin.” she explained, putting down the water.

“Let's pretend I have pain… arthritis, in my elbow. Can you smear a small portion of the poultice onto it?”


"Kitsune"

Seere loves learning from Kitsune and the monochrome girl thanks every star she knows for putting the fire marked princess in her path. Healing is so cool when you know what to do! Carefully, thoroughly, the girl uses the tool to grind the flowers, watching as they turn into a short of mushy texture. Then Kit talks about adding water and Seere gives her a barely perceptible nod while continuing to grind her flowers. The water makes the mushy stuff become thinker and, before she knows it, the flowers have become a paste!

Wide, mismatched eyes look to Kitsune as Seere wears a triumphant smile, tail thumping the ground in happiness. Mouth rounds around the tool as she is instructed to put the paste on Kitsune’s elbow and she nods eagerly before placing her tool down. Dipping a paw into the thick paste, Seere turns to the fire kissed princess and says, “This won’t hurt a bit. Promise.” A smile is on her lips as she gently reaches for the elbow closest to her, using one paw to lift and support the joint while the other gently rubs the paste all over. Once she is done, the girl releases her hold and looks to Kit for further guidance.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"