Need a Little Ray of Sunshine

He listened to her response, nodding as he lightly flipped the root he’d unearthed out of the mud and water onto the rabbit hide. He could rinse them off at the spring outside the den. Her acceptance of his offer to see the Iris in spring had brought a pleasant, fuller smile to his features, and an easy-going warmth to the rich colors of his eyes, and he’d dipped his head at her words.

“We all started with such things as identification, theoretical uses of the plants we were taught to identify, and so on. Then we would move up to actual practice under supervision. Usually, by the age of two, a Nomad would be considered half trained. By the age of four, he or she will receive an addition to their mark. A fully half trained Nomad will have another vertical mark by the other brow point.

“A fully trained member will have a diagonal line added between them, from the tip of the left line to the bottom tip of the right line, and two crescent shaped marks pointing outward from the outer edges of the vertical lines. They’re carved in, and dyed with certain plants that will cause the fur that grows back to grow back in a color that will stand out against their natural fur color. So, red, for me.”

Moving to the shore, he swiped the snow away from the ground with a wet paw and traced the marks he mentioned in sequence.

“And the marks aren’t finished there. There are two more additions. The masters, and then the elders. The Masters will have a small V added in the top section of the original mark, often in a new color to contrast, and usually by the age of six. Elder-Masters are the true best of the best, and to be taught by one of them is a great honor, because you know you’re getting the best tutelage. They’ll have an upside down V added to the bottom section of the mark, and two horizontal lines above the whole mark, one over the other.”

He completed the trace in the mud and leaned back to let her see. “I suppose the first things a Nomad learns to do is stop bleeding and how to make a poultice to put over wounds, and how to bandage them, and what plants work best.”

He gave her an easy smile, and bent to pick up the rabbit hide, ready to move down the line. “We also learn how to encourage injured, irascible patients to be still and take their medicine. And how to make the medication taste better. Honey is a boon for that.”