break and enter

A tight smile that she hoped would be reassuring crossed her lips, though the tension in her shoulders would give away her own nervousness about the whole situation. “There’s a good store o’ dried ‘erbs in th’ back.” Her voice was soft, but not quite a whisper. “I’ve never seen anythin’ like th’ way they’re stored. Usually I just take a bit o’ this, an’ a bit o’ that an’ leave a gift behind, jus’ in case. I think this time we’ll take a bit more.” She didn’t have a word for the glass canisters or the mortar and pestle, or the kettle, but she could see their use over her empty shells and open shelves. The peeling labels were illegible but as Otis prised the cork stopper out of each and stuck it under her nose, she gave a sniff before her companion offered it to Ophelia.

“This one’s goldenrod, yer can mix it up in a tea with some berries ter take th’ edge off an’ it’ll help with sore throats, or yer can mix it up in a poultice usin’ that thing, she gestured to the mortar and pestle that was already bundled into the pile to load onto their sled “fer open wounds.” The next to open was lavender, and while it wasn’t exactly anything special she shrugged and nodded as well. “This one is jus’ some dried lavender, it smells pretty an’ calms down some when they get stressed. Never been a fan m’self.” Pale eyes wandered across the shelves as her opossum continued to rattle through the shelves, pulling down some containers and turning his nose up at others. Those would be the ones she would have to go back and check.

“Speech”