Talking About Ouchie Bleedies

Dorian listened with a curious tilt of his head as his father explained how Marigold could be used instead, but also the benefit the bark had of being easier to find. That definitely made sense and it was good to know that there were other things that could be used for the same problem if one thing or another wasn't readily available. He wondered how many other things could be substituted and swapped out like that, but his dad had already moved on so he kept that question to himself for now. He nodded with understanding as his dad added how the "dangerous" herb might be the only option and that sometimes the benefit could be worth the risk. He didn't like the idea of possibly making someone more hurt when he was trying to make them better, but maybe that was just part of it sometimes.

Then his dad turned the attention back to the original focus of the lesson, the willow bark, and brought up the poultice that could be made from it. Chewing up bark didn't sound all that fun, but if that was the only way to make the bark useful then he'd of course do whatever the job required. He didn't know what wound he was going to practice treating, but then his dad surprised him by cutting his own leg, making Dorian's gaze go wide for a moment when he saw the blood welling up to the surface and through his fur. His matching green gaze turned up toward his father's again with a bit of concern as he was told about how to clean wounds and what their next steps would be. He was supposed to lick the blood off and clean the scratch like that? He wasn't certain about it, but when his dad's gaze softened and he gave him a bit of encouragement, Dorian did his best to give him a brave smile in return and looked back to the cut that he was presented with. He put his smaller forepaws on his father's leg to hold it steady and part the fur out of the way to see the cut a little better and—after another moment of hesitation—dipped his head a bit to lick away the dripping blood to clean around the cut. "Like that?" he asked after a moment, peeking up at his dad.

"Dorian Kedieo"