The Last Point of Helplessness

Irilyth almost giggled when Mariah fixed her with a curious, almost suspicious gaze upon her appearance. Ah, the innocence of pups was so endearing...! Just like her mother, Mariah showed no fearlessness for being caught with her paw stuck in the proverbial cookie jar, acting as if she belonged everywhere and owned everything. Not far from the truth, being a princess of the Mendacium family, but not quite a truth either. The child asked who she was and Irilyth did giggle this time, a soft and lyrical chuckle. It was very possible that Mariah had simply not noticed her living in the same cave as her family, especially since Iri kept mostly to her own space when she wasn't out doing her work. "My name is Irilyth. I'm a good friend of your mother's," she introduced herself. "You may notice me in your home from time to time. I live there with you too." Manea hadn't yet introduced her properly to her newest children, so she didn't blame Mariah for not knowing who she was. They would all be getting very well acquainted over time anyway.

As the golden blonde fae went about her work, she soon noticed the tiny scarlet puppy appearing beside her long legs, watching with curious argent eyes as she set about the herbs to begin drying for preserving. Mariah's abrupt and adamant response regarding not needing another checkup brought a delighted laugh from Iri, who smiled brightly down at the girl. "Very well, then I promise I won't go poking and prodding at you," she teased her back. Manea's newest children did seem to be quite the dour type. Perhaps they had a little too much of their father in them. Oh well... Mariah asked the plants the healer was currently going about preserving did. Irilyth glanced between the plants and the puppy, surprised and delighted by Mariah's interest in the science of medicine. "This one," Irilyth began by pointing to the bundle of small white flowers, "is called Meadowsweet. And this one," Her paw moved to the bright red plants next, "is called Valerian Root. Meadowsweet is very useful as a basic painkiller and helps pick you up when you get a case of the sniffles. Valerian root is useful for headaches and wolves who have trouble sleeping. It's also very handy for faes once they reach maturity." As happy as she was to answer the young girl's questions, she wasn't about to explain heat seasons and cramps to the child. Her mother could have that conversation with her when she became a yearling.

Irilyth pointed over to the dried lavender buds Mariah had been inspecting when she'd come in. "The purple plant is called lavender. It's very useful to help wolves relax and sleep. I use the lavender and valerian root when I make your father's special medicine." Irilyth took a moment to finish laying out the last of her freshly gathered herbs before she fixed her entire attention back on the youngest of the Mendacium royal family, tilting her head curiously. "Are you interested in learning more about different plants and medicines, Mariah?" It had been ages since Irilyth had a proper student of medicine. None of Manea's other children had shown any desire to learn botany or pharmaceuticals. Would Mariah become the first?

"Irilyth"