Gaining a love to learn

Wylan · 07-20-2023, 01:26 PM

He had been asking his mother about herbs lately. She was passionate about her garden, and especially after seeing her help his friend, he wanted to learn more about the practice. To start with, Halo had given him the task of memorising some herbs she had in her garden. After telling him that Dandelion was used for joint pain and inflammation, she had sent him off to find some in the woods. She had made it very clear that he was not to touch any from her garden. Picturing the little yellow plant in his mind, and trying to fix it there, he danced off to do as he was told. His little wings trailing on either side of him, and flapping lightly in the cool North wind.

“Dandelion, dandelion… dandelion” He muttered softly to himself as he moved around the woods. He knew he had to be careful to stay within the markers as well. He had to assume this herb could be found within the confines of their freedom. Otherwise, his mother wouldn’t have given him this task. Right?

He found there were more plants than he expected. Some withering in the approaching cold weather. Some buried beneath the fallen leaves that seemed to pile up so easily around the base of the trees. His mother had given him a hint. Look for wide open, sunny places. He found things that definitely weren’t dandelions in the damp soil beneath one big oak tree. He giggled and poked the mushroom, examining it carefully.

But he really shouldn’t let himself get distracted. He didn’t want to let his mother down. He moved away from the tall tree, jumping over a small fallen branch and making his way further out. Open spaces… open spaces… that’s what she had said. He twitched his nose in the air, sniffing in the cool wind. As if his nose would help him find sunlight. He wished he hadn’t taken on this mission alone. It wasn’t as fun to be exploring out here without his siblings. It had only been a few hours so far, but he missed them already. They would have made an adventure out of this!

In fact, had he passed that tree before? It looked awfully familiar. He wasn’t walking in circles, was he? Maybe what he really needed was a vantage point. Someway to see around all these pesky tall trees. He had given climbing a go once before, and while it had been tricky, he had learned that it was not impossible. So maybe that’s what he needed to do? Find a way to see his surroundings. With a plan of action in mind, he started looking around himself again. This time, he was looking for something that seemed like it would be relatively easy to climb. In the mile-high woods, this was an easier task then finding the dandelion so far.

Finding a ramp-like tree, he decided to get a running start. Trying to use his wings to balance him like his father had shown him, he ran and leapt onto the tree trunk. From there, he raced up it’s spine. Using his claws to dig into the bark for purchase. It was like flying! He let out a giggle as he felt the wind brush through his fur and feathers. And then, quite suddenly, he had a better view of the world around him. There was so much to see from up here! He really needed to learn how to fly for real. Imagine what he could see if he could actually touch the sky?

But enough wool-gathering. He had a mission, and an important one at that. He scanned the area, and found what he was looking for. A clearing! He just needed to remember which direction it was in when he hoped back down again, right? Getting down was trickier than going up had been. But he took it slow, and managed to get back to the ground without any unfortunate tumbles. Now… which way had that clearing been again? He scrunched up his nose and thought, that way! He was sure of it. He started out at a trott, and moved like an arrow through the woods. He was rewarded by the sight of a great big clearing. Still within the area they were allowed to explore, he leaped into the tall grass with a sound of joy. He stumbled as he leaped however, and landed face-first into it. He huffed, and stayed on his belly, looking up and… there it was. A dandelion. He carefully snipped it with a claw the way his mother had shown him, and tucked it into the space between his back and feathers. He’d done it, he’d found a dandelion! He got to his paws, and realised there was so much yellow around him. He was surrounded in dandelion. He raced through the field, picking the yellow flowers at random. He’d done it, he’d done it! Mission success!

WC: 835 First solo herb-gathering

"Speech"

Ooc: skill points; Gave a medical examination

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Gaining a love to learn

Wylan