With the hint of ice in the air, tea making was an easy sell for Modesty, she had a collection of teapots laid out, along with different bowls of herbs and honey, goats milk and a side of snacks for any of the children that chose to join her for this lesson. It helped that tea could be brewed for enjoyment, as well as medicine. Sakana had given her a run down on the medicinal properties of any she wasn't quite clear on before going about his rounds, so she felt prepared for whatever the pack of ferals threw at her. Keeping half an eye on the fire where their water was warming, she waited to see what children would be joining her today.

"speech"

To be fair, the outside world wasn't all that bad. Although the bright sun tormented her eyes, she followed her mother, paying close attention as to what she was doing and where she was going. Although it wasn't far at all, her eyes wandered watching everything and listening to the different sounds around her. Taking note that she was the only one here for the time being. That kind of made her happy. Her little tail gave a few waves, as taking her seat infront of her mother. "Whats todays pan" She asked almost silently.

It was the pungent scents of herbs that drew Pythia out into the crisp air that day. Her mother's scent along with her sister's weren't surprising, but indeed welcoming. Would it be another lesson like the one with the beads and feathers? Perhaps something more interesting? Canting her head slightly to the side as she approaches cautiously, her paws dragging through the damp grass, Pythia isn't scared to come all the way up to the spot where Modesty is setup. Practically shoving her nose toward the different pots and jars, it's quick to wrinkle from how strong everything was.

"Mother, please tell me these taste better than they smell," Pythia's soft tones are still sharp and deliberate for a pup as young as she. Unlike her soft spoken sister, she isn't afraid to speak what is on her mind. Taking a seat but not before giving her fluffy coat a good shake, she sits tightly with paws close to her belly and curled tail wrapped around her legs.

"speech"

Okay so Bancha isn’t a child of Modesty, Jael, or Gilgamesh. Actually, he’s not a Raider member either. So technically, he’s trespassing, but hear him out. During a recent adventure to gather some plants, he had come across some other collie wolf dogs! Which to Bancha was awesome because he thought that he and siblings would be the only ones with floppy ears and other not-wolf characteristics. When they offered to take him to their home, how could he say no?

Knowing he’ll head home soon, Bancha seeks to meet all he can before he does. He’s wandering through the ravine back toward the east when the scent of teas catch his attention. Senses alert, Bancha hurriedly makes his way over to see an older woman and two pups younger than him. “Hi, I’m Bancha!” He practically chirps with enthusiasm, tail wagging and smile spreading over his lips. “Is this a lesson? Can I join?” Bancha inquires, head canted, hanging off to the side until he gets permission.

BANCHA

Gilda slid into the lesson and hardly noticed the brown kid with the floppy ears wasn't one of her siblings. She had to do a double take, and then drifted closer to poke him with her nose. "Oi! Where'd you come from?" She queried, her tail waving excitedly, completely distracted from the lesson at hand. He smelled... really pretty. Much prettier than the bowls of whatever her mother had laid out.

Her curiousity... kinda sated for now, she settled herself where she could keep an eye on the stranger, any funny business and she'd give him what for! Well, until she got distracted by the pretty teapots her mother had laid out. She was sure this was meant to be some sort of healery lesson, but she was more interested in the way her mother made the tea. It was so... practiced. Precise. She wanted to learn how to do that, she didn't care what the tea tasted like, she just wanted to look pretty making it.

"speech"

-intel lesson 1/3 tea ceremony-

Modesty offered Sagittarius a smile as she asked what the plan for the day was. She would wait for the other children to be within earshot before declaring "Today we will be learning how to make tea."

She chucked at Pythia's question, "Some yes, some no." She wouldn't lie to a child that probably had a heightened sense of taste due to her lack of sight.

The addition of a brown floppy eared pup almost went unnoticed until he mentioned his name and her brows pinched before she shrugged it off. "Welcome, Bancha, do your parents know where you are or should I send a bird to tell them?" While her own pups had always had a tendency to wander, the last thing she needed was another combative pack breathing down their necks, and she'd rather be safe than sorry. Gesturing to Moo to send out word regardless of what the child said and ignoring Gilda's brash questioning, she turned her attention back to the tools of their lesson.

"Some of these ingredients are medicinal, others are just here because they smell and taste good. To make a tea, we warm the water and then steep our leaves to add the flavour. " She made measured and precise movements, demonstrating for the children before pouring them out each a portion of hot water into a slightly more sturdy tortoise shell, rather than a fine porcelain cup. "Please don't spill, it, it will burn you, and then this will be a different lesson entirely." She tried to lace some humour in her tone, but that wasn't enough to offset the genuine concern.

Modesty gestured to the bowls that were laid out. Start by sniffing and guessing what is in the ones you want to use. I'll let you know if you were right and whether they have medicinal properties or not, and if they are safe, then you can make your own tea and give it a try." She moved to assist Pythia to sort through the ingredients, so she wouldn't waste her time cataloguing the same scent more than once, unless she wanted to.

"speech"

The chipper sound of someone she doesn't know forces her to pause, ears moving to listen to the boy's voice. Her nose turns, inhaling in his scent just as Gilda is bounding over, loudly requesting to know where he had come from. Indeed, where was the boy from? Pythia is drawn to know more about the stranger, but her mother's instruction is quickly directing her attention back to the water laden shells.

She can feel the steam rise from the shell before her, washing over her face as a myriad of other scents do as well. Pythia doesn't quite understand why someone would drink something just because it tasted good, but she supposed it had its purposes. Preferring to know the medicinal varieties, Pythia leans down to begin sniffing at bowls. With her mother's direction so that she doesn't scent the same bowl twice, the pup leans back to think about her options.

Her paw lifts to one of the bowls as she speaks. "Is this turmeric?" Pythia questions, drawn by its tart scent of orange and ginger.

"speech"

Sagittarius was in tune with the lesson, watching her mother move around as words fell from her lips. Her tail dancing around behind her in excitement. Looking to her siblings then another, noting that mother had called this pup Bancha. Ears turn off to the side, watching as the hot liquid was poured into her own cup, eyes turning to the herbs, spotting the tumeric. She turned to a leaf looking to her mother. "This one is mint, and I think cinnamon." She looked tilting her cranium slightly, a small sneeze into her chest fur, maybe she took too big of a sniff of the powder like substance? Sagittarius Fallen

• Moon Divider •

Bancha is looking up at Modesty to see if he can stay when Gilda scoots over to poke him with her nose. He starts, turning to stare back at her bright golden eyes before his smile widens. "I'm from Obscura,"A he whispers, his curled tail thumping against the ground. His attention is quickly turned back to Modesty who is looking at him dubiously. "Oh, I don't suppose they do,"A the youth realizes, feeling shame now that he'd once more run off without notice. Why did he keep doing that? "If you could, they'd probably appreciate it! They're Mojito and Nao Klein over in the east in Obscura. Scylla Klein is our new leader!"A His voice is chipper, unaware that he might be revealing unknown information to the Raid Queen.

Once the introductions are settled, Bancha listens to Modesty go over that not all plants were just for tasting or smelling good, but they had medicinal properties too. Oh, he knew that part! But tea? Making tea out of it was new! His teal gaze watches her pour the hot, hot water into the sturdy tortoise shells with interest. A variety of scents wash over him and he lets out a gasp at how interesting they smelled. He eagerly leans down to scent all the different bowls, lingering on one that has a zappy sort of scent, very citrussy. Excited, Bancha sits back, pointing a paw at the bowl that slowly steeps into a yellow-green color. "Is this lemongrass?"A He inquires, the smile on his face never fading.

BANCHA

Gilda kept one ear turned towards the question the other kids were asking as she mimicked her mother expertly scooping small spoonful's of leaves and carefully mixing them, careful not to spill and of the leaves outside the bowl. She then reached out carefully to the warm handled teapot and poured it over the leaves to steep. She gave the tea a careful stir and then left it, eyes almost crossing with the way they swirled in the cup.

How her mother sat so still, her shoulders back and chin held just so was going to take a little more practice, but Gilda did her best to mimic the stillness, only wriggling a little. Was it done yet?!

"speech"

Nodding to Moo to head to Obscura with news of the location of their wayward pup, she did manage half a smile. While the names themselves weren't familiar, she did know Kleins, and suspected there was probably some shared relation along the line somewhere. Perhaps they would know where her uncle was... But time to worry about that later.

Modesty doesn't mask her surprise at Pythia's accuracy, not that the girl can see it on her face but she'll hear it in her tone. "It is, it is good for swellings, although the taste can be overpowering for some," she warned with a smile, turning her attention to the bowls Sagittarius was scenting. "Cinnamon is also good for swelling, and it can be mixed into a poultice for fungal infections. The mint is good for masking less pleasant flavours, but can also help settle stomachs, or help clear airways when dealing with sniffles and sneezes." Her attention was caught by Gilda fucking about pouring hot water into another shell where she had heaped several try leaves... at least they all seemed to be tea from the scent.

The next to speak up was their guest. She nodded at the assessment of lemongrass, "It has a unique flavour, again, it can be used for that alone, but Sakana tells me it can help when you are struggling to sleep, or again, if you have sniffles." She gestured to the tortoiseshells, encouraging the children to add their blends and allow them to steep.

"Modesty"

Bancha soaks up the information that Modesty relays to him. He watches as she speaks to the blind girl, his curiosity lingering on her disability. It wasn’t to be rude. No. The healer within him wants to poke, to prod, to figure out what had happened to curse the girl with such a thing.

Turmeric, mint, cinnamon, and lemongrass. Tucking away the notes for use later, Bancha grabs some of the stringy and tough plant with his teeth and drops it in his tortoiseshell. Almost instantly he is hit with an even stronger punch of citrus as he quickly leans back away from the steam that curls around his face. “Is it best to utilize these in teas or can they be used topically as well?” Bancha inquires, teal eyes looking up to Modesty.

BANCHA

Pythia is far from daft. She hears the surprise in her mother's tone, but doesn't allow it to offend her. Everyone appeared to treat her gently as if she were going to break or fall apart at the next turn. It only made her more insistent that she needed to succeed. So when Modesty says she's right and tells her what the turmeric is used for, she puffs up her white chest a little more. Of course she was right!

With the help of Modesty, Pythia places her bundle of turmeric into the tortoiseshell to steep. "Can I add ginger? Would that help the pungent taste?" She asks, her paw still reaching out to grasp the shell and feel its warmth. Internally, she counts the seconds, knowing that if the mixture were to steep too long it would inevitably turn sour or bitter.

"speech"

Sagittarius Fallen

Yellow depths look to everyone again, then fall once again upon her mother Modesty as she began to answer all the questions from the small gathereing of heathens. A smile crawling across her lips as she payed attention to everything and everyone around her. A small nod of acknowledgement given towards her mother.

She was eager to try mixing and steeping her own tea, wondering what it'd look and taste like once it was all said and done. Sagittarius didn't mind how much of each herb she placed, but careful not too over do it in a way as watching her siblings and the other pup go about making their teas.

Allowing her mixture of tea to brew she was growing impatient. Wondering if she'd be allowed to add some others, but not saying anything she listened to Pythia ask if she could add other ingrediants. If it was allowed, Sagittarius looked to the other herbs laid out. "I wonder how some dandelions would taste....

table coding by bunni ♥

Gilda considered the tea leaves as they swirled, the way the water darkened as the flavour was drawn from the herbs by the warm water. She turned half an ear towards her mother and tried to focus on keeping her face pleasantly blank. Once the water had stilled and the steam rose off its surface with a curl. She bit back the urge to snatch at the vessel and gulp it down. She knew she had to take it with both paws and try not to wobble. She blew gently across the top of the cup and sipped delicately, looking for her mothers nod of approval before putting the tea down again. It would take a lot of practice, but Gilda was pretty determined to get at least this skill right.

"speech"