brain like NYU
It was time for her young student's first lesson. The girl's mother had done well to tell her tales of the gods, and of their history. Now, it was time to learn about herbs. It had taken a while to scout around the eastern lands, but she believed that she had a plan in mind for today's lesson. The young Lunashka had been plagued by sunburn since they had come to the more temperate areas, without any cold to soothe her skin. She had sought out a specific herb, and believed she had found it. While it wouldn't prevent the ailment, it would help soothe her skin for now. "Your lessons will be taught in the common tongue, Divo." She explained, glancing over her shoulder at the lanky youth. Already the girl was beginning to climb taller than little Dominika. However, she was awfully skinny. The burly healer made a note to keep an eye on her weight. "To better your use of it, over time." It seemed foolproof. Two birds with one stone, and easing the burden of Mr. Morningstar. He had been teaching them actively, and thus they knew a fair amount of the tongue. "Today, we are looking for an herb called Earth Smoke. My teacher preferred that name, though I usually call it Fumitory." Her easy, meandering gait kept the youngster from falling behind. Rather, it was intended to. Divo wandered towards a patch of yellow blooms, clumped together near the base of a tree off the path. "Divo!" She barked, frowning.
"speech" |
All morning they followed the river, going the wrong way from its flow. Apparently that was the way to the sea. Except that the sea was on the other side. Divo had already been to the sea, and it had been cold. And back home, not here. She wasn't sure what Olya intended. "Your lessons will be taught in the common tongue, Divo." The shaman said, after a long time without saying much. Her strange, dual toned eyes locked onto Divo's own mismatched pair. She always seemed so dreamy, and lost in her thoughts, when they walked. Dom was like that, sometimes. The girl whined, low in her throat. "Whyyyy?" She asked, but Olya was already talking. "To better your use of it, over time." She said, looking away again. "Oh."
Oooh pretty. The sunlight made it easy to see the bright yellow flowers to her right, near the trees. They looked soft, and fluffy. She wanted to eat them, and see what they tasted like. Would they be soft in her mouth? Or like when Dom had convinced her to eat the thistle? That was not fun. Vaugely she could hear Olya talking, but she wasn't invested in listening anymore. "Today, we are looking for an herb called Earth Smoke. My teacher preferred that name, though I usually call it Fumitory."
Jaws parted to enclose one of the blossoms in her teeth, and pluck it from the earth. The stem oozed onto her lips, and she nearly dropped the flower altogether. Were they supposed to drool? She'd never seen a plant drool! The tiny yellow bloom was soft. "Divo!" Olya snapped. Whoops.
Whirling to look at her teacher, eyes wide, the girl couldn't defend herself. What was there to say? Chewing the flower wasn't as fun as she thought it would be. The little bits got caught in her teeth, and didn't taste all that great. A lot like grass, actually. With a strange, milky part to it. Was that the plant drool? Did plants make milk? "Sorry Olya."
Stock from Castlegraphics