Rivin had decided that since Siduri liked and took an interest in herbs, she was going to teach her whatever she could. To be the teacher was a strange position… she never expected it. But she welcomed the opportunity, and her she was happy to share the knowledge. She had taken Siduri just outside of Raider territory, to Fern Gulley. “While we are attempting to grow some herbs on the islands, Fern Gully is an amazing land for an abundance of herbs, and we’ve got a few I want to collect today. The first is Dock. It’s a soft, large-leafed plant with a tangy smell and taste. It grows pretty much everywhere, but specifically look for nettles if you are going to harvest some. Best place to find them.” Rivin explained. “Have you heard of it before?”

"Speech," 'Thought.'

Siduri tromped along behind Rivin, happy to be going and doing things. It was one of her better days since the raid and the sadness and broodiness that had filled her was nowhere to be seen. Together they made their way to the Fern Gully where the land was green and full of plants. Sid had no idea what most of them did, but she was going to find out.

Rivin pointed out plants and asked if Sid knew what they were. The girl shook her head. "There are so many plants and a lot of them look the same. It's going to take me foreeeeeeever to figure out which ones are which ones." An exasperated ugh left the child but she sucked it up and looked for nettles. She knew what nettles were.

Siduri’s frustration was understandable. Honestly, if she hadn’t tested the leaves after hearing what they were she would have been stuck too. “It’s pretty dumb at first, to be honest. But once you know which plant is which, it cuts down the time of looking. You should focus on the scent as you near the nettles. That is going to be the best indication you got the right one prior.” Rivin told her. “The leaves are chewed up, much like the stuff for the bee stings before. It can sting while being applied, and make your mouth feel a bit tingly. It’s not pleasant, but if an herb has a use, it has a use I guess.” She shrugged, gaze sweeping the area for the nettles. Spotting some in the distance, she grinned. “Looks like we’re getting close, Sid.”

"Speech," 'Thought.'

"I know what nettles are," she said proudly. "The other ones though? No clue." Sid could smell the herbal scent of the nettles before she even saw them. "They're here!" Bouncing happily through the greenery, Sid wasn't exactly careful and uttered an "Eep!" as she fell into the stand of nettles. Standing up, Sid picked nettles from her fur with a bashful chuckle.

"Oh, oh! You remember when you said that I should try to figure out how to mash up herbs? I DID!" Sid bounced along beside Rivin, yammering as the older fae collected things. "I have half of a deer skull and I put the herbs in it with a little bit of water, then I mash the shit out of them with a rock! Smart, right?" Eyes were wide as she looked to Rivin for approval.

The energy of the girl was something else. Though there had been lasting damage from the fight with the Ethne woman, Sid didn’t let it hold her back. Rivin admired the kid for that. She trailed after the girl, though blinked with surprise when she fell into the nettles. She waited for a moment, not wanting to baby her, but also ready to jump and help her if she needed a paw. To her relief Siduri seemed fine, and even more interesting, she made good on her bet. Rivin raised a brow, intrigued. “Ohh?” Since Sid seemed fine, she moved to the dock and began to carefully dig into the soil around the leaves. The method brought an amused chuckle to Rivin’s lips.

“Damn right it is! Guess I owe you that experimental lesson on amputation and healing it, huh?” Grinning widely, Rivin looked over at the kid. “I’ll make sure Lark catches us something big enough to work with. Lesson is on in two days. A promise.” The girl was smart, already picking up on ways to do healing on her own. Really made her wonder who the apprentice was going to be. “For now, this plant here is the dock. It is used on smaller injuries, like scratches, and on paw pads if you accidentally nick it on something.” She explained.

“Because it is sturdy and decently big, you can also use it to bundle herbs. Putting the herbs in a dock leaf and tying some horse tail around it makes them a bit easier to carry, especially if you have smaller plants that might get loose and fall out if you tried with the horsetail alone. Getting a bag can prevent that need altogether though. They are super useful to have on paw when coming to a place like this, where you can expect to gather a bunch of different kinds of herbs.” She motioned to the plants. “And digging around the plants can help preserve the roots, if they are needed. These ones are not, but I like to dig them up and pluck the leaves from the stem so they don’t tear. It is easier to do if the plant is loose.”

With a careful scoop of her paw, Rivin pulled the dock out of the ground and set to doing just that, nipping the leaves off at the ends with her teeth before gathering them to be placed in her bag.

"Speech," 'Thought.'

Sid listened intently with little "Mhmm mhmm mhmm" here and there to show that she was indeed paying attention. Rivin promised a lesson in amputation since she'd done so well with figuring out how to mash up herbs. The girl literally vibrated with anticipation. She was soooo ready.

Rivin scooped out some of the dock plants and Siduri watched, moving beside her in an attempt to do the same. The first try failed and she snapped off a bunch of the roots, but the second try brought the plant out whole and unbroken. Sid held the plant up to Rivin and beamed. She was proud of herself.

It wasn’t hard to keep Siduri’s attention, and Rivin appreciated that. Plus the kid was sharp, able to understand her. Seemed she clicked with her more than her little brother, though she felt a bit guilty about that. She was sure it wasn’t Sulfur’s fault he struggled a little, and it definitely wasn’t his fault that she had a short fuse. Poor kid. Once she had gotten the leaves of the dock set aside her gaze flicked to Siduri. Kid had scooped one out, holding it up to show her.

“Perfect! It’s good to get in the habit of that either way, just in case there are extra bits of the plants to harvest. I’m sure you already know that some are common, and there are some that are pretty hard to find. Places like the gully and God’s Garden in Auster have a ton of herbs, but not all can be found between them.”

That was important to know too, though in a way it also felt like it would be common knowledge among healers. Siduri was young, but she was moving at such as fast rate Rivin had no doubt she’d have a position in the pack that allowed her to treat patients too. Hell, Rivin was sure if she was injured, she would feel comfortable letting the kid take care of her.

“Our next plant is a very common one, and I’d be shocked if you’re not sure of what it looks like. Despite their size, dandelions are a pretty useful plant and luckily, the flower, greens, and roots can be used from them.” Rivin told the kid. Literally just turning around would reveal some of them to the faes. Rivin walked over to one.

“Because they are smaller, so long as you give a little bit of room, you should be able to dig up the entire plant easily. Don’t worry if you ruin any roots though. Since they are abundant we don’t have to gather them perfectly every time, though we still want to gather as much of each plant as we can. Just don’t stress if you make an oopsie.” Her gaze flicked over to Sid. “Have any guesses what we could use dandelions for? The only hint I’m going to give is that they wouldn’t be used on any type of open wound or scratch.” Although an angry injury without an open area could benefit from them.

"Speech," 'Thought.'