It was time to start training for little miss Ara. Loccian felt proud, happy she was able to teach one of Bronze and Silent's children. The woman would do her best to teach the child the art of healing, make sure she knew as much as she could, to help those around her. The grey shewolf had spoke to the girl earlier in the day, telling Ara to meet her near the lake whenever she was ready. ?What could we start with?? She would say to herself, head tilted as she inspected a plant near the base of a tree. Perhaps she could show the girl how to treat minor wounds and aches, then move up onto the next thing and eventually get to how to set broken bones and such.


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Such excitement and a bit of nervousness flooded through the lanky young girl. Though she was interested in healing, she didn't know the first thing about it; her parents didn't seem to know much, either, when she began to pester them with questions. Ears stood erect on top of her head as she padded towards the lake, where they had decided to meet. As the grey-furred lady came into view, her expression brightened considerably. Drawing up in front of her, she nodded politely. "Hi, miss Loccian," the quiet girl greeted her gently, tail curling around her hind legs as she came to settle down near her.

Within minutes a scent would flow past Loccian's nose, familiar, belonging to that of a young lady she would be mentoring. Her head would rise, grey gaze falling upon the young girl approaching, greeting the older woman. She would smile at the girl and dip her head, sitting back and curling her tail around her legs. ?Hello Miss Ara, are you ready for today's lesson?? She would question, tone friendly and soft. Sitting here she wondered what would come of the girl, would she gain a great deal of knowledge on the plants around her, rise up like she had? What was she thinking about, things children think about or going beyond that and starting to think as an adult, wondering what she would do with her future.


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Hardly over six months old, the girl had yet to known much beyond her family and the home in which she lived; this healing stuff was very new to her, and rather exciting. It also caused her to have trouble sleeping, and even as she approached Loccian she felt her small heart beating rapidly inside her chest. What if she wasn't any good at this? She didn't want to be a fighter like her father, and the thought of trying to hunt down something big was just terrifying. "I am ready," she stated, but her voice was a bit unsure, however hard she tried to mask it. Though her eagerness was written plainly upon her features, and behind her, a dark-furred tail wagged side to side impatiently.

The girl would tell Loccian she was ready, she gave a nod of her head with a smile. ?Alright, today I shall be showing you a few herbs that can be used for small cuts similar to the one your father has.? Her grey gaze would look to the plant she had been inspecting, but instead of telling the girl about it she would find something else this would be for a different lesson. Aches and pains. For now she would only focus on a few, easy ones for Ara to remember since they grew within the kingdom. The Ambassador didn't want to overwhelm the girl on her first day.

She would lift herself up and give a brief shake, ten with a motion of her head for the girl to follow, she would begin walking away from the lake and in the direction opposite of them. ?We will be heading towards the western border for your first herb, Lavender, which grows in dryer soil under the full sunlight. Narrow leaves opposite each other, a light blue color in the flowers, they have a strong scent. They aren't hard to miss.? She would inform the girl, taking her past the southern forest and arriving at the western border.

Away from the lake the soil was dryer, and away from the small forest it gave the plants plenty of sunlight to grow. Here and there in front of them were the plants Loccian had described, a decent amount of them. She would continue on, making her way to the closest one before taking a seat. ?The first thing for any wound is to clean it out, get some water and try to get out any dirt and blood. Lavender should be crushed up a bit to release the oils which should be spread over the cut or scrape. This will be like the first defense, helping the tissues to repair faster, kill germs that could cause infection and helps reduce scarring.?

It was one of the best herbs to use, plenty in the Kingdom. She thought it was a good one to start off with, Ara saw the scarring on her shoulder and her father's face, perhaps she would try using this herb a lot to help others not get them.


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It was certainly nerve-wrecking, and yet she was here -- there was no turning back. Part of her had been fearful that she wouldn't be able to show her face, feeling unsure and like she might not make a good healer after all. But Loccian seemed to recognize she knew, well, next to nothing, and was not upset at the fact. A sigh of relief would escape the girl's lips, and a smile would appear again, excitement trickling into her mind as she began the lesson. She'd had a plant before her, and Ara had wondered if she would learn about it. But instead she stood, and Ara diligently followed, no hesitation in her step. They were heading to the west, looking for an herb called lavender. Dry soul. Lots of sunlight. She recorded the information in her mind, repeating it under her breath as they walked. As some came into view, she realized why it was such a good plant to start with. It was bright in color, and smelled very good! The scent was easy to distinguish, and gingerly she put her nose close to it and sniffed. "What do you do if you're not near any water?" She asked curiously, bright gaze shifting to watch her mentor expectantly. It was obvious she could carry some water in her mouth a short distance, but would the treatment still be effective with none at all?

She would sit back as the girl stepped forward to sniff the plant, very strong and nice smelling, hard to miss. And she asked a good question, what if there was no water nearby, what do you do? Water was the best, especially if it was from a moving water source, but there wasn't water everywhere so it was good to know. "That is a good question, Miss Ara." She would say with a small nod of her head, shifting a bit and clearing her throat. "The second thing you could do is lick the wound clean, make sure any dirt, hair, blood, etcetera, is removed for less chance of infection." She would explain.

She would give the girl a few moments in case she had another question before she moved on. "Would you like me to show how you would do this? Cleaning a wound, and prepping the herbs before applying?" Sure, you could explain something in good detail, but sometimes people preferred actually seeing it done.


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Lavender. Again she mumbled the name under her breath while her sapphire gaze trailed along the plants, memorizing it. She had never had to learn something like this, and she felt as though she might forget it if she didn't try really hard. It seemed as though her question had been a good one. Water was best, but she could try to clean a would without water, it just might not treat infection as well. "So Lavender is just a general plant for healing cuts? Big ones or small ones? Or both?" Ara was deeply inquisitive, and wanted to make sure she knew everything. But she felt the heat rush to her face, hoping she was not being annoying but continually asking questions. Always rather introverted, she felt her personality being overridden by the insatiable need for knowledge that welled up inside her chest. "Yes, please show me! It would help her a lot more than just trying to imagine it.

An ear would twitch at the girl's voice, asking if it was a general herb for healing cuts and for what kinds. ?It is good for both big and small cuts, which is what makes it a good herb to work with. But for bigger ones you will want to mix it with two more, you will learn that later on in your lessons.? She would answer softly, giving a small nod of her head. She would would wanna be shown too, which made the Ambassador smile at the girl. ?Alright, I'll show you with my shoulder here.? The woman would shift, turning her body so her left shoulder with the decently large scar was shown to her.

"Like I said, if there is no water around then you should lick the wound clean. Make sure the blood, dirt and anything else is out for less chance of infection." She would give a few licks over the scar, but for a brief moment would stop to think about it. The woman couldn't really remember what it was form, how she got it or why, she just remembered it being there one day.

Clearing her throat Loccian would motion towards the lavender plant. "What you will want to do it bite off a nice sized stem, remove the branches and flower then rub the end against the wound so the oils will spread over it." She would smile, waiting for the girl to do as instructed.


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There was so much to learn -- she doubted she could ever fit all this knowledge into her head! And yet she would try her hardest, determined to never let her parents, or her siblings, be afflicted with scars or pain when she could otherwise prevent it. Ara knew that winter was rapidly approaching, and she had to know how to take care of her family in off-chance that something bad happened. She didn't want to really consider that a real possibility, but she was no longer a mere pup; she knew there were bad things in the world, and rather adding to all that negativity, she wanted instead to bring happiness and ease the pain that others felt.

Eyes followed Loccian as she moved to turn her shoulder to her, gesturing at the scar on her flesh. She even lapped at the flesh, as she herself would have to do if it were a true injury. Remove the blood, dirt, and fur.

Following Loccian's instructions, Ara would pad forward toward the lavender plant, examining it thoughtfully. It really was pretty, and it was amazing that something so simply could be used in such a complex way. Gingerly she grasped a stem in her mouth, jerking her head to tear it from the rest of the plant. She would do as she had been told, nipping the end of the plant off between her teeth and letting the rest fall to the ground. She turned back towards Loccian and began to carefully rub the plant against the woman's scar, wondering if she was doing it right -- she certainly could smell the oils releasing, as the scent was quite strong, almost overpowering. "Like this?" she asked between a mouthful of lavender, which she realized didn't taste very good at all as she spoke.

Loccian would sit there watching the child follow her instructions, giving a nod of her head when she removed the branch and flowers, then proceeded to rub the end of the stem against her scar. At her question the woman would give a nod of her head, leaning her head to the side to get a look at how much she had covered in the oils. "Very good Ara." She'd smile, looking to the girl and give a satisfied nod. "The only thing with this is that you will have to wash it off every few hours and reapply the oils, that way you get fresh oil continuing to fight any infection, and keep the wound clean. You should tell the person to keep the area dry and not to do anything that would cause a sweat or else it will wash the oils away." She explained.


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Ara indubitably felt accomplished, especially as Loccian voiced her praise. She'd been hoping she would be naturally skilled in some way; that her training would come easily, and she was happy that she seemed to fit the role quite well thus far. She gave her further instruction, explaining the plant would have to be washed off every few hours.

"Okay," she nodded, signifying that she understood. It was a fair amount of information -- and Ara was determined to remember it all perfectly. What good would just bits and pieces of knowledge do for her, if she could do form a complete overall picture of how to use an herb? Her eyes were ever brimming with curiosity and amazement, and she retracted from Loccian's side, watching her carefully. "Can I learn about another herb before my lesson is over?"

With that done and out of the way Ara asked if she could learn another herb before the lesson was over, Loccian wouldn't turn the girl down, after all, learning only one thing each lesson would take too long. ?Of course Ara, what I have in mind though doesn't grow here, so I'll plan a time where we can leave the Kingdom to show you it.? She would say with a smile, tail giving a light thump against the ground.

"A willow tree is a large tree that grows near rivers, it has long branches that hang like a wall. From these you can use the bark and leaves, but you will mostly only need to leaves." She would describe the herb then with a breath she would go into explaining how it could be used. "In the barn I have jars stored, I haven't been able to figure out a way to heat the water to release the aroma better so you will inform the person they must eat a few leaves." Her head would tilt to the side, grey orbs looking off into the distance in thought as to how to heat the water.

"Willow leaves can be used for mainly aches and pains in joints or as a result of inflammation. Kinda like a pain killer, it can be used for fevers and also help with night sweats."


-end thread-

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Loccian was her greatest source of knowledge. Though her mother and father were very intelligent, they didn't know much about plants and herbs. They had never trained in the art of healing like her mentor had. And so she needed to milk as much information as she could from whoever offered it, while not seeming too pushy or rude. She also needed to retain the information and learn it slowly and carefully.

She began to explain that willow leaves had a use. Her favorite kind of tree! She remembered when she was merely a pup, she had snagged some of the pretty leaves and taken them home to her father. Her tail began to wag behind her as she listened to her mentor explain. These leaves were eaten, instead of applied to wounds like the lavender. It was good for aches and joint pain. "I think willow leaves would help my father," she suggested quietly. "He limps sometimes. When he returns I will try some." Her smile had faded a bit -- her soft expression was serious and determined, and she watched for Loccian's response.