Roleplay City
Oberon Castle => OBERON CASTLE: Drink Today, Die Tomorrow => Elsewhere - Geographically => Topic started by: Mayquiri on November 20, 2007, 05:41:36 AM
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((Reserved for Pinkroses))
“Beautiful day for a walk, isn’t it?” Arjan called out to Liam as he led the boy out and away from the city walls, and into the open wilderness. And it was a beautiful day too. None to warm, plenty of sun, and a light, pleasant, breeze. Clearly, Arjan was enjoying himself so much, he didn’t even look to be searching for herbs and other such plants. Well, at least not to one who didn’t know him very well.
Arjan was on the lookout alright, his eyes continually scanned the area around the young men, catching on every flower of a different color or shape, every patch of shade, and every shrub. He knew exactly where to look to find what he needed. He just hadn’t found anything yet.
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Liam gave a quiet grunt, which could have been agreement, but was much more likely to be disapproval at this whole idea. Last night this had seemed like such a good idea, starting new, having a place to sleep, learning something new, but now that he was up in the cold morning, the cool breeze feeling like a harsh wind blowing through his thin shirt and the dew wetting his feet the boy couldn’t help wishing her was back in one of the cities back alleys, curled up warm with a few other boys, ready for the excitement of stealing breakfast from one of the morning stalls. The two companions out this morning obviously had very different idea of what made for a good day for a walk.
But he was here now and Liam had agreed to do this so he wasn’t going to back out, not yet anyway. His dark eyes glanced towards the healer, watching him with a small frown. There were so many things about him that Liam didn’t understand, but he thought that he might be able to get used to them… with time. The lanky teen stumbled over a root and cursed under his breath as he rubbed at his toes, then he rubbed his hand over the scar on his face as he glanced at Arjan again.
“What we lookin’ f’ anyhow?” he asked with a scowl, hoping that if he had any idea what they were supposed to be finding then this might be a bit more interesting.
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Seeing Liam trip, Arjan went to see if he was alright. After all, trippig like that could be disasterous to Arjan. The young man had to admit, Liam was a strong young boy, and Arjan was rather frail, but he still worried a bit. "Y\'ok there Liam?" Arjan asked a she watched the young man, grinning faintly when he looked down ta the root.
When he registered roughy what the root was, Arjan chuckled to himself. "Well, no\'tha piece o\'wood you\'ve tripped on. D\'ya know what mint looks like?" He asked curiously as he begun walking again, confidant that Liam was perfectly fit. Oh, Arjan knew that the boy wasn\'t having fun, but, if he really wanted to learn, he\'d stay and make himself useful. If he truely hated this and wanted nothing mor eto do with his choice, no harm no foul. Liam could leave, a little better off, as he\'d be full and have clean clothes on his back. Perhaps a rudimentary knowledge of what would save his ass and what would kill him too.
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“I’m fine,” Liam said quickly, glad that he’d managed to stop himself from falling flat on his face, he just felt a bit stupid about missing his step like that. But he’d get used to it, he was fairly sure of that. And he wanted to stick with it until he was. Liam could be stubborn and right now he’d convinced himself to stay, so he would.
“Mint? No, what’s ‘at?” he asked, watching the ground more carefully now as he picked his way through the undergrowth. Liam could just about cook a few meals, because he’d have been beaten by his uncle if he didn’t put food on the table, but he’d never used any of the herbs or other bits and pieces Mia had left around. He’d never even tasted or smelt mint knowingly, let alone seen it in its raw form.
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"It was in that stuff I put innyer cuts yesterday. Didja smell somethin strong, an fresh, and sharp, and generally good? tha\'was mint. Grows in wet dirt. Jagged, kinda pointy leaves. Little ball-like white flowers. Be easier fer y\'t know it when Ah see it." Arjan explained distracted as he resumed his search.
Nearly a full five minutes later, Arjan exclaimed happily as he ound precisely what he was looking for. It wasn\'t a tall plant, not even a full foot tall. and due to it\'s shape, it clended in rather well with the meadow grasses and such. It was a thin stalk, with several oval shaped, serrated leaves jutting out at regular intervals. Tiny white little flowers grew at the base of each leaf. "This, is mint." Arjan explained proudly as he plucked a single leaf before handing it to Liam. "Snap it an sniff it. Iffen y\'like the smell, y\'can chew on it. He\'ps wiv stomach aches, raw stuff can freshen yer breath, an it he\'ps keep cuts clean from rot, or cool and soothe bug bites an rashes. good stuff. Very common too."
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Liam gave a small nod as Arjan described the plant, but when they began searching again, despite straining his eyes looking at all the different plants and weeds, Liam didn’t spot anything. He really didn’t have a clue what he was looking for, at the moment all these leaves looked the same to him.
The boy accepted the small lead once Arjan found it and handed it too him, examining it with a small frown of concentration and doing the same to the rest of the plant as well. He turned the small green leaf over between his grubby fingers, smelling the scent of it and glancing up at the healer with amazement as he listed the various things this small thing could do.
“All tha’, from jus’ this lil’ thing?” he asked, his dark eyes widening with interest as he did as instructed, snapping the leaf and sniffing it before gingerly nibbling on an edge. He dropped a finger down to touch the dirt to see if it was wet, like Arjan had said and after wiping the mud from his fingers onto his trousers he stood up again, still turning the leaf over between his fingers.
“How d’y’ get t’know this stuff? Who finds it out in the first place?” he said with a thoughtful look, not really expecting a reply. Who found out how to do anything? Just by chance really and testing, like how people first came up with recipes, trial and chance.
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Nodding, Arjan grinned at Liam\'s wonder. It made snese though, as far as Arjan cared, Mint was a wonder herb. It did nearly anything. that was why he added it to almost everything, so long as he had enough. "Generally, yeah. Some o\'the diff\'rent kinds o\'mint\'re better fer diffe\'rent things. But s\'all good." He chuckled as he begun plucking leaves off of the plant. Arjan didn\'t quite take half of the leaves, wanting the plant to remain alive for one, and not wanting to harvest anything before it was ripe. The leaf he had given Liam was to old and dry to use for most teas, but it would give a good eough impression as to what the plant was.
Hearing Liam\'s question, Arjan\'s smile slipped somewhat. He had learned a good deal of herbalism from his older sister and his father, in his childhood. Arjan expanded on that knowledge on his own, using trial and error when he was on the streets. He learned of mint seasoning foods and making a soothing tea as a lad, the rest he found out on his own. "From me family. When I was a boy." He explained vaugely, shrugging and going back to plucking and searching. Now that they were near a riverbank, there were several thatches of wild mint growing near the brush, and admist the grasses. Some of them were nearly two feet in height, but most were between a half foot to a foot high.
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Liam gave a small frown and gently rubbed at the scar on his cheek when Arjan said there were other types of Mint, learning that all the different types of plant did different things was hard enough, but each one did more, depending on… what? How were you supposed to tell which was which?
He lowered his eyes when Arjan mentioned his family and his only answer was a small nod. His family had taught him nothing apart from how pointless his being alive was. It would have been better for all concerned if he had never been born, he’d just given Mia more work to do, and acted as a spare beating bag for his uncle once he was finished with the redheaded girl.
“Why did y’leave some? An’ wha’s the difference between ‘em all?” he asked as they reached a large patch of the mint bushes. He crouched down beside one and gently stroked the leaves with his fingers, liking the clean, bright colors of the leaves and all of nature after spending so much of his life in the dirt of the city. He wanted to help, but didn’t know which leaves to pick, even after watching Arjan before, he didn’t want to do anything wrong that might damage such a useful herb.
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Arjan was grateful that Liam didn\'t press. As far as he cared, his family was a topic not to be touched aside from in passing. He loved them dearly, and he had a good life with them, but the manner in which they ended, and the part that Arjan had played in their deaths hurt him to much to think about to often.
Listening to Liam talk, Arjan had to nod. It was understandable that one might be overwhelmed by the idea of different herbs that did as much as this one. "Some taste better\'n foods. And some mints cool rashes an\' stings better. These ones\'re pretty good fer most ever\'thing. I jus\' like having a lot \'cause it\'s so useful." He explained, chuckling faintly as he watched the boy, "Well, y\'dun\'t want t\'kill the plant. Also, some o\'the leaves\'re to young t\'use, and others\'re to old. Th\'older ones work good fer weak teas, but not much else. An the young ones\'ll get older, an be better t\'use. Y\'want t\'see how t\'tell iffen they\'re good?" Arjan asked as he watched Liam hawkishly. He expected the kid to not know to much about herbs or anything yet. And he expected istakse. After all, when Arjan was first learning plants, he himself made a few rather disasterous mistakes. Luckily they had been caught in time.
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“Aye,” Liam said enthusiastically, his face finally breaking into a smile as he moved towards Arjan to watch and try to learn what he was being taught. He didn’t want to make any mistakes, but he’d never had to learn anything intensively like this before, so he had no idea how difficult it could be although he was already finding the amount of information so far a bit overwhelming, and they had barely begun.
“Is this ‘un mint?” Liam asked, crouching down again and pointing to a plant near Ajran’s feet and pointing at it, hoping he was right and that it wasn’t one that just looked similar.
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Arjan had actually already had a plant for Liam to pick, but he allowed the boy to show his plant. If he was wrong, Arjan could explain the differences between the plants. Loking over at what Liam had chosen, Arjan grinned faintly. He picked a mint plant, a rather decent one from the looks of things too. Nodding, Arjan grinned, "That\'uns a mint plant." He replied as he walked over to Liam.
"Now, whatcha want t\'do is look at th\'leaves." Arjan explained as he crouched down next to the plant, "s\'pretty easy t\'tell with th\'leaves. These ones\'re to small," He explained, pointing to some of the tiny, budding leaves, "An y\'dun\'t want the one\'s that\'re dried out lookin. Th\'rest\'re fine. Only take about half of them..." Arjan explained as he pointed out the various parts of the plant.
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Liam chewed on his thumb nail as he concentrated on what Arjan was telling him and examined the plants and their leaves. He gave a short nod and reached out to touch one of the ones he could pluck, glancing up at Arjan to check it was right.
“So, y’jus, pull it off? Y’dinnae need t’do owt t’make it right?” he asked before carefully pulling the leaf from the plant. He lifted it to his face, looking at it closely before smelling it, then holding it out to Arjan, not sure what to do with it now. It seemed pretty simple to find out which ones to pick, but he was sure it would be difficult to distinguish between all the different plants. With practice it would be alright though… surely.
“An was this ‘un?” he asked after a moment, pointing at a plant nearby which looked similar but had a few obvious differences. “Is that ‘un another type ‘a mint?”
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"Pull from th\'stem." Arjan explained as he watched how Liam pulled the leaf off. He was doing fine, Arjan just felt that it might be a good idea to explain that, and why, "Iffen y\'pinch it at th\'stem a bit when y\'pull it, it come\'s off easier, an\' dun\'t hurt the plant as much. An\' y\'get more mint, less hurt. Yer doin good though." He added on, nodding snd smiling.
Noticing Liam\'s hesitation after he plucked the leaf, Arjan made a mental note to get the boy a basket to carry around. If he was going to stay a while, Arjan would see the good in investing in some decent leather pouches for the boy, but if he was going to find herbalism not to his taste, it would be a foolish purchase. A basker, Arjan had in his home, and would suffice very well for now.
When Liam showed Arjan the other plant, he shook his head. "No. S\'not mint." He replied as he moved over to the plant to show Liam the difference. "Th\'leaves\'re smooth here. Right general shape, but y\'see how th\'mint\'s leaes are all jagged? These\'uns\'re smooth. Also, th\'flowers are diff\'rent. See on th\'mint \'ow they\'re all little an clustered t\'make balls? These flowers\'re small, but they\'re th\'same size as the mint clusters. They\'re to big. Very close, but diff\'rent. Good job at pointin out that they\'re diff\'ren though. Unfortunately, thisun\'s just a weed. No good purpose that I know of. But it\'ll prob\'ly get y\'sick iffen y\'eat it."
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He gave a small nod and did as instructed, pulling the leaf off as carefully as he could and smiling at the first words of praise he’d had for years. When Arjan began to tell him the differences between the two plants Liam held up the mint leaf to the different plant, examining the two.
“Aye, I see,” he said, “D’y’ ever make m’stakes? Make folks sicker no’ better?” he asked, glancing up at Arjan.
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Chuckling at the question, Arjan sat back, running his hands through his hair. the action made his already mussed up hair frizz out rather wildly. "When I was younger." He stated, sighing faintly. His mistakes usually happened when he had been far younger. Often his sister caught his mistakes when he was gathering.
"When I started sellin, I made a few mistakes on some thin\'s. Act\'ally, once I made what I though\' was a poison fer some man, jus\' ended up makin the guy sick fer a few hours, or so he tol\' me. Got inna a fair bit\'o troubel fer that\'un." Arjan then said, remembering a few midtakes he had made when he was on his own.
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Liam’s dark eyes stayed fixed intently on Arjan as he spoke and a small smile played on his lips at one of the comments. From what he’d seen of Arjan so far the man would probably wouldn’t have been too keen to sell a poison so might have given a weaker one on purpose. Still, he shouldn’t leap to assumptions, Arjan seemed honest enough so maybe he wouldn’t question what people wanted things for and simply sell them what they wished for.
“I guess it‘s harder t‘find all t‘stuff y‘need in winter,” he said, standing upright again and brushing his muddy hands on his trousers again. “What d’y’do then? What d’y’do when the plants die?”
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Oh, Arjan had no problems with poisons. After all, he was only a part of Talon\'s judgement as far as he cared. If he was able to save a person he was asked to save, then Talen didn\'t wish for them to die. If he was asked to sell a poison to kill someone or something with, then Arjan assumed that Talon wanted them dead. It was that simple for Arjan.
"I stockpile. Keep gatherin more\'n I usually need fer the summer. Thing\'s git tough an\' expensive in early spring mostly. That\'s when I \'ave the least ammount o\'herbs t\'sell." He explained, smiling faintly. "Some times I run out though. Dunt even \'ave enough tea, or other thins fer mesself. S\'bad iffen I git a bad cold in that time."
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Liam pursed his lips slightly and glanced down at the plants around their feet. If he’d ever got a cold all he’d got for it was a smack round the head for sniffing or coughing too loudly, he’d never been given special teas or had any treatment for his cuts until the night before. All the man who was supposed to be in loco perentis had done was cause him pain, some of it lasting. His voice would never be the same since he was punched in the throat, changing his voice forever.
“So, lotsa folks buy this stuff? For lil’ thin’s? I’ve ne’er knew there was stuff that did all this; is it expensive?” Even if it wasn’t he doubted his uncle would have bothered buying any to look after his nephew and neice, he would rather they had just disappeared from his life, although they had made handy slaves.
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Whereas Arjan\'s childhood had been different. Always being the small child, and the sickly one, he often got cold, and was often fed warm drinks, if for no other reason then to soothe him. After his family died, and Arjan learned to make the dirnks on his own, he continued doing so, adding certain herbs that he thought might help him feel better. After all, his health hadn\'t improved very much with age.
Listening to the question, Arjan shook his head. "No. no\'really. Sometimes workin class folks\'ll stop by, buy a few herbs fer a long cough. Usually it\'s the richer folks who stop in. They cin afford t\'throw away moneys on thin\'s like herbs. Lots\'o people who live outside o\'the city, farmers an\' such, grow their own, so they dun\'t need me unless sumthin really bad\'s goin on."
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"What sorta stuff? What else d\'y\'know how t\'do? More \'an jus\' herbs an\' stuff?" Liam asked with interest, shoving his hands in his pockets as he watched Arjan. Some healers knew how to do all sorts of things, like healing bones and helping women give birth, or so Liam had heard. He couldn\'t help wondering how much Arjan knew and how much he would be taught.
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Chuckling anf grinning, Arjan looked at Liam. the kid certainly was curious, he had to hand him that. Arjan rather liked it to be honest, it showed that Lim had an interest in what Arjan had to teach. "Well, iffen a little one\'s got a high fever, an\'s been sick fer a while. Or sometimes they come t\'me wih bad cuts, and I patch them up. I can\'t fix some people though. If they got a broken bone fer example, All I cin tell \'em t\'do is bind it up so they can\'t move it, or they\'ll go cripple. Sometimes I cin give \'em sumfin fer the pain, but it\'s more expensive then jus\' mint." He explained as he absently continued plucking mint leaves. Arjan always gathered as many as he felt safe whenever he could, so he wouldn\'t run out.
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Liam carefully began to pick leaves again, holding them carefully in his hand until he had enough to hand to Arjan to put into his pouch. He glanced up every now and again to check that he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but this part of it seemed easy enough… when there was just one plant to concentrate on. He wasn\'t sure if he liked the way Arjan was laughing, but it didn\'t sound malicious at all just... happy. It was a strange sound to the boy\'s ears.
“What’d’y do if som’un’s got a fever? An’ what kinda stuff gets rid o’ pain?” he asked after a pause so that he could concentrate on what he was doing.
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It wasn\'t strange to Arjan. One of the things he learned when he started selling things, and when he watched merchants sell their wares was that a happy merchanct seemed to get better deals. He was generally well liked, and because of that, often got more business. Having trained himself to always be a rather happy young man, Arjan found it dificult to not act, or even be happy very often.
Thinking on what Liam asked for a few moments, Arjan paused in his own picking to sit back in the moist earth, one somehwat mudded hand pushing his hair back. "Wel, fer pain, there\'s chammiole, cranberry bark, angelica, willow bark and willow bark. Fer fever, I\'d use birch bark mostly, but a mix o\'dogwood and cheerybark works too. Iffen y\'got anythin hot an\' spicy, it make\'s y;sweat, which makes yer fever go down to. That if, a wet cloth won\'t he\'p none. Act\'ally, come think o\'it, I needs t\'git some more angelica an willowbark. There\'s this sweet Lady who dun\'t look good. She\'s dyinh, but she\'s rich enough t\'afford the painkillers."
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“What’s t’matter w’er?” Liam asked with interest, poking a finger into the dirt as he had listened to Arjan speaking. The things he was saying was making sense, about helping to make a fever go down, but he had no idea how he was going to be able to learn all of these names.
“An’ what d’ angel-ca an’ willow bark look like?” the young boy added, mis-pronouncing one word and glancing around as though a sign would suddenly appear pointing to he things he was looking for. Willow bark, that had to be a tree, trees had bark, plants like the mint didn’t. But that didn’t help at all, a tree was a tree… he had no idea what the different shaped leaves and the colors meant.
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"Truth? I dun\'t know. There\'s sumthin wrong wi\' \'er lungs I\'m thinkin. Coughin up blood an\' th\' likes. I\'m guessin there\'s sumthin growin in there that dunt belong, but there\'s nothin I can do fer it." He explained quietly as he continued gathering mint.
Considering the next questions, Arjan sat back in the grass and looked up at the sky. "Well, Angelica\'s like a weed in look. It\'s all thin an\' reedy. An it\'s got little off-shoots wi\' tiny clumps o\'white flowers on th\' ends." He tried to explained, uncertain exactly how Angelica should be explained. "Ye\'d have t\'see it better t\'understand it. an\' willow bark? It\'s jus\' th\'bark off of a willow tree."
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Liam stayed silent for a few moments after Arjan described how the woman was ill and how she would probably die. It suddenly seemed so real. He knew both of his parents were dead, but he had no idea how it had happened, or when exactly. All he knew was that he couldn\'t remember them at all and he wondered if this woman was leaving behind children who would never know her.
The boy quickly blinked and tried to focus once more on Arjan\'s words as the older man began to describe more plants to him, but frowned slightly when all he got about the willow bark was that came from a willow tree.
"An\'... what does a willow tree look like?" he asked with a small scowl on his face, hating that he had to ask something that Arjan obviously thought he should already know. But really Liam didn\'t have a clue what any off these plants looked like and couldn\'t tell one tree from another. He could tell you which ones around the city were good for climbing up or hiding in, but none of them had names in his mind and he hated his lack of knowledge and education for the first time in his life.
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When asked about the tree, Arjan gave Liam a look. Having grown up around trees and wildlife, Arjan took for granted what different trees and plants looked like. He forgot that Liam was a city kid with no prior training in plants. "They start out like normal enough trees." Arjan started slowly, wanting to explain the tree properly as he drew a very crude picture in the ground, "But it\'s branches, they split. an\' they git thin and vine-y. Willow trees look kinda like they gots shaggy, light green hair instrad o\'leaves from a ways. Does that make any sense?" He asked, not sensing Liam\'s sudden realization.
Of course it was real. It had always been real. People die. Talon chooses when it happens, and Arjan, being only human, had no place in holding Talon back. If it was possible, Arjan merely preserved people for a later fate. Arjan was still reeling from seeing Alia though. She was such a fragile creature, so weak and sickly. It made Arjan humble, and surprised him to see that Talon wuld allow someone to live in such agony for so long.
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"Like... hair?" Liam repeated, lightly touching the drawing in the mud and tracing the lines. It was a confusing description, but Liam guessed that it might make more sense if he actually saw it.
"Is there, like, any \'round \'ere that y\' could show m\'? Since y\' need some anyhow?" he asked, keen to see this strange sounded plant. It was possible he might already have seen one, but he simply wouldn\'t have noticed. After all, wasn\'t every tree like another? At least that was what he had thought twenty-four hours again.
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"I\'m not good at drawin." Arjan confessed, with a guilty little smile. "Ye\'d know th tree iffen y\'saw it. Err...it\'s kinda like there\'re lots o\'heavy bits on th\'ends o\'the branches. They end up saggin and pointin t\'the ground. S\'a very funny lookin tree." He then commented, stading up.
"C\'mon, there\'s a willow tree a small ways offa here. Near th\'woods." Arjan then said with a heavy sigh as he picked up his small bag of herbs. He wasn\'t used to showing anybody what he did and how he did it. It was a new, and rather challenging thing for Arjan to wrap his head around. He hoped he was doing a decent enough of a job, and lucky for him, Liam at least looked like he was both intelligent and eager to learn.
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“I dunno, it sounds like it’d b’ hard for anyone t’ describe or draw,” Liam said, straightening up as Arjan did and brushing off his hands on his trousers. “So it’s like, all the branches jus’ go down insteada headin’ up like normal?” he added, not really expecting an answer, just trying to straighten it out in his mind so that he would know what to look for whilst Arjan was leading him. He followed after the apothecary with a spring in his step as he moved more carefully through the woods, looking a little more in place than before and eagerly looking around in an attempt to see the willow tree. Not that he’d begun to concentrate on his surroundings and the sleepy feeling of the early morning had drifted from his mind, letting him notice more of the area around them, including the birds in the trees and the feel of the ground underfoot.
“It tha’ it?” he asked suddenly, lifting a hand to point at a tree which was the only one he had seen which could fit Arjan’s description. The willow tree drooped downwards, the tips of the branches brushing against the leaf covered floor. He moved closer to the tree, lightly touching the thin leaves, trying to look through them, but unwilling to disturb the peaceful feeling of the tree. “It looks a lot like y’re picture I think,” he said with a nod.
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Watching Liam, Arjan waspleased to notw how the boy was waking up and taking note of the world outside of the city. I Arjan\'s opinion, it was a beautiful place, and if his health had permitted it, he\'d be almsot perfectly content to live deep in teh woods as a hermit. unfortunately, he also enjoyed being around people, a side effect of having a large family he asusmed. "Mmhm, y\'got the idea there." Arjan urmuered softly as he followed Liam around, letting ht eboy pick his path until they saw the tree.
"Yup, yessir, that\'d be th\'willow tree I was tlakin about." He replied, a broad grin spreading across his face. Seeing how careful Liam was being around the branches, Arjan winked at the boy and pulled a few strands of leaf away, leaving an opening big enough for a person or two to fit through. "Well, c\'mon, th\'bark aint gonna peel itself and climb into m\'belt pouches."
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Liam watched Arjan easily pull back the branches with a smile on his face and he peered through for a moment before slipping through the gap once he saw that he wasn’t going to damage the tree. It was like another world under the tree, so quiet and enclosed, like a tiny little house.
“It’s pretty,” Liam said, lifting his eyes up to where the branches bent away from the trunk, then he felt his cheeks heating up as he realized how pathetic that sounded. If he’d been with the boys he usually spent time with he would already be being mocked desperately for that comment, but he didn’t think Arjan would do that. Hopefully.
“So how d’y’ get the bark off? Will it damage the tree?” he asked, looking carefully at the trunk in the dim light.
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Te branches were easy to pull back. Like Arjan had said earlier, they thinned out almost into vines with leaves along the sides. A strong wind could probably very easily destroy the peaceful quality of this particular tree. Looking over at Liam as he spoke, arjan nodded in agreement. "Aye, peaceful too. Good place fer a nap on a summer day. But y\'gotta keep a sharp ear out, just cause it\'s pretty an peaceful, dun\'t mean danger ain\'t beyonf the branches." He chuckled softly as he advanced towards the tree.
Looking back at Liam, Arjan was only mildly surpried by now at the boy\'s question. In Arjan\'s mind, how to harvestt he bark seemed obvious. Strip bits and pieces off it off of the tree. But then again, to a city dweller who had never even seen a willow before, it made sense. "We pull th\'bark off. We cin use a knife where it\'s thick. An it dun\'t hurt the tree badly. We dun\'t take near enough t\'hurt it. Iffen we made a ring all th\'way around the trunk where there was no bark, we\'d kill it, but we dun\'t do that." He explained, pulling out a small knife as he went to work, nimble hands freeing scraps of already loose bark from the base of the tree.
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Liam watched with interest as Arjan began to pull pieces off of the tree. He got as close as he could whilst trying not to get in the way as well. It still seemed strange to him that the bark of a tree would be able to stop pain, but if Arjan said it worked then the young teen would believe him.
“How would y’ make this work? Does they jus’ eat it?” he asked with a small frown. Eating wood definitely sounded like a strange idea, “Or d’ y’ make a tea or summat?” he asked, remembering other ways Arjan had described what was done with these herbs.
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Liam had the right idea, generally, for how to make the bark work. Teas were the easiest to make, and they tended to work rather well. Nodding and looking over at Liam, Arjan grinned, "Yeah, I make \'em into a tea, prefferably w\'lots o\'mint or other herbs t\'make it taste better. Iffen the person\'s got a sore limb or sumthin, I can grind it up, and out it directy in or around a bad cut or bruise. That helps too. Y\'cin eat it iffen y\'want, but I\'d suggest not doing so. The stuff tastes aweful. And ye\'d not be yerself fer a while." He replied, chuckling as he handed moved away from the tree, handing Liam a knife.
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Liam returned the grin as Arjan confirmed that what he’d said was right. With his uncle if he’d suggested something like that, whether it was right or not, he would have got a smack around the head for even venturing a guess. He hesitated for a moment when Arjan offered him the knife before carefully taking it. Chewing lightly on his lower lip Liam moved closer to the tree and slowly peeled a bit of bark off, trying to do it like Arjan had been.
“So, when y’grind it up, is ‘at like what cha put on m’ cheek las’ nigh’?” he asked, glancing up at Arjan before returning his attention to what he was doing and carefully pulling the piece off bark off, using his fingers to pull off a few other little bits, although with no where near the ease that Arjan had used. He glanced up at the healer every now and again, checking that he was doing it right, not wanting to mess up on something that seemed so simple.
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Arjan was different. He liked talking to people, listening to them and their stories. Questions were always welcome in his mind. Especially on matter ssuch as this. That is, if he wanted to teach them. If he didn\'t want to teach his remidies, then he\'d go all coy and keep his secrets.
Looking over at the boy every once in a while, Arjan grinned. He was clumsy, bu then again, he was new. All in all, he appeared to be doing a rather decent job. Arjan would guide Liam a bit every once in a while, when the kid would gather to many in one spot, or he\'d go to deep into the pulp of the tree. "What I put on yer cheek las\' night was to fresh. It was jus\' some herbs ah chewed and spat on yer cheek. But th\'idea\'s th\'same. Iffen they was dried and ground up, it\'d\'a about th\'same." He explained, shrugging a bit. In Arjan\'s mind, what he did was very primitive compared to how he usually made salves. That was nothing but chewed herbs, like he said. When he actually made salves, as he\'d eventually show Liam, he\'d boil animal fats, and dried herbs until it made a thick paste.
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“So’s is it be’er when the’re dried or fresh?” Liam asked after frowning in concentration for a few moments after Arjan had corrected his technique and pointed out a better way to do it. He couldn’t help but think how useful this knowledge would have been to have years ago when his uncle had started beating him and Mia. They both had scars which could have used some care, mentally and physically although it had always been so much worse for his sister than himself. He had sat up so many nights with her in tears wishing he could south the marks their uncle’s belt had left on her body.
He took in a sharp breath as the knife slipped and cut his thumb, but he quickly stuck it in his mouth, sucking it hard as he picked at a few loose bits, leaving the knife for a moment as the stinging subsided. It was just a small cut, not even worth bothering about, he thought. Liam gave Arjan a sidelong glance, hoping he wouldn’t comment on his student’s clumsiness and quickly put in another question before the healer would have a chance to say much.
“So wha’ else d’y’need t’find t’day?” he asked, moving his gaze back to the tree and resuming using the knife, the familiar tang on blood on his tongue.
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"Not a\'ways. They\'re jus\' easier t\'handle mostly. Sometimes it\'s good t\'mash\'em up fresh, save th\'juices. But fer th\'most part, th\'dried ones\'re better. Iffen only \'cause they\'re easier t\'use." He explained simly as he continued cutting at the bark.
Watching Liam out of the corner of his eye, Arjan did notice the cut. However, he said nothing on the matter. the boy stuck it in his mouth immeaditly, which considering the size of the cut, would help. Unless the kid had problems with getting the bleeding to stop, Arjan saw no reason to intervene. Eventually, Arjan set his knife down as he gathered up any stray pieces of bark that he dropped. "I think that\'ll do us fer t\'day. Th\'morning\'s getting late. We gotta open up th\'shop." He explained as he started heading away from the tree, still smiling.
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Liam gave a small nod to show he understood as Arjan explained the pros and cons of fresh and dried ingredients and kept focused on his work, hoping he would be able to remember everything he was being told so that it might come in useful. This was definitely more interesting so far than roaming the streets praying he wouldn’t get picked up by the guards.
“Alright,” he said with some reluctance when the time came for them to return to the city. He glanced across at the healer again and couldn’t help but give a small smile at the happy look on Arjan’s face. He wasn’t sure if what he had been doing had caused it, but it was definitely a heck of a lot better than a smack around the head or the strap of a belt for every word or deed.
“D’y’ get lotsa folks comin’ int’ shop?” he asked as he handed back the knife and helped Arjan pick up the stray pieces before they began the walk back to the shop.
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Oh, Arjan enjoyed being around Liam, that much was certain, but that wasn\'t the only reason he was happy. It was a beautiful day, he was feeling good, and he had somebody to talk to. So long as he was feeling more or less alright, and didn\'t have anything to serious to do on a specific day, he was a happy person.
And there was still so much more for him to be doing today. He had to get those herbs dried out or processed, and he had to work on certain little mixes of his for the shop. He had to stock up on whatever he could ehenever he could.
"Well, it d\'pends on th\'time of th\' year." He explained, shrugging a bit. "Us\'ually I\'ll git a few people in th\'summer fer weak colds, an fer sick animals. But most\'o\'me business\' done in th\' winter an spring. Well, \'cept the assassination bits. Them come year \'round." He explained, grinning faintly.