PM to join A Lesson in Foraging

[Baiya]

53rd of Winter, 520 AV

"Alright, gather around!"

The Hunter's Guild had been advertising for a few days that they would be hosting a free lesson on foraging. Now that the day had arrived and Baiya had found herself free of work, she had made her way to the edge of the city eagerly. Not only would it be a good chance to get in touch with her outdoorsy-side, but it would provide some much needed relaxation and social time as well.

Coming around to the side of the group, Baiya spotted the speakers. There were two; one was a redhead she presumed to be Liard and the other an older woman whom she recognized as Tess from her few encounters with the guild.

Tess held up a hand to quiet the small group gathered before her. "Now I'm going to assume that this is a beginner's course, by and large." She stated as she scanned the group. "So in order to come away with the least amount of casualties, we're going to go foraging for some easily identifiable things today."

There were scattered chuckles and none too few concerned murmurs. Tess ignored these and gestured to Liard to pass around what he was holding.

"Our first and main ingredient is stinging nettle. This one has been dried so it won't sting anymore, but the fresh ones will. Be careful! Make sure you commit to it and pinch hard when you grab them. Or use some cloth to cover your hands, if you're nervous.

"Anyway, look over the nettle and make sure you can identify it. It's going to be a pointed leaf with that heart-shaped indent on the base. And of course they have those tiny hairs- that's the big giveaway. The smaller, younger plants will have purple tints at the base of the leaves, too. Try and get the young ones if you can. They'll be softer and tastier once you boil them down."

Baiya handled the nettle gently when it was her turn. Despite being told it wouldn't sting anymore, the hairs were still visible and she found herself apprehensive of something called "stinging nettle". Nevertheless she felt the texture and gave it a sniff.

Smells like plant... She thought. She passed the nettle on to the next student.

"Our other fresh ingredient is wild onion," Liard announced. "Now I know you can't mess this one up. It's going to have a tall, onion stalk on top and it smells like onion. If it doesn't smell like onion, don't pick it. You put these together with some broth and whatever other veggies you want and you got yourself a soup. Any questions?"

After just a tick, Tess nodded to Liard to lead the group toward their destination.

"We'll be around, too, if you need help." He added. "If you're not sure, don't touch it. There are some dangerous plants out here."

As the group began their short move to the heavier foliaged areas near the base of the mountain, Baiya migrated to the edge of the group. It had been a long time since she'd left the city, and she wanted to take in as much of the view as possible.

The strange seasons (or lack thereof) had created a beautiful and eerily unfamiliar landscape. Flowers simultaneously attempted to bloom and died. Trees were bare of leaves and trying to fruit all at once. Certain plants had come up too soon and had been beaten back by winds and dry weather. She could only imagine what the crops must look like. Although a complete famine was far off, Baiya shivered at the mere idea.

No, that's what this is for. She tried to reassure herself. We'll be fine as long as we're careful. We'll be fine.

[Ari'Ellin]

Ari’Ellin had heard about the foraging lessons not long before they’d started, and so the past few chimes had consisted of her scrambling to grab everything that she might possibly need for a lesson in foraging, and then running out of her home, her bag slung over one shoulder as she ran from her home to the place where the lessons would be held.

Once she arrived there, she spent a few moments just catching her breath, and then listening to the woman and man that began speaking. She didn’t fully understand everything that they said, but the gist was there, and she could use what she knew to piece together what she assumed was the correct sentences, or at least ones that she understood.

From what she understood, the lessons would be focused on beginners to foraging, and at that she sigh in relief, glad to hear that they’d be looking for the easier plants. She’d always heard that there were a lot of plants that looked incredibly similar to one another, some even smelling and tasting almost identical until it was too late. Those plants scared her.

Shaking her head, she paid attention to the two that seemed to be their instructors, and she stood on her tiptoes as she noticed the man beginning to pass something around. She was impatient to wait her turn and instead did what she could to keep track of where the item was, still paying attention to the voice that was speaking, describing what was being passed around.

She’d heard of nettles before, but only really heard of how much of a pain they could be if you too close to them or even fell into them. She’d never really paid close enough attention to them, and now as she listened to the woman, she found herself nodding, a smile spreading across her face as the leaf reached her and she could see what the woman had meant.

She wanted to commit the leaf to memory and be able to confirm that whatever she found was definitely the right leaf, and so she spent time looking over the front and back of the leaf, before she breathed deeply, closing her eyes and trying to focus on her djed, willing it into her eyes before she opened them again, a grin on her face as she saw the faintly coloured aura around the leaf. It was less colourful than she’d expected, but then with the leaf being dried she was certain that that would explain it. Instead she paid attention to the colours themselves, looking at how they changed around certain parts of the plant, and once she was happy she nodded to herself, closing her eyes and passing the dried leaf on, before stopping her focus and opening her eyes again.

Whilst she’d been so focused on the nettle, she found that she had missed their instructors speaking about the second plant, and she was only able to recall the name that they had given. She could try to guess at wild onion, but she was half certain that despite the name there wouldn’t be a notable amount of similarities, and so she found herself swallowing nervously and shaking her head, half wanting to ask someone nearby, but also scared of being heard by the instructors and chastised for not paying attention.

Sighing to herself, she kept quiet, and soon they were in some of the tamer wilderness areas around the mountainous cities. It was daunting to her, being outside of the city proper, even if it was part of a group, Frowning to herself she tried to shake off her sense of unease, instead trying to focus on the bizarre view and the task of finding the plants that would be of use to them.

Deciding that she didn’t want to look on her own, she glanced around and her eyes landed on a young woman that appeared as though she would be the most approachable of the group. Inhaling and exhaling a few times, she walked closer to the woman, waving gently.

“Hello. We look together? Okay?” she questioned, before extending a hand as a greeting. “I Ari. Safer together, more fun, yes?” she tilted her head.

[Baiya]

Luckily, Baiya was rescued from her own thoughts shortly. Unfortunately, the idea was not entirely shaken; the woman who had addressed her was one missed meal away from "frail" being her best descriptor. This appearance combined with her lilted common gave an unmistakably exotic impression that had Baiya more than a little curious about her story.

So, Baiya accepted her outstretched hand and gave it a few shakes politely. "Yeah, that seems like a good idea. I'm Baiya," She replied.

As they neared the destination, clusters of people began to spread out in a small circle. There was the river off in the distance (though it wasn't nearly as noticeable as it usually was) while trees and bushes surrounded them on all sides. Gesturing to her new companion to follow, Baiya headed in the direction closer to the water. Even though foliage was sparser there, she reasoned that it would be easier to see if they were stepping in stinging bushes instead of wandering blindly and hurting their ankles.

"Have you ever done anything like this before?" She asked over her shoulder. "Like, foraging stuff? I haven't really and I'm kinda nervous. I've always wanted to start a garden if that counts, but I don't know if this is quite the same."

Baiya chuckled nervously. After a ticks' hesitation, she glanced back at the group. Most people had squatted down and were searching on the ground by moving rocks or leaf coverage out of the way. Liard and Tess were roving, giving careful pointers to anyone who got too overzealous in their search.

Following suit, Baiya knelt to the ground and slid her backpack off her shoulders to rest beside her. She had cleared it out for this purpose, but she hadn't thought to bring any kind of tools. Some people had knives or tools to clear away fallen branches or gloves for their hands. Feeling entirely unprepared and uncertain, she began to brush away at some dried dirt, as if food might be hiding just beneath the surface.

Recalling that onion would have a strong scent, she began searching out types of grass-like plants. Upon finding one, she broke a tiny piece off of the tip and gave it a cautious sniff. Met with an earthy scent, she tossed the piece over her shoulder, stood to find a new spot, and continued the cycle.

Being such a slow process, she found herself with plenty of time to chat with her new friend. "You're not from Lhavit, are you?"