Solo A Fresh Start

[Aidara]

Timestamp: 70th of Fall, 512 AV
Where:Wind Reach
Tagged: Aidara, solo.

It was Market Day and Addy braved the crush of the crowd with one goal in mind: Get some gear; more specifically, gear for Ash, her Sootwing Owl. The poor thing had been given hand me downs from Val and broken equipment that Addy had managed to fix (barely). It worked passingly well, but with her skills slowly improving and her charge quickly growing and becoming stronger, finally overcoming his injury, her makeshift equipment wouldn’t cut it for much longer.

Angling her path to cut directly across the Market, lest she get distracted from her original purpose by the shiny things in the other stalls. Winging Away, with it’s ornery owner Graven behind the desk, was within one of the central rings of the Market, where the higher end items were sold.

Stopping before the stall, Addy plunked down her little purse, the Pinions inside clinking happily against one another and waited for the shopkeeper to notice her presence. It was obvious that the man was going to take as long as possible finishing the line he was stitching onto a piece of leather but Addy simply rested her elbows on the flat wooden surface before her and waited, her chin cupped between her palms.

“Alright, what do you want?” Growling without turning around, Graven finished the stitching, tied it off and simply picked up the next in line. “I don’t got all day.”

Unphased, Addy smiled at the back of the old man’s head and began ticking things off on her fingers as she spoke. “ I need jesses, anklets, bells, a creance, a gauntlet, a leash, and lures.” Pausing for a moment as she went over the list in her head, checking for anything she’d forgotten, Addy nodded in satisfied conformation that she had not before adding, “Oh, all for a Sootwing, please.”

“An Owl?” Graven turned around and arched a skeptical brow at the little woman. “What good are they for bringing in food? Show birds, those are.” Setting the leathers he had been working on aside, yet making no attempt to mark down or retrieve anything that Addy had ordered, it was clear that she was expected to explain herself before he proceeded.

“Well, I had expected a hawk or a falcon but when I was out trying to capture my own bird, I happened upon the chick with a broken wing.” Glossing over the greater details, Addy shook her head and fiddled with the string on her purse. “So far it’s worked out well, now that his wing has healed up…” Not sure what else to say, or what exactly the old man was expecting her to prove, Addy trailed off and replaced her lack of words with another, bright smile. This was, eventually, going to be a transaction after all, and it had been quite a while since she had bargained for anything and well… anything helped.

Offering a single grunt as his only response, Graven took up his quill and began scribbling down the order, marking down sizes that Addy couldn’t understand, though she craned her neck to try and see. “Customization?” He growled.

A moment’s thought and Addy nodded in agreement. “Black leather, if you could, and carve little feathers and things into what you can. Oh, and his name “Ash” along the bottom, please. Do what you will with the rest of it, but use your best materials, please.”

A few scratches of his quill made note of this before the parchment was slid across the countertop. “Sign.” As she did so, Graven gathered a few things from behind the counter and passed a copy of the signed order list over to the small woman. “I will have it all ready in two days. Crafts Gallery.” Shaking his head when Addy reached for the her purse, pulling at the drawstring to open it, the old man waved a hand at her to stop. "Pay me when you pick it up."

Tucking the slip into the pouch, Addy smiled and slid a couple Pinions across the counter anyway, turning and flouncing away from the booth before the old man had an opportunity to protest. It had all gone better than she thought, and much easier as well. With her spirits high, Addy decided to take care of a couple more things while she was at the Market.

Mortar and Pestle was her next stop, smiling as she approached Miquel as he lounged behind the counter. The older man smiled at her, though his brow furrowed in confusion. "You know you don't have to tend the stall, right?" Her fellow healer knew her too well; more than once she had tried to slip into the Market stall after the Dek had finished setting it up, before anyone else got there, waving Keah and Miquel away when they tried to take the position from her.

"I have just as much duty to tend the mundane as you guys!" It was a familiar argument, Addy pitching her voice to the perfect whine even though a smile brightened her face. Miquel opened the side of the counter for her as she approached, but the little woman shook her head and took the position of a customer at the counter. "I'm here to purchase today."

Raising a brow, Miquel leaned forward in his stool and cante his head in slight confusion. "But... you know you can take from the Infirmary what you need, right?"

"Yes, yes I know." Waving an impatient hand, Addy pulled the journal she had started to fill a few nights before and passed it to the man. He took it with interest, flipping through a few pages before nodding in understanding. "I want to start herbalism on my own terms. I know we have enough Avora providing us with what we need but..." Leaning over the counter so she may point at journal pages, Addy flipped to the list of materials she needed and tapped a finger on the page. "This is what I need. I'm not going to just borrow long term from the Infirmary. That's not right. I'll take the Herbalism kit."

Rolling his eyes, Miquel set down the book and began to rifle through the different items he had piled around him. It took a few chimes, Addy watching with interest as her pile of purchases began to grow. By the time he was done, Miquel had laid out a mortar and pestle of fine, smooth white stone, clipping tools, a sharp knife, a large folded section of cheese cloth, a small metal brazier, a thin slab of stone the same color and texture as the mortar (Addy assumed this was the cutting board), a small kettle and an assortment of pots, containers and vials in which to store the herbs once she collected them.

"Whoa, that's way more than I expected." Passing Miquel her bag of Pinions so that he could collect from it the amount she owed, Addy flagged down one of the Dek that waited along the perimeter of the market. The young man came hurrying, dodging between the meandering shoppers before skidding to a halt at Addy's side. Miquel had passed her a large canvas bag and the two of them had piled the things inside before cinching the top closed. This was passed to the Dek, who cradled the bundle against his chest. "Bring this to Endal Aidara's aerie, please. And be gentle, there are breakables." As was her way, Addy covertly passed the Dek a single Pinion before he scampered on his way, wide eyed and shocked at her generosity as they all usually were.

"Why?" Miquel's question was simple, Addy understanding its origins as the older man's eyes tracked the retreating Dek's back.

"Because, one Pinion is nothing to me. To him, it's food. If it gets my stuff home intact and with nothing missing, it was worth it." Miquel nodded in agreement to the woman's logic, but Addy sighed anyway. "Too many times I've had bits and peices of whatever I sent back missing once I get there. If they can take something to barter for food, hoping that I won't remember their face..." Addy shrugged and took her journal and purse as Miquel passed it back to her. "I'm not trying to thwart the system, 'cause it works. But we might as well avoid unnecessary violence when we can, eh?"

Goodbyes were exchanged and Addy left her friend to tend the stall, heading towards the exit at the outermost ring of the Market. It was only at the last minute that she remembered a final purchase, stopping by Felicities Fabrics to obtain a measure of thin canvas, needles and strong, waterproof thread. Teabags were in order, of course.

The little healer left the Market clutching these, heading back towards her Aerie, completely intending on spending the rest of the day making little canvas bags.

[Aidara]

“Just… sit… still…” Wresting with the new equipment she had retrieved from Graven, Addy tried her best to handle the thing and approach Ash at the same time. While she had applied hoods and things before when working with Val, her little charge was not so used to the attention or the restraint. Though owls did not wear hoods like falcons and hawks, thanks to always being imprinted the covering of their eyes did nothing to calm the birds.

Ash screeched, causing the little Inarta to fall back clutching the ear that had been turned towards the owl. Wincing as the ringing refused to stop, Addy gave a quick shake of her head before approaching him again. All she had were the little leather anklets that went around either of his legs. The problem was getting them on and clasping the things closed before he shimmied away, all while keeping her eardrums intact.

Approaching him from a different side, Addy reached out and wrapped a gentle arm over the top of Ash’s back, holding his wings down to his side as before, her arms long enough that her hand curled around his front to cup his breast. She had gotten this far already before the little Sootwing had decided he wanted nothing to do with this. With the little strip of leather stretched between her fingers, Addy pressed the soft side down against his leg, quickly wrapping it around before Ash began to shift, lifting up the leg she was working on in an attempt to make the annoyance get away.

He had done this before, and Addy was ready for it. With the fingers of the hand wrapped around him, Addy grabbed his foot, warily avoiding his talons as they instinctively clenched and curled inwards, holding his leg in place so that she may clip the ingenious little metal clasps that Graven had added to each anklet. Reaching quickly for the little leather cover that wrapped around the section of the anklet with the metal, Addy slid the braided leather between the leg and the metal, sliding the ends into one another and tying it off.

Unaware that she had been holding her breath the whole time, Addy loosed a sigh as she freed Ash, a proud grin on her face as the little owl hopped and hooted, lifting his leg and moving it around, his new anklet spinning and moving but remaining firmly attached. “You’ll get used to it.” Moving back to the side that She had been originally trying to apply the anklet, Addy slipped an arm back over the distracted bird and started the process all over again. Ash was onto her this time, his leg darting up into the safety of his feathers even before Addy had an opportunity to reach for it. Petch the bird for being so smart.

Not wanting to hurt him, Addy felt carefully for the scaly skin of his leg from within the soft black feathers of his underside. When her fingers came in contact with the leg, Ash only tucked it up higher and tighter to him; pulling would only result in his injury. Sighing in frustration, Addy released the pressure she held on his back and against his wings, letting him free to hop as far away down his perch as he could, those baleful amber eyes watching her in their accusingly unblinking way.

Setting the unattached anklet down, Addy instead picked up the tiny bells she had made. They were no bigger than her thumbnail, thin strips of metal that had been curved around the little beads that would clang around inside and attached to a small clip at the top. The bells didn’t have any of the normal slits that allowed the sound to escape, mostly for Ash’s own safety in case he should catch his beak in the slit while preening; it was easy for a bird to damage it’s beak should it get seriously caught.

Wrapping her arm around his breast this time, turning so she faced his tail, Addy carefully felt around where his tail met the rest of him and the strong shafts of the tail feathers there. It only took a moment to locate one, Addy carefully grasping it and clipping the bell onto the shaft where it would sit securely while not hindering Ash’s flight. Of course, now his flight would be much less silent but more than once the little woman had feared the worst when she had been unable to find her charge. With his feathers as dark as the night itself, he could be sitting but a few feet away in a tree and Addy could spend bells looking for him.

Ash flicked his tail a few times, swiveling his head to look around at his tail with what seemed like mild curiosity. Addy held her breath, for Val had warned her that not all birds liked to have the bells clipped on their tail; some vastly preferred to have them strung around her neck or tied to their ankles. However, much to her luck, Ash seemed as if he could have cared less.

The bells themselves were small enough that they would only be heard when Ash was close; they would not ring through the stillness of the night and otherwise alert his prey to his presence. By the time any hapless creature would hear the bell, it would be too late anyway.

Heartened by the ease at which she had attached the bell, Addy picked up the leather anklet she had set aside before, quickly wrapping it around his leg while the little owl was distracted by the new decoration on his tail. Caught off guard and not expecting Addy to try again so soon, apparently, she had already clasped the little measure closure tight when the owl lifted his leg and tried to pull it out of her grasp. Having a firm grip on it already, this was a fruitless action. It took only a few moments more to secure the braided band that protected his little leg from chafing against the metal, and Addy stepped back away from Ash, leaving him free on his perch once more.

There was an affronted cock to his head as he watched the healer back away, almost as if asking, “how dare you?” Lifting her hands in innocence, Addy just watched as Ash ruffled his feathers, shook himself and hopped towards the end of his perch. Spreading his wings, the owl launched himself into the sky, clearly done with this whole ordeal, his passing mostly silent except for the cheery tinkle of the bell as she swooped past Addy and out of the aerie.

“I guess he’s done for now.” Chuckling softly to herself, Addy gathered up the rest of her new materials and stored them in the deep space they had placed in the wall, complete with a hinged door to close over the opening and protect whatever was put inside.

[Aidara]

The rain pounded against the resilient stone of the mountain, the storm relentless as it soaked everything and everyone inside Wind Reach. Lucky for Addy, she had been inside already when the storm clouds had rolled overhead from Thunder Bay, opening up almost immediately. Thunder shook the stones as lightening flashed directly overhead, cracking sharply as it struck harmlessly at the high peaks surrounding the city. It was going to be a bad one.

Having the day off from the Infirmary and with no Endal duties to catch up on, the little healer found herself, for the first time in a long time, bored. Sira and Natalie were both safely inside, her daughter flying into the aerie only moments before the storm broke overhead. Ash never flew out for long during the day and now, having returned from his angry exit only a few bells earlier, was settled on his perch, head tucked under his wing and sound asleep as he ignored everything going on around him. It was still only mid day but the sky had darkened to nearly black. Only those foolish enough not to know any better would be outside in this; them, or the Dek who had no choice but to brave the weather as they carried out the chores of their superiors Either way, Addy knew that she wouldn’t find anything outside of her Aerie to save her from the chore free day she suddenly found herself with.

It would have been great if she had any idea what to do with such a large block of free time. In fact, Addy couldn’t remember what she used to do all day before she became Endal. Sleep? Read? Aimlessly wander the city? None of that seemed very important anymore, nor was it very helpful to her current situation. Reading was out of the question, since all of the books she owned had been used nearly to deal; medical texts that she referenced often when she was learning. They would have to be recopied or rebound before she dared flip the pages again.

Pushing off from the wall where she observed the storm where the aerie opened to the sky, Addy gave Ash a passing stroke down his back, stepping into the common room and closing the aerie door behind her. The chill caught up with her then as the warmth of the rest of her home washed over her. Rubbing her arms vigorously, Addy went in search of her lover and her daughter; with any luck, they would be doing something fun she could occupy herself with. Already she felt the idleness creeping up on her. If she didn’t find something to do soon, she would be bouncing off the walls crazy.

When she finally managed to locate Sira and Natalie, Addy didn’t have the heart to wake them, both curled in the little girls bed beneath a pile of furs, Natalie’s favorite picture book open on the floor where it had fallen from Sira’s hand. Smiling softly and moving to pick up the book, Addy placed it back on the shelf and tucked them both in more securely before retreating and closing the door behind her. Alone in the common room save for the sleepy silence that permeated the place and wishing that she could join her family in a peaceful rest, the little healer knew that it would be pointless trying to sleep. Beyond pointless. She would have to occupy herself in other ways.

Rifling through the pack that she had brought back to the aerie after her last market day, Addy had pulled out the thin canvas that she had purchased. Turning the carefully folded square over in her hands, it took her only a moment to decide how exactly she was going to make what she had pictured in her mind. Locating her needle and thread took only a moment and a few chimes found her curled up in her favorite chair with a warm fur spread over her lap and the new canvas balanced on her knees. The journal from her most recent trip to the Enclave lay nearby, as well as the freshly copied books.

Flipping them open to the page about brewing tea, Addy ran her finger down the page until she found the place that she wanted. A diagram of reusable teabags took up most of the page, though it detailed clearly what she would have to do in order to make one for herself. It was this that the little healer studied for a few moments before turning to her materials.

[Aidara]

The first step was to cut the canvas into little squares no bigger than the width of her palm. Luckily, Addy had gathered this much from when she had skimmed the book earlier, having asked the stall owner to slice the canvas for her after she purchased it. A sweet smile and a pair of dimples really went a long way. However, she was left to slice the string she had also bought into manageable pieces all on her own.

Piling the little squares into neat stacks, Addy then folded them each in half so that their ends met up perfectly straight. This was important because notches were cut out of either corner of the canvas to make room for the string that would cinch the top together. Taking the first one in one hand, Addy slipped the length of string she had pre-cut just below the edge of one side of the canvas. Folding down the top edge and allowing the ends of the string to poke out from each side, Addy took her needle and thread and carefully sewed the flap down, trapping the string so long as she didn’t pull it out the end.

Satisfied with this handiwork, Addy carefully repeated the process for the other flap and then stitched down the sides as well. It was quick and easy, the ends of the strings tied to each other and the little canvas bag flipped inside out for the finished product. Admiring her new teabag, Addy tested the cinching of the strings a few times with moderate success; she would have to sew it closer next time for a tighter seal. But it would do for now.

Taking her brand new mortar and pestle, Addy took a bottle of tea leaves from her bag and shook a few into the bottom of the stone bowl. Normally, she would just stick the leaves whole into the heated water and allow it to steep that way, but the book had mentioned crushing the leaves for faster, more potent results.

Slamming the pestle down onto the little pile of leaves with adequate force, Addy worked to grind the leaves down into smaller and smaller pieces, stopping just before the resembled fine grains of sand; too small and they would slip through the threads of the canvas. With moment or two taken to remove the leaves, the little healer then dumped the mortars contents into her new bag, cinching the top closed over the crushed tealeaves.

Giving a the bag a good shake, Addy was dismayed to see a fine shower of the tea powder fall from her tea bag, liberally coating the fur on her lap. A hard exhale through her nose was all the frustration that Addy allowed herself to show- besides throwing the failed teabag across the room that is.

[Aidara]

With her fingers bloodied enough for one night, Addy decided to forgo fixing the canvas bags she had made to hold the tea. Had she been smart she would have made one and tested it before making all the others. Making more work for herself was not a new thing for the little healer who tended to do everything backwards. Luckily, she hadn’t used all of the dried and prepared herbs in her failed experiment.

Gently scooping out the crushed leaves out and placed them on a clean sheet of paper before retrieving the little pouch she had borrowed from Keah, containing tiny bottles of dried herbs that the healers had all agreed she was allowed to use in her studies. Each bottle was carefully labled and contained enough of either leaf, stem, or flower to create any kind of concoction she could imagine. Of course, there was still a lot of learning to do; She couldn’t even pronounce most of the names on the jars.

Setting them all in a neat row before her, Addy grabbed her journal and flipped from her tea making page to the one on tinctures. She remembered reading the exerpt in the Enclave and it had seemed like a relatively easy process. After what she considered and absolutely frustrating failure, the little healer needed something to boost her confidence.

First things first: she had to decide exactly what she was going to make. Was her concoction going to help fevers? Skin irritation? Hangovers? The last one made her smile, a small chuckle escaping as the phantom headache of many hangovers past came back to haunt her. If there was a cure for that, she would have found it by now.

Leaning down to examine her bottles again, Addy paused and snatched up the one labled “Mint”. This was an herb she was familiar with, many of the Inartans simply chewing on the bright green leaf to improve their breath. Having heard it called a miracle plant before, she decided it would be a good place to start. Perhaps if she could do this correctly, they would have one more thing in the infirmary to help with those complaining of stomach pains.

Pulling two glass jars from her pack, Addy placed those aside and grabbed a clean cloth to wipe out the inside of her morter with, trying to remove any remnants of the herb she had used previously. The text said that powered and whole leaf herbs could be used in a tincture, but it didn’t say anything about which was stronger. Logic told Addy that the crushed leaves would exctere more of their special healing properties but she would make two tinctures, one crushed and one not, just to check.

Wiping down the pestle as well, Addy balanced the moter on her knee and unscrewed the lid of the mint jar, pulling out two fresh leaves and dropping them into the jar on the left, two more dropped into the stone mortor. It took only a few moment s for the little woman to crush the plant into a fine consistency, the small particles not quite dust. Opening up the right jar, this was tipped into the bottom before the notebook was regarded once more.

“Oh, goddess.” The book had said that the herbs should fill the container with whole leaves or four ounces of powered, and the sad smattering of powered herb clearly wasn’t enough. Picking up the mortor again, Addy began to pulverize the mint with ardor, the steady clinking and clacking filling her silent aerie as she worked, the sound really was quite relaxing once she found her rhythm and was able to crush the leaves without the one or two that tried to escape up the side.

Luckily for her, the jars that she planted on making the tincture with wasn’t very big and once this second round of crushed herbs was tipped into the jar, the remaining leaves added to the other, both looked suitable to the books description. Next step: Alcohol.

Memories of laughter and wet slap of skin on skin flashed through the healers mind as she remembered the last time she’d had alcohol in the aerie; she and the feisty young woman that she had brought home had finished off the last of their store. With the storm outside, it would be impossible to go get more. Inclement Weather, despite its name, would not be open. Rubbing a hand over her eyes and growling in frustration, Addy leaned back in her chair and took a moment to think. She might have used up her alcohol, but it had been forever since she had seen Sira drink anything…

In a burst of action, Addy flew from her seat and raced light footed across the common room, stopping just before she entered their room before remembering that Sira was asleep with Natalie. Creeping forward nevertheless, Addy turned immediately to the dresser that both women stored their clothes in. Though she had never really tried to look for Sira’s things without permission before, hiding such substances was something that Addy herself would do and so it was what she assumed Sira would do as well.

Bryda and vinati were flung to the ground in a pile behind the young woman, heedless of the neat room she tried to keep in her desire to find what she needed. When all of the drawers were empty and with still no alcohol in hand, Addy turned instead to the pack that Sira had hung on the wall. This too was emptied to no avail.

Feeling the frustration building inside her, Addy tossed the pack onto the bed and looked around with her hands on her hips. Where would she put it? Perhaps she should go wake her, there wasn’t enough room in the bed with Natalie anyway…

Justifying what she was about to do, Addy scampered from her room, skidding across the smoothed stone floor as she sharply banked the corner. However, as it always was when she rushed, Addy lost her balance, feet flying out from under her as she skidded across the common room and into door of the nesting room with a loud thud. From the other side, Ash hooted sleepily while Addy groaned and rubbed her head.

It was as she picked herself up from the floor that she saw it, sitting on the table right next to where she had been only moments before. A big bottle of vodka, nearly full and glinting in the candlelight.

[Aidara]

“Well that would have been helpful to know ahead of time.” A small notation at the bottom of her notebook, scribbled in her tiny handwriting, Addy had marked that the container for the tincture should be ceramic or glass. Luckily, her jars were glass and so there was no problem to fix but… well, what if she had had to start over? That would have been annoying.

Having settled back down with the big bottle of alcohol, Addy pulled the two jars towards her and unscrewed the cap. A generous swig was taken for herself before the rest of it was poured into the containers. Both were filled to the very top and it nearly took the whole bottle. Hopefully Sira wouldn’t be mad.

Finishing off the final swallow herself, Addy took up the jars and their lids, screwing them as tightly closed as she could manage. They were dark of color, warped slightly on one side from where the glassblower hadn’t quite let them cool enough or had otherwise set them down too close to the furnace. Either way, they worked perfectly for her purposes and she had gotten them for free. Score.

Tilting each jar upsidedown to check for a good seal, Addy ran her finger down the page and looked for the next step. “Oh, of course.” She had jumped ahead, screwing the conainters closed before thoroughly mixing each tincture. Putting as much strength into it as she could, Addy managed to remove both of the covers and took up her glass stirring rod, or that’s what she was calling it anyway. It had been another mistake, the straight thin rod of glass with a flat paddle at the bottom was supposed to have stayed completely circular, but the glassblower had set something heavy down on the end when he wasn’t paying attention. Another score.

Making sure that all the bubbles were out of the concoction and that all of the particles were properly mixed in with the alcohol, Addy re-screwed on the lids, tested for leaks and set them aside. According to the book, she would have to wait at least eight days for the tincture to mature and be of any value. Rising from her seat, Addy moved around her aerie in search of a cool dark space (that was also out of reach of a certain curious Kelvic daughter) in which to store it. One such spot was found on an empty shelf above the bed in the room she shared with Sira. Once tucked away, Addy stood there for a second looking at her mixture. It had taken less time than she though. Now what was she supposed to do?

Sliding back into her spot, Addy picked up her notebook and flipped through a few pages until she stopped back on the page that detailed brewing herbal teas. Even if her bags were not quite right, it didn’t mean she couldn’t practice the brewing itself. After all the trouble with the homemade teabags, Addy felt as if she almost preferred to use the whole leaves in the tea anyhow, or at least letting the crushed bits sink freely to the bottom of the glass.

What she hadn’t realized before her research was exactly how many different herbs could be used in teas, and to what extent they could cure different ailments. Having just used it as a headache relief, Addy scanned the list that she had copied down with a new sense of wonder. Chamomile could relax and calm while Dandilon could actually help you pee! This one made Addy laugh until she thought of the many individuals who had visited her in the infirmary with a problem such as this, faces red with shame and embarrassment. This sobered the woman up immediately and she started back down the list. Hawthorn berry, Linden Flower, Spearment, Lemongrass, Orange, Clover, Lemon, Valerian root, Blackberry leave and many more could actually help a person sleep. It was here that Addy stopped, intrigued.

Not only had she been having a hard time sleeping, but Sira as well. They had both started visiting Chemar for help but… well, weren’t the natural approaches supposed to be the most healthy? Addy regarded the bottles lined before her again, plucking out the ones labeled Spearment, Linden, Hawtorn, Clover and Chamomile. Though her notes didn’t say exactly which was best mixed with which, she figured it was time to step out onto a limb and experiment.

The Spearmint was crushed first, a smell much stronger than the mint almost burning her nose as she pounded the little leaves into a powder. This was tipped onto the lid of a third jar that Addy hadn’t used for anything at all. Since all of the plants she planned on crushing were going into the same drink, Addy didn’t wipe out the mortor between uses, instead just reaching for the next bottle and plunking a few leaves into the bottom.

When all the chosen herbs had been crushed, not too finely but small enough that they could settle easily on the bottom of her mug, Addy went and heated her teapot over the fire, returning to her seat while she waited for it to whistle. As far as she knew, making the sleeping mixture was the same as making any other kind of tea; the potency depended upon what was included, how well they worked together and how much she used of each, but most importantly though, the tea had to be steeped correctly.

Three to five chimes was ideal, though Addy was unsure if the tea would become any more potent should it be left in longer. When her kettle whistled, Addy removed the pot, poured a generous amount of the boiling water into her big, clay mug and set it down before her. Gathering the crushed leaves, Addy plunked them into the bottom of the mug and stirred it gently with her stirring rod, watching as the water slowly changed colors as the herbs let go of her healing properties.

It took only a handful of chimes for the tea to be ready. When it was, Addy sipped it with a slight hesitancy; it only seemed fair that she test her experiments on herself but that didn't make the unknown any less unsettling. The first sip consisted only of pain; the water had been way too hot, searing her tongue and burning away the tastebuds there. The second sip a few chimes later, after a generous amount of air was blown onto the hot liquid, sent the little woman's nose wrinkling, her tongue stuck out from her mouth as she gagged and set the tea back down in front of her. With the alcohol gone, there was nothing to burn the bitter, acrid taste from her mouth. Whatever good the tea might do, it tasted terrible.

Honey might have sweetened the concoction but she was honey-less. Setting the disgusting tea aside, Addy picked up her newly copied book and cracked the cover open, starting on the first page of the Plants of Kalea. Perhaps the tea was strong than she had thought or she had finally worked herself to the edge, or maybe the tome was just that boring, but Addy only made it a few pages into the book before she was sound asleep

[Warhawk]

Aidara

Skills	Lore
+5 Herbalism	The Recipe for Aidara's sleeping Tea
+2 Falconry	The Pains of Dressing a Owl
+3 Socializing	The Determined Seeker of Achohol
+3 Sowing	N/A

Warhawk Thoughts

Another great thread Aidara! You have really mastered the writing form for Herbalism, you make it fun to read. I hope you enjoy the XP, and the lores

If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas please feel free to PM me or post in my office.