Dead Empress Backwater Heart on your sleeve like you've never been loved

Backdated to December 8th. Midday, for Archer only please! <3

She had taken note of the evident boredom the two boys had been plagued with since being grounded by Viorel for disobeying his orders, and thought she might take the opportunity to alleviate that boredom with something to challenge their young minds with. Clutched carefully in her jaws was a bundle of Hellebore and Yarrow she had grabbed from her medicine den, wrapped nicely in some broad leaves she had stored away for such occasions to make carrying her herbs around far more easily. It would be a bit of an impromptu lesson as she had not asked the boys if they even wanted to learn, but she could only assume they would do almost anything she offered.

Clover quickly arrived at their den, and set the bundle down at her paws. "Interested in learning something new today?" She called out from where she stood, peering at the mouth of the den for any sign of movement. Her nose told her at least one of the boys was inside the den, and so she sat back expectantly, waiting for a response. Learning about herbs and their uses may not be their definition of fun, but she was sure they wouldn't refuse her offer, given the alternative was laying about with nothing to do.

It had been a rough month, being grounded, but at least that was over now. Not that it made much difference; Archer still hadn't actually gone out to do anything. He felt like he was tiptoeing, not wanting to get into trouble again. He knew that as long as he didn't disobey Da it wasn't likely to happen, but he was still worried that some secret rule might be broken and he'll be back in trouble again.

Archer didn't usually lounge around the den too long after waking, but his late-night habits hadn't changed and as a result Archer slept late into the day. He was just debating whether or not it was time to get up or if he could sleep a little longer when Clover's voice drifted down. His ears flicked back and he squinted at the light of the den entrance in irritation. Whatever she had to teach, it was probably boring. She liked plants and talking to birds, after all.

Still, Archer was bored, and it wouldn't hurt to learn something. It might even be useful.

With a put-upon sigh and heavy eyeroll, Archer hauled himself to his feet, shook out his fur, and crawled out to meet the other mother. "Good morning," he said politely before eyeing the bundle of leaves at her feet.

Plants. As expected. She better not make him all smelly.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

A sigh emanated from within the den, and after a few moments the black and grey form of Archer appeared. "Good morning, Archer," Clover said with a smile as she sat back on her haunches. "Do you know where Eros is?" It'd be nice if she could teach both of them at the same time, but if the other boy was out exploring then at the very least she could give a lesson to Archer who may spread some of what he learned to his brother. She knew that herbs and healing wasn't always the most interesting topic to a lot of wolves, but to her it was the most interesting thing. There were so many uses for all the plants that she was always coming up with new ways to use them at their peak efficiency. But for this lesson she would keep everything simple.

She set a front paw down atop the bundle of leaves, but didn't open it just yet. "Don't worry, I won't take up your entire morning." She'd make it a quick lesson, just long enough that she could explain the uses of the two plants she had brought along, and some general knowledge that would also be helpful. Clover was aware that it could be a bit much to take in all at once, and so wanted to introduce him slowly to the concepts so as to not overwhelm him and make it a bad experience. "Thought we'd start with some basic plants today, used more for dealing with sicknesses than actual injuries." The latter was a bit more complex to deal with as depending on where the injury was, there were different ways of treating it. Sickness were a bit more simple, in that there was generally only a handful of ways to treat it.

As always, the other mother greeted him with a smile, and then asked after Eros. Archer shrugged; he didn't always know where his brother was, even if he did make an effort to find out shortly after he got up. Eros seemed to be a trouble magnet.

He stared up at Clover, not encouraged by her promise not to take up his entire morning. She was still expecting him to learn about plants. He nodded and looked down at the bundle under her paw as she spoke, sniffing towards them. They didn't seem quite as smelly as the one she'd rubbed all over Eros that one time. He wrinkled his nose at the memory.

"What kind of sickness?" he asked, looking back up in the pale face of his other siblings' mother. That would at least be helpful, even if he would just come get Clover if anyone needed healing.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

He didn't seem overjoyed at the prospect of sitting down to learn, but at least he hadn't shut her down and said no to the impromptu lesson. She offered an encouraging smile at his question, and quickly set to unwrapping the bundle to show him the Yarrow flowers and Hellebore stalks. "This one with the flowers is called Yarrow," she began, pointing to the flat, white flowers with a paw, "and when eaten is used for fevers, which is where you feel cold and shiver uncontrollably, to lessen the effects of nausea and infections from a cut or wound, help with any digestive problems, and even make it easier for a wolf to fall asleep if they're struggling." The Yarrow plant had a few other uses as well, but that required knowledge to make a poultice and apply it correctly, and Archer didn't need to know that unless he was curious enough to ask.

Clover then shifted her paw to the yellow-green stalks, tapping them lightly as she began to explain them in limited detail, "These stalks are called Hellebore, and they're used to also treat fever, as well as a headache which is where you have pain all over your head and skull, any various body aches and pains from when a wolf has a cold or other sickness, and also a specific sickness of the lungs where you have chest pain and a cough that brings up sticky globs, similar to the stuff that comes out of your nose when you're sick with a normal cold. This sickness is called pneumonia, and it doesn't happen often but it's pretty dangerous when it does." There were other uses for the Hellebore as well, but they were a bit too complex for someone with little knowledge to really understand, so she wouldn't explain those just yet.

She looked at him with an open and friendly expression, allowing him some time to think over what she said, and motioning with a paw to allow him to investigate the flowers and stalks closer if he so desired. "Would you like me to repeat anything, and do you have any questions?" There was more she wanted to tell him about, but she would do it in small bits so as to not overwhelm him too much.

Archer Valle

Archer listened patiently and even intently while Clover spoke, trying his best to remember all the information. If he was going to learn he might as well learn correctly and put it to use, assuming the chance ever arose where he might need that information. He looked hard at the yarrow while Clover was describing its uses and even gave it a good sniff to remember it by. It didn't smell amazing but the thought of eating it wasn't gross either.

And then she moved on to her other plant, Hellebore. Archer gave this one the same examination as he had the Yarrow while Clover explained its uses. At the mention of pneumonia, the pup looked up at the pale other mother, ears flicking back. "Sicknesses do that?" he asked, appalled. He hadn't known one could cough up sticky globs. "Where do the globs come from, if it's not like a normal cold?"

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

She was glad to see him tentatively sniffing at the Yarrow. Knowing what each plant smelled like was just as important as what they looked like, as sometimes they looked very similar to the point where what it smelled like was the best way to determine which was the correct one to use. Administering the wrong herb could be dangerous, fatal even if it was something not to be ingested. But she'd purposefully chosen these ones as it was a bit more difficult to accidentally poison someone with them.

He looked up at her as she explained more about pneumonia, and she had to take a moment to remember that they likely hadn't even been taught anything about that as the illness was only common during winter except for more extreme circumstances. So it was no wonder Archer had a bit of an incredulous expression on his face.

Clover nodded firmly at him. "Sicknesses of the lungs can, but those more of the body and stomach are very unlikely to cause such an extreme response." It would be important to remember the distinctions of different sicknesses and how they affected the body, but that was a bit more of a complex topic so she would hold off on explaining too much at once.

She thought more about his second question, taking time to figure out a way to explain it in a way he could easily understand. "When a wolf has a normal cold they usually have a bit of a cough and a runny nose from an infection in the throat and nose, but with pneumonia the infection has gotten into the lungs themselves, which results in thick sticky bits of mucus as the body tries to fight off the infection." That was about as simple as she could explain it while still making the explanation informative.

Archer Valle

Archer listened closely, horrified that a body could betray one like that. And yet he was... oddly fascinated. He peered at the herbs again. "And eating these can help with stuff like that?" he asked, poking the yarrow with one paw. "How does that work? It makes sense when eating something makes your tummy feel better or worse, but how does it fix your lungs?" He didn't like the idea of having to inhale bits of plant. He choked on his food when he breathed in at the wrong time; wouldn't it be the same thing with plants?

There was a lot more to plants than he'd thought.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

His questions reminded her of when she was younger, asking pretty much exactly those same questions. When she realised just how much herbs could be used to heal a wolf, her mind had been thoroughly exploded with imagining everything that was possible. "Yes, ingesting a herb can help with all sorts of problems, even if those aren't directly relating to the stomach," she said with a soft hum, trying to think once more on how to make it easier for him to understand with his limited knowledge of how the body worked.

"In the case of Hellebore fixing the lungs, when it is eaten and digested in our stomachs, it is absorbed into our body via that digestion, much like how eating food helps you grow big and strong. Then it is able to fix the infection in the lungs by helping you to cough it all out." Clover hoped that would be enough for him to understand. "Different plants target specific areas of our bodies, and Hellebore is good for the lungs as well as reducing your overall body temperature if you have a fever."

She then turned her attention to the Yarrow, once again motioning to it with a forepaw. "When Yarrow is absorbed into the body it can directly act on the stomach to make you feel less sick, but it can also help with sleep issues by targeting the brain and making you feel more sleepy."

Archer Valle

Archer listened, his eyes shifting from Clover to the herbs as she talked about them. He mused over the idea of the plants helping someone's lungs; he supposed it made sense, since eating did make him feel better in more ways than just making him less hungry. Eating made Eros less grumpy. He slowly nodded. "I think I understand," he said. "Things enter our bodies when we eat them, and even though they go to our stomach they don't stay there?" Archer glanced up at the other mother. "Our tummies make it so things can get into our blood, and our blood takes things to other places." It was a strange concept, and he didn't fully understand, but he was getting there, he thought. What did it matter if he understood how something worked so long as he understood that it did work? He could figure out the how later.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.