totally great on all counts!
mahler was just inside. the cave was a wide cleft. the sides were earthen, lined with carefully dug shelves upon which all manner of leaf-wrapped bundles had been placed. the more delicate things were kept deeper inside the pharmacy, away from light.
"guten morgen," mahler greeted, looking up to find ålesund standing there. "i thought ve could begin vith basic identification." he motioned the younger wolf closer.
the words that first greeted him were unfamiliar, but that did not stop Ålesund from attempting to mumble them back. poorly, of course.
with that out of the way he shuffled closer to get a better look at both man and herbs. shelves with carefully tended to items.
oh?
his curiosity already bubbled up some through his tiredness.
what am i identifying?
he watched thoughtfully as Mahler set right out to start their process. one bundle opened up to expose what seemed to be crushed up leaves. hesitantly he leaned in to sniff at them. only to pull back into himself from the sudden strong scent in his nose.
chew, press, sticky paste.
he mumbled with a nod before Mahler moved on.
this time Ålesund would be the one to open the bundle.
he was delicate. easy when he was already so small and dainty in movements. when the bundle was opened, he was faced with...something.
chunks of something golden and earthy. he had not one idea what they could be. still he kept his eyes fixed upon them as he asked.
what's this for?
comfrey leaves — chew, press, sticky paste.
goldenseal root — he was informed to do the same thing. chew, press, paste.
the he opened another bundle. slippery elm bark. this one was different despite being one of the basics he needed to learn. use water and not just his own saliva. one to help with the dirt from open cuts.
softly he moved his lips as he mumbled the information back to himself when Mahler was not supplying new information.
like the chamomile. the sweetly scented buds were tantalizing but he listened closely. another thing to make a paste with for irritation in the injury or...a tea. he was not blind to the fact that another bundle waited but he did have a thoughtful question first.
tea? how do you make that?
warm water.
he wondered then if tea might be best in the summer and springs. admittedly his knowledge of where warm water could be found was limited, but he could learn, he could explore.
eyes bounced from the clump of moss back to Mahler. another small nod.
what's next?
he did as told and was greeted with a brilliant orange hue. although he did feel some...mild panic at the news that Mahler shared.
how much is...too much?
he peered closely at the arnica. the scents of it bloomed in his nose. a lump in this throat built as he stared down the dried flowers.
oh.
that was...such a small amount to use. he immediately hoped he never had to use it. at least until he was not more advance in his knowledge.
a welcomed distraction came in the way of having to present skill now. he had not thought he would actually use anything on his first day but Mahler was kind enough to dump his wealth of knowledge into poor Ålesund.
okay.
he steadied himself with a deep breath. he figured his best bet was to use his mouth. no dangerous side effects had been warned of. perhaps on his tongue it might ooze some of its relaxing properties into him.
delicately he took a head of chamomile into his mouth. gently rolled it around on his tongue as he mentally reminded himself to not eat it. then gnashed it between his molars, his saliva mixing with the ground chamomile to make the start of a paste.
in a few moments more, he would be able to smooth it against the roof of his mouth and his tongue, to open his jaws and present the paste to Mahler.
the boy did laugh at that, a sound he had not made in some time.
although it was more of a croak due to the fact he held his mouth open for inspection of the paste. which he worked to try and push off his tongue onto the provided leaf.
i would like that.
he answered softly with a mouth still slightly coated in leftover paste and some tiny grits of chamomile between his teeth.
did i do good?
while his teacher drank, he'd rinse his mouth out, drinking some of the chamomile down into his system. little fear of it as compared to the arnica that he had been taught about.
there would be comfort found in the things Mahler said. both the praise and invitation.
i would like that.
some subdued eagerness in his features as he looked towards the older man.