Dragoncrest Cliffs Get Well

hope this is okay!! <3 backdated so it's set in early feb!

Today, Lorelai sought out @Erzulie. She'd gotten the information needed to deliver her babies - and that time was approaching so swiftly that the poor girl didn't know what to do with herself - and now she needed to know how to care for those who got sick, or injured. She would be Sacrarium's first healer and pup-sitter, after all.

ofc! <3

lorelai. erzulie greeted the woman with a chuff, turning a pleasant look upon the youthful mother-to-be. "in aroun' two weeks we should be leavin' here for sacrarium. you will want to deliver de babes t'ere, an' travel is harder de more pregnant you are."
she paused. "ask me questions an' i will have answers for you."

Lorelai nodded at Erzulie's words; the whelps in her belly were growing restless, just like their mother. She sighed softly, then shifted to a more comfortable laying position. "What do I do when someone gets hurt? I don't know about any herbs..." There was still so much for her to learn - was there even enough time? She looked to Erzulie, cerulean gaze wide with worry.

"dat be dependin' on what happened to dem. if it be a shallow woun', clean it wit goldenseal or yarrow. bein' close to de sea means dat you have many kinds of kelp."
the woman turned and led lorelai toward her medicine stores. there she showed the young woman the long length of fresh purple kelp she had collected, along with a strip of drying green, and powdered purple besides.
"wrap de woun' wid kelp. as it dries, it tightens."
"if it be deep, use your tongue first an' then seawater, if you have it. you want such woun's to be clean before you put anyt'ing onto dem. comfrey is good; it grows wild in de spring."
the woman paused, looking to lorelai to see that she understood.

Would it be okay to assume that over the last month-ish IC, Erzulie will have taught Lorelai about this stuff? Just so she has all the knowledge she needs to succeed and thrive! <3

Lorelai listened intently as Erzulie spoke - she truly was hanging onto every word, grateful that her nightmares had been leaving her be so far. She followed the older woman to where she kept her medicine, all the while trying to gauge the distance from Sacrarium and the sea - it had to be at least ten miles, if not more. That would be easy to get, once she had her puppies. Lorelai nodded, telling Erzulie, "I understand. So... That purple stuff is the comfrey? What other herbs should I look out for?"

absolutely! also assume that erz has taught her to fish and hunt on the shoreline in case that knowledge would be useful to sacrarium :D

"this is all kelp. two kinds, green an' purple. comfrey grows where dere be sand or clay. you should be aware of what plants ease pain. dere be de wide red flowers of poppy, which grows in open places near water. dere be chamomile, little yellow an' white flowers; look for dem in meadows." another pause to ensure lorelai was following. "chamomile is best given to mot'ers two weeks before birt'. it makes for an easier labour. poppy can kill. use it very sparingly an' only for de most grievous woun's."

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Thank you! <3

Lorelai listened carefully; it was a lot of information to take in, but she reminded herself that she had a whole month to learn. Privately, she hoped she really wouldn't need this information - she'd never really tended to wounds before. Luka had been the one to tend to her when she'd harmed herself in the past. Exhaling softly, Lorelai refocused. She'd seen poppy and chamomile before, and some even grew right in Sacrarium. Looking to Erzulie, she voiced a question that had been bothering her for some time now. "Are there any herbs to help with visions? To stop them, I mean..." She had mentioned this to the Seawoman before, but she elaborated, "I see things that no one else sees, usually people, and they talk to me..." Her voice trailed off and she murmured emotionally, "It's - it's really scary sometimes... I'm so worried my babies will have them, too..."

erzulie hummed for a low moment. "a low dose of poppy would dull you. but i am afraid you cannot take it while you be pregnant an' nursin'." she smiled encouragingly. "an' poppy be addictive. do you have someone in sacrarium who might help you ration dem?"
poor girl, to be so plagued. the seawife was quiet for a second, and then: "do you believe in de gods? spirits?" she asked quietly, studying lorelai's lovely face.

Lorelai thought, then she settled for the Vicera herself. "Violante would help me, I know she would." But to take something addicting? She worried about taking something so strong. She frowned, and then even deeper as Erzulie asked about gods and spirits. Lorelai pondered this for several long moments, then eventually answered, "Well... well daddy's dead... and I see him a lot. Hear him, too. So... maybe it's his spirit?" But then, what about those voices, or the visions, of the living? "Can living spirits talk, too, or just the dead ones?"

"any spirits may talk. but i was taught dat dere be special ones which guard de worl' of de dead, so dat you must ask dem first before you seek to speak wid de dead." lorelai had apt questions. erzulie was somewhat disappointed that the girl would not be staying to learn more.
"your father, do he speak wid de voice you know? or ano'ter one? do he bring you fright, lorelai?" the obsidian asked softly, testing a theory.

Lorelai's past had been rough to say the least, and she didn't like to think or talk about it if she could help it. Her upbringing had been very rocky to say the least. Her mother had been sick, just as Lorelai was - and that was exactly how her family had talked about it. It was an illness, it meant something was wrong with her. But what Erzulie was saying contradicted what she'd been told - and it made her curious to hear more. At Erzulie's questions, the young woman nodded meekly. "He sounds the same... he looks..." she had to pause, to think; whenever he appeared, she closed her eyes. But she remembered him vividly. "The same scars on his face... he looks... younger than when he died, but not much..." She swallowed, then added in a whisper, "He was always scary. I don't know what's scarier - him how he was, or... how I see him now..."

a flick of her ears given; she shook her head. "do not fear de dead if you be meant to see dem, lorelai. you will see many of dem in your life. the fright will leave you." she paused.
"it might be dat he meaning to pass on a message. if he comes to you again, tifi, ask him what he means to tell you."
the obsidian offered a quick smile.

Tysm for the thread Ebony <3 It seems like a good place to end. I'm definitely going to explore Lorelai as a spiritualist for a bit thanks to this!

Lorelai nodded, though her ears angled back uncertainly. She would try her best, the next time one came on; she'd been lucky, and had not experienced any in quite some time. It was also a lot of information to take in, and the girl was feeling tapped out for the day. Smiling timidly, she said, "I will, but I think I've learned enough for one day... can we do more tomorrow?" She knew the art of healing started with memorizing all of these herbs, and it would take her some time until she felt comfortable actually using them, but it was enough, for now.

of course! <3 i will archive! cant wait to see what she does!

erzulie smiled. "of course. you rest an' eat. i will be here to teach again when you be ready."
for herself, she would go to the sea's welcoming embrace.
touching the younger woman's shoulder gently, the obsidian moved away, allowing lorelai the respite of her own den for a time.