Rhubarb Tartlet

kylar fritz

"Nip at the root," the tan herbalist instructed before leaning forward, her weight easing to the left while her right paw tucked up close to her chest. An ebon' muzzle wriggled as she nosed her way past the broad leaves and down to the thick, red stems of the rhubarb plant. "If you bite into the leaves, don't swallow," Kylar said, though her voice was partially muffled by the thick patch. Rhubarb appreciated acidic soil, and the evergreen nettles studding the ground by Mirror Lake happened to provide the perfect pH for growth. As such, the stems were thick as a wolf's foreleg. "Then just nip and lift." A moment later, there was a muffled snap and then a rustle of leaves as she hefted her prize and turned to look at her son.

Ruby eyes were bright and hopeful, for she hoped that Luca had paid attention. That said, she wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't. He was young and had enough energy to run around the continent and be back before dinner. As such, herbology wasn't his calling. But, Kylar still tried to make it exciting for him and his sisters. She'd make puppets from rutabagas and cabbage heads, playing out their medicinal purposes with high-pitched (albeit muffled) voices.

Granted, she wasn't sure how much good it had done.

But she was still eager to try, if only to keep her kids healthy in the garden. As a rule, she did not grow anything that was toxic for little mouths and bellies. It proved to be a pain when she had to venture far afield for a certain tonic or remedy, but it was worth keeping her pups safe. Her pups. The thought was still surreal but by gods, she was going to do it right.

She was going to raise them right. No favoritism, no judgment. She'd do everything so that her little ones did not turn out like her and... and Lucien.

@Luca

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Luca ⚜ fritz

He watched her at first. Her maw grabbed hold of the large plant, her words as tentative and agile as her jaws were. She gripped the plant and spoke some more, the words going from ear and out the other as all he could do was watch intently. It looked easy enough- just find the bottom and rip it from the ground. Don't swallow, she stated, but that was easy enough. Most of the plants didn't taste very good. His question wasn't really on the how it was done, but why. Why grab the root to begin with? Why bother with herbology? His head hadn't quite wrapped around the thought- but he didn't want to disappoint his mother. He stared at the plant, his interest waning as she plucked it easily from the ground. Thoughts seemed to dance between who invented the plucking to how many perished from eating the bad ones. It seemed risky, but eventually it became some sort of profession- one his mothers were very good at. She made it look so easy. What is this one for again?" He asked, making a point that he was paying attention even though the question itself was proof of his lack of it. Had he actually made an effort of it, he'd know the answer. But he was sure he had her tricked. Maybe she thought he would be a good student, another belonging to the college. He wasn't so sure, but he'd make it believable for her.

kylar fritz

He had paid attention? Kylar glanced down and tapped her good paw against the ground. Yup, still swallowed. A fissure hadn't opened up in the ground and split, sending her spiraling into Tartarus. Those ruby eyes, just like hers if she was being selfish, were actually paying attention. Maybe he had found some sort of passion recently, or perhaps it was just the mountain air, but he'd become far more studious in the recent months. As a pup, he'd barely been able to sit still, let alone tune in to a lesson on herbs. He had a miraculous skill, really, for turning off his ears when something boring or undesirable was spoken.

But he had listened and Kylar's tail wagged. Gently lowering the rhubarb stalk, her ears perked and she smiled. "It's for hurt tummies and belly aches," she began. "You know how the wounded soldiers would complain and complain when they first visited because they'd eat too much?" A phenomenon of their strict regiments and waning rations, she imagined. "Well this would soothe that so they could sleep right through the night and not wake you kids up."

Picking the stalk up again near the broadleaves, she turned her head so that the bitten end was facing her son. The red skin gave way to green flesh where it had been severed. "Go on, lick it!"

Though in truth, Kylar was feeling impish. Rhubarb was terribly sour unless taken with honey and diluted with water. But... she couldn't help herself.

@Luca

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