Blood And Stone

Chapter 17: Yarrow Is Not Bloodroot

"Yarrow," Neri purred as she held up the small cluster of white flowers. Within the center of each small white flower, sat a yellow smaller looking flower that curled up on itself like a hug. Both parts of the flower were delicate and gave a sweet smell but the leaves looked different. The leaves were a darker green, reaching out from the stem like frayed fingers. To Lyric, they seemed to resemble small ferns but were much darker in color. The sweet-smelling flowers all sat atop thin, grayish-green colored stems and formed a slightly domed shape. It was a delightful little plant that Lyric could recall seeing placed in little flower arrangements around her master's home. His wife often loved to go on walks to find flowers to liven up the home and it seemed as though this plant was one of her favorites.

Neri sat back on her behind and smiled at the small plant, bringing it closer to Lyric for her inspection. "Yarrow has quite a few uses, one of the most important is its position in a poultice to stem bleeding. You can also make tea with it to help with headaches or a sour stomach." She spun the little plant in her fingers as she smiled.

Neri always smiled when she spoke about different plants you could find growing in the wild. Over the past several days, Neri and Brail had accompanied Lyric on her journey toward what would become her new home for an unknown amount of time. They spent most of their days walking alongside their horses, talking about plants and herbs. Neri knew quite a bit about the vegetation around them and was slowly teaching Lyric the most useful plants. She was learning about every kind of plant Neri could teach her, their uses ranging from medicinal to poisonous. So far, Lyric was enjoying this new plant the most. She thought it was interesting that a plant could do more than be pretty in a vase or spice up the flavor of food.

"Are the flowers always white?" Lyric asked, plucking a dome-shaped bundle to study up close.

"No. Sometimes they are yellow. Around these parts, you mostly find white ones. Sometimes the bundles of flowers are flat instead of curved at the top but, the flowers are always grouped like this." As she spoke, Neri picked a few more bundles and slipped them into the leather pouch that hung at her hip. She had been collecting all sorts of natural growing plants and berries as they went along, placing the helpful ones in the pouch while harmful ones went into the small canvas pouch that she kept on her horse's saddle. She had explained why it was crucial to keep them separated, telling Lyric that some of them could become dangerous just by touching the others. Almost the same as one could become sick from touching an ill person. It made sense to Lyric.

Brail stumbled out of some bushes a few feet ahead of the women and held up a small white flower. The huge grin that spread across his large face made his eyes light up like a child who had just received the best cake of his life. As she spent more time around the great oaf of a man, Lyric began to feel less animosity toward him. Though his speaking would have you believe otherwise, Brail was surprisingly a fairly intelligent man. Though he looked about as smart as a rock, he held a fair amount of knowledge in that dome.

He lifted the flower into the light and smiled at Neri. "Is this the bloodroot?" He asked, his eyes bright with smug satisfaction, believing he had found what it was Neri had sent him to find.

Lyric looked from him to Neri and waited. Neri let out a chuckle. "Wipe that look from your face. I said bloodwrot, not bloodroot. However, that is bloodroot." Brail looked at the little flower in his paw, his eyes looking confused. "Bring it here, it's poisonous." Brail let out a deep squeal and threw the flower at her, earning a round of laughter from both of the women.

"Why you laughing? Poison ain't funny!"

"No, but your scream was, little lass." Neri teased, pulling more laughter from Lyric. The top of Brail's head turned red as the tease hit the mark. Brail turned away from them both, exposing the rip in his britches as he pushed his large body off the ground. Laughter bubbled up once again, bringing more than just embarrassment into his eyes. The wound to his soul was written clearly on his face. Neri then did the unexpected and strode over to him, placing a kiss gently on his lips. "Come now, we were just having a laugh. Don't take it to heart."