After a while the two made it to the Wildlands. "Honey, stay close. You never know what can sneak up on you around here." Kendall smiled and wrapped an arm around her father's arm. They walked out into the Wildlands and then when they were a good distance out Kendall's father stopped. "Okay, We need to head West." He looked out around the Wildlands and then back to his daughter. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Get out your compass?" She was not sure if her father had hit his head. Getting out a compass seemed to be the logical thing to do. He shook his head and handed a stick to Kendall. She held it in her hand and laughed. "A stick from an Oak Tree?" She was not sure why her father would just hand her stick randomly. She said the name of the tree in case he was trying to test her on her knowledge of trees but she did not think that was it. "Stick it in the ground." It seemed simple enough. A little too simple at that. She did not know why her father was making her do such a tedious task but she stuck the stick in the ground like he asked. "Okay... now what?" Her father smiled and pointed to the shadow that was stretching from the base of the stick. "We follow the direction of the shadow. Shadows always point west." Kendall looked down at the shadow and nodded. "That is really cool dad. I never knew that. I guess thats why you are the scholar and not me." Her father nodded with an air of fake cockiness and Kendall ran into his arms. "It means a lot that you would take me out here with you. I really appreciate you teaching me all of this nature stuff even if I pretend that I don't." He pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head. "I know kid. I'm glad you come out here with me too. I love this one on one time with you."
After a few chimes the pair stopped again. "Why are we stopping?" Kendall looked around to see if there were any animals or important plants. "I'm going to teach you about plants now." Kendall's father knelt down and plucked a plant out of the dirt. "This is Aloe, it is good for healing wounds and treating sunburns." Kendall nodded and took the plant in her hand. She tried to memorize what the plant looked like. A plant that could help heal wounds would come in handy. "It is important to remember with plants that although they can help you others can hurt you. A good amount are poisonous and they can hurt you in a number of ways. You can get poisoned either by ingestion, contact with the skin, or inhalation. You always have to be wary of where you are and what plants are around you. Even a touch from poison ivy can give you a nasty rash." Kendall nodded in understanding. This was a lot of new information but she welcomed it. "On the same note, everyone has a different level of resistance to the toxins in plants. On the same note, some people may be more sensitive to toxins in certain plants than others. Different plants have different levels of toxin due to where they are grown and how they are growing. Also with different plants a little poison can kill you while others need to have high levels of their pollen or juices in your body to hurt you." It was a lot to take in. When Kendall agreed to join her father in the Wildlands she did not think she would be learning so much. "Wow, this is so much. I'm glad you are teaching me about it though. Knowing me, I would end up eating something completely poisonous." Kendall was glad she was a student of Literature, she would have never been able to remember all the things that her father knew about the wilderness. "So is there anything I should avoid?" Her dad nodded and pointed to a patch of mushrooms. "It is always best to steer clear of all mushrooms. There are harmless mushrooms but it is far too tedious to try and figure out which ones are safe. Also, many poisonous mushrooms look almost exactly like safe mushrooms. It is just easier to avoid them all together. It is best to avoid any unnecessary contact with plants all together though. The less you touch plants the less of a chance you have of getting poisoned." Kendall, who had been fiddling with the leaves of a tree to her right let go of the leaves quickly after hearing this and wiped her hands off on the legs of her pants. "Well what can I eat then, in a survival situation that is?" Kendall was sure that her father was getting to that point but she hated to stay silent for so long. At least not when she was out in the Wildlands. Her father smiled and sat down on a stump. "Well there are some immediate signs that you should not eat the plants. Milky or discolored sap is one. Another is a three lead growth pattern. Thorns, hairs, and spines are obvious signs to stay away of course. Beans or bulbs inside pods show that the plant is toxic as well as grain heads with pink, purplish, or black spurs. A bitter or soapy taste can show that the plant is not good for eating. Of course if you can taste it then it is already to late to not eat it." He looked out at the plants around him as if he was searching for a certain one. "Kendall look for a tree with smooth grey bark and and dark green foliage. These trees are one of the easiest to spot. They are called Beech Trees." Kendall looked around trying to spot the tree that her father had pointed out. Even though her father said it would be easy to spot she was having difficulty finding it. Then she saw it, a streak of grey in a sea of green and brown. "Dad! I see it. It's the Beech Tree!" He looked around and patted Kendall on the back. "Good eye sweetie. Come, follow me." She did what she was told and followed her father to the foot of the tree. He reached up into the tree and pulled a spiked nut out of the tree. "This is a Beechnut. They are one of the most delicious wild nuts and are completely safe to eat. You can tell when you see one because of it's spiked shell." He pulled another from the tree and handed it to Kendall. "They look tough but all you need to do is wedge your fingernail into the shell and it should crack open. The white kernel is edible and quite sweet. Go ahead, try it." Kendall poked her finger through the shell of the nut and cracked it open. She was a bit hesitant to try the kernel but her father had said it was okay. She tentatively bit into it and chewed on the soft center. "It's actually not that bad." Her father shot her a playful glare. "Yeah, what did you think I'd do, poison you?"
