Flashback As the wind blows (Asterope)

[Surreal]

5th of Winter, 515 A.V.

The morning was an unusually early one for the Stormgrass Pavilion. They had stayed up well into the night celebrating the First Frost, but it was morning now, and there was work to do. Away from the tent city, they did not have the luxury of sleeping in. There was food to forage, clothes to mend, and animals to feed. Of course the Ankal’s wives were the first up shortly before the break of day. Nara, his first wife, got the fire started at the center of the tent before going out to milk the zibri, while Elia woke up her two young sons to go do some light foraging for the pot. It was then that Inyel awoke and took his spot by the fire. Nara soon returned to pour him a cup of herbal tea, before leaving the pavilion again to get what she needed for breakfast. Meanwhile Elia knelt down beside her husband to quietly chat with him.

Outside, everything was quiet save for the occasional giggle from the boys. After making sure the boys were keeping to the perimeter of the camp, Nara went to catch one of the chickens milling about. Theirs was a modest sized pavilion so it wasn’t hard to keep an eye on them even it weren’t for the web. With the large pavilion tent forming the head, there were also four smaller tents arrayed out in a rough oval to establish a secure area in the center for their livestock and wayward children. Beyond those tents there were also poles dug deep into the ground, with white strips tied to the top of them. These were the anchor points for the web that surrounded them, an extra layer of protection necessary in this harsh terrain. While the Stormgrass wasn’t a large pavilion, neither was it small. It had a cumulated a decent herd. This included their striders, a handful of Zibri, a couple of Seme, as well as a few goats and chickens. All of which tended to hang around a lean to that was constructed between the smaller tents to give the animals a break from the wind.

It didn’t take Nara long to take a chicken to the block, and start preparing it. As she plucked away the feathers in dense handfuls, she put them into a small sackcloth bag at her side. Then Elia emerged from the pavilion, heading for one of the smaller tents that was Asterope’s domain. “Let her sleep.” Nara called softly. Elia had no such tact. “There is much to do today, and little time to do it. Would you have fewer hands?” Elia spoke, her voice easily carrying across the yard. The boys quieted. Nara just favored her with a wizened smile. “Gapee, ohs tratche. Let her sleep, or have you forgotten how well we got along without her?” Elia breathed through her nose at that, but she moved away from the tent, on towards where the boys were foraging. Nara smiled to herself, and finished prepping the chicken.

When it was done, she put the chopped pieces into the pot to cook. Inyel was gone, probably off checking the webbing around the camp, so Nara covered the pot, and grabbed the bowl she’d set by the fire to warm up. It was just after dawn when Nara quietly entered Asterope’s tent, setting the bowl beside her. Beside the clotted cream, she unwrapped a swatch of linen from around a handful of dried curds. Then she left to go finish preparing breakfast for the Ankal.

The rest of the pavilion was stirring now, as cousins of Inyel prepared to go on a hunt, while his younger brother, Faru, got the herd together to go out grazing. With the children up, there was also laughter that could be heard in the yard while the women set up lines between the tents to dry their clothing. The weather was cool, and crisp with a strong chance of cloudy skies all day so they set up multiple lines to spread their clothing out as much as possible. Still smarting from earlier, Elia set one of the lines right across the entrance to Asterlope’s tent. There she hung the ankal’s underclothes and pants to dry before setting off to help out with the rest of the chores. Scarcely thirty chimes past dawn, a small group of men led by Inyel thundered out of the camp on the back of their striders. Then all was quiet except for the occasional bout of rambunctious from the children running between the tents, or the chatting of a few women huddled around the center of the camp.

[Asterope]

The sound of voices outside roused her. Aster opened her eyes, blinking until her vision came into focus. Waking up was still such a disorienting experience. She preferred not to sleep at all, if she could help it; but the nights hurt her heart, and sleep was an easy escape. Besides, her mortal form demanded it more often than not.

She lay curled up on her cot for a long moment, staring at the tent wall. It was going on two seasons since she'd found herself plunging out of the sky and into the ocean, two seasons since she'd met Inyel on that beach, naked and confused and covered in sand.

Two seasons since she'd lost everything.

She was tempted to just go back to sleep. But she could hear the voices of the pavilion outside, the children laughing, and she could see the sun shining through the fabric of the tent. She didn't know what time it was, but she knew it was well past time for any other member of the Stormgrass pavilion to be awake and busy. There was work to be done, and she'd signed up for that when she'd asked to stay with them. The last thing she wanted was to be a burden; besides, she had a feeling if she allowed herself to become that, then even kind as he was, Inyel wouldn't allow her to stay with them for long.

Exhaling a long sigh, Aster threw the blanket back and sat up, twisting left to right as she stretched. There were a few pops; the noises made her stomach turn. Just another reminder of the physical body she was now stuck in, no matter how ethereal and divine it might appear to mere mortals.

As she finished stretching, Aster noticed that breakfast had been left for her. A mixture of gratitude and guilt warred in her heart. She should have been up earlier to help. She didn't need the food either, not during the day; but it was difficult, she had found, to convince mortals that she did not require food quite the same way they did.

Sitting quietly on her cot, Aster ate the breakfast that had been left for her. She might not require it, but it was good food, and she did enjoy it. Once done, she set the bowl aside so that she could get ready to go join the pavilion and start her day.

Standing up, she dressed in the pants and shirt she had been given by Nara; she had to roll the legs of the linen pants up slightly as they were just a bit short on her, but she didn't particularly care. Scraping her pale fawn brown hair back into a loose bun to keep it out of her face, Aster pulled on her boots and then ducked out of the tent.

She blinked for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the outside light, nearly walking straight into a clothesline. She blinked at it in confusion, then stepped around it and out of its shade. The warmth of Syna's rays greeting her and gracing her skin was soothing; it made her forget the confusion of nearly walking into a clothing line set up right outside of her tent, in any case. Asterope took a moment to bask in the rays, face turned up towards the sun, before she turned away, back to the earthly responsibilities that awaited her.

She spotted Nara by the fire, and approached, dropping into a crouch beside where the older woman sat. "Good morning," she greeted, in halting Pavi; she'd already picked up some of the basics such as greetings from the time she'd spent with the Drykas, but she wasn't very good at it.

Switching back to Common in order not to embarrass herself, Aster continued. "I'm sorry I slept in. Thank you for breakfast." She was almost positive it was Nara who had bothered to leave the food for her; most of the others were too busy and didn't care enough for her to go out of their way for such things, which Aster understood.

"What needs to be done today?" Taking a look around camp, many of the morning chores already seemed done. Clothing was hung up to dry, breakfast had been cooked and served, and Inyel was nowhere to be seen. A slight smile, fleeting but genuine, crossed her face as she watched some of the children run by, screeching and laughing.

"The children seem to be keeping themselves busy, at the very least. Is there anything else I can help with?" She turned back to Nara, uncertain but genuine, waiting to see if she had something for Aster to do. Keeping busy was ideal; not only did it abate any guilt she felt for taking up resources and space in the pavilion, but it kept her mind busy and her darker thoughts at bay.

Her favourite thing, and the most engaging, was when Nara taught her about medicine or herbalism. If she was lucky perhaps they would need to go foraging for herbs, or concoct some herbal remedies; but she was fine with anything that required her to focus and keep her hands busy. Though she wasn't terribly good at mending clothes or cooking, she still did her best.

[Surreal]

Nara met her eyes, and smiled warmly. “Good morning mana” She said, setting aside the basket she had been weaving. “It was nothing, you will need your energy today.” Her eyes strayed towards the children. “One of the Zibri has had some trouble eating lately so we are going out for some yarrow and a few other things.”

The older woman stood up then and dusted off her knees from where she had knelt on the ground. “They are good kids. Are you ready to go now, or do you need to get something from your tent?” Nara asked as she grabbed a satchel to loop around her body. Then pushing some dirt across with her foot, she smothered the remains of the fire. If Asterlope didn’t need to get anything, she would lead her to the edge of the camp where she carefully bent over a stake there. After a chime she stood up, and made a small gesture for Asterope to follow.

“Yarrow is a white flower with a long green stalk. They tend to grow in clusters along the end of their stem with leaves that look like tiny branches. We usually have some on hand but Inyel had those ulcers for the past tenday.” Nara explained as they walked along the tall grass. As they strayed further from the camp, Nara stopped talking as much. Her steps slow, and measured. She was constantly peering around them as they walked, not just at the grass, but the sky as well.

It wasn’t much longer before she found a patch of yarrow growing amongst some dog grass. Nara smiled at the find, and sat on one leg beside the grass. Immediately she started grabbing handfuls of the Yarrow, cutting them off close to the base of the stem. “We will want the whole plant here, but this couch grass is nice as well. If you would pull them out by the root and pile them to one side, we can start trimming those roots next.”

As she moved, she inspected the flowers of the yarrow before stashing them in her satchel. “This is good yarrow. Healthy white petals, and strong leaves. What about that couch grass, are those roots mushy or firm when you squeeze them?” Nara asked in a quiet, low voice as she occasionally glanced up at the grass around them. Her body was tense, even as she conversed so casually.

Once she had finished with the yarrow she turned to help Asterope with the couch grass. After trimming off a handful of the roots she stood up and secured her satchel. “Couch grass is great for internal problems.” She said patting her stomach, unsure of the word to use in common. “Lets head back and get this drying before we go out again.”

[Asterope]

It sounded as if foraging was on the agenda for today; Aster perked up at that. Foraging she could do; it wasn't overly difficult, and she had Nara to guide her in finding the right plants, so there wasn't much that could go wrong.

Aster rose from her crouch, following Nara's cues, and hesitated. "I guess I should get my dagger. I'll be right back." She had never really used it, at least not for its purpose, but it might come in handy if they needed to cut plants. Besides, even if she didn't know how to use it, it was better to be armed when it came to the Sea of Grass, she had learned. "I'll be quick."

Dashing back into her tent quickly, Aster grabbed the dagger and slid it into her boot before meeting Nara back at the edge of the camp. She fell into step beside the older woman as Nara lead the way, listening intently as she described yarrow. Aster's gaze swept along the ground, looking for any of the white flowers on long stems that had been described to her.

She was so caught up in searching for the yarrow that she almost didn't catch the way Nara kept her gaze constantly moving around them, but she did notice. Realizing she had been so focused she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings, Aster took a moment to sweep her own gaze around, trying to be more mindful of her awareness as she returned to her search.

It was Nara who found the yarrow in the end anyway. Aster dropped into a crouch to peer more closely at the flowers, trying to remember them for future use. She reached for her own dagger as Nara began cutting the yarrow, then dropped her hand when Nara instead pointed to the thick, cushiony grass growing around it.

Dutifully, Aster took a large handful of the grass as near as the roots as she could and gave a gentle tug to test it, but the roots of the grass didn't budge. Rolling her sleeves up, she dug her fingers into the soil around the clump of grass to loosen it before grasping lower at the grass and twisting as she pulled, managing to free the clump with most of the roots intact.

The feeling of dirt beneath her fingernails was mildly annoying, but other than that, she didn't mind getting her hands dirty. It was almost soothing, and Aster found the feeling of sinking her fingers into the earth strangely comforting and grounding, reminding her of the physicality of the world around her. The scent of grass and soil filled her nose, and it wasn't unpleasant.

She set the clump of grass aside, glancing over to watch Nara continue cutting the yarrow as she started digging out a second clump of grass. "What is couch grass good for?" She asked, curiously, as her fingers pushed through the dirt to curl around the top section of the roots, tugging firmly until it loosened and came free.

Aster managed to get two more handfuls of grass pulled before Nara checked-in on her progress, asking about the roots. She hadn't been paying attention to that. Brushing some loose soil off her hands, Aster reached down and gently squeezed the roots of one of the clumps of grass she had dug up, her brow furrowing in concentration. "Seems pretty firm," she said after a moment.

Nara answered her question there, patting her stomach for emphasis or perhaps clarification, and Aster nodded. To compliment the yarrow then, most likely. That made sense, especially if it was for one of the animals. Gathering up her collection of couch grass, Aster stood to follow Nara back to camp.

"Nara, I've never asked," Aster said as they walked; without the distraction of searching for yarrow, she was more focused on keeping watch around them as well, occasionally glancing through the thick grass of the plains. "How long have you been working as an herbalist? You seem to know so much. It's..." Aster struggled for the right word. Intimidating?

"There's just so much to learn," she finally said. "I feel like I'll never know half as much as you do. But I want to be able to help people. Is that why you do this, too?" She was veering off-topic with that follow-up question; she had a bad habit of asking many questions, but she had learned that most of the pavilion didn't appreciate that, especially when they were busy. Nara was one of the few who put up with her constant questions.

As they approached camp again, Aster hefted the bundle of couch grass in her hand, beginning to absentmindedly brush remaining dirt off of the roots where the soil still clung to it. She wasn't sure how they were supposed to dry out grass; did they just get hung up like other herbs? "How are we going to dry this?" Aster asked, curiously, rubbing her thumb up and down one of the thick blades of grass. "And what else do we need to collect today?" These questions, at least, were on-topic and related to what they would be doing today.

[Surreal]

Nara smiled faintly as she relieved some memory from her youth. “A long time. Since I was a child I’ve foraged among the grass.” She said, holding her hand to a height just below her hip. “At first with my mother. Then my sisters. And then I took my children out onto the grass to teach them as well. Such is the way of things here.” Nara sounded a little more mellow as she said this but she quickly brightened when she looked over at Asterope.

“It is good you want to help people. Here on the grass, there is so much of what we do that is strictly for survival. For clan. For our people that there is often no emotion left for outsiders.” She paused, wringing her hands thoughtfully before looking straight ahead. “You though. Your story is different than the others. From the ones we have turned away. It seems the divine have put you in our path but for what reason, I cannot fathom. I am just glad that you have room in your heart for kindness and hope you keep that part of you wherever you go.” She said, glancing over at Aster again.

Fortunately they weren’t far from the camp which is why there had been no need for horses. There was still webbing laid here, which Nara had accessed before they ventured out into the grass to make sure the way was clear for them. Even so near to camp, there was always the chance for something dangerous to be lurking nearby.

Nara seemed pleased enough with the topic change. It was something she was well familiar with so she was able to push past the emotional moment over remembering her lost children. “We want to wash all of these then put half of them between a pair of hides to dry. The rest we will get boiling. The yarrow we will put between some hides as well to keep the flowers together and put them out in the sun so they’ll keep longer.” She said as she walked over to the side of the pavilion. There she set down her satchel and disappeared in side for a few ticks before emerging with a handful of hides that she laid out on the ground. “An later, we’re going to see if we can find anything to break a fever. Not that we have one to worry about now, but it is better to be prepared."

Taking off her waterskin, she grabbed a handful of the couch grass, carefully squeezing out some water over the roots before laying them across the small rabbit hide. Once she had gotten enough of them on it, she put another small hide over it while she let Aster clean the rest. Once she had returned from placing the small hides inside the pavilion she moved to stoke the fire. “The reason why I separated that couch grass was I plan on mixing it in with some curds we’ve got going later. They’re not quite ready yet so that will keep them till we’re ready to work them into the curd. If you wouldn’t mind, could you put the yarrow between the other hides and lay that out in a spot with plenty of sun?”

Nara got the fire going nice and hot, warming the water up to a steady boil before grabbing some of the couch grass. “Petch, I forgot my mortar and pestle. Could you grab that for me please?” She asked, miming a grinding motion with her hands and when Aster returned with it she folded the roots of the grass inside the bottom of the bowl. Then she sent the pestle through a few demonstrative swipes across the bottom of the bowl before handing it to Aster.

“We’re looking to just get the juice and pour that into the hot water. This will make a tea that we can make a treat with the yarrow with later for the Zibri. Also wouldn’t be half bad for you to take a swig of as well.” Nara said explaining as she went. Once Aster had poured the contents of the bowl inside the pot, Nara gently guided her over to where they had stored the Yarrow. “Now what kind of treat do you think with tempt a stubborn Zibri?”

[Asterope]

Here are your bright, shiny grades...
Enjoy!

Asterope

Skills

☀Observation +2
☀Socialization +2
☀Botany +1
☀Foraging +1
☀Wilderness Survival +1
☀Herbalism +1

Lores

☀The Stormgrass Pavilion: Modestly sized
☀Aster: Nights are difficult
☀Aster: Doesn't want to be a burden
☀Lore of adjusting to a physical body
☀Nara: Kind to Aster
☀Yarrow: Helps with ulcers and upset stomachs
☀Yarrow: White flower on a long green stalk, grows in clusters
☀Couch grass: Good for internal problems
☀Aster: Doesn't mind getting her hands dirty
☀Wilderness Survival: Important to be aware of your surroundings
☀Drykas: Dedicated to their own people above all else
☀Nara: Wants Aster to remain kind no matter where she goes
☀Yarrow: Can be made into tea

Thank you for your patience! As always, please don't forget to delete or edit your grading request in the queue. Otherwise, if you have any questions or concerns about your grades, then just PM me and let me know!