Arumenic goes in one ear and out the other ( nasrin)

[Ximal]

32nd Fall 512AV

Xi'd just gotten off of work and was feeling pretty drained but he'd made sure to bring a few tools with him to learn what nas had to teach him. His movements were a little sluggish. A day of intensive labour had begun to take it's toll. and Xi had brought with him a blank book, a quill, and a vial of ink. Slowly trudging through the streets of the spires Xi looked more like a ragged scholar than a burly guard. yawning wide and rubbing the sleep from his eyes he drew close to the place where nas was staying. Taking another deep breath followed by a yawn He pulled up outside of the tavern. Nas was probably still here after all she hadn't said much about where else she might be. Xui tucked the book , the ink and the quill back into his ag and entered the tavern before shooting up the stairs to her room. He and her had agreed that they would start his lessons today and as such he was eager if a little tired to get them started. It also meant he'd be learning a new language. Arumenic. The strange language nas had slipped into when she'd begun getting delirious and when she was swearing at him the other day. Rapping on the door quickly with his right hand he awaited her to either ask him to come in or to open the door either way he was there if a little early.

[Nasrin]

Nasrin tapped her feet as she waited for Ximal to arrive for their scheduled lesson, busying herself with organizing her belongings in the meantime. She would be moving all of her items soon, as the construction of her home in The Spires was nearly complete. It would be a huge relief to get out of this cramped room and into a true house, where she had room to spread her work out and proper storage for her tools and materials. As it was, her items had been scattered to and fro through constant use, with not nearly enough shelves to store them. A few days before, she had acquired a few boxes to transport her belongings in, which she had padded with a few throwaway pieces of cloth from Ayana's work. When she was finished organizing she would place her delicate bottles in them and hope that the Jamoura builders and movers would be careful with them. She had so far grouped all of her herbs and bottles by scent type first, into floral, oriental, woody and fresh. She was just about to begin on sorting them within those groups by herbal use when she heard the rapping of a fist on her door, which could only come from Ximal, judging by the footsteps that accompanied them. She had learned by this point that Jamouran feet made very little noise on wooden floors, disconcerting considering their massive size. She was mildly surprised that he had arrived on time. "Don't stand out there, come in, you know you have appointment!" she called to him, bidding him to enter.

[Ximal]

Xi didnt have to stand outside of the room for long before hearing the voice of Nasrin bid him enter. He nodded t himself and opened the door slowly the almost too pungent smell of powerful fragrances burst over him like a wave. Not as striking as the first time he'd entered, but still very strong. Though that wasn't what caught his eye, no what did that was a set of boxes around the place. Was she planning on leaving ? or just trying to store her stuff away for later use? And then there was the labelling system, once again in a language he didn't understand, still he took a deep breath glancing around the room and being very careful with what he hd on him, gods only knew how much some of the stuff in here was worth and if he broke it, that dagger might find it's way to his throat. clearing his throat lightly he walked in. " I'm on time...I just got off of work...I brought some things with me as i didn't have time to get back and really put my stuff away." Xi walked over to nasrin somewhat cautiously the new bow of his still slung over his shoulder. A back pack at his side filled with books, parchment, quills and ink. Taking a deep breath and trying to stop his head from spinning he walked through the room. Using his left hand to sme what steady himself against the wall, the smells were getting to him, seeping into his brain and making him dizzy. Reaching nasrin he opened his mouth slowly and calmly to speak."Thanks for taking me as a student, and...If i may ask what are you going to teach me today ?" Would it be the herbs? Her language? Her job? What would she want to learn in return? All of these thoughts passed through his head as he sat down opposite the eypharian woman.

[Nasrin]

Nasrin chuckled to herself as Ximal tiptoed around the myriad of delicate bottles and instruments scattered pell mell about the room. He was such a large human, he ran the rick of being like a bull in a china shop. The thing most likely to knock her fragrances over was the frankly enormous bow slung across his back; a new addition? He hadn't had it last time they'd encountered each other. It was quite the impressive weapon, nearly as long as Nasrin was tall. She doubted she would even be able to draw it, should she try. She wondered if he had any training in the weapon; surely such a large bow was not meant for beginners, but then again it wasn't a subject she cared too much about. As long as he kept his oafish frame from damaging her goods, it mattered little. "Today, I teach you most common herbs. I teach names in my language, and uses." She had prepared a few bundles of greenery ahead of time, selecting a handful of herbs and flowers that were used most often in her work. She hoped that Ximal was able to read and write, as it would be much easier for him to learn if he took notes and read over them at home after the lesson. She was not at all a patient woman and had no desire to repeat herself during the next lesson. "Are you able to read? Write? Draw, even?"

[Ximal]

Xi placed his bag next to him and listend to what she spoke of, today he'd be learning the most basic and common herbs. And she was going to teach him the names in arumenic as well as the uses for the herbs. Xi watched her hands pick out a few handfuls of the flowers and herbs. Her attitude wasn't much better than the previous day but it was still somewhat lighter. Involuntarily yawning from tiredness he covered his mouth very quickly. So as not to offend her or make her think that she was being boring. Then her next question cam and smacked him up side the head. could he read and write. He slipped his hand into the bag at his side whilst speaking to her. "Yes i can read and write i even brought some supplies with me so i wouldn't have to request any." Pulling the blank book out of the bag and placing it on the desk, he also removed the ink vial and the quill from his bag. Writing onto the front of the blank book in large letters. Herbalism notes. Xi smiled lightly and opened the front cover to write, onto the first page. "Lesson One: Basic herbs, names and their uses. Dipping the quill back into the ink Xi awaited, further instruction from nasrin before putting any more quill to parchment.

[Nasrin]

Nasrin watched with mild interest as Ximal scribbled onto and into what appeared to be a blank book. Such things were rather valuable; perhaps he had more means than his scruffy, unkempt appearance implied. This could bear investigating later. She decided to begin with comfrey. She picked up the first bundle of fresh herbs, careful to handle them only with her upper hands, protected as they were by her gloves. "Comfrey." she began in Common, then repeated the word in Arumenic. It was a large-leafed plant with an odd, black turnip-like root, with small, cute bell-shaped flowers. This specimen had flowered a delightful shade of creamy purple. She brought it close to Ximal so that he could examine the plant in her hands as she explained its properties and uses. Gloved fingers ran across the broad, fuzzy leaves. "See this? Do not touch with bare skin. Hairs leave rash." To demonstrate, she rubbed one of the leaves across a tiny patch of skin on her arm. There was no immediate effect, but over the lesson, she knew a red, itchy patch would appear. She would then show Ximal how to treat that patch. "Comfrey used for mostly salve. Salve is plant, water, and fat mix. Salve go into skin, carries medicine into body. Comfrey salve used for sprain, bruise, pain in joints of elders."

[Ximal]

Xi began to watch nasrin with the herb. Lifting it in her hands and only her hands with the gloves on, so s to be careful not to damage the plant? Or to prevent the plant from damaging her? Still Xi listened. and watched her speak about the plant.Comfrey? Listening to her repeat the name in arumenic Xi wondered how he was going to write that down ? Still he used a little creativity. Comfrey. Comfrey. The spelling of the word may not have been the actual one but this was his solution to write the word how he thought it should be spelt. He watched her with the plant lifting it showing it and then listened to her explanations about it. the hairs left a rash and it was to be tuned into something called a salve. A mix of the herb water and fat. to be placed onto the skin, which then the medicine would seep into the skin. to be use for bruises slaves and joint pain. xi nodded and began to write down both a description fo the plant along with the uses of it beneath. Description: A large plant with large fuzzy leaves, a large bulbous root, almost black in colour. Small bell shaped flower heads. Thin-ish stem, long brown roots, small on total length. Flower heads are close to each other in small bunches. Easy to harvest by stand out light purple flower heads. Uses: Turned into a salve ( mix of fat, water and the plant.) The salve must then be placed onto the skin over the affected area, the water and the fat will allow the medicine to seep into the skin and do it's work. Often used to help wit the effects of join pain in older people, sprains, and bruises. He snapped his attention back to her using every faculty of his brain to try and lock onto her words, and listen extremely carefully so that he did not miss a single thing. Everything she said from now until the end of the lesson and even past was like to help him.

[Nasrin]

Nasrin moved briskly to her workspace, which was at the moment little more than a table that was a bit overrun with her bottles and plants. "I show you how to make salve. Very simple. Use depend on herb in preparation. Moisturizer, repel insects, heal bruises, salve used for many things. Easy to use, not messy like herb oil can be. But herb oil needed to make salve. I show you this first." She gathered the needed supplies into one area on the overworked table, showing them each to Ximal in turn. The first was a small bottle, tightly corked. She removed the stopped to hold the bottle out, so that he might view and smell the contents. The scent was strongly of olive fruit, with a slight hint of grassiness; this made it unsuitable as a carrier oil for her perfumery, so she did not keep much of it around. "Oil from olives. Good for salve. Must keep it away from air and light, goes bad easily." Briefly she held up the comfrey leaves, as he'd already been able to examine those closely. They would not be using the fresh leaves, though, so she had procured a half jar's worth of dried comfrey. "You should dry herb first before using. Use jar or bottle that seal tightly, fill halfway with herb." Slowly she took the container of olive oil and tipped it, filling the comfrey jar until it was just under the rim. She waited a moment as some air bubbles escaped from beneath the dried herbs, bubbling up to the top, and filled it a small amount more. "For three weeks at least, this must infuse. Each day, shake jar and be sure that oil covers top of herbs. Exposed plant can cause mold. Smell to make sure is not rancid."

[Ximal]

Xi watched nasrin move about her workspace rather abruptly swarming voer and around the many bottles and flasks that she needed for her work. Still though he listened to her words very carefully, she was going to teach him how to make a salve, it's used was dependant upon the herbs used init's construction. Moisturiser, what her heck was that ? An insect repellent, a bruise soother. and many other things. But clean in it's preparation and use not apparently like a herb oil....Xi still had little clue what she was on about listening intently to her words as she darted about. She showed him each fo the supplies that was needed starting with a small corked flask looking more like a small wine bottle than anything else. She uncorked it and then the smell wafted out into the air, a deep smell of olives and grass.Which to Xi was a welcome retreat from the foreign and rather obscure smells that hung around the room. The hit of simple smells were better than the heavily laden ones that he was trying his best not to choke on. An oil from olives. Good for slaves, and best kept away from light and air as it tends to rot easily. Then leaves, which looked like the ones of the herb he'd just examined, but dried and shrivelled. Watching her pour the oil over the leaves and filled the jar to just beneath the rim of it. Then a small amount of air bubbles raced to the to before bubbling out of the jar to be replaced with more oil. Her next words shocked him though. He'd have to wait three solid weeks for this to infuse. And he'd have to shake the jar every day and make sure that the oil covers the herbs. else it could go rancid if exposed. The next notes he made in his book, were the steps for making a salve. Ingredients, For A Salve. Number one, oil from olives. Easy base, absorbs properties from herbs easily. Number two, Dried herbs. The active item in the salve providing the effect desired. Step One: Place dried herbs into a jar and coat with the oil, make sure that herbn is fully submerged and then shake lightly to remove any air bubbles. Then top off with more oil. Step Two: Place jar out of light and air for three weeks shake every day of the for the three weeks smelling on occasion to make sure that the herbs have not gone rancid. If rancid start process again from beginning. Looking up from the book and placing the quill back into the vial of ink and looked back up to nasrin to make sure he didn't miss any of the information. That she was letting hi in on. This may just have been simple starting points for herbalism but it was more than Xi knew. And he didnt want to miss out on anything so he made sure to ask a few questions not too many that she'd get annoyed with him though. "What other herbs could you use in this oil? Would that flower...camomile work iin the oil ? Or would that be a bad decision? Also if it goes rancid how would it smell, or would it be a different colour, or would the mould be visible?

[Nasrin]

Nasrin waited, in a manner that was patient for her, but was not at all patient for any other person. She tapped her two right hands lightly on the table as Ximal scribbled in his book, the room quiet save for the scratch of his quill, the soft crackle of her fire, and the sound of her well groomed nails skittering on the wooden surface. She was about to open her mouth to complain about him taking so long when he suddenly spat out a barrage of questions. "What other herbs could you use in this oil? Would that flower...camomile work iin the oil ? Or would that be a bad decision? Also if it goes rancid how would it smell, or would it be a different colour, or would the mould be visible?" She simply stared blankly for a few moments, having to take time to process his questions in Common, translate them to Arumenic for herself, then think about the answers. This process was getting faster for her as she became more skilled at the language, but she was still nowhere near as quick as a native speaker of the tongue. "Most herbs can be used in oil from olives, but does not mean it is always best one. For chamomile, sweet almond oil be better, for scent. But must be careful, almond oil go bad easier. Must be kept in dark and cool. Rancid olive oil will smell of nuts gone bad, and when tasted, feels greasy in mouth, like butter. You know if salve has molded, will see white fuzz on top, or sometimes black."