Completed [Stormhold Salves] - Ruffled Feathers (Oriah)

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others

She couldn't help the sigh that left her as the Benshira went on her little bout. She felt a pang of regret hit her, soothing the feeling by reminding herself that Oriah would have probably found the place on her own. Probably. Maybe. She shot her another frown as she squared herself infront of the variety of herbs. Hommos for how it aided with stomach and throat pain, botanol for all its little wonders, tolm was another basic and as was bon'mur.

She lifted her gaze after its short fall, and raised an eyebrow at how things were becoming, even more so when Oriah claimed that she would be forever indebted to her. When the last question came, she was downright confused. "What? Why?" Part of her wanted to answer the question, if only to see where it lead - the other part of her wanted to just frown and stare at her for a while yet. "Yes, as much I like women." She said finally, gaining her composure after the question settled in her mind.

Was there some cultural norm with Benshira such that they didn't seem to care about asking ridiculously personal questions? "And the place I mentioned is The Herald's Arm. Its mainly a brothel, though drugs can be purchased." As the words left her lips, she pressed them, and hoped for dear life that Oriah wouldn't begin asking questions about how she knew of the place.

[Oriah]

So they do have a brothel around these parts, was Oriah's first thought. Her second was spent lingering on how Altaira had phrased her answer. As much? Did that mean she equally liked them or could care less about either? The Benshira see-sawed between the two possibilities for a while, then gave up altogether. It didn't matter, her proposal would still stand the same.

"Why? Because I have a proposal," Oriah declared amiably. "To show my gratitude for your secret help in you-know-what--and perhaps a teeny, tiny lesson on these herbs you're about to sell me--I can show you a special move that will catch any man's attention, guaranteed. "

She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Or woman's. Works on both, if they've got the right inclinations. All up to whether you want to learn it or not."

Crack, crack. Oriah stretched her neck on both sides and rolled her shoulders, as if warming up for some fantastical feat. She hopped a little on one foot, then the other, careful to keep another ridiculous grin off her face but unable to hide the excitement in her eyes.

"It's actually more of a dance maneuver," she explained, her breathing showing no noticeable change despite her impromptu warm up, "but it can be used virtually any time, any place. Very convenient, especially if you're feeling bored and in need of a bit of engaging company. What do you say? Want to give it a go?"

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others

Dance? What? Altaira opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't quite figure out how she what it was she wished to say. If the Benshira wanted to learn a thing or two about herbalism, it wasn't such a great ask that some sort of exchange was required - unless she wanted to learn far more than simple basics, that was.

A smile cracked her otherwise vaguely pissed off visage, and she nodded slowly. Was there any reason not to? She took a slow few steps towards the bulk of the store, giving the room a good look over. From what she could tell, no one had thus entered since she began her lovely little chat with the woman, doubly thankful as she had neglected to ensure that there were no prying eyes or ears when talk f drugs and brothels began. As much as she was willing to give what ever it was Oriah had in mind, she would not get caught in the act. But a little background information before she fell too deep would help, wouldn't?

"Dance? I don't see why not," She said, removing her cloak as she, too, lumbered up a little bit. "Is it some kind of cultural genre or style, something more common... or perhaps the kind of thing you'd find in a brothel?" Hey, if she was going to be learning the kind of thing usually performed in a place of escorts, she at least wanted to know first.

She didn't bother waiting for a response, immediately moving to take a stand beside Oriah, a gesture as to say that she was ready to begin.

[Oriah]

Oriah watched anxiously as the woman's face first wore a look of confusion, then consideration. She was surprised when Altaira removed her cloak and moved to stand beside the Benshira. Most civilized folk tended to be painfully unwilling to put themselves at risk of embarrassment, and being made to dance or sing was not usually an honest laborer's strong suit.

But, this woman seemed different. Good. That meant they could skip all the tedious cajoling and get right to the meat of things.

"Excellent," Oriah clapped. "So, this maneuver is, in fact, a cultural style, and really quite simple."

She thought for a moment. "I suppose, for this particular move, it would acceptable to be used discretely in a brothel. But since most of Benshira arts are connected with worshiping Yahal, I'd advise one not to try, should one be tempted."

Oriah gave a little grin at that last statement before focusing straight ahead, settling into the serious mode of her profession. "So the first thing you do is drop something on the ground. I know this seems odd, but it will look something like this." The Benshira loosened a coin from her pouch and casually dropped it on the ground. "And after you bend to pick it up, you roll up with the curve of your spine. Like this."

She peeled the coin back from the floor and, with her knees only slightly bent, began to straighten her spine. Except, instead of a straightforward rise to a fully erect position, she let her right shoulder lead, leaning it ever so slightly forward. Everything else--chest, stomach, waist--followed smoothly in a sort of undulating wave. Not too exaggerated, but just enough to make the simple gesture look elegant and sensual.

"See? Not so much attention grabbing, but more like attention luring. Now, I'll show it to you step by step." [/color]

Oriah dropped an imaginary coin this time. "Step one, hesitate for just half a tick--not too short so that no one notices, but not too long so some overly chivalrous fellow will pick it up for you. Step two, bend to pick it up, one foot in front of the other, left hand on your left thigh, but keep your knees a little bent and give your rump a little bit of perk."

She demonstrated the first two steps slowly, exaggerating the perk and not giving a fig if anyone outside was looking in. "Step three, start to roll up once you've retrieved the fallen object. Except, you want to lead with one of your shoulders. Imagine your shoulder making making a large semi-circle as you rise, and let the rest of your body follow suit in a subtle wave. And, finally, step five, smolder a little."

Oriah completed the rest of the steps one by one, then gave a little hop to reset her position. "Okay, now you try!"

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others | oocWhen I first started reading it I was like 'Wait, is this the Bend-and-Snap?' XD

Altaira thought through the steps several times over, mulling of the actions before a rather bemused sigh left her. She outright decided that she'd skip the 'smolder' step, and let her eyes concentrate on the floor for a moment. "Ok..." she began, expression drawn in slight confusion. She very well knew what to do, the question was how to do it.

She quickly found herself tilting her head before glancing at Oriah, moving her body to mimic what she thought was the correct stance. For realism's sake, she fetched a copper miza from her pocket, and laid it on the floor, before verbally couching herself through the moment. "So you bend... and roll...?" Ok, there was no way it looked that hard. She brought herself up, the roll was rather... unique - to say the least. She had the fluidity down, thank the Gods' for her kelvic blood, just none of the correct actual movements.

"That was wrong." She scolded herself, dropping the coin and starting again. She bent her knees the slightest bit, rested her hands as close as to what she could recall as correct, and took it painfully slow. She was careful as she lead with her shoulder, such concentration shown upon her expression, and she was able to properly follow through until halfway. "What? No. Wrong," she said, sighing and dropping the coin. Third time lucky, she thought, able to manage the bulk of the move basically correct. What in Gods' names had she done the first time? The second and third goes themselves were slow and exaggerated, but at least she didn't look confused, and writhing like salted leech.

She was more confident the fourth time around, managing to tone down the amount of excessive movement a little bit, and even throwing Oriah a funny look when she was done. "This little maneuver is doing a brilliant job of reminding me why I work behind a counter, and not on one." She tossed up whether or not she'd like to try it a fifth time, narrowing her eyes at the Benshira. Altaira had managed to successfully tune out the entire world as a means to overcome the possible embarrassment caused by her actions, and couldn't help the narrowing of her gaze towards who she hoped was her only observer, now that she was letting it all back in again.

[Oriah]

Oriah grinned as her temporary student went through the various steps, correcting herself over and over again. All the better that she did. It made the Benshira's job that much easier. Every now and then though, the dancer would still interject a few remarks, suggesting a different angle here or more fluidity there. By the time the Kelvic had gone through all the moves a handful of times, she more or less had the hang of it.

At Altaira's final comment, Oriah burst out laughing. "Well, I suppose that is one way to put it. Though, honestly, you're doing quite well for being put on the spot," she admitted cheerfully.

Oriah patted the herbalist heartily on the shoulder. "You're a good student, to say the least. Most people give up on their first try, whining about how silly they must look. As I always like to say, you can't be good at something if you weren't awful at it first!"

Granted, she continued in her own head, there were certainly instances of people picking things up right away. Geniuses, as some liked to call them. Or god touched, as others preferred. Oriah believed in none of that shyke. Talented as a person might start out, there was nothing in this world that could take the place of practice and experience. No one ever gained anything without suffering first, as was preached often in Yahal's name, and those who did would only pay double the price later.

The Benshira blinked, hauling herself out of her own drowning in a sea of irrelevant thoughts. She turned to Altaira, her eyes alight with enthusiasm, and asked, "So, would it be safe to say it is my turn now to become the student for a while?"

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others | oocGah, I am so sorry for the delay! D: Christmas has been crazy on my end!

She felt the usual grasp of pride and arrogance hit her, and she was quick to slander and shrug off the feeling. She wouldn't let her head grow so large that she was blind to her own faults, nor think herself better than any. She quite simply wouldn't have it. Oriah words brought her back to the world, and she was almost overwhelmed by the sudden rush of thought and feeling. Tuning out the world when she needed to hear it most - another thing she'd need to work on. "Right," She said finally, her breath leaving her in a solid exhale as she returned to the counter.

She have the Benshira a hard look, biting her lip as she tried to place which 'teaching' method would perhaps work best. She knew herself that her own kin couldn't learn from a book to save their life, and her dear little friend Millicent was one who seemed to thrive in any situation - but what of Oriah? She pressed her lips and debated for a moment more, before deciding to go with all. "To begin with, there are three types of uses, I suppose you could call them. Infusions are when you pour water that has been brought to a boil either over plants, or add plants to boiled water, such as teas. Then you have decoction, which is when you boil the plant matter from start to finish - leaves, stems, root -" She gave a dismissive gesture, akin to speaking the words et cetera, "and then there is also maceration, which is when oil is used for the soaking of the herb or plant, usually for quite the amount of time."

She raised an eyebrow at Oriah, unsure as to how the knowledge was sitting. Another thing that had her interested peaked was in what way the knowledge she was to say could be used. Was it aimed at small, general uses, or was it perhaps to be used in accompaniment to wilderness survival? "Identification is another major component," she continued, before seeking a leaf of tolm. "Here," She began, moving far closer to Oriah, extending a hand with the plant on display. "Notice the shape of the leaf, and its texture? And its smell - smell is key. This is tolm, it aids with muscle pain and brings sleep easier."

She nodded thrice to herself, ensuring that she was recalling correctly. It'd be rather embarrassing to misidentify a plant or herb when giving a mini lesson, now, wouldn't it?

*EDIT: Going back, I felt that the definitions given were too alike that of the lore. I had changed and reworded them, but not enough for my liking in retrospect .

[Oriah]

As Altaira dove into the explanations of basic herbalism, Oriah was overwhelmed at first with the flood of information. She hadn't been prepared for so many details to be sorted through; she'd simply assumed it would be a matter of "this plant doing these things" and "those do that."

But the Benshira did not panick. Instead, she picked out key words and linked them with basic descriptors, letting her mind get a feel for the concepts rather than focusing too much on the specifics. Infusions, decoction, maceration. Teas, boil, oil. It wasn't the most precise education, but it gave her the basic idea. At least now, she would be able to differentiate between the three methods.

The next part was much more suited to her style of learning. Altaira moved closer and extended a hand, showing her the tolm leaf. Leaning in on the little plant, Oriah studied its shape, stroked its surface with a finger, and sniffed. Goodness, the scent was strong! Hard to forget, that one was.

"Muscle pain, sleep easier," Oriah repeated after her tutor. She beamed up at the Kelvic. "I think I got it! What of the others? Do they have strong smells too? I quite like smelling them."

Oriah enjoyed smells. Growing up in the deserts meant there wasn't much variety to be had in...well, just about everything. That was a large part of the reason why she enjoyed her travels so much, even if it was harsh and grueling. The way things changed, differed, surprised--she couldn't soak up enough of it. Sometimes, she felt like a person who had been trapped in a cave for years, finally escaping to return to a world full of color, sounds, and tastes, where she could drink in the sunlight and take her pick of endless options.

Of course, admist all the freedom of choice, there was also as ample opportunity for doing ill as there was for doing good. Fortunately, sampling a bit of scented herbs was as innocent an endeavor as they come. That is, so long as said herbs weren't loaded with certain side effects that would lead to certain, bad decisions...

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others

Altaira nodded, smiling shortly. It seemed like Oriah leaned more towards her own side of the learning triangle. She took a glance back towards what she had collected, and sought the small bag of Hommos blossoms, not bothering to hide the fact that she was reading from the small, hand written card tied around the neck of the container. "Hommos," she said, placing the Tolm on the counter, point blank refusing to sell a herb that she'd poked and prodded. She gave a small giggle as she took out one the leaves, nodding shortly to see that it was fresh. "This is one of those plants of many uses," She took a hard look at the label, running her eyes over the words several times over as she made sense of the letters and took in the words.

"Used fresh, it makes a good tea for stomach pains, as well as a nice little soak to have with a bath for the same purpose. It's also," She threw a short look back to the bag, hoping that her memory could be brought back by the short look. After another little instant she returned her gaze, nodding thrice to herself. "A good gargle for sore throats, and an incense if you purchase the leaves dried by macerating." Right, that sound right? She shook her worries an brought the bloom closer to Oriah, giggling slightly. "I'm not too familiar with this sweet little thing - its a little out of my depth. Though the blossom is blue and smell rather weak and not really distinguishable." She offered the plant to Oriah, more than happy to be in a situation where she could exercise her knowledge, however limited it may be.

She let her own excitment get the better of her, and quickly returned to grab another herb, this time collecting a small batanol leaf, just as fresh as the Hommos. "You'll like the smell of this one," she mused, taking a quick whiff for herself. "Batanol, it is brilliant to cook with as well as to turn into a tea and sooth upset insides. It's one of my own personal favourites." She handed over the leaf, but not before running a finger over its round edge. "Leaf shape and scent are the easiest tells."

*EDIT: One little error meant that an entire sentence made little sense -_- Changed the word to what it should be.

[Oriah]

Oriah noticed how the shopkeeper's mood improved infinitely, now that she was engaged in what was clearly a great passion, and the Benshira herself could not help but be swept along with the enthusiasm.

She nodded as Altaira presented to her a couple different plants. The first was Hommos, whose description the Kelvic read off a label of sorts. Good tea for stomach pains, a nice soak for baths, and a effective for sore throats. Well, and an incense as well if macerated! A multi-talented plant, this one was, Oriah thought to herself. When the bloom was offered up, she took a whiff and agreed the smell was almost nonexistant.

Gripped with excitement, Altaira picked a different herb almost immediately and returned with something called Batanol. An herb that could be used to cook with or turned into teas for soothing internal discomfort. Uses, so many uses. Oriah felt the sudden impulse to buy all the herbs in the store. It seemed like if she had a bit of everything, she wouldn't suffer ever again.

A whiff of the Batanol, however, distracted her from such ridiculous thoughts. Altaira had handed over the leaf, and Oriah mimicked her, running a finger along its rounded edges, before bringing it close to her nose and breathing in deeply.

"It's lovely," she said after a few more sniffs. "How did you come to know so much about all these plants?"