07-27-2018, 05:00 PM
[align=center][div style="width: 500px; padding: 10px; height: auto; overflow: auto;"][div style="width: 400px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"]sage. he wasn’t quite sure what the word meant, but the lady from the other day was talking about it. she spoke of some sort of tryouts, and how one only needed to find three herbs from the jungle to be considered for a ‘sage’ position. it sounded easy enough. his mother had taught him the function of a few herbs, and though he could never quite get the names right, he’d always been interested in helping others.
once rosemary had finished explaining, the child slowly approached, taking the too big purse in his mouth and wandering off into the jungle. junji was young; perhaps too young to be doing this on his own, but if the result was the opportunity for him to help and serve others, then he didn’t care. he only wanted to care for those that could not care for themselves. surely this was the way to be good for his mother.
he was quiet as he went on, holding his head high as to not let the sack drag on the ground. little paws carried him gingerly through the undergrowth. from time to time he would pause, set the sack down, lift his muzzle to the air and breath in the scents around him. the forest was thick, filled with all sorts of things he had never smelled before. it was confusing, disorienting, but he continued forth. he didn’t want to fail this. he just wanted to help.
as junji padded on, he thought of his past. he thought of when his father had returned home one day, covered in deep slashes and bleeding. he’d watched mother tend to the wounds. she’d asked for his help; no matter how bitter the taste, he was to take the golden plants at her side and chew them up for her. the herbs were disgusting; sour and awful, but he kept chewing, because if he stopped, father would surely die. the golden plants, when he was finished chewing them, were smeared over the wounds after the bleeding had stopped. junji could vaguely remember his mother calling them some sort of ‘rod’ when she was trying to explain their purpose to him. it didn’t make much sense to him at the time, but he knew now to look for the yellow, rod-looking plant.
it took him some time to find it, having not known where to look. eventually the forest opened up into a meadow, rich in color, and among all of the flowers he found the herb. brilliant and golden in the mid-afternoon sun, junji went straight for it, moving just as fast as his little legs could take him. he set the sack gently on the ground. pink nose lifted to sniff at the plant, then just to further make sure he was right about it, the child took a bite out of the herb and chewed it up. it was just as bitter and disgusting as he remembered; this was definitely the right plant. with a small, proud smile, junji collected a piece of the goldenrod and put it into the leather purse, tightening the strings before he moved on.
in the same meadow he could faintly smell poppy. he remembered often being soothed to sleep with the seeds, his mother’s soothing words in his ears, calming him into rest. he had never been a deep sleeper, not since father had left and not come back. he disappeared into the sky with a powerful beat of his enormous wings, and never even looked back. junji had often stayed up late into the night, ocean eyes watching the stars, hoping to see any sign or notion that his father was coming back. he never did. a soft frown tugged at his lips at the memory, and with a longing glance at the sky, he moved on to find the red flowers.
junji happened across them rather quickly. there were a lot of them growing in this meadow, spread out all around it. the flowers were small and delicate looking; after a few minutes of peering at them, the child realized he didn’t know how to get the seeds out. that didn’t matter, did it? as long as he knew the seeds were there and he knew their function, he would be fine, he was sure. he grabbed a few of the small flowers and set them gingerly into the sack, then continued his search. only one more to go.
as he wandered around the island, sniffing at various plants as he went, another memory came to him. he’d eaten something a bit foul one day and ended up curled in his bed, crying softly in pain. his stomach cramped and ached horribly, but his mother assured that everything would be alright if he ate this plant. it was strange looking, with a bulbous lavender bloom and fuzzy leaves. 'watermint,' she told him. 'i promise, darling, it will make you feel better.' he ate it reluctantly, scowled at the strange taste, and settled down. it didn’t help right away—it never did—but eventually his bellyache went away.
watermint. the name hinted that it grew around water, and they were on an island, surrounded by ocean. yet, after an hour of looking, he found nothing. junji plopped down by the water with a frown, wondering where he could have gone wrong. it didn’t make sense. if it grew by the water, there should have been watermint everywhere, but there wasn’t. the child padded slowly through the sand for a while, kicking at it, until he came across a pathway to a second, smaller island. one he hadn’t seen yet. ears perked in excitement, and as he knew his time was drawing short, he scampered across the isle and into the smaller forest.
water hung in the air, making his trip through this island a bit more uncomfortable, but he took it as a sign that he was on the right track. the child wandered quickly, passing a strange, small building, before he came upon a grove surrounded by willow trees, with a pool of water clearer than the surrounding ocean settled between them. he set his leather purse beside one of the trees and skittered down to the water, padding around the crystalline pond, until his eyes locked on to the herb he was searching for. it seemed his lucky day; with his heart bursting in his chest, he collected a good amount of the watermint, placed it into his bag, and set off to find rosemary again.
the little feline waddled proudly to the beach where the head soothsayer sat, and placed his bag down at her paws. junji opened it and placed its contents on the sand, and after making them look pretty, he plopped himself down and looked to the ocelot with a tired, but warm smile. he gestured to each herb as he spoke, doing his best to use the right words in their explanation.
"this is, mm, goldenrod." he murmured, sounding a bit unsure of the name, but going with it anyway. "it’s good to heal wounds. you chew it, then put it on the cut."
the child moved his gaze to the next herb. "poppy. its seeds help you sleep, but… i don’t know how to get them." he spoke a bit sheepishly, sparing a slightly nervous glance up at the soothsayer, before he moved to the last one.
"watermint," junji murmured. "for bellyaches. you gotta eat it." he finished with a hopeful smile, gleaming ocean eyes turning up to rosemary’s face.
"did i do good?"
once rosemary had finished explaining, the child slowly approached, taking the too big purse in his mouth and wandering off into the jungle. junji was young; perhaps too young to be doing this on his own, but if the result was the opportunity for him to help and serve others, then he didn’t care. he only wanted to care for those that could not care for themselves. surely this was the way to be good for his mother.
he was quiet as he went on, holding his head high as to not let the sack drag on the ground. little paws carried him gingerly through the undergrowth. from time to time he would pause, set the sack down, lift his muzzle to the air and breath in the scents around him. the forest was thick, filled with all sorts of things he had never smelled before. it was confusing, disorienting, but he continued forth. he didn’t want to fail this. he just wanted to help.
as junji padded on, he thought of his past. he thought of when his father had returned home one day, covered in deep slashes and bleeding. he’d watched mother tend to the wounds. she’d asked for his help; no matter how bitter the taste, he was to take the golden plants at her side and chew them up for her. the herbs were disgusting; sour and awful, but he kept chewing, because if he stopped, father would surely die. the golden plants, when he was finished chewing them, were smeared over the wounds after the bleeding had stopped. junji could vaguely remember his mother calling them some sort of ‘rod’ when she was trying to explain their purpose to him. it didn’t make much sense to him at the time, but he knew now to look for the yellow, rod-looking plant.
it took him some time to find it, having not known where to look. eventually the forest opened up into a meadow, rich in color, and among all of the flowers he found the herb. brilliant and golden in the mid-afternoon sun, junji went straight for it, moving just as fast as his little legs could take him. he set the sack gently on the ground. pink nose lifted to sniff at the plant, then just to further make sure he was right about it, the child took a bite out of the herb and chewed it up. it was just as bitter and disgusting as he remembered; this was definitely the right plant. with a small, proud smile, junji collected a piece of the goldenrod and put it into the leather purse, tightening the strings before he moved on.
in the same meadow he could faintly smell poppy. he remembered often being soothed to sleep with the seeds, his mother’s soothing words in his ears, calming him into rest. he had never been a deep sleeper, not since father had left and not come back. he disappeared into the sky with a powerful beat of his enormous wings, and never even looked back. junji had often stayed up late into the night, ocean eyes watching the stars, hoping to see any sign or notion that his father was coming back. he never did. a soft frown tugged at his lips at the memory, and with a longing glance at the sky, he moved on to find the red flowers.
junji happened across them rather quickly. there were a lot of them growing in this meadow, spread out all around it. the flowers were small and delicate looking; after a few minutes of peering at them, the child realized he didn’t know how to get the seeds out. that didn’t matter, did it? as long as he knew the seeds were there and he knew their function, he would be fine, he was sure. he grabbed a few of the small flowers and set them gingerly into the sack, then continued his search. only one more to go.
as he wandered around the island, sniffing at various plants as he went, another memory came to him. he’d eaten something a bit foul one day and ended up curled in his bed, crying softly in pain. his stomach cramped and ached horribly, but his mother assured that everything would be alright if he ate this plant. it was strange looking, with a bulbous lavender bloom and fuzzy leaves. 'watermint,' she told him. 'i promise, darling, it will make you feel better.' he ate it reluctantly, scowled at the strange taste, and settled down. it didn’t help right away—it never did—but eventually his bellyache went away.
watermint. the name hinted that it grew around water, and they were on an island, surrounded by ocean. yet, after an hour of looking, he found nothing. junji plopped down by the water with a frown, wondering where he could have gone wrong. it didn’t make sense. if it grew by the water, there should have been watermint everywhere, but there wasn’t. the child padded slowly through the sand for a while, kicking at it, until he came across a pathway to a second, smaller island. one he hadn’t seen yet. ears perked in excitement, and as he knew his time was drawing short, he scampered across the isle and into the smaller forest.
water hung in the air, making his trip through this island a bit more uncomfortable, but he took it as a sign that he was on the right track. the child wandered quickly, passing a strange, small building, before he came upon a grove surrounded by willow trees, with a pool of water clearer than the surrounding ocean settled between them. he set his leather purse beside one of the trees and skittered down to the water, padding around the crystalline pond, until his eyes locked on to the herb he was searching for. it seemed his lucky day; with his heart bursting in his chest, he collected a good amount of the watermint, placed it into his bag, and set off to find rosemary again.
the little feline waddled proudly to the beach where the head soothsayer sat, and placed his bag down at her paws. junji opened it and placed its contents on the sand, and after making them look pretty, he plopped himself down and looked to the ocelot with a tired, but warm smile. he gestured to each herb as he spoke, doing his best to use the right words in their explanation.
"this is, mm, goldenrod." he murmured, sounding a bit unsure of the name, but going with it anyway. "it’s good to heal wounds. you chew it, then put it on the cut."
the child moved his gaze to the next herb. "poppy. its seeds help you sleep, but… i don’t know how to get them." he spoke a bit sheepishly, sparing a slightly nervous glance up at the soothsayer, before he moved to the last one.
"watermint," junji murmured. "for bellyaches. you gotta eat it." he finished with a hopeful smile, gleaming ocean eyes turning up to rosemary’s face.
"did i do good?"
[align=center][div style="font-size:17pt;line-height:1.1;color:white;font-family:impact"][i]hello my old heart