Sticky Situation

and still she bloomed

"Careful where you step now! If Pim roars at you that means turn around." Phoebe said in a motherly tone to the young charge accompanying her.

The tar pits were...well...not ideal in terms of general locales. The smell alone was enough to make the Nightingale wrinkle her nose. Pim, who usually preferred to walk at her side, stayed in the air, looping slow circles above her to avoid the gross muck below and warn his soft-fleshy-two-legged-soul-friend from stepping into deceptive puddles of tar. Thankfully, Phoebe knew she didn't need to stay long - she merely needed to collect what she needed and leave.

Finding a suitable stable spot, the Nightingale knelt down and carefully scooped some of the mud into the jar she had brought for just this purpose. Whyever Frey thought mud from this place would help grow anything - much less human babies - she could only barely surmise as the entire place reeked of rot and hot tar. Maybe it was more of a fertilizer than actual soil the Herald had been after in sending her to this place. Either way, she was glad she didn't need to stay long.

Phoebe

in the way she was meant to

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

the earth has music for those who listen

"Okay, Aunt Phoebe!" Mateo calls dutifully back to the Nightingale, even as he tiptoes along a fallen tree trunk surrounded by bubbling tar. "What do you need to collect this for again?" he asks as he jumps down, plodding over with muddy shoes to crouch and watch her get the mud into the jar. "I wonder if it's any good at growing things..."

Speaking of growing things, Mateo soon notices a little cloud of mushrooms growing on the underside of the tree trunk, noticeable only when he got close to the ground. "Ooh, look!" Clambering closer, the Taliesin boy is undoubtedly enthralled, though he knows better (mostly) than to reach out and touch random plants without gloves. "Do you know if they might be edible?"

and still she bloomed

As the boy toed the line a bit too close to a puddle of tar, Pim growled in warning. No falling in tar pits on Pim's watch, no sir! He didn't want to get his scales dirty trying to get him back out of that mess.

"For a garden that Frey asked me to start. I'm going to grow babies like plants there." she said with a grin, before reaching out to playfully boop the boy's nose and leave a dirt print. "Perhaps I will grow you a little brother or sister, hm? Would you like that?" she asked.

But before she could say much more he was off again, as easily distracted as a squirrel that one - albeit not unlike most boys his age. Still, she stood and followed him over to the little patch of mushrooms. "Hmmm...I don't recognize that kind of mushroom. So what should we do?" she asked - and if he said anything other than leave it alone he was in for a real lecture. Instead, she looked up along the tree line that edged the tar pits, grinning when she saw something she did recognize. "You see that reddish mushroom growing on the tree there? Now that one is definitely edible. It's called Reishi and it has calming properties in healing." she said.

Phoebe

in the way she was meant to

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

the earth has music for those who listen

Mateo offers Pim a dimpled smile that's supposed to be reassurring but probably isn't; luckily he's now more interested in the mushrooms than the tar. "Growing babies like plants...?" His smile is turned on Phoebe then, and he chuckles at the dirt print left on his nose. "I wonder if they will have flowers, when you plant them," he says, rubbing at his face to clean it (read: smear the dirt onto his cheek). "Someone already grew me a brother and a sister," he informs her, seeming a little worried. "I don't know if I can handle any more."

Leave it alone is probably a good shout, but this is Mateo, and it definitely is not what Remi has been teaching him. So the boy gazes up at her with immediate knowing in his eyes, and he's reaching out to rip a strip off his shirt. "Take a sample!" he quips, like there's no answer other than this one. Luckily before he can go grabbing unknown mushrooms, Phoebe distracts him with even better ones.

"Oooh. Reishi?" he tries. "Do you just eat it by itself, or can you cook it?"

and still she bloomed

She nodded at his question, smiling as he continued his curious ramblings. "I don't know. But I will be sure to have you visit when a few start growing. Maybe you can help me tend to some of the little starts, hm?" she said with a grin. She had been imagining little cabbage like plants with babies protected in the center by large leaves...but perhaps they would come forth from flowers more like fruit! It would be a surprise either way. "Oh yes, little Flora and Enzo. Do you know how many siblings I had?" she asked, waiting for him to guess before revealing that she had had three sisters and a brother.

Before he could tear apart his shirt though she handed him a handkerchief and a small jar - an extra she had brought just in case. "Here now, no need to rip up your clothes. Just be careful." she said, watching over him as he took his sample with a careful eye, stepping in should he seem to need assistance. But he was right near apprenticing age as it was. A little independence was good so long as she made sure he didn't hurt himself. "You can eat it on its own but it is best cooked or even dried and powdered to add to tea." she said, picking a reishi mushroom for him to take.

Phoebe

in the way she was meant to

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

the earth has music for those who listen

"Yes please, Aunt Phoebe!" Mateo trills, in almost the exact way he's been taught his manners in school, and before he can successfully rip his shirt to pieces, she's handing him a jar and a handkerchief. With a dimpled smile at the demigoddess, he takes his sample and happily closes the jar. "Three sisters and a brother? That's a lot of sisters. I've got three too, but only Flora is really around," he gushes, before following her over to where the reishi mushrooms grow.

That Phoebe handles this one with her bare fingers is all the encouragement Mateo needs, and he plucks it from her hands with a chipper thank you and turns it here and there to examine it. "Oh, tea? I wonder if that would work." It sounds an awful lot like he's already got plans for the mushroom.

and still she bloomed

Phoebe simply smiled as the boy babbled on about his siblings. She was glad that he knew of all of them, even those that weren't around. It put in her mind that perhaps she should make sure that any child she and Harper had would know of the two siblings they had resting with Mort. It had not occurred to her before, but now it seemed the most logical course of action.

Mateo's choice of words as he grabbed up a reishi mushroom had the Nightingale raising a brow. "What exactly do you have planned for that?" she asked, tilting her head. She had mentioned the general healing properties of the plant, but depending on what he wanted it for, she wasn't sure she trusted the young boy's ability to properly assess and dose anything quite yet. She was certain Remi would agree, given his craft.

Phoebe

in the way she was meant to

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

the earth has music for those who listen

Mateo has already proudly sequestered the mushroom away into his pockets, patting it once it's safely away to make sure it doesn't go anywhere or somehow get mixed up with his other sample. You never know - it might jump out of the jar and switch places!

"I was going to make some tea for my friend Everest," he explains with a bright smile to Phoebe. "He worries about a lot of things, Aunt Phoebe. And I don't know whether he gets very much sleep. So I thought if this mushroom makes you feel calm, he will feel better, right?"

The boy certainly thinks so, and he's already peering around to look at any other promising things the Tar Pits might have to offer. "Did you need any more dirt or anything? Or shall we start to go back the way we came?"

and still she bloomed

When Everest revealed his plots for the mushroom, the heart on her sleeve melted, a warm smile curving her lips. "That is very thoughtful of you, Mateo!" she said with a grin, reaching out to ruffle his hair. It was almost like looking back in time to the Remi she had once known, the rather innocent, carefree empathy for others that was now shrouded by loss and suffering. "Yes, the tea ought help him. Just one bag, steeped for no more than three minutes in hot water. Mix it with some chamomile and lavender too." she said. The boy's mind could be a metal trap, so she doubted he would forget given the importance of his task.

"Yes, I have all that I need. We should get back. I promised you back to your fathers before bedtime after all." she said with a teasing grin.

{FIN}

Phoebe

in the way she was meant to

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd