[she doesn't know that the world is turning just for her]

skill: herbalist

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Thankfully, Cassius hadn’t taken offence to her somewhat brash handling of his admission. It did take a lot of guts to say what he had, especially to she, one who struggled so deeply with the herbal path but could not be more dedicated to it. It felt bred into her, woven into her very soul. Such a calling was her lone connection to Mother.

At that moment, Euphemia’s resolve to be aghast broke when she thought of how alone that experience must be. To be surrounded by others who felt it was their god-given right to lead, or defend, or to heal – but to not share in on such splendor. It must be painful.

and this was her brother. There was no room for a member of her blooded family to feel this way, except herself.

Cassssss, the maiden whined ironically, as if begging him not to prove her wrong so plainly and easily. She, too, took a long time to get over her grief. In many ways, she still hadn’t. She saw father in every shadow; every rock on every mountainside looked like Genghis from afar. Every loss the Dawnbreak experience dragged Euphemia out of her flow and it always took her a while to find it again, feeling as if she was swimming against the current.

When he put it that way, Euphemia realized that the two siblings were having very similar lived experiences; and she could not deny her own grief and professional mismanagement, which she was only just now starting to overcome. To do so, would be to deny herself as a living creature with breath in her lungs and thoughts in her mind. I don’t know, she admitted at long last. That bought her a few more seconds to think of a proper response to the depth of his question.

What she finally decided was: It never hurts to love plants. and yes, it did hurt to love most other things. She never feared her herbs would leave her, for she expected them to, every autumn and winter. She also expected them to return every spring.Spending time with plants never ends in heartbreak.

It was never about the plants, Euphemia realized – and that was why it was so difficult for her to heal and use her knowledge as applied medicine. She had found a comfort zone, a non-threatening place where she could funnel her energy and love and focus, and did not want to leave it.

It’s simple. It’s… A plant either was, or it wasn’t. A wolf could be anything in between.

It’s better than learning anything else.

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