Private Below Solid Ground, Stillness

[Efret Farr]

Efret did descend soundly. Her landing had been soft, but not soft enough to spare the bed of woolly hedgenettle at her feet came to specifically rest in. As she touched down, her legs bent gently at her knees and then rebounded. The master similarly unclipped her line from her harness before stepping away, letting it hang freely. She knelt similarly to Cora before the damage she had accidently created, but her attention was caught by the blossoming meadowsweet.

"Stop," she teased with a smile before the children came. "You'll make me hungry."

She turned back to the plants she had trampled. "This is woolly hedgenettle," she told Cora. "Many less technologically savvy civilizations use the raw leaves as antibacterial bandages that encourage blood clotting. As a tea, they provide treatment for colds, gum and throat infections, asthma, and even sties when cooled and used as an eyewash."

Efret wasn't sharing the knowledge just for knowledge's sake, though that was often her way. This time, it was something of a test. Knowing about edible herbs was close to but not the same as knowing about their medicinal properties in the way that Elias Edo did. If Cora's reply made it seem that she was agreeable to herbalism, Efret would feel more at ease about seeking out traditional medicine, though the particular remedy she was interested in didn't involve herbs. She might even tell the princess as much.

After coaxing the fuzzy groundcover to fluff back up, Efret stood and turned to Cora and the newly-bloomed vine.

Past the children giddily watching on, the front door of the cabin to which this garden and its fences were connected swung open. A Fondorian woman stepped out and approached the gathered group. She wore a bandana on her head and a simple wool dress with an apron. The children parted to make room for her. "Hello there," she said, smiling. "Welcome to Deep Well, strangers."

"We've fixed the damage our landing caused to your garden," Efret offered.

The woman's smile grew. "Don't fret about it, my new friends. It's the hazard of living under a ventilation shaft."

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

There was a playful chuckle from Cora at the mention of making Efret hungry. Her attention was drawn toward the herbs that had been flattened, listening intently.

"Woolly hedgenettle," she repeated, watching as the master restored the delicate plant. "We've something similar on Ukatis called maiden's hand. I'm not sure if it has a scientific name, but it's used for similar ailments." She tapped her chin with a finger in thought. "I think it needs to be steeped into a tea…might need to be dried first? Ah, I used to know how to prepare it when I traveled in the countryside. Modern medicine hadn't spread far beyond the capital at the time, and many people in rural areas relied on herbal medicine."

Part of her travels there had been to lay the groundwork for Alliance-backed clinics in agricultural towns and villages, but she'd been charmed by the used of more traditional medicines, learning as she went. After all, many modern remedies had their roots in nature.

"I found it could be rather effective in the right hands."

Her smile grew sheepish as the garden's owner exited her home. Fortunately, she did not seem upset with their landing.

"Corazona von Ascania," she offered her name with a bow of her head. Some habits died hard. "We've come from the New Jedi Order."

Efret Farr

 

[Efret Farr]

So she was agreeable.

But before Efret could reflect more on that revelation, the homeowner appeared, and all three had exchanged words.

"Yes," Efret added to Cora's introduction. "And I'm Efret Farr."

The woman bowed her head back to them both, not in mimicry of Cora's motion but out of deep, sincere respect. "We're all honored by your presence," she said. The children at her side watched on in awed silence, eyes darting from their kin to the strangers now in their midst. "Please, come in for a meal."

"Surely."

Efret walked behind Cora to the garden gate, unlatched it, and pushed it gently open. When she had passed through, she held it open for the knight. As Cora followed, Efret paused to assure her, "It's a customary," before following the Fondorian into her house. She had an Empathetic feeling that Cora would be more than embarrassed at their situation at this point. Being fed by the being whose garden they damaged, even though they had prompted restored it? What could be more horrifying?

In truth, Efret was actively tramping down something other than woolly hedgenettle: her own cultural conceptions of humility and shame. She was well-practiced in the process, having honed the skill over a bit more than a decade, but it was ironically no less difficult to succeed at than it was the first time she had ever engaged in the mental exercise. In fact, it was even harder on some days, one of which was thankfully not this one. The beliefs and values of a being's home culture makes up the nucleus of their ego. Jedi were not immune to this. Thus, experiencing cultural dislocation shocked the ego. At best, it caused slight discomfort; at worse, it triggered intense grieving reactions. Efret was leaning far towards the more diminutive end of the spectrum. She hoped Cora wasn't overly distressed.

Strangely, all six of the children filed into the house after Cora as well and sat on the floor around the quaint little kitchen.

The homeowner motioned to the simple, wooden dining table with four chairs situated around it.

Before Efret took a seat near the door, she pulled out the chair opposite of where she wanted to sit for Cora. It's be easiest for her to lipread if they were positioned across from each other.

The Fondorian woman went to the fireplace where a large clay pot of something boiled, emitting gentle wisps of light grey steam. "Do you make bread soup where you come from?" she asked with her back towards the Jedi as she stirred the mysterious concoction with a long, wooden spoon.

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Oh-"

Cora's cheeks flushed a healthy shade of pink. She'd felt fortunate enough that the woman hadn't been upset with them, but being invited inside for a meal after they'd trampled her garden brushed up against aristocratic sensitivities.

What could be worse than imposing yourself on someone you'd just caused trouble for? Ignoring a local custom to feed your own sense of shame, apparently. Cora trotted dutifully after Efret with a nod, still feeling rather sheepish.

She smiled her thanks to the woman, then again to her Jedi companion as they entered the home and a chair was pulled out for her. As Cora settled in, she first took note of the children seated about the floor, then the stew simmering in the fireplace. A warm, hearty scent drifted through the dining area.

"I can't say that I've heard of bread soup before," she admitted. It sounded like a peasant dish. "Have you, Master Farr?"

The archaeologist was far more well-traveled than she.

Cora's gaze once again slipped back to the children, fondly. "Are these little ones all yours?"

She'd come from a large family, too.

Efret Farr