[D4 E] Teach Me

[Kaliya Redding]

From concealed pockets in her hanging sleeves she produced three small packets labelled C. thalictroides, M. pulegium, and D. carota. Pointing to each in turn, "drried and powderred root of Blue Cohosh, drried leaves of the Pennyrroyal plant, and seeds of Queen Anne's Lace. Taken daily forr prreventative rreasons."

[Maester Oswell]

Oswell nods as she identifies the supplies by name, but that only raises another question, albeit one asked very quietly.

"And can you harvest these yourself or do you rely on a supplier? I only ask because I am aware of several young alchemists who mistook your Queen Anne here with hemlock and made an extremely unpleasant mistake."

[Kaliya Redding]

"I must rrely on a supplierr. I have been cautioned that both Queen Anne's Lace and Pennyrroyal can too easily be mistaken forr herrbs of much morre insidious purrpose. But also that Pennyrroyal itself can make one extrremely ill if the dose is too high."

[Maester Oswell]

"Often it is a fine line between medicine and poison both in species and dosage, which is one reason I am glad to have this discussion with you. If you're going to be taking such preventative measures, I'm glad to know that you are aware of the associated risks. Although given your knowledge of the potential of some of these items to be used as poisons, do you really think labelling them with their scientific names is...prudent?"

[Kaliya Redding]

"If therre werre poisons in my tea chest, then no, I suppose I would not label them forr all to see. But therre is not even enough Pennyrroyal herre to give a youth a stomach upset."

With a raise of an eyebrow, "and beforre you ask, I do not know what might have happened to Lorrd Barratheon; and if he was slipped something, it most assurredly did not come frrom me."

[Maester Oswell]

"I know better than to suspect you of that. If it were you, then you wouldn't have given me even the slightest insight into your skill with these herbs, you're smarter than that. Besides there are easier ways to secure peace with your homeland than just replacing one war with another."

[Kaliya Redding]

"Unless I am trrying to thrrow you off with feigned innocence?" Kaliya teased.

[Maester Oswell]

"I have no doubt you can feign a great many things, including this, if it suits you. Convincingly enough for me to believe you, but that Lord Lyonel was not poisoned is irrefutable, unless you have a great deal more skill than even the greatest Maester in the art, for there were no observable symptoms that match up to any existing poison I know of." Oswell replied, paying the girl a slightly back handed compliment.

[Kaliya Redding]

"I concede to yourr superriorr knowledge, maesterr. But I am not convinced that you could be so easily fooled, even by me."

[Maester Oswell]

Oswell shrugs. "Reading people has never been my strength." He confesses to Kaliya. "I can recite you passages from texts I've read from years before you were a twinkle in your papa's eye. I can lecture you on the importance of keystone positioning and exactly how deep a castle's foundations should go to thwart sappers in a siege. But I'm a sucker for a pretty face, and have been the victim of a silver tongue more than once."

"We all have our talents and our shortcomings, I'm just not to proud to admit mine, unlike most of the cocksure young lads strutting around here like peacocks with their phallic and symbolic spears on display for all to see."

[Kaliya Redding]

"It is trricky to deceive those who do not want to be. Most men arre quite complicit in being fooled. You do not strrike me as such a man, not in rregarrds to this, anyway."

[Maester Oswell]

"No, maybe not in regards to this. Even the slickest tongue cannot bury the absolute truth from an academic in his field, but yes," he laughed whole heartedly. "A few times I have let myself be...compromised when such would cost me little and gain me much."

[Kaliya Redding]

Kaliya allowed a few moments of silence before drawing the conversation back once more. "Should such prrecautionarry measurres fail, I was taught that a morre drrastic option was available. But I was not taught how to prreparre it."

[Maester Oswell]

"There are paths that can be taken and you are already in possession of several options. You could also consider Angelica archangelica, ¼ cup dried herb to 1 quart water as a tea or Artemisia vulgaris 3 teaspoon into a cup of tea no more than 3 cups a day for no more than 6 days."

"But be aware these can carry some serious side effects, even in the correct dosages. Kidney damage, liver damage, convulsions...the list goes on. Prevention is much safer than removal in this matter."

[Kaliya Redding]

She did not baulk at the information, but she did nod her understanding. "I do not imagine that I will find need forr any such thing. A tourrney can only go on forr so long."

[Maester Oswell]

"Agreed, and these items are not something I had thought to have need to bring with me either. As you said, this is only a short term trip, should any...unanticipated complications arise, there will be time to attend to them upon our return to the Burrow."

He taps his chin with one long finger.

"Although if that matter discussed at the Conclave has any truth to it, I may not be returning home straight away. I might be seeking Lord Dunn's permission to travel to the lands of House Staunton to investigate this potential plague of which they speak."

[Kaliya Redding]

Kaliya reached forward and took Oswell's other hand, "please be carreful. This comes as grreat a shock to me as I am surre it will be to you, but I should be deeply saddened if anything happened to you."

[Maester Oswell]

"Don't worry, I should be greatly saddened if anything happened to me as well. So I'll be sure to take every precaution I can to prevent it." Oswell confides, before using the contact Kaliya offered him to try and pull the young girl into his lap.

[Kaliya Redding]

She needed little convincing and, somehow, she deftly left the outer-most layer of her dress behind, baring her shoulders and back as she settled on the maester's lap.

[Maester Oswell]

Content to just drag his nails up and down Kaliya's spine, barely firm enough to leave little temporary grooves in her perfect skin, Oswell continued to talk, glad for the extra closeness and warmth as the evening chill developed.

"I am glad that this is more of a theoretical chat than immediate need, but I must enquire, are your talents in use on your little protege as well? I have noticed the way young Kaelyn looks up to you, almost like a sister."

[Kaliya Redding]

Kaliya's lips thinned at little at that, "had you asked me yesterrday, I would have prraised her innocence and prrayed to the Motherr that Kaelyn neverr need such knowledge." Recalling the glances that had passed between the heir and his cousin that morning she continued, "today I am not so surre. Perrhaps I will speak with herr again, caution might be prrudent at this juncturre of her life."

[Maester Oswell]

"Do you think she is becoming the focus of too much attention before she is ready? Or that she has decided she is ready to be gifting her attention to others?"

Oswell enquires as his other arm slips around Kaliya's waist. Nothing too invasive, just holding her against him as they talked.

[Kaliya Redding]

Kaliya makes herself quite comfortable, "I had to explain to herr why it was unwise to give away the rribbons in herr hairr to the men of the tourrney. Forrtunately, she had not yet bestowed them on too many of the young fellows, but she is in an awkwarrd place between innocence and burrgeoning sexuality. A simple misstep, a little too much prressurre, such a thing can so easily be given away and neverr taken back." She sighed softly and stroked the nape of Oswell's neck absently.

[Maester Oswell]

"She is lucky to have such an experienced tutor to guide her through such treacherous waters." Oswell replies as he luxuriates in the mutual contact, Kaliya's fingers knowing exactly what they were doing.

"Some doors once opened can never be closed again." He comments as the hand on Kaliya's belly slipped inside her dress, tracing teasing patterns around her navel.

[Kaliya Redding]

Though she murmured at his touch, she shuddered at his words, "no, they cannot. But sometimes, we can be betterr forr it." Dragging her thoughts away from the memories she would have preferred to keep locked away, "I only hope she will listen. She is such a sweet thing, and I fearr that she has yet to learrn why she should hold back even the most innocent of herr impulses."