[ wc 804 ]
If it had been up to Miru, the world would have ended where his parents stopped. Mom and Dad were comfy, warm, and known things. Homewood was nice and all, but no place was nicer than their place. The nannies were okay, he guessed, but they weren't his parents. More than once he had been called a baby for saying so, so Miru stopped saying it - but never stopped thinking it. So when it was announced that his group and their nannies were going to go on a small field trip one day out of the blue, he seized.
New? New like what? Like out of Homewood new? Out in the Barrens, where nothing lived and everything died like within seconds of walking inside? In the Ruins of Erli, where huge hungry things lived and the ghosts of the Others haunted everything?? In the - I-In the Blackbriar Bog, the worst place of them all, which was nasty and muddy and smelled awful and catbeasts roamed and - ?!
No, Miru, said the nanny patiently, just to this western grove away from the center. No need to worry.
"Oh. Sorry..."
His freakout had given Miru looks from the other foals and a snicker or two, he swore. He wanted nothing more than to just hide against the adults or his sisters, or ask his parents to just take him away before he acted out even more the fool. Instead, Miru ducked his head and tried to think small and invisible thoughts as he followed the line into the grove. Of course they wouldn't be going out of Homewood, Miru! Who would ever think they would except for him? He just couldn't help it, though...The foal had yet to understand how to filter his fears through both a social sense and a logical one. Blurting it out just sort of happened before he could stop himself.
Thankfully, the idea of visiting somewhere new was more intriguing to the other foals than just picking on him.
As his measure to most things were his family or things related to his family, he couldn't help but compare this new place to his home. It was bigger, sure, and a lot more green. Miru wasn't sure he had ever seen so much color in his life, and his eyes felt like they were trying to pop out of his skull to take it all in. The nannies explained that noulicorns with botanic type powers in particular tended to this spot of Homewood, working with healers to try and create a natural garden of useful herbs in their home so that travel away from safety was less necessary. They would be visiting this place from time to time to introduce them to what common plants looked like and which were safe to eat. Maybe if a healer felt like talking to them, they could interview one as well!
Miru viewed these plants warily nonetheless. It wasn't that he didn't trust his teachers; it was more he trusted that somehow he'd be the odd one to react to them. Maybe they didn't know everything about each plant yet, and he'd be patient zero to something nasty if he tried to eat one. Stop it, he chastised himself, shaking his head a little while trying to tune back in to the lesson. You can't think like that if you want to be a healer.
Did he, though? Sure, he was probably too young to really be fixated on a role just yet, but...Miru felt he had so much to make up for already in his short life. For his cowardice. For his constant anxiety. For his negative thoughts. The least he could end up working towards was being a useful member to Homewood, right? And being a productive member didn't mean he had to leave Homewood either, so he could stop worrying about that now...Anytime now...
He tried to focus on each plant as they were introduced instead of himself: their shapes and colors, the histories behind some names, the smells they carried on the summer breeze. Maybe he should have been born a flower, Miru thought dismally as he examined one of the newer ones introduced to Vykeli. (From afar, of course, no foal was allowed too close until they had determined what it did.) He didn't have to be a pretty one, but something that could heal others or look nice in a flower crown maybe. Plants didn't have to fear anything except not getting sunlight and water.
There were a couple introduced that apparently eased anxiety and helped noulicorns sleep. Miru pledged to start learning how to grow those, if only to help himself. At least he could put that knowledge to some use, whatever he ended up in life. Making himself less of a nuisance to others was a start.
