This certainly didn't stem from a plurk meme

[atent_dead]

CHARACTERS: Granny Weatherwax and Brigid TEnenbaum
LOCATION: Garden
WARNINGS: Unlikely
SUMMARY: Granny talks about her brand of medicine
NOTES:


Whatever else is going on, gardens don't tend themselves. While some people negotiate with the natives for the future of their encampment, Granny is seeing to it in her own way.

And right now, that means thinning the feverfew. "Ye ain't the only thing we need."

Talking to plants doesn't help, of course. But sometimes she just enjoys a good grumble. And feverfew will spread like gossip if you don't keep an eye on it.

Comments

[mothergoose]

Tenenbaum meanwhile stays as far away from negotiations as possible. Which is why she's only now realized that Eleanor went and she's been trying to keep as busy as possible since then.

So finding nothing to do in medical she finds at least a familiar face in the new gardens.

"What sort of plant is that?"

[atent_dead]

"Feverfew. Ain't as good for pain as willow, but grows a lot faster." They did not have time to sit around waiting for trees to grow. "Decent at bringin' a fever down too."

Which was, presumably, why the flower was named what it was. A useful plant. Just one that tried to spread out of control if you let it.

[mothergoose]

"I see."

She watches for a moment.

"If I may ask. Where did you learn such things?"

[atent_dead]

"From Nanny Gripes. That's how anyone gets in to witchin', learnin' from someone who's been at it a long time. Least as much as anyone can learn from someone else." There were, of course, things witches had to learn for themselves. The important things, really. But the basics of herbs? That could be taught.

[mothergoose]

She'd never payed attention to stories of magic and witchcraft. It wasn't real, it wasn't science so it wasn't interesting. But other worlds were, like it or not, now a fact of life and apparently there were magic and witches in some of them.

"What do you do as a witch?"

[atent_dead]

"Look after my folk. Patch 'em up if they're sick or injured. Deliver babies. Chase off threats to the town. Sometimes even use magic." Occasionally. If all else fails. She really does prefer not to.

[mothergoose]

"You do not use it often?"

That's odd. She only has plasmids to go off of, but they were powers and human nature tended to lead people to overusing powers.

[atent_dead]

"More trouble than it's worth, mosta the time. Reality ain't too fond of bein' meddled with that way. Better to save it for when nothin' else works." Reality doesn't like those times any better, but then it's worth the price. "Course since a lot of folk don't know their herbs, they think it's more magic."

[mothergoose]

"That....sounds logical. Does this mean few people have magic then? I cannot see many people having this view."

After all, Rapture.

[atent_dead]

"Wizards don't see it the same way. Tend to be self limitin' though." Yeah that does mean they keep killing each other. "University mostly keeps 'em contained, too. Strange things happen near there though."