herbalism 101

[impetuous_force]

Bella's driving home from Olympic National Park, herbs all wrapped up in paper and stashed in a Macy's bag on the driver's seat. Ho hum. She doesn't need most of them; she's going to dry them and take them home to Phoenix where she can trade them for equally nonindigenous-to-the-Southwest botanicals. The perks of being a child of divorce.

Comments

[princeofsalem]

He pauses for a second, considering whether it would be safer to continue to pretend that he didn't see her reaction to his name.

It would definitely be safer, he decides, but it would also be less interesting.

"I get the impression that you already know the answer to that question."

[impetuous_force]

"I have a guess. For all I know there are lots of coincidentally named people running around, but the hypothetical coincidentally named people probably wouldn't've just said that."

[princeofsalem]

"There aren't, actually. I'm one of those if-you-Google-me-it's-only-me people."

[impetuous_force]

"I never did Google you. You're not based on the right coast to come up very much, for all that I recognized the name."

[princeofsalem]

"Thus why no pseudonym," Neville says. "Lesson learned, I guess."

[impetuous_force]

"Next time you're hitchhiking you introduce yourself as John Smith, huh?"

[princeofsalem]

"I usually use Brian."

[impetuous_force]

"That works too. I wouldn't've blinked. All things considered I'd rather know, though, especially since you don't seem to be doing anything particularly intimidating."

[princeofsalem]

"Botany," Neville says, "I swear. Well, herbology. But I am a botanist."

[impetuous_force]

"Explains what you were doing in the park. I hope it's nothing too terribly deadly."

[princeofsalem]

"No, just not native to New England. You?"

[impetuous_force]

"Likewise, actually - there's nothing I need for my own projects at the moment except some common stuff I wouldn't have bothered to pick personally when I could buy it. I'm going to trade it for things from other parts of the world when I'm back in Phoenix, since I was going to be here anyway."

[princeofsalem]

"Smart. I just discovered myself in need of some douglasia laevigata."

[impetuous_force]

"Gesundheit," says Bella, raising an eyebrow. "I only know common or witch names for most things, does that have one?"

[princeofsalem]

"Gray cliff dwarf-primrose? Little pink flowers."

[impetuous_force]

"Oh, those. You find any?"

[princeofsalem]

"Plenty, thanks."

[impetuous_force]

"Can I ask what it's for?"

[princeofsalem]

"I'd rather you didn't."

[impetuous_force]

Bella doesn't make a fuss about it.

"We'll be at your hotel in like five minutes," she says, when they pass a relevant sign.

[princeofsalem]

"Awesome, thanks," Neville says. "I guess I'll have to find a tow truck or something tomorrow."