Finding Truth Behind Legends
by Wizardtho
Chapter 31:
The next morning, I wake at 5:30. Though I try to curl back into Taha and sleep a bit more, my thoughts are swirling with dream pillows, salves, and teas.
I slip out of bed without waking my sleeping mate, slip on a pair of lounge pants, then find a bra to go under my current tank top. Once dressed, I close the bedroom door behind me with barely a sound.
The house is quiet as I make my way downstairs to the medicine room. I’m able to quickly find the pages I’m looking for, and my ingredients are all placed in the basket. Journal placed in the basket once it’s full, I carry my goodies back upstairs to the kitchen.
I put a pot of coffee on, then unload and organize my finds. My kitchen island still looks like a random assortment of things, but the scents mingling together are pleasing, which gives me hope that this will work.
I gather all of the larger tea ingredients onto my cutting board, then chop them by hand, since I don’t want to wake the house. I’ve barely gotten started when Leah comes in rubbing her eyes. I can hear her inhale, then she hums, “Oh, it smells good in here. What are you up to so early, Swan?”
I grin, then offer, “Herbal remedy stuff. As payment for the work being done, I’m using Gran Hurit’s recipes to help the different trades.”
Leah looks at me in question, so I keep chopping and mixing as I explain, “The plumber’s wife has a burn on the top of her foot, from a cast iron pan getting caught on her apron and falling. I gave him some salve and bandage wraps. That same salve will help his and his daughter’s cuts that they get from the cut plumbing pipes.”
At her nod of understanding, I continue, “The man doing HVAC work and electrical… his daughter has been having really bad nightmares. Right now, I’m preparing a tea blend that should calm her before bed. In a few minutes, I’m going to be making her a couple of dream pillows, to place under her head while she sleeps. They’ll promote peaceful rest, and hopefully, help her get a better overall quality of rest when she sleeps. Between the combination of the two things, I’m hoping to knock out the nightmares altogether, or at least help her calm and rejuvenate enough to recognize why she was having them, so she can confront the underlying reason.”
She leans over the counter, so I stop chopping. She inhales deeply, then hums again, offering, “This is the tea? I have no doubt it will calm her. Just the scent combination alone calms me, without it even being in a tea. You should make a bunch of that and sell it.”
Looking down, I’m happy with the consistency of the blend, so I scoop it into the bowl, then add the smaller ingredients, blending it all by hand. “Gran Hurit had tea recipes for tons of things. I’ve not really had any myself yet. Wanna be a taste tester?”
She grins, “With that? Absolutely!”
I pull a teacup from the cupboard, then light the burner under the half-full kettle. Once I put 2 tablespoons of the tea blend in a tea ball infuser, I place it in her cup, then pour the rest of the blend into a metal canister. I write on a white sticker label ‘Calm Night Tea Blend: 2 tablespoons per cup in tea ball infuser. Steep 3 -5 minutes before removing infuser’ then place the label on the canister.
Leah nods as she reads the label, then goes to the kettle on the stove. Lifting the lid, she smiles, then pulls the kettle from the heat. As she turns off the burner, she hums, “Perfect. Just barely making bubbles. I wonder if this is going to taste as good as it smells.”
Another hum, deeper and immediately comforting, sounds as I start mixing the herbs for the pillows. Taha wraps his arms around me from behind, then whispers into my neck, “Morning. That smells familiar. Is that Hurit’s calm night tea? She used to drink that every night, to calm her mind.”
I nod and lean into the kiss he’s placing on my cheek, “Yes. For Andy’s daughter. I’m making the pillows now.”
He nods against my shoulder, asking, “So this is what got you out of bed so early? You could have woken me.”
I smile, then assure him, “It’s fine. Leah’s been awake almost as long as me, so she’s been keeping me company. Plus, I hated waking you when you were so peaceful. Just because my mind decides to run a hundred miles an hour at 5:30 am, doesn’t mean yours needs to. Can you grab me one of those thicker gallon bags from the drawer, please?”
He nods and places the bag on the counter next to me. Once I fill two cloth bags and tie the drawstrings closed, I use the stamp and ink pad to get a clear impression of a floral crescent moon on the cloth bags.
Leah is looking lost, so I say, “Gran noted that the stamp and herbs lasted the same length of time. When the ink fades away, the scent of the herbs will be too faded to help properly. I’ll have to ask Will how it works, but it has something to do with body heat, once this is placed inside the person’s regular pillowcase.”
She nods, then chuckles, “I was going to ask if you were making your own brand, but I guess the true purpose is more important. You have to admit, Floral Moon wouldn’t be a bad brand name.”
Taha turns to make us both a cup of coffee, but he turns back with a big smile when Leah hums loudly, “Looks like you need to make more of that up, Little Coyote. Someone sounds too pleased with that blend.”
I tell Taha to hold off on my coffee, then fill my cup with hot water and drop the infuser ball in my cup. Leah looks at me, happily sipping her tea, “They can be used twice before being replaced if you prefer the lesser steeping time.”
She nods, “Good to know. Don’t forget to let the HVAC guy know that.”
There was a light tap on the living room french doors, so Taha went to the kitchen doorway, then waved. Zander walked in, telling us good morning, then said, “The first round of monetary donations came in. I hope you don’t mind, but I gave the money to Lily, telling her how much and what size to get, for items to build the cabin foundation… pillar forms, beam ties, bolts, and concrete mix. Any money left over is to go with yours for food. She’s going to stop at the hardware store first, then do the shopping. My mom is staying with Kai this morning, so he’ll be the only one in the house sleeping in today.”
I nod quickly, “Absolutely. Good thinking. Are you sure she doesn’t mind doing all that?”
He assures me, “She’s fine. I sent a couple of newer pups with her as manpower, since they’ll be helping to mix concrete and compact it in those forms once they get back.”
I tap my finger on the cutting board, then say, “Oh, I was going to ask, but I forgot. Do we need to do any grading to the land before the pillars go in? I haven’t picked the exact location for that reason.”
Zander shakes his head, “Since we’ll be leveling as we put the forms in the ground, the tops of the pillars will all be the right height. The land itself can be as uneven as it wants to be. We can use a mortar mix and creek stones for the base around the foundation, so you won’t have to look out and just see a cabin in the air.”
I let out a breath, “Good. Okay. I like the stone idea, especially since the bottom few feet of the main house is all random stone and mortar. My only question is how the cabin is going to be joined to the pillars, for safety.”
Zander nods, then explains, “The foundation beams that will be coming from Gray… I gave the boys measurements, to make sure Lily gets the right dimensions. Not only for the pillars, but also for the base ties and bolts. See, the bottom layer of beams will be running in one direction, from front to back. At each pillar point, there will be a base tie. They’re shaped like a U with a rod coming out from the bottom. That rod will be embedded into the concrete, then the beam will be bolted into the U-part of the base tie that is left above the concrete. A round of back-to-back tornadoes could come through and that foundation would hold.”
I chuckle and nod my head, “Tornado-proof, shifter-proof, it’s all the same thing really. I just don’t want rough-housing shifters making the cabin slide on the pillars.”
Taha chuckles and kisses my temple, thinking I’m joking, but Leah’s brows raise as she nods, “She’s got a point. Though we know when to cut the crap and get down to business, our pack can get rowdy. You’re going to have 8 fully-grown shifters in that cabin. Speaking of shifters and sleeping quarters, when are we starting on the lofts?”
That’s when Dad chooses to come in the room, stating as he heads directly for the coffee pot, “Today, if the interior wall studs get sent on the trucks. You can help me with framing.”
Zander pats him on the back and says to the room, “That’s my cue to have Greg start loading trucks. I’m heading patrol duty today, so Greg has the volunteers. Bella, if you hear from Lily, please have someone here phase in, just so I know she’s not murdered the pups. The new ones tend to get on her nerves with questions only another shifter can answer. These few phased the first time just before you moved in.”
With my confirmation, he was out the living room french doors, running for the woods.
The next morning, I wake at 5:30. Though I try to curl back into Taha and sleep a bit more, my thoughts are swirling with dream pillows, salves, and teas.
I slip out of bed without waking my sleeping mate, slip on a pair of lounge pants, then find a bra to go under my current tank top. Once dressed, I close the bedroom door behind me with barely a sound.
The house is quiet as I make my way downstairs to the medicine room. I’m able to quickly find the pages I’m looking for, and my ingredients are all placed in the basket. Journal placed in the basket once it’s full, I carry my goodies back upstairs to the kitchen.
I put a pot of coffee on, then unload and organize my finds. My kitchen island still looks like a random assortment of things, but the scents mingling together are pleasing, which gives me hope that this will work.
I gather all of the larger tea ingredients onto my cutting board, then chop them by hand, since I don’t want to wake the house. I’ve barely gotten started when Leah comes in rubbing her eyes. I can hear her inhale, then she hums, “Oh, it smells good in here. What are you up to so early, Swan?”
I grin, then offer, “Herbal remedy stuff. As payment for the work being done, I’m using Gran Hurit’s recipes to help the different trades.”
Leah looks at me in question, so I keep chopping and mixing as I explain, “The plumber’s wife has a burn on the top of her foot, from a cast iron pan getting caught on her apron and falling. I gave him some salve and bandage wraps. That same salve will help his and his daughter’s cuts that they get from the cut plumbing pipes.”
At her nod of understanding, I continue, “The man doing HVAC work and electrical… his daughter has been having really bad nightmares. Right now, I’m preparing a tea blend that should calm her before bed. In a few minutes, I’m going to be making her a couple of dream pillows, to place under her head while she sleeps. They’ll promote peaceful rest, and hopefully, help her get a better overall quality of rest when she sleeps. Between the combination of the two things, I’m hoping to knock out the nightmares altogether, or at least help her calm and rejuvenate enough to recognize why she was having them, so she can confront the underlying reason.”
She leans over the counter, so I stop chopping. She inhales deeply, then hums again, offering, “This is the tea? I have no doubt it will calm her. Just the scent combination alone calms me, without it even being in a tea. You should make a bunch of that and sell it.”
Looking down, I’m happy with the consistency of the blend, so I scoop it into the bowl, then add the smaller ingredients, blending it all by hand. “Gran Hurit had tea recipes for tons of things. I’ve not really had any myself yet. Wanna be a taste tester?”
She grins, “With that? Absolutely!”
I pull a teacup from the cupboard, then light the burner under the half-full kettle. Once I put 2 tablespoons of the tea blend in a tea ball infuser, I place it in her cup, then pour the rest of the blend into a metal canister. I write on a white sticker label ‘Calm Night Tea Blend: 2 tablespoons per cup in tea ball infuser. Steep 3 -5 minutes before removing infuser’ then place the label on the canister.
Leah nods as she reads the label, then goes to the kettle on the stove. Lifting the lid, she smiles, then pulls the kettle from the heat. As she turns off the burner, she hums, “Perfect. Just barely making bubbles. I wonder if this is going to taste as good as it smells.”
Another hum, deeper and immediately comforting, sounds as I start mixing the herbs for the pillows. Taha wraps his arms around me from behind, then whispers into my neck, “Morning. That smells familiar. Is that Hurit’s calm night tea? She used to drink that every night, to calm her mind.”
I nod and lean into the kiss he’s placing on my cheek, “Yes. For Andy’s daughter. I’m making the pillows now.”
He nods against my shoulder, asking, “So this is what got you out of bed so early? You could have woken me.”
I smile, then assure him, “It’s fine. Leah’s been awake almost as long as me, so she’s been keeping me company. Plus, I hated waking you when you were so peaceful. Just because my mind decides to run a hundred miles an hour at 5:30 am, doesn’t mean yours needs to. Can you grab me one of those thicker gallon bags from the drawer, please?”
He nods and places the bag on the counter next to me. Once I fill two cloth bags and tie the drawstrings closed, I use the stamp and ink pad to get a clear impression of a floral crescent moon on the cloth bags.
Leah is looking lost, so I say, “Gran noted that the stamp and herbs lasted the same length of time. When the ink fades away, the scent of the herbs will be too faded to help properly. I’ll have to ask Will how it works, but it has something to do with body heat, once this is placed inside the person’s regular pillowcase.”
She nods, then chuckles, “I was going to ask if you were making your own brand, but I guess the true purpose is more important. You have to admit, Floral Moon wouldn’t be a bad brand name.”
Taha turns to make us both a cup of coffee, but he turns back with a big smile when Leah hums loudly, “Looks like you need to make more of that up, Little Coyote. Someone sounds too pleased with that blend.”
I tell Taha to hold off on my coffee, then fill my cup with hot water and drop the infuser ball in my cup. Leah looks at me, happily sipping her tea, “They can be used twice before being replaced if you prefer the lesser steeping time.”
She nods, “Good to know. Don’t forget to let the HVAC guy know that.”
There was a light tap on the living room french doors, so Taha went to the kitchen doorway, then waved. Zander walked in, telling us good morning, then said, “The first round of monetary donations came in. I hope you don’t mind, but I gave the money to Lily, telling her how much and what size to get, for items to build the cabin foundation… pillar forms, beam ties, bolts, and concrete mix. Any money left over is to go with yours for food. She’s going to stop at the hardware store first, then do the shopping. My mom is staying with Kai this morning, so he’ll be the only one in the house sleeping in today.”
I nod quickly, “Absolutely. Good thinking. Are you sure she doesn’t mind doing all that?”
He assures me, “She’s fine. I sent a couple of newer pups with her as manpower, since they’ll be helping to mix concrete and compact it in those forms once they get back.”
I tap my finger on the cutting board, then say, “Oh, I was going to ask, but I forgot. Do we need to do any grading to the land before the pillars go in? I haven’t picked the exact location for that reason.”
Zander shakes his head, “Since we’ll be leveling as we put the forms in the ground, the tops of the pillars will all be the right height. The land itself can be as uneven as it wants to be. We can use a mortar mix and creek stones for the base around the foundation, so you won’t have to look out and just see a cabin in the air.”
I let out a breath, “Good. Okay. I like the stone idea, especially since the bottom few feet of the main house is all random stone and mortar. My only question is how the cabin is going to be joined to the pillars, for safety.”
Zander nods, then explains, “The foundation beams that will be coming from Gray… I gave the boys measurements, to make sure Lily gets the right dimensions. Not only for the pillars, but also for the base ties and bolts. See, the bottom layer of beams will be running in one direction, from front to back. At each pillar point, there will be a base tie. They’re shaped like a U with a rod coming out from the bottom. That rod will be embedded into the concrete, then the beam will be bolted into the U-part of the base tie that is left above the concrete. A round of back-to-back tornadoes could come through and that foundation would hold.”
I chuckle and nod my head, “Tornado-proof, shifter-proof, it’s all the same thing really. I just don’t want rough-housing shifters making the cabin slide on the pillars.”
Taha chuckles and kisses my temple, thinking I’m joking, but Leah’s brows raise as she nods, “She’s got a point. Though we know when to cut the crap and get down to business, our pack can get rowdy. You’re going to have 8 fully-grown shifters in that cabin. Speaking of shifters and sleeping quarters, when are we starting on the lofts?”
That’s when Dad chooses to come in the room, stating as he heads directly for the coffee pot, “Today, if the interior wall studs get sent on the trucks. You can help me with framing.”
Zander pats him on the back and says to the room, “That’s my cue to have Greg start loading trucks. I’m heading patrol duty today, so Greg has the volunteers. Bella, if you hear from Lily, please have someone here phase in, just so I know she’s not murdered the pups. The new ones tend to get on her nerves with questions only another shifter can answer. These few phased the first time just before you moved in.”
With my confirmation, he was out the living room french doors, running for the woods.