[ A Life of Honey | @duckbuttsurvivor | verse; harmony ]
Sunlight pours in between the slats of stall curtains, painting strips of gold across shelves of bottled medicinal salves. It was midafternoon, which meant that her shop would lock up soon - she liked to shutter her doors just as the last bit of sunlight tucks itself behind the horizon. Throughout the day, her shelves had begun to run bare - it was spring time, so children and adults alike were spending more time outdoors, being more active in their playtime or their missions.. and thus required more salves for their variety of ailments. Particularly for rashes from poison ivy and stinging nettle bushes. The academy really ought to take better care in teaching the children about botany - particularly the plants to avoid. She thinks to propose this kind of a lesson while in the back, churning more soothing rash salve in a poultice bowl. Her braid has become messy throughout the day, loose hairs falling over her face and tickling her cheeks as she grinds down the herbs. Who ought to teach them such important things, though? Surely the teachers already had their hands full with lessons and training activities after hours. From what she remembers of her own Academy days, the adults in charge always seemed a bit weary. Kimiko ought not to propose more lessons if they were already stretched thin. Perhaps she could devote some of her own time, then? Briefly, she imagines teaching a classroom of rowdy children, and chuckles softly to herself. Maybe the first lesson should be in manners. The sound of her wood chimes strung at the entrance of her shop floats back to her, and Kimiko perks up. This could be her final customer of the day - in fact, it could be a new face altogether. Her common customers usually created a routine of what time they would come in and what they would buy. She didn’t have a regular who visited her at this hour, though - not yet. “Welcome in! I’ll be right there.” She calls from her spot in the back room, wiping her hands clean on her mussy apron and setting aside her tools.