Akio listened intently as Shishiwakamaru replied to his exuberant rant about simple healing herbs, and the young Senju felt a keen sense of pride at the fact that he had impressed his med-nin mentor with his expansive, though basic, knowledge of plants. For once, he felt like a true Senju rather than the air-headed happy-go-lucky wild child that his parents tended to paint him as. Following Shi as he pointed out a couple of more exotic plants, ones that the Senju had not recognized from his reconnaissance during his adventures in the forests, Akio did more than listen. He leaned forward, getting a close look at each, inspecting the number of leaf groupings, the shade of their viridian hues, their flowers, buds, and stamen. It was one thing to know what a plant did, but Akio knew that it was equally important to be able to recognize one from a similar variety. After all, one plant might be healthy and could supplement certain physical functions, while another that could look almost identical could be poisonous and harmful.
Additionally, as Shishi made clear the tasks that the young nature-lover was to perform, Akio responded with his usual jubilant tone. "No problem sensei! I've done some of this with Grandpa Itsuki. Plus, I actually like makin' tea! I'll be quick!" However, his jovial expression quickly changed to shock as his medical mentor drew a kunai and quickly cut a deep laceration into the palm of his hand. Akio's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging agape for a moment in surprise. However as his senior shinobi said, "Better hurry before I bleed out... And don't forget my tea~" Akio's expression of surprise faded into one of pure determination. Quickly and methodically, and surprisingly without a single word, the young looked over the tools at his disposal and immediately got to work.
He quickly palmed two mortars, one pestle, and the Bunsen burner that the Nara clansman had procured for this assignment. He filled one of the mortars to the top with water, placed it into a circular rack, and lit the burner beneath it with a very low flame that was so much less intense than its usual jet of fire that it spat ever now and then in small gouts of flame. As the water began to heat, the sandy-haired boy wiped sweat from his brow that was more a result of the intensity of the situation than any heat that the burner had produced, filled about a quarter of the other mortar with water, then quickly sped over to the plants in question.
Though he was acting quickly and with urgency, there was a deliberate quality to the young boy's motions. He didn't go so fast that he'd spill the water, and as he plucked the green star-shaped flower of the Yunnan Baiyao, his hands were steady and careful, making sure that he got all of the effective part of the plant but not taking so much that the herb might suffer to produce more from where he was pruning it. Akio quickly placed the flowery star-shaped leaves into the water to begin to soak as he then delicately pulled the Notoginseng from its planter, noting the large bulbous root that hung from its thin stem. He set the mortar down and with a quick flourish, he cut through about half of the root with his kunai, and quickly replanted the remainder into the hole in the dirt that it came from.
Then, with continued expediency Akio diced the root into much smaller and more manageable slices. Not only would this allow the roots to soak the remaining water in the mortar more quickly, but they'd make it far easier for him to knead them with the pestle as was necessary. And finally, as he began the work of grinding pestle against mortar, mixing the herbs together and beginning to break them down into paste, Akio took a seat in front of the Ginseng plant. Placing the mortar into the crook of his knee so he could continue to work its contents with one hand, Akio began to pluck the smallest leaves of the ginseng plant with delicate precision. He knew from Itsuki's insistence, that the smaller the tea leaves, the better the tea ended up tasting, so Akio made a point of trying to take only the smallest ones.
Before long, the Yunnan Baiyao flowers and the Notoginseng root had congealed into a nice thick paste, having absorbed most of the water that he had originally placed in the bowl. Akio quickly got up, taking the now-finished paste in one hand and holding a good handful of tea leaves in the other. Akio quickly grabbed two of the cheesecloths and a beaker. He placed one over the top, secured it with a tight piece of twine, and emptied the contents of the mortar into the cloth, letting the excess water drain into the beaker and leaving just the paste. At the same time, he'd begun crushing the tea leaves as best he could within his palms. They wouldn't break down as easily as if they'd been dried, but he managed to get them separated enough that they would release their fragrant flavors more quickly once submerged in the now-steaming water he'd been heating. He quickly tied the second cheesecloth around the bundle of leaves, leaving a section of the twine long so that he could hang the edge over the side of the other mortar, turned off the burner, and let it begin to steep. Only now did he finally look back to Shishi, saying, "It's gonna take a minute. The paste needs to drain and the tea needs to steep. How's your hand?" His words still came out with Akio's usual energy, however there was a seriousness to them, a focus that he rarely displayed outside of these kinds of situations.
[WC: 977 .:. Post 3/5 .:. Total WC: 1661/1500]
