Dancing in the Yellow [attn: Cherion/Bella]

[Astarte]

Clearly his efforts were working as she slowly relaxed and even smiled briefly.

"No, I's wouldnae want something to go wrong..." she insisted "I's read bout them some, but it takes me awhile tae read much" Betrys was struggling through books, picking up on words and working with Mirin on the parts that she still didn't completely understand but it was rather slow-going and honestly Betrys was sometimes caught up wondering if it was even worth it. Not to mention wishing there was some easier way of achieving it in the first place.

Still, she struggled onwards "I-I's like to help and learn if I can" she added. Deciding it was a positive and truthful thing to add at that moment, she really didn't want to be sent away.

[Bella]

Gareth nodded, keeping his faint but encouraging smile. "A desire to help is always a good place to start," he reassured her. "I won't be able to teach you any weaves, since you would not be able to see them, but I can tell you about them and you can help with other tasks in first aid and with the herbs." He stood and gestured for her to walk with him. "Are you interested in the Yellow, or just in lending a hand?"

[Astarte]

She hadn't even imagined that much happening, being told about Weaves was a big step from just knowing they existed. Betrys had been already been sure that she wouldn't be performing them - even if she was also conscious of how much more they could accomplish in the right hands.

Witnessing the suffering of living in a village where a broken bone could end up killing you due to the poor diet, care and inability to seek out long-term care and support...yes, Betrys knew that the Weaves were a real benefit to those who could use and make use of them.

"I's understand that. I's guess to help first? I dinnae imagine I's be doing much, making poultices and tonics, some teas?" she suggested, starting to follow along beside him "...I's nae though 'bout an Ajah - but...can ya tell me about Yellow?" Betrys was sure that there was a lot more to the matter than simply taking care of and helping those in need of aid and healing.

[Bella]

She was, perhaps, about to have that assumption challenged.

Gareth started them walking to the large, deep sideboard where the herbs and the herbcraft tools were kept. Mortar and pestles were strewn about, some already half-filled with some other healer's efforts. Bandages hung from a thin pole on the wall, ready to be smeared with relevant poultices as necessary.

He gestured her to the table, so she could look it over and see what she recognized. "The Yellow is the healing ajah, plain and simple. Here in the Grey Tower and out in the world, it falls to us to heal and to care for those who need it. With the One Power, with herbs and first aid and triage; the body and the mind. In whatever ways we are so skilled and whatever ways we are so needed, that is our calling."

[Astarte]

Whatever destruction of her innocent assumptions would happen, would go ahead. Betrys was a village girl and as far as shew as concerned the healing provided by the Aes Sedai was magical. Pure and simple.

It didn't actually matter that some of it would be very much like what her mother would accomplish or even that it was usually just as much down to luck (and experience) as what went on normally in her village. None of that would change her fascination or interest in learning all she could from the healers in the Yellow Ajah, though their secrets would have to wait until (and if) she entered into their Ajah when she became a full sister. Not that Betrys was actually all that sure about which Ajah she would end up selecting.

That was some time in the future after all.

"The mind? How do you heal the mind?" Betrys hadn't heard about that sort of thing before. She knew that sometimes people would mention folks being 'sick in the head' but she wasn't really sure that was what they were talking about, it had never seemed to be the case that anyone would consider the option of being able to heal them of this illness. that afflicted them.

[Bella]

"Very carefully," Gareth replied easily, but with certainty. He pulled down a mortar and pestle, sliding it in front of her and dropping the ingredients for a special powder into it. With an economical gesture of his head, he indicated for her to start grinding it. She was here to work, after all, as well as learn. Gareth fell well in line with the Yellows that had taught him: keep working.

While he spoke, he checked on several items that had been left in jars on the shelf above the table. "The mind is just as much a part of the body as the heart or the limbs, but it is a far more complex one. Some Yellows are trained in the ways of the mind from without, being able to observe and understand the factors that make people do what they do. They can talk to them, help people change harmful patterns, or at least least help them understand enough about themselves on their own.

"That is done with simply talking and having a keen knowledge of people. Some Yellows, and this is a rare but no entirely unheard of gift, can use the One Power--complex Delving and Healing--to search inside the mind and find where it is damaged, and try to repair it. It is not only rare, but incredibly difficult and dangerous."

[Astarte]

It sounded...daunting.

While the work with herbs and their uses wasn't unknown or unexpected, this talk of using the One Power to heal someone's mind was a little strange and actually uncomfortable. After all, healing sometimes went wrong and the results could end up causing more harm than good - what happened if that occurred when someone was in your mind.

"It would take a long while to even want to do that - do...do they have special abilities?" she asked, curious about whether a specific strength might be needed or had it been only a matter of figuring out the right sort person to teach the skills too "Are you able to do something like that?" Betrys asked her second question, not completely sure that it wasn't some kind of impertinent question but figuring that he would stop her as soon as she over stretched the mark. In the meantime she would focus on getting answers to her curious questions.

As she waited on the reply, she settled into the physical work, her hands moving the pestle in smooth but firm strokes from her hands as she concentrated on getting the task done properly.

[Bella]

Gareth worked alongside her, having long ago found that such conversations were easier when you had something else to help keep your focus on. "It takes a reasonable amount of strength in the One Power, but more over a marked early Talent in the ability of Healing to be able to achieve that sort of complex healing. Also a great deal of study and training to be able to attempt it safely."

Pausing, he considered his next answer. He didn't want to frighten her, as she seemed...a little prone to timidity. "Yes," he said. "I am able to do it, although it has only been on the rarest of occasions that I have even considered attempting it, let alone done so."

[Astarte]

She definitely felt better with having a specific task in front of her and Betrys didn't need to be told what to do, the development of an exceptional memory had been necessary when she had lacked the ability to read and now it stood her in good stead when it came to lessons that require any sort of rote learning to be applied "Oh. Is it more for men then?" she asked softly. Betrys wasn't sure of her actual strength at the moment, she was still learning and being properly assessed but she did know that mean tended to be stronger than women as a general rule - perhaps this would be something she couldn't learn in any case.

"Is that true of other Healing as well?" Betrys did want to know more "I's know it can sometimes be worse to help" she continued to look down at her work, not quite trusting herself to look up and check his expression. So, far he hadn't objected to her questions but Betrys wasn't sure how far she could go.

[Bella]

He reached up to a higher shelf to pull down some items, some that he'd need and others he knew that she would need. Still focusing on his work, he shook his head. "No, it's not just for me," he said. "Asha'man do tend to have more blunt strength, but the dexterity of the Aes Sedai can often be a benefit over that.

"Healing can be a most delicate process," he continued, not minding her questions in the least. He enjoyed inquisitive minds. "That's why if you want to learn to be a Healer, you must learn how to Delve successfully; you must learn how to identify the problems just as strongly as you know how to fix them. If you don't properly heal something, you won't get a second chance and any damage you do may not be fixable later. Like most things, perhaps more so, you must have great respect for it."