Forage

‘Tell me again what was so urgent that we couldn’t have a day inside?’ Tal asked as he half-jogged to catch up with Zane.
‘Because the mirrium berries are out today and we have to collect them by nightfall,’ Zane explained and slowed his stride a half-pace.
‘You keep saying mirrium berries, but I’ve never heard of those before,’ Tal said.
‘That’s because you’re not from Ashenport,’ Zane said and continued after Tal waved a hand for him to explain. ‘Mirrium berries only come out when the full moons align. The moonlight reacts with whatever magic remnant is in the soil beneath Ashenport. The bushes don’t look like much, not really any different to the other foliage that’s around here. But they’re easy to tell apart from the rest of the berries because they give off this pink glow. Problem is, you need to pick them the day following the full moons, otherwise when the moons rise it saps the magic back out of them, leaving just regular old berries with no magic properties.
So, you need to pick them and store them in a dark room like a cellar so that they keep their magic. After that they can be dried or cooked to further preserve them. We find it easiest to dry them and crush them into a powder because then you can take a small scoop with you for on-the-go use.’
Zane realised he was rambling, but the words just kept spilling from his tongue. Talathion seemed to have that effect on him, once he started talking, he remembered everything about the subject and wanted to share it. Perhaps it was because Tal never told him to stop or gave him that look which meant he needed to be quiet. Madame Rosevin gave him that look a lot at the beginning of his apprenticeship, over time Zane began to keep his thought to himself throughout the workday and then spill his mind to Merrin in the evening.
Merrin didn’t seem to mind either, but he also never knew what Zane was talking about. Alchemical terminology would go straight over his head, and once Zane had finished talking about this, that, and the other, Merrin’s follow-up questions would always surmise to a simple ‘What?’ that Zane would have to break-apart and go step by step to figure out what confused him so.
It was different to Tal’s questions, always so specific on a point Zane had said that would ultimately branch into a different conversation. It was an endless cycle that only petered off when one of them grew too tired to respond, typically that was Zane. So it was no surprise when Tal followed up on his rambling.
‘What sort of properties do they have?’ he asked, getting a step closer to Zane as they stepped off the main path and onto the surprisingly dry moorland.
‘One of the main ones is it’s ability to bolster other ingredients, giving them a higher potency as well as more longevity,’ Zane explained. He could already see the faint glow in the distance, and he pulled his coat tighter around himself to ward off the wind as it rolled over the open hills. ‘But it doesn’t always work with everything, so it’s a case of trial and error to see what does and doesn’t react properly. Sometimes it can actually reverse the effects of other ingredients and void their effects, but that is a vary rare case and seems to be reliant on whether or not the other ingredient is affected by certain kinds of magic. We think this is a kind of moon magic, if that’s even a thing, I don’t know, Madame doesn’t exactly like me asking questions about all of the different kinds of magic that there used to be against what still is.’
‘Moon magic is definitely a thing,’ Tal said.
His hand brushed the small of Zane’s back as he guided him over the stepping stones of the small stream that separated them and the berry patch. A feather-light touch that wasn’t unusual from the herbologist, steady fingers guiding Zane through things he was unsure of. He’d done as much when they’d been foraging the day before—and was ultimately the reason Tal had voiced his meagre complaints about leaving his cottage again. Though that was for apples, whortleberries, sloes, juniper berries, all the things that Tal would boil, simmer, and leave to ferment until it was strong enough to have Zane on the floor after just one drink. 
It was always so much better than whatever they served at The Drunken Mercenary, even Merrin agreed. Though Merrin would never turn down a free drink regardless of how it tasted.
Together they had gathered enough for several batches of each, with more than enough juniper to make ten bottles of gin. He already knew Tal would drag him out again in a few weeks for the extra botanicals to go into them, and Zane would agree and pretend that he had his own ingredients to collect. He would ignore the fact that he would say yes even if he had plans, if he had work, and he didn’t know why.
Much like he didn’t know why the warmth of Tal’s hand in his as he helped pull him up the slope made his skin tingle and forget the words he was trying to say.
Tal seemed to be used to the random bouts of silence between the ramblings, as he looked at Zane with a smile before pointing out the bushes ahead of them.
‘Those what we’re looking for?’ Tal asked.
‘Oh, yeah those are the mirrium bushes,’ Zane said as his eyes landed on the pink glow of the berries amongst the bush’s dark leaves.
The short walk over was enough for Zane to steady himself against the sudden wave of breathlessness, and Tal dropped the basket in between the biggest collection of bushes before collapsing back against the grass.
‘I thought you liked long walks in nature?’ Zane asked teasingly, kneeling down beside him, his boots squeaking at the awkward bend.
‘I like long walks if they involve a nice meal along the way,’ Tal said and pushed himself up on his elbows. ‘I didn’t see any pubs on the way here, so I’m guessing there won’t be a hot meal until we’re back in Ashenport.’
‘Not necessarily,’ Zane said already beginning to pluck the brightest berries from the bush closest. ‘There’s one about thirty minutes south of here. The Rose? The Crow? Roost? The King’s something or other.’
None of them sounded right, but it was enough to pique Tal’s interest. Not enough for him to assist in the picking of the berries, but enough that his attention was on Zane rather than the sky above.
‘As long as they serve food, I don’t care what it’s called,’ Tal said, nudging Zane with the tip of his boots. ‘You be up for that, bunny?’
‘Yeah,’ Zane said, turning away so Tal couldn’t see the warmth of his cheeks. ‘But berries first.’
‘You better get picking then.’