[Gift] 2.4 Strange Shrooms - Alistair and Satin

They were about half way to the train station when Alistair called ahead for Harry to halt. Satin had been trying to nibble at something on the side of the road and wouldn’t leave her nose out of it. Finally he dismounted and pulled her over to Harry to hold. “Could you take her for a moment? I want to see what’s got her so interested.” With a nod the older man took her reins and kept her preoccupied while they sat on the side of the old dirt road.

Alistair kneeled down and pushed some of the grass aside, finding some rather strange mushrooms he had never seen before. “Ah, that’s… peculiar.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and started inspecting them, nudging them and checking their undersides. He wasn’t personally familiar with any sort of fungi but he remembered several lessons he had learned over the years about how to handle them.

“What is it?” Harry called from his perch atop the cart. He was craning his neck trying to see what had Alistair so intrigued. “No Satin, stay still.” He spoke firmly and drew her closer as the mare tried to step back towards the grass.

“Mushrooms!” He called back, finally plucking one and holding it in the cloth. He carried it over to the opposite side of the cart Satin was on to keep her from trying to eat it. Daemon arched his head around to look back at them best he could. Even he seemed to be sniffing at them and Satin reached her head over him to try and get closer.

“Mushrooms…?” Harry’s brow raised as he looked down at the object in the other man’s hand, struggling to keep the mare from upsetting Daemon. “Oh that is strange looking…” he muttered, watching as Alistair twisted it about and showed him the underside. The fungus at first glance looked like a normal mushroom, its top blended in with the dying grass but its underside was completely black and speckled with odd growths. The area where the doctor had plucked it also had a darker inside where it had been separated from its stem. “Maybe you should leave them there, we have no idea if they’re poisonous.”

“But I’ve never seen anything like it, I’d like to send some samples back to the academy. Maybe Cassandra could bring them home with her?”

Harry hummed and shrugged. “Well, we still have a spare bag, just keep them separate from everything else and it’ll probably be fine.”

“I’ll just put them in Satin’s bag and we can wash it all later.” Alistair said as he returned to pluck a few more samples and returned to the mare. She once again tried to nose at him for them but with Harry’s help he kept her at bay. “Nope, not for you Satin. Plus we don’t even know if they’re safe.”

“You think with how drawn she is to them they’re fine?” Harry asked as Alistair mounted back up and shortly the two were back on their way down the road. “I wouldn’t dare test it though. Glad you stopped her before she could nibble them.”

“It’s possible, I think most animals can sense if something is safe to eat. But I’ve also read that some plants, assumedly fungi as well, can evolve to mimic other plants or attract certain animals. This may sound ridiculous but with what the darkness has done to our world I wouldn’t put it past a fungus trying to poison an animal just to have something to fertilize its colony.”

“That’s disgusting.” Harry shook his head. “Well, I hope you can get some answers on this thing but just keep it far away from the rest of our goods.”

“I will, I wrapped them up tight in my handkerchief so I doubt between that, the bag and the satchel they’ll spread.” Alistair chuckled. “I can’t wait to get the letters from the academy on the results. Though I’m far more excited to see Cassandra, I wonder what she’ll think of them. By now she might know more about foraging than I do.” He patted Satin. “I especially can’t wait for her to meet you, pretty girl. She’s been so excited to get a chance to see you and Daemon.” The mare simply snorted in retort and swished her long tail.