(Reposting of Scaramouche Fandango(Hemlock) and My(Valarie)'s rp contest entry since it was done in the format of a rp)

As he spread the different herbs and barks out, a satisfied sigh escaped his lips. Hemlock was pleased with his arrangement. The medicinal herbs were lined up nicely, their pastel blooms complimenting each other perfectly, and his rolls of birch and willowbark were tied deftly with long blades of grass. Everything was right for today's lesson. Ears twitching, he sat back, awaiting Valarie's arrival. His brightly-colored pupil was going to learn about various relaxants and painkillers today, and he was looking forward to the lesson. Valarie was keen, and eager to learn. It was always a pleasure working with her.

Valarie darted quickly through the leafy green of the forest, eager to see her teacher and have another lesson with him. Well, mostly just to see her teacher. She loved the way his ears twitched when he was pleased with himself and how regal he always looked. His handsome fur was always nicely groomed and just one smile from him could just about melt her heart. The young foundling loved him, and she knew it. But, as intelligent as her mentor was, he seemed completely ignorant when it came to noticing such things as love. Well, today would be different. Today Valarie was going to show him just how much she loved him. Or at least get him to notice that she did. Suddenly the brightly colored female skidded to a stop, having to dig in her heels to keep herself from toppling into her teacher and sending all of his neatly arranged herbs flying. Luckily, she managed to halt a hair's width from the piles and ended up smiling at Hemlock, breathing heavily as she fought to regain her breath.

As Valarie came to a clumsy stop in front of him, a grin on her brightly-colored face, Hemlock couldn't help but smile. The perky female was so enthusiastic about medicine! She looked especially radiant today; he assumed that this must be because of the interesting lesson ahead. "Good day, Valarie!" he said cheerfully. "Don't worry; you aren't late!" She'd been in such a rush, but she was actually a bit early today. "Your promptness is encouraging, m'dear. Today's lesson is going to be a fun one; I brought the herbs that cure pains today!" The pale foundling demonstrated with a sweep of his paw as his pupil looked on.
"Willowbark and chamomile, lavender and birch. Are you familiar with any of these?" As he pointed out each herb, he briefly thought how a small sprig of pale purple flowers would look tucked behind her ear. She was such a vibrant lady, and... No, Hemlock. She's not interested in you, and besides, you're too busy for such a thing, anyways. You're a teacher and a healer. These brief feelings will pass.
Clearing his throat a bit, he waited to see a sign of recognition or obscurity in her gleaming eyes.

Valarie barely had any time to look over her teacher's appearance before he was speaking and she turned her attention to admiring that. "Oh? I'm early? I could have sworn that I was la-" But she cut off as he continued speaking, smiling as she looked down to the medical herbs that her teacher swept his paw over. His excitement was contagious and soon she felt her eagerness turn to her lesson. Hemlock really was a wonderful teacher and he always made even the most boring lessons seem a bit fun, so she doubted that today would be any different. At his question, she frowned lightly, struggling to remember the uses for the different herbs. The names she recognized, but what they cured and how they were used escaped her. With a small, frustrated sigh, she sat down, staring down at the herbs. Then she had an idea. “Master Hemlock, um, would you mind telling me how you would go about curing heartache?”

"Heartache... hm, well, that's tricky. It depends on the kind of ache." Such a studious girl, always wanting to move on even further! "In the elderly, you want to be very careful. Willowbark infused in hot water works wonders. For the young and strong, a drop of, well, hemlock- the plant I'm named after- in hot water works nicely," Hemlock said, blushing a little bit. He knew that hemlock was a poison, and for years had wondered why his mother had named him such a dark name. It wasn't until he became a healer that he understood that, when used properly, hemlock could cure many ills. He swore that he would be that way himself... "Or, now that I think about it, you could use valerian for heartache, too. Again, infused in warm water. It depends on what you want, I suppose." Valerian. A strong herb, and a good one. Very useful, flexible... he'd never really made the connection between his student's name and the miracle herb before, but for some reason it had come to him. "What sort of heartache are we talking about here?"

It took an insane amount of willpower to keep herself from rolling her eyes as her wise teacher completely missed what she meant and went into describing medical herbs that could cure heartache. As brilliant of a man Hemlock was, there were times when she seriously wondered about him. Valarie managed to keep her disappointment from her face, instead listening intently to Hemlock explain the different herbs and was surprised, and delighted, to learn that the herb hemlock and valerian could be used to cure such ailments. How fitting was that? It was almost poetic or fate for them to be together it seemed, or she at least hoped. Now all she needed to do was make him figure out that she loved him. The brightly colored female smiled at his question. How could she answer that… Well, there was one way… She slowly got to her feet and stepped delicately over the neat piles to deliver her mentor a soft kiss on his furry cheek. Valarie blushed, giving her teacher a soft smile before she turned and leapt gracefully over the piles of herbs and darted off into the forest, leaving him to ponder what she meant.

Hemlock sat back, blinking. Did his student... just... but wait... what did... Slowly it dawned on him. "Valerian and hemlock," he murmured, dazed. "That's how you cure heartache." Slowly rising to his feet, he took off, scattering his herbs, which, at the moment, were completely worthless to him. "Hey, Valarie!" he called. He could see her disappearing in the forest, and he ran faster to catch up with her. "I think there might just be another way to cure that heartache of yours..."