> They didn't listen, and now they were covered in red welts and bumps. The human warned them that there were few, even among humans, who didn't react when harvesting this plant. And now they itched all over. They called them cattails, but they didn't realize those edible things were also irritants!
> ((Note, cattail plants contain an irritant on that lovely pod of theirs. While highly edible, it's advised to wear gloves when harvesting them.)) -- Anon Guest
[AN: Cattails are fascinating]
"They looked so fluffy," complained Grik. "I thought they were pet-able. Most fluffy things on this world are pet-able." He went to scratch some of the red welts on his arm, but stopped himself. Reaching instead for the topical lotion to soothe the irritation.
"I understand the logic," said Forager Bren, busy mixing up another batch of his family recipe for the potion. "I swear I warned you. Did I forget or was it you?"
"I thought you might have been being overprotective. Like the small dog incident."
"Listen. Chihuahuas, Shih Tsus, and Pomeranians are super savage because people treat them like toys, okay? Piffle Bean was a statistical outlier. The phrase, _the smaller the dog, the bigger the hate_ exists for a _reason_."
Grik rolled his eyes and sighed, "Of _course_ you Humans would modify wolves and then treat them like toys..."
"Yeah, we're kind of stupid like that." Bren shook his head and tested the drizzle of his concoction. "People have been trying to make other people stop doing that for literal centuries and _still_..." another sigh. "Ain't no mistake like an old mistake."
Grick considered the rash on his arms, his legs, and a significant portion of his middle. "Case in point?"
"Case, indeed, in point," nodded Bren.
[Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@antoie?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Anastassia Anufrieva</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-small-dog-with-a-leash-on-its-neck-AsN1pLEGKAM?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>]
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