Lorcan had spent the morning out collecting herbs and berries, travelling from the palisade and now he meandered slowly through Stonewatch Timbers. In his jaws he held gently onto his morning’s bouquet of wild plants, being careful not to damage their delicate leaves or snap their stems within his grasp. As the subordinate meandered through the labyrinth of trees, his golden eyes were focused upon the flora which hovered temptingly along the ground, drawn in by their vibrant colours and peculiar shapes. He wasn’t searching for anything in particular, in fact, his trip had been more of an exploration, trying to work out where different plants grew, as he gradually wandered further from the pack lands in search of any plants he could stash away in the medicinal cache.

With the light patter of the rain, which seemed to have fallen frequently in the past week, Lorcan was in half a mind to turn around and abandon the mission. But his curiosity had yet to be satisfied, as his gaze trailed up the sloping heights of a rocky hill which towered over the height of the tallest flat-land dwelling trees. Through the rain he continued onwards, his head angled down to avoid the precious plants getting wet and limp. When he finally escaped the clutches of the trees, he was faced with a precarious looking rocky slope. Unwilling to clamber up the steep edge of the hill, for the bite wound on his right hip was still not fully healed, Lorcan traipsed around in search of a gentler slope to climb. As he turned a bend, he heard a yelp and his golden eyes swept over a dark figure at the base of the rocky hill. An elderly male appeared to be slumped awkwardly against a tree, and a few small stones continued to tumble down a few feet from where the wolf was laying. Had the old male fallen? He dropped the plants immediately from his mouth, the pile falling to settle at the base of a tree.

“Sir!” He called, as he leapt into a gallop, wincing as he felt the skin around his bite wound stretch and possibly tear a little, he moved with haste to stand over the dark figure. “Sir, are you alright?” He breathed, still trying to catch his breath. “You seem to have taken a tumble..” His golden eyes flickered over to the slippery looking slope nearby. He wasn’t sure if he was hurt, or how badly, but the impact with the trees can’t have been comfortable. “Can you stand? Does it hurt anywhere?” He asked, trying to reassure him as he took a step back to give the elder some space to recompose himself if he was able.

Lorcan hadn’t realised that the elderly male had been knocked unconscious, having been too far away notice. Russet ears twitched incessantly in all manner of directions at the strangers’ moaning and mumbling as he breezed in closer, struggling to comprehend exactly what was being said. Not wishing to come across as rude or dim, Lorcan greeted the male was a soft smile and a tilt of his head, hoping to make more sense of what the elderly monochrome-coloured wolf was saying when he next spoke; but instead of words, the subordinate was taken aback when he received a chesty snarl and the threat of flashing fangs.

Golden eyes widened and Lorcan couldn’t help but release a small yelp and he stumbled back a few steps, chest heaving and the dark fur along his spine bristled subconsciously. The elderly male sounded positively unimpressed with his presence, scolding him like a pup for intruding. Although a single grow rose in confusion, having smelt no marked boundaries nor observing any obvious signs of a pack, his tail still curled submissively limply between his legs as he scrambled to quickly apologize. “S-sorry, Sir, it was not my intention.” He murmured as he took another few steps backwards, his golden eyes darting awkwardly along the ground.

“I just thought—” He began, stopping mid-sentence to observe the elderly male struggle to stand before finally slumping back down to a furry heap on the ground. “—you might need some assistance.” Charcoal lips twisted awkwardly as his suspicions were confirmed. The elderly male’s attention seemed to wonder then and Lorcan struggled to follow the strangers caramel gaze as it flitted around their surroundings before their eyes suddenly locked and the man mumbled an apology. Lorcan’s tail unfurled from between his legs to hang neutrally behind him, feeling a little more at ease. “I think you fell from up there..” His muzzle rose to point towards the disturbed rocks that tumbled down the side of the slope and lead to the base of the tree.

Finally the male admitted that he was, in fact, in pain – which had been someone obvious to Lorcan by now. Lorcan smiled again, slightly bemused. “Well I imagine colliding with this tree here didn’t do you much good, Sir." He held back a grin, but his brows furrowed in genuine concern. "You could be concussed." Stepping forwards now, head lowered in respectful greeting. “I’m actually training to be a healer; if you like I could check you over, make sure there's nothing serious?” He asked sincerely, hoping that the old male wouldn’t snap at him for the offer.

Lorcan watched with concern as the old man struggled to a stand before his golden eyes followed up to the rocky incline with a nod of his head. “It’s quite a way down..” He murmured, in an attempt to highlight the potential seriousness of the situation.

The elder questioned what a concussion was and as Lorcan glanced back across to look at him, he noticed just how unsteady he was on his feet. Dashing over, Lorcan pressed himself against the old man’s side to steady him as he settled comfortable back down on the ground. “Y-you should take it easy, Sir.” He suggested hesitantly. “Don’t want you taking another fall..” Lorcan felt almost sorry for him.

The old man agreed to let him inspect him for injuries and Lorcan half laughed-half snorted at his joke, taking a few steps back to get an overview of the situation. But then the man’s laughter turned into a growl as stared into the distance behind him. Expecting it to be a threat, Lorcan’s hackles raised and his black lips pulled back as he swiftly turned around…only to be faced with Morganna.

Hackles immediately dropped along with his body, as he slunk down low in apology, tail falling to dangle between his legs in submission to his superior. “My apologies, Ma’am.” He whined, salmon pink tongue sweeping across his lips anxiously. “N-no, I was out collecting plants for the cache.” He admitted, slowly rising back to stand before stepping to the side to let the elder male behind him come into view.

The old male snapped at him, seemingly intimidated by Morganna’s presence. “It’s fine, Sir, calm down.” He breathed, hoping to calm the monochrome man down. Glancing back to Morganna, he quickly explained the situation. “This gentleman took a fall and I offered to check him over.” Hopefully that would satiate any hostilities between them. Turning his attention back to his patient, he moved back in closer to sniff around the male’s monochrome fur for traces of blood.

“Did it hurt anywhere when you stood up, Sir?” He questioned, glancing back in want of an answer as he slowly walked away and sniffed around for the bouquet of herbs and berries that he had tossed to the side minutes before.

Morganna’s verbal warning back to the old male caused a flicker of tension to spark through the air. Naturally, being a submissive individual, Lorcan felt the need to break up the hostility between the two wolves. Slightly distrusting of the elderly male, Lorcan instinctively chose to quickly approach the swarthy figure of his female superior. Submissively the agouti male nestled his muzzle underneath her chin, salmon pink tongue flicking up and out of his mouth to lick at her jowls in an attempt to calm her whilst also identifying her to the elderly male, as the more respected party out of the pair of them.

Then, swivelling back around, Lorcan quickly grabbed the bouquet of herbs in his jaws before returning back to the side of the old monochrome brute. Placing the bouquet on the ground close to the fallen male, Lorcan began to tease through the different plants with his nose in search of the one he needed. When Morganna enquired about Hellebore, Lorcan turned to face her with a disappointed frown. “Umm, no, but—” He turned to finally grasp the yellow-flowered plant out from the pile and place it in front of his patient, before glancing back across to Morganna. “I found this goldenrod earlier, which could also help?” There was a slight questioning tone to his voice, as if he wanted reassurance from his superior, but still, he proceeded to use the plant anyway, sticking to his first instinct.

Grasping the goldenrod back in his jaws, he bit off a section of it and nudged it towards the elderly male. “It won’t taste very nice, but if you chew it, it will help with the headache and your soreness in general.” He offered a warm smile to the man, hoping that he would accept his help.