Kagehide had to remind himself that this woman had not been of his pack, had not seen his skills before. While he didn't care to have his credentials questioned, he understood the reasoning for it. Though, by the sounds of it, she could hardly be choosy. "I was an apprentice for nearly three years prior to replacing my mentor when she died a year ago for my former pack. An opportunity elsewhere had me leave." He grumbled the last bit, annoyed that he felt compelled to defend his reasoning for no longer being with his pack. Determined not to overshare, Kage aimed to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"Your dying friend, what are their symptoms? Male, female? Age?" The more he knew before he got there, the faster he could come up with a targeted treatment plan.

As they walked, his sharp gaze scoured the terrain, picking out plant shoots peeking from out of the snow that may be useful. Not much grew in this area, he noted, that wasn't already pulverized by winter's icy claws. It didn't bode well for her friend's chances.

Back legs giving out wasn't much to go on. Kage would be tempted to think it related to arthritis and a sudden weakness, but why would she be so convinced she was dying? However, a history of a sibling suffering something similar before dying early had the healer frowning. He'd learned most causes of early, unexplained deaths were related to a weakness in the heart. Did they share the same disease, and only now, her heart was failing her? It was a troubling thought. He could do very little for such illnesses if they were a physical abnormality. And guessing wrong on the source could be catastrophic.

Heart disease could also explain her back legs going out if she had clots forming. To this day, Kage still vividly recalled the post-mortem examination Kenji had performed on a recently deceased packmate. Even as a pup, he hadn't been deaf to the whisperings of the naysayers. That what Kenji was doing was blasphemy and disrespectful of the dead. But the Alphas had put such talk to rest with vicious snarls that Kagehide could still hear if he thought about it enough. The examination had revealed a lot to the pup. Disgusted as he was by the stench, he was fascinated to soak in all that Kenji had to teach him about how the body worked. That particular wolf had thrown multiple clots which ultimately led to him suffocating from lack of functioning lungs, which explained why all their treatments had been in vain. It had been a decent lesson on how they were not omnipotent. All they could do as healers was work with what they knew. Sometimes, they would be wrong.

Kage recalled, too, how he vowed to never expose an apprentice of his own to such an examination. While he had learned a lot from it, he had smelled the stench of mire and the darkness of the exam lingering in his fur for weeks. The nightmares had lasted longer.

"I'll see what I can do," he vowed to @Moonshadow. "You just need to prepared to hear that there may not be anything for me to do."

And if that was the case, Kage would speak to his patient in private. If she was suffering...he could end it in a peaceful manner.

Kagehide stepped without hesitation over the obvious scent markers for pack territory, fearless in his endeavor. With the Alpha leading him on, no pack wolf would dare think to attack him. And if one did? He could hold his own when necessary. Other times, he relied on more covert measures. The herbalist followed @Moonshadow to a medical den.

As they came up on the five-going-on-twelve year old, Kage frowned. She looked awful. At her side was a pup that Kage only took a mild interest in. Healthy pups were of little consequence to him and more a nuisance than anything. Still, the male inclined his head as he was introduced to both his new patient and her little shadow. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." His eyes didn't carry the sentiment, focused instead on his task as he was. "May we speak in private?" he asked @Namid, inclining his head towards @Tulip for Moonshadow to entertain. "I think highly of my patient's confidentiality."