The tawny lady waited, gold tinted coat glinting in the sunlight, accented by her more dominant silver tones. Sunning herself was a rare occurrence and she was more than content to enjoy the simple silence until her student appeared, more than confident she would see trouble coming from her elevated perch atop a slightly rounded boulder. It would seem the wolves presence was enough to convince the wolverines to keep their distance for now. Occasionally she would still stumble across one of their paths, but they would take care of that soon enough.

The scent of meadowsweet permeated the air, and giant blazing starts spotted the banks of the lost lake. It was a good sign, while the plant was not medicinal, it gave her a good idea of what plants may be found in the vicinity. They would be headed up the mountain today. She would give a cursory mention of the plant that gave their home its name, but her main concerns for today centered around ergot and sap from scrub pine. Later, they would search out solomon’s seal, and wolfsbane.

They would probably also encounter skunkbush and white fir, maybe even the first shoots of mountain tobacco, but for now, they would only be collecting ergot and sap. She didn’t want to overload the girl all at once. She would also need to plan some excursions down the heights so she could point out other plants of importance, blackberries, buttercups and willows, yellow rattles and hellebore, wormwood, goldenrod and with any luck some ginger... But she wasn’t sure of her chances on the latter. She had managed to collect small portions of the rest, but still hadn’t come across ginger. Perhaps she would need to look closer to her old home in the ghastly woods?

A smile tugged at the corners of her own mouth at the young girls obvious enthusiasm. It was welcome. She would need it, because she didn’t expect the plants they were searching for to be found easily. ”First, lets start with nightshade...” she began with a small smile on her face. Usually a plant to be avoided she had come to love the heart-shaped leaves with their toothed edges and the little white six petaled flowers. ”Most pups are taught from a very young age to avoid this plant, the ones that don’t usually don’t even show signs until half a day has passed, by then it is far too late to help them... Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to affect rabbits the way it affects us...” She used her head to motion to a lone rabbit rustling amongst a small tendril of the plant. It was everywhere up here.

The thought her own children may be exposed to the plant had crossed her mind and so she planned on making sure all of her pack were well versed in how to cure such an ailment. ”The quickest solution is to make the one who ingested it throw up, either by excessive water consumption or something like skunkbush. She smell alone is enough for some...” Dropping from her elevated position she paused at the base of the rock, nosing at a scrap of pine bark, ”This is scrub pine. Today is a perfect day for what we seek. We will be looking for plants that are leaking sap that has been loosened with the increasing heat. The sap can be chewed for bone pain and swollen joints, a great accelerator for the healing of broken bones.”

Next she moved her attention to several dark pod-like needles no longer than the width of her nose. ”This is Ergot. It is a fungus that grows on grains and grasses, and is particularly laborious to collect, so generally I just take the whole stem and pull them off once I get home. It grows where the vegetation is dense, in the shade. It is used for treating severe headaches and helps to slow bleeding, but you must be careful. The person who takes it may receive pains in their limbs as it slows the flow of blood. Too much can be deadly.”

Moving back so the girl could get a good sniff at each to take in its scent and know their targets she waited for her to be ready to leave. ”I suppose the important thing to remember when healing is that the plants you are using to try and save somebody are also just as likely to kill them if used in excess. You need to be able to tell somebody when enough is enough, regardless of how much pain they may be feeling. Feeling pain means you are alive.”

She looked on happily as Ava dove into the samples eagerly. It pleased her the girl was so eager to learn and was offering insightful questions. ”It will vary from wolf to wolf, obviously, Athena would need far less to overdose than Rhysis. When a wolf takes too much ergot, their limbs will begin to feel as though they are burning. The best way to judge is by asking the patient, most of the time they should be able to tell you how the plants are affecting them...” Happy that Ava had observed as much as she could from the plants she motioned with her head that the girl should follow.

As they walked amongst the trees, she indicated to which trees were scrub pines, although none were currently leaking the sap they required. ”We are fortunate here, we also have access to White Fir, but I won’t go into that in depth today... beyond to mention the bark can be chewed to relieve joint pain, much like willow can be used for general pain and inflammation.” She would reinforce these lessons several times over, she didn’t expect anyone to absorb it all the first time it was mentioned.

Later in the year, when the days grew to their warmest, they would be able to collect mountain tobacco for sprains, bruises and cuts but for now they would have enough to get by.

The small thicket was a little away from the goat track they were taking, but she knew from a previous jaunt that they would find ergot here. As they got closer, a break in the mountainous surrounds bathed a small copse in sunlight and it appeared a few of the scrub pines were weeping small gobs of sap. Finally things were going right. Rising herself onto her rear legs, using her forepaws against the trunk for balance she reached out with cautious jaws to collect a small lump of the golden liquid, thick trails sticking to the tree like cheese on a well cooked pizza, whatever one of those things was.

Hoping Ava would follow suit, she walked amongst the trees, harvesting what she could reach, and cursing what she couldn’t. If only she had wings. When she was convinced they had collected all they could, she left the little balls in three small piles on top of a flat boulder in the sun. ”The individual sap balls aren’t enough. If we leave them here while we look for some ergot, the sun should soften them enough that they will become three usable balls instead of small flecks that may become lost of get carried off by ants. They are quite fond of the stuff...”

As they moved closer she came to quickly realise that something was terribly wrong. The stench of death permeated the air and her nose wrinkled in distaste. Whatever it was hadn’t been there several days before when she had scouted the area and she became tense and cautious. Inching forward, every fiber of her being straining to detect the slightest movement a small groan sounded and her hackles rose on instinct. It wasn’t dead yet... but it soon would be without intervention. Her nose now told her of underlying hints of wolf, with no pack scent remaining on its bedraggled, blood and puss soaked fur. It would seem her theoretical lesson was going to turn into something slightly more practical...

That he was still alive was nothing short of a miracle.

The events of the last month were still a blur, a chronological jumble that he hadn't been able to decipher. It didn't help that he spent a lot of time unconscious.

Where was he now, anyway? Still on the mountain, he believed, but he wasn't sure. It was difficult trying to think past the pain and the hunger. The only reason thirst had not claimed him was because there was something out there, something powerful, which had taken small pity on him; the rains had been generous to the battered boy, and in his moments of lucidity, he had devoured the puddles formed with blind need. But water could not sate him in all the necessary ways.

It didn't help that he was also sure that his hind leg was slowly dying. Nothing alive should hurt that much.

The sound of nearby voices and movement did not even register; Kinis was lost to the world, his eyes open but blank, his sides fluttering as he panted and fought with the burn which permeated his body. It was the fire, come to claim him. He saw nothing but orange trees, burning orange trees. The sound of crackling beneath his feet - the sound of crackling in his skull. It was everywhere. His bloodied, fractured leg twitched, and the fresh wave of hot pain drew a helpless moan from his weak lungs, and then he fell still again, each second a struggle. Curled up underneath a raggedy bush - for his increasingly deranged mind had, at least at one point, had the sense to seek somewhere dark and safe - the broken boy sat, much of his lower body covered in blood-matted fur, the bite-wounds around his neck and shoulders still horrid and scabbed and very close to infected. He had not been able to clean himself - it had taken everything he was to escape with his life. He hadn't really had time to plan beyond that.

He had to get home. But where was home? Where was he now?

Why was everything on fire?

Her honey golden eyes finally picked out the tawny scrap of matted fur and bones. Her heart sunk with his chances but she wouldn’t give him up without a fight, one of her own or not, he was someone’s son, and barely old enough to be out on his own. Ava’s attempt at humour was lost on the golden tinted leader as her sharp eyes observed the rapid rise and fall of the young males chest. ”No, but it looks as if you will be getting hands on learning earlier than anticipated...” she responded as her mind took note of his injuries and what would be needed if they were to stand any chance of saving him.

”Go get the sap. Two lots.” she ordered her student, her tone brokering little argument. Pain relief was the most important component for now, because they would need to move him, and the pain had the potential to kill him if it wasn’t properly managed. The hind leg was broken, the chewed up flesh infected, and already crawling with maggots. While a little disconcerting, it was a good sign. They would only consume the dead flesh, leaving that with the chance to recover untouched. If he did survive, she wasn’t sure his fur would ever cover it again. It would make the winters harsh on him, and the break would always ache with the cold.

With each twitch, another groan would escape his mouth and she visibly flinched in sympathy. The bite wounds about his neck and shoulders gave off a rancid stench, as did most of the cuts he bore. They would need to clean him. Between them they should be able to manage, but again, the pain could be enough to kill him. A wash in the lake would be less painful than scouring the wounds with her rough paws. Once he was clean, they would no doubt discover more wounds concealed beneath the mud and pus.

They would need fireweed, probably more than she had. They could combine some solomons seal with the sap to help his bones heal quicker, and thankfully her recent jaunt to the blackberry fields left her with an ample supply of blackberry roots for a poultice and leaves to close the open wounds. They would have to make them bleed to ensure that they were clean. She needed more Hellebore. She would have to send Ava to collect it, and while she had a sample to show the girl she was concerned. It would mean a trip close to the River wolves. Goldenrod and Willow just wouldn’t cut it this time.