Secluded Spring Seeking Help

This was the best Cessair had felt in a long time. No longer was she alone in fighting her dark memories, and no more was she without a friend. The little wolf melted when Nina curled her head around her. For once, she felt safe, and even dared to go so far as to say loved. She continued to stand, unmoving, as a happiness filled her. When a cloud moved, a shaft of light beamed down to where the two wolves stood, and the whole forest seemed to <span class='word'>deflagrate</span>. Dancing leaves glowed neon green and created a kaleidoscope image on the ground, and the beautiful birdsong gained intensity. A realization struck the yearling in the beauty of the moment: her mother, although dead, must still be with her, watching her and loving her from somewhere. Maybe her brother was there too. The little girl smiled.

Even though the golden wolf admitted that there wasn't much she could do for her, Cessair was not discouraged. Talking to her did indeed help, and she became sure that her visions would now begin to decline. She would also take care to build up a good base of friends to talk to like Nina suggested, in case her mind attacked her again. As the cloud returned and blocked the sun again, Cessair pulled a step back and looked into the female's green eye. <b>"Thank you, Nina. Just talking with you has helped, and I'm sure now that I will be getting better. I don't feel like I need those herbs now, but could you show them to me so I can recognize them later, just in case?"</b>

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/NinaTable.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 312px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">Her eye remained solely on the young girl in front of her, her golden fur giving off the sense of protection she gave to those around her so often. She bent down to give the small female a reassuring lick on the forehead before the two broke apart from each other. The day was a beautiful one and it would be the perfect day to hunt for herbs after her encounter. She had missed her healer self and knew that now she would have to get back into her regular pattern. Her ears twitched slightly at the words the smaller girl said, and Nina nodded her head automatically, "Of course. Let me go collect them. I might take awhile and I apologize ahead of time for the inconvenience. I will be back as soon as I can."

With those quick words to the yearling she was off again, weaving her way towards the Springs where nearby, the herbal sanctuary would be. Her nose stuck into the area gently and scented the calming lavender and valerian, and soon a small, satisfied smile crawled upon the girl’s face. Picking the purple flower first before moving briefly towards the green plant, she once again started her way towards Cessair. Her pace wasn’t as slow as it had first been when she had gotten attacked. . .but it was still slow. When she arrived she searched for the small lady, her nose twitching.

Cessair just nodded when the healer left. She was no longer afraid of waiting by herself, as she knew the specter would not dare visit her at the moment. Seizing the moment of solitude, the little wolf drank in her surroundings. Clouds still cluttered the sky overhead, and the breeze continued to tickle her fur, but she felt <span class='word'>nary</span> a chill in the otherwise dreary setting. The scent of the pack border overtook most other smells from where Cessair stood, but she could still detect the water beyond it and the forest brimming with life behind her. Another fragrance attracted her attention from a short distance away, so she padded in its direction, enjoying the feel of the soft grass brushing her paws as she passed.

The scent took Cessair to a clump of tall grass, but she knew that wasn't the source. Ever so gently, she poked her nose through the wiry plants and brushed it to the side. Just beyond, she discovered a plant with a prominent reddish stem that was adorned with delicate pink flowers. She carefully touched her nose to one tiny blossom and closed her eyes as she inhaled its sweet perfume. As she drew away again, it mysteriously left a pleasant taste in her mouth that could only be described as crisp or fresh. Lulled by the glorious halcyon moment, Cessair simply sat and let no thoughts at all run through her mind.

All too soon, a raspy syllable rang through the air; it was a jay warning to all who could hear that another creature had appeared. Cessair again tasted the air to confirm that it was Nina, then shouldered her way back through the tall grass, being careful not to disturb the beautiful flower. She also smelled some freshly plucked plant life, which must have been the herbs. Resisting the urge to bound forward in curiosity, Cessair instead walked calmly toward the golden brown wolf with an inquisitive expression, ready to learn about these medicinal plants.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/NinaTable.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 312px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">When Cessair appeared through the bushes, Nina’s tail curled in happiness at seeing the young girl. When she approached calmly, the golden angel was thrilled. Being calm while learning was something someone would have to own when learning about herbs. Otherwise, as soon as one would learn the material, it would disappear right out of their minds. She soon placed the two herbs in two different piles, waiting patiently until the lone wolf was completely in front of her. And soon with a small smile, Nina was all business and no fun. Pushing the small green herb forward she started to speak, "This is valerian. Hard to identify so you have to memorize the scent. It is a rare herb so try not to use it too much."

Her tail started to wag quickly, happy that she could remember the herbs qualities. With a smile she pushed the lavender forward with a small clearing of her throat. "This is lavender, highly common. It is one of the best calming remedies around. Easy to find and remember. I hope this is enough for you, Cessair."

As Nina explained each herb's qualities, Cessair enthusiastically sniffed them in turn, paying particular attention to the valerian. Since it did look similar to many other plants, she wanted to commit the smell to memory like the golden wolf suggested. With the intent of sending the smell all the way up to her brain where it would be stored, the young wolf put her nose right up to the herb and inhaled deeply. She then promptly withdrew with a reaction that was a cross between a cough and a sneeze. The plant carried a somewhat pungent scent that she was not expecting. Reassuring herself that such was an odor not easily forgotten, Cessair tried to expel the remaining smell by forcing the air back out the way it came in.

Next, she came to the lavender. For good measure, and partly to relieve her nose from the lingering scent of the valerian, the light brown wolf sniffed this plant too. It was delightfully pleasant. She had seen this plant many times before, and yet she never knew of its remedial qualities. The new knowledge excited Cessair, and her tail began to wag as a curious spark flashed in her eyes. As hard as she was trying to stay calm and learn, she couldn't help herself; there were so many questions to ask.

<b>"If lavender works so well, and valerian is so difficult to find, why not just use lavender? Is valerian even better -- or does it treat different symptoms?"</b> Here, the eager wolf took a breath to make sure she wasn't talking too fast to be understood. <b>"And, well, how do I use them? Is there a certain part I have to eat, or what?"</b> The last thing she wondered, but didn't ask out loud, was whether Nina wanted her to take these. Even if she did, she didn't have anywhere to put them, as she was without a pack, without a den. No, surely these were for the older female's own stores? The little wolf looked up to Nina's one good eye with enthusiasm and wonder, waiting to learn more about the herbs.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/NinaTable.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 312px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">She watched in curiosity as the female in front of her sniffed the plants. A thoughtful look crossed the young girl’s face, and it almost reminded her of a mini Nina. A small turned on her face when the small girl asked some questions. She was going to get to that, but curiosity was never a bad thing when it came to herbs. Questions were always good when it came to medicine. It would be foolish for someone to take an herb claiming they knew what to do and then get even more ill because they didn’t take it correctly. Healers were usually the ones who were right in these situations.

Her answer was soft and calm when words escaped her, "Valerian is better if your stomach is kind of stressed, so you eat it. I know it doesn‘t smell good, but it works miracles. The lavender, you simply sniff. I find it as one of the best smelling herbs and it helps calm your mind. It can make you drowsy though, so be careful." Her good eye was wide when she finished, taking deep breaths. It had been so long since she had said anything medical, and giving her information to someone else just brought her more joy!

The curious young wolf listened attentively to Nina's words. She wanted to make sure she heard every word and would be able to remember them. Using plants for anything other than cover or an occasional snack was an idea completely new to her, especially using them for medicinal purposes. As a lone wolf, knowledge of what herbs could be taken and what they did would have been, and will be, invaluable. Nodding in acknowledgement of the healer's words, Cessair committed to pay more attention to herbs, and to learn more about them whenever she could.

It seemed that the golden female was about as enthusiastic about sharing her knowledge as Cessair was about listening. Her insatiable curiosity continued to demand she ask more questions, but the girl had enough sense to recognize that it was nearly impossible for any wolf to know the answers. <i>Who first thought of using plants to heal? How do you find out which herbs can be used for what? Why do certain plants have certain effects?</i> Postulating answers to these questions would be saved for a later time, as now was the time to learn. After Nina was finished teaching, Cessair's tail gave a quick wag as she dipped her head. <b>"Thank you. I will remember everything you told me!"</b>

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/NinaTable.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 312px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">After she was done speaking she looked at Cessair with a confident air around her. She was extremely happy about the way things had turned out. Nina had taught another some of her knowledge and the younger creamy female had gladly listened and taken in everything that she had said. Her own golden brown tail wagged quickly behind her and a large smile was plastered on her face. Sadness about knowing that the two of them would soon have to go separate ways again nagged at her though. She didn’t want to see the young woman go yet, but Nina knew that she wouldn’t be able to help it.

With a quick nuzzle to the girl she asked one last question, "Is there anything else you need? Or would like to know?" The golden brown angel wouldn’t have minded if there was another thing she could have done to make the female more comfortable around the world that she was entering. Relic Lore was a wonderful land, but it didn’t mean there weren’t dangers around in the area. Anyone could second her thoughts on that. It was pretty impossible to live somewhere where trouble wasn’t lurking.

Cessair surveyed her surroundings once again, reviewing what she had learned with satisfaction. She would always be open to more instruction on healing herbs, but recognized that learning about two was a good start -- any more and the information would begin getting mixed up in her head. Whenever she needed to learn something more, the young girl decided, she would make a point to come back to the golden healer if it was possible. Not only was this because she trusted Nina's knowledge, but also because she enjoyed her counsel. The little chocolate and tawny wolf knew she would be sad to have to leave.

Of course, staying wasn't much of an option. Nina had responsibilities within her pack. Besides, Cessair had met no other wolves from this pack yet, and she didn't know how the other wolves would react to finding her near their borders. The call to wander and explore was still present within the girl, and her paws itched to get moving. Cessair knew she would settle down eventually, though, and she could only hope that her future packmates were as kind as this golden wolf. She began to think about which direction she would explore next as she answered Nina's questions. <b>"I think I am fine for the moment, but I would like to know if I could come visit you again if ever I need help? Thank you so much for teaching me about the herbs. I would like to know more, but for now, what I've learned so far will be enough for me to remember. And thank you for all of your help."</b> Her farewell would be bid as soon as she knew that she could always come back to Nina for help.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/NinaTable.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 312px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">Her emerald eye was looking into the sky as she awaited Cessair’s words. The day was calm, nothing disturbing the small area they were around. Her head then tilted back towards the creamy girl, her eye mainly on her. It wouldn’t be bad to have another pack mate in their midst. And having one that was trustworthy and smart wouldn’t be a bad thing anyways. Trust and loyalty was key when it came to pack life, if staying in a pack and separating from her mate wasn’t loyalty enough then she didn’t know what was. Her ears strained forward, desperate to hear something from the female.

When the small girl’s words came, Nina smiled. She honestly didn’t even know why the lady had to ask. Of course she would be here if the girl ever needed any help and if something changed with her life plans then she would seek the young girl out and tell her. Lips parted, soft words echoed throughout the girl’s mouth, "I had a great time helping you out. And of course. I will be here to the best of my ability to help you out."