i brought flowers to the gunfight

Dire times…

That was the warning that had conditioned her acceptance. This pack that her aching heart had yearned to belong to happened to be doused in tensions just in time for her arrival. She could smell the tension in the air whenever the breeze stilled and left it stale. The feeling hung around, only noticeable if you noticed it, like the rising hot humidity before thunder struck. To anger a wolf was one thing, but for discontent to raise to the level of an entire pack was another. It required much more effort than a personal grudge, and was rarely - in her experience - settled without warfare. Perhaps, the tawny wolf thought darkly, a tangible war would be enough to distract her from the war in her mind.

Ami swallowed the bitter thought with a grimace and quieted her mind’s imagination to continue ambling down the path she had chosen on the banks of the river. This was her first project following her recent acceptance, busying herself to nose along the water’s edge for useful herbs. The winter had been long and cold, but spring had been in thaw long enough that she could sniff the beginnings of plants that liked to grow riverside. Hellbore was one of them, sweetgrass another. If she started to harvest early and often, keeping a rotating grid of when and where she pulled the roots, they would be able to stockpile the herbs quickly while maintaining a healthy growth supply for those dire times.

She kept an eye out, of course, for the brown-capped mushrooms that aided her so. For the time being the distraction of work was enough to keep sober, but Amisun didn’t doubt that she would want them again. Even the thought set an itch upon her spine that she quenched with a short growl. Pragmatic as she tried to be, Ami decided to prove herself a loyal member before heading for loops again.

Chewing a dried lavender stalk in the comforting shade of Lachesis’ den, the healer’s apprentice couldn’t have been more at ease. Sure she had been waiting for Lachesis for a long while now, but he was a busy man.. not only was he the sole healer in Cut Rock River; he now had not one but two ladies vying for his attention. Karina had expected her tutor to be scarce around mating season on account of the lovely Bastet, but with the new arrival of Anastasia the specterlike man had disappeared like an actual ghost. Karina had been doing some of the more menial tasks, such as collecting herbs from the surrounding territories, but she couldn’t help but feel that her studies were lagging a bit.

The girl grinded the lavender stalk in her back teeth, inhaling deeply as the plant released its calming scent. She knew she ought to not dip into her teacher’s lavender stores for recreation purposes, but if someone needed burns treated, they could always use Goldenrod. Karina avoided looking back at the stores, which she knew contained relatively little Goldenrod since it was a plant that did not grow in the immediate area. Lachesis’ den suddenly felt a little stuffy, and the Baranski princess exited quickly, deciding to take a walk by the river to check on their wet-environment inclined herbs. They were due to sprout any day now.

Ginger and sweet-grass, salmon-berry, helle-bore.. the young apprentice hummed her little song to herself as she ran, the lyrics a reminder of what she was looking for.  Just as she got to the hellebore part, she stopped in her tracks in surprise at seeing a stranger nosing around the hellebore patch. The lavender stalk tumbled from her teeth as she stared open-mouthed at the strange wolf invading her supplies. “What are you doing?” The question fell from her mouth as quickly as the lavender stalk. The stranger smelled of her mother, so Karina knew she must be a new recruit, but honestly.. another healer? Wasn’t the medicine den crowded enough?

Karina knew her parents and Lachesis would be disappointed in her for treating the newcomer so rudely, but the pup couldn’t stop herself.  It just wasn’t fair.  Cut Rock River had a healer and an apprentice, what did they need another one for? Without even knowing her name, Karina just knew this strange lady was going to be yet another pretty female vying for her teacher’s attention. “Nothing’s sprouted yet. I check every day.” Karina insisted, the tiny lie spilling from her lips easily aided by the lavender’s calming effect. It had been almost a week since she checked the hellebore. Though she didn’t say it out loud, her tone might as well have screamed, leave! 

Please excuse Karina's brattiness.. she can't control her teen angst. I actually think these two are going to be good friends if Ami gives her a chance. x)

   

    
 

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

The youth's approach was announced by the distinctive scent of lavender that eclipsed her own, prompting the tawny-coated female to raise her head toward the visitor. Amisun swung her head toward the girl just in time to watch the chewed-up stalk hit the ground and see the words as they spat from her jaws. Kisla had been pregnant when she intercepted her at the border so it was not particularly surprising that the young wolf reprimanding her now had the same notes within her scent. The youth was nearly a yearling, about as tall as she'd end up but not close to filled out - certainly a litter from the year prior. And, as it would seem, Amisun had caught some ill will from the daughter.

I check every day. The girlish anger in her voice brought back jarring memories of litters before, her love for those children buried so deep that it might never surface again. Amisun swallowed dry and attached a wry smile to her lips, pale blue eyes surveying the girl from toe to tip before finally settling on her similar-toned gaze. Her smile brightened somewhat. It seemed the Baranski girl was a healer of her own right - not the healer she had been instructed to seek, perhaps - but a likely companion if it became her duty in the pack. It would be wise to make a friend where the other was attempting to find a foe. Ami turned her gaze back toward the riverbank and sniffed the hellebore roots where they hid beneath the surface.

"Thank you for telling me," she responded kindly. Her matronly instinct engaged, an attempt to decipher the child's true feelings. Maybe she was just shy of change - maybe she was an honest brat. Only time would reveal. "That must be your scent along this path, then. You've been doing a fine job." Ami tested the white lie with a careful twitch of her ear. Her eyes slid back toward the Baranski youth, seeking a response.

I agree they could get along! Luckily Ami has a great deal of patience for all sorts of ailment - even angst ;p

(This post was last modified: Apr 07, 2015, 10:28 PM by Amisun.)

Karina blinked in confusion at the stranger’s kind tone. Gratitude and patience hadn’t been the reply she was expecting, and she shifted nervously. The newcomer spoke again, this time praising Karina’s efforts.. the efforts she had lied about, truth be told. Her face grew hot—thank the fates wolves can’t blush—and her ears lowered as the girl felt suddenly ashamed of herself. This was a lesson she would remember: meeting harsh words with kindness could have a very humbling effect. The pup shuffled her paws and stared at the ground, finding it difficult to look the herbalist in the eyes. “Well…” she uttered, chancing a glance at the strange woman’s face.  The tawny wolf’s eyes were a very lovely shade of lilac, and they were watching her, waiting for a response.

“I haven’t checked the hellebore today,” the child finally conceded. “Not yet, at least.” Karina took a few steps forward and lowered her nose to the ground as if sniffing for hellebore roots, though her periwinkle eyes remained fixated on the stranger. ”I’m Karina,” she finally said. The newcomer most certainly already knew who she was, but the pup was hoping she might share her own name. Now that Karina was closer she could smell the herbal scent wafting around the tawny lady, confirming that she was in fact a healer.  If Cut Rock River had another healer, no doubt Karina’s parents would expect them to work together. "Maybe you could help me?” she suggested in a tiny voice, nose going back to the ground. Hopefully the woman wouldn’t notice her embarrassment.

   

    
 

Ami was lucky, even slightly relieved, to see that a gesture of kindness was enough to have the young wolf lay her weapons down. Though when the youth’s ears drooped Ami gave a simple sweeping wave of her tail. She hadn’t meant to shame the girl - that was what she hoped to show with her gesture. Thankfully the child did not squirm for too long, mustering up the courage to meet her gaze and admit that the hellebore did need checking. As she came closer, the older wolf relieved the space between them so that the youth would not be intimidated by close quarters.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Karina,” she responded with a sweet smile. The sentiment was true, not because she had anticipated the meeting or anything, but because the guarded Baranski was a similar shade of wolf to herself. It was good to be in good company. She went on, “My name is Amisun, but you could call me Ami if you’d prefer.”

In a voice rather small, Karina requested Ami’s help with the duty. Her tail gave a quick wave of agreement, then voiced aloud. “I would be delighted to help you,” she responded, her voice in genuine tones of cheer. “And I think that you will help me, too.” After all, Karina had already proven her retention of botany by knowing the name of the plant growing by the riverside alone. The tawny she-wolf was certain there was more where that came for, as well. Lowering her nose to the ground she joined the youth in the task of seeking out the roots, shifting her weight from paw to paw as she slowly shuffled down the bank.

Still, she desired to get to know the apprentice better and thus prompted as simply as she could, “How long have you been studying?” Karina had already gotten quite the jump on Amisun’s trajectory. The she-wolf had started to study botany when she was a yearling, and only ever took it seriously in practice when she had reached two years old. From a glance she could assume that the Baranski youth was as bright as the moon, doubtlessly a hunch to be confirmed the longer their conversation existed.

The littlest Baranski continued sniffing at the soil, meeting the newcomer’s violaceous gaze as she introduced herself.  Amisun offered her assistance in the same gracious tone, as if it were an honor to be called upon by Karina, and a small smile began to tug at Karina’s lips. ”Maybe,” the child answered noncommittally, unsure of whether or not she was ready to offer her help to yet another healer. Lachesis kept her busy enough!

“Usually we try not to take too much from these patches within the border. They’re for emergencies.” It was always best to collect your stores slowly, from faraway sources, before tapping into the sources close to home. That way, if one of the herbs ran low during a crisis, it could always be fetched up quickly from nearby. The girl said usually because she had overheard the rumors—as Amisun likely had—that Cut Rock River might be moving soon. When the entire family shared a communal den, it could be hard to keep secrets... even if they’re whispered in the dead of night, there’s always someone awake to overhear. If the pack was leaving, these patches Karina had carefully cultivated would be of course be ripped from the ground and brought along.

Amisun asked her how long she had been studying, and Karina cocked her head curiously. The tawny woman might as well have asked her how long she had been alive, because the child’s first memories were of asking Lachesis about different plants. ”I’ve been the healer’s apprentice for nearly a moon,” the pup offered. Learning the healing properties of the plants had been easy—Karina had the nose and the knack for that work, easily detecting the medicinal uses of an herb with just a sniff. Memorizing the names of the plants, where they grow, and how to harvest and cultivate them were a different matter entirely, and one of extreme frustration for Karina. If a plant smelled like tummyache cure, she wanted to rip it out of the round and go cure a tummyache! But you couldn’t always do that.. you had to harvest the plant carefully so that it would continue to grow, you had to know what parts of the plant would help and which would do harm, and you had to know the best delivery method for the medicine (Chewing? Paste? Salve? Swallow??).  Karina was beginning to suspect that the studies of a medic were never over.

“Do you specialize?” Karina asked, knowing her teacher to be more of a healer than a botanist. “I mean.. are you more healer or more herbalist?” Depending on how Amisun answered, Karina might have another question for her.. one she wouldn’t dare ask Lachesis, who would most certainly disapprove of her idea. Perhaps someone who knew herbs really well would have different insight though...  Karina’s eyes fixed on Amisun as she waited for an answer, her rapt gaze betraying the importance of the question that Karina had attempted to cover up with an offhanded tone.

(This post was last modified: Apr 17, 2015, 04:06 PM by Karina.)

   

    
 

"I see you’ve been taught the best practices," she said with a genuine hint of pride in her dulcet tones. Karina was not at all like Amisun had been at her age, vaguely picking up on bits and pieces of her studies and pretending like she knew it all. She showed a real interest, and perhaps even an inherent inclination to the art of botany - if she had truly only begun studying not so long ago. Amisun didn't doubt her. And while she was aware of the tension that surrounded the River wolves from seemingly every angle, it was still best practice to leave their homeland stores growing however long it remained their homeland. Perhaps, if they were to disroot, she could enlist Karina’s help in gathering up the viable plants before they left for good.

Finished speculating for the moment the she-wolf flipped an ear toward her question. Specialization? Truly she was a forward thinker. Giving the thin grass another nose before she raised her head Ami fixed her powder-blue gaze on the youth with a thoughtful fervor. “I heal,” she said after a moment. Though she had never quite stated an intention, Amisun thought back to all her experiences with medicine and found she was apt to the solution, the fix, to cause a problem to go away. She knew her fair share of herbs, of course, but it wasn’t knowing what was growing that was her passion. “I was best at wounds… anything that was bleeding and need not be bleeding any more.” A wry smile stopped her words, thinking back to hunting wounds from angered prey. She stopped thinking then, afraid to allow the tragedy to haunt her once more.

Swallowing hard she glanced toward the river’s surface, hoping Karina would not notice her distress. To distract herself she furthered, “Have you begun to think of what you want to do? It’s okay if you don’t. You are young - you do not have to know.”

The humble princess continued to scratch at the soil, giving no indication that she had heard Amisun’s praise apart from a tiny smile that tugged at the corner of the child’s mouth. She lifted her head and gave Amisun her full attention as the healer began to answer her question. The woman described her passion for blood and gore, and Karina assumed a rather disappointed look, tail and ears drooping a little more than before. A healer who specializes in bleeding… it was very unlikely she would have the answers the child sought.  Karina knew that asking her questions to  a wolf outside the pack would be safest, considering there was a smaller chance that reports of her investigation would make it back to her parents, but the child was far too apprehensive of the outside world and strangers in particular to go sniffing around on her own. It was quite a dilemma.

“I am a medicine wolf,” the Baranski girl informed her companion, cloudy eyes meeting Amisun’s gaze. “I have a gift,” she said very matter-of-factly, for they were words she had heard many times from those who taught her. A hint of confusion passed over Karina’s face as Amisun’s question sank in. The child had never before been asked what she wanted  to do.. she had only ever been told what to do. It had never before been presented to her as if she had any say in the matter at all. She had a gift, and she had to use it. That was why her parents made Lachesis her mentor, right?

The girl hid her confusion by burying her nose in her work once more. “I think this one is ready,” she called to Amisun after a moment, lifting her dirt- covered snout from the hellebore patch. Periwinkle eyes darted back and forth between Amisun and the ground before she finally asked hesitantly, “Um.. would you mind.. helping me?” Plants were certainly her cynosure, and it had been easy to sniff out the ripe hellebore root, but harvesting it was a different matter entirely. That was a process you had to see for yourself and commit to memory... and while Karina had a very gifted nose, she only had a very average memory.