Cors Ossum Gingersnaps

@Isuni

To say the woods made her uneasy was an understatement, and now the leaves were making their steady descent to the forest floor it was even worse. Perhaps it was the knowledge that @Skoll had spilled blood here, and not just any blood - but that of a pack leader. Or maybe it was that there always seemed to be something underfoot. Brittle bones that crumbled and cracked, dried branches, dense leaf litter that could be hiding any manner of slithery foe…

She pushed her concern aside, allowing her lip to pull back in a silent snarl as a very large, very hairy spider dropped on a thread of silk to dangle in front of her face. She snapped her jaws together, the threatening pop doing little to deter the formidable arachnid as she turned with all the grace of a silk dancer and began to climb back up the way she had come.

As the wind passed through the trees she could have sworn she heard someone whispering in some foreign tongue, causing her to turn her head this way and that. Why she kept coming by this way she was yet to figure out. “Ginger.” she repeated to herself. It was one of the few places in relic lore the medicinal root could be found. “Where are you hiding?” she pondered aloud as she cast her head over the skeletal remains at her paws, locking eyes with the empty eye sockets of a decapitated skull not far away that looked disturbingly canine.

 

Not here. That was for sure.

Capable continued her journey southward as she had for months, since recovered from her overindulgence at the berry patch. Once the pain had past, the she-wolf had little interest in food for several more days. Nothing to eat meant very little energy to travel, and upon finding a safe place, the loner settled herself down to rest until all was right within her little world again. Fortunately, wolves were built to be feast or famine animals, and once feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed again, the woman continued further into the forest and way from the grasslands she’d entered upon.

Slinking through the dark forest, the young woman had put her nose to the ground, of the mind to search out something better to eat. A scavenged carcass would suit her just fine – or if she were able to seek out a small mammal stuffing itself in preparation for hibernation, that would be an even better prize. Hungry and recently sick, Capable was aware she was not in the position to overextend her abilities or become greedy; she must simply fill her belly, and she could consider excess after that.

Ears tilting, she listened for the rustle of small feet when she heard an old nickname from Moose’s Tooth. Ginger, a female called, where are you hiding?

Instinctively, the girl raised her head, looking about for one of her sisters. “Here,” she replied without thought, only realizing there was no possible way it was Avose or Sephi this far south. As far as she knew, she was the only wolf who’d dispersed from the pack at Moose’s Tooth, much less amongst the Rahal clan. Ears flexing forward and back, Isuni raised herself to her full height, hoping to intimidate any potential assault. “Who’s there?”

A wild dissertation appears!

@Isuni

Here. A feminine voice answered with none of the breathy masculinity of the breeze that rattled the leaves overhead. Her head swung towards the voice, eyes squinting as she searched through the muted light. She wasn’t used to such a thick canopy overhead, and it left her feeling half blind. Her tail was held level with her rigid spine, her head dipped low to cover her throat when another question came from the foliage. She relaxed. Anyone making this much noise clearly wasn’t interested in a surprise attack. Her tail began a friendly wave as she chuffed in the strangers direction to give her a bearing while she moved to meet her half way.

She finally spotted movement ahead and called out “Hey wait up!” She wanted to lay eyes on the stranger properly before she gave too much away. She moved to a small gap in the trees and waited, watching with a tilted head and a smile, tail sweeping in a friendly wave over her back. With the presence of another some of the creepy feeling ebbed away from the woods surrounding her. Her mission was all but forgotten in this moment. She was far more interested in the opportunity this might present, in the form of information or otherwise.

“Wait up!” a voice called, perhaps a bit more feminine, and certainly more friendly, than the loner was expecting. Curiosity quickly overrode her survival instincts and she poked her head forward as the other wolf maneuvered into a gap in the trees, revealing herself as well. The swarthy stranger was smaller (much to her relief, though most females, and even many males, were often smaller than the redhead) and offered a wave of her plumage above her pack. Confident, but cordial – this was something Capable could understand. Ears pricked forward as she bobbed her head, her own flag held at half-mast but beginning to wag behind her haunches as well.

“Hello,” she greeted the other wolf, closing the gap until only a few lengths separated them. A friendly face had lied before, and if the other female was going to lunge at her face with bared teeth and sharp claws, she wanted at least a few seconds to react. Likewise, it would be dangerous to assume this other wolf wouldn’t mind an invasion of her personal space, especially when she stunk of many others. A pack wolf, she had to assume, and open that likely had friends (or allies, at the very least) who might come to her aid at a simple call. “Sorry about that. My sisters used to call me Ginger.” Isuni didn’t elaborate, feeling her ruddy coat spoke for itself. “My name’s Capable. Am I interrupting something…?”

A wild dissertation appears!

The stranger stood back a respectful distance, now that she had full sight of the woman she could only be grateful. She was quite large, and Morganna was quite small (although her speed often made up for her lack of size). She went on to say that her sisters used to call her ginger and it was easy to see why. When she introduced herself as Capable, a puzzled look passed briefly over her face but she supposed she must be as she said to be out here alone wearing no scent but her own. She was far more adventurous than Morganna who always returned to the Willows when her journey was done.

“Morganna Archer.” she responded, her stance relaxing  as she considered whether or not she had been interrupted. “Only my imagination runnin’ away on me.” she responded with a laugh. “I’m just gatherin’ what I can before the snows set in. This is one of the few places around ‘ere you can find ginger. It’s a handy thing ter have if yer can find it.” she mentioned conversationally. Wondering what sort of wolf the fates had ushered her way this time.

To her great relief, it seemed that Morganna would remain friendly – not questioning her calling, and offering up her own in return, as civil wolves ought to do. @Craw came to mind immediately. She did not miss that wolf, not at all. The guarded expression slowly gave way to something much more open, her sienna eyes bright as her tail wiggled behind her legs. Even now she was careful not to assert any dominance inappropriately. Not only was there nothing worth fighting over, but it was horribly foolish this time of year. Capable would not scuffle so close to winter, not when an injury could kill a loner quicker than hunger or frostbite.

“Ah. Ginger. I suppose that would make sense,” the Mackenzie Valley wolf rumbled, a hint of laughter ringing in her voice. It would certainly explain the name she thought she’d heard. The woman was actually scavenging, assumedly as useful member of her pack. Idly, Capable found herself wondering if the root was actually as red as her fur and shuffled a few feet closer, peering at the swarthy female. “Can I help? I’ve…never seen it before. What do you use ginger for, anyways?” she asked, curiosity bubbling to the surface now that the immediate danger had drained from the situation. Perhaps Morganna would be willing to share information if she had an extra body gathering supplies? The loner would be happy to exchange whatever she found for what the vixen was willing to share.

A wild dissertation appears!

@Isuni - sorry for the delay <3

I'm not a choice, I'm a natural selection

Pleasant, respectful and helpful? This had to be a dream. A casual shrug of her shoulders brushed away the last of any tension or formality from her shadowy cloak and an easy smile made its way to her face in its place. Growing up with her mother, she often forgot not all wolves knew of the usefulness of some plants and the dangers of others. While she was more into gathering than the actual application of them, her younger sister showed great promise and so there would always be a need to keep their stores replenished.

Since wolves knew neither what ‘heart-shaped’ looked like, nor the anatomical description of a kidney (other than ‘that tasty bit,’) she was at a bit of a loss for an adequate descriptor to use. Usually the plant would have reddish brown flowers, but those had long since fallen off. “They-uh, have roundish flat leaves an’ usually brownish flowers but they’ll be gone now. It’s the root we’re after, the plant itself’ll be low ter the ground.” she hoped her pained look was enough to convey her apologies, she hadn’t had to teach anyone anything before and her own mother had shown her the plant first and then explained what to look for and what its uses were. “It’s good fer upset stomachs. I’ll show yer what I mean about the leaves if we find it.” she offered as a consolation. At least she would know after this encounter if she ever had a need for it.

(This post was last modified: Oct 29, 2015, 03:33 AM by Morganna.)

we are not things

That the plant they sought was not easily described bothered the female little. Capable was most interested in the things that could not be explained, often seeking ways to understand or define them herself. Had she hands, she might have been a scientist or an inventor – as it were, the wolf was stuck to exploration and taken things apart. When she could, the female would put them back together, though these experiments were rarely as successful as the others.

Bobbing her head, she hummed softly. “Round, flat leaves. Got it,” she repeated, turning her gaze from bright eyes to the ground around them. That they couldn’t use flowers to distinguish their prize didn’t discourage her. Every plant had a different leaf, she thought, so how hard would it be to find something round?

With this in mind, Capable began nosing through the foliage that remained, pushing past large leaves, dead plants, and thorny stems. After a moment, she tipped her head and glanced back over at Morganna and tipped her head thoughtfully. “Hey, do they smell different?” she asked, aware that some plants had very unique, pungent scents. Of course, they often had to do with flowers, but it was just another mark that could help them find their prize.

“So, this is for healing? You’re a healer?”

A wild dissertation appears!

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

@Isuni sorry again.

I'm not a choice, I'm a natural selection

Peachy eyes scanned the area, feet quick to close when she thought she might be in luck. She supposed the leaves did have a smell, but it was difficult to describe, as they smelled so much like the root beneath. She couldn't have been searching for something easy to describe like lavender hyssop or yarrow. "It took my mother years ter track any down, it doesn't really smell like anythin' else I've ever smelled, it makes yer head rush if yer get too much ofa sniff. Sometimes th- leaves are splotchy..." she nosed through the undergrowth seeking the familiar sharp scent that would make her nose wrinkle and send the blood rushing to her head if she breathed too deeply, "An- it seems ter prefer th- shade... Like this!" she finally declared triumphantly, stepping back to let her companion get a good look at the plant.

"Mother's the healer, I just know enough ter get by, what I should gather while I'm out scoutin', what ter leave well alone." at one point she may have considered exploring those dangerous plants in more detail but it was enough for her to know they existed at all. When her companion had finished checking the plant over they'd be able to dig it up and she could show how the roots grew like gnarled claws. "How about you?" she finally questioned back, wondering if perhaps the other woman was an aspiring healer or scout, "What do you want ter be?"