White Fir Notch Hamamelis virginiana

@Witchhazel

While the snow was beneficial to Emrys for hunting he didn't like the winter for the simple fact the plants were gone for the most part. During the spring and summer he would spend a large majority of his time collecting different herbs and plants. Hunting was going poorly so he was traveling further in search of prey and having no luck, he felt badly that he wasn't bringing anything home for the pack. He hoped that it wouldn't look poorly on his part considering he felt it was important for him to bring food home.

Returning after being outside of pack territory on a hunt that had taken him a couple of hours he crossed the borders to begin his patrol. If he couldn't bring home anything to add to the cache he could at least help by protecting them. He had also noticed a new scent, a very distinct scent, around the territory but had yet to run into the wolf it belonged to. Again he had come across her scent and thought it might be best to introduce himself so he put his patrol on hold and followed the scent until he came to the end where he could see the female whose markings were just as distinct as her scent.

(This post was last modified: Dec 24, 2016, 09:20 PM by Emrys.)

The snow, while it was pretty and fun to play in, made Witch cold, and the cold made Witch irritable. Even the fact that she could sift through the snow and find seeds and roots for next seasons planting made it okay that there weren't any herbs, but nothing could make the bitter prickling of her toes feel better. 
Today, she sought to numb the cold of her limbs in a hunt -- she'd been stalking after this rabbit for a couple of minutes, pulling herself lightly across the ground, but she had grown too impatient too fast, and when she lunged for the hare it darted off into the underbrush. Curses slew from her mouth in a rageful hiss, but resigned to fully shake out her coat. 

This is when Emrys found her. He turned around the trunk of a tree and her bicolored eyes fell on him curiously; they held great mistrust of her general surroundings, being in such a new place, but this wasn't some simple stranger either. He bore the scent of the pack even more strongly than she, and seeing as he was already a part of the group, there must've been something good about him. Turning to face him fully with a soft chuff of greeting, Witch's ears cupped forward to listen as she introduced herself. 

                                              "Witchhazel Quinzel."

While watching the newcomer to their pack Emrys saw the hare, the first one he'd seen in awhile, and he saw her trying to catch it. Not wanting to ruin her chances of bringing home something for the pack he stayed back and waited to see what happened. The chase was over in a few minutes or shorter and the result was a very relieved hare. Unfortunately since he was too far away Emrys knew there wasn't a chance that he would catch it, perhaps another day. It was good to see that there was at least one in the area as he was starting to worry about the amount of prey available to the pack.

Knowing how he would feel after such a dramatic failed hunting attempt Emrys debated sticking around. He thought she might want a moment or two to collect herself before talking with anyone, he knew he would.

Slipping away quietly to give her those few minutes didn't seem to be possible because she had noticed that he was there. A soft chuff and offering of her name was what greeted him as she faced him. He returned her chuff, “Emrys Myrddin,” he offered, “It's nice to meet you. Sorry that your hunt didn't go so well,” he added thinking it might help some if she was feeling bad about the fact she'd lost the hair. “I hope things are going well for you in White Fir Notch?”

(This post was last modified: Dec 25, 2016, 01:47 PM by Emrys.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

At once, Witch worried that he didn't want to be here -- had her cursing and outburst made her seem less friendly? -- talking to her, but almost as quickly it faded when he kept the conversation and introduced himself as Emrys Myrddin. A smile took Witch's maw, keeping steady through the mention of her hunt -- her failed hunt -- with only a shrug. The chubby female could stand to lose some weight, so it wasn't her she was worried about. 

                        "More upset I missed a chance to feed the pack on one of my first days here -- can't exactly show off my herbal knowledge in the wake of Winter, huh?"

She joked lightly, giving away a bit on herself and shooting a curious, bicolored gaze to the pale man to see if he, too, would be willing to talk. Remembering the gruff man in the woods, Witch dearly hoped her own packmates weren't as serious. She was a fun loving woman with the thrill of adventure in her heart and a need for company -- for family, happiness -- burning deep in her core. The past year alone had been the most difficult of her life, merely because of the significant lack of being social. 

That being said, she was pleased as pie when Emrys asked how she was doing -- her smile widened exponentially, obviously not caring in the least of the rabbit. 

                                                     "So far, yeah, everything is great. I'm glad to have a pack again." 

Well, he had been curious about her intentions for the hare once she'd caught it seeing as she was new to the pack. That was cleared up and she seemed to be telling the truth and it seemed she had knowledge of plants and herbs as he did, interesting. He had already spoken to Sylva about working together for the sake of the pack, would he have to talk with Witchhazel as well. Of course he didn't know the extent of her knowledge so therefore couldn't trust it until he saw her in action. “That can be very upsetting but you can't have a good hunting day everyday, I'm sure there will be more. I don't know about not being able to show off your knowledge, just because most the plants and herbs are gone doesn't mean there aren't other ways.”

He considered her for a moment, he wouldn't be discouraging to her despite wondering why Gent would bring another healer into the pack when there were already two. Maybe he was feeling a little of what Sylva might have been feeling when he'd arrived, he wouldn't ever admit to it though. Instead he did his duty to remain pleasant with the woman. He did so by checking on how things were going for her. A smile crossed his maw, “I'm glad to hear it. White For Notch is a good pack, I've enjoyed my time here so far. What happened with your last pack?” He knew he was being prying and he was usually a little less blunt but he felt she'd opened herself to the question.

(This post was last modified: Dec 25, 2016, 02:30 PM by Emrys.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

It seemed Witch was lucky and didn't have to worry about having stuck-up packmates -- this one, at the very least, seemed honestly interested in what she did and had to say -- as Emrys watched and replied in kind. The cream pelted man quelled her worries with a flick of his tongue, making sure she knew there would be other days to hunt: this let her believe that the alpha was not so strict as she'd also worried, that she would not be turned from the family because in her first days she couldn't land a kill. The off-white wolfess hadn't ever been a superb hunter, especially when it irked her to send any soul to the other realm, but just by looking at her plump build atop slimmed limbs one could see that she could clearly feed herself. Those were warmer months, though: in the face of Winter, she went from easily preying on the fat and healthy to chasing after the sleek and the starved. They, like the hunter, felt the keen sharpness of Winter and strove tenfold to survive, lending swiftness to their paws. 
Emrys also voiced his doubts about not showcasing her skills in the cold -- he was right, she knew. It would be easy to treat a wound or a cough with some of the herbs she carried, but to do so would be to wish some sort of pain on her new packmates and even a Witch who wished to learn and prove couldn't think of putting anyone through even the slightest of sicknesses. 

                                 "If the opportunity arises and Gent trusts me to do so, I'd be glad to heal again. 'Till then, I can keep looking for roots and seeds, perhaps chose a spot for a suitable garden come Spring."

Here, her bicolored eyes flickered to his eyes -- until now, they'd been curiously roaming his frame, the area around them, or even his face to avoid direct eye contact in fear he would lash out -- and the fae gave another smile. Perhaps a past Witch might've shied away from giving such personal knowledge to a stranger in her caution, but even careful as she was it was the need to be accepted and loved that allowed her to freely speak her mind. It was a rough topic, but easier than some of her other stories and also better than some of the backgrounds she'd heard from others. Some had their families ripped away by death -- and in a way, Witch had that too -- or torn apart by war, but hers was much simpler. 


                                                     "Nothing bad, really. Numbers just started to dwindle, and eventually those who were left decided to split ways. Some went to their natal packs for their golden years, some went off with others to look for a new pack, and some traveled the world. I fall into the last category -- I spent almost my entire life on that shore, and loathe as I was to leave it, I wanted to know more."

More.... So much she'd sought for, summed up to one word. She'd been looking for many, many things since leaving the coast. Some answers had come easy, some had been a struggle, and others she just plain hadn't found yet, but Witchhazel believed each step was one that led her further down the path her goddess and the earth itself wished her to walk. One day, she would call herself a seasoned priestess, one who could speak for the spirits and listen to the world like her maloid banrion had taught her so. 

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

Considering the woman in front of him with her oddly colored coat and the strange scent though now mingled with the scents of the pack he wondered. Did she have beliefs such as Sylva or if she had a different view of the healing arts such as his. Perhaps she had a totally different view and the three views could be more beneficial to the pack. Emrys however could also see where this might cause problems and that worried him, more for the pack than anything else. He felt it best to give her the opportunity to show what she could do and then see how she might fit into the healing section he supposed it could be called of the pack. As for her hunting he felt she could try again later if she came across something but having been trying to catch something for days and being unsuccessful he knew how hard it was. Going out searching multiple times a day helped him to feel that he was really trying even if he didn't bring anything home or find anything to bring home. As she spoke about what she would like to do he took in her words and nodded, “That sounds like a good plan and hopefully you will get your opportunity. I do however like the idea of a garden, do you have any ideas for that aside from just collecting and planting.”

Her idea of having a garden was one that Emrys could definitely learn to love especially if she planned to gather some of the harder to get plants they might need. He felt this was an idea that Gent would like as well because having three healers in the pack meant the healing arts was something important to the alpha. That was unless it meant a bad thing. Emrys didn't think it did and it wasn't something he really wanted to dwell on either. As long as he did his best for the pack he felt he didn't have anything to worry about as she shouldn't either. The white healer was rather curious about her backstory more so where she had come from, that might explain that scent she carried on her. As it turned out she wasn't shy about sharing it either. “These things do happen but traveling the world while risky is a good way to learn especially for those of us who are always trying to learn something new everyday. We're your travels fruitful.”

While he hadn't grown up in a pack he did understand that they did sometimes split up if there weren't enough of them but like her he had chosen to travel after his mother's death. He had also learned a lot on his journeys and was now thankful for that knowledge because it had helped him many times over. He supposed that it was just something about the Lore that had caused him to want to stay.

(This post was last modified: Dec 28, 2016, 07:28 PM by Emrys.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.