Stonewatch Timbers I Just Think, I Just Do

For Emrys :D
Set in the easternmost reaches of Stonewatch Timbers
December 20th — Afternoon — Overcast — 22 ° F, -5 ° C

The forest - the forest was going to be the end of him. What had started out as a little walk was slowly turning into something that felt a whole lot like a dying struggle. Because as it turned out, densely packed trees and stony crags weren't the easiest thing for his stocky little self to climb. But was that going to stop him? Nope, instead he kept on trekking. One paw in front other other, his tail bobbed merrily behind him.

It felt good, overexerting himself in what he deemed a harmless way. His legs burned and shook beneath his weight, and his lungs ached but he didn't pay any of it any mind. This way he couldn't focus on anything but the feeling of tired muscles. Because the thing with Rigel still threw him off, dug deep and wouldn't let go. But the wolf from the other day had opened his eyes a lot. He was still determined to fix it, no matter how. Because that's what good wolves did and he liked to pretend he was a good wolf, even for a little while.

His lungs rattled and his legs threatened to buckle. He wasn't even half-way up one of the smaller crags. That was enough work for him in one day. He waddled towards the trunk of a tree, leaning against its coarse bark with a pleased sigh. And while he peered up at its lower branches - he found the curious little growth of what looked like a bush dangling meters above him.¹ His nose twitched.

^{1. +5 for finding mistletoe}

(This post was last modified: Dec 21, 2016, 02:59 AM by Cottongrass.)

Traveling far from pack lands was something that Emrys didn't like much, he liked being at home available in case someone needed his help. He knew that eventually he would have to travel for supplies like he had before becoming a member of White Fir Notch. That wasn't why he had traveled so far from the Notch this time though, he was hunting, trying to find something to bring back to the caches for his pack. They had taken him in despite already having a healer and allowed him to care for Jynx when he'd first gotten there. It was only fair that he pay them back as much as he could whether it was through hunting, healing, or fighting.

He'd been traveling a while and only managed to catch a rabbit which he had put somewhere safe until he could get it on the way back. Since he was hunting while traveling he didn't want to run back to the Notch every time he caught something. It was risky but if it got them more door for the caches he would do it, besides he was sure that it would be safe until his return. What he wasn't expecting was the scent of another wolf on his path. being the curious man that he was he followed the trail to find the wolf, perhaps he was friendly or he was in need of help.

The scent led the white healer to a craggy area of the timbers, he was well aware that he traveled quite some way from home. He felt that his leaders would understand looking far and wide for food so they wouldn't run out. However the scent didn't go up the crags as he expected but instead it went off toward on of the trees. Continuing to follow he soon found the owner of the scent. The wolf was leaning against the trunk of a tree which Emrys found interesting but first things first. “Hey, I followed your scent here and was wondering if you were okay?” he called out to the strange wolf.

(This post was last modified: Dec 21, 2016, 01:06 AM by Emrys.)

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

In all honesty, he wasn't observant. He was almost the opposite of observant - which was oblivious, seeing how lots of things flew right by him. Like directions and rules, and apparently plants were on that list too. But he was pretty sure bushes didn't grown on trees, at least last time he checked. Yet he found himself looking up at the base of a branch, where it seemed like some kind of stringy bush was wrapped around snug. The branch was looking a little dead, if he knew what a dead tree looked like. But he couldn't be sure.

His tail gave a wag and he pressed closer into the trunk, trying his best to get a better look. And he was tempted to try and scale the thing to poke and sniff around at it when he heard a voice come up behind him. He twisted around to face them, a smile on his face.

"Yep, just exploring." He chirped, because he was okay. Maybe a little ragged from pushing his body to the limits trying to scale the crags that dominated the area, but otherwise okay. His head cocked as he thought back to the task at hand. Because the plant up in the tree - it called to him. He wondered if the stranger would know anything about it, and well, it wouldn't hurt to ask. They seemed pretty helpful.

"Do you know, uh, do you know anything about plants?" He asked, voice curious as he gave a vague motion up the tree. "'Cause there's one in the tree I've never seen before." Really, there were a tons of plants he didn't see before. Like the orange thing he had forgotten the name about, and the list could go on for hours if he started rattling them off in his head. He gave the white wolf a curious stare, yellow eyes gentle against bright blue.

(This post was last modified: Dec 21, 2016, 02:56 AM by Cottongrass.)

It had been awhile since Emrys had traveled such a long distance, he couldn't help thinking he might be a little out of shape. Still he continued on in his search not wanting to give up until he found something to bring back to the pack but he also knew that he couldn't travel too far from pack lands. He knew he would have to start working his way back since he didn't think he should be gone from the pack for too long. Being a healer it was nearly impossible to know when something might come up and while Sylva was also a healer on the pack a situation might come up where they were both needed.

Usually Emrys would take the time to observe any strangers he came across, part of his cautious nature. This time he didn't do that and instead he immediately asked the wolf if he was okay considering the way he was leaning against the tree. He didn't think it was normal behavior and if there was something wrong then helping this wolf would be his top priority. While waiting for a response the healer took the time to observe the white male and what exactly he was up too.

Finally he was given an answer that would calm his worry about this stranger needing some kind of help. He was just exploring, “I'm glad to hear you're okay,” he said making that clear first, “Though I'm not sure that's the thing to be doing in this weather.” It was much to cold to be exploring and had he not had some serious hunting to do he would be in the warmth of the infirmary den. He shook his head to get any thoughts of that place out of his mind, thinking about it wouldn't make the journey any more pleasant.

The next thing out of the stranger's mouth came as a little bit of a surprise since he wasn't usually asked that right away. “Yeah, I know some things,”

he confirmed for the male. At the mention of a plant he'd never seen in the tree before Emrys stepped forward. “Where exactly is it?” He asked for clarification but as he looked up through the branches he saw exactly what the man was speaking of. “You must be talking about that.” The plant that Emrys saw looked like it definitely belong there and in fact looked like it might be killing the tree. “That is Mistletoe,” he stated with certainty..

(This post was last modified: Dec 21, 2016, 06:26 PM by Emrys.)

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@Emrys - sorry for the wait D:

"It is pretty cold." He murmured, drawing his gaze away from the stranger's as he awkwardly shuffled. Because was he really doing something he shouldn't have been? It felt like he suddenly was, and the discomfort crept through him. A part of him said it wasn't that cold, that the coldest weather he could remember was four or five nights ago. Which was after the last time he saw Vic and Avery, and maybe around the Rigel Incident as he dubbed it. But like always when he was faced with confrontation - his resolve crumbled and revealed how nervous he really was.

He licked his lips and drew in a careful breath, only relaxing when the other male seemed to drop the topic. His tail wagged, his unease forgotten in favor of talking about the plant. And without much to more to do - he bustled forward next to the stranger, attention back on the plant. The plant that was mistletoe, apparently. He didn't know that, and his tail wagged harder because this wolf was plenty smart.

"Mistletoe." He repeated, head giving a brisk nod as he stared hard at the growth. That was easy enough to remember, even if he wasn't sure why he was suddenly so curious about plants. Maybe it was because of the way it made the tree stand out from the rest, or maybe it was another reason he didn't know yet. But with one mystery solved another one came to take its place.

"What's it do?" He chirped, head cocked as he gave the male a curious look. And maybe a better way to word the question would be to ask what's it for, but he was guessing plants did things in the first place. Didn't they? He felt like they did. His mama always said cotton grass was good for plenty of things, even if he couldn't remember what she had exactly said.

(This post was last modified: Jan 14, 2017, 05:22 AM by Cottongrass.)

No Worries.

Emrys nodded, “Yes, it is quite cold,” he agreed which was all the more reason the young man should be hunkered down in a den somewhere instead of under a tree. Still, the healer supposed he had to get out and hunt if he was going to make it through the winter. If any one understood that it was him. Emrys was more than aware that in winter hunting could be a full time job when you were on your own. The curiosity he felt about why the youngster was out in the cold and snow under a tree was still there so he let go his thoughts about the weather.

Instead the yearling brought his attention to a plant that was growing on the tree, one that the healer recognized immediately. His mother had taught him about it so it wasn't hard to answer the question of what it was. As he was joined by the young wolf who had come up beside him Emrys watched him though he didn't feel that he was in any danger. The boy was just curious and the healer was more than happy to answer his questions.

He nodded as the name of the plant was repeated, “Yes,” he said a little absentmindedly as he studied the plant more. Though he knew the name right away it took a little more thought to answer the next question that was asked, 'What does it do?’ that was a good question indeed. He was sure his mother had given him an in-depth lesson all about especially considering the word poisonous came to mind.

“Well, it can't really be used for much of anything as most parts of it are poisonous,” he told, “Though it isn't as toxic as some other plants that grow in the lore it can still cause some problems if you eat it.” Emrys had never really understood this plant because it was bad for them but he had seen some birds eat the berries and nothing happened to them. He trusted his mother so when it came to mistletoe he was cautious though he didn't think it was a plant that should be completely disregarded.

(This post was last modified: Jan 14, 2017, 10:03 PM by Emrys.)

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He peered up at the plant in the tree's branches as the other wolf talked, trying his best to listen to everything they were saying. His mind kept wandering. He cocked his head and scrunched up his eyes to try and just focus. It didn't do anything, it wasn't good to eat. His attention waned faster and he let out a hum of quiet thought. Because it was official, he was bored. So very, very bored and he felt like he was going to melt if he stood still for a moment longer.

He rocked back on his paws and nudged his big shoulder into theirs, just to make sure he had their full attention. "You really know a lot about plants, huh?" His voice was full of awe because he didn't think he could ever remember so much about one little thing, ever. They must have been really smart. "I'd never be able to remember all of that." His tail wagged and he smiled at them, cheerful as could be. He spared the plant one last look and decided he was done playing healer for a long time, thank you very much.

"I'm Cottongrass, who are you?" He chirped, focused entirely on the wolf beside him now.

The stranger wanted to know about the plant in the tree which turned out to be mistletoe which for the most part was a useless plant considering the fact that if eaten it was poisonous. Still he told the younger wolf everything that his mother had taught him about it not wanting him to get the wrong idea about it. He was so lost in thought trying to remember every detail that he wasn’t paying attention to the young man as he spoke. He hadn’t had any idea that mistletoe grew in the lore but it was something to keep in mind for future reference.

Finally his attention was brought back to the young man when he felt a nudge on his shoulder and a question followed. “Yes, I suppose so. I’m a healer in my pack so I have to know a lot about them,” he said when the comment was made about his knowledge of plants. “It takes a lot of practice,” he told in response to the youngster’s next comment, “I used to spend hours learning about them from my mother.” She would even give him little tests to make sure that he was remembering the information she was teaching him.

“I’m Emrys, it’s nice to meet you Cottongrass,” he said with a smile, “What brings you to this part of the lore?”

(This post was last modified: Jan 27, 2017, 12:24 AM by Emrys.)

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He smiled up at them, perking up at the much welcomed change in conversation. Because Emrys was smart, like really smart, and everything sort of felt like it went into one ear and out the other with Cottongrass. He couldn't imagine joining a pack to do one thing forever, and he couldn't imagine growing up being taught and expected to learn all of that. His parents struggled with teaching him hunting and manners, and he shuddered at the idea of their attempts going beyond the bare minimum.

"I'm waiting for my friend Victoria to come back!" He chirped, giving an excited bounce on his paws. "She had to take her brother home, then we're going on an adventure." The details were foggy, swimming in the back of his head, but all he knew was that they were traveling together. To find whatever and whoever Vic was looking for, and maybe they'd even go back to the mountains to find Neha. He wondered if the she-wolf's offer still stood, after all this time. He hoped it did, and his tail wagged while he looked back to Emrys.

"What about you? What brings you to this part of the, uh, lore?" He didn't know what the lore was, but it sounded like a place and he was rolling with it. It might have been this place, like the ground he was standing on or something. His tail wagged behind him and he gave an expectant stare while waiting for their response. He bet that Emrys was doing something smart and important, like getting stuff for the pack they mentioned.

Before the young man had spoken about there being a lot to memorize Emrys supposed that he hadn’t really given it much thought. Since it was something he had been doing since he was a pup it had become normal for him to try and learn everything he could. Still a lot of what he knew came from his mother and how they would spend hours looking at herbs and going over them. That wasn’t all though, she prepared him for a life of traveling from pack to pack helping where he could as well by teaching him what he needed to know about packs as well.

The change in subject didn’t bother Emrys and in fact he was rather curious what had Cottongrass out in this weather. As it turns out he was waiting on a friend, “Did she have far to go?” He asked curiously but then the young man mentioned an adventure, “That sounds fun do know what kind of adventure you’re going to go on?” It had been awhile since he had been on any adventures but he thought maybe once spring came and things weren’t so difficult he and Jynx could have one.

As for what he was doing out in this part of the lore, Emrys nodded, “I came out here to hunt for my pack,” he told. Such a simple answer really but he had been worried for a while especially now that he had travel further and further in hopes of finding food. This however wasn’t a problem that he could discuss with young man since it was pack business. However he didn’t think it would hurt to ask a simple question, “Have you hunted in the area?”

(This post was last modified: Jan 27, 2017, 07:16 PM by Emrys.)

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