Fallen Tree Cove act like you don't

For @Namid
Dec 17th
Clear, -7F/-21C

Draven skirted along the edge of the lake on his way back towards the infirmary, breath billowing from his nostrils and into the wind. The sky was clear and the sun beamed down but it was cold in a way that if not for his thick dark coat the teen would have quickly frozen to death. By now he had grown into his large frame but had never become as bulky as many other males became, instead his body was tall and lean. The Lagina's lanky awkward phase was behind him and in its wake left his fully mature body, black and chocolate coat filling him out even further.

He had been gone for maybe twenty minutes, only to take his turn re-opening the hole in the ice so the pack had access to fresh water. Draven preferred to just use the snow but he understood the convenience of having a small hole for quicker access. Ducking easily back into the healer's den he sighed in relief at the slightly warmer temperature that the protective walls provided from the wind. The teen then began his routine, checking each of the plants that he knew the names and uses for, reciting them in his head and making sure everything was in the right place. Then he moved onto the harder practice, looking over the herbs he wasn't sure about. These were the ones he had gathered in his travels based on scent alone but he had no training on, instead he memorized the exact location they had come from.

Humming to himself as he looked over a particularly difficult plant his head tilted. It looked and smelled nothing like the others but his gut had told him to bring it back from the Sacred Grove, but what was it?

Namid, this day, had decided to go out fishing. It was frigid, certainly, but the temperatures also made her feel rather certain that the ice solid enough to withstand her weak weight. She’d meandered out to the spot where they’d broken a hole in the ice and rebroke the parts that were forming to make it a bit easier. Her paws had already begun to feel horribly cold, but not nearly as bad as what they did in the beginning  of the winter when her pads had yet to grow accustomed to their harsh mountain climate again. She’d waited patiently, making two attempted at plunging her head into the chilled waters to snag a fish but no such luck. Still not put out, she stilled her frame and went in for a third time. Her fangs snagged into the scaly form of the aquatic animal and she hoisted it up onto the top of the ice, placing her paws on the head and tail of the wobbly creature to try and keep it from flopping away. A swift bite and jerk to the spine did quick work of it, and she was thinking of leaving it at that when she had a thought. It had been a while since she’d visited Draven, who had become somewhat of a recluse in her ranks. It worried her deeply that he wasn’t interacting with his agemates, or really anyone in general because even though they were nearly adults his mental development still thrived on social interaction. So, she decided to hang around and catch another one to take to him. Another two attempts later she won her prize and with both dangling by their tails from her jaws she meandered her way to the medical den.

She wasn’t surprised to find his scent fresh at the den and the sound of his shuffling coming from inside. The pale woman allowed a woof of greeting before she entered, lowering her head to avoid hitting the ceiling. She was surprised the tall boy could even fit inside. Dropping the prey to the ground she gave him a small smile, “I brought you a treat. I hope you are hungry.”

Draven's got himself some Black Hawthorne, useful for poor circulation, chest pains and high blood pressure. @Namid

Draven nearly jumped in surprise at the sound of a woof at the entrance to the medical den, but had composed himself by the time that Namid entered. Smiling easily at her the dark tail thumped upon the stone in silent greeting towards the former alpha. While he was embarrassed about his reclusiveness with the rest of the pack the woman was the exception. If he had voluntarily interacted with anyone at all during his depression it had been the mother and part of him knew that she understood what he had gone through.

Smiling towards the fish the yearling did his best to tear off a large chunk and leave roughly half for the other woman. Pulling his portion towards his paws Draven gestured with his muzzle towards the rest, clear that Namid should also enjoy the rewards to her labour. Eating in silence for a couple of moments he savoured the sweet taste of the meal she had brought him, he hadn't realized how hungry he had grown while he had been studying.

Licking the remnants from his muzzle the green eyes settled back onto the plant he had been so curious about before. Gently using his blunt claws to pull it in between the pair of them his head tilted slightly as he took one final look over its appearance. The white flowers had mostly wilted despite the dark teen drying it out but were still visible attached to the thorny grey branch. Looking hopefully up to his mentor he asked, "Do you know what this is? I found it in the Sacred Grove in the late fall but could never figure out what it was." Hopefully it wasn't poisonous, or useless, Draven didn't know which would be worse.

(This post was last modified: Jan 07, 2017, 06:42 AM by Draven.)

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

OOC: I figured we'd get their skill level up. Reminder that it needs 12 replies with 6 of them pertaining to training itself.

Teaching post 1/3

Upon entering the den, it pleased her to see the dark boy smiling. She knew that he had been having a hard time in much the way that she had been and that worried her in a way that only a mother could feel. But, it seemed that he was feeling better and that relieved her. Her smile widened as he happily dug into the fish she brought, offering a quiet nod of thanks before eating the rest of what he left for her. Her tongue swiped over her lips to rid any remnants, auds swiveling forward in attention as he brought forward a herb. Clearly it had been collected a while ago because it still had its flowers, dried and shriveled as they were.

She tilted her head as she studied them, brows creasing. When she'd been younger her mother had forced all of her children to learn herbs and their uses, convinced that they would be of use to them some day. Unfortunately Namid had never taken to it quite like her brother had. But, the bright side was that the knowledge was there. The downside was retrieving it. “Hmm,” she hummed thoughtfully. She had a guess as to what it might be, but only a taste could really tell. She took one of the bulbs and chewed it, testing the taste on her tongue and with a definitive nod, swallowed it. “I believe we have Black Hawthorn. If my memory serves, it's good for circulation, chest pains, and blood pressure,” she replied.

(This post was last modified: Feb 10, 2017, 07:11 PM by Namid.)

I think this is 2/3 for Draven learning about healing, and 5/12 overall, @Namid sorry for the wait!

Draven was pleased that Namid took up his offer of eating the other half of the fish, he had always been raised to share what we had. When he was younger the idea had irked him, he didn't want to share whatever he had been able to get his paws on but now as a yearling he understood why his mother had pressed it on him. Months ago the thought of his mother had sent him into a downward spiral that the Lagina wasn't sure he would ever be able to pull himself from but now, now her memories were a source of strength for him. She had always been strong, even in the darkest of moments and Draven wanted others to see him the same way. More than anything he just wanted to make her proud.

The thoughts of his mother were quickly diminished as the green eyes watched Namid's brow crease while she hummed over the herb he had presented her. Draven's eyes widened in alarm as she took one of the bulbs into her mouth and chewed, what if it wasn't medicinal at all and he had brought back something poisonous?! The yearling's heart pounded in a moment of panic before she nodded and announced that she did in fact know what the herb was.

Releasing a  breath he hadn't been aware that he was holding the Lagina looked back towards the plant on the ground and tilted his head slightly. "How do you know when a wolf has bad blood pressure?" The teen had a fairly strong grasp on the herbal part of healing, treatment as well but actual diagnosis was still a mystery to him. What if he made the wrong call and wasn't able to diagnose someone properly and gave them the wrong herbs? What if he missed signs that were so obvious because he didn't know what they were? It was a lot of responsibility and he wasn't sure he was ready to handle it all yet.

(This post was last modified: Feb 10, 2017, 06:02 PM by Draven.)

Teaching post 2/3 and post 6/12 c:

I have loved the stars too fondly

She could see the alarm in the boy’s gaze as she ate the plant. If she hadn’t been at least 95% sure that it was the plant she’d been thinking of she wouldn’t have tried it and that was certainly something that she would relay to him. Never would you eat something that you didn’t know especially if it was brightly colored. Always ask a more experience wolf what it was, because if it did turn out to be something that wasn’t meant to be eaten then the consequences could be dire.

"How do you know when a wolf has bad blood pressure?" he inquired and she allowed herself to settle into a laying position. “Well, first off I want to make sure you know that the only reason I ate the plant was because I was almost completely positive of what it was. Never and I do mean never eat something that you are not sure of what it is or what it does. Always ask me first. If something ever happened to you I do not know what I would do with myself,” she said with an uncommonly serious expression. Herbs were not something to be trifled with. In her opinion, they could be just as dangerous or if not more dangerous than an angry bear. A bear you could see coming and react, an unknown herb never showed its true colors if it was bad until it was too late.

Her expression relaxed into a more gentle one as she proceeded to answer his other question. “There are many ways to detect it, the big ones being seizures, disorientation, blindness, eye hemorrhaging, and blood in urine. The perhaps not so obvious ones can be excessive circling or dilated pupils. Just be sure to ask plenty of questions and be thorough. You can never be too careful,” the pale queen answered, her tail swishing contently behind her thin frame.

To be fearful of the night

(This post was last modified: Feb 10, 2017, 07:13 PM by Namid.)

3/3 learning 7/12 overall

While Draven was pleased  that the herb he had brought back could be considered helpful his heart was still returning to its normal pace. It had worked out well this time but he could very well have just killed Namid. Lifting his gaze at her serious tone he was surprised by the expression on her maw, it was typically so light and friendly and now looked every inch the mother warning her children of danger. Shifting uncomfortably at her words the yearling was unsure how to respond, she was a large part of his life too but he had troubles expressing these thoughts. Trouble letting anyone in either.

Instead he just nodded solemnly, his green eyes thankful but his jaws remaining closed. Draven as glad when the topic moved to safer waters that he was more comfortable navigating. Nodding again he ran the list through his mind,  seizures, disorientation, blindness, eye hemorrhaging,  blood in urine,  excessive circling or dilated pupils. Two or three times he repeated the list in his head before he could be sure that he would remember it all but once it was in there it would stay. The yearling's mother may have never been able to keep herbs and medicine straight but her son certainly had a knack for it.

Licking the stray blood from the fish off his jaws he pondered aloud, "That sounds really serious, is Black Hawthorne really enough to stop someone from dying if they're already having seizures?" This time he tried to keep his mind away from his mother rather than letting his mind wander to her. He refused to think about how she had died, or worse if this one simple plant could have been enough to save her.

I am the actual worst person I'm so sorry omg Overall post 8/12

I have loved the stars too fondly

While she didn’t enjoy making anyone uncomfortable it was a small price to pay to make sure that the dark boy got it in his skull how dangerous this line of work could be. The serious glint that took place in those green eyes reassured her some that he seemed to understand the severity, a small knot unraveling in the pit of her stomach. Namid was no master in the art, but she could still instill some important lessons.

 

Her attention fixed steadily forward as she listened to his questions. Her expression softened further. Ah, one of the hardest questions to answer. “Even herbs sometimes cannot save a wolf if they are too far along. Sometimes all you can do is help ease their pain a bit, but seizures are a tricky business. I know not of a herb that would help with those, unfortunately. They can happen suddenly and out of nowhere. If a wolf is seizing the important thing is to not move them. Seizures will run their own course. Also, be prepared for them to possibly urinate or defecate as they are not able to control their own bodies,” she informed, trying to think of everything that her mother had told her when she had been a young girl. It had been a long time since her lessons, she hoped that she had everything right.

To be fearful of the night

(This post was last modified: Jun 29, 2017, 06:37 PM by Namid.)

9/12 overall

Some small sick part of his was relieved when Namid said that once a wolf had a seizure there wasn't anything that could be done. It was the same small sick part of him that blamed Gent their healer for not doing more when his mother was sick. Yet, somehow this news let him let go of the anger he held onto just the smallest amount. Maybe there was nothing he could have done to save Minka but he had still dishonoured her memory and let her pack crumble under his ruling. For that Draven wasn't sure there were any words that would ever allow him to forgive the older male. Minka's legacy would live on through her children by the pack she had worked so hard for and had wanted for her family even after her mate got murdered had been broken. Draven could only imagine how she would have felt if we could have seen what had happened.

His mind had wandered far from the task that was at hand and the healer in training had to admit defeat. There was no way he could learn anything else now, even if he had more herbs to go through, which he didn't. He let the silence stretch or after the end of his lesson as he brewed over what he had learned before he suddenly blurt out, "My mother had a seizure, before she died." he wasn't sure why he suddenly said it but something about having it out in the open made him feel lighter somehow. It wasn't just him carrying the burden of what had happened to her, even if he did feel badly that he was now putting that weight on Namid. Would it bother her? Or would it sting less because he had never known the golden eyed alpha?

(This post was last modified: Jul 29, 2017, 09:48 AM by Draven.)