Dead Empress Backwater From A to zebra to the worms in the dirt

RE: Clover, hmmm. A crow seems to be under the impression that you understand what it's saying. Midday, overcast clouds, 59F/15C. Special tags for @Eros and @Archer, but open to all the pups for some learning and fun!

She had gone out herb hunting once again, seeking to replenish as much of her medicinal stocks as she could before it began to get much colder. Even though quite a few of the herbs had already stopped flowering, there were some that stuck around until just before the snow arrived, and she was not fussy with what she could find. If it worked, she would use it. The morning quickly passed, and by the time the sun was high in the sky - or would have been had the clouds not covered the sky - she had managed to find a patch of Skunkbush and was well on her way back to the medicinal den with a large mouthful of the green and bitter leaves in her jaws. She would return later for the red berries, but for now the leaves were good enough.

A loud, harsh set of caws had Clover pausing in her tracks, head lifting backwards to stare up into the trees. There stood a bird, perched on a branch, hopping on its feet and staring intently at her. She set the leaves on the ground, deciding that she could spend a couple minutes interacting with the bird before continuing on with her task. "Well you've got my attention now," she said with a grin, ears flicking forward as it seemed to click excitedly at her, now hopping from side to side, its beady eyes still staring at her.

A small laugh bubbled up from her throat, "I'm sorry dear, but I don't speak crow." She was aware that some birds could mimic sounds that they heard, but that was a far stretch from being able to hold a proper conversation with one. However crows were quite smart, and sometimes even helpful. Her elders had told her all sorts of stories when she was a pup about crows, ravens, and other types of birds. "Maybe if you showed me what you wanted?" Clover said to the crow with a raised eyebrow, figuring that the poor bird thought she could understand its caws and clicks. Perhaps there was something it wanted, either from her or for her to help with, or maybe it just wanted to play. She could indulge it for a little while.

(This post was last modified: Mar 17, 2022, 05:19 AM by Eros.)

Archer had slept in, as usual, and was now out roaming the grounds in search of something fun to occupy his time. He wondered if @Eros was around nearby; maybe he could sneak up on him, the way he so enjoyed trying to sneak up on Archer. He wondered if his older brother had learned to focus on his surroundings the way he had.

A scent caught his nose, and Archer paused. It was the other mother- Clover, he thought. There was a slightly earthy smell mingled with hers. He was trying to learn to differentiate smells, but it was only the two he could catch. He frowned in frustration. He normally didn't much care about her or most of her offspring; @Oleander was an exception. He was fun. Today, however, Archer wanted to know the source of the new smell so he could remember in the future.

No reason not to turn his quest into something fun in the meantime.

Walking as quietly as he could, Archer stalked after the white form of the Other Mother. He tried to keep behind her, where she couldn't see him. His thoughts never turned to the direction the air might be flowing; he hadn't been taught how to stalk properly. Still, he had always been successful with Eros and he was confident he could surprise Clover. He was so close; only a few more steps. He was crouching, ready to pounce, and...

A bird started talking to her, clearly trying to get her attention and succeeding. Archer stopped and stared at it. He'd seen big black birds like that before, but he wasn't sure what they were called or why it might be talking to them. He sat up. "What is that?" he asked, his game of ambush forgotten in his obsession with learning everything he could. "Whassit - what is - it?" What was it about 'what is' that was so hard for him to get right the first time?

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

so so sorry about the wait on this!! reminder to self, Eros is about 4 months old.

Eros wasn't too far behind, trailing after Archer's scent. He was happy to learn that his brother was finally up and around; usually it was him oversleeping! He toddled calmly through the forest, his forest, hurrying only when he heard something different from the usual background static. Mama Clo's voice!

He bounded forth, and quickly came to the scene of his brother asking the adult about something above their heads. Peach eyes lifting, he caught sight of a deeply-black creature with beady eyes and sharp extremities. Bird. Disinterest was clear in his features and his gaze drifted back down to his own level of the world.

There was a pile of plant stuff nearby, and his nose wrinkled. What was it with Other Mom and green stuff? If it wasn't brightly colored or land meat, it was gross. He levied his own query.

"Ma why you always eatin' leafs?"

The crow became silent, and she could almost see it's brain attempting to decipher her own actions and how to best get what it wanted, but before it could do anything else she heard a voice behind her. She turned her head, eyes landing on one of Vanadis' boys, and she huffed out a greeting to him. "Hello Archer," she said warmly, glad to see him out and about. He seemed curious about the bird, and she wondered if she could use this as a teaching moment for him. "That's a crow dear. They are quite intelligent birds and it seems like this one is trying to communicate with us." The crow let out a few more exuberant clicks as if it was agreeing with her, though she could not quite be sure as to exactly what was going through its mind.

Eros swiftly appeared, as if he had been trailing his brother, and she held back a laugh. The two boys were often found together, always in a pair. However, Eros did not seem interested at all in the bird, and instead asked her about the leaves she had gathered. "I'm gathering leaves and herbs to help our family when they get sick or hurt," she explained to him. "These leaves aren't for eating, but they can be used to keep insects from biting you. If you crush the leaves they have a very bitter smell which you can then rub onto your fur." It was not the most pleasant way to keep insects and other biting bugs at bay, but it was very effective. They could also be used in a pinch if needed to make a wolf empty their stomach in dire situations, but she had access to other herbs that she felt were a lot more safe to use for that reason.

To nobody's surprise, it didn't take long for Eros to arrive on Archer's heels. Typical of Eros, however, he picked something other than the strange bird thing to focus on. Archer gave his brother an affronted look at his use of words; she wasn't their Ma. Why would he call her Ma? Eros was clearly spending too much time with their half siblings if he was getting confused about how their Ma was.

Archer sniffed and turned back to the creamy woman now greeting them. Apparently the new bird was called a 'crow.' It was a strange word, but fortunately not too difficult to pronounce. At least Archer wouldn't embarrass himself with that one. "What would a bird want from us?" he asked with contempt. It was a bird after all. Couldn't be very smart if it was trying to communicate with them, now could it?

Clover moved on to answer Eros's question about the leaves. Healing, huh? Sounded useful, although Archer felt his talents would be better served elsewhere. Still, keeping the insects from biting because of something he rubbed in his fur? Interesting. It was worth looking into. Might even be worth learning a little bit about healing, if it meant he could keep Eros safe. He gave his brother a sidelong look. Definitely worth a thought.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

His brother's affront, as usual until the paw came out, went unnoticed. After all, he didn't expect Archer to be giving him funny looks to begin with. Even if his attention had been drawn, the far less analytical of the duo would fail to understand why his brother was bothered. Ma Clo was Ma Clo, it made all the sense in the world.

Urbs. That was a funny word.

"Errrbus," he whispered, trying it out for himself under his breath while his ears still twisted to follow along with the rest of what Other Mom had to say, "urbisss, errrrbbbsz..."

She gave him quite a few new uses for plants that he certainly hadn't known about; either you eated it or you didn't, right? It was super hard for him to keep up much less recall, but the making-bugs-not-bite bit stuck. Eros really liked the sound of that.

"I wanna smell badder."

(This post was last modified: Dec 16, 2021, 07:34 PM by Eros.)

Archer spoke with a scornful tone, to which she simply smiled in response. It was not his fault he didn't know just how intelligent and crafty crows could be, after all it was unlikely any of the others had taught him or Eros about the birds. They could be very useful to have around, and she was bold enough to admit that occasionally she also enjoyed their company on quieter days where there wasn't as much needing to be done.

"Many things, Archer," she said, her gaze returning back to the bird where it was perched on the branch. It became more animated under her gaze, even going so far as to flap its wings a few times. "They're scavengers, often eating from the remnants of a kill, but they're too small to chase away bigger scavengers such as coyotes or foxes." Clover looked back at the two boys, hoping that they were listening attentively. "Those small scavengers are much less likely to share a meal with a bird than us, and once before I've had a crow lead me to a carcass so I could chase away the lone fox, and allow it to eat the remains while I took some back to my parents." She found it was a good approach to befriend the birds of the sky, as they were often helpful in leading wolves to already killed prey, even if it was already partially eaten.

As for the herbs that Eros seemed to be more focused on, Clover found herself chuckling softly at his attempt to pronounce the strange word. It likely wasn't the first word he was struggling to say, and she could only assume it wouldn't be the last, but it was quite adorable to watch him try and sound it out. Her eyes widened slightly at his sudden request to smell as bitter as the plant she had been carrying. Well, if he really wanted to, then she'd oblige. It wouldn't take much to get the scent into his fur.

"Alright, I'll show you how." She instructed them on how to crush a few of the leaves on a nearby rock, using her claws to tear at it into smaller pieces, and her weight to scrape it along the rock and allow the juices to flow from the leaves. Clover motioned for Eros to come closer, gently clenching the now somewhat mushy leaves betwixt her front paws. "I find rubbing it onto the scruff of your neck and along your back to work the best at keeping insects at bay." If he still wanted her to, she would then gently massage the pulp into his fur along his scruff and back. Clover had made only enough to do Eros, but if Archer requested her to do him as well then she would oblige and make up another batch for him too.

Clover was patient enough in explaining what the birds could want, and Archer nodded along. It sounded silly to him, birds leading wolves to kills, but he supposed that gave them some sort of use. He glanced at the winged creature, who seemed to know they were talking about it. "How do they know we'll share?" he asked. Not all wolves were going to be as nice as Clover. How did the birds know whatever wolf they came and got wouldn't just eat all the food themselves?

But then Clover was distracted by his brother, and Archer could only roll his eyes at Eros's desire to stink. "The bugs aren't biting right now," he pointed out, though he knew it was no use. Eros wanted to be smelly, and smelly Clover would make him. Archer stepped back, though he watched with interest as the other mother smashed and shredded the leaves on a rock and presented the results to Eros. Archer wrinkled his nose; he could smell it from where he was standing. He would not be tussling with Eros until he cleaned himself off.

He wondered if the pulp tasted as bad as it smelled.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

All the stuff about birds wasn't going completely over his head. Eros was picking some of it up, stuff that wouldn't really sink in until some kind of experience caused it to click into place later on. It did, however, look as though he were totally oblivious to the conversation Archer was trying to have with Clover.

When he'd regained her attention and she agreed to his request, Eros brightened like a sunflower after dawn, hopping up and down with excitement. She hopped right to it, much to his glee, and he happily stuck to her side until she was ready for him. What she did to the plants was completely novel to his young eyes, and it intrigued him greatly. It was his first introduction to a tool other than his own teeth and paws.

He rubbed happily against her paws as she applied the mixture, not caring if it got all over him instead of just the places she mentioned. Bugs bit everywhere, he unfortunately knew first-paw. In his opinion, the more covered the better, even if the smell was quick to make his nose twist.

Better stinky than fed on.

When she was done, he promptly turned to his brother and lurched shoulder-first at him, intending to rub himself onto Archer and share in the bounty. After all, who enjoyed stupid insects being on them?

(This post was last modified: Dec 16, 2021, 07:48 PM by Eros.)

She paused for a moment to consider Archer's question. He brought up a good point, one that she herself hadn't thought of. She was a wolf to share some with the birds with no problems, but there were definitely wolves out there who wouldn't be so kind. "Well, I suppose they don't really. But they won't know until they try." She tried to foster good relations with the birds, leaving them small extra tidbit pieces from kills that she didn't need to eat and wouldn't be worth adding to the stockpile due to being less than a mouthful for even a small pup, but to a bird it was definitely worth eating. Maybe that was why this bird was trying to get her attention, as it knew she would be more willing to share than another wolf?

Archer seemed to be standing back as she made the poultice, looking determined to stay away from it as much as he could, and so she decided to not offer to make some up for him as well. But Eros seemed to be overjoyed at the prospect of smelling all sour and bitter, and she couldn't help the grin that settled on her maw. His excitement was infectious to say the least, and she shook her head jovially as he seemed to rub himself against her paws while she applied the mixture to his back and neck. "There you go, all done!"

Barely a moment passed between her finishing up and him throwing himself at Archer, and a soft bark of laughter left her lips at the sight. The darker pup surely would not be too happy with being rubbed on by the now bitter-smelling Eros, and she sat back calmly, simply watching the two boys with a sparkle of mirth in her eyes. Oh to be a young pup again with little worries to focus on.