Bramble Falls Race Against Time

Making their way across the mountain, along frosted ridges or around its rocky base, Borden knew somewhere, someone was making their way down. If no one had heard his cry for help, then he would really need to think up a second plan. As they waited, he looked to Vlarindara, an ear swiveling to the side as the other remained forward, giving an expression of surprise and disbelief. She had traveled a while longer in order to get to him; rather than seeking their help, she risked an hour at best to reach him.... and it had initially been in vain. Or had it…?

Adjusting his stance, he raised a forepaw and then the other; he was getting antsy. His head shook, not saying anything about her not seeking aid from Relic Lore’s other pack. Now, was not the time to upset themselves further; besides, Borden wasn’t at all sure if Swift River had a medic to begin with. It wasn’t long until the figure of a lithe, cinnamon-and-cream-pelted female came into view. Running. Fast. His eyes, purely golden in the late morning sun, watched as she came to a stop before them. Her approach sent Vlarindara a step back into the snow and Borden gave a brief nod to Atiris despite her puzzled expression.

Ready to address her words, Borden glanced over to Vlarindara then nodded to Atiris as the Mackenzie female explained the youth in question was hers.

Keeping quiet as the two addressed one another, eyed the other cautiously, the scout nodded to confirm Vlarindara’s statement. ”He is dangerously ill. My… My friend, here, Vlarindara, is in need of a certain plant.” Glancing to his pack mate, he quickly introduced them, hoping their acquaintance with each other would ease any tension. ”Er,” he breathed. ”Atiris, this is Vlarindara. Vlar, Atiris… she’s new to Midnight Plateau.”

(This post was last modified: Jan 25, 2011, 10:03 PM by Borden.)

Well, what do you want from me?

<blockquote>Atiris' sides squeezed in and out as she panted, trying to control her breath so she didn't huff and puff obnoxiously loud. She'd run as quickly as she could and took effort, especially considering as she had to come all the way down the mountainside and then toward the water source to find them. The female seemed somewhat shy and Atiris, who'd arrived in a whirl, was too wound up presently to try and appear modest. Modesty was not one of Atiris' virtues, and she was just as happy to be pert and vivacious anyway.

The female admitted to being associated with the injured yearling but that didn't do much to explain the situation or give Atiris an idea of how she could help or what they wanted her to do, so she looked back to Borden, who was quick to step in and explain, as well as introduce them to each other. Licking her lips Atiris nodded to Vlarindara who, she assumed, had met Borden before- he used a nickname for her after all, and they seemed somewhat familiar. Borden was concerned and that meant that obviously, he cared for the well-being of the yearling.

Things still weren't terribly clear so Atiris made her question more specific. <b>"Where is he and what kinda plant d'you need?"</b> She asked. </blockquote>

When they were introduced, she let the smile spread over her muzzle as she dipped her head in respect to the other female. "I got him to our den and got him as settled as I could with food and water available..." She could only hope that he'd stay as warm as she could get him to stay...curled in the den as much as possible. With luck...he'd be allright. When Atiris asked what kind of herb it was, Vlarindara settled onto her haunches from her reclining position and thought.

"It.. grew in a clump.. almost like a bush.. or a small shrub.. I remember.. The flowers were yellow.." She had flattened her ears against her neck as she was known to do when thinking or well..anything else really. It wasn't aggressive in the least, they just fell naturally that way. "Almost.... like.. " She straightened, her eyes widening as she gasped, something in memory coming to mind. "Daisies! Yellow, Daisies. The plant my mother brought me was tall.. taller almost than she was. I would..have to hazard a guess that I'm slightly larger than her.."

She had begun to pace again, but this time, it wasn't out of fear, or helplessness, it was to help her think. "The leaves.. I remember trying to chew on them first.. they were prickly.. almost like the razor ones you find on dandelions and roses...As big as my head at the base where mother had pulled it up by the root. The stem was....fuzzy....like a caterpillar!" It was obvious that the slight memories of the plant as they came to mind were helping her think - to calm down. If she could describe it in detail.. maybe someone would know where it grew!

Taking time to reabsorb Vlarindara’s explanation of the situation, he acknowledged that Raigo had food and water. Hopefully it would hold him over, giving them enough time to seek out what he needed. As he and Atiris listened to ivory female’s description of the plant, he tried hard to conjure up the image of a cluster of bright yellow daisies with sharp, possibly thorn-like, leaves. His forehead creased under his dense layer of fur. What type of plant was that?!

Idly watching Vlarindara pace for a few seconds, he turned to Atiris, curious to see if she had any idea what the plant was. Memories of his mother were sparked as dropped his gaze to the ground. One thing he recalled his mother telling him was to appreciate nature, which was absolutely in no way relevant to the task at hand. The only other piece of advice she had offered her eldest son was about edible fruit. That was no use either.

Masking his frustration, he flicked his tail as he surveyed the area around the falls. He listened above the steady rushing of water, straining his ears in attempts to hear if anyone else had heard their calls. Worry, worry, fret, fret… If he could do anything to be more useful to Raigo, he would consider it while someone more skilled in botany took on the task. The best thing he knew he could do was to hunt for Raigo or keep a close eye on him. However, knowing now that the Thicket was indeed a hard place to navigate through, he knew the pup would be perfectly safe from harm and there would be no need for him to hover about where he could possibly more distress.

Ears folding back anxiously, he looked again to Vlarindara, admiring for a brief moment the courage she had summoned to brave the Wildwood and the thick snow in order to allay the illness that had taken hold of her adopted brother. Considering how he had acted as an older sibling, in his eyes, she shined like a gemstone among pebbles, venerable to say the very least.

Well, what do you want from me?

<blockquote> A plant. Atiris' ears perked at the mention of the plant, one which had yellow flowers. While she was absolutely no help at all when it came to being able to tell which flower did what, she did know the names of several flowers. Her guardian, Raydiance, had taught her these things after they had left their homeland. She had been taught as well as her three younger sisters the names of plants, though if there had been any use for any of them it was beyond Atiris. She wanted to help, though, and started to volunteer her knowledge of plant names to hopefully find the cure.

<b>"I don't know much about what plants do,"</b> She confessed, <b>"But I do know their names, and where they generally grow."</b> She said. She tilted her head to the side. <b>"If I tell you the name of it, will you know it when you hear it?'</b> She asked, and, feeling quite <span class='word'>gung-ho</span> about the whole thing, she sat down, leaning into her haunches, and began to swiftly brainstorm and spout out the names of various yellow flowers she'd learned about.

<b>"Well, we've got buttercups, aconite, Indian paintbrushes, goldenrod, brown or black eyed susans, trout lilies, goldenseal, dandelions, daffodils, Uhmmm."</b> She paused to think for a moment, <b>"Hellebore, though it's sometimes purple, wild ginger, sunflowers..."</b> She trailed off and clicked her tongue. <b>"I can't remember any others. But do any of them ring a bell?"</b> She asked.</blockquote>

The female found herself rather impressed by the herbal knowledge of the other wolf. She lowered herself into a reclining position once more and let her thoughts wander - her memory remember. "Some of the names are familiar.. but I remember buttercups, goldenrod, dandelions and daffodils are flowers themselves...but.. The others, I recognize some of the names, ginger...Ginger... " Vlarindara closed her eyes, a crease appearing in her brow as she tried to think of the plant. She knew little about it other than it wasn't of use until there were flowers -but her mother had said it liked heat. "No..I don't think Ginger is what I'm looking for... It's not so much the flower that I'm looking for, but the root beneath it."

She drew herself back into a sitting position, a soft growl trickling from her throat - a growl of frustration nothing more. "I wish I remembered where Mother told me it grew.. there were...so many things to remember - shade, near water, full sunlight, mountainsides.." The she-wolf frowned, sighing before opening her eyes. "Do you remember anything where the roots were edible? The root was for illness of the body, the stomach as well as fever - I remember what it looked like... what it did...but not the name or where it grew." She lifted her gaze and looked to Borden, smiling encouragingly when she noticed him watching her. He had to be feeling as lost as she was about this... but she didn't want him to feel useless - some wolves just weren't as..helpful in these situations. Others were gems, and could tell one when, where and HOW the damnable thing grew.

Seating himself beside the pair, he listened now to their exchange of information. Perhaps, he’d learn something valuable, something that would be needed for future reference. However, as Atiris offered her list of known plants with golden flowers, his head tilted as if mystified by the sound of their names:

Trout lilies and goldenrods. Dandy-lye-ons. Okay, that one was familiar, but his father had often referred to them as useless weeds. Daff-oh-dills. Susans… with black and brown eyes? His nose wrinkled, wondering who would come up with such strange names as these. Purple hell-uh-bore. He shook his head… What in the world was that? And, Jin-jerr? He wagged his tail as if he were encouraging them to continue; though the names were strange, he had to admit, hearing of them was new… uplifting.

As Vlarindara scoured her memory for something familiar, he offered a small smile. Atiris, at this point, was invaluable. He made it a priority to reward her for her aid, the matter of how and when, he would figure out later; if anything, he would have to boast to Alexander about how she was able to produce a lengthy list of medicinal plants. Right now, there were pressing matters to focus on. Roots… she had repeated. The mention of them sent him back into his first summer in Bertram Valley – ”These aren’t roots,” his uncle said slowly, showing his nephews the large bulbous vegetable he had unearthed. “They’re… potatoes.” In another hole, he dug up a plant with a singular, dull orange root. “Carrots,” he stated. Borden’s head shook slightly. He was useless. He felt useless.

Resting behind him, his tail gave another slight wag. Well, okay, on second thought, maybe he could be useful; and, this feat would be ultimately defining of whether or not he would be. He noted the opportunity, not wanting to seem inadequate in front of either of them. Jin-jerr… Ginger… Given that Atiris or Vlar had an accurate description and the general area to search for it, he might be able to dig up a matching specimen. He’d bring back a number of different plants, but he’d try his best to match what they were looking for.

(This post was last modified: Jan 26, 2011, 11:50 PM by Borden.)

Well, what do you want from me?

<blockquote>Atiris had produced quite a few herb names, though Vlarindara's expressions did not light up at the sound of any of them enough to indicate that she'd found the right name. She knew that there were more, but naturally, she wasn't made to simply memorize and then spit everything she'd learned back out exactly right. Vlar seemed to hang on the ginger plant and Atiris' ears flicked forward, but back again when she mentioned that it was the root of the plant that she needed. Atiris shook her head and shrugged. <b>"Like I say, I dunno the uses of them, I just know their names."</b> In short, Atiris had no <i>medical</i> knowledge, but she did have a fair amount of knowledge regarding the names of plants and trees.

Borden didn't seem to show any indication that he knew what she was going on about either, though Atiris could tell that he would have tried his hardest to recall the name of the plant/herb if he'd had any knowledge of them- he was listening carefully, and she could see the wheels turning in his mind. He was willing for them to come up with the right plant and Atiris, while mildly listening to Vlarindara speak about the herb's uses- which was no help at all to Atiris- she brainstormed a bit and began to mutter.

<b>"Strawberry flowers got yellow middles, marigold's are yellow....I already said trout lily, tulips're yellow, pansies can be yellow, elecampenes're yellow, already said black or brown-eyed susans, and dandelions..."</b> She said, chewing on her lip. <b>"I dunno, I'm thinking, but I can't think of any other yellow flowers right off the bat. I don't know anything about roots,"</b> She said and looked at Borden who seemed to have the same medical knowledge as she.</blockquote>

The female shot to her feet, almost dancing in place when she heard 'Elecampene.' The white wolf could barely hold herself in at a name she *REMEMBERED*. "That! Elecampene. It's the term I remember my mother calling that plant." Her amber eyes flicked between the two wolves before her tail curled up over her back and wagged quite furiously. "If we can find someone who knows where that plant grows in the warmer months, we can dig for it!" She was *HIGHLY* excited by the prospect of knowing the name of the plant.

Vlarindara moved over to where Borden was laying and lowered her head before nuzzling her muzzle into the thick fur around his neck with a soft sigh. The wolf didn't say anything, simply gave herself comfort by touching him. The she-wolf pulled away and smiled softly at him before turning her attention towards the other female. "Atiris.. Do you happen to know where the plant likes to grow? If we could narrow it down to shade, riverbanks.. Something." She had taken charge of her emotions - just knowing the *NAME* gave the female courage and control.

Vlarindara held herself higher, straighter. Her tail was curled lightly over her back, and her ears were perked into triangles, and her expression calm and almost tranquil. "If we can find where they would grow.. I can bring some back to Raigo.." She smiled softly at the two wolves, dipping her head in thanks to them both, even though her tail still wagged somewhat crazilly.

Ell-ee-cam-pane. Elecampane. Elecampane. That singular word brought Vlarindara to her feet and Borden, not realizing that Atiris had been observing him as he thought, looked quizzically at her. The name of the yellow-flowered plant was yet another piece of information he had not known of until today. It even sounded stranger then susans-with-black-eyes and hellebore. His tail simply mimicked the white female’s waving plume; if she was thrilled, then he absolutely would be as well. ”Dig” she had mentioned. He could do that... That should be easy enough.

Yellow or green or a mixture of both, no matter what color they seemed on any other day, his eyes seemed to be brighter in the instant he realized he could help. As Vlar strode over to him and nestled her maw into his fur, he froze. Atiris… Atiris wasn’t watching, was she? …was she? He absolutely hoped not. His heart quickened anxiously but he felt a wave of relief wash over him as she withdrew from him, asking his fellow pack member if she knew where they could start the search for Raigo’s cure. He simply gave her a hasty, closed-mouth smile, hoping she wouldn’t read his nervousness… his embarrassment.

Everything would be alright now, he thought, taking a moment to recover from her unexpected contact. If they could just find this one plant with its root intact, then Raigo’s health would improve. With his tail still waving about, he stood up and looked to the girls, everything in his posture indicative of his now gung-ho attitude about the situation. His ears turned forward as if he were awaiting instructions: where to start, where to look, where to dig... Vlarindara had mentioned rivers and shade, but he wouldn’t run off without specific instruction. He chose to remain silent, not only to allow them to exchange further information without being interrupted but to show that he was carefully listening to every word they spoke.

Well, what do you want from me?