Hollowheart Keep come tomorrow

For @Emrys

Medicinal plants they may find nearby: Black hawthorn, chaga mushroom, psilocybin mushroom (shrooms), soloman's seal, western redcedar, and white fir

Poisonous plants they may find: Fly agaric and black nightshade

Sep 7th, 2016
Late Afternoon
Patchy Rain Nearby, 58F/14C

The weather had been turning as summer began to close and give way to fall. It would still be a few weeks at least until the trees were barren but the colours were already turning into brilliant crimson and gold on the branches. Green dominated the leaves but these patches of colour were enough to haunt Draven with memories of last fall. It had been around this time that his mother had began feeling ill and then falling for one final time at the end of the month. The yearling was determined that the same would not happen again this fall and had been spending almost all of his time gathering what he could.

@Namid had been more than helpful in directing him what he could find that would be useful as well as going through his treasures when he returned. Even if she was unable to leave the territory they had somehow made it work well enough. He had left the Cove bright and early the previous morning, heading north before making his way down the mountain and into the woods below. Draven was sure he knew exactly what he was looking for but now that he was standing in the dim area he squinted down at the mushroom caps before him. Glancing sideways he saw the caps that sprouted out of the trees nearby. The ones on the ground were vibrantly red and spotted but the tree ones were redish as well.

Cursing the yearling wish he knew if he was supposed to pick the ground mushrooms or the tree mushrooms. One boosted the immune system which would help in the coming cold weather, but what did the other do?

The hint of autumn on the air and the trees starting to change color had Emrys in a little bit of a rush to make sure he had enough supplies to last through the winter. Now that he'd been in Relic Lore for a few months and knew his way around he could gather the plants quicker and more efficiently. This particular day had brought him back in the direction of the Ghastly Woods and the Mountain of Dire. Though he didn't have anything in particular in mind to collect he was sure there would be some useful bark and maybe the resin he'd spoken of with Lorcan. After not having exactly what he needed to help the agouti male Emrys was now more determined to always have what he needed.

The Ghastly woods was not exactly a place Emrys enjoyed being which was why for the time being he decided to skirt the edge of the forest. He would search out the tree that held the resin before finally entering the wood to collect the bark he knew to be there. The further he traveled along his chosen path the stronger the scent of another wolf became. It was an unfamiliar scent which immediately cause Emrys to become cautious. He didn't know if the wolf was friendly or not but he made his way in the direction of the scent in case they might need help.

The scent had finally carried him to where he could see the strange wolf but he didn't approach too closely. The dark youngster was in a patch of red-capped mushrooms which could be potentially dangerous, “I think you might want to avoid those,” he stated in the strangers direction.

(This post was last modified: Sep 10, 2016, 02:17 AM by Emrys.)

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

I would say this is post 1/6 of teaching/learning!

Draven had been so consumed with staring between the two fungi that he had almost missed the approach of another. Dark ears flicked back and the yearling turned just as the stranger spoke. Tilting his head slightly the boy stared on at the lighter form of the man who had just joined them, too embarrassed to say that he didn't know which mushroom he was referring to. Should he get away from the ones on the ground or the ones in the tree? Rats, why hadn't he thought to ask for more clarification for Namid?

Truthfully it was because he didn't know much about mushrooms and had just assumed that he would be able to know exactly which ones to pick. The Lagina had had no idea that there would be so many varieties growing so closely together which would make this task more difficult. Turning his neck so his gaze landed somewhere between the tree-shrooms and the ground-shrooms he asked, "Do you know what they're called?" He did his best to keep his voice casual as if the question was off hand and he wasn't desperately trying to remember what he had been sent for.

"I'm uh... looking for something for my pack, they're um, well they help keep you from getting sick if you eat them." Great. Now he sounded like a complete idiot.

Emrys hadn’t been expecting to run into anyone on this journey south but then he usually never expects to run into anyone, it just sort of happened. The wolf that he ran into this time looked like he needed quite a bit of help considering he was standing in a circle of poisonous mushrooms. The healer didn’t want him to do something that might cause him to be poisoned by one of them. So he spoke up telling the youngster that he probably wanted to avoid the ones that he was standing amongst. The Healer knew them to be extremely dangerous and he didn’t want to see anything bad happen to the young male.

He had hoped that after the warning he’d give the youngster would move away from the mushrooms but he did not. Instead he asked what the mushroom were called, “Yes, I do. Those that you are standing amongst are called Fly Agaric and they are extremely dangerous.” Emrys had tried to emphasize just how dangerous the mushrooms were so that there wouldn’t be any confusion later.

He was then asked about something that the young male was looking for that would help to keep one from getting sick. “Are you sure that it is a mushroom that you are looking for?” He asked since he wasn’t entirely sure about a mushroom that would do that. Wild Ginger was good for upset stomachs and it might be just what the fellow was looking for.

(This post was last modified: Sep 22, 2016, 02:33 AM by Emrys.)

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

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

3/6 

The words man registered loud and clear with Draven who immediately back pedaled out of the mushroom caps and to safety.  While he couldn't remember what it was that Namid had called the mushrooms 'Fly Agaric' didn't ring any bells and he was sure she wouldn't send him for something poisonous. Nodding at his next words though  the yearling was absolutely certain, "Yeah definitely mushrooms....er she said they helped your immune system." Now that his paws had reached safety the green gaze turned to concentrate on the poisonous plants that he had unwittingly wandered into.

Now that the yearling looked closer the vibrantly red caps seemed scream danger at him and he took another step back. How had he ever thought they those could be helpful to someone? He could have killed the whole Cove by accident. Shoving away the horrible image of his mother's body that flashed through his mind at the thought he turned towards the stranger, eager to have a distraction. "Do you know a lot about the plants around here? Could you teach me something?" The voice was hopeful, perhaps even a hint desperate if someone listened closely enough to his tone. He just wanted to prove that he had what it took to be a good healer, to be useful.

Emrys was relieved when the youngster made his way out from the circle of red capped mushrooms. He was glad that worry was over and that they could get down to business. That was finding out what the young man had come to this part of the woods to end up amongst the mushrooms. As it was a plant was what this stranger was after and not just any plant, a medicinal one. Emrys did ask if he was sure it was a mushroom to be sure. He didn't want to give the wrong information and something go terribly wrong. The healer nodded as the young male relayed what he had been told. “What your looking for is right over there,” he said indicating with a point of his foreleg, “It's called the Chaga mushroom. Do you know how to use it?” If the youngster didn't or the one who seemed to have sent him Emrys wanted to be sure to give him proper instructions. It wouldn't be good to have the mushroom and not know how to use it.

The question that was posed to him next wasn't really surprising for Emrys. Lately it seemed he'd been asked quite a bit for help in learning about the different plants. He didn't mind helping in that aspect if it helped others down the line. It also helped him to feel a little closer to his mother by passing what she had taught him along to other. “I do know about many of the plants in this area,” he admitted, “Is there something specific you would like to know or just some general information?” If the boy wanted to know about the plants Emrys was more that willing to help. However, he wanted to make sure that he gave him the information he was looking for instead of leaving him not having any questions answered.

(This post was last modified: Sep 30, 2016, 09:03 PM by Emrys.)

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

The dark tail slowly began to wag as the man gestured towards the correct mushrooms and a smile broke out across his face. He may have almost made a mistake but at least he wouldn't be going home empty pawed. The happiness was short lived as the slow reminder of everything that he was missing seeped back into his mind and the expression fell into something more somber. Nodding his understanding Draven made his way to the tree and after a few fumbling attempts managed to pull down some of the fungus by standing on his back legs while on a nearby fallen bough.

Placing his prize gingerly by his paws the teen looked up, wishing he could say that he knew how to appropriately use the chaga mushroom. Truthfully he knew almost nothing about plants and healing, Namid didn't have the freedom to teach him much. "Um... no I don't really know." Then he quickly added as if he needed justification,  "My alpha sent me to get it to prepare for winter." Not that this stranger really needed to know exactly why he was here almost bringing back poisonous mushrooms by mistake.

Again the dark tail beat behind Draven, this time in appreciation that the man seemed willing enough to give him some kind of a lesson. Something he clearly was in dire need for. "Just anything you can tell me or show me, I'm Draven." If the stranger was going to give away some of his knowledge about plants and healing the yearling figured he should at least introduce himself.

Emrys was glad to have everything cleared up with the young man and able to finally help him with his problem. He was also glad that the dark youngster had moved away from the poisonous mushrooms toward the good ones. He didn't move any closer to the red and white mushrooms but he did follow the young man over to the Chaga mushrooms. He was watched while the attempts to collect the fungi were made and the difficulties the young wolf had. However, just as he was about to offer help some of the mushrooms broke off.

There was still the question of if the boy had knowledge about using the Mushrooms. Emrys didn't want them to be used in the wrong way and something bad happened, the youngster didn't need that on his conscious. He nodded as it was explained that the young man was collecting the mushrooms for his alpha and that he didn't know how to use them. “Well, I can explain it's use so that you can take that knowledge back with you? I would think that since your alpha sent you to collect it they know how to use it but I would feel more comfortable with you having that knowledge as well if you're okay with that?” Emrys felt that if he didn't give the young male some information about the plant he would worry about what could happen. It was his responsibility to make sure the plant was used safely.

The youngster seemed pleased to learn and Emrys didn't have any trouble passing some information on to him. It was something he enjoyed doing and his mind immediately went through all the things he could show him in that particular area. “I’m Emrys, it’s a pleasure to meet you Draven. I suppose the only question left is where to start,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Since we have these mushrooms here,” he indicated the red and white mushrooms, “Would you like to start with poisonous plants and go from there?”

(This post was last modified: Oct 22, 2016, 04:12 AM by Emrys.)

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

The mushrooms were still in his mouth when Emrys asked if he wanted to know their usage. The dark lad nodded silently before placing them gently at his paws, green eyes focusing on the other man intently ready to soak up any knowledge that he could provide. He may have preferred to already know whatever he was about to learn but beggars can't be choosers and this way he might be able to impress Namid when he returned home. After all any kind of knowledge that he could provide for the pack had to be some kind of an asset didn't it? He wasn't sure, he had no idea what kind of things were expected of a healer within a pack but he had to assume the pressure was immense.

The idea of learning about anything poisonous certainly wasn't very appealing to the yearling but it would stop any accidents like this from happening again. While his expression had balked slightly at the gesture towards the red capped fungus he quickly recovered and nodded. Smiling slightly sheepishly he murmured, "Anything you could teach me Emrys," then remembering his manners he added, "Thank you." His mother may have not been around for very long when he was a child but she certainly had taught him how to be polite. Her memory laid heavy in the back of his mind at every slight though of her, making him even more determined to learn what he could. He would never let something like that happen to anyone ever again.