Grizzly Hollow when it comes to fragrances

@Oula || Evening, Sunny, 60 ° F, 16 ° C || medic demonstration 1/3

Oisin had been aware of the multiple litters within Grizzly Hollow for Veho had alerted her of such. So most of her time was happily spent collecting useful plants and helping organize the medical den. While out on one of her little plant hunts she had found a small batch of Lavender Hyssop. It had to be one of her favorite plants with that lovely smell and beautiful colors. Of course, it had great uses too. Plucking it carefully she didn't take all of it so some of it could still grow.

She dropped some off in the medical den and made a reminder to tell Veho about her discovery. The small girl quickly bound off in search of one of the mother's dens. The lavender sat very carefully between her jaws as she weaved about the tall cedars. Her nose twitching as she searched the air for some kind of hint that she was getting close to a den.

It was then that she caught the form of one of the mothers standing outside her den. Oisin dropped her position and made her way closer to the grey-toned woman. Setting down her two stalks of Lavender Hyssop she offered a polite whine. "I brought you something that might be useful." Her tail seemed to be wagging with excitement between her legs.

Oula was loathe to leave the den for longer than she had to in order to take care of her own needs. Roland received every scrap of attention she could muster, she had promised herself that this child would want for nothing. Where she had failed before, she wouldn't let her son down this time. He would not grow up just to wander off into the unknown like Joan, nor take the wild path that Ophelia had in her absence. It was a need that bordered on obsession following the stillbirth of his sister, doting on Roland as if it could make up for the fact that he was only one cub where there should have been two.

Even in Oula's devotion, the busy mother needed a break from her child. The boy was growing quickly, and she knew that soon his sturdy little limbs would be carrying him outside of the den and into the greater world, getting into trouble as cubs tended to do. This would probably be the last time in a while she would get any sort of peace, and so settling Roland down comfortably on a bed of shed fur she slipped from the mouth of her den. Oula stretched luxuriously in the sunlight, feeling the golden warmth radiate down her back.

Nearly three weeks had passed since she'd given birth now, and in that time she had afforded little time towards socializing. Oula was distantly aware that a new wolf had been added to their ranks, in the way any wolf knows the happenings of their home. But actually meeting the wolf was not something she had gotten around to yet. Oula hadn't expected that today would be the day, and her brows lifted with interest and ears perked forward as she heard someone coming towards her sanctuary. She straightened up from her stretch, pale green eyes looking over the much smaller wolf, pausing over the scars raked across her face and settling on the bundle of plants held in her jaws.

"Thank you," She said with a slight dip of her muzzle at the gift, glancing down at the plants set between them before looking up at the girl. She was sure she'd seen the little purple flowers before, but she'd be damned if she could remember what they were or what they did. "... What are they for?" She finally asked hesitantly, not wanting to reveal her ignorance of such things 

medic demonstration 2/3

A smile spread out across her features as the mother accepted her gifts. Oisin had to suppose that it was truly lucky of her to have caught the woman while she was out stretching her legs. She really wouldn't have wanted to stick her nose into the den and possibly add more scars to her already mostly scarred face.

She looked up for a moment when she was asked what the plants would do. "It's called Lavender Hyssop and it's usually used to help relax and calm someone down but if you make a poultice with it you can use it to treat burns." Oisin smiled and let her dirty yellow eyes looked up at Oula. "You can either smell the plant or eat the stem and leaves a bit." She instructed with a soft tone. If there were any other uses for the plant then she wasn't sure what it might be. Perhaps she could ask Veho.

"If you need anything in particular or have any kind of issues I'd be happy to help." She knew that she still had some things to learn, part of the reason why she was apprenticing under Veho, but she was sure she could handle most common things or at least receive a quick tip from her teacher.

Oula listened as the little wolf explained exactly what the plant was, as well as its purpose. Oula certainly didn't have any burns to speak of, but heavens knew she could do with some calm and relaxation in the coming weeks. She leaned down, her damp nose hovering just over the purple blooms as she deeply inhaled. The fragrance was pungent, yet sweet and pleasant, and Oula could see how the scent would be calming. 

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Oula said to the younger wolf with a slight smile. "There's nothing I need at the moment, but I will keep you in mind if I do." She added to the younger wolf's offer, the tip of her short tail slightly swishing. 

"I don't think I've made your acquaintance yet? I'm Oula Whitebark." Oula introduced herself with a slight tilt of her rounded face. Whether or not someone else had told the woman Oula's name, it couldn't hurt to formally introduce herself. "You must be our new healer, then?" She asked the tawny female, assuming with her knowledge of plants she was an herbalist of some sort. Another healer would be a useful thing to have around, especially when Veho had his paws full with his own tasks.

medic demonstration 3/3

"There's more too in case you run out or something happens." Her tail seemed to wiggle softly between her tan hocks. If there was one sunny spot in the cedar woods where the lavender grew then certainly there would have to be at least one more. She also had made sure to leave some still growing in the event that they ran out of the stocks of lavender she had placed in the medical den.

Oisin dipped her scarred face slightly. "My pleasure. Helping others is a joy to me." She admitted as she returned the soft smile from the mother. It was nice to know she wasn't unwelcomed around the den so far. The little wolf knew she wasn't as familiar and friendly with the others as everyone else might be but she was doing her best to fit in. So far it seemed to be going rather well.

Her head shook softly. They indeed hadn't made any acquaintance but that didn't upset Oisin. Oula was nursing after all. "Nice to meet you Oula." She chimed cheerfully. "I'm Oisin and I am the new healer - in training. I learned a lot from Papa but still need to work on some skills. Veho was nice enough to let me learn from him." It was no secret that the new Hollow wolf enjoyed her lessons with the male leader. He was rather kind in her mind.

The younger female was pleasant, and it was nice to have somebody who was upbeat around given all the dour faces as of late. Oisin, as she called herself, hadn't been witness to the deep current of drama that had run through the pack in the last few months. As a result, she wasn't yet tangled in the web of lovers, friendships, feuds, and cubs that added a certain friction between the long-time residents of the Hollow. To have some new blood in the mix was a refreshing change. "That's wonderful," Oula said in regards to Oisin's training with Veho. "It's great to have another healer helping out." She added. 

"Actually..." Oula began after a pause with some hesitancy, glancing away briefly. "I did have a question perhaps you could answer." She began, returning her pale gaze towards the young healer. "You see, I'm worried about my little son Roland. I wouldn't want anything to happen to him, he's the only cub I have this year." She said with a slight frown. "He's a bit... mouthy, I guess, and I wouldn't want him to get into anything he shouldn't. Are any plants in this forest particularly... dangerous that I should watch out for?" She asked with what seemed like motherly worry.

Being out here to answer questions and help others was always more exciting than organizing the dens. Little Oisin thoroughly enjoyed that Oula seemed to like her being the new healers. She knew that as a healer she had to have a bond with the wolves here. They needed to trust her enough to save their lives or limbs if it ever came to that. "It's truly a pleasure. I love helping and Veho just seems so knowledgeable. I also had the opportunity of helping one of the other mothers, Amaryllis when her time came." Her tail swayed behind her at an easy pace. Oisin supposed she had shown up at just the right time in order to play the role of nurse for the new mothers (despite some of the sadness that had happened).

The small younger girl listened carefully. Being an only child she understood the concern coming from Oula for her only child. Papa had often watched her closely and made sure she had most everything. "Well truthfully, I don't think there is anything to harming around here when it comes to the flora." Dirty yellow eyes swept around the area before returning to the pale mother. "Of course even if he has something I don't recommend him having a lot of it. Adults can handle more of herbs and such than children can." She spoke rather seriously although she had no doubt that Oula was soaking up the information since she had asked about it in the first place. "I can gladly ask Veho if he knows about anything and report back to you if it makes you feel better." She gave the mother a wide smile.

Oisin

Cross my heart and hope for better days ahead

(This post was last modified: Jun 05, 2017, 06:10 AM by Oisin.)

Oula couldn't help but be disappointed in Oisin's answer. Which would seem strange if all Oula had wanted to know was whether or not her child would be safe. Had any other mother asked this question, it should be a relief to hear how perfectly safe Grizzly Hollow was. But Oula's question was not exactly how she asked it, though Oisin couldn't have known that. She didn't want Oisin to know, and it wasn't the young healer's fault that she'd given Oula exactly the information she'd asked for. Oula's lips pulled upwards in a false smile, knowing she should appear thankful to receive such information, and even nodding as the scarred woman added that too much of anything could be harmful to a child. 

The hypothetical record scratched as Oisin mentioned passing on the question to Veho. Oula's angled eyes bulged slightly as her pale brows rose up her forehead, brown ears pinning back against the sides of her rounded head. 

"Oh! No, no thank you, that won't be necessary," She said quickly while shaking her head, her ears rising slightly. "Veho's a busy man, I wouldn't want to bother him with such a trifling thing. I'm sure he has more important things to worry about." She added quickly in explanation. This was not a conversation she wanted passed on to Veho. Would he start to ask questions, or suspect something? She didn't know, and didn't want to risk leaving a breadcrumb trail in any case. "But, thank you for the information, regardless." Again, the false smile graced her lips and her tail swayed. 

While the reaction from the mother was a bit odd Oisin was content to shrug it off. She had been told all wolves were different and certainly Oula wasn't an exception to such a saying. So she let her tail sway behind her as she nodded her head. "Well, I won't ask him but if anything does come up in my teachings I wouldn't be against sharing it with you. I'm not a very busy wolf like him."She chuckled softly. It was the truth. The children weren't causing havoc yet and no one was ill. Most of her time was spent making sure everything was stocked and the medical den was clean. Of course, she did do some small hunting and border patrols like any good pack wolf should but those weren't really of interest to her.

"So," She said and carefully took a seat with a kind smile. "Roland, you said?" It was obvious Oisin was interested, she never saw much of children. Perhaps stolen glances but that was about it. "What's he look like? Like you?" Oisin didn't really know who sired what litter in the Hollow but that didn't really matter. She knew the mothers and she wanted to know the children too. Without her even thinking about it, her tail beat against the forest floor. Would Oula let her see the small child? Maybe she could come back another time when he was just a tad bit bigger. Oh, she was excited already!

Oisin

Cross my heart and hope for better days