Dead Empress Backwater estellio

November 14th; Mid-Afternoon; Broken Clouds; 39.15 ° F, 3.97° C

RE: Oleander, a moose has decided to join your afternoon swim.

Boy, did his legs ache and hurt... Growing pains, as Oleander found, were no fun, and the only thing that seemed to help him was to keep moving. Just moving around, however, was also not fun... and, to remedy that, the boy often found himself out along the pack borders. The small pile he had accumulated at the base of a gnarled tree was impressive:
- Smooth, sharp-shaped leaves
- Round leaves
- Heart-shaped leaves
- Light twigs
- Dark twigs
- Striped river stones

Oleander had to admit it to himself: he was actually pretty decent at scavenging and caching. The riverside strawberries, salmonberries, and most of the greenery had long since gone. The next thing he decided he needed to add to his collection was something he hadn't seen before until today.

Without hesitation, wild white paws plunged into the icy shallows of the creek. The water was cool against his restless thighs and knees, and, for a moment, there was nothing but pure bliss... at least, until a certain musk wafted his way and the sound of more splashing started coming closer.

Oleander's face came up and out of the water. He turned to find a young moose traipsing up the riverbank opposite him. His wiry hackles bristled as he issued a low warning, "Don't bother me; I'm doing some important business." The moose waded into the water, but kept its distance, much to the pup's satisfaction.

Brilliant yellow eyes narrowed before he went back to his sifting, using his paws to kick up the silt. He wanted this particularly gnarled empress tree root at any and all costs.

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way

Couldn't pass up the opportunity for a mama Clo and Oli thread <3

She had spent the morning reorganising and sorting through her medicinal stores. Any wilting or fully dried out leaves, flowers, and stalks were put to the side in case of emergency, and the worst offenders thrown out to decompose with the rest of the receding greenery. With winter soon coming she could not afford to have her stores muddied up with ineffective herbs, and as she had little better to do with her time she figured now was a good day to do it.

Once satisfied with her now spotless medicine den, Clover set out along the border, marking the scent posts as she trotted along, eyes and ears on the lookout for anything of interest. If she was lucky she would make an attempt to hunt something to add to one of the caches they had dug inside their territory, and maybe even have a small snack herself

The voice of one of her children caught her attention, and after quickly marking the scent post she had come across she diverted her path, making a mental note to return to that spot later and finish her patrol. She found herself at the river, her son snuffling around in the water, and a young moose on the other bank. Her initial reaction was wariness, especially in the off chance it had a parent or friend that was nearby, but for now it seemed content in whatever it was doing.

"Seems like you've had a busy afternoon Oli," she said with a twinkle in her eye, her gaze shifting to the small pile of leaves, twigs, and what seemed to be river stones. The pile was not too dissimilar to that of what she occasionally did as a younger wolf while learning from her teachers about medicine, though Oleander's pile was not as medicinally inclined as hers had been. "Want me to help out, or is this more of a private matter?" She liked to involve herself in her children's affairs whenever possible, but allowed them the choice to turn her away at their discretion. Perhaps this was more of a personal endeavour he was partaking in, rather than something she could assist him with.

At his back, the moose seemed to be enjoying the river. Oleander could only assume and imagine that the beast was only there to swim. He, himself, was on a mission, even if it looked like, he, too was splashing about. Newly-erupted adult teeth made easy work of grasping the underwater root. Pulling on the thing, though, was not a simple task. It didn't even budge.

Again, the half-yearling came up for air with a gasp. He gave his head a shake but gave a start as he heard a familiar voice call out to him. "Seems like you've had a busy afternoon Oli."

Oleander's head whipped about to focus on a stark white figure: Mom.

"Want me to help out, or is this more of a private matter?"

He waded over to her only after double-checking where the moose was and what it was doing. So far, it was still very disinterested in what the wolves were doing. Head and tail high, Oleander smiled at his mother, "Naw, it's okay."

Something sheepish seemed to come over him as he ducked his crown and waved his sopping wet tail about. "I thought maybe the tree root would be a good addition to my collection, but... maybe not after all." He tilted his head to one side, water dripping from his ears as he eyed his pile of oddities. "Mama?" he really wanted her full attention now. "Why do you have another den?" While he knew about Clover's medicine den from his daily ventures, he wasn't stupid. He knew a den when he saw one; and, now he wondered why she had that one and the one where he and his sisters slept. "Is that-- Is that where Archer and Eros stay?"

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way

She figured as much. This was very clearly important business that adults didn't need to interrupt, but she would be perfectly content to sit back a ways and simply watch for a bit before continuing on with her border patrol. The moose was a slight concern, but it seemed happy enough on its side of the river. Her gaze flitted between where he had been pulling at something beneath the water and his pile of things, a small grin on her face. The mind of a child was an interesting one, and she wanted to probe further, but it seemed he had his mind made up. "I'm sure you'll find something even better to add to it." There were plenty of odd items around, and she was sure he could be kept busy for most of the day with his task.

Her ears twisted forward at his change of tone, giving him her full attention that he seemed to be asking for, curious as to what he wanted. Clover canted her head to the side at his question, eyes squinting a little as she thought about what he was asking. She had only two dens, one where she and her children slept in, and her medicinal den, and she could only assume he was asking about the latter. Her jaws opened as she let out a soft ahh as he continued on, and she understood a little better at what he was asking.

"No, the boys stay in Vanadis' den with her," she began to explain, eyes crinkling as she smiled at him. She could sense his curiosity, but was unsure of if his query stemmed from purely that, or potentially a bit of worry or jealousy. "My other den is purely where I store my healing herbs, and occasionally a sick or injured wolf if I think they should sleep separately while I help them." It was invaluable to her, and she would not be able to help everyone as well as she did without it. "Would you like me to show it to you once you're finished here?" She had yet to really give any of her children an in-depth view of her medicinal den, but perhaps if Oleander was interested she would do just that.

(This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2021, 12:09 AM by Clover.)

Oleander could feel the moose's eyes at the back of his head as he continued to ignore it. While it continued to swim and snuffle about for underwater greenery, the cub's tail did a small wag. He wasn't sure when he and Mama started seeing eye-to-eye. It was, well, weird.

His smile softened as he comprehended her answer. It made sense, after all. Mama stayed with him and his siblings; Vanadis stayed with her sons. His inner self stuck out his tongue and spat out a 'No duh, dummy' when he realized the obvious.

To hear that she had a place to store herbs - plants? - and that she took care of hurt wolves piqued his curiosity even further.

"Would you like me to show it to you once you're finished here?"

A gasp fled from his black-lined lips and his tail came up. He nodded with a little too much enthusiasm, "Yeah!" A few weeks ago he might have spun about like a wild child. He was well beyond that now, eager to make a good impression on the adults these days.

Oleander stepped out of the water and gave the slightest shake of his shoulders in a poor attempt to dry off. The antlered beast had drawn closer to the middle of the creek now, nosier than ever.

Clover's lookalike son looked over to his little hoard and hummed, "Is there anything I can bring?" He wondered if he might be able to stash any of it with his mother's healing stuff. He moved a wet paw over and past one of the striped pebbles, bending down to touch his nose to the dark empress tree twigs. "Are these useful?"

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way

She grinned at his enthusiasm, glad to see he held some interest in her work, but if he hadn't she wouldn't have minded. While everyone in her birth pack was expected to learn at least the basics of herbs and healing, she wouldn't force her children to do the same if they held no interest in it. Clover kept an eye on the young moose while her son stepped out of the water and shook out his coat, eyeing it as it swam a bit closer. But it seemed content to stay in the water for now, and she would be happy once they moved away to leave it in peace. Even though it was young, the antlers were still dangerous, and she didn't want to unnecessarily risk her or Oleander's health just to scare it away.

Moving closer to inspect the pile of oddities her had collected, she glanced over the items one by one to see if any had medicinal uses. The pebbles were pretty, and the twigs carried with them the nice scent of the empress trees, but none of them would be particularly useful on any of her patients. Well, perhaps the twigs, they were large enough that she could scrape off the outside layer and mix it with a poultice to add some firmness to keep it stuck onto the intended area. "You can bring these twigs, I may have a use for them."

She would wait for him to grab them before setting off towards her medicinal den. It was only a short trip, and luckily she had just spent that morning reorganising and cleaning it. It was in perfect condition to show Oleander all the different leaves, berries, tubers, and other oddities she kept in there. "Here we are, do take care not to disturb any of the piles, but you're welcome to inspect whatever interests you." She had managed to stock up nicely during the warmer months, and after her trip to the mountain wolves she had brought back some missing items, and so had a good amount of pretty much everything she thought she would need during winter. "Feel free to ask me about anything in here, and you can set the twigs down over there," she said with a motion of her muzzle towards a back corner of the den where she had cleared out an area for a patient to lay down on while she was looking after them. She'd put the twigs in their proper spot a little later.

Oleander stepped back to allow Clover to inspect his hoard. His tail waved about as she looked each pile over. He hoped, hoped, hoped it was all useful... but, he was mature enough now to know that he was still learning. Just because he wanted all his offerings to be helpful didn't mean they would be.

"You can bring these twigs," she said, "I may have a use for them."

He beamed up at her, eyes aglow like the sun itself, "'Kay!" There was a second of hesitation before he realized that she was waiting for him to make a move. His lanky legs gave him a jolt and with a clumsy dip of his head, he scooped up the empress tree twigs and followed her. Wherever she stepped, he did, doing his very best to mimic his mother. Oh, how he longed to be just as good as her when he grew up...

Eventually, they came up to the entrance of the den. "Here we are," she announced, continuing to tell him to mind where he stepped. His jaws opened wide with wonder, the sticks rolling off his tongue and teeth to the ground. "Wowww..."

"Feel free to ask me about anything in here," she encouraged him, "and you can set the twigs down over there."

Oh! Right!

Oleander bent at the elbows, snatching up the sticks again. As best as he could manage, he picked his way through the den on his dirty tippy toes. He glanced back at Clover as if to confirm that he had picked out the right spot to place his findings. With his nose, he nudged the slobbery twigs into a semi-neat pile, then proceeded to sniff about.

His attention landed on the gnarled and twisted things to one side. Without knowing the word 'ginger,' there was no way he could have guessed what exactly the tubers were. All he knew was that some looked like severed paws and some of them looked like a tangled bird nest.

"Mama?" there was that inquisitive chirp again. "What dis?"

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2022, 08:42 AM by Oleander.)

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way

His excitement to follow swiftly behind her was endearing, and she felt a warmness envelope her heart at the sight of him stepping where she stepped, his already longer legs making easy work of her short steps. To see that puppy enthusiasm firsthand brought back fond memories of her own childhood, and she decided she would do her best to include Oli in her duties when it was suitable for him to observe her as she worked.

Clover nodded in encouragement as her son double checked that the corner was the correct location to drop the twigs, stifling a small chuckle at the somewhat slobbered pile. It would be no trouble to clean them off with some water once she properly set them away, and she was just glad he wanted to explore her medicinal den in the first place.

She stepped closer to him at his inquisitive question, glancing over at the neat pile of the wild ginger tubers for a moment before sitting next to him. Using a forepaw she rolled one closer to him so he could examine it closer if he so desired. "This is Wild Ginger, it's a tuber that grows in the ground in moist and shaded areas," Clover said with practiced ease, giving him a few moments to digest what she said before continuing to speak. "When chewed it helps to settle an upset stomach, and can also help with any pain in the stomach and abdomen area of the body." It was one of the more simpler medicinal plants to learn, so she felt confidant Oli would be able to remember what she had told him without too much trouble.

He watched with wide-open eyes as Mama rolled one of the strange things over to him, "This is Wild Ginger." It was as if his heart had grown wings.

"Wild ginger," he whispered to himself right after Clover had said it.

"It's a tuber that grows in the ground in moist and shaded areas." She went on to inform him that the root-like things helped with tummies - upset, painful, or otherwise. His head canted to one side, as he brought his nose to the tangle of roots, wanting to put the scent of it to memory. This would be his first mission, he decided.

"Do you need more?" He hoped she would say yes. If Oleander was great at one thing, it would have to be seeking and finding...

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way