Heron Lake Plateau All I'm tryna say is get back, click clack, BLAOW!

Raven felt a rush of compassion for the young wolf as she swiped at her tears, clearly uncomfortable with her inability to keep herself together. The motherly alpha had to resist the urge to go to her and comfort her, lick away her tears and tell her it would be all right. She didn't want to further embarrass Ceara, though, so she remained where she sat -- but a small, sad smile crossed her face and she shook her head at Ceara's apology for her emotions. "Don't be sorry," she commented softly. "I would be upset too. I'll talk with Quixote and we'll sort this out, see if we can find out what's bothering Niamh."

She did step forward, then, and touched Ceara's chin with her muzzle in a reassuring gesture. "I'm glad you came to me with this. I'm sorry you had to go through this, but Qui and I will help make it right -- okay?" She wanted peace in her ranks, above all. If there was a problem, then it was their responsibility to get to the bottom of it and fix it. Ceara had said she didn't want them to get involved, that she could handle it herself, but as alphas they could not simply turn a blind eye to conflict and hope it went away. If anything, Niamh needed to be separated from Screech -- of that much, Raven was certain. It wasn't Niamh's job to nurse him back to health anyway, and Raven regretted ever allowing him to be taken to her den.

When Ceara brought up the side-note about the apples and their curiously mind-altering effects, the medic was particularly interested in that tidbit of information. She hadn't known that about the seemingly benign little fruits. An expression of surprised curiosity crossed her face, and then it was replaced by thoughtful consideration. "You know...the seeds of some plants have that type of effect when ingested," she commented, specifically thinking of the poppyseeds she was so fond of using for pain, sleeplessness, and other various maladies. "I guess it's not so crazy for apples to do the same, but I just hadn't heard of it in fruit. Huh."