Dragoncrest Cliffs seriously, right in front of my salad

assuming some things

Rose spent most of her day searching for nothing but herbs, and although she hadn’t had much luck, she did find a few that weren’t too withered away to prove useless. She let out an exhausted sigh while looking down at the pile she had managed to collect. There wasn’t much, maybe around two dozen if she was lucky, but at least it was a start. She took one last glance around to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything before picking up her stash and trotting towards her den.

Without much else to think about on her trip, Rose’s mind instantly went to Furi and wondered what she had been up to. She hadn’t seen her since yesterday, and while that was completely normal, the fire kissed yearling had to admit she felt more relaxed in the company of her friend. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t met anyone else except @Blixen and Dio that she felt so distant. Dio seemed like a pretty chill dude but her look a like had left a sour taste in her mouth, and Rose was a bit fearful the rest of the pack would react the same way as the gona had. Shaking her head to clear herself of that worry and doubt, Rose turned her attention back towards the path in front of her and hoped to reach her den before all the light faded from the evening sky.

she hasn't seen furi since their fight and her anger has long since turned into an unyielding anxiety that nestles in her belly. furi won't go on patrol with her. furi isn't in the den at night (or if she is, she manages to avoid blixen expertly). it has not been long but the days feel like years and she doesn't know what to do.

the gona is not looking for rose when she comes across her scent but - she decides to follow it. okay, yeah, she could have handled things better at the border, even if her suspicion was justified. and rose passed dio's inspection, so she was a bonafide member of drageda, and blix had no problems with her. except for the fact that she stole her friend. just that tiny thing.

for once she's quiet as she approaches, subdued by the (hopefully, god willing, temporary) loss of her main friendship. amber eyes follow rose's movements, intrigued by the bundle of herbs nearby, but she shakes her head slightly and squares up. "hei," the ginger says, "um. is it cool if i talk to you?"

She was only a few more minutes away from her den when the gona’s words called out to her. Rose stopped in her tracks and sucked in a breath, turning to catch the gaze of the younger girl. “Ugh, sure” she says, words coming out slightly muffled due to the plants lodged in her mouth. Why did she want to talk? Did they even have anything to talk about? Her heart stood still in her chest while she placed the herbs on the ground, silently hoping whatever Blixen wanted to talk about wouldn’t take very long. 

“About what?” She questions, the only real thing coming to mind being their first and only interaction. Rose didn’t necessarily want to talk about that, but that was probably because she didn’t want to talk about anything, ever.

rose doesn't seem particularly impressed by her, which, fair, but also, she has to respect the girl's ability to stand her ground. "sooo," she starts, immediately blushing, "i am... sorry for how i acted towards you. the other day. obviously." she talks carefully, trying to pick out each word as delicately as possible, trying to be as clear as she's physically able. she gathers the rest of her pride and sighs, looking downcast. "i get it if you don't wanna forgive me right now but i hope you'll, um, give me a chance." the last thing she wants is lingering resentment  between her and any of her pack mates - especially not someone furi likes, even if she's someone furi likes, you know? she has more to say - well, ask - but she holds her tongue for now, waiting to see rose's reaction before she pushes further.

Rose was a bit surprised to hear the girl apologizing, especially since her first impression of the gona was someone too proud to admit she was wrong. She takes in all of the girl’s words, thinking them over carefully before deciding on a decision. “It’s cool, I get it” she starts off with, understanding where she was coming from during the time but not necessarily forgiving her either. There was no benefit for either of them if they didn’t resolve their differences, so Rose just figured this the was the quickest and easiest way to fix the awkward rift that stood between them. “Just don’t expect me to be your best friend or anything” she adds jokingly, attempting to lighten the rather tense mood.

given how badly her last apology went, she's relieved rose seems to accept it so quickly. or at least be willing to work on moving forward. "ha," she says weakly at the fire-furred girl's joke, thinking of her best friend. former best friend? ugh. "um, i don't know if furi mentioned but, i'm actually interested in plants and stuff too," blixen says, wincing slightly on her friend's name but indicating the bundle of herbs by rose's feet. "though i don't know much, mostly i help out at the garden here." it's an olive branch of sorts, definitely - she doesn't know what rose knows or is interested in, but she hopes it can be something to help smooth things out. for now. oh, and, "does - how did - you and furi, like," she fumbles, three different questions catching in her throat at once, "is - does she seem okay? to - you?"

Her mouth twists into a slight smile when the girl mentioned having an interest in plants. “I can teach you a bit” she starts with, tail lazily swishing behind her. “If you want of course” she quickly adds, understanding if she didn’t want to learn from someone who hadn’t earned their trade yet. Rose was about to ask what made Blixen have such an interest in plants, but the girl’s question cut her off first. 

How did they what? Did she seem ok? Was there another question tossed in that bundle of mess too? “Ugh” she lets out trying to figure out which question was the most put together. “She seemed alright to me.” If anything had been wrong with Furi she hadn’t noticed, then again Rose was a total halfwit and thought Blixen was speaking purely about the girl’s physical state rather than her mental one. “Why, is something wrong?” she asks then, worry crossing her face at the thought of her friend being injured.

she perks up at rose's offer, a little surprised she's so willing to help her out - but waits until she has an answer to her question to speak again. she seemed alright to me, rose says, and the ginger deflates a little once more, for an entirely different reason. "no, nothing's ... i mean, it's okay," blix says, sighing. "we're just on the outs." she admits sheepishly, looking away. she's glad to hear furi's acting normally around rose at least - but it does also sting a bit. blixen has to admit rose seems like - well, frankly, like a significantly better friend, considering how elegantly she's handled blix's irate suspicions. but it still hurts to be replaced.

the gona shakes her head, looking apologetically at rose. "anything you wanna teach me, i'm down for," she says, retreating to their shared interest (that isn't currently mad at her). "my cousin dalia's also interested in herbs and stuff -- i bet you two'd get along too," she adds with a wag of her tail. rose will fit in just fine and everything can fall back into place - everything except her and furi, it seems.

When Blixen clarifies that her and Furi just seem to be going through a rough patch and that no one was actually injured, Rose let out a sigh of relief, maybe a little too loudly considered the situation. When she realized she might have come across as rude, the yearling opened her mouth to say something but quickly snapped her jaws shut. Was she the reason they were on the outs? Should she apologize? Then again she didn’t feel like she had done anything wrong...

Before she had any real time to think about what she should say or do, Blixen turned the conversation towards plants, which Rose was grateful for. “What do you wanna learn?” she decides to start with, figuring she could try to teach the gona whatever she was interested in. At the mention of Dalia, Rose thought back to her recent conversation with Furi and glanced down to look at her pile of herbs. “I’ll have to meet her soon” she said, marking another name down on her mental list of pack members to meet.

the ginger squints at rose's sigh -- is she relieved blix and furi are fighting, does it make it easier for her to steal away the silvery-furred gona? -- but does not comment on it as the moment's passed and she's trying to be reconcillatory, not pick another fight. instead she spends a moment trying to think of what she actually wants to learn. "i like gardening so far," she says, "so i guess like, what grows when, what does what, what stuff is, that sorta thing." blix hasn't gotten to see the garden in full bloom yet and she doesn't actually know what plants are in it, just how to pull weeds and let the soil breathe. maybe when it gets warmer they can all add some stuff to it together (the thought makes her smile, she has to admit).

“Me too” Rose let out with a swish of her tail at Blixen’s comment on gardening. There was something peaceful about and it often settled the fiery girl’s mind whenever she felt anxious or stressed. A part of her wondered if Blixen felt the same when she tended to plants, but Rose held her tongue for now and instead took in the rest of the girl’s interests. 

It was quite a vague list with endless information to be given, but Rose ultimately decided to narrow it down to a few key points she could teach. “How about we start off with what grows in winter and how to keep it alive” she suggested, ears twitching a top her head as she waited for an answer. She had only recently begun experimenting with the earth’s soil, but Rose had managed to pick up a few tricks here and there that she’d be happy to share with the gona.

SORRY FOR THE BIG WAIT!! wanna wrap up?

"good idea," blix agrees readily, pleased the other girl likes gardening as well. rose, dalia, and blix can be like, a little club. or something. furi'd probably like that (and then she remembers, and has to think about something else). she moves a little closer to the other redhead, eager to see whatever rose has to teach her.

Rose smiled when Blixen agreed to her offer, tail gently swishing against her hocks. The aspiring medic plopped her rump to the ground and began to sort through the bundle of herbs she had before her. She made sure to carefully explain each plant to the gona, going over where she could find them and what they were good for. She spent a little extra time on rosemary and thyme seeing as how those two were more abundant than the others she currently had with her. 

Afterward she gave some time to hear any questions Blixen might have before sharing her tips about gardening. She briefly went over how to find the right soil while also mentioning how moss makes a great insulator and sponge when needed. Once again the yearling gave a few minutes to hear any questions the gona might have before summing everything up and collecting her herbs. Rose made sure to mention that if Blixen ever wanted to talk about herbs or nature in general, that she’d be around ready to lend an ear or advice if needed. The yearling gave one last smile and offered a goodbye before heading back towards the direction of her den, ready to catch a few zzz’s before morning.