Whitefish River sitting on the shelf

@Speedy 

Fish were not Wraen's favorite meal, because they tasted so differently from what she was used to and also from a bad experience with a fishbone that had got caught in her throat. But when an empty day came, when she had had no luck at her, her expectations for a good meal were lowered greatly and she would venture towards the river. There weren't fish lying on the banks often, but it was still worth checking.

Therefore she was at the Whitefish river today and therefore you found her scavening along the banks. And occasionally stepping in the water to attempt to catch the small, agile, scaly things that were swimming fearlessly by her feet. And more often than not every attempt to "dive" would end up with her sputtering and sneezing because of the water that had got in her mouth and nostrils.

Speedy visited these parts often, although not usually to fish. She had decided that she really didn't like fishing; it took too much patience, and she got bored too quickly. 

Today, she was headed to the water for a drink when she spotted Wraen attempting to catch a fish. Wagging her tail, she trotted to the water's edge where the female had just brought her head up from the water. When Wraen had collected herself, Speedy smiled and said, I don't have much luck with fishing either. In fact, she had the exact same experience the other day when she was here attempting to catch one of the elusive creatures.

Wraen was so focused on her task, that Speedy's approach was not noticed until the lady spoke and made the unsuccesful fisherwoman jump. This in turn meant that she involunatarily gulped water the wrong way and coughed for a long time instead of a proper polite greeting and acknowlegement of the other wolf.

"Oh, hey," Wraen said, when the last of the nasty water was cleared from her airways. "Long time no see - how have you been, Speedy?" she asked.

Speedy's smile fell from her face when she realized her words had started the other wolf into aspirating water. Oh no. I'm so sorry, She said with concern on her face and in her voice. I didn't meant to startle you and make you breath in water. Are you okay? Speedy added. 

When Wraen had collected herself enough to talk, Speedy studied her for a minute to make sure she was okay before answering her question. I've been pretty good, Speedy finally answered, concern still apparent on her face. How have you been? She had been wondering what Wraen was up to lately, and was excited when she had spotted her fishing. Perhaps too excited, as she had forgotten basic wolf etiquette and had not announced her presence before she started blurting things out.

"I am fine," Wraen brushed off the concern by snorting out the last droplets of water from her nostrils and then rubbing her muzzle against one of the forepaws. When all of this was settled, she jumped out gingerly out of the water and back on the solid ground. In case Speedy was to "shock" her again, she would not be in danger of choking.

"Got promoted and have a handful of kids to feed," she responded, but because of their meeting having taken place a long time ago, she was not sure, what she had told the girl then already and what she had not. "Not mine - thank God - but they eat too much for creatures so small," she joked. "So - joined any pack or still enjoy the freedom?"

Once sure that Wraen was okay, Speedy moved closer to sit down in front of the female. She smiled when the other wolf stated that she had gotten a promotion. Congratulations! she said excitedly. She had been about to ask if the pups were hers, but Wraen quickly clarified that they were not. 

At her next question, Speedy shook her head. No pack, yet. Still not ready. She was having too much fun, although she had decided that she should probably try and find a pack to settle with before winter came. She was not equipped to deal with a bitter winter as a lone wolf and was afraid she wouldn't survive if she tried.

"Well, if by winter you are in need of a home - be my guest," Wraen repeated the offer she had made the previous time. Maybe it was wrong to trust a stranger, who she knew only after two meetings, but she genuinely liked Speedy. The she-wolf reminded her of Maia and Nara, and a bit of Liffey as well - people, who were fun and easy to get along with. 

"Tell me all about your adventures - what's new in the world?" she asked, thirsty for knowledge. She scouted very often outside Sunspire, but all of the trips were bound with a duty to bring back food. Not much fun, not much room for exploration for it's own sake. "Where exactly have you been during this time? Have you seen the ocean?"

Speedy gave Wraen a warm smile, grateful for her offer. Thank you, she replied. Winter was a major worry for her recently, so it put her mind at ease to know she would have somewhere to go should she need it. If Wraen had any say in how the pack was run, Speedy was sure she'd like it there; she seemed capable and strong, which were both needed in a pack leader.

Speedy was excited to talk about her adventures, and excitement bloomed on her face at the other wolf's question. Well, I've met quite a few different wolves. I also found a nice place with springs of warm water that I go to when the nights are cooler. She paused for a minute to think of anything else worth noting and when she thought of something, she added, Recently, I got myself a little lost in the mountains west of here, but I met a nice wolf who helped me find my way out. Her expression turned a little sheepish at the admission. She considered it a learning experience, though. Not only had she expanded her knowledge of the surrounding territories, but it helped her remember to be better aware of her surroundings. The potential danger of that situation had not escaped her; she knew she was lucky to have found a friendly wolf instead of someone that wanted to cause her harm while she was lost all alone in the mountains. 

She smiled at the mention of the coast. I did make my way to the ocean, and it was beautiful. I plan to make more visits there, she replied, her friendly smile returning to her face. The ocean water scared her a little, but it wasn't enough to keep her from enjoying the view.

To sum up Speedy's story - she had visited a lot of places and had met a lot of nice wolves. She had been lucky, because rumours had it that there were plenty of Bigs, bads and uglies in the vicinity as well. And Wraen silently wished that the wanderer's luck would continue.

"Been there - by the ocean - during winter, but it was pretty cold then and the wind was awful. But I deduce that it is spectacular during the summertime," she remarked, wishing that Sunspire was not that far off from the coast. It would be nice to take a break from cliffs, forests and plains for a while.

"And any plans on what you want to do or where you want to go now?" she asked.

Speedy shrugged at Wraen's question. No set plans, really, she answered. She knew winter would force her to settle down, but she still had some time before then, and she was going to enjoy it. I would like to start working on my medic skills, though. I had a good start from my mom, but I haven't been practicing much since being on my own, she added a second later. She had managed to keep stashes of herbs and other useful plants in places she frequented, just in case, but being a lone wolf didn't offer much in the way of practice. Sure she got a minor bruise or scratch here and there, but the real learning came from taking care of packmates.

Wraen did not say outright that in order to practice medicine you had to be in touch with people and not walk on your own, but then again - how much work did Hyacinth in their pack actually had? Apart from her cold and minor patching up of the others? It seemed to her that not much, but she could have easily been wrong and decided to meet the woman and ask about it the next time they run into each other and had time to talk. 

"Mind me asking, how do you healers manage to do healing stuff from late autumn to very early spring, when there is virtually nothing but cold, snow or mud? I mean herbs and such are great things, but they don't grow during that time," she had wondered about this often, because in her family - by the time she had left - there hadn't been a single healer and they had managed fine. Things might have changed by now, of course.

Speedy smiled. She didn't mind the question at all; she rarely got discuss these things anymore. Well, I usually dry my herbs and store them for later use; that way, they last longer. I've been gathering extra in preparation for winter. My plan is to store enough to last through the cold weather and then resume my gathering in the spring, she answered. She remembered her mother doing this, but it was the first time she had taken care of herbs all by herself. It was definitely trial and error, which had slowed some of her progress, but she had a pretty decent system down by now. The real problem was that she wasn't sure where she'd be during the winter and wasn't sure exactly how much extra to store. It would be good to show up with a stash of herbs to whatever pack she eventually joined, though.

"Do they have the same properties, when they are dried?" Wraen asked, recalling, how tansies Hyacinth had given her, had tasted a lot different in dried form than, what they smelled like, when they were fresh and green in the meadows. To draw a comparison to her hunter trade - stored meat was good (one could not be too picky, if there was no way to know that food would be tomorrow too), but a fresh one was always better. And it did not upset her digestion as frequently as carion did.

Speedy shook her head at the other wolf's question. Dried herbs are more potent, and so less is needed to be effective. They also last longer than fresh herbs, she said. The higher potency of dried herbs was something her mom taught her right away. Some plants were harmless if given an overdose, but some could be dangerous, and her mom didn't want her ever make that mistake.

"Oh, I would have never guessed that. Thank you for explaining," Wraen replied and smiled, thinking that being either a botanist or a healer was a hell lot of a work and required so much of additional knowledge. How did they not get confused with all of this, was beyond her. Certainly not something she would be able to do herself. 

"Any interesting medic stories - what has been the most peculiar case you or your mom had had to deal with?" she asked.

Happy to, Speedy replied with a smile. When Wraen asked her about any stories she might have, she twisted her mouth in thought for a minute, a small, Hmm..., escaping her lips as she considered what story would be best.

There is one story that always sticks out when I think back to all the things I helped my mom with, Speedy began excitedly. It happened when she first starting teaching me about herbs. A yearling had come back from his first solo tracking mission but was acting completely out of his mind--yelling at us that there were spiders crawling all over him. My mom managed to get him to his family's den and gave him some Lavender. It really didn't help much, but after a couple hours, he became more aware again. It took a couple days to figure what happened, but he finally remembered grooming a couple seeds from his paw about an hour before he started hallucinating. My mom and I went searching the outskirts of our pack lands and ended up finding Night Shade in a few spots. We carefully destroyed the plants, and my mom said he was very lucky because had eaten much more, he could have died. It was satisfying to not know originally how to help but to be able to piece everything together eventually. She smiled when she finished her story, falling silent to see if Wraen had anything to add.

"Sounds like a horror story to me," Wraen remarked and shook her head, when Speedy had finished. It was a wonder she recalled this with a smile on her lips, because - really? That guy would have died because of a couple of seeds. Not a mouthful - but few?! Took her back to all the times she had groomed her paws and inadvertently swallowed small pieces of grass, twigs, leaves, seeds and whatnot. And to think that any one of them could be potentially dangerous?

"So, that guy was completely fine after that?" Wraen asked and then it occurred to find out something more important. "Have you seen any of those or other very poisonous plants around here?" because, while she did not doubt Hyacinth's skills as a healer, what good it would be for her, if Wraen came back not as herself and would not be able to tell, what exactly had happened.

Yeah, he was fine. Maybe a little shaken up at first, but the whole thing eventually just became a bad memory, Speedy answered. When Wraen asked if she had seen any nightshade or any other poisonous plants around here, she shook her head. I've always kept an eye out for those plants since that whole thing, and I have for sure not seen any around. I haven't noticed any other poisonous plants, either, but I'll let you know if I ever see any harmful plants around, she said with a smile, hoping to reassure Wraen, who maybe seemed a little worried after hearing her story.

What about you, Wraen? Do you have any interesting stories? Speedy asked, looking at her friend excitedly as she waited for her answer.

"Good to know," Wraen replied and was visibly relieved to hear that all was safe in the vicinity. Still she made a mental note to be very careful, when grooming and not ingest plant particles either by accident or due to being too lazy to spit them out. 

"Of medical kind?" she asked, quickly going through the library aisle called "Sickness and ailments" and thinking that digestive upsets or random colds were neither very funny, nor particularly interesting. Especially for a healer, who probably had seen this very often in the past.

"Not really," she shook her head. "Though if you are more particular about other kinds of tales, I might come up with something."

Speedy smiled, glad she could put her friend at ease and that she had been able to warn her of the potential dangers that came from grooming seeds from ones fur. When Wraen asked about what kind of story she wanted to hear, Speedy shrugged and answered, Any kind of story would be good. Speedy wasn't picky about much, and she was sure the other female could tell her something interesting. She looked at her friend and excitedly waited to see what story she would tell.

"You did not make it particularly easy," Wraen remarked with a smile and then sat back to think about the request for a while. She was like this frequent library-goer, who was asked to bring any kind of book back home, and through this analogy one might understand, why it was not easy for her to come up with a good idea right on the spot. 

"Umm... what do you say we invent an entirely new story together?" she finally said. "My mom used to play with me this game called "Round Robin", where one person began a story and the next continued. Usually by making it deadly difficult for the next to pick up the thread - adding all kinds of impossible details and cliff-hangers, and plot-twists to cover."

Speedy wagged her tail. That sounds fun, she said, grinning. It would be like a story and game in one. She looked at Wraen and asked, Will you start? She was unfamiliar with this game and wanted to see how the other female did things first; it would give her a better idea of what to do. As she waited for the other wolf to speak, she began to think of things she could possibly say and possible cliffhangers, and she grew even more excited.

"It is really easy - as I said - I will start with something, then you pick up the thread and add something of your own," Wraen said, lying down, because in her experience story-telling was usually a lengthy process, so one had to get very comfortable before the start. 

She looked around, looking for an inspiration, spotted a frog that flopped in a nearby puddle and chuckled. That would do. "Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess, who was a snobbish and rather unpleasant character and who praised herself in speaking her mind to everyone. And while her family and subordinates bit their tongues and said nothing, because she was a royalty and such, an old witch, who the princess had insulted deeply, decided to teach her a lesson.

And one fine morning the girl woke up not as a wolf anymore, but..." here she left the story hanging and looked expectantly at Speedy. "Your turn."

Speedy followed Wraen's example and found a comfortable spot to lie down. She faced her friend and listened intently to the story she told about the stuck up princess who said the wrong thing to the wrong wolf. When it was her turn to go, she paused briefly, looking into the distance to think for a second. When she came up with something, she looked back to the other female and started, She woke up not as a wolf but as a pig. She ran around squealing and confused. The noise drew the attention of her parents who, upon seeing the pig, immediately saw it has breakfast. The princess tried to speak and tell them who she really was, but all that came out was more squealing. Seeing that she had no other choice, the princess started running away from her family, only to run into... She looked to Wraen then and excitedly waited for her continuation.

A pig... huh? Frogs and toads were fairy-tale classics, being turned into a pig was something new. A point well-earned. Though - when Wraen had met an adult wild boar for the first time of her life - "this is breakfast/lunch/dinner!" - was not the initial ideas. She had been amazed by it's size and considerable mass and, frankly speaking, quite scared too. Maybe the princess had been turned into a little pig then - there could be no other explanation.

"... in a dark cave, which turned out to be a massive cavern system. The pursuers lost her - that was a good thing, but our princess-pig soon realized that she was hopelessly lost as well. Not to mention that her pig eyes were useless in the dark and many time she would hit a wall or trip over. Things did not look good to the princess - she was unhappy, irritated and about to squeal out her disappointment, when a malicious-sounding sound made her freeze in her steps and a shiver ran down her spine. Something was moving in the darkness..." here she left off for Speedy to fight on.