Wolf RPG

The weak winter sunlight enhanced the females ginger hue as she picked her way delicately across the golden rock. Grey skies complimented the sandy red visual of the canyon but also held the chilled landscape under a cape of shadow, perfect for Renn. After her meeting with the dark royals, the yearling was determined to prove that she could at least be somewhat more useful than just a spy. Her nostrils flared as the sweet scent of mouse flooded into her glands. Perhaps she could experiment a little, trial the new terrain and test her skills. A ghost of a smile played out across her features as she skulked forward and began to pinpoint her quarry.

A day's worth of travel had carried the woman back to Sunspire Mountains. This time, however, it was to look upon the Redsands for things she could use. She had already stashed away her alfalfa and cancer root, choosing not to take the precious supply along with her in case she lost it. As Veritas came into the land, she realised just how red it was. 

But, to save her the trouble of internally describing it, it was a canyon and it was red. Short and simple. Not Long later though, she came across a girl, caught up in... Stalking a mouse, it seemed. The mouse was indeed an idiot if it didn't realise the shadow coming up upon it, or the scent of wolf blown in from the winds. No matter, the child would learn. 

Veritas followed behind, intent on finding out exactly who this stranger was. She had the scent of both Malice and the foolish wolf, so she had to be a part of Moonlit Hills. The smells were strong even if they didn't overpower the girl's natural scent. It must have been recent. Which meant that while Veritas wouldn't officially be a part of Moonlit Hills, here was someone who might. 

Interesting.

Eyes wide and ears rammed forward, Renn continued her foolish stalk. The mouse, surprisingly, hadn't taken notice of her presence yet which was just as well. Though that was all about to change. Bam! Just like that, her quarry bolted into a shadowed cleft in the rock. Growling quietly in frustration, the youngster launched forward, jaws outstretched in hope to snag her prey but she recoiled empty pawed.

What had startled it? The thought sprang up, circling her head, agitating the female. Most likely it was herself, her black fur and poor tactics stood out like a sore thumb, but she wasn't convinced. The breeze picked up once more, arriving from the northern ranges this time, to ruffle her pelt.  It was as if by some remarkable coincidence that right then, an unfamiliar scent hit her right in the face, a stranger. More alert than ever, the yearling  cautiously picked her way across the terrain to stand a little way away from  the other. She kept her posture firm and neutral, her tail riased slightly. If this wolf posed a threat to the newly-forming pack, Renn would try her best to let her know who was boss.

"Calm down, girl, and lower your tail lest you should anger those you seek to befriend." If the female was smart, she would pick up on the hint that Veritas was not one to be trifled with and that she cared not for this one's wellbeing if it ever came to that. She was, of course, assuming that the girl was part of Moonlit Hills by the way she stood and the plainly obvious scents. "The look on your face displays dominance and arrogance, child. I am not a threat to your precious Moonlit Hills." There. Let her stew a bit and try to figure out how the "unknown black female" knew about the forming pack.

Scratching her claws against the stone, Veritas waited for the winds to change direction. The sound of mouse snuffling around in the hole was accentuated by the air blowing towards them. After enough time, the mouse emerged. With their shadows hidden the prey animal could not discern any danger. Nose woffled before it came fully out of the hole, enticed by food and the sounds of another "mouse". 

One paw slammed down on it, holding down on it while Veritas looked at the other. "I'm going to let it go now. Block the hole first with a rock, then attempt to corral the mouse." The woman gave the other a few seconds to react, before allowing the mouse to scurry off again.

@Renn

A herbal aroma surrounded the other, perhapse she was a healer or had, at least, been gathering some not long ago. Her mother had always said that herbalists were not ones to be messed with but the youngster wasn't certain as to why that was. Nevertheless, this dark female looked experienced and would probably pick up a good fight should Renn foolishly decide to provoke one.

Hearing her mention Moonlit Hills took the she-wolf by surprise, if only because no scent of either Malice nor Cogetimus seemed to be present upon her. She put the thought to rest, assuming that there was some liable reason for the other to have heard of the forming pack, and continued to listen to the rest of her words.

Her optics surveyed the scene carefully, watching as the female used her exceptional skills to draw the mouse back out of the rock. Renn didn't like her attitude, nor did she like the way she hid things but her skills and techniques were certainly something to admire. Listening to her words, Renn nosed a slab of stone to block off the entrance to the crack before spinning round to corner the prey as the other released it. This time, to her surprise, she succeeded and delivered the killing bite to the back of its neck.

She learned surprisingly fast, it seemed. The girl had quick reflexes and keen eyes even young as she was. "Well done." Veritas smiled somewhat lightly, offering the child a slightly less hard look. "You have the ability to become a respectable hunter and warrior. Just work on your skills and tactics. You're gifted."

With that, the healer sniffed the air again. This time, however, only the scent of the dead mouse reached her nose. There seemed to be only one mouse in the general area, and she knew for certain now that the pack would die here if they chose to settle in this desolate area. 

"Your name? I am Veritas Requiem."

Surprised once again by the others sudden change of tone, she nodded and dropped the mouse at the dark females paws. At least someone thought she had the potential to excel in the art of hunting. Maybe Veritas, or so she called herself, wouldn't be too bad after all. Heck, she'd be damn useful to the forming pack if she was a well able healer. "Renn," she answere simply, "Just Renn." It was a simple name, nothing too special, but one her mother gave her. "You're a herbalist, aren't you," she queried, relaxing back onto her haunches once more.

She watched, as if amused by all the talk going on. But in truth, that was just her regular face. Veritas was actually listening rather closely, taking in what she could (which was most of it). And then came the dreaded question, the one she hated to answer (though Veritas didn't let it show on her face in the least). You're a herbalist, aren't you. It was simple, short like a statement and not a question. 

Why does everyone assume I'm a herbalist? Does every wolf in this damnable land have to specialise in something? I refuse to accept the possibility. Outwardly, however, Veritas smiled and waved (figuratively), choosing to humour the Moonlit Hills girl. "I am not a herbalist, my dear. I am a healer. I heal." As if she was taking a moment to reconsider her words, Veritas paused and put a thoughtful look upon her features. 

"I suppose not, because I also poison..." The end of the sentence trailed off in silence, the female looking like she was in deep thought. Then, like she had remembered what she wanted to say, sat down and queried with a, "pray tell, what are these 'Trades' people are so prone to speak of? I come from lands far away and have never heard of the term."

Bis, vrosaqar. It will be good to learn something new

The female didn't reply instantly. Instead, she listened, frowning slightly at her wording. To Renn, herbalists were wolves who worked with herbs. Veritas was a healer, also a poison crafter which was a surprise, both which involved using plants of some kind so technically that would make her a herbalist as well. She shrugged and refocused on the she-wolfs question.

"From what I have gathered," she started, recalling the wise words of her dark alphas, "A trade is a speciality skill that a wolf can choose to develop and work towards becoming a master at. There are many varieties, each with different branches but it certainly does require a lot of effort to achieve well." Was she right? She wasn't entirely sure if what she had spoken held all the truth but it was the best she could do. Looking down once more at the mouse, she wrapped her tail round her paw and awaited the others reaction.

"I suppose so. I mean, trades wouldn't be all that special if they were earned all namby-pandy. It takes time, effort and practice to build up a skill." Veritas paused, looking funnily at Renn. She seemed to have a good sense of smell and a keen eyesight, to have spotted that mouse. The girl would be a good help for this one endeavour... "Say, Renn, I didn't come here for all this chatter. I came here looking for quite a rare herb.

"Well, being that it's the dead of winter right now, it's rare. But I'm counting on the fact that the desert's hot enough for it to grow, still. Interested?" Veritas would give Renn a choice to help her or not. If she wouldn't, she'd just go off and do it on her own. If she did, they'd look for it. Or perhaps they'd carry on talking like the world wasn't crashing and burning around them (which it wasn't, but if it got any colder, Veritas was going to lose her precious plants.)

She grinned, raising one eyebrow, and made as if to get up and leave. "You should eat that mouse, by the way, before it gets cold." Veritas turned, still waiting for an answer. "You earned it, after all."

Looking looking once again from the dark female to the mouse, Renn nodded and snapped it up in a few short bites. At least in quenched the slight growling of her stomach. She turned her attention back to the wolf as she replied, twitching her ears in interest as she mentioned needing help. It would be nice to assist someone and hopefully gain more of their trust, not to mention that getting on the right side of the female would probably protect her slightly from who knows what 'dangers'.

"I'd be quite happy to assist you," the youngster nodded and swiped her tongue round her yaws to pick up the last traces of her meal. She'd spent only a few days scouting the canyon before Veritas had showed up but hopefully her skills would help her out once more. "We'd better get started before it gets any colder." Grinning slightly, she began to rise to her paws as she awaited the others agreement.

"Yes, we should." Veritas stretched, yawned and blinked a few times, then shook her head to clear out the fuzz. "We're looking for cajeput, a large tree with long, draping branches and short leaves." It should be pretty simple to find since it was a desert plant, but this was a canyon, and it might be sparse, even here.

"A cajewhata..?" It was clear the youngster had never heard of such a tree but, nevertheless, she nodded and began to scout the red cliffs, searching the barren landscape for any signs of the herb the other she-wolf had described. The wilds were stil held captive under the grey skies of winter but there was little to no breeze which meant Renn's senses were acute and alert for any traces. As her paws carried her through an ark of rock, a large sapling stood out from the corner of her vision. "Is this it?" she barked and placed her paws on the trunk. It certainly did have long, draping branches and, even though spring was still a long way off, the hot climate of the canyon had encouraged tiny buds to begin to grow at the tips.

Only one type of plant could possibly grow in the desert with long branches and it seemed Renn had found it... though, Veritas had been expecting the tree to look more like... a tree. It was short, definitely shorter than other trees but at least, it was usable. To tell the truth, Veritas didn't actually know what the tree looked like - she had only felt its effects before and was relying entirely on guesswork and clever, informed assumptions.

That said, she bit her leg so that there was a tiny nick in the skin, scraped the tree with her claws and took note of the flaky texture. That corresponded with another property of the cajeput, or so she had been told. She dug a bit deeper, then crushed the flakes on her wound, testing it out. If it numbed, it was cajeput. If it didn't, it was something else and potentially toxic.

So much for smart and informed guesses.

Luckily for the healer, the plant was indeed cajeput and she grinned, giving an affirmative nod.

Now all I have to do is get it back... And that was going to pose a problem. Something to do with rocks, maybe. There were rocks all over the ground, but she wasn't sure if they would contaminate the precious oil.

With a curious gaze, Renn observed as the dark healer proceeded to test the plant they had found. It didn't seem to cause her any pain, nor make her smell sick so she deemed it to be safe. A reassuring nod confirmed her guess and she returned the gesture with a slight smile. "We could try and dig it up from the roots," she voiced, assuming that Veritas wanted the herb back in her stock, "Or perhapse use some of these rocks to crush it slightly if that would make it easier the carry."

Nosing a chunk of scarlet stone, she manoeuvred her jaws around it to ensure a good grip before raising her head and dropping it heavily on top of a fallen branch from the cajeput. It didn't seem to do much apart from reduce the brand to flakes. "Oops..." she muttered sheepishly as a sour smelling oil began to ooze into the surrounding terrain. Maybe the healer could conjour up a way to escape doing that again.