travel carried him here. not one to question such vagabond ways, Baelfire made his way into the cavern without a moment's pause. still quite sensitive to the light, he needed time to adjust to this world. the previous pack, his former family, had lived within deep caves that stretched underground. he wondered how far this lair would go down, but he was not keen to find out. he had enough of caves to last ten lifetimes. so why here? because he needed a rest and he felt restless in the open.
the Teekons was a new place, an unknown to him. he did not feel confident enough to sleep in broad daylight. not yet. there were a few packs in the area, but he was keeping out of their territory for now. he'd do some scouting from a distance and see what was the best place to settle. Baelfire didn't want to make hasty decisions. fate could lead him to several outreaching branches. he was keen to explore all of them. so this cave would have to do for now. slowing to a walk, he would keep to the darker part of the lair. this place, too, was teeming with life.
as he slowed to a complete halt, Baelfire would recline to the earth. weary from his travels and eager to be out of the sun.
He found it rather pleasant in these mountains. Hight to the sky yet still retaining elements critical for his botanist studies. He wanted to explore more, however. He happened across a cave, tilting his ears he thought he could ear someone -- or was it something -- within. To hell with caution, his curiosity was snared. He entered, casting his gaze around. Plants, sunset light filtering through small holes in the collapsed roof, a wolf.
His tail waved in uncertain greeting, his eyes almost bulging at the plants sprouting from the sandy floor. He immediately loved it and had to study everything within. Perhaps he could find a new plant, he could test it! His tail waved slightly faster thinking of the potential the cavern had. Then remembered he should greet the other wolf laying in a dull corner.
"Hey there, friend! I'm Sherigrim." He spoke out in his chirpy voice, hoping he'd be received well.
another would come. Baelfire's eyes would meet the other's frame, taking in his appearance for future reference. there was no doubt the Teekons were a vast place. surface worlds always were. he just didn't know if he'd ever meet this person again. he wasn't very eager to find out; something was always off if you ever met the same person. over and over again. then again, he was just being grumpy due to the sunlight.
"hey" he would reply at last from his spot, not knowing the origin of the boy's name. he looked to be around the same age as himself, however. "Baelfire" he gave a brief nod of his head to the stranger. named Sheigrim. he wouldn't call him a 'friend' yet, though. intentions were never known on first appearances. it would be stupid to ask if he, too, was hiding from the sun. "you like plants?" he had noticed the way Sheigrim had looked delighted at his findings.
Baelfire. Interesting name, to say the least. It seemed to match his coat, the fire part at least; a mixture of reds and brown. He wandered in further, careful not to intrude on the others space. He put his nose to a flower that had bloomed with petals of purple akin to the shade of his eyes.
His eyes tilted to the other at the mention of plants, his maw cracked into a grin and he straightened again. "Naturally. I'm an aspiring Shaman. But I wonder if I should delve into the Faery teachings instead." No mention of Druidry, no matter the draw.
He'd promised Erianthe. Besides, he had to know if the others were safe.
"Are you a Botanist perhaps? Or even a Toxicologist?" He'd not met many Toxicologists, so he didn't get his hopes up. However, he knew there were Botanists around so perhaps he could find a mentor. If the others of Arenraith don't make it through. He wondered what the pack would do if not.
a shaman. interesting. he'd heard of shamans, of course, but his people were not so keen to discuss 'outsider' occupations. Baelfire had been bred for pointless wars, as was all his people serving under Lolth. he had chosen to get away, to serve a life of peace instead. "which fae affiliation?" the Seelie or the Unseelie... were a lot like his people and the lighter surface dwelling folk. the 'fair folk' they were called, compared to his 'dark folk'. both sides of the same coin. he didn't care which one was chosen to be taught. both had their flaws and strengths.
botany was what they called it here? he'd shift his head to look at the flower Sheigrim was viewing. "I am a herbalist, yes" though these northern foliages were a bit foreign to him. he did not deal in poisons, for that was a dirty trick to use. he wanted to leave that in the past. "don't shamans deal with the spiritual realm?" so why focus on plants if not to induce a trance? Sheigrim would be better-suited dabbling in hallucinatory plants.
He grinned at the question. He wasn't bad. He just had an affinity for the darker seeming side of being a Naturalist. "Seelie; the fair folk; the good side. Whatever you wish to call them." He tilted his head slightly. He wondered where this Baelfire hailed from.
"Interesting,"he mused, thinking carefully. Perhaps some sort of medic, then. "Indeed," he started in answer to his question, "Divination specifically. I believe if I learn the ways then I could harness my Magick to do so. With help from the stars, of course. He wondered if there could be cross overs between them.
He gestured to the flower, "I believe it is Belladonna -- Deadly Nightshade if you'd rather. The lighting is right." He cast his gaze around, wondering if there were more. He hoped so, something to delve in to. The turn to summer would surely bring around more plants -- perhaps this would be his secret cavern.
he had a feeling it was the Seelie court. sometimes it was an obvious tell; lighter coats and lighter colors. chipper personalities. Baelfire thought the Seelie court was full of stuck-up snobs, to be frank. always looking down on others. there was no 'right' or 'wrong answer, though. both courts were good and bad. he kept his mouth shut though, resisting the sigh trying to escape.
focusing on the plant, he'd ignore the stuff about magic and divination because that was not his skillset. Baelfire would grunt, moving forward to sniff at the Belladonna. most would see this as a deadly plant to use, but sometimes - in the right hands - mixed with other plants it was a relief. "can be used as a sedative..." he muttered "painkiller too." though he would give a hard pass about using such a thing.
"hm. ivy" he'd move past Sheigrim to view the creeping plant that was growing up a wall. "respiratory relief." it seemed he talked less the more involved he was in his work.
He grinned, happy to find someone that shared his interests and weren't trying to drill the uses into his mind -- it reminded him of his Mentor. It took time and teachings to know what you were dealing with, Sherigrim didn't yet have the knowledge to use Belladonna for a remedy, he only knew a large amount was toxic and more fatal to pups.
His head turned, following the direction of the other. "I didn't know Ivy had a use. I guess it is often looked over." Much to his distaste. Why leave something out because it was common? Sherigrim saw that there was more point exploring and learning about the common plants because that is more likely to be at hand than the rarer, more specific plants. "How would you use it as a treatment?" His new friend was knowledgeable, indeed. You had to ask if you wanted answers.
Baelfire closed his eyes, going over the remedy in his mind. "yeah" he agreed quietly that Sheigrim didn't know, for it wasn't a very well known medicine. most wolves ran and ran until their sides hurt, ignoring any respiratory crap that they had. fatal at times. "take one ivy leaf... make the patient chew it." for wolves did not have the medicinal skills to extract the juices aside from chewing.
and he felt it was disgusting to chew it himself and make someone else swallow it.
"leaf's juice helps with clearing up the chest. swallow the whole thing" which should do good for once a day until the infection leaves the patient. he opened his eyes, turning to look at Sheigrim. hey, at least the guy wanted to learn. who was he to deny knowledge? "can also be rubbed against the skin to clear sunburn." well, not poison ivy though. but he didn't think it needed to be said; the plant's effects were widespread.
Sherigrim craved knowledge. He loved to apply it, too. In his mind, knowledge was power, as knowledge could be between survival or death. To not know any healing could easily spell death through a range of problems: infection, disease, blood loss. It could make or break a pack and pack was family.
"Huh. That's pretty awesome. I wonder what else it could do." Was too much toxic? Did it grow berries or flowers in summer? This cave was definitely going to be a source of entertainment and learning for him. Alas, toxicology required a specimen. A volunteer. When testing new substances, it could spell death. Sherigrim loved the critical danger that came with each new find, the chances taken. Of course, he'd never force someone to help him with his experiments, neither asked. He'd once found a berry bush and eaten what was probably far too many berries and was rather sick. The bad side to toxicology, he supposed. But he gained knowledge from it. "I wonder if anything else grows here, I'm sure something is sure to sprout."
Sheigrim expressed interest and 'awesome'ness at his explanation. maybe there was hope for the budding druid, then. Baelfire always seemed to fall on deaf ears when he rambled about botany. people assumed he was crazy, speaking to plants like they were children. but he knew they grew better if one was to socialize with them. ironic since when they did, you cut them down. sort of false hope at growing. a good herbalist knew to cut only a few stocks. a bad one cut all of them. "ferns. mushrooms..." he would utter, walking next to Sheigrim as he looked around. "some roots if you know where to look" this lair was a budding ecosystem for herbalists and healers. "do you have a cache?" he asked the other.
"Soon I will. I need to gather enough herbs to start one first." As well as being certain on where he is staying, too. He didn't know what the others of Arenraith were planning, whether they'd swiftly move on or stay to claim. Quite frankly, he wanted to stay.
It was also a good thing he did know where to look, it would be rather beneficial to do so. The plants, people with the trades; or working for them at least. He was happy here. Not barren, not cold -- much -- and the neighbors were friendly. "Are you staying anywhere, or thinking of a particular place?" In case his world fell apart one day, he wanted to know where his friend would be.
"ah" Baelfire would give a nod at the druid's words. some wolves without packs started caches despite having no certain place to store them. he assumed Sheigrim had a place to stay, so when the loner asked where he would be, the man would frown softly. not at anything the other happened to do, but more so at that it was odd he already had a plan.
"I'm staying at Lost Creek Hollow" for who knew what timelines were anymore? "they have accepted me" which is more than he could say, for acceptance was a loose term. he really only knew Treason and Vuk. a man named Gannet had yet to approach him with mentorship. Sheigrim seemed to have the scent of a few wolves on him, however. "you have a group?" if not a group, constant traveling companions?
Lost Creek Hollow. That sounded pretty awesome to Sheri, a Creek that had been forgotten in a hollow. He wondered what plants were there. This land was full of new things.
"I don't know what my group is doing. Our pack needed to move and got separated by a winter storm and the terrain. I think we're waiting for them to find us but, perhaps we will have to go back and find them." He swallowed. looking downcast for a moment. The twins were his favourite. They liked to play games with him; especially Big Stick. That was fun. He looked up, letting all the negativity go. He couldn't be brought down by it, he was sure they'd be fine anyway...he hoped they were fine.
"Your packs sounds pretty cool! I hope you settle in well. If you ever need me though, just call. I'll probably be sticking around here." He grinned, now they really were friends. He wondered where he'd go next in his journey.
it was clear their interaction was coming to an end. Baelfire said nothing, having no right to speak of Sheigrim's group. if it was up to him, if he traveled with others, they would try the Teekons at least for a bit. if the group had been separated it was unlikely they'd find all of them, but he'd keep his pessimism to himself. Baelfire gave a grunt, nodding. he'd swing his body to the exit, the daylight hours turning to a soft afternoon glow. he could travel in this lower light. "I will" if he had questions or a desire to teach more, he'd seek Sheigrim out again. "thank you for the company, healer." he'd add before setting off.