Regardless of any light pelts or number of dips in the creek, Portia was hot. She tried to stay in the shadows of the territory, panting heavily and trying to keep hydrated. She had eventually decided to hang back in her den-- but felt too useless and bored. So, once she'd cooled down, the pale botanist slunk from her den and into the territory again, eventually coming across a wolf she'd never met before.

The freckled beauty lets out a light chuff, her posture low, hoping to catch his attention and make nice with him. 

"Portia," the woman responds quickly, pleased the man appeared to be ready to hold a conversation. "Of the Moreau family," she adds, a smile twitching at the edge of her lips. Not that family names mattered much when she was so far away, but perhaps one day she'd find another member that just couldn't keep their paws in the valley. 

"You been here long?" she asks with a slight tilt of her spotted head, tail pausing as she waited for an answer. Surely he had been, his scent was strong along the borders.

Unaware that this Gyda's child was Gavriel's, her ears perk. She nods slowly with a small smile, shrugging gently. "It's no big deal, really. I'm glad he's alright though, hun," she says, dipping her head slightly. 

When he mentions the meat her smile falters, hesitant to give an answer right away. "I don't know any herbs that'll keep it from rotting but... Bay leaves and chives will keep the damned flies away," she tells him, tail flicking. "I'd just keep it cool with water-- always works the best for me." With a certain flick of her ears, the girl glances down towards the cache, pondering if she had anything else to offer. Apparently not, since she glances back up at the male.

Thrilled that the man had shown some interest in plants, Portia nods quickly. "Of course!" she chirps with perked ears, tail waving ecstatically. "I actually have chives growing in my garden," she tells him, though the plants were not native to Drageda's territory. "I haven't seen any bay leaves, but if you're interested we could go and find them? I could use a plant or two for my garden..." she says, trailing off a bit at the last part. She glances to him with a bit of hope, praying to leave the territory with a friend-- rather than just alone.

Excited still Portia nods quickly, her tail wagging. "There may be some in the woods just northeast of here," she says, remembering the surrounding territories from before she had joined the pack. She begins to lead the way, but waits for the man to join her at her side, feeling like she wasn't really fit to lead-- and having no desire to either, really. Along the way, she described the plant to him. It grew on a tree-- bay trees-- but weren't as tall as normal trees. She'd made sure to mention that she had always considered it a tall shrub, not that he'd really care about any of the technicalities. The leaves were almond shaped, and very smooth and a deep green. She had also thrown in a fun fact along the journey, sharing with him how bay trees were technically evergreens, though she did not find them as pretty as a pine tree. 

When the pair arrived at the edge of the woods, she glances to the male with excitement. Finally!! Free from the territory and with a plant to find!!! 

Hopefully he'd know what he was looking for-- or at least have some sort of an idea. He'd probably zoned out with her long explanation, but maybe he'd managed to pick up a few key words on its description... oh well.

With a brief nudge to his shoulder-- immediate closeness never being an issue for her-- the freckled botanist began her search for the plant. With her nose plastered to the ground, she scented eagerly for the bitter plant, praying it would be somewhere in the God forsaken forest. Keeping Gavriel somewhat nearby, she wandered after different scents, mostly finding nothing but basil and parsley-- something she had plenty of. 

Some time later, she came across a scrappy little bush, bitter and dark green as it should be. "This!" she exclaims with excitement, her tail waving furiously. She pushes her nose to the base of the plant, letting out a low whine as a bit of reality crashed down onto her joy. "We'll have to dig up a smaller sprout in order to bring it back," she says, which was always a pain-- sometimes the roots would tear or be tangled with the larger plant. "But," she adds quickly, "You can still grab some leaves to take back-- they'll be useful on their own."

She shrugs, nodding but appearing displeased all the same. "We could, but unless you wanna lug the thing back to the territory..." she trails off, feeling that'd get some of the point across. "Besides, the roots are usually much longer, larger, and far more widespread. If we find a smaller, newer plant the roots will be easier to remove without damaging any part of the plant," she adds. With a flick of her tail, Portia began to nose a smaller sprout, a handful of leaves poking from the top. Not long from now and this would be in full bloom! she could plant it by her larger plant garden... oh it'd be wonderful. 

With a glance at Gavriel, she begins to scratch carefully at the dirt, careful not to stab through the roots or stem, but working with enough force to make some progress. With help from her travel partner, it wouldn't be hard to remove from the ground. 

Finally, there is enough space to free the plant from the ground. With careful tugged, the roots remain mostly intact, dirt clinging to them. She looks to Gavriel with a wag of her tail, and speaks through the stem sweetly. "You can grab some leaves from the bigger bush, Hun, then we can go." After he does, she motions for them to leave, allowing him to take the lead back home. With her tail wagging happily behind her, she silently thanks the male for bringing her out of the territory-- a quick vacation was all she needed.