Midway through the cloudy afternoon, she had finished her rounds of the mountain and descended the slopes to travel past her boundaries. It had been a while she since had traveled much beyond the foothills immediately bordering the Spire, and while she did not have a particularly specific goal in mind, she knew she could find something worth devoting the rest of the day to. Namely, she was interested in seeing what plantlife still remained here in the waning days of autumn, and if they were ones of any use.

Since she was being mindful of Swiftcurrent, she had swung well to the northern reaches of the wetlands and decided to do her searching there. Once she had reached a point well away from the Creek, she blended into the shadow of the wetlands and stalked eagerly onward. Head and nose low in search, she looked beyond the brackish odor for something to catch her interests.

She delicately picked her way through the dense foliage, breathing deep the scents of all things and following any semblance of a path she could find. Now and then, strange gnarls of roots and plants prompted her to stop for further investigation, which usually included an up-close sniff and perhaps a lick, but none were deemed worthy enough of collection. In response, she felt a subtle tingle on her tongue after lingering long enough to check out a strange plant with curious little lives. It had smelled bitter, too, but she had only passed over it quickly. Evidently, it had been enough to stick with her.

Not long after, as she licked at her teeth to chase away the taste, she heard a bark. This flicked her ears to attention and she raised her head to view a silvered male not far ahead with a bloodied rabbit in his possession. She approached with a hawkish stare keenly zeroed in on him. Greetings, stranger, she chuffed, and found herself pleased to find he did not smell of the Creek. Instead, something familiar. This would potentially make this easier, but all the same, until she knew of his disposition, she was just wary enough. Not many lurked the depths of the wetlands.

The greeting was returned and she quickly got the sense they were carefully testing the waters, hopeful of some sort of neutrality here since neither were responding aggressively or even defensively. She was not here for trouble for she had no mindset for the notion at the time, and it seemed he was aiming for the same. As far as she could tell, anyway.

To his words, she was not quite sure what to make of his phrasing, as curious as it was. She knew she was strange on her wording at times as well but she could appreciate the sentiment behind the offer all the same. Continually, she was finding herself glad he was not of the Creek. No, keep it, it is your kill. I am.. hunting for something different, Ame said vaguely with a swift glance past him and a short sweep of her snout. Her hunger was for knowledge, not warm flesh. Is it the meal that brings you to the wetlands.. or something else as well? she quipped, ears forward and eyes on him studiously. Still not willing to relax in full, she intended to gain a bit more information before she allowed herself that much.

His answer brought out a small nod as she listened. The meal was the obvious answer, while the mushroom added a depth to it she had not foreseen. Her ears quivered intently with interest. Scales and gills make it sound like you speak of fish, she chuffed with a humored swish of her tail and accompanying smirk. Ame could guess gills were the ridges on mushrooms, while scales.. well, she had less of an idea, which she did not dwell on since his sought-after fungi lacked them evidently. But, hm, I have noticed a few mushrooms here and there, but not paid them close mind. I came to hunt for plants with.. medicinal properties. So needless to say, she had overlooked mushrooms because she did not know of any uses they may have. The fungi had never caught her attention for that reason before.

But, the pale-furred male most certainly had her attention now. Canting her head subtly, she asked Abnormal effects? hoping that he would elaborate in full. She knew of kinds of mushroom that could make one ill, and those that apparently opened up the barriers of perception.. but she had never looked into the notion, heard first hand accounts, or fully understood what that was supposed to mean.

Easily, he had her attention. She picked up quickly just by his tone (and soon after, the subject matter he spoke on), that he seemed to know what he was talking about. Toxins and so forth, she deemed this a reasonable answer. What does.. Pulchra venenum itself mean? she guessed by the word's sound alone that it was a language she did not know well, but its familiar intonation led her to guess it stood for something and had some kind of literal translation perhaps pertaining to toxins as he had said.

I see.. I have heard of their potential hallucinogenic abilities, although most of what I know comes from myth and lore.. which obviously does not always translate well into reality, she mentioned, for her favored tengu myths involved some hallucinogens -- namely when individuals return from their kidnapping by the tengu to not remember the event, which she thought could very well by the work of a certain shroom. Or, some old story of a mountain mushroom supposedly granting immortality to those who sought it (but peaches did the same in certain tales). Naturally, she had not thought any further than that. So the one you seek is a hallucinogen? Or is it more of a poison? she asked, curious of his purposes. And where does it tend to grow? Such as.. is it the type to like fallen, rotten logs or no? Since he seemed knowledgeable enough, she hoped her barrage of questions wouldn't come off as disconcerting for the pale-coated male.

Beautiful poison. Almost, she sought to taste the word for herself again now knowing what it stood for, but she settled for a slow, thoughtful nod instead. While unaware of the full depths of the possibilities of hallucinogens, she still aimed to understand them from where she stood -- lacking personal experience on the matter, but with fierce curiosity fueled by her deeply-seated desire for knowledge of all sorts.

So I have heard. Some more.. reasonable than others, she chuffed quietly and stowed these plants and names away carefully. Do you name them as you do for your own classification? Is it all types of plants or..? Ah, she wasn't sure what else it could be. Anything really, and her statement hung open-ended there. You seem to know much, she complimented, vaguely, with a subtle smirk.

Then, she nodded as he answered, wondering if perhaps deer or maybe the mountain goat's manure would suit the shrooms' cause. She didn't exactly know of any nearby cattle. Well, not.. immediately, nor exactly, she replied with a motion of her muzzle, having relaxed more notably by now despite the fogginess of her answer. Mostly I am curious. While I am a naturalist, my focus has been on the skies -- weather, its patterns, so on, I do seek to broaden my horizons when the pack needs an herbalist, she prefaced with, having realized this answer got lengthy. To me, hallucinogens have been a thing of stories.. and the closest thing I had heard, before you was of tales of sages' use of them. And these were distant recollections and hazy aspirations she had once harbored, for her knowledge only led up to the point of barely-fledged. She could not say for sure if it would ever be for.. her exactly.

It is interesting, she peered at him intently in conclusion. I could help you search? she then offered.

Whether or not he accepted, she would linger in his company for as long as she could. All the while, the goal was to learn.

Only when the time was deemed right would she return to her home with a little more to consider when it came to the details of plants. And while it wasn't quite in the most "medicinal" of senses as she had hoped, it was something. She would not return to the Sunspire empty-handed.