Ouroboros Spine xiii. biting words like a wolf howling

AW, botanist #1

Unfortunately, the two-year's allergies had chosen that year to act up and she'd been unable to tend to her garden the way she usually might -- not without feeling miserable anyways. The small plot she had set aside for such purposes lay in disrepair now, what few plants the herbalist had gotten into the ground beforehand long grown withered and brown. But as spring lengthened and summer approached, Lótë found herself acclimating to the weather of the Wilds and her sniffles had finally fled. 

When the morning dawned with a mild warmth, dew clinging to the grass, the tracker slipped from her ulaq and off to the tiny clearing in the pines nearby -- a place she had largely avoided since her terse conversation with Raimo. It was disheartening to see the dead plants, perished before they could really bud, and see how the grass had begun to reclaim the tilled loam.

With a deep breath of preparation, the botanist set to work -- digging and scraping at the ground to tear away the grass and begin the process of churning the dirt for gardening. 

Tossing Keyni in this one too, since she has her eye on the naturalist trade. <3

The Tundrian mix roused with a lengthy stretch. Forelegs outstretched, chest and shoulders dipping. Her spine curling, hips hiked up, while stiff muscles and joints yet to be used, flexed and crackled satisfyingly. Her sleep had been a refreshing one, and she found herself awake early, ready to face the day in a mood for productivity.

As she stepped out from her sleeping quarters, shaking off the dust and debris that had accumulated in her fine fur, she noticed the warmth in the air. It wasn't the first time she had felt this change. Spring would give way to summer soon. While she could tolerate the heat, Keyni couldn't deny that she would miss the more pleasant, mild temperatures of springtime. 

The pale figure of Lótë crossed into her field of vision. She was headed off to a clearing, with some sense of duty about her. Keyni followed at a short distance, quiet but curious. The sound of paws scuffing and tearing at grass and soil reached her ears. She had a guess at what she might be doing, but made no assumptions. Softly, she padded up, resting just a half length behind her, to the side. "Need some assistance?" She inquired gently. Keyni was no herbalist. But she was very much in tune with the earth and loved studying its health and the organisms within it.

Once, perhaps, Elenwë's daughter might've flinched as the words reach her auds -- soft as a spring drizzle pattering against the canopy of the blackpine. But the herbalist is calm as she turns towards the source of the sound, beaming a smile towards Keyni upon meeting the woman's emerald gaze. "Good morning," the Epsilon greeted cheerfully as her tail gave a wave of welcome, low and neutral at her hocks. 

"I'd love some," she readily agreed, her smile taking on a grateful cast as she turned back to the dirt -- shifting to stand alongside the silver-gilded wren. "Do you have much inclination for gardening?" the green-paw asked, curious orbs of evergreen sliding over to Keyni as she began to dig once more with steady swipes of her forepaws -- claws tearing slowly through the clods and light grass.

Keyni was happy to be received so warmly. Then again, it didn't surprise her, considering where she was and the types of wolves she shared her home with. It was with a satisfying warmth in her chest that she felt she really might have finally found her little niche in the world. Accepting Lótë's welcome to tend to the garden with her, she padded up closer beside the ivory girl, tail waving gently in the air behind her.

"Thank you." Her jade eyes drifted over dirt and grass that she had begun tending to. "I...haven't partaken in it much." She began, searching for just the right way to shape her words. "But with my love and fascination of nature as a whole, it does appeal to me." She stepped around, standing opposite of Lótë'. There she began to dig and claw at the grass, firmly but carefully churning it up with her paws. She shared a calm, sweet smile. "There's just...something about it that is so satisfying. I think it's in that knowing I am contributing to shaping the a portion of the land for the better."

The morning dove's ears cupped in Keyni's direction, listening attentively despite the fact that her paws continued to dig -- her gaze often drawn to the dirt beneath her digits. When the other she-wolf's words had concluded, Aiwë glanced up from her scraping, her expression mirroring the pale agouti's as her tail gave a few wags of kinship. "I think we'll get along, me and you," she joked lightly with an airy chuckle. "I feel much the same," she explained before adding, "it's why I wish to become a Naturalist and have taken up ecology." 

"Will you be working on a Naturalist trade too?" She asked then, thinking that it was probable since Keyni had expressed a love for nature. Perhaps they might work in tandem if so, the prospect of a colleague exciting the herd-watcher. 

Already, much like she had when she first met Kukutux, Keyni felt the stirrings of what could be a strong connection towards the dove. For a time, she kept looking at the dirt. Watching how it churned and spread under her paws, wedging it's way in between her toes with a satisfyingly cool touch. Even the smell was refreshing, letting Keyni take it in with a satisfied breath and a flutter of her eyes.

She had not been so fixated as to let Lote's words pass over her. Her ears cupped, eyes flashing upward. "I think so too. I've found Moonglow's wolves nothing short of pleasant." If she could help it, she would see to it that she and Lote had many more occasions like this. Maybe even form an ideal working team of naturalists. "I believe I will be. It seems the obvious choice." She licked her lips, moistening them. "I may also pursue a counselor role as well. There have been a few times in the recent past where I had to be there, just as a pair of ears for someone to listen to. I think my great patience and level-headedness would go far."

Feeling a swell of warmth for her clan-sister, the herbalist bumped the earthen agouti's shoulder in camaraderie as they dug together. "I'm glad you have found a home here. I had hoped that village Glen would merge with us; I was happy to hear you would stay," the mouse grinned shyly as she said it, her gaze focused on the dirt but the sentiment no less genuine as she delivered it in her typical taciturn manner. 

"I think you would make a fine Counselor," she offered when Keyni mentioned it, bobbing her head in a matter-of-fact nod. "You might speak with Kukutux and Sialuk...when they are ready, of course," she demurred in a softer tone, paws stilling for just a moment as she recalled the first days of Moonglow. "But you should know, they have customs regarding the dead. They will not speak their name, they have put their lost loved ones to rest with the death songs of Kukutux's homeland," she informed the aspiring Counselor, just in case she wasn't already aware. If she did choose to seek their leaders out some time, Keyni would likely wish to know such a thing so as to be respectful of the women's' traditions.