Morningside Cuesta parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

@Kelsier <3

The cold dug into her with every passing day, but Faun was living through it. Sleeping in moss and her fox pelt never leaving her body, she pushed through each day with a smile on her features and ready to bring herbs and cheer to those around her.

But she did take the occasional walk. As she did today.

The gentle slopes of the hills she walked upon were quiet, draped in silent snow that turned the landscape into a beautiful wasteland. For nothing here seemed alive, except for she, as she passed through on the lookout for..something. She moved at a slow trot, breath steaming from her nose as if she was a mare. A striding palfrey, graceful and lightweight as she moved. It was only when she had gone several yards that she slowed to a walk, steaming breath escaping her nose into the frozen air. Her eyes closed, and she inhaled the cold, let it warm in her breast, and let it escape. She was supposed to be out here finding prey, finding the last vestiges of plants that were stubborn enough to be buried beneath the snow. She didn’t expect to find anything until spring, really, and in a pack of mostly men, she only worried for Silvertongue and her season.

She pushed the thought of her own season out of her mind. Oh, she was too young to be a mother, too inexperienced.

After standing in one place for a moment longer, she began striding forward again, nose to the snow.

Staying vague for now <3 tag for reference

Kelsier stayed within Riverclan's boundaries for the most part. He rested for a time, but soon enough he wanted to meet someone aside from @Crowfeather. The man was kind, and Kel liked him, but he figured he wouldn't want the newcomer attached to his hip. Kel instead followed a trail that led outside the territory, and put on his best socializing face.
The wolf he found was sniffing around in the snow, wearing a fox pelt and the scent of herbs even in winter. Her furs were autumnal under the pale fox pelt, her demeanor doe-like; she gave the impression of a delicate grass-dweller, one crunched leaf away from panicked flight. Kelsier was careful as he approached her. He chuffed quietly and waited. Giving one of Riverclan's members a heart attack was not the first impression he wanted to make.

Faun pushed the snow with her nose, snuffling at the dead grasses beneath it with gentle whuffs of warm air. She drew her head back with a small sigh, expressed from her mouth in a white cloud.

Damn. No herbs to be found here. She would have to find an enclosed space that the snows hadn’t gotten to yet. She hung her head low for a moment, before picking it up and turning to go back the way she had come.

Only!

A man, taller than she and dark in color, stood before her. She took a little inhale, recognizing traces of Crowfeather in his scent, bits and pieces of Riverclan, and she smiled at him after a moment, waving her tail.

Good morning. It’s early, I didn’t expect to see anyone.

To his relief, she did not startle at the sight of him. She smiled at him, told him good morning, and Kel savored the moment of just — pleasant dullness. That was what he needed now. Days that were utterly unexciting and completely blissful for that fact. Always been an early bird, He explained with an easy grin. Morning is the best time.
Looking for something? Kel added, almost as an afterthought. She had been sniffing the ground as if expecting to find something other than snow and dirt. An herbalist, perhaps! She certainly smelled like one.

He was a friendly fellow, which was good. She did not believe Crowfeather to be a man who would allow unfriendly sorts into their little pack.

I agree! She concurred after a time listening to him talk, her thin legs taking her a few steps closer.

I am looking for herbs, to be honest, but I am in doubt there are any to be found here. And why would there be? It was winter.

I am Faun. An herbalist. The young woman introduced, raising a paw like a pointer.

An herbalist, as he'd thought, but one left quite bereft by the season. Spring will be here soon enough, Kel said encouragingly. I'm Kelsier. Or Kel, if you like. It's a pleasure, Faun. He noted that her name was shorter than Crowfeather's, but seemed to follow a similar theme. They didn't look related...
Have you been with Riverclan very long? He asked, because he could be of no use in winter herb-gathering. He could, however, get to know his packmates a little better. That was what he'd set out to do, though he was a little disappointed he couldn't make a better first impression than small talk. At least it wasn't a heart attack.

Faun’s smile was a sure thing, knowing the certainty of his words. Spring would come, as it always did, bearing on her wings the offshoots of plants and the young of animals alike.

It was easy to agree. It was known fact.

Since the beginning, in fact. She had met Crowfeather and the rest was history.

Though I did leave, just for a little while, to go south. I traded for herbs with meat and stories. And then I came back. Politely bearing gifts like the world’s most gangly Santa Claus.

Trading stories for herbs! Kel thought that Faun must be quite the skilled storyteller. Really? What kind of stories did you trade? He wondered aloud, but there was no skepticism in his tone. No, he was rather awed by the delicate herbalist and the gently whimsical aura that surrounded her. If anyone could tell a story that was worth payment in herbs, surely it would be her.

He asked of the stories she told and her eyes lit up.

Oh, so many! She said, her tail bannering behind her as she took to a prance away, trying to lead the man on through the snow.

I told many stories for pups. Folktales from my homeland. The favorite seemed to be Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre, about a young woman who was abused by her most wicked stepmothers and stepsisters, but with the help of her fairy godmother, she was able to go to a ball, and meet a prince who would swoop in and save her! She said, making emphatic motions with her front paws.

It was…also my favorite, when I was a child.

Kelsier was not sure what to make of this story! A woman, saved by a man? He blinked softly at Faun, a hesitant smile pulling at his expression. It was a fanciful notion, but he could not help thinking he liked it. Kel could hardly picture himself as any sort of savior, but what if? What if?
Would love to hear it sometime, He said. But not now; right now he wanted to learn more about Faun, this soft creature who seemed as if she might be more at home in a flowering meadow than this snowscape. Do you like flowers, Faun? She was an herbalist, so maybe it was a stupid question, but Kel wanted to be sure before he brought her a gift. And he would. He surely would.