Bitterroot Valley subterranean homesick blues

WOTD challenge: word is bolded and underlined below. for @Polaris

he moved northward, away from the neighboring pack and onto more open ground. the space could yield more fruitful hunting on this expedition—a journey which, as of yet, had no real purpose. if he came back with food for his pack, terrific. if not. . .

well. call it soul-searching?

the valley was a brilliant purple, its undulating ground formed by millions of years of eolian forces (and other scientific phenomena far beyond surya's intellectual capacity) carpeted by bitterroot. he sniffed at it, wrinkling his nose slightly. it was not for him; he was carnivore through and through. perhaps aphrodite would like it for her stocks, though. . .

he quelled his slight distress at thought of the healer by wondering of the properties of bitterroot. was it used for medicine? she would know. he would ask, if he remembered.

after a moment's contemplation, surya lifted his head, looking for deer. they were far and away a more valuable quarry on this day (on any day, really) than plants.