Redhawk Caldera witch's butter

Although conditions were still frigid and slippery, Raven decided to take a break from the cave (and, notably, the pups) and do her best to give Charlotte a proper burial. Since there was no hope of digging a grave with the ground frozen solid, the Gamma carefully collected sticks and small stones, which she placed over and around the she-wolf's battered remains. They didn't cover her completely, yet at least her body wasn't just left out in the open.

After she was done, she considered heading back to the cave. Then she noticed something she hadn't before, something on one of the larger sticks she had placed over Charlotte's corpse. Raven squinted, leaning in closer, staring at what looked a lot like yellowish wax stuck to the dead wood. She sniffed it but there was no scent. She touched her nose to it and it was hard. Finally, she licked it. It was flavorless.

She drew back a foot or so, flipping through her mental catalogs. It wasn't likely wax or honey. It took her a few minutes but the Gamma thought she came up with an answer: it was witch's butter. She couldn't remember if said fungus had any medicinal qualities, yet all the same she decided to gnaw off a chunk with her teeth. She then started carrying it in the direction of the badger den.

from a distance, aaron made out the black pelt of the female he'd met when he arrived at this wretched place. she was putting sticks on top of a dead woman when he noticed her (just like he'd said, someone would be dead within the week), and he watched with vague interest. he was far more interested in her as a wolf, as a female specifically, though he had no plans to make any moves on anyone-- not in this place, and not when his very image had been spat upon with such a rank.

but then she began to gnaw on one of the sticks, and his gaze narrowed. when she turned and left he found himself intrigued, and he began after her with long, sweeping strides. she's surely heard or scented his presence nearby, but he let out a chuff from a bit off so she would wait on him.

Although fairly certain the fungus wasn't toxic, Raven made a point to curl her tongue away from it as she carried her odd cargo toward the rendezvous site. She was so focused on what was in her mouth that she jumped when someone woofed from close by. The Gamma froze in her tracks, spinning, ears pinning backward slightly. They perked up again when she recognized one of their newer members, Aaron.

Gently setting the chunk of frozen witch's butter at her feet, she resisted the impulse to lick her lips and said, "Hello, Aaron. What brings you out here?"

"hunting," he replied simply, then paused, and shrugged, "picking up dead wildlife off the ground." that was more accurate, though he had yet to find anything today. he eyed the stick at her feet, covered in odd, yellowish-orangish mushy things, which reminded him vaguely of sap. "what do you have there?" he then asked, since he knew very well what she was out here doing-- burying the dead. he had never met the woman, and felt no grief at all towards her death. in truth, he was merely glad it wasn't him. his gaze raised back up to the black-furred wolf, tail flicking with a mild interest.

She nodded, ears flicking slightly as the word "dead" reminded her of poor Charlotte. She didn't mention their deceased pack mate, instead glancing down at the weird yellow hunk at her paws when Aaron asked about it. Raven's lips twitched with amusement, wondering how she must look carrying around weird objects like this.

"It's a fungus," she explained, "that usually grows on dead branches that fall to the ground. It breaks them down. But this is frozen solid." She tapped a toe against it. "Anyway, I'm taking it back to my stores in case it has any medical value. Would you like to come with me...?"

he noticed the slight flick of her ears, his gaze flitting up to it before falling back. he wasn't sure why, though little did he know it was his charming insensitivity that caused it. choosing to ignore it, he gave a slight smile. a fungus, how disgusting, though her knowledge reminded him vaguely of both liri and amara, who were fond of plants and medicine. he tried to focus more on liri, who had not let him down even a little bit, and nodded. "i have nothing better to do," he said with another flick of his tail.

he gave a light dip of his head and eyed the stick. "would you like me to carry it?" he offered, and then would either take it or not take it (depending on her response) and set off after her.

She quirked a brow slightly at his reply, though Raven didn't comment on it. She did shake her head and shoot him a quick, grateful smile before plucking up the frozen fungus herself and resuming her earlier trot. She led Aaron to the pack's rendezvous site, hastily crossing the wide open space and stopping at the small badger den near the fringes.

She quickly ducked inside and made her deposit, then backpedaled. "Do you need any help with the scavenging?" Raven wondered. "Otherwise, want to walk with me back to the cave?"

his gaze fell on her hindquarters as she moved in front of him and then ducked into the cave, but it moved to investigate the dark space inside. it was too dark to see anything, but he wondered if she had much of anything in this weather. she backpedaled and turned her attention to him. "i have been out for a while, it is probably not wise to stay out much longer-- i would rather not freeze,"  he commented with a frown. he found nothing then, but he would surely have better luck later. he eyed her briefly, shrugging. "we can walk back, if i go out later i can let you know?" he then offered with a small smile.

the zeta began forward, making sure that raven was beside him, and let out a soft, foggy breath before beginning a conversation. "have you been part of the caldera for long?" he asked, gaze flitting to the side to better view her reaction.

"Right," she replied agreeably. "And sure! I'd be happy to help." The puppies needed her around much of the time, though not as much as before. They could spare her for an hour here or there. And Raven honestly needed the breaks where she could get them, especially with the youngsters teething.

They began making their way back to the cave, their breath pluming in front of them as a reminder of the air's frigidity. "I was born here," she answered, though she quickly added, "but I went searching for a family friend when I was around a year old, then ended up getting lost. I returned this past fall."

They traipsed together in silence for a moment, side-by-side, when Raven asked, "What about you, Aaron? What's your story?"

aaron nodded, smiling a bit at her. "family is important," he replied, his mind wandering, "did you find them?" he'd missed emily, and though he ended up taking charge of a pack south of the wilds, he had done his best to find her-- no luck. he wondered what had happened to her and-- if she was still out there-- how she was doing. part of him didn't care, she left without even a word of warning... but maybe a man had swept her up-- that, he would approve of.

she asked of his past, and he did a little half-shrug as they went. "i lead a back south of the mountains in blackfoot forest. my sister left, and my wife disrespected me, so i left. i helped a friend in a back south of there, and returned here when it was up and running," he explained casually. he felt his backstory was especially extraordinary, but he didn't linger too much on any details.

She shook her head no, though she didn't elaborate, mostly to give Aaron a chance to answer her question. Although Raven didn't know him very well yet, it was somehow unsurprising to hear he'd led a pack. There was something about him that screamed Alpha male. She had a bit of trouble following the rest of his story, though one particular detail did jump out at her.

"You left your wife? Because she disrespected you?" She blinked between words. With role models like Peregrine and Fox, as well as Elwood and Finley, it was a little difficult for Raven to grasp something like this.

he glanced down at her for a minute, quiet, and then nodded. "she cheated on me," he said simply. it was disrespectful, especially after all he'd done for her. for amara, he was far more tolerant of so many things-- and she disregarded that and moved on to the next best thing. and in a time of weakness... when he'd needed her most. "i had nothing left to give her, and she wanted nothing more of me. i left the pack to my beta, i do not know what became of her or the other man." and then he had left to find emily, but was sidetracked by the winter. the pack he took over was not his friends, but a weak one. with a small band of followers he had easily conquered it-- he only retired after deciding to search for emily again... the winter had gotten in his way again.

Talk about an understatement! Raven felt horrible the instant he revealed the truth. She'd never been with someone romantically—never so much as had a crush, really—but she could imagine the feeling of betrayal. Even though she knew of her parents' forays outside of monogamy, Raven was pretty traditional and believed in choosing a single mate for life, then loving and honoring that individual until one's dying day.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," the Gamma said in a low, genuine voice. "And for bringing it up," she added for good measure, her words accompanied by a good-natured wince. "I hope you're able to build a better life here." She winced again, this time at the generic-sounding platitude, even if she did mean it earnestly. To make it slightly less impersonal, she tacked on, "Do you have any trades?"

he dipped his head, somewhat grateful for her comment, but he did little else to thank her for her concern or hope for him. he didn't want to build a better life here unless it involved his own reign-- living here as a slave to a man he didn't truly respect did not suit his fancy. besides, he had handpicked his mate. she was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen, smart and capable of handling herself and served him as a good wife should-- and even she had left him for someone far superior... he had suspicions that he would encounter the same problems with other, lesser, women.

"i am a mercenary," he responded with a small smile, "a guardian and a warrior."  he eyed her quietly for a moment. "you are a botanist? or just a medic?"  he then asked, referring to the witch's butter she'd collected and stored earlier.

"I'm 'just' a medic," Raven replied, placing a playful emphasis on the word. The tip of her tail waved to show she took no true offense to his phrasing. "I'm also a midwife and sitter, at least in training. Speaking of which..." She trailed off pointedly as they arrived at the caves. Hypothetically, they could keep up their conversation even after stepping inside, but Raven knew the pups would require her full attention for the moment.

"I'll talk to you later," she said. It came out as a bit of question. She hoped Aaron was open to further conversation and didn't hold it against her for having to pause it. She would like to get to know him better, seeing as he was a part of this pack and all. "See you," she finished with a smile before ducking into the caves and heading immediately toward the batch of needy Firebirds.

in training, she said. he found that interesting, considering the woman was very clearly caring for children of her own... they were her own, no? he didn't bother to ask, and didn't have time anyway, for she seemed to be off after that. he gave a small smile to her question and a nod, but truthfully didn't care all that much. "goodbye, raven," he returned. he watched her go with a prick of his ears, eventually ducking in himself and heading to the more local part of the den.