Bearclaw Valley i recounted the memories

merrick did not sleep that night, and in the morning he woke in the grip of such elation that he went out at once.
fur mussed, face groggy despite his lack of slumber, the bearwolf took up the thread of @Evien's scent and immediately followed it.

Evien, too, had a difficult time sleeping on his first night in Ursus. Not that it was a bad thing - it felt more like excitement rather than apprehension. A new life with a new family, and he could be useful here. Make something of himself. A future, Merrick had said.

         He was sore from the fight the day before, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He found himself up early, exploring the territory and familiarizing himself with the land. The healer would need a den of his own to keep his herbs and patients in, when the time arose. 

         The boy didn't realize there was someone following him as he surveyed a hole in the ground. It wouldn't be big enough, but perhaps something in the side of a hill would be good?

"evien," merrick chunnered breathlessly, tail waving. "evien, i had a —"
a dream
a nightmare
he smells like fields
"— a thought. what do you know about poisons? i mean, how much?"
single eye, bright and alert and glittering.

Merrick approached and in Evien's mind, seemed far too excited for the topic he was about to bring up. Almost like poisons were something to even get excited about. The question took Evien by surprise and he flicked his ears around, tilting his head to the side.

"I know enough," he began, brows drawing together. "I haven't seen any since I've been here." It was true - he was on the lookout for healing herbs, not damaging ones. He'd likely just skipped over them in his search. "Why'd you ask?"

merrick was thrumming with excitement, a snapped rubber band vibrating with his own capacity for words. "because i want to know if we can eat something to develop a resistance," he explained vividly, pacing in a tight half-circle to blow off a little of the collecting steam.
"we have battles to fight. i want our blood to be sickening. i want to use you for an attack," merrick rushed. evien was not a physical warrior, but poisons; poisons, that was something the bearwolf did not understand. and yet he knew it would only benefit ursus to take pride in that skill, to elevate evien not for musculature but for intellect.

All of the talk of poisoning - of eating poisonous herbs on purpose in order to try and become immune - was almost sickening. Evien felt his stomach churn uneasily and pressed his ears back to his head. Memories of vomiting after every meal, of being too weak to hold his head up, of his mother's coddling after, popped into his head. 

"I don't know any plant that you can get used to," he responded, far more calm than he felt. "You're far more likely to die if you try something like that, and I don't want to put our packmates at risk like that." Toxic blood? That would put everyone at risk - not just them.

merrick felt rather deflated, but refused to show this. evien had proven himself worthy of staying within ursus, but the young coywolf was rankled by the sense of caution. tail lashed. "how do you know what is poisonous if you do not test it?" he asked pridefully.
single eye glittered.
"test what you find on me." he wet his lips. "consider it this way: whatever we have at our disposal should be used to benefit ursus. i will do this. i will be sick. and then i will bring it to battle with me." he grinned. 
"nothing was ever accomplished without trials, evien."

Could he even say no to his leader? The whole situation was unsettling and made Evien feel like he wanted to vomit. He didn't want to do this - it went against every instinct in his body. Sudden regret welled in his gut; perhaps this was not where he was meant to be. But he'd already said he would stay, promised Fields. 

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuck.

"Fine." Oh, fuck. "But I won't be doing this with everyone. Don't ask me to poison another wolf."

"ah, man, come on," merrick pouted. "i wouldn't ever ask you to do that, evien. consent," he grinned, "is key. and i want this, you know? so don't think so badly of me. i know this is a ... woo ... insane idea. but that's who i am. always have been."
the ramble ended; merrick let out his breath and looked greatly sheepish. "sorry. i just — like i don't want you to think i'm just building all this for me."

Was Merrick being genuine? Evien couldn't tell. It was like walking a minefield with this wolf - uncertainty and nerves and danger. As though one wrong move could cause an explosion. The medic also understood with frightening certainty that he was being used. 

"I just want you to know that my purpose is to take care of the pack. I want to heal, not hurt." Green eyes flickered to the side. "I get that you're asking for this, but it will hurt. Just understand that."

"everything we do should be for the pack," merrick declared, rocking back on his haunches. "and i'm putting a lot of trust in you." the single eye surveyed evien closely, a cold flame rising before he snuffed it with a smile.
"anyway, doesn't need to be today or anything. was gonna see what we could put on the borders. bones maybe?" tone conversational, testing.

Evien nodded his head slowly then in agreement. Everything he planned on doing would benefit the pack. "You can trust me," he assured with a small smile. He certainly wouldn't give Merrick too much of this shit - he did not want to hurt the young leader. 

Bones actually would be a good border marker. Evien nodded again. "That, or dyes. A lot of plants produce dyes when crushed up and mixed with water. We can smear that on the bark of trees that line the territory to put a physical marking on them."

"really? what color?" merrick burbled, happy to be free of their tense words. evien would just need to trust in the bedlamite he called leader. he followed no clear rule and took pride in his own erratic choices, for at very least, he could not be called boring.
"i always thought you'd use blood for something like this," he went on, affably settling down and scratching behind a torn ear, "but blood fades into that ugly brown. better to keep them bright."

Evien found himself smiling as well, happy that he'd made Merrick excited about something other than poison, for the time being. "Mm. Wild indigo makes a nice green," he reasoned, looking up at the sky as he thought. "Plus, the roots are good for colds and respiratory infections." The boy glanced back over at Merrick and shrugged, still offering a small smile. "Blood would also wash off in rain. Dye would cling to the trees. It's something my grandfather taught me." A pause, and a laugh. "Might stain your paws too, though."

See, he thought hopefully, there are better ways to live. It doesn't all have to be blood and war.

"indigo makes green?" merrick rejoined, intrigued. "indigo has always been purple to me. guess i failed color class as a kid." a snap of laughter. "very true," he agreed of the rain's properties. "they'd have to be refreshed quite often."
a malicious cloud passed across his features, then was gone, midwestern thunderstorm moving off across flatlands. "what about purple? little more unexpected than bones and blood." he was warming to the idea of aesthetic, his vanity turgid and eager.

"Yes, the golden kind, at least." That was most of what grew around here, if he could recall properly. He'd seen purple indigo before, but it wasn't common. "That's true," the boy responded in kind to the idea of blood stains needing to be washed off. "With dye, it wouldn't have to be refreshed as much. Every now and then, I'm sure, but nowhere near as frequently. Plus it would look better, and wouldn't attract as many unwanted predators." Not necessarily the bears, though Evien was a bit apprehensive of the idea.

Purple was a tough one. Not a lot of stuff made purple or blue dye, he could recall his grandfather stating. "Pokeweed berries are kind of reddish purple," he offered. "Almost maroon? It's been a while since grandfather told me about all of these," he admitted sheepishly.

in truth, merrick was a little dizzied by the mention of so many plants, and less intrigued than he had been initially. yet his pleasure was in evien's clear passion for his craft; he drank in the dancing green of the other's gaze, lit by that cotton-candied smile. 
once more, he did not find it difficult to see the appeal of the brazen little doctor. "perhaps you should choose," he invited. "you're the artist here. paint me something, evien," merrick teased, cyclops-burning for just a moment before he stood again, waved his plume. "was thinking that eventually we will need new hunting grounds."
easthollow
"one that doesn't reek of foxes."

Of course, Evien would be more than happy to paint the borders with the dyes he could find. Creating, fixing things, building up - that was what Evien Kastner did. This was no different, and it had to do with plants, which he also loved. Perhaps their territory could be a beautiful one, dyed with berries and attracting life.

"I'll do my best," he assured, tail hesitating in its languid waving at his hocks when Merrick continued on. Was he planning expansion, perhaps? "That might be a good idea. What did you have in mind?" There was no expectation for the response - he was quickly learning that Merrick was just not one to predict.

fade w ur next post? <3 have an idea for another thread LOLLL

"the meadow next to us, with the elk." he waved his own plume. "wanna come scope it out with me?" his remaining eye glowed with affection, for all evien was and who he might be in the future. the potential of the boy was undeniable, and vainly merrick credited himself with that growth.
"maybe we can find a plant you like," he finished, perhaps a bit dumbly, but he wanted the healer to know that despite his own faults, the skills evien had brought to ursus were prized.

That sounds good to me c:

A meadow with elk? Evien hadn't yet run into an elk here, but he also wasn't sure how to find them in the first place. And this conversation had been far more pleasant than their last - perhaps his joining had truly just been a test, for the boy did not wish to spar with Merrick, or anybody else, any time soon. 

"I'd love to," he replied, lightly and with a hint of excitement bleeding into his tone. A soft laugh escaped him at Merrick's attempt to rope him in with the idea of a plant, and he nodded his head. "I'm sure we can find several." Encouraged, the brown boy followed the wraith, eager to see what he had in mind for their pack.