King Elk Forest instruo

having informed célnes of his intent to depart if he could find a suitable stand-in for the time he would be away, germanicus tested his hard musculature against the churning icewater of the nearby weir. he had stood upon the farthest end of kinsglend; now he slid beneath the surface, hushflower stare roving over the beavers that chittered and stamped their small clawed feet toward him.

célnes and her dream lived. it breathed within all who followed the elk, undeniable even to germanicus. was this a place of gods after all?

Phex was quiet.
This place...it was strange.
It always was filled with strange folk.

Celnes wanted her to fit in. Promised it even.
Though couldn't promise it to be so.
Sacnite tried not to take it to heart but rather promised she'd be useful enough to them to be accepted. To be loved.
She missed Laroche.

Though when she wandered to the weir for a trip and a drink, she couldn't help but notice another. Under the water.
She panicked for a moment, ready to call for help -- because she certainly wouldn't be able to save them -- when she realised that they were still moving. No, swimming rather.
She watched, unable to draw her eyes away for fear she would lose the wolf under the water only to have him turn up dead.
Her fault.

when germanicus resurfaced with weirwater running in rivulets along his greytoned pelt, it was to meet the eyes of another outsider to the kingslend blood. she wore the robes for it, however, if not the acceptable burnbrown russet this elk god so favored. gaze a hue better suited for the edge of a shoreline.

"hail," the guard grunted, drawing back up to the bank a polite distance away while he might cast the worst from himself in a spinning spray. "have you need of me?" came his question, wondering if the elegant observer wished an escort through the forest still new to many of them.

Just realised I accidentally called her Phex last time lmao whoops

His head peeked from the water, drawing in breaths.
Still swimming strong.
He caught sight of her and seemingly glided to the bank to greet her.
She reminded herself to smile. Everyone liked a smile.

He shook himself dry as she managed a meek, "Hello."
She swallowed. He was bigger than she thought. He didn't look like others in Kingslend. Celnes spoke of...acceptance while looking at her white socks. Laroche called them pretty. This man was mismatched dark silver and mismatched red.
​"I was just making sure you were ok..." Had she forgotten how to speak? She felt intimidated here. Alone even. "I was just looking for plants for my garden," she explained with another smile.
She couldn't keep faltering.

She forced her heart to feel like rose blossoms as she waved her tail softly, swallowing her trepidation.
"How is your day?" She asked with a cheery tone.

i have done this w erzulie vs kuku

germanicus felt as though there must be something behind the woman's smile. he knew the way that the unblooded and unblessed were discussed among the family. but he had learned to ignore it. had this one? unsure of how to answer her kindness, which he found odd, the soldier stepped to her side with a practiced movement, indicating that she should seek what she wished, and he would come along.

"it is an unremarkable day," he mustered. "i am germanicus, guardian to célnes." he was visible by way of his service, but invisible due to his inferior breeding, and of this the man remained acutely aware.

We all have the days lol

He moved closer.
She wanted to shrink back, be swallowed by the ground, melt into it like snow after winter.
But she didn't, and he stood by her side. His presence was actually gentler than she saw from afar.
She thought of him to have an impressive position, but no. He was just...there.

Guard to Celnes though. Hm, that was something.
She turned, casting her gaze about for some plants. 
She searched for Cardinal flowers. They should be at the end of their flowering, ready to be dug up and replanted. They liked wet areas, so besides the weir should be good.
"I'm sorry to hear," she replied softly. "I hope that something good happens to make it more remarkable," she gave him a wide, genuine grin that crinkled her eyes. Every day should be filled with exploration if nothing else.
"I am Sacnite." All she was. All she'd ever be.

we do :D

sacnite. reminded of the sacred stones that could be collected from a particular grove, germanicus put her name to the ocean-glow of her eyes and knew he would remember it. "i am in good company." again, the awkward nature of his place here not being assured beyond the word of their king; it colored the man, limned him, turned him aloof.

"do you follow the great elk they do?" he inquired softly. part of him expected that sacnite would have fallen into célnes' teachings, but he had not. hope yet for this one too.

Her head tilted softly.
Was she good company? If she was, then how was he treated here?
It pained her to think so.

"I don't know," she replied truthfully. She felt as though she could with him.
"It seems, weird and wrong. They want to like me, I think, but they also don't."
She understood what family was and how it affected packs. But everyone should be family, right?
Sacnite didn't know.
"I think I need to impress them." She murmured confidently, looking ahead of her as she said so. How she would do so, she didn't know. Maybe something awful would happen and she could help save the King.
Was she bad for hoping for such thing?

"they like no one who is not of their blood. the only fair wolf among them is célnes." and even she, germanicus felt, might eventually capitulate to the overbearing whims of her kith. if so, there would be no place for outsiders in kingslend. and onward the eaglebound would move, to pledge himself elsewhere for a time.

he followed the line of her gaze. "never say to a member of this family what you have said to me now, sacnite," the soldier warned. the king would not raise her hand, but there were many in the forest who germanicus knew would mete out a horrid punishment, and to one of the pet outsiders no less. "be open in your prayers, and make them many."

Oh.
Well, that was a bit...selfish? No, that didn't seem like the right word but Sacnite couldn't think of the right one. Selfish it was.
Celnes wanted Kingslend. And...well it couldn't be just her right? Cenric let her in. Unless he was under orders to nab every wolf he could to support their cause...
She felt very sick suddenly.

Sacnite dipped her head, picking a few blades of grass to chew on.

She nodded in response. She'd smelt the heavy stench of blood around the wood. Wolf's blood.
Something was wrong and she hadn't seen Rohesia for...a while.
She didn't want to ask.

"I will," she promised. She didn't know if he actually cared. Maybe a little. They were perhaps in the same boat. There!
A spattering of red leaves curling on the ground dashed from the plant by rain.
She rushed towards it with a hushed but clearly excited, "Yess."
She'd found the Cardinal Flower.
She sniffed around it, making sure it was definitely the right plant.

he himself had ignored it, having assumed to a degree that the regicidal members of kingslend had not been suffered to leave. of this germanicus approved, for it was the only way a king might keep themselves safe. but sacnite seemed far too gentle for such a bloodstained world.

he inched closer when her joy rose. to his untrained eye, it was an unremarkable bit of work, red against the soaked earth. yet it seenmed to please her eye. and so germanicus stood close at hand, attentive not only to sacnite but to the weir beyond, and the potential for any nearby firebirds to threaten a sudden attack.

She looked to him.
He was silent and watchful.
She looked around. What had he seen?
The birds still sang and there were no scents drifting through the air that signalled danger.
He was just his typical guardian.

"This is Cardinal," she explained. He surely had no idea. "The leaves of this will help treat colds and stomach pains in the winter." When food was scarce and they ate all they could find to survive, it would be much needed.
She plucked the leaves from the plant, the tips only just turning brown. Just in time.

She piled the leaves neatly, then started to dig up the root, the mud turning her white socks brown.
A pseudo-Déorwine.

he knew nothing about plants, but looked over it all the same. the medicus had an excitable way in her for the thing that germanicus did not think extended to men. something pure about the way the mud hid the tainted parts of the woman, as if that wretched elk watched even now.

"allow me to help you carry it back," the guard offered in his quiet voice. hushflower gaze surveyed the far bank and then belonged to sacnite once more. "how is it administered, this medicine?"

He waited patiently - not that she noticed - as she worked.
Carefully excavating the soft soil around the bulk of the roots, hoping to cut off as few as possible.
He seemed to want to know more as she worked. Totally cool.

"Uh, I s'pose you just eat 'em."
She shrugged. He might think of her as a medic. Nah. She couldn't administer treatments, she didn't have enough knowledge. But collecting plants was harmless enough and the real medics could tell her if they were the right ones or not.

She reached down and gingerly took the soily root in her mouth, pulling slowly to pull the flower up mostly whole.
Perfect!
She let it flop to the side so she could ask Germanicus "Would you mind taking the leaves?"
He surely wouldn't but thought it better to ask than just assume.​

the eaglebound nodded, moving to grasp the leafy part of the plant. it tasted of dirt to him, of the rich things living in the fattening soil. somehow comforting. and she had no detailed potion list for him. this he found refreshing, as was the opportunity not to speak for a time.

where she led he would follow, and looked toward sacnite now, placid as a wild cow with a mouthful of vegetation. he would be pleased to leave the waterside behind, incapacitated as they both were with with the medicinal burden.

He seemed perfectly content to have his mouth full and not be able to talk until they reached the location of her garden.
It was far from the areas where the herd preferred to graze, should they decide they wanted to eat what she had worked hard to get. Her garden would surely be trial and error, but with the help of the medics in the pack, she'll get there. Sacnite knew some plants that were useful.

Instead, she'd located near Firefly Step, as she'd heard some Déorwine call it.
It had a good variance of ground, shade, and saturation which would help allow her to grow all she needed. Where she had found the flower, it would bask in sunlight all day, but it would be likely that in the summer, it would have more shade from competing for foliage.
She settled on a place close to the water where there was a suitable break in the canopy to allow it full sunlight.

She placed the plant down with a wave of her tail.
"Thank you," she beamed.

germanicus regarded the flower upon the ground, licking the taste of soil from on his tongue. sacnite seemed to be replanting the thing, and he silently admired her industry. "i am happy to help." though his version of happiness was not a elated one, the eagle-bound did enjoy being called upon for tasks.

"if i were to find another one of these, shall i bring it here?" now that he had seen the plant, inhaled its fragrance, and noted sacnite's satisfaction with it, germanicus had committed the bloom to memory.

She started to dig another hole.
The soil here was darker - richer - it became a blacker colour on her socks now.
She didn't mind. They all knew she was white underneath anyway.
Even if she could play pretend for a little while.

He seemed content to watch, and to have the company.
But his words made her pause to look at him with another beaming smile.
"You'd do that?!" Oh he would really help her find more plants? He was so kind! She just wished that he was treated equal to the rest...though he was a guard to Celnes so...it couldn't be all bad, right?

Her tail wagged furiously.
"Yeah um, just leave them by the tree there," she gestured to a moss-covered evergreen that looked rather dry at the very base.
Her eyes drew back to him. She felt like she should talk to him more...but about what?
"Are you wanting to learn how to be a medic?"
Yeah, that will do.

sacnite appeared to be fascinated by a routine offer of aid. germanicus, who attached no sort of important to his tasks beyond that they were required of him as king's-guard, was mystified by it. had not wolves been kind to her? while she was not a true daughter of the clan, the woman's coloration made her greatly tolerable in their eyes, he supposed.

a moment. "yes. i learned the basics of medical aid when i was in my father's army," the eaglebound intoned, glancing at the place sacnite had indicated. hushflower gaze now back toward her own. not a braggart; it was recited, rote, for it was altogether natural in the man's eyes. "but nothing so detailed. i would like to learn more."

Sorry for the delay >.<

He seemed to look at her with some sort of kindness.
Like he didn't judge her -- why would he?
It did surprise her that Celnes would be so close to one who was seen as cursed or something and not of their family. But all the same, that would be all the more reason to do so. Not having a family member meant she wouldn't be backstabbed and having one that made others uneasy may ward off those wishing her ill.
Celnes was smart.

"I learnt a few plants on my travels," she smiled softly. She didn't truly know a great deal. More than anything, she liked that the pretty colours and the ability to keep something alive...keep something she loved safe. "I want to learn more. Celnes mentioned there was a medic in our ranks. I'll have to speak to them," her tail waved softly, happy to be able to have some sort of plan, and to have someone to share with.
Someone she could trust.

"We can learn together," she grinned. That would be fun!

not a delay! <3 we should have a new one soon!

something akin to warmth in germanicus' gaze, though it was not quite so. "that would be diverting," he said gruffly in response. at any rate, having exceeded his worth in her presence, the guard straightened. "do you have further need of me, sacnite?" 

if she did not, the man would quit her company with the sort of crisp bow he reserved for those in the family. they had accepted her; it was enough for him to offer the same sort of deferential respect. and then he would seek a path that carried him in a perusual of the territory, carrying out the remainder of his daily tasks.

Definately

Sacnite grinned at his response.
Yeah, watching her panic over if her concoctions would kill anyone or not.
So entertaining.

"I can't wait,"  she replied, resuming her digging.
Not too much deeper now.
Her eyes tilted up to him now, thinking for a moment.
"No. Sorry for keeping you so long," she smiled sheepishly. His job was to be a guard to the King, not to help some forager with menial tasks. Though his help was greatly appreciated.
He was kind, it made her feel warm inside.
"Thank you," she smiled again, tail wagging briefly as she dug still.

She watched him turn and depart before planting her flower and packing the soil around it.
She didn't wash her legs in the river.