Herbalists' Cache Bury The Hatchet

Phobos wandered through the unfamiliar territory with his mind set on one thing.

Finding mushrooms was never too hard: it was as simple as turning over a few logs. The real challenge was finding the subspecies you wanted. It could be a pain when you needed it in a time crunch, however he wasn't in any rush - rather he wanted to have the reassurance that they were there for later.

Using his muzzle to nose through the undergrowth and pushing over branches and logs - with some difficulty - his search persisted.

He wanted to kick himself for scaring Leto into thinking she needed some sort of cure for the leeches. Maybe he took it too far. 

He'd tried telling her she'd be fine and the damn things would come off if you just pulled on them. And other than taking a little blood, they were harmless. At least, he thought. But she wouldn't take that as an answer, and in fact, demanded that the wolf seek medical assistance to deal with them. Which he would. But he wouldn't be happy about it. His paws were on fire, his muscles hurt, he'd only just started drying off from washing his coat free of mud. He needed rest and a meal. 

He didn't even know what he was looking for. He knew jack shit about herbalism, and the two of them had had such luck finding others up until now. He'd debated on picking some random leaves and bringing them back to her, but as much as he wanted to believe they were harmless, he couldn't be sure, and he'd feel terrible if something did come of it. 

He did take the time away from her to do his private business. He'd always felt self-conscious about doing that near others, so the brief privacy was nice. Then he was off, following the scent of what he thought to be another. 

It grew stronger as he walked, leading him to believe it was fresh, meaning someone or something was at the end of it. There was a thicket ahead, and that's where he believed the smell to originate from.

Pushing his paws against a fallen log he attempted to roll it over, growing frustrated when his weak bones weren't enough to move the damn thing. Next he simply slammed the side of his body into it - which definitely hurt, but at least it budged a bit.

By now he was dirty, tired, and generally unkempt. He was growing frustrated. Phobos had never done well on his own, however it wasn't something he was willing to admit out loud. Eventually he would need to find some sort of solution though - he couldn't let himself go hungry, and if he had to hunt for himself that was likely what would happen.

Hunting had always been frustrating - he felt that it insulted his intelligence. That was why he liked plants: not only did they not move, but he always seemed to know more about them than other's he came into contact with. It was a pleasant boost to his fragile ego.

This must've been the grove Leto had mentioned. He walked in, quickly spotting the black and white wolf. Lanky little fucker, and seemed to be struggling moving a log--which didn't look all that hard to move. The kinda type that probably spent a lot of time learning less physical tasks. Probably knew a thing or two about herbs. Just what Pepper needed. 

"Hey, you!" the big wolf called out, though it came off more annoyed than anything. Probably because he was annoyed. He just wanted to sleep and have a meal in his belly, yet here he was looking for a dumb cure. 

"Sorry--Had a question."

His left ear move towards the strangers call, the rest of his head following a moment later. That was one big motherfucker - definitely didn't look like he struggled to find a meal.

Had he seen him struggling with the log? What did he want? Pushing his warries aside, he put on a calm expression and responded. "Well, ask me then." He managed a smile - but nothing about his response really felt all that friendly. Maybe it was his body language.

He didn't appreciate the rude introduction, but he wasn't looking for conflict either.

He gave a wag of his tail, now trying to compensate for his unintentionally rude introduction. 

”Sorry to interrupt—me ‘n a friend got into some trouble.” 

”You need help with that log?”

"What kind of trouble?" He asked, disregarding the question about the log for the time being. He wanted to know what the other needed before he accepted the help. It would certainly save him time, but he knew better than to agree without knowing if he could reciprocate.

"If it's anything too physical I doubt I'll be of much help."

He snickered, mostly to himself, but he did hope that it would lighten the atmosphere between the pair just a bit.

”Naw, ain’t physicsal.” he started. He had no idea if the wolf knew anything that could help them. But it was worth asking. 

”Long story, but I fucked up and scared a friend of mine into thinkin’ leeches were gone kill her. We made a dumb move and travelled through the swamp, and both of us is covered in ‘em. You happen to know anything about ‘em?”

Leeches? Really? He expected something more dire. But if it was this simple then that made things much easier for him. Pull a few leeches out of the male's fur, use him for what he's worth, then send him off.

"Well they can certainly carry disease considering they're little bloodsuckers - but as long as you remove them properly you'll be fine otherwise."

He doubted that they would be carrying anything serious - except maybe an STI - but diseases carried by leeches rarely lasted more than five months at most.

”Thats what I was tryin t’ tell ‘er, but she worked herself up over it.” 

He didn’t mention the actual disease part, of course, as he had no idea they carried them. 

”There anything we can put on it after? Just so she eases up about it?”

Phobos took a moment to consider his options. As of now he needed two things: someone who could move the fallen trees faster than him, and a meal. Maybe he could use this to get both. He doubted it, but it was worth a shot.

"Sure there is, but I need you to help me first." He built up the confidence to walk a step closer to the other, keep his head high. "Keep your promise and move that log for me - and if you can find me something to eat, I'll remove your leeches properly. I'll throw in something to prevent an infection too."

It felt like a fair trade to him - after all he could just rub some plain old grass in the bites and say it was to scare away the hepatitis.

”Look man, whatever ya need. I could go for a bite myself, anyway.” 

The wolf also looked like he could use food. He was scrawny, which Pepper wasn’t used to seeing. Wolves in his pack either bulked up or got out. His dad would never tolerate anything like what was in front of him. 

Pepper didn’t know why the wolf wanted the log moved, but he seemed to just want to roll it, which wouldn’t be too difficult given the thing looked rotted past its prime. 

He stepped forward, pressing his shoulder to it, and gave it a firm push. He could feel his legs flaring up with full pain like they did, but worked through it. Eventually, it did give. The log itself wasn’t heavy, but it was embedded into the loose ground, and the dirt thudded with snapping roots as it moved. 

He huffed a few deep breaths, visibly exhausted. 

”Alright. That’s done.”

He looked the the ground where the log had previously laid and then to the log itself, pleased with the variety of fungi between the two.

"This should keep me busy enough while you find something edible." He hummed, flicking the tip of his tail upwards. 

He wasn't sure that exactly what he was looking for was present just yet, but it wouldn't take long to find out. Afterwards it would be onto the next log.

He almost couldn’t believe the wolf was serious. Sure, he was a bit scrawny, but Pepper saw no reason for that to mean he could skip out on hunting. He agreed to help him find food—and he fully intended to do that, but hunting alone was hard. And stupid, when he had another fully capable set of paws. 

”Hold on there, bud,” he started. ”No idea what yer needin’ that log for, but it ain’t gone roll anywhere. Now I’ll find ya food, but it’d be a lot easier with some help.” 

He phrased it as an option, but it was hardly optional. Pepper was already exhausted.

A flicker of annoyance entered his stoic expression. Once it had glazed over, he looked back to Pepper. "You look more than capable of going on your own - wouldn't I just hold you back?"

Maybe he wanted his ego stroked a bit, is what he assumed. Most of the male's he had met were like that - and he wasn't about to embarrass himself hunting if a compliment or two was all he needed to get his way. 

If he absolutely had to help then he would - he was hungry enough that giving in might be worth it.

He was very capable of going on his own. Though he'd come back empty pawed or with a meal fit for one. 

"Well sure I can go on my own. But we got a better chance of takin' somethin' bigger if ya come with me. Lot faster, too."

Debating back and forth would only waste time, and he was probably right anyways. With a sigh, he complied. "Maybe it would be better for me to tag along then."

"I'll let you lead the way - I've never had the nose for good prey."

Or the legs, ears, or jaw for it. He better figure it out quick though.

The place seemed habited enough. Looked like there was plenty of food around that might attract prey. Pepper figured a rabbit or two would have them set. Leto said she'd catch fish, so he wasn't too worried about filling his own belly, but he did have quite a disdain for fish, so if he could catch enough for the both of them, he'd be set. He didn't imagine the scrawny wolf needed all that much food, anyway. 

Pepper sniffed for a bit, taking in all of the unfamiliar scents. It didn't take long for him to register the sharp smell of rabbit urine. Stuff smelled awful, but it was easy to pick out. Late afternoon meant they'd be active, too. 

"You like rabbit?"

"I like anything that can keep me fed." He responded. Phobos had never been all that picky with his food - you can't be when you have as much trouble putting on weight as he does.

"But rabbit sounds better than the meal I had planned."

If Pepper hadn't come around he'd probably be eating the surrounding plants by now - and those can't exactly sustain you.

"Fair enough. I'm Pepper, by the way. Best I know your name so I can yell it if ya fuck up," he said. It was a joke, though he wasn't entirely sure he could joke with this wolf. He seemed a bit serious. Pepper could be that, too, but he'd had quite enough of putting on a front with his previous pack. 

He began walking toward where he thought the scent was. He hoped the smaller wolf would follow.

"Phobos." He responded, "I can't promise that you won't have to use it."

He appreciated the attempt at a joke, even if it was at his expense. He didn't want to be too sensitive. Nobody likes a whiny mutt.

He followed after Pepper, keeping a short distance between them. He didn't feel like staying right on his flank.

"I'm sure yer better than ya give yerself credit for," the large wolf said, though, he wasn't entirely sure it was true. He didn't agree with his father's mistreatment of smaller wolves, but it did have some credibility. 

"So what's up with the log? Lookin' for bugs or somethin'?" Pepper turned back when he spoke, both to make his voice more easily heard, and also to check that he hadn't been abandoned. He half expected Phobos to ditch him, given his lack of enthusiasm about accompanying him earlier.

"No - mushrooms." He responded, looking up at the canopy of trees. "It seems like there's enough around here to last me for a while - I want to take note of what I can come back for."

He didn't think it was necessary to give Pepper the full explanation - he wanted to keep him around if he could after all. Yapping about toxic plants likely wouldn't help with that, rather it could give the impression that he was going to harm the larger wolf.

"You can eat those?" 

Pepper was genuinely curious. He'd always been taught to stay as far away from them as possible--definitely not to go putting them in his mouth. 

"Or do ya use 'em for somethin' else?" 

Maybe he could actually learn something from the wolf. It'd be nice to know what he could and could not eat. That's really all Pepper cared about, anyway.

"Some of them you can - other's are better for medicinal purposes." He would never turn down an opportunity to talk about fungi - they had always interested him. "Of course some are poisonous and that's why you're told not to eat any of them."

While he had always considered himself to be a herbalist in general, it was fungi in particular that interested him. Other's always seemed to be so intimidated by the little things.

"There's some varieties that just get you high though. They aren't too bad."