Herbalists' Cache Bury The Hatchet

"Huh."

Pepper had never been high before. It was only a concept to him. He'd heard of it, sure, but never been presented with the opportunity. Not that it interested him. Or, he thought it didn't. 

He considered for a moment, whether he wanted to ask for help. He felt as if asking would be giving some power to his injury. Ignoring it had worked for so long, but it was getting hard to ignore. And this was, for the most part, a stranger. Pepper didn't really care if Phobos knew. And it's not like the little wolf had any say in what was or wasn't weak, judging by the look of him. 

"Any of 'em make pain go away? Or hurt less?"

"Well there's better things to use for that." He responded, eyeing the larger wolf. Just why was he so curious?

"Why? Something wrong with you?" Phobos asked, picking up his pace. Suddenly he seemed to be much more interested in Pepper.

He almost flinched at the question. No, nothing was wrong with him. There were things wrong with other wolves, but not him. He just so happened to be in pain sometimes. 

"No. Nothin' like that. Just had an accident a few years ago's all." He moved on from explanation. 

"So what for it, if it ain't mushrooms?"

"I'll tell you after we eat. If it goes well I might show you too." He responded with a smile that, on a base level appeared coy.

Pepper may have dragged him into hunting but he wasn't going to convince him to give up more than that if he had anything to do with it.

"I'll hold ya to it," he said, internally sighing that the wolf left questions aside. Something told him they weren't over, though. 

The scent grew stronger, which gave Pepper a bit of an ego boost. He always had been good at determining a direction right off. 

Nose to the ground, he began following it, eventually finding the spot. It was still wet, a bright yellow liquid clinging to the leaves. 

"Can't be far off. Piss is fresh. I'll bet he's around here grazing."

He wrinkled his nose at the sight. Great, another thing to add to the list of reasons to hate hunting.

He went quiet for the time being, assuming that if there was a rabbit nearby it would be scared off by them speaking to one another.

Pepper was focused now, and carefully examined the surrounding area. It didn't take too long to spot, and it was grazing, as he suspected. Oddly enough, it seemed pretty clueless to the impending danger. Normally they were more alert. 

He probably could've handled this on his own, and, after it was all said and done, probably will, but he did enjoy the company--as odd, and if he was reading things right, exploitative as it was. 

From experience, he knew hunting rabbits was entirely about closing distance, which was a lot easier to do when the rabbit wasn't running. If he could get close, it'd save him a lot of energy. So he tried that, carefully placing his paws to not make sound.

A bit puzzled, Phobos lowered himself to the ground. Stay quiet, and don't let the prey see you. He knew that much - after all it was common sense.

This seemed to be going better than he had expected - so far at least. It wouldn't do them any good if he got his hopes up.

He was close now. Way closer than he thought he'd get. Then a foul smell hit him, and shortly after, he noticed why the rabbit hadn't bolted. It's back leg was gnarled, bleeding, and the smell indicated some sort of infection. He'd be doing this thing a service by killing it--which he did, quickly. He lunged at it, and it finally did notice. It's escape attempt was feeble. It seemed to try running, but only stumbled. Pepper caught it by the neck and bit down a few times, working it into his back teeth before feeling the neck crunch. 

It gave a few more squeaks, and it's frantic movement slowed. Pepper dropped it, but it's tiny chest continued to rise and fall quickly. Though it didn't last long. The smell was awful, but it seemed localized enough to make the rest of it edible. 

"Looks like somethin' got to it before us," he said, turning to face Phobos.

He approached, quick to spot the injured leg. It wouldn't be much of an issue, but he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the smell.

"Break off the infected leg - we don't know who's mouth it's been in." He decided.

He was enjoying ordering Pepper around, and it showed.

Fox, maybe a coyote. He was surprised it managed to get away. Granted, the initial injury probably wasn't as bad as what it had turned into. 

He really didn't want to put his mouth anywhere near it. But Phobos was right. They needed to break it off. And Pepper had promised to get him food. The kill was easy for once, so it made sense it'd have repercussions. 

He carefully placed his teeth on the rabbit's paw. That part hadn't been infected yet. Then, put his paw on the rabbit's hip and pulled. He felt tension, then give, the leg dislocating at the hip audibly. He kept pulling as the skin stretched out before tearing. Once he'd finished, he flung the leg away with his head, then licked his muzzle. 

"All yours," he said. He'd wait on the fish. His appetite was officially gone.

"Are you sure?" He asked, adding onto it a moment later, "I really don't mind sharing."

He certainly didn't mind the idea of having the rabbit all to himself, however he didn't want to seem greedy either. Not right away, at least.

”I’m sure. You look like you could use the extra serving,” he added. He wasn’t being rude, just realistic. This is the closest he’d been to the wolf, and he was a lot skinnier than Pepper had initially thought. 

”Consider it thanks for helpin’ me with that other thing you said we could talk about over food.”

Ah - right. He had almost forgotten his promise. "Let's walk back first - I said I'd help you with your leeches too and there's more to help me with them there."

He picked up the rabbit, beginning to walk back the way they came from without another word. No chance to argue it either, he thought.

”Sure,” he said. It’d get them away from that smell, anyway. 

He was more than ready to sleep at this point. It was rare that he made it through a day without napping, but this would be one of those days. Leto would owe him for all of this.

Returning to the log he had Pepper push over earlier he laid down nearby, tucking the rabbit underneath his left paw.

"Right - so it was pain killers you were curious about, right? Or am I remembering incorrectly?"

He asked, tearing into the rabbit a moment later. Despite his seemingly malnourished state he was being quite careful with his food - eating away at it in small calculated bites.

Pepper took a seat when they were back, his breaths heavy. It was hot, but his coat didn’t seem to care. 

”Sounds right. Just somethin’ for my back and legs.and the leech thing.”

He nodded, swallowing what was in his mouth before taking his next bite.

"It's been warmer than usual, hm?"

He attempted to make conversation out of the male's heavy breathing, however he was unsure if it was the weather or if Pepper was simply tired.

Pepper’s eyes narrowed. They had plenty of time for conversation earlier. It was getting late, and he would rather not be navigating in the dark. 

”Wouldn’t know. I ain’t from around here. Definitely hot, though.” 

He eyed the smaller wolf. Not that he anticipated it, but he could probably get information out of the wolf if he continued dodging his request. Specially after Pepper jumped through hoops to help him out.

With his meal now finished off, he was ready to talk.

"Pasque flowers, saskatoon berries, and lichen can be decent pain relievers - there should be some around here too."

He pushed the carcass aside, licking his lips.

"They aren't my favourite, but the berries are probably your best bet. The other's are a bit more complicated to learn to use on your own."

”Berries, huh?” 

He’d been wondering what of those he could eat. Plants all tasted the same to him, so he never cared enough. But if they could make him feel better, he’d absolutely eat them. 

”And they’ll make it go away?”

"For a while, yes. All they can really do is prevent the pain. If it's something long-term then there isn't much you can do."

It was never something he liked to admit, but he knew from experience that there was truth to the statement. If there was something he could take to stop the pain completely, he would have.

"You can try wading in shallow water to strengthen them though."

”It’ll go away,” he said, more lying to himself than Phobos. 

”So what do they look like?” 

He was eager to eat them. As many as he could.

"They're bright blue berries - can't miss them. They grow in bushes with these sort of circular leaves."

He glanced at the nearby bushes, his eyes settling on one a short distance away.

"Right there - go grab some. Just not too many at once, your stomach won't forgive you."

Blue with circular leaves. He could remember that, especially after seeing them. He followed the wolf’s gaze, finding the berries that resembled the description. He grabbed a branch that had about twenty on it, then snapped it off.

”These?” he spoke through a mouthful, walking back toward Phobos.