if you see something, say nothing

@Atreyu Sorry if it's a bit bluh/scatterbrained, I'm a bit sleepy.

Though his interest in the healing arts had always been passing, passive, it had been there. If it was offered, he would take a lesson. And, having received his fair share of injuries and various other maladies, he had picked up a thing or two from his healers through sheer force of will. Aesop was not one to take a treatment without know exactly what was going on. So over the years he had gathered a fair share of healing knowledge, and knew many of the plants and methods involved with the art. Now, he thought he might try and expand on that knowledge. He didn't know if there was a healer in the Bay, but he had even toyed with the idea of taking up that role.

And so he set out, late one afternoon, in vain search for the few plants he knew had medicinal qualities. He had little hope of finding the leaves, but if he dug beneath the wet earth, he thought he might find mushrooms or roots. And so he set off, occasionally stopping to paw at the soft ground.

Haha, that's okay! It made perfect sense <3

Atreyu hadn't seen the freckled pup since their altercation a couple of weeks prior, nor had he come across the large male. It suited him just fine, though, content as he was to continue on his merry way, feeling no remorse for whatever emotional turmoil he had thrown the pup into — or for the frustration the older wolf had endured. He was much too busy honing his Outriding and Gamekeeping abilities, as well as exploring beyond the Bay and enjoying the snow while it lasted (he had grown rather fond of it lately).

Today found the yearling within the borders, however, his wanderings taking him deeper within the woods that were part of the claimed territory. It was rare that he found himself in the forests, as he much preferred the shore, but he hadn't taken the time to map out the paths among the trees yet.

At a casual lope, the boy weaved among the trunks, stopping every so often to sniff at a twisted root or batch of tiny flowers or weeds just as Aesop was doing. However, he quickly changed pace and swerved sharply as he picked up a vaguely familiar trail. It was earthy and masculine; Atreyu was sure that it belonged to the scarred man that had attempted to sort out of the situation between him and the younger wolf. With a smirk, the boy steadily followed the other's scent, before coming across his pale form, curiously digging at the ground. Crouching low, he stalked forward quietly, before suddenly sweeping his paw against the dirt and thrusting it towards the older man in an obnoxious venture to gain his attention.

Once again, Aesop found himself lost in his work, oblivious to all that was going on around him. All he heard was the scratch of his claws against the dirt, all he saw was the earth giving way before him. It was really all he cared about right now, since he was safe in his own packlands and had eaten recently. Without having to worry about eating or protecting himself, he could focus mostly on the task at hand.

Aesop thought he was just about at the root of the plant he was digging up when a spray of dirt hit him, startling him from his hyperfocused state. At first he thought that it was his denmate, as she had a terrible habit of sneaking up on him. (In reality, he was just very easy to sneak up on.)

So he thought he was very justified in his surprised, "fucking hell, s'like you don't even know how to say- oh, shit." He cut himself off, because he'd been expecting Spectra, not the young wolf from a few weeks ago. Aesop shook the dirt from his fur and offered a more or less amicable nod. "Long time no see, kid," he said, preferring to remain neutral. He still wasn't sure if he liked Atreyu, but he wasn't going to burn any bridges just yet.

His shower of dirt hit its mark, though Atreyu took a quick step back as he spun around, beginning to speak as if he already knew who he was. Had he smelt him coming? He was sure this guy wasn't one to lose his temper and suddenly attack a pack mate, but Atreyu was still aware of his considerable bulk when compared to himself. The man faltered, though, as deep green eyes met with pale gold and the boy gave a stiff nod in return.

"Yeah, been out exploring," he said with a shrug, as if he cared what Atreyu had been up to since their first meeting. He wondered if he patched things up with the younger kid, though didn't really care enough to ask. Stepping forward again, tail waving behind him, the boy regarded the handiwork of the scarred male. A twisted root stuck half out of the ground, a sizeable hole just underneath. "So...you trying to steal some plants?"

To say that Aesop had not thought of Atreyu in the time since their meeting would be false, as Aesop thought much on the interaction. He constantly fussed over how he better could have handled it so that all came out for the better, and in the warm glow of his fantasies he found many options for better resolutions, though few were realistic. Indeed, each grew more and more far-fetched as he fussed over the fine details, until he realized that it was a train of thought that he had to drop.

Indeed, it had been a while anyway, and so in recent days, Aesop had been more concerned with other matters. He still lived relatively free of responsibility, and so his days were spent familiarizing himself or settling in, hours and tasks which lent themselves to a great deal of ruminating over anything and everything.

"See anythin' worthwhile?" he asked, since it felt like the polite thing to do. As Atreyu inspected his progress, so too did Aesop, frowning contemplatively at the precise, shallow hole. The roots of the plant still clung desperately to the earth around which they were entwined, but he was almost there. "Ain't stealin' if no one owns it," he pointed out, grinning wryly.

"Sorta," he answered flippantly to Aesop's first question before he leant forward to look at the half-uprooted plant. He would expand on his findings while exploring if the man asked, but preferred to remain cryptic about them because, in truth, he hadn't really seen anything that was all that exciting — a few fields, one dark stranger that chased him away, a mountain that, unbeknownst to him, had since been claimed. Being an aspiring Outrider, Atreyu knew he had to step his scouting game up. But he wouldn't admit to it, of course.

At Aesop's answer, the boy huffed a laugh, acting offended. "But that was my plant," he said, giving a feigned sad look to it, before grinning again. "Whatever, it was the runt anyway." He wasn't sure why the man even wanted it; perhaps he was training to become a Naturalist or Healer. He was pretty sure those trades specialised in plants. Or something. He wasn't good with all that smart stuff; Atreyu was a wolf of brawn, not brains.

Truthfully, Aesop cared little about the youth's wanderings, and the question had only been polite. Diplomacy and scouting- the hallmarks of the outrider- did not fall within his realm of expertise. Nor his interest. But there was something to be said for his relief. Though he felt little true responsibility for Atreyu, he was pleased for him. Nothing settled a yearling down like some good old responsibility.

He raised a brow at Atreyu's protest, more or less able to see through teasing. In response, Aesop continued to dig at the ground beneath the plant, uncovering more of the root system. "Is it?" he asked, frowning, then grinning at the follow up. "Glad to see it won't be missed. I'd hate to miss out on another addition to my growin' poison collection." Of course, the plant wasn't poisonous. Its roots were harmless unless you were a headache, in which case it was anything but. Or, was it stomach aches?

"I never got your name."

As the man scooped away the dirt with his large paws, uncovering the twisted roots of the plant, Atreyu watched on interestedly. He hadn't the slightest clue what certain plants did or which were used for healing and which were used for poisons or which berries were safe to eat though, thankfully, the boy rarely ate fruit — his diet comprised mainly of seafood which he did know a lot about. And it was certainly easier to tell what was safe and what was not.

At his mention of his poison collection, the boy's ears flicked forward. So he was a healer! Or...well, maybe the opposite of one. Did packs have a need for wolves who knew all about poisonous plants? "Oh, I'm Atreyu," the youth returned with a nod of his head, though didn't return the question in favour of learning more about this collection his pack mate seemed to be intent on adding to. "So...poisons, you say?" he said curiously. Tell me more.

Enough dirt has been shoveled aside that Aesop thought he might have luck trying to actually remove the thing, now. So, gracelessly, and with little care for how it might look, he shoved his nose into the hole, grabbing at the lowest point that he could. With a firm grip he wiggled the roots a bit and then pulled until the thin root hairs gave way, the whole system crying uncle as he yanked out the plant, dirt and all. He shook it a few times, gently, to rid it of some of the soil it so desperately clung to, then dropped it at his feet to inspect it for damage.

It was only then that he responded to Atreyu, grinning wickedly. "Poisons," Aesop confirmed. He nosed the plant a bit, pleased with his results, then gestured to it with a paw. "This fucker here, for instance, is a right horror. See, the great thing about it is it just chills for a little while, a few days if you're lucky, then bam! Dead. Walkin' along, doin' your own thing, and then you're pukin' out your own heart. Literally." Oh, right. Headaches. Of course. This one would be useful, as he was plagued by headaches. He looked to Atreyu to see what his reaction was, adding, "I'm Aesop," with the same casual tone one uses to discuss the weather.

With an almighty yank, the man freed the plant from its earthly prison, clumps of dirt still hanging onto the roots. With a rough shake of his head he rid it of them, too, before dropping it at his paws. Atreyu leaned forward slightly, sniffing at it though keeping his distance. It was apparently a poison, after all, and he didn't know how they worked. Was smelling it okay? Did one need to fully consume it to feel the effects? Curious eyes looked to the male as he himself nosed it, before explaining the effects of the plant with a grin.

A smirk overtook Atreyu's own features as he stared at the little but apparently deadly herb. "Damn," he replied. He hadn't known plants to be so...brutal. That was if Aesop wasn't just telling tales. He offered the man a nod after he gave his name, before asking, "so if someone pisses you off you can just...slip them one of these?"

While he filled in the hole, Aesop allowed Atreyu to poke at the plant. It wouldn't do any harm, after all. After a moment, though, he finished his clean-up job and snatched the thing up. "I can, I will, and I have," he announced ominously, "so watch out." And then he laughed, bumping Atreyu's shoulder as he swaggered past. "Come on," Aesop ordered brusquely around the plant already in his mouth. He had already decided that Atreyu would be accompanying him, since they were in the middle of a conversation and he had business to do. If Atreyu chose not to follow him, that was his choice.

(Assuming he totally follows him) Aesop lead him on a meandering path through the trees, stopping a mere minute later at a pathetic and brown-tinged plant. He nosed at it, sniffing and examining it. Aesop hummed pensively, then grunted, apparently pleased. "Eat this and you'll shit yourself to death," he explained, tugging gently at a plant whose true purpose was to heal wounds. It was not faring well with the weather, and was a sad sight to see, but it was better than nothing.

The plant was suddenly back in Aesop's jaws after a dark warning followed by a laugh, which just seemed to make his words all the more sinister. Atreyu's ears swivelled back warily as the man shouldered him and started to head down a path into the forest. He invited him along and, after a cursory glance at the disturbed earth where the man had uprooted the plant, he spun on his heel and followed after the creamy-furred figure, curious about where he was headed.

They stopped after a short distance, and Atreyu watched as Aesop regarded a rather insignificant little plant, bowed and withered. His lips curled into a grin as he was given an explanation of what it could do if eaten. He stepped forward to inhale it's scent and commit it to memory — not that he would ever think about using it, of course. Maybe. "Wicked," he commented with a snort of laughter. Though he couldn't help but wonder why Aesop knew about plants and their effects. If he had enemies, couldn't he just beat them into submission rather than resorting to tricky poisons? At least, that's what Atreyu would do, if he had Aesop's build. "So you're like, the opposite of a healer or something?" he questioned as his pack mate tried to tear the second plant from the ground.

Aesop was pleased that Atreyu believed him, or at the very least was humoring him. He was having fun, taking the true purposes of these plants and twisting their benefits into awful ways to die. Perhaps he could even find someone to teach him poisons, for poison had its benefits. A more subtle art of killing, and perhaps better suited to him. Outright violence had never appealed to him.

"That it is," he laughed. Then he had a mouthful of plant, tugging gently to see if he could pull it out that way. It seemed as though it would be easier to dig this one up as well though, so he began to paw at the ground, carefully scraping it away. "I'm both," he said, "they ain't mutually exclusive. And I'm still learnin'. Got a bit of a ways to go before I could really be considered either of 'em." Every so often he would give the plant another gentle tug, until finally it came up from the ground, a cluster of dirt clinging desperately to the roots. "Fuck yeah."

The wicked plants were also stubborn, it seemed, refusing to dislodge from the earth as Aesop tugged on it. Like an impatient mentor watching an incompetent pupil, Atreyu frowned and started forward, waiting to simply grab it himself and tear it from the ground. He wondered why the man was being so delicate about it. At least the yearling knew better than to intrude on his work, though, and hung back as the aspiring healer/poisoner gently uncovered the roots.

It finally broke free after a few more tugs while Aesop spoke, though his explanation confused the boy even more. Why would a healer also be able to kill others — what if they got their herbs mixed up or something? Again, he also was puzzled why a toxic plant was better than simply snapping another's neck.

"So...you're not a fighting sort of guy?" Atreyu asked, intending to be conversational but he couldn't hide the dismal in his voice. Who else was going to teach him how to fight, then? Aesop and Ragnar were the only others who Atreyu could think of who looked like they had any sort of experience with battle, and Ragnar had seemingly disappeared from pack life lately. Ears sinking back a little, the boy frowned again.

Pleased with his success, Aesop dropped the plant beside the other one.  He scooped the earth back into the hole, patting it down to try and minimize the disturbance.  Once he was finished, the ground was a bit firmer, but the absence was glaring, a naked patch among the bare and brown grass.  Aesop nosed at the plant, turning it to inspect the roots and stalk.  Undamaged.  Excellent.

Atreyu's tone caught Aesop's attention.  "Generally, no," he said, amused.  "Don't look so disappointed.  Just because I don't like to doesn't mean I don't.  I didn't get these for nothin'."  At the last part, he brought a paw up to his nose, dragging it along his snout to indicate the myriad of scars on his face.  "I take it poison and subtlety aren't really your deal," said he, rather bluntly.  He meant nothing by it, simply that some wolves are made to fight and some are made for more subtle arts. 

Despite his appearances, he generally liked to think that he was more of the latter.  He knew that words could undo years of work, that bridges could be built and burned with a few carefully picked words to the right wolf.  That sometimes subtlety was dangerous and that sometimes a fight was the only true solution.  At least there was a simplicity in battle.

When Aesop turned, seemingly catching his disappointment, the boy quickly averted his gaze, self-concious. While an extrovert at heart, he felt slightly awkward, unsure how to go about asking for help, especially from a more experienced wolf (whom Atreyu truly did respect, despite his comment when he first met the older man). It was when he indicated to his face that he looked up again, staring curiously at the lines that criss-crossed his muzzle. In Atreyu's opinion, they looked badass. Like he wasn't a wolf to be messed with.

His assumption was met with a shrug from the yearling. "Don't need to be subtle if you can just, like, rip out their throats," he said, showing his teeth in a wicked grin before dropping his gaze to the plants that lay at Aesop's feet. "Plants are too confusing." How could the man remember each effect and use of them all? Atreyu could barely remember his own name sometimes.

If he preened a bit beneath the scrutiny, then who could blame him?  He was a proud wolf, as much as any other, though he strove to appear humble, as that was advantageous.  And his scars had never been a point of self-consciousness for him.  Along with his size, it made the intimidation game easier and usually kept him out of fights.

Aesop barked a laugh.  "I feel ya, kid," he said, tail swinging behind him.  "Easier in some ways, but a whole lot dirtier.  We'd make a good team, I think.  Could learn a thing or two from each other, maybe."  His tone was pensive, but he was anything but absent as he spoke.  Aesop fixed Atreyu with a keen glance, lips quirked up.  He wasn't sure what, but he was sure they could accomplish something together.

*slaps an ending on this*

Atreyu mirrored Aesop's pensiveness through his own expression, continuing to stare at the ripped up plants deep in thought. Of course, all he was trying to do was remember the name of them, which he was sure the man had mentioned before, but nothing came to mind. If anything, it only solidified his belief that he was not cut out to be a healer nor naturalist. No, he was physical being. Though it was never a bad thing, however, to have a range of talents in the pack.

His tail flipped up over his back and he shot Aesop back a wide grin at his suggestion. Although the Bay hadn't many enemies, he didn't mind the thought of teaming up with the scarred man if another pack ever declared war. Atreyu wasn't the greatest fighter, but it would be a hell of a lot easier taking down a wolf who was poisoned thanks to the sneaky Aesop. "Hell yeah," he agreed with a smirk and quirk of his head.

He then turned his head to the sky, which had darkened considerably since they had encountered one another. With a farewell to the aspiring healer...poisoner...herbalist, Atreyu left him to his work, trotting off to watch the sunset along the coastline.