Blackfoot Forest Friends

@Ammalyn

Liri was moving through the pack territory after leaving her cache. She had dug it near her den so that she could get her food easier. It didn't hold much at the moment,in fact it was empty as she had finished off the rabbit in it for lunch.

           She didn't have much to do,she had yet to meet anyone since meeting Faramir or Aaron. She had no lessons to go to learn her trade as no one in the pack had a trade to teach. There was no pack activities to go to either,so she was hoping to meet others from her pack or maybe snag something to refill her cache.
 
         She had smelt a new scent,another female like herself around the territory. She had that not quite pack smell to her still. Maybe she would meet her while out. She hoped she could make at least one female friend, she would like a girl friend to talk to about this whole mating thing.

Amma was lying in a small field in the midst of the territory. She enjoyed sunbathing in the less dense areas of the forest surrounded by the sunlight and swaying grass of a meadow. In perfect bliss, she stretched out, sniffing at a early blooming dandelion. It smelled great. This could be a good time to work on her botany trade, but soon she was distracted by something else. A wolf scent, female, coming her way. With a tired sigh she stood and shook her fluffy white pelt, time to meet this other female.

She came to the edge of the field where it met the vegetation and saw the female. Looks like there are others around here. She thought sarcastically barking to the other. Hey! Over here! I'm so bored, want to hang out a bit? Amma was very open with her emotions and not scared to be who she was, a good thing about her.

Liri strolled into the clearing,soon being called over by a female who looked similar to herself. It was obvious they weren't related due to the difference in size between them and the varying facial features. This she wolf was taller and had black guard tips mixed in her cream-white fur. Liri had always been on the small size and her fur was pure white.

 She made her way over to the female,not bothering with submission as she was higher rank than the newcomer. She smiled friendly at the other girl,"Hiya I'm Liri." She sat in front of her waiting for the new she wolf to give her name as well.

It was obvious that the other female was of a higher rank than her, but she seemed pretty chillax so Amma didn't worry about submission just yet. She gave the other cloud a smile an replied, Hey, I'm Ammalyn but just call me Amma. Ammalyn is a bit fancy for me. She chuckled a little, her beautiful and bright little chuckle. So are you new to the pack too? She asked, excited to learn more about her new pack mates. She had always been a friendly girl, especially to family. And assuming she would stick around, these wolves would be her family.

She chuckled a bit,"Yeah I joined yesterday. It's nice to meet you Amma." It was a pretty name and as exotic as Faramir's had been to her. Amma was easier,short like her own. "It's nice to meet you, I'm guessing you joined soon. So you have any idea what you want your trade to be?", she asked curiously her words coming forth in an excited string.

sorry for the short post

No its totally fine! I am victim to short post disease a lot so you're good xD

Ahh, so this wolf was new too. Sweet, they already had something in common. She smiled and thought about Liri's question. Aaron had asked her a very similar question just yesterday. She was having a hard time deciding on the other one, but was sure about her naturalist trade. Well I'm not completely sure, but I do know that I'm gonna be a naturalist. Specifically botany. I don't know, I kind of just really... like flowers! She giggled a little and shrugged. She was curious about Liri, so she returned the question. What about you? Have any life plans?

Liri smiled at Amma's trade. They weren't so different,the two she wolves. So far she had two friends-one a storyteller and the other a botanist. How interesting. Amma was asking her about her own trade before long, she had two she wanted to work on.

"I want to be a hunter, I'm pretty good at it,"that was true she had always been stealthy,it came naturally to hunt for her,"also I would like to learn healing. I want to be a midwife and a sitter because I love pups." What female didn't love pups? They were so cute and cuddly but even if she never had her own she would be content with watching the higher rankers' litters. 

Suddenly she had an idea, what if Amma could help her learn healing? She knew plants maybe she would know medicinal plants as well. "Do you know any medicinal plants or their purposes?",she asked curiously. If she did maybe she could be her mentor.

Hunting and caretaking. Good trades to have, and it seemed common with females. Or at least the caretaking part. She had never met a female who didn't have interest in pups, herself included. However she didn't particular care when she had them. Years from now maybe, or maybe they didn't even have to be hers. Something to take care of was all she wanted. Something to love.

Then Liri seemed to have an idea, and as if on cue, Amma's tail began to wag. Seeing others get excited made her excited too. Medicinal plants? I guess some. She thought before responding, Yeah a few. I'm still working on it, but I'll get there. Why? It was an odd question, and the white wolf began to wonder where Liri was going with it.

A huge grin threatened to split her face apart, with a happy yip her tail began to thump against the ground rapidly. "Maybe you could teach me then? If you don't mind?", she asked hopefully. She was practically quivering trying to keep still while waiting for Amma to answer her question. She didn't even care if Amma only knew one plant, it was something else to learn.

We could turn this thread Ito both a naturalist and healer thread if you want?

Amma beamed at Liri's idea. It would be great practice for both of them to work on their trades, and more time to get to know each other. She nodded cheerfully and responded. That's a great idea! Let's go find you some healing plants. She jumped to her paws and flopped down into a play bow. She bounced around her new friend for a moment then started walking away to find some herbs.

After a while of walking, Amma came across something familiar. A type of flower she'd seen her mother use to heal in her old pack. Monkeyflower! She stopped and turned back to Liri, tail wagging excitedly. Here we go! This stuff is called Monkeyflower. In pretty sure you can use it for anti inflammatory and nerve calming things. She reached down and plucked a stem, holding it in her teeth. The young wolf held it in front of her new friend's face, to allow Liri a better look. It was a yellow bell type flower, very pretty and very useful.

sure that works!

Liri jumped up, following Amma happily. Her tail swung to and fro excitedly but she was careful not to destroy any of the plants her botanist friend so cared about. Sitting she waited as Amma hurriedly brought over a strand of Mimulus.

Her head cocked in confusion at the odd name Amma called it. "We call it Mimulus where I am from. It's good for soothing nerves or alleviating pain,"she confided in Amma confidently. She was familiar with the plant, it was a mild pain reliever. Good for uncomfortable pregnant wolves. Not so strong it would hurt a child or elder either, but strong enough to provide relief.

Aww shit, it seemed Liri already knew about this stuff. Amma was determined to show Liri something she didn't know about. Oh, well now you know it has a nickname! Come on I'm sure I can find something new. She chuckled, standing up and beckoning her friend onward. The female was determined, she would complete her task and help Liri with her healing trade.

After a bit longer, though it didn't take as long as it did to find the monke-mimulus flower, Amma saw another familiar bud mixed along in the vegetation. Fireweed! She smiled and bounced over to the bushes and plucked off a purple/red flower and showed it to Liri. This is fireweed. It helps strengthen the immune system and helps digestive issues... She paused, for a second doubting her memory. Probably.

She sniffed the flower curiously,"I do not know this. It's too cold where I used to live." The vibrant flower didn't grow in the snowy region she was natal to not even In the brief summers. She studied it, commiting all Ammalyn had told her to memory about it.

Amma beamed with pride as Liri spoke. She'd done it, shown Liri something new and put her botany skills to the test. She felt pretty proud about now. Well there! It grows in warmer areas, where there's sun but also shade. This forest for instance would probably have some more bushes like this one around. She said, hoping maybe her friend could use the plants in the future for something useful. This was in fact another reason Amma wanted to be a botanist. Plants could be very useful, but not if you used the wrong ones. She would learn all she needed to and become top notch at her trade.

She smiled, nodding her head intently. She would remember, anything about plants was useful to her. She preferred medicinal values over anything else though. Perhaps she could teach Amma something as well. If the girl remembered what Liri said about plants during their lessons she could claim a healing trade as well if she so pleased.

Padding over to a small bush nearby she sniffed at them. Elderberries. Posionous as ever if you collected the wrong parts of the flower. "This is elderberry. The roots can be used as an antihistamine but the rest will kill you,"she warned Amma, wanting her friend to stay away from the dangerous plant.

Last post for me <3

Elderberry. Amma had heard of it before. Poisonous, something she shouldn't mess with. But the roots were ok? Plants fascinated her, they seemed so much more complex than wolves. Sometimes she wished she were small enough to see what was happening inside of a plant. But that was a very silly thought. She nodded, she wouldn't forget the little yet lethal berries anytime soon. She looked up at the sky. It was hard to see through the canopy of the thick forest, but she could see the oranges and pinks of sunset. Had they really been working all day?

She turned back to Liri and sighed. That was really fun! Thanks so much for everything, but it's getting late. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow and we can collect for plants! Later! And with that, the white furred female gave her friend a nudge on the shoulder before bouncing cheerfully away back towards her den.

Liri nodded, rubbing her head against Amma's shoulder affectionately in a way more familiar to her than the nudge she was given. Traditions vary when moving across country she supposed. "Goodnight!",she called cheerily before creeping through the night towards her den.

last from me