Hushed Willows In a long black veil she cries over my bones.

Food had grown more and more difficult for the pack to gather, which put them all in jeopardy; none more so than the young Tambourine though, as his mother struggled to get enough in to her belly so that her milk did not run dry. Octavia had never been a picky eater growing up, and now that the situation was growing dire, she scavenged around the Crook for anything left behind (purposefully or not) so that her son would not go hungry.

The cave was immaculate because of this. There were no bugs to be seen littering the ground, not one speck — and any discarded waste such as gristle or old bone that was tough to work through, she would knaw at until the object became palatable. Octavia knew it was for the best, even if it tasted poorly or took a lot of her time to work at. Not even bone was safe from her hungry teeth. Even now she was knawing at a sad old bone she'd found lodged in the dark somewhere.

Behind her was perhaps the only thing left. The only thing she would not touch, and often warded the other wolves away from — the putrescent skull of her other boy, the remaining piece that had gone uneaten. Undecided with what to do with it, the skull sat festering in the corner of the whelping den, mixing its scent in with those of the mother and her newborn. As Octavia chewed at the abandoned leg bone she had found, her eyes slip casually towards that discarded remnant in the corner, and she feels her mouth fill with saliva.

Grace was suddenly very glad for her and Trick's initial packing of the den. The herbs they'd gathered had survived, and among that was borage. The russet female had been saving it for as long as possible, but when she'd seen Tavi scavenging she knew it was time to go get her a few of the leaves. It'd taken her a while to get to the den and back, but now that she had a mouthful of the leaves, the faded black female was limping for the cave she knew the mother was homing in. Grace stopped at the entrance, letting out a muffled bark. She knew better than to enter without permission, seeing as she was not only alpha but a new mother. Hopefully, Tavi would accept the herbs to help her son, and herself.

The hunger felt as if it were a separate entity from herself. Something that she hosted, like a parasite, which grew and grew - not unlike a child, she thought. The conditions that the marauder's faced would only get worse, so it was best she use every available moment to eat, no matter the source. Octavia was on her feet and standing over the body of her first-born while Tambourine had been left (briefly) to fend for himself in the corner. The bone she had been worrying with her teeth lay discarded a few steps between. Just as Octavia began to descend open-mouthed towards the distorted and rotted face of her own child, she heard the scuffling of claws upon the cave floor.

So she turned sharply from the bundle of fetid remains, nudging them back in to the dark with a hind paw, and faced the corridor which joined her small whelping den to that of the main Crook — idly wishing the stranger at the door would leave so she could dine in peace, guilt-free. Having a witness only made things worse. Octavia did not know who it was, only that they barked and the sound slid like water through the cave. Octavia glanced to her sleeping baby and felt a fresh wave of anger roll up from her empty belly, which she turned heatedly upon whoever was at the entrance.

Keep it down, she whisper-hissed as she passed by Tambourine, ducking her head slightly so that she could fit in to the corridor. There, she was faced with Grace of all beings, and the girl was holding on to something. What is it? she shot at the girl, venting her many emotions on her since she was the only wolf nearby at the time. Octavia was impatient and hungry, and the image of her child's remains were more tempting than a simple conversation with a nosy packmate.

Grace shied back from Tavi's scolding, limping a few feet backwards with her dark ears pinned. Her golden eyes were nervous, hurt, and she spat the leaves at the alphas stormy paws before scrambling off another couple feet. The russet female had no wishes to quarrel with the head of any pack again, especially the one who led her; even if she would follow Warbone over Octavia. Grace knew of this she wolf, after all, but not much. She only knew that she'd been the Beta of her first pack, Pheonix Maplewood, before running off with Reek, the alpha male and Saena's baby daddy. Why she hadn't stayed with Reek, as alpha, she would never know.... And she didn't really want to. Whether she liked it or not, Tavi was now her alpha. Seeing as she'd never really done any harm to Grace herself, there was no problem. 
       "B-Borage."
She kept her golden eyes away from the alpha, especially nervous: she wasn't used to aggression from a female, and it seemed to open a whole new world of worries. 
                    "It'll help your milk flow. I-I have more if you need it."

Octavia did not recognize this subordinate. They all looked very much alike in the dark of the cave, but even in the light of day she would not have known Grace. It was nobodys fault but her own, really. She could have been more friendly with the wolves of the maplewood when she was a part of it, but Tavi had always been so self involved — she still was — and getting to know other women had never really been an interest. It didn't matter now.

The girl scampered backwards as if she had been bitten, and Octavia couldn't help but snort softly at the anxiety which she herself had caused. Not all wolves were spineless, but she wondered if they were the type that Warbone coveted; thus far, Octavia wasn't impressed. She quirked a brow at the muttered words of the girl, not understanding what borage meant. She dipped her nose to casually sniff at the piled leaves and could not discern any special qualities. They smelled dry, and they smelled green, like grass.

It'll help your milk flow, the girl explained, I-I have more if you need it. As Tavi looked away from the offering, she saw that the girl wasn't looking at her. She was looking at the wall or the floor, or anywhere that wasn't the Alpha woman's face. A pang of guilt hit her then. Octavia knew she was being an overprotective asshole. Someone had to look out for her child's wellness, and she sure as hell did not trust anyone in this pack (hand-picked by Warbone or not) — but then again, the dark girl before her seemed genuinely interested in helping her.

After a moment Octavia bent her head to inspect the leaves again, and this time began to nose about them with more purpose; she did not grab any or chew them though, perplexed with what to really do with them. She was no herbalist after all. Taking a slow and steady breath to relax herself, she tried to ask in a calm voice: What do I do with it? Though there was still a tinge of irritation to her tone, she did her best to sound less antagonistic.

Grace watched Tavi inspect the leaves, and her confusion was evident. At first, she thought the stormy mother would refuse them with another snip at her. Imagine the russet yearlings surprise when a look of guilt, maybe sympathy, came over Octavias features. Even more rattling, the alpha actually asked for help: sort of. Grace straightened herself a little bit and took a few tentative steps forward with a warm, shy smile spreading across her muzzle. She could tell it wasn't easy, but Tavi was trying. Honestly, if she just didn't hurt the yearling, Grace could deal with this. 
      "You gotta eat em."
At once, she thought about the taste. maybe she should have gotten something to sweeten it up? The faded black female tried going over in her head what was in the herb den, but couldn't remember anything.
               "It won't taste good, but it should give you some extra milk for the little one. If you want, I can track down honey, or maybe mint."

Eat them? She wasn't a rabbit. The most foraging Tavi had ever done involved munching on fresh grass when her stomach ached, and that was mostly because she had been irritated at how pristine the grass had looked at the time. She squinted down at the pile as if contemplating what to do, and then began to pluck at the leaves. She chewed them slowly at first, reveling in the odd taste and the texture as the leaves became a paste across her molars. The girl's offer of sweetening the herbs was not taken, although in the future perhaps Tavi would change her mind. She grabbed another between her teeth and began to chew that too, and in between trying to chew the fresh leaves and swallow the old ones, she murmured: They taste weird but not bad, gulp. Are you sure this will work? It felt strange to be eating leaves instead of meat. How were they supposed to help Tambourine?

The alpha wasn't happy, she could tell, but obviously her need to help Tamborine overruled her doubts. Grace watched her eat a few leaves, and she finally voiced a doubt. The yearling was happy to oblige, perhaps hoping to gain any good side of the female. Overall, she was just hopeful to make one more bond with someone.
       "I'm not sure how or why they do it, but eating them will give you a little extra milk. Nova used it when she had puppies, and said they'd saved more than one litter; both hers and other females she'd helped."
The russet female wasn't sure where the two stood or even if they'd ever officially met, for Nova hadn't told her adopted daughter of their run-ins. She wasn't sure what the elders opinion would mean to her, but it was one she usually fell back on because she was one of the only people ever to teach her.

Nova? Octavia tried to think of who that could be, but it took her a moment. She was distracted by the flavor of the leaves, and gradually scarfed them down; then when the girl mentioned it was an older wolf, everything clicked. Nova. Right, the old woman that looks like a snow-cone. Not that she would know what a snow-cone was, but, it was better than comparing the aging wolf to a patch of yellow snow (which was also accurate but far more insulting). The woman chuffed softly after she swallowed the last of the leaves, and was left smacking her lips a bit, trying to rid herself of the taste. Maybe next time... Honey would be good. Or something. It wasn't a bad taste, just different.

If it would help Tambourine, then she'd do it over and over again. With this thought in mind, Octavia added: Thank-you. I'm sorry I was so... bitchy? Yeah, that was a good word for it. But she let the sentence hang, and gave a small shrug, moving on. If you find more then I'll gladly accept. My little boy needs all the help he can get.

Her comparison of Nova to a snow cone made her giggle, and she was glad Tavi had eaten all the leaves. This is easier than I thought. She'd expected the alpha to put up more of a fuss, and her next comment didn't at all surprise her. Again, she tried to think of things that would make it taste better. Blood of prey was another one she'd been taught, which was a little more likely to find than a nest. 
         "Ill think up something. Lemme know when you need more, and I'll bring you some. Hopefully, I have enough to last through.... Well, however long this lasts."
The yearling meant the famine, of course, the stripped land; she didn't need to say it aloud. The stormy woman apologized, which WAS a surprise to Grace. She smiled, golden eyes gleaming.
                         "Glad to be of help, Octavia. To you, Tamborine, and the rest of the pack."

I'll fade here! :D

It got a little awkward once Grace started to speak again, but Octavia didn't know what to expect. She seemed genuinely happy to be of service. That, and maybe she was waiting to be dismissed or something? Octavia was distracted by the flavor in her mouth at first - then, by thoughts of her son, and didn't notice the quiet slipping between them until it was an awkward silence. With a little dip of her head she sort of gave Grace a little smile (the 'smile and nod until they go away' angle of attack) before taking a sudden step back to the corridor behind her. Well, I'll go.... Rest, then. Feel free to drop more of that stuff off when you find it.

With that, she was slinking through the dark towards her son, and would nestle in close to him until her milk began to flow again. Hopefully the leaves would do the trick and Tambourine would have something more substantial for his belly than her currently dwindling milk supply.