Blacktail Deer Plateau Ease my mind

Paging @Blue Willow again... :)

Peregrine had passed the idea by Hawkeye. His mate, careworn from primarily feeding and rearing four increasingly demanding pups, did not seem particularly sold on the idea but told him to do whatever he wanted. Remembering their conversation over a month ago now, where she'd told him to step up and act like an Alpha male, he only nodded at his frazzled wife, kissed her head, then left her with Kisu and the kids to roam the forest in search of someone in particular.

When he wasn't able to find her, Peregrine decided to howl for Blue Willow directly. "Got a minute?" he called out to the Healer, hoping she was within earshot. As he waited for a response, he slid onto his haunches and arched his neck to nibble at an itch just below his right shoulder blade.

Blue Willow heard the howl from a little ways off as she was sorting herbs for poor osprey. She was unsure what the other female had, but she did know it had something to do with her insides. The yellowing of her eyes, gums and skin was a dead giveaway. The problem with those things it was hard to diagnose anything with it she could not figure out where it was coming from because she did not know all the organs.

She made sure she had leadplant, Showy Goldenrod, Rose Hips and plums. She would have to look for more afterwords as she ran towards her alpha's call. She made it and offered a smile as well as submission and spoke quietly "I'm sorry for my delay I was looking through my herbs for your sister. What did you need?

When she materialized, Blue Willow looked a little hurried and when she explained, Peregrine felt bad. "No worries, Willow. I'll keep it short. How's she doing today?" he said, tipping his head for the latest update on Osprey's health.

Once she filled him in on that, the Alpha male kept his promise and said simply, "I'd like to offer you the Beta female position. You've done an incredible job as a Healer and you're going to make a wonderful Caretaker and Chronicler in time too. You've been a huge help with my sister and the pups... it's the least I can do to offer you the recognition you deserve."

Blue Willow frowned "She is very sick Peregrine and it is inside her organs I do not know if I will be able to cure this. Though I haven't told her that and I refuse too I have found that if you believe you will be fine often times you can beat most anything. I need to boost her immune system and then give her more herbs to help counteract the stomach problems. She did not wish to upset her leader, especially given the next words he spoke, but she refused to lie.

Blue Willow smiled and her tail wagged furiously she bounded forward and licked him under the chin. "Thank you Peregrine this is a great honor and I gladly accept though if I have more duties i'll need to know them. She smiled again she was so happy though she was still worried about Osprey, even that could not ruin her happiness at being honored so highly.

She accepted the promotion and Peregrine smiled at her, stepping away when she licked his chin. Although he appreciated the respect the gesture implied, it made him feel strange when certain subordinates—particularly his siblings but now including the Healer, apparently—did it. Still, he gave her muzzle a companionable, congratulatory bump.

"Just keep doing what you're doing," he answered, then added, "I trust you'll do your best by Osprey. And I refuse to believe you won't be able to treat whatever's wrong," he added, either because he couldn't face the idea that his sister was seriously ill or because he really had that much faith in the Healer... probably a mix of both. "Just do your best and I'm positive she'll pull through."

After a beat, the Alpha male queried, "Can I help with anything, like collecting herbs? Hawkeye and Kisu are watching the kids, so I can spare some time if you could use a hand."

Blue Willow dipped her head "I will do my best. She hoped to help Osprey or Yerpso as she was prone to be called as of late. She knew that though her knowledge about innards was not super large. She did have faith in her knowledge of plants to help those different insides.

Blue Willow frowned as she thought of what she could tell Peregrine, she did not know if she could explain exactly what she needed, but she knew he would be able to recognize rose's and thus rose hips. "Actually yes I need rose hips to boost her immune system so she does not get worse and I can help her body fight off whatever it is she has.

Obviously, Peregrine would do whatever he could to help his sister heal. "Roses have hips?" he asked incredulously. "What do they look like?" he added a touch more seriously, stepping closer to his new Beta female. He paused at her shoulder, motioning for her to lead the way on their herbal scavenger hunt.

Blue Willow chuckled as she started to lead the way towards the flatlands. "They are actually not part of a rose at all, but rather they are a large red berry that is oblong. She set a swift pace inquiring about other's health as she went. "Is Hawkeye doing okay? and your little ones? What about Kisu he is not neglecting his health is he? She was admittedly worried about all the adults taking care of the children afraid that they would neglect themselves.

As they made it to the flatland she pointed out some rose hips to him. "See how they have a strange shape here? and they are very red? These are Rose hips? She picked a few but left most, she tried to never take more than she needed and enough to refill hre stock and leave the rest so it could grow.

He listened as she described the plant and Peregrine tried to conjure up an image in his mind. More likely than not, Blue Willow would have to show him a specimen before he'd be able to locate one of these rose hips himself.

"Hawkeye's very exhausted and a bit cranky but it's not like I can blame her. She's a first-time mother raising four pups while mourning the death of her sister," Peregrine replied. "The pups are great. Even the littler two are healthy as horses. Hawkeye's milk must be a power food," he quipped. "As for Kisu... he's been depressed. He hangs out with everyone but he's not really... there. Do you know what I mean? I don't know what to do for the poor guy," Peregrine admitted. "Does your expertise extend to mental and emotional sicknesses?" he wondered.

Before Blue Willow could answer, they came upon some of the rose hips, which she pointed out to him. He memorized their appearance, then nodded. "Let's split up; we'll cover more ground and get this done quicker. I don't want to be outside the territory too long," the swarthy Alpha said before turning and beginning to pad northwest along the river.

Blue Willow listened calmly and said spoke quietly "my heart hurts for both Hawkeye and Kisu. How are you holding up with her death Peregrine? I know you were family too. She sighed and looked at him sadly and said softly "No I am afraid I cannot fix the emotionally wounds those take time if at all.

Blue Willow dipped her head and called as he was walking away "I am sure you know this but please only take enough to keep my stores up and to help osprey Please leave enough to grow back. She was sure that he knew this, but she wanted to offer him a friendly reminder just in case.

Blue Willow acknowledged the tragedy's effect on Pied's closest loved ones, then surprised Peregrine slightly by asking how he was coping with his niece's death. His brow furrowed. "It definitely hurts," he answered slowly. "It was difficult, putting her in the ground. You know, I haven't had much time to sit down and think about it beyond that, though, as I've been so busy with the kids... I should go out to her grave sometime and pay her a visit. I don't believe her ghost's hanging around or anything..." He paused, reflecting on Pied's purported skill, then continued without mentioning it. "But I should pay my respects."

As they turned away from one another, he nodded. "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted lightly, then trotted off a ways, his nose dropping to the ground and his eyes likewise combing the terrain for any sign of these rose hips. When he found some, he sheared them off their stems with his teeth and held them gently, collecting just a few before turning around and heading back toward the Healer.

Blue Willow turned her gaze to him and smiled at him softly. "I think that is a very good idea. Everyone needs to grieve Perry. Even tough guys like you. She added the last with a small teasing lilt.

Blue Willow watched him go and then bent her own nose to the grind and searched for some rose hips. It was imperative that she boost Osprey's immune system that could be the very difference between her mysterious illness getting better or worse. She found a few plants and gathered a few of the bulbous berries and then with a small smile she sat and waited calmly for Peregrine to return. She had a good little stock now it should last for a few weeks.

They reconvened, the newly-minted Beta female having collected far more than her makeshift sidekick. Peregrine gently deposited his findings at her feet, then stepped back. His tail swayed and he looked around thoughtfully before his gaze found Blue Willow's face.

"I forgot to mention this earlier but if you come across newcomers at the borders wishing to join, use your best judgment and just howl for myself or Hawkeye for approval. We trust you to make decisions based on what's best for the pack," he said with a small smile.

After a brief pause and another sweeping glance at his surroundings, the Alpha male said, "Unless you need more help here, I think I'm going to go by Pied's grave and then drop in on Osprey after that."

Blue Willow nodded "I will use my best judgement of course. She smiled at him happy with her new rank and her new place. She tilted her head as he continued to speak and tilted an ear.

Blue Willow looked around her and picked up some pretty flowers right beside her and held them out to Peregrine but did not drop them and spoke around them "Could you pay my respects to Pied Peregrine? I do not know if I will have time today, I want to get some of these rose hips into Osprey as soon as possible. Thank you for helping me today Perry.

"Sure," Peregrine answered, smiling at the small bouquet of wildflowers. "See you lata', Beta," he quipped before gently taking the spray of flowers from her mouth. He winked at her, then turned and loped away toward the far end of the plateau, where Pied's body rested on a grassy hillock.