Cedar Sweep an escape from reality

The female had left Teaghlaigh early that morning after notifying a would-be-caregiver to watch after her ward. Sirius was growing stronger but still the expectorant that came up concerned her. Today she would seek out more coltsfoot and lavender for Sirius and Eirlys. So far the other Feaghal children were still growing strong, although the last born was still sleepy he was but a babe and she couldn't fault someone without any proper senses. She walked a fine line between obsessing over the children and pestering their parents and trying to remain in her duties in the pack. She was the highest ranked adult and needed to push to keep things together while the Alpha pair were immersed in the rearing of their young. It was moments that Hemlock would not rob them of. 

She was experiencing new sensations too, of being dolefully wrapped around a child who did not belong to her each night, of imagining over and over again the could have beens and the should have beens. She still felt robbed. Perhaps she would not be able to remedy that feeling, perhaps she would eventually find a peace in the life pushed upon them. The clouds above the sweep had begun to darken, a spring shower no doubt fast approaching. It would be good, to raise her plants, to properly bring them life. The healer would not despair in that, at least, even as she continued on in her hopes of gathering some herbs and useful things to carry home.

Hello hello! I see you're going for the naturalist trade. Perhaps we can use this toward that end? (:

Andalusia eyed the growing storm with a terse glance. The clouds that once stretched across the Western front now formed a thick and darkening sheet that reached into the sky above her. Their fingers stretched with a horizontal reach, and showed no sign of vertical growth. In this, Andalusia took comfort. These clouds held the sure promise of rain, a much needed pattern if the Wilds hoped to transition with abundance into spring and summer.

Yet there remained a stiffness to her step as Andalusia roamed deeper into the sweep of cedars that fell beneath the trajectory of the storm. Five years, and the memory of the fire still lingered like smoke in her nostrils. The fear nagged her, but Andalusia turned her gaze to the forest floor to distract herself with the charge of her mission: to seek out herbs and remedies that could prove useful to the Fen. The worry of the storm, she knew, would always be present. She had realized this long ago. But she couldn't let that fear become a hindrance. Andalusia simply had to trust that her assessment of the clouds had been right - that they contained rain, and nothing more.

omg you have an ostrega baby! this makes me so happy! thank you for joining!

Hemlock kept a careful eye on the storm, just hoping that the storm would be brief and it would pass soon. She wasn't keen on being a drowned rat after all, she hoped beyond hope that she could make her selections and then head back to the Strath before anyone was any the wiser. It might be nice, she found herself thinking and was surprised by, that she might like to see Sirius' reaction to his first rainstorm. Maybe she should get back faster. It should have been a moment shared between the cub and his parents, but their irresponsible choices had left her with none. She was fulfilling her duty to the Family and to Teaghlaigh and while she wasn't so cold as to say she cared none for Sirius she told herself as well she could not get too attached to him. 

He was not hers, after all, no matter how he had spent nearly as many days with her as with his mother, that now he had almost been hers longer. He was, but was not. He could be, but he could not. He would be, but he would not. 

The thoughts stewed in her and the amber woman almost didn't notice as the other female swept the sweep; at least until the sounds caught her attention and Hemlock turned her bright eyes towards the sound with a low chuff. It was an inquisition, wondering if the person had intentions of cutting through the sweep and closer to her home, or if it was something else entirely. 

<3

Andalusia held her head down, nose to the group and mouth ajar to receive the mingled scents of the forest sweep. Bitter and sweet mixed in the tang of coming rain. The storm withheld, and the Ostrega drank in her surroundings with an urgent speed. She searched for nothing in particular, only the familiar. The Fen provided both water and food, but the wetlands severely limited the kinds of plants that could grow within the boundary of their territory.

For this reason Andalusia had spent the past few months on the move, periodically checking in at the Fen before setting out again to find new lands with herbal supplies they could glean from. She had traveled to the shores already, for the sake of charting the distance to the Northern edge of their navigatable world, and deigned to return a different route than the one she had followed on her way out. The mountains to the East were enough of a landmark for the Ostrega to know that she was on the right course home. Her distance to the Fen she could only guess. This had been her longest trip yet, and though she basked in the freedom of her travels, she couldn't stop the growing desire to be within the Fen's boundaries again.

In the midst of her quiet musings and thoughts, a noise sounded. An inquisitive note, hailing the presence of another, and Andalusia paused and raised her head. A shroud of leaves veiled her line of vision, and the Ostrega shifted her head to the side and ducked until she caught the glint of daylight off the other's eyes. She emitted a noise in response - a typical greeting, laced with her own hint of caution and curiosity. Andalusia knew herself to be on neutral ground, but that made her no more safe in the presence of strangers.

Watching the female for a moment it seemed that they shared a similar cause. No one would be scouting about and paying more attention to the ground and plants than the area itself. Hunters often scanned the area and not just the ground, constantly in a motion and far more reserved in their steps. It wasn't like she could read minds but she was fairly decent at reading body language. "What are you searching for?" She asked curiously; sharing what might be a conspiratorial smile with the female. 

It wasn't like she ran into one of her own often, and perhaps they could help one another in their search. The scent on her wasn't one that Hemlock was familiar with and she ran it through the little roll-a-dex of places she knew and wolves she'd ran into. She had never encountered a member from the Fen, even though she'd rarely ran in that area of the Wild she could always stand to learn more. 

Through the space between the leaves, Andalusia caught a shift in her company's disposition, a slight crook of the mouth that suggested the other's question weighed more than a passive inquiry. Andalusia tipped her head, and wondered if this stranger sought the same quarry as she. "Anything useful," Andalusia replied, and let her lips respond in mirrored expression. The sweet smell of the budding forest masked the scent of the other, but even if she had been a pack wolf, Andalusia wouldn't have been able to tell. The Ostrega remained unfamiliar with this side of the mountain, but perhaps the stranger could amend that. "Medicinal herbs." She clarified. "Are you familiar with healing, and with this area?"

The Fen held its share of supplies, but every territory lacked in some way. The inhospitable ground would rear a problem in dire times of need. Which was why Andalusia sought ingredients and foreign gardens now, to prepare for the inevitable day when she would need to find remedies the Fen didn't offer itself, in a span of time that didn't allow for the careful search she conducted now.

To the question Hemlock could only smile; it was her life - absolutely. "My family are established botanists. As far back as we can trace our lines we've been knee deep in the dirt." She said with a little chuckle. It was easy to know the plants, to live the absolute lives. "I myself am a medic, and I was out to try and find some more herbs for a couple young puppies in my pack." It wasn't betraying the truth of Teaghlaigh to describe her own mission and so she felt no guilt explaining this to a fellow enthusiast. 

"Did you have something you were looking for specifically?" Hemlock asked curiously - maybe she was just exploring the options, and Hemlock understood that too. 

Andalusia drew nearer the other as she spoke, ears cupped and head turned in a receptive and curious tilt, and ducked beneath a final branch to see the medic with greater clarity. The other stood as a vibrant splash against the storm-shadowed forest, and the way she spoke of healing struck a revence through the Ostrega's eyes. She had grown up knee-deep in mud for other reasons, and had only begun to consider the mantle of medic more seriously in the latter half of life. To be before one who had trained from birth...

"Not specifically," Andalusia admitted to the girl, and lowered herself to her haunches. An idea played in her mind, and she toyed with the thought. "But maybe you could help me. I've knowledge of some herbs and remedies, but I reckon my experience doesn't come close to yours." Andalusia didn't want to keep the other long, lest she find no herbs for herself and her little ones before the brewing storm unfurled. But the medic had asked, and the Ostrega didn't know the next time she would meet a wolf with experience like hers. How could she pass this up?

"My pack lives in a place where there's hardly a lick of dry ground to walk on, quite different than any land I've lived in before. I came out here to look for herbs I'm familiar with. And in times like this, distant travel is fine, but I'd be a fool to assume we'd be able to afford the time if something serious comes up." She drew in a deep breath, and cast the girl a defeated grin. "All's this to say, if I might be bold enough to ask, are you familiar with what bounty marshes have to offer? Anything would do us well in trying times, and from experience, I know those times are goin' to come."

She could understand the specific glee that came from finding a kindred spirit. In her time in the Teekon there had not been enough medics and healers about. There in the Hinterlands she had not found many other wolves that suited her fancy, least of all ones who knew enough to encourage her trade. A chance to exchange knowledge was welcome and she wasn't going to just pass that up. The question presented was one that made her pause for a moment, head tilting a bit. "A marsh?" She echoed, giving a little twitch of her lips as she considered the options. "You have a lot growing there - are you looking for something for a particular purpose?"

It would be much easier then, rather than just the abundance of listed items - she could give more direct answers if she just knew what the other was looking for. "You would have mostly reed type growths, some cluster of medicinal herbs too - as long as you know what you are looking for." 

Andalusia had a thirst to know everything that grew there, but the healer's question was wise. She paused and shot a thoughtful glance at the sky. There were no pressing needs in the Fen, as far as medicines went, but she recalled a slight ache in her belly before leaving for the Strath. The pain had persisted a number of days as a dull ache, but without the knowledge of what herbs were safe, she had endured with silence.

The pain had since left her, but she chose to settle on that. "Anything for pain relief? More specifically, with a focus on the stomach." She paused, and added, "And we do have an elderly wolf among us. As I understand, pain tends to come with age. So if you know anything to soothe more general aches, and safe for the old and young, I'm all ears for that."

It was always a good thing when there was no immediate need to have a remedy. If there had been, Hemlock might have even offered to go with them to heal their injured but that was far beyond what she was trying to accomplish. She'd been set on finding herbs and while she still had that chance the exchange of knowledge was also a worthy cause. "There is Celandine - it is a yellow flower but a softer color than marigold." She offered with a small smile, "But if you suspect a poison or snake bite, I would suggest snakeroot - a white taller flowered plant. It can help counteract the poison and mildly treat the pain. Poppy is a good option to help with pain but you must be careful. Too much can also kill." And that was something no healer wanted on their hands. "For stomachaches you should be able to find watermint easily, they like moist areas. It's a taller flower with a large pale bloom. It will help with stomach pains." She couldn't think of others at the moment, but, she'd provided a few alternatives that should help. 

"How long have you practiced?" She asked - wondering if there were any particular skills that Andalusia had learned that she might benefit from as well.