Moonspear so how could we ever know for sure

i miss u. please give me a @Lyra @Hydra or @Alya ... or anyone else (:

corinna was doing exactly as she needed to do-- because now she finally had something to do! she was told that she was not the only naturalist and not the only healer in moonspear, but she still liked to be prepared. she needed to start her own cache, as her mother had taught her to do, and so was searching out a good place to store herbs-- a bit of catmint in her mouth already. she'd found a small spring of it growing up between cracks in a boulder, and had plucked it(careful to keep the roots in tact) from it's cozy home. she'd find a new and better home for it elsewhere, where she could watch it grow and maintain it well. so far so good, corinna had decided, and though she hadn't fully met anyone just yet-- she knew she'd make friends with all of them.

There was a newcomer among them, a female—such knowledge caused Hydra to delay in meeting the other. But this was a packmate, and Hydra was Moonspear's beta; she had responsibilities, and her responsibilities were not just to take care of herself but those beneath her in the ranks. It was with that in mind that Hydra sought the scent of the other, and once she found it, she followed its path.

It took her some time to eventually come upon her. Hydra moved into view with a low chuff, her plume over her hindquarters to inform the newcomer of her own rank within the packlands. Her demeanor was friendly, but relatively aloof—Hydra had lived and learned and lacked the desire to befriend just anyone, anymore.

how pleased was corinna when soon the dark shadow that was hydra approached her. she was beautiful-- just like her mother-- and stood tall and proud just the same. this was such a regal family, and corinna loved it. amekaze had told her of hydra, one of three triplet daughters, who acted as the packs beta. given this girl's stature and aura, corinna could not make herself believe it was anyone else. 

her head dipped in a sweeping bow, her tail low but wagging happily. she placed the catmint at her paws before raising her head back up to speak with the packs beta. "you are hydra, yes?" she clarified, her ears tilting forward gently, "my name is corinna, it's truly a pleasure to meet you." she refrained from telling the shadow just how beautiful she thought she was, but the sentiment was there.

The others inquiry was met with a nod, and at the others words Hydra blinked. Though the words stoked her ego, and Hydra fed on them, she knew better than to trust words anymore. A pleasure, really? Well, of course it would be, Corinna wasn't wrong, but she had yet to know that for certain. Oh, fine; Hydra would give her the benefit of the doubt, for the moment. Namely because she hadn't been wrong—it was a pleasure to meet her.

Corinna was unique in appearance, and it was easy to commit her features to memory. But it was her scent that Hydra, an aspiring tracker, would never forget. She was pretty, in a striking way, with eyes that bordered on silver. You are collecting herbs, she observed, unafraid to state the obvious, you are a healer? Perhaps not; perhaps she was simply an herbologist, knowledgeable on uses but not on how to do so. It was worth asking.

corinna beamed. "but of course! and a botanist-- and an astronomer, but that's neither here nor there," she replied, adding the one tidbit of information just for hydra's benefit-- it was probably good to know that kind of stuff. "this is catmint," corinna told her easily with a sweeping wave of her tail, "found it growing wild on one of the cliffs. i wanted to find somewhere more local to plant it, start a garden." her explanation was, again, maybe unnecessary, but corinna didn't ever mind explaining herself-- she preferred it, if anything. 

"your sister," she began, remembering with a prick of her ears, "don't think i got her name, but, she's a healer, isn't she?"

Hydra listened to all of the interests of Corinna, none of which aligned with her own. Stars she knew on principle; her father had taught her all about them, and she knew which constellations came with what season. Still, it wasn't something she actively shared. She liked the stars, given her fathers own affinity for them, but for naturalist reasons more than anything else. The stories could be nice, too, she supposed.

What's it used for? She asked, curious. Hydra felt it was useful to have rudimentary knowledge of herbs that healed, in case one ever found themselves in a situation where they were alone and in need of medical assistance. Starting a garden was a good idea—did Lyra have one? Probably, that brilliant sister of hers was quite savvy—and to answer the next inquiry, Hydra supplied her with the name she sought: Lyra. She's a healer, yes. Most of what she's learned she's learned through her own practice, it was fortune that favored the Ostrega trio in their trades, that much could not be denied. Lyra healed others without fail. But skill had been earned thanks to that fortune, which also, at this point, could not be denied—given her continued success.

Do you have interest in fighting? she asked next; she was always looking to train with others, when she could.

it was a good thing that hydra asked what catmint was good for, because corinna quite wanted to tell her. it was just good to know what herbs did, she thought-- and even if hydra forgot within minutes, perhaps one day she would need the information, and a vague flashback to this moment would help her out. that's what her mother always told her, anyway. "good for illnesses like greencough and whitecough. someone mentioned using it to lead cougars away from their borders but... well i've never tested that before," she shared with a small shrug. something about it was attractive to cats, apparently, corinna couldn't relate to that. 

"lyra," corinna purled, committing the name to memory. surely lyra wouldn't be hard to find, she would look exactly like hydra. oh but... "and you're a triplet, right?" 

"that's amazing, my mother taught me everything i know. i bet lyra and i have a lot to learn from one another," she replied thoughtfully-- she hoped, anyway. the hydra's next question, corinna found herself thinking a bit too hard. "it's a good skill to know-- i've trained in it before but... i'd bet i'd be too far below your skill level, might not be any fun to spar with," she answered honestly with a small smile and a splay of her ears. whoops.