Whitefish River Plantains and Daisies

@Speedy ! Here comes the nonsense I cook up~

With the pack settling into their new home, strangers quickly becoming family, getting to know one another - Reiko was set on familiarizing herself with the lands, their plants, fauna, borders, and a den just cozy enough for her to snuggle into. She had plenty of time to meet others, in due time would she get acquainted with them all. There was no need to rush after all. Instead of finding everyone, she would bump into them and the introduction would begin.

The only one she kind of knew at this time was Evergreen, and even he was only a little more than an acquaintance. Forever grateful for his invitation to the pack, but she was still overwhelmed with all the faces, personalities, dreams and individuals she had to get to know. Who to start with? How?!

And instead of trying to figure it out... Reiko was picking out a den... Uprooting some flowers and digging them a new home to place around her den. Because why not. A sweet smelling den was a necessity apparently.

She had been working to build a new herb collection as much as her body would allow. Her energy spiked sporadically, and today after a nap, she woke feeling very motivated to search the territory for useful plants. She had gathered some more marigolds to take to her new cache to dry out and had found some purple flowers on the bank of the river that she recognized. After some searching through her brain, she finally remembered them to be good as a poultice to stop bleeding, so she had gathered their green stems in her mouth along with the marigolds.

On her way to deposit the plants, she came upon an unfamiliar wolf digging a hole and placing flowers inside it. She stopped and dropped her mouthful at her feet. That looks pretty, she said, tail wagging slowly behind her. I'm Speedy; I'm new here.

Dirt muddled up her alabaster pelt, reaching all over from her elbows and even on her face as she really put some elbow grease into making this garden of hers. She hoped it would rain soon to allow the plants to perk up and take root before they died. The air smelt humid, so it was only a matter of time before some rain would come and water her garden.

Good afternoon Speedy! She turned to see the company that had come to visit, a young female with what she could see to be a small swollen belly. Was she pregnant? Her tail bounced in response, one in response to the other doing the same, and the other to the thought that there would already be some young ones in the pack! How exciting! Reiko didn't let her gaze linger too long just in case it was rude, and turn back to the garden she was building.

Thank you! I was thinking of making a garden... perhaps add some herbs too to help the medics if I can successfully transplant them. It would take a long time to many anything useful to anyone, but Reiko was determined to try. What do you have there? Curious about the bunch of herbs that Speedy brought, Reiko leaned over to take a peek.

Speedy's smile grew as the woman explained what she was doing, completely content in her dirty task. She looked down at her plants at the question. Oh, these are some plants I found that are good for wounds, she explained. Marigold to help prevent infection and these are Purple Avens, they help stop bleeding. Her gaze moved back to where the other wolf had been digging. Would you like some help? Speedy asked. The work would be a nice distraction and she didn't think it would be too strenuous for her. Plus, if she was doing this to help the medics, then Speedy felt she should offer her own help in return.

Marigolds and Purple Avens... Observing the two plants, Reiko tossed them into her memory banks to go find some to add to her garden, and memorize what they did medicinally for future use. A shocked expression crossed her face as she thought to her previous answer, how she new her companion's name... I'm so sorry! My name is Reiko, Rei for short. Quickly she fixed the situation, clearly she was behind on her etiquette when meeting with people... her parents would be appalled by such actions. 

Help? Reiko grew shy for a second, ears flattening as she debated on her next question. it could be rude, or assuming, but at the same time... By chance.. are you expecting? She wouldn't allow a pregnant woman dig around in the dirt to help Reiko with her garden. If you'd like to help, I can use an extra hand carrying things? Makes less trips for me, but I'll do the heavy work! On the other hand, just brushing off Speedy's kind offer would be just as rude.

Speedy smiled. Don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you, Rei, she replied. The woman's next question had her smile faltering a little. Um, yeah, I am, the healer answered. She supposed it was kind of obvious at this point with her abdomen starting to get round. And since Rei seemed to possess some healing knowledge herself, it was probably especially obvious to her. 

She was glad the other woman agreed to let her help; she might be pregnant, but she still wanted the chance to contribute. Okay, I can definitely do that, she said with a wag of her tail. What would you like me to carry? Speedy asked, waiting for her new packmate's instruction.

Watching Speedy's reaction, Reiko felt as though she was at fault for asking about Speedy being pregnant. It was rude... but it was better than assuming and Speedy winding up to just be fat! For that, she didn't apologize but instead let it slip by as she focused more on helping the woman feel more useful than to just lay around as possibly most wanted her to do.

How about these? I'd love to have some lavender around the den. I'd love to have plenty to be honest, for the calming smell and medicinal properties. pawing at the plants she already had dug up, she pushed them closer to Speedy as an offer. You're also a healer, correct? There were so many in the pack, it was hard to keep track of all the faces who were available. Is there anything you think that might be useful for me to add to the garden? I wish to build something not only beautiful, and stunning to the senses, but useful as well.

Speedy looked at the Lavender and nodded, walking over to grasp some gently between her teeth. But, before she picked up the plants, she turned and nodded at the other woman's first question. I am, she said with a smile. And to her next question, she paused a second to think before replying: Marigolds are pretty and are useful in keeping wounds from getting infected. She pointed her nose to the ones she had been carrying already.

What about you? Are you a healer too? She wasn't sure if the 'also' had just been referring to the other healers or herself. Speedy picked up the lavender along with her own plants and waited for Rei to show her where to take them.

It was nice to see so many healers around, especially for Reiko to get familiar with one so soon! She hoped to learn a lot from Speedy, as much as possible, to keep learning until she was the best at anything she can learn, to become some kind of jack of all trades so she could never disappoint again like she did with Evergreen in that hunt. First things first, medic was top priority as well as something else.. but she has yet to decide on it (oh well all know by now girl). 

Marigolds. She studied the plants for a moment, they were bright and beautiful - but the smell was a little off... At least the lavender would drown out their smell as well as any other blooms she would bring around the den.  Mind showing me where you got these? I'd love to uproot some and bring them back to the den - this way we will always have a fresh supply on hand. Picking up the ones that Speedy had picked, she would not let these go to waste either.

For now she would follow Speedy to where the new plants could be found, some more for her to bring back.  Yes, actually. She started to explain her abilities, a little slow as she tried to think of the best way to word it all.  But there are so many healers in Kaistleoki now that I decided to try and spread my abilities out, learn something new so I can be more useful than just another healer. That's why I'm building a garden, I might even dry some out before winter so we always have something on hand.

She set her plants back down on the ground and smiled; she would come back for them later. Sure, Speedy answered, happy to show her the small field of marigolds she had discovered when first arriving here. She started in the direction of the useful flowers, nodding when Reiko began to answer her question. She happened to think there was never such a thing as too many medics, but the other healer's idea for a garden was a really good one; they would definitely need something like that. I think that's a good idea, she said, smiling again. I was thinking of starting a communal herb den for all of us to work out of. Maybe you could store your dried herbs there? Come winter, they would need all the stores they could get, and having multiple healers would be a great help with that. 

She stopped when they came to the large patch of marigolds near the river and turned to Reiko. Here we are, Speedy stated. She thought they would look nice in her garden.