Lydia was nervous but she did her best not to let it show. She'd had lots of practice with that lately. With Pyralis' pups approaching their first year her services as a nursemaid were no longer needed. If she was honest with herself she'd been worried about this for some time. Would Pyralis kill her now that she was no longer useful? It was a great relief when she was giving another purpose within the Abraxas family. She was to train two of their young healers, to pass on her knowledge to them. In turn, when they were deemed sufficiently trained, Pyralis would grant her her freedom. Of course all Lydia had now were words but Pyralis swore that she would make this an official promise. Either way Lydia didn't have much of a choice. She would teach these wolves and hopefully it would turn out in her favor, she just had to have faith. Tipping back her head she howled for Seth and Malleus. There was no better time to start than the present and with spring in Auster this was the perfect time to begin lessons. "Talk" "You" Think

Well this was unusual.

An unfamiliar voice was calling out for him and his cousin Malleus both, and unfamiliar meant unrelated, because self-preservation had long ago dictated that Seth learn what all his relatives sounded like just in case. Low-man-on-the-totem-pole could not afford to be lackadaisical about showing up when they were called by an Abraxas, after all, and there were many of his blood who would be more than happy to punish him for any perceived disrespect, and others who would gladly end his existence entirely on the slightest excuse.

This was not one of them.

As such, he took a moment to consider exerting himself as he rarely did, and simply ignoring the summons. After all, he thought to himself with a cynical quirk to his thick muzzle, wasn't he supposed to be a godling? The least and lowliest, surely, had to be worth more than someone who was not even that. But curiosity drove him to his paws and out of his den, to meander down the canyon until he came upon the origin of the call, whereupon he tilted his head to the side and studied the woman seated there with his most pleasant, open, guileless expression. "Why, good morning," he simpered with as friendly a manner as he could summon, a thing of considerable ease for a creature who could pass as a child without difficulty. "Is there something I can do for you?" He beamed at her as though the grey-toned female were the most fetching and important creature in all the world to him, his best and closest friend in fact.

As Pyralis' slave she was undoubtedly off-limits to any... dedicated manipulation, but no one could fault him for taking the opportunity to charm her. Just in case.

A deal had been struck at the meeting that would allow Malleus and one of his cousins, Seth, to receive lessons from Pyralis' slave Lydia. The titan was pleased with this arrangement; he had much to learn and from what he'd heard this Lydia woman was pretty good. It was in the family's best interest for the pair to glean as much from her as they could, as quickly as they could. Keeping a captive was a tedious thing and their loyalty couldn't always be counted on. All it took was a little spite on the captive healer's part and the patient could end up dead. It would be better to have members of the family well versed in the craft.

The slave woman's howl wasn't unexpected so it took Malleus no time at all to reach her. He was surprised to see that Seth had beaten him there. It wasn't surprising, however, to hear the gimp address the slave woman so sweetly. Why Seth bothered, Malleus didn't know. She was a mortal slave and as long as she was respectful to her superiors she deserved some small amount of dignity...but at the end of the day she was still just a slave. Perhaps the little man felt some kind of kinship to the woman given their respective lowly statuses? He could only guess at the motives of his cousin.

"We are here," he took it upon himself to answer his cousin's question for no other reason than that he had the answer, "To receive lessons in healing from her. Pyralis has boasted about this woman's abilities." The titan moved to stand beside Seth and await instruction.

Lydia didn't really have much of a plan.  There was no doubt her students would feel superior to her and to be honest she didn't know the extent of their knowledge or even what their areas of interest were.  She hoped it wasn't poisons.  Though in reality most herbs could be poisonous if administered incorrectly.  She waited patiently and for a moment she wondered if they'd even respond to her call.  Had Pyralis informed them of her plans?  She hoped so, they wouldn't believe her otherwise.  The dwarf was the first to appear.  He was much shorter than her but that didn't make him less intimidating.  There was just something unnerving about the way the man moved and spoke that set her on edge.   She smiled as sincerely as she could though and dipped her head in greeting. "Hello, I'm sorry to trouble you.  Pyralis insisted that I share my healing knowledge to both you and-"  Malleus appeared and answered Seth's question.  Lydia gave the older male a nod of thanks.  She felt an odd sense of pride at her captor's praise.  Pyralis had boasted of her?  That wasn't necessarily good though.  She suddenly felt a pressure now to meet the woman's boasting. "I don't really have a lesson plan since I don't know the extent of your knowledge.  What do you want to know from me?  We can go over particular conditions you wish to treat, certain plants or even if you just want to know what is available in the canyon and nearby let me know."  From there they could go through the motions of hunting for the herbs and gathering them.     "Talk" "You" Think

His manner did not put her at ease, and while he gave a purely internal sigh of regret, he could hardly blame her for her caution if she'd spent any great amount of time with his family. And, as his cousin Malleus' explanation told him, she certainly had spent a great deal of time among them. With Pyralis in particular, so he could spare a faint bit of pity for the fool mortal. He kept his expression light and childlike however, and played up the innocent excitement at the revelation of their lessons. "Oh how wonderful!" he enthused, beaming at the woman. "I do so enjoy learning, though with such a beauty before me it will be a wonder if I can pay attention to the lessons at all."

He tilted his head in a birdlike gesture, bringing one paw up as he shrugged delicately. "My learning has been the coarsest sort of learn-as-you-go, I'm afraid. Most of what I know involves rough first aid for the sort of wounds earned in battle. I know very little about treating infections later, or injuries from other sources, and even less about disease."

Malleus side-eyed Seth as he complimented the slave woman, but he kept his expression neutral. The woman was rather pretty, but she was still a captive and no amount of attractiveness could outweigh her lowly status. "It seems Seth and I share a similar learning experience. Given our family's penchant for violence my priority is expanding my knowledge of first aid, but of course I don't wish to stop there."

The titan paused to think for a moment. There was one other thing he wished to learn. Sooner or later their conquests would take them somewhere with a true winter and when that day came, he wanted to be prepared. "I would also like to know how to properly prepare and store plants and concoctions for later use."

Lydia offered the men a shy smile, glad that they seemed willing to go along with her as their instructor despite the fact she knew they saw her as less of a wolf than they.  Seth seemed quite excited and she found herself hoping she wouldn't disappoint them.  She let the comment on her beauty go, preferring to let it pass.  She'd never really been complimented in such a way before and she didn't know what to make of it, especially coming from one of the Abraxas.  She'd spent most of her time just trying to stay off the radar, to have her be noticeable was a truly foreign feeling and she couldn't process it so she tucked it away. Nevermind that Pyralis told her quite clearly what might happen to her if she became the object of anyone's desires here. Seth and Malleus would explain their skill level as basic and what their interests were.  Lydia took in their thoughts and mulled them over.  First aid was definitely important in a family so prone to violence. "Are you familiar with yarrow?  It's a very useful plant that can be used to slow the bleeding in minor wounds and to treat fevers that come with respiratory illness.  It's fairly common but I find the best place to gather it is in the god's garden northwest of here."  She hoped it would be a good plan to start with as it was applicable to physical injury but also to the disease that would come later with the rainy season. They could go through this plant first then maybe on to one that would be good to pair with yarrow to either prevent infection or to treat it later. "We can talk a bit about where to find it, how to prepare and things of that nature then go gather some.  Does that sound good?  If you're already familiar with yarrow perhaps we can go over white willow bark.  It is good for a number of uses as well, from poultices for wounds, to arthritis and colds."   "Talk" "You" Think

ooc:  I figure they can discuss a plant of interest for general lesson points and then go gather it for another set of points if you're interested.  Let me know if you want to go over storage techniques before or after the gathering.  Thanks for your patience guys!