Healing Skill Progression -- 1/4 Finally, the young wolf stood beneath the towering entrance to the cave before her, she had heard of the ancient cave for many months now. Her time in Boreas had primarily been spent in the lands of Lirim and the surrounding terrain, she had now found the drive to make the long journey to the north, finding herself where she was now. Moss colored eyes drifted over the stone out cropping ahead of her, a faint orange light illuminating the entrance a bit from where the frigid winds met stone. Small feet now pressed into the snow beneath her, sandy pelt contrasting against the pale, colorless land before her. Red stone now met her nails as she entered the cave system, her nose worked heavily as she kept her head even with her frame careful not to bump her noggin. Baelfire Kolceg now found herself tracking the scent of another, she smelled the canine before she spotted her. Grey ears now fell forwards as she searched for the being that possessed the scent she had begun tracking. Her eyes became illuminated by the torch light ahead of her, a thin layer of smoke filling the large entrance, ancient paintings adorning the walls around her. Being a well versed canine in the history of the world, Baelfire knew that this art was the creation of the humans that had called the caves home. Although they had long since moved on, the canine was on the hunt for a certain item; a satchel. She needed something to store her herbs in as she progressed through her life as a healer, her coat snagged slightly on the rocks as she squeezed through a narrow passage. "Hello? Who's there, I won't hurt you!" Baelfire now found herself carrying forwards in a low, steady trot. She could only hope that whomever she came in contact with had nothing but good intentions. "Speech" Walk. "You." 'Think.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- She had spent long hours travelling the mountainous terrain, the southerly-gale buffeting her coat, and despite the warmth of summer, the cold slid easily through her wind-blown coat. Spotting the towering form of a cave, the healer angled her course to head towards it. Stems of herbs between her muzzle, head bowed as she fought to keep them from being torn free of her lips. At last, a break in the wind told her she had reached her destination. She shook out her coat with a brisk toss, a “brrrr” escaping her lips. She wasn’t a big fan of the cold, even if the herbs more easily found on this rocky terrain was what had brought her here. She walked further into the cave, and spat out her burdan, blinking down in surprise at the bare stems that lay before her. She cursed softly, and then sighed. Her herbs where down. Of course they were, the wind had been brutal. Her day spent collecting was ruined. At least her bow was still securely tied to her paw, she would have hated to lose that. A voice distracted her from her lamenting, and she tilted her head to the size, pausing a moment to catch a scent of the stranger. A woman, her nose told her, with a hint of herbs about her. Was this another healer? “Hello? I’m back here” Riva called, her voice both fearless and sweet. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Speech"

Baelfire's head whipped around in interested as she heard another wolfs' voice behind her, it was female. Her tail swished lightly in a pleasant manner, a female was less likely to be aggressive towards her than a male wolf. Especially one that was below the age of three, males didn't seem to think with their actual brain. Her steps now increased to a light trot, nails clicking against the stone floor beneath her in an echoing annoyance. A frigid breeze blew through the thick pelted wolf, her teeth chattering just a tiny bit as she continued towards the front end of the cave. She hadn't seen her on the way in, so perhaps she had arrived her right after or around the same time? Finally spotting the elaborately designed canine, Baelfire smiled lightly in greeting, her tail wagging against her hind legs. "Why hello, I'm Baelfire." Her nose worked as she gathered that this female was also of the healing profession, a bundle of herbs at her feet primarily gave this away to the canine, it was good to find a like minded individual. Baelfire wasn't very well versed in her chosen way of life, but it seemed that this female was eluding with confidence and professionalism. B was eager to ask her a question or two, but she decided to wait, she at least needed a moment to introduce herself. "Speech" Walk. "You." 'Think.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nosing through the stems told her that none of her recently collected herbs had survived the wind. She still had her dried stash, as she always did, tucked in the folds of her ribbon, but the point of today had been to add to them. She raised her head as the wolf that had spoken came into view. Riva gave her tail a friendly wag, meeting the emerald eyes of the wolf. “Hello, Baelfire, I’m Riva.” she returned the greeting. It was always nice to see a friendly face, and baelfire’s warm smile indicated that this wolf was gentle-natured. On top of that, she was a healer. Riva didn’t get to meet many others of her trade, and was always greatly interested to do so. “Are you a healer as well?” she inquired politely. It was always possible the scent of herbs on her coat came from living in a den with another healer, as well as a few other possibilities that ran through her mind. The younger wolf took a couple steps closer to the woman, and noticed with some surprise that they stood at the same height. She grinned happily. Every wolf she had met in these lands so far towered above her, it was nice to see someone she could look eye-to-eye with. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Speech"

Seeing that this female was also a healer by trade caused Baelfire to feel an intense feeling of relaxation, she knew that there was no fear in this current moment. It seemed to the sandy canine that the pair were alike in many ways, not only by their chosen path through life, but simply their personalities as a whole. This brought comfort to the female who now wagged her tail silently behind her, she wasn't sure what she had came to the caves for, but certainly, sh"e had a good reason. Perhaps it was something she could help her with? "Good afternoon, it's a pleasure to meet you Riva." When this dark female asked her of her profession, she felt a swell of joy in her heart, she had yet to meet another healer within her time in Boreas. Not only did they share this, but they were eye level with each other too. It had seemed apparent to Baelfire that she was on the shorter end of the spectrum here in the new lands she had found, so to become friends with someone that was her same height as well, that was fantastic. "Why yes I am! Do you have a pack, or are you a loner, like myself?" Baelfire was nervous that she was getting too personal with the female, but then again, it was a basic question as well. A part of her hoped that she was thinking about joining Lirim, and although she hadn't been accepted yet, she associated herself with the group. "Speech" Walk. "You." 'Think.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The gentle pleasantries of meeting a new person continued for a moment, giving her a chance to study the pale wolf before her. She didn’t have to crane her neck upwards to meet the wolf eye to eye, and that had her grinning. Until now, any wolf that matched her in size was under a year old and still had some growing to do. It was a nice change, and good to see that not everyone was a giant. Bael gave an enthusiastic reply to being a healer, and it was clear to Riva that she enjoyed her profession. To Riva, it had never been a choice, but that didn’t mean she despised her duty. She believed in it, and followed it with all her heart. She did do a double take when the wolf said she was a loner. There had been a faint undercurrent of wolves to her scent, below that of herbs. But then, perhaps she had simply helped out a pack for a few days, enough time to get a bit of scent on her coat, but nothing more permanent. Riva had offered her help to packs in the past. “I’m a loner too, I like to travel and seek out wolves that need my aid” she explained. She didn’t like to stay in one spot, she liked to learn and travel, searching for herbs and wolves that needed her aid. Seeking long term attachments like those that came with a pack where out of her reach. Her mentor had made certain of that ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Speech"

Despite her previous standing as a loner, Baelfire soon concluded that she was pretty much a new member of Lirim, at least it was a good alignment group. Respect was prevalent in the land, they all had their own professions and most wolves stuck with them. It was nice to hear of Riva's calling though, there was something to be said about someone that could remain leading such an aloof life and still conversant with others. "I guess you could say I'm a member of Lirim, really. I just recently joined though, I've been a loner for the longest time. It's still weird to me." Baelfire soon found herself walking away from the canine, sniffing around on the earth below. She wasn't sure what all could be found here, so why not look around a bit? Maybe they could find an herb or two to gather together, she could always use some new knowledge. "Have you been here before?" "Speech" Walk. "You." 'Think.'