Whoooaaa….. Integra grinned as she gazed out across the emerald valley. It was lovely here, a good spot for hunting prey to be sure but her quarry this beautiful morning was Agrimony. A plant with a number of uses and something missing from her stores. "C'mon on Birna! What's the hold up?" She tossed a playful smile at her begrudging escort. While things had started off a bit awkwardly between them the larger woman was quickly growing on her and she hoped one day they might be able to be friends. Lord knew she could use some. Every herb gathered, every new lesson helped her beat down the anxiety and despair at being so close to her siblings and yet so far. Perhaps that was why she was insistent on the constant movement . It kept her mind of the melancholy that threatened every now and then to overwhelm her senses. Ok… now to start searching for her quarry…

Well… she was certainly getting her exercise, there was no doubt about that! Still… Birna was getting a bit worried. Should she really be letting the little slave girl go running all around creation like this? Yes, the herbs and skills were needed in a pack of warriors but honestly, how many plants did they really need to collect? She had borders to patrol after all, especially with members dropping out of duties due to pregnancy. "You're going to patrol with me after this, don't burn all your energy in one morning." Might as well put the slaves to some use. It was a beautiful morning though… and a lovely terra. The sun was rising and bathing the sky in pastel colors as a few leftover clouds faded into the sky. She could use a nap. She'd been on patrol all last night and the day before. Of course she wasn't sure if she could let Integra patrol alone…. Birna contemplated the young femme for a moment. On second thought she probably could. She felt confident that the girl spoke the truth and if she did leave Birna would all to happily hunt her down and drag her back for punishment. There was no where the girl could go that Birna wouldn't be able to follow.

"Speech"

Kavdaya Of The Nomads

The snowy Nomad’s heart hammered with delight as she delicately picked the stems of Agrimony from a wide stand of the herbs that she’d found growing along the riverside. For being a common plant, it was still a good find. Excellent for wounds, staunching bleeding just as well as several more well known plants, and being an astringent plant, it was good for cleaning wounds, as well. As she plucked the final stem in her bundle, she gave a satisfied nod. This would do for the cache she’d set up in the area. She’d gathered several bushels of mint from further down the riverside, as well, and they lay beside the freshly picked Agrimony bundle. She was mentally listing the remedies the plants could make when she heard the voices a ways away. Her head turned, ears perking as she scanned the surrounding area, amethyst sparked deep sapphire eyes alert. Two females, one younger, made up of creams, and browns with eyes that were the loveliest shade of purple-pink; magenta, if Kavdaya recalled correctly, though usually the color was related to plants when mentioned. The older female following the younger one was made up of cold, wintery tones; white, pale grey, with brushes of earthen brown under each blue eye, and darker grey tipping her ears and marking her nose. She was also massive, probably a foot taller than Kavdaya’s thirty inch height. She was likely the largest wolf Kavdaya had witnessed since her arrival on the land. The younger one, fairly bouncing, seemed to be urging the older female along. A faint smile pulled at Kav’s jowls before she gave a light bark of greeting, though she stayed beside her pile of plants. It couldn’t hurt to meet more wolves. And perhaps she’d find that one or both of these two were healers themselves. She wasn’t one to pass up an opportunity to learn more of, or teach the Craft that she had wholeheartedly devoted herself to. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Integra was hot on the trail of Agrimony but it was hard to keep focused with all the strange and beautiful plants around. Then all of a sudden she heard the bark of another wolf and she looked to see an older, pale woman gathering - "Agrimony!" the word was out of her mouth before she could stop it and she stared in sudden embarassment. Clearing her throat she tentatively approached the other woman, pausing to gaze at the strange mark on the woman's forehead. "Hello, I'm Integra Armada, a healer-in-training. I take it you're a healer to, is there enough Agrimony to share?" She opted to leave the "slave" part of her title out of the equation and hoped Birna would keep it quite as well. Besides, she wasn't going to be one for long. Winter, by winter, the eve of her second birthday she was going to be a free woman.

Birna caught the foreign scent before she'd heard the bark, keen ice blue eyes quickly examining the other for any sign of a thread.  However, she found none and the woman barked a friendly greeting toward them, Integra was quick to respond in kind but Birna simply nodded in greeting.  The other woman was clearly some sort of healer and she could tell that this encounter was going to run into all sorts of nerdy territory and she was up all night and all yesterday on patrol and dammit she was tired.  However, proper decorum dictated that she at least introduce herself and there was always a chance it would be worthwhile getting to know this woman.  "I'm Birna Xanilov, a warrior of Imperium."  She opted not to correct Integra, too tired to really care.  If the girl wanted to introduce herself as the Grand Duchess of Mashed Lizard Guts that was fine with Birna.

"Speech"

Kavdaya Of The Nomads

The girl was the first to greet Kavdaya, and the snowy pelted Nomad smiled. Integra and Birna of Imperium. One a learning healer, the other a warrior. Oh this was perfect. Kavdaya smiled gently at both wolves before dipping her head slightly, a customary greeting, and a gesture to proffer the mark upon a Nomad’s brow. “I am Kavdaya, a fully trained healer of the Nomads. The Nomads are a pack of traveling healers in another land, Calarada.” Her amethyst flecked sapphire eyes glinted with a hint of pride at her heritage before she nodded to the stand of Agrimony. “There is plenty. Are you looking to stop bleeding, or ease diarrhea?” It was a test, thrown out to see if the young trainee knew of these particular facets of the plant’s uses. Her haunches lowered to the ground, a light smile settling on her face as she waited to see what the learning healer would do. It was good to be in her element; she adored teaching others what she loved. She had spent a few seasons since her receival of her fully trained mark helping train the younger generations before setting off to find and give more knowledge in the world. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Birna listened with interest as the woman introduced herself as Kavdaya of the Nomads. Another healer. The name certainly sounded foreign and the name of nomads harkened visions of wandering groups of wolves. Calarada. Hmm… she had not heard of it. "Do you wander alone miss Kavdaya or do any of your other nomads travel with you?" She was curious if there was a whole group of similar individuals or if this woman had split off from her group for some reason. "To be honest I can't say I've heard of the 'Nomads'." Fairly certain the other woman meant them no harm Birna stretched to lay down sphynx-like to give her paws a rest.

"Speech"

Nomads hm? They certainly didn't ring a bell and Birna was quick to begin asking questions. Integra focused on the task at hand of gathering the Agrimony. She moved in among the plants that were growing almost two feet high, the blossoms were withering with the seasons turning cold and see eyed the seed pods for a moment before reaching down with her paws and loosening the soil before she grasped the plant with her teeth and pulled the whole thing free. The roots were particularly potent. Integra paused to gaze curious at Kavdaya. "Oh, yes I'm looking to use it for wounds. I'm particularly interested in battlefield medicine. Does it help with diarrhea to?" She'd heard of it being used to help the liver but to ease diarrhea was a new use, one she didn't remember anyone bringing up to her before.

Kavdaya Of The Nomads

The warrior, Birna, received a smile in return for her words. "For now, I do. If I can find a pack with aspiring healers that I feel I can fit in with, I may settle there. It's part of the Nomad tradition. We set out either on our half trained year, when we're two, or we choose to stay until we're fully trained, at the age of four. The mark on my brow is my mark announcing that I am fully trained. Many choose to stay with the pack and continue learning and traveling." She finished with a pleasant smile toward the both of them, before settling in to answer Integra's questions. "It's very effective for it. Agrimony is also good for the digestive system as a whole. It can also be used to treat sore throats and coughs, and helps with arthritis." She paused to allow the girl to take in the information, then added "It also helps with inducing sleep, and is believed to induce sleep if laid by the patient's head at night, and when paired with corn silk can be helpful in urinary incontinence." She finished and fell silent, waiting for Intengra to voice any questions. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The nomad, Kavdaya, seemed to travel alone for the moment but the phrase 'for now' made her wonder if the nomad planned to meet up with and travel with others of her ilk.  She spoke of their traditions and Birna quickly wrote the words to memory.  She wasn't sure any of this woman's information would be useful to Imperium but she'd work to learn it anyway if only to show the woman's culture some respect.  "Interesting, well I hope you are able to find a pack that meets your tastes.  I'm afraid I don't know any that quite match what you're looking for."  Birna would fall silent and allow the healers to talk amongst themselves.  She'd listen but only half-heartedly.  Knowing the name of a plant and what it did was not enough to make one a healer and Birna had not the foggiest idea what parts would be used, how to determine dosage where to put the medicine…. she would choose to focus her skills on fighting though she admired Integra's desire to excel in both.

"Speech"

Integra would listen with interest as the more experienced healer spoke of Agrimony being good for the digestive system as a whole as well as being used to treat sore throats, coughs and arthritis. The sore throats and coughs would certainly come in handy with cooler weather on the way. Integra would nod, a cue to the other woman that she was listening as well as to encourage the other to continue. Most of what she'd learned had to be done on her own or from teachers she she could scrounge up. "I see, thank you for sharing your knowledge. Is Agrimony taken internally then for the digestive and respiratory issues? Also is the whole of the plant used or just parts of it?" She didn't want to overwhelm the woman with questions but she was quite curious about these uses and Birna seemed comfortable enough… for now at least though she knew the larger woman wasn't overly thrilled with babysitting a wandering slave or hearing more herb talk.

FINALLYYY

Kavdaya Of The Nomads

Kavdaya gave Birna a warm smile as the much larger female offered her hopes. "I'm sure I'll find somewhere that I can call home and be happy in. Just have to keep my eyes out." Said amathyst flecked sapphired twinkled merrily before sher turned her attention back to the attentive young healer in front of her. A nod was cast as Integra thanked her for the knowledge, a smile creasing her jowls. Far from being overwhelmed, Kavdaya was pleased to speak all she knew. "Aye, it is, though I have wondered what it might do if heated... Something to study on. As for the parts used, it's mainly the aerial parts. I do think that its effectiveness in cleaning wounds and stopping bleeding could be helped if it were perhaps soaked in water..." Her Irish laden voice was thoughtful. What could work to hold water well enough to soak leaves? A deer skull, maybe? Something to think about. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think