Ankaios' body was overcome with a dull ache. He'd fled the bitter north for the slightly less irritating weather in the west, but he'd brought a blasted cold with him. He glared at nothing in particular as he trudged over the sod of the moor. His body felt a bit too hot, his head felt a bit too stuffed and his nose was dripping... He couldn't stop sneezing! This was absolutely no way to live. He knew next to nothing about healing. He'd wanted to learn of course, and had undergone a lesson or two from his mother, but he'd never reached the fruition of his training. Besides, the plants were different here. He recognized only the odd bush or shrub, and he didn't know enough about any of them to guess what might chase off this accursed ailment. He'd even gone through the trouble of asking a native for advice, but all they'd done was gawk at him like some sort of freak! It was enough to enrage the young male, or maybe that was just the fever. He sat down with a 'thump,' heading hanging low. Maybe he'd just wait it out. That sounded good too. "Talk" "You" Think

This had always been her least favorite time of year. The cold killed all of the beautiful plants and herbs and made it darn near impossible to find any. With her mother and brother constantly giving themselves colds it was hard to keep her stock of herbs in tact as it was without the cold and snow destroying all of the herb bushes she had been cultivating all year. Luckily, the Moor never failed to give her at least a little bit of what she was looking for. She had to carefully dig through the snow to get to it, but she had found a small, frozen bush of Boneset. It was enough for one wolf at least. It wasn't pretty, but it would still get the job done. She carried the plant carefully between her teeth, trotting back toward home. Her mother and brother were pretty much over their colds now, but she was excited to get it back home to add to her stock of herbs. However, she spotted a male up ahead right as he thumped onto his haunches, obviously bothered by something. His red and orange-streaked coat was eye catching, but she felt as though after having a brother as massive and as red as Regulus she just wasn't surprised by anything any more. Curious, she made her way over to him, making sure to give him some space as she circled around in front of him. As she got closer she heard his sniffling and she knew exactly what was wrong before she even looked at him. That was the sniffling she had been hearing from her mother and brother on and off for seasons now. She stopped in front of him, her two-toned eyes peering at him carefully. Yep, no doubt it was a cold. She gently sat down her find between her paws so she could speak. Giving him a small smile she said, "Hey there. I'm Zuriel. Have you had any herbs or anything for that cold? It sounds pretty nasty." "Talk" "You" Think

So thick was the haze in his mind that Kai did not recognize the stranger's arrival until a moment after she had spoken. Blearily, he looked up and sniffed in her direction, eyeing her with a flat stare. She had asked him something, something about- Oh. Was it luck? Or perhaps she was teasing, he was obviously in a lesser condition. He regarded her for a moment longer before asking, "You are a healer?" He was, of course, in desperate need of one but this seemed altogether too easy. "I have taken nothing. I am not from these lands, and your plants are strange to me." He attempted to cover up his ignorance with a half truth. He planned to learn, of course... He just hadn't gotten around to it yet. He felt a stubborn mindset take root somewhere inside; he would not let this blandpelt female think any less of him for it! He was of course very bright, his mother and father had always told him so and it had been proven again and again out on his own! He sniffled again as a dribble of snot attempted to escape his snout. Surely she would be able to see his dignified soul beneath this ailment. "Talk" "You" Think

Zuriel nodded to confirm that she was indeed a healer. She was quite proud of the fact that she could confidently say that now. She still had vivid memories of learning the most basic of herbs and techniques from her grandmother when she was very young and now she had studied endlessly on her own and had gotten some tips and knowledge from Kavdaya as well. Now she was a healer. She wondered sometimes if Erani could see her now and if she was proud. He went on to tell her about how he hadn't been treated and knew nothing of the plants here. She was imidiately curious about where he had come from and what the plants and herbs there were like, but she didn't want to start spouting off questions at a stranger. She really wouldn't have even been surprised if he had lived here is whole life and knew nothing about the herbs here. Many wolves didn't. "That's quite alright," she reassured him. She looked down at the boneset between her front paws. Well... she could always find more she guessed. She wasn't in dire need of it anyway. "Here," she said as she bent down used her teeth to gently pull off a small segment of the herb before placing it at the man's paws. She also used her forepaw to nudge the rest of the herb toward him. "This is called boneset. It's great for colds. You only need to take a little bit at a time. Too much at once will make you sick. I'd take that much-" she'd point with her paw at the small segment she had portioned out for him, "-once a day till it's gone. That should be enough to help you get over your cold as long as you stay out of the cold as much as you can. Find a comfy den and stay there unless you need to eat or drink and such. And make sure you take it all cause even if you're feeling better the cold might not actually be gone. It'll creep back up on you." "Talk" "You" Think

Kai listened intently to the woman's words, all while staring at the small sprig she'd offered him. It had a pungent smell even through the haze of his sickness, and he bent to examine it more closely. It had been affected by the season, but he forced himself to trust Zuriel that it would work nonetheless. "It'll creep back up on you," she warned, should he fail to eat the whole of what she had provided. He nodded, and tried to sniff as subtly as possible before responding. "This is boneset, you said? What does it do, exactly?" If she was here, and seeing as he wanted to learn, he might as well question her further. It occurred to him that the pestering might be annoying, especially considering that she had already been generous with him, but it was a fleeting notion at most. Why not take advantage of the less than pleasant situation he'd found himself in? "It hardly looks like a winter herb, I take it this is not it's favored season?" Yup, definitely pestering. But he'd already gotten his herb, the worst she could do was leave him there with a cure. Well, perhaps she could take it back, and he could hardly outrun her in his present state. He'd cross that creek when the time came. "Talk" "You" Think

Her ears perked with surprise when he asked a question about what the herb did. She had never actually been asked the details of what something did when it came to healing. Well, except her father, but she had offered to teach him to keep him occupied so he would stop laying in the den all day. "Yes, that's boneset. It's great for fighting off colds and fevers. Sometimes you can use it for sore muscles too, but I'm pretty sure there's better herbs to use for that. No reason to waste boneset on some sore muscles. You can only take a little bit at a time though cause if you take a large amount it will give you nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, all those fun things. I've also heard you could die from an overdose of it. In small amounts it's perfectly fine though. It's what I've been giving my mother and brother for their colds for a long time now. They keep getting sick cause they work themselves to death," she smiled a little, chuckling at herself. He went on to ask about it not being a winter herb and she would nod in agreement. "I know of very few herbs that like the cold. Boneset typically grows in meadows and in damp soil, that sort of thing and it usually has little white flowers on it. I really hadn't expected to find any today, but I guess the cold snap was so sudden that it got frozen by the snow rather than dying from the cold. It's not pretty, but it should still be pretty effective." She found that she really enjoyed explaining these things. It reminded her so much of her lessons with Erani and Kavdaya and it made her all sorts of sentimental. "Talk" "You" Think

Ankaios tried to open his mind to the torrent of information she was funneling him, doing whatever he could to re-route it around the dam of sickness which made it hard to concentrate. This young fae certainly was knowledgable, it would seem. She might be a good resource to keep in mind if ever he wanted to continue his education. He found himself surprised at, well, the lack of irritation he found in facing her. She was a capable, valuable asset after all! "I see," he rumbled, trying to hold in a cough. She claimed to know little of herbs that preferred colder climates, but he had seen several prospering during his recent trek through the northern lands. Of course this did not indicate that any had significant medicinal value, but it was enough to spark his curiosity. He pursed his lips, attempting to come up with some way to pry this large favor out of her without it seeming like things were weighed to heavily in his favor. "You seem to know quite a bit. I have only just begun to seek out this knowledge on my own, but I am certain a tutor would expedite the process. If given a span of time to shake this illness, would I be welcome to return here and pester you for more lessons in the future? I would be more than willing to offer you a meal, or perhaps herbs of my own in time." It seemed like a long shot of course. She knew so little about him or where he came from, who he was. Why she might offer him her time and effort for so little... Well, he could only hope. And he'd frequently found others more outgoing and willing than he'd ever been inspired to become. So he waited with baited breath so see if she might take him up on his offer. "Talk" "You" Think

Zuriel smiled and her tail wagged slowly behind her while she watched him processing everything she had told him. She typically avoided interacting with other wolves too much, preferring the company of her family or to be alone instead. There was something about sick wolves that changed that and his interest in learning helped make that change a permanent state of enjoying his company. Right before he spoke she realized she had never learned his name or managed to learn where it was he was from that was so different from her own home. Her head tipped to the side curiously as she thought about his offer. She certainly didn't see anything wrong with this arrangement. In fact, she was positive her mother would be pleased to see her interacting with someone and having someone to tutor besides her father would give her even more reason to learn more and study harder. "I don't have a problem with that offer!" she answered with a smile. "I'm typically in the Vericona Plains, but I come here pretty often as well because herbs grow so easily here. I don't leave the West very often... Maybe you can bring me some herbs from other parts if you happen to see them? There are a lot of herbs I've only heard about and never seen." She knew she could probably venture out and find them herself... but she didn't much like the idea of doing that on her own. "I don't think I caught your name before," she added, realizing she had forgotten about asking his name yet again. "Talk" "You" Think

The young female was... surprisingly affable! Kai was struck for a moment, having convinced himself that she would decline his offer. Instead, she seemed quite excited by the prospect of receiving herbs from elsewhere in the realm. It was true that he had travelled quite frequently (read: nonstop) since his arrival in these lands, so he imagined it wouldn't be too terribly difficult. He gave her a quick, firm nod. "Of course, I will bring you suitable samples," he promised, feeling a comfortable sincerity in his oath. After all, she was doing him a service and it wouldn't be right of him to skimp on her.

She pressed him for his name, and Kaiwas at once alarmed that he had not proffered it to her from the get go. The blasted illness truly had muddled his mind. He coughed, feeling awkward and embarrassed by his lapse. "My apologies", he mumbled. "This sickness has dulled my courtesy. My name is Ankaios Aeris. I am frequently called Kai." The nickname did not mean much to him, though he thought back on his conversation with Basilysk with a hint of discomfort. It still felt odd to offer that bit of information up, but he hoped he would be seeing Zuriel frequently. It would likely aid him to make the girl feel comfortable in his presence, right?