Bright had made her way to the very edge of the Mangroves, where the water weaved in amongst the uneven roots. There were some sandy patches just at the edges of the strange trees, and she dropped down to the soft, watery land, paws sinking in. She spread her toes to keep from getting stuck, and crept around the edges of some of the mangrove roots. She knew there would be prey within the tangled growth, and sure enough, she quickly spotted a mud crab. It's movements were slow, inhibited by the freezing cold water. She pounced on it and quickly dispatched it by cracking its shell in her powerful jaws. With the sea creature in her jaws, she leapt up to the mangrove roots and placed the prey carefully before dropping back down to the sand.

Where the water was shallow, she could see the sand leading out to a tiny make-shift island, where a group of gulls huddled, some of them pecking away busily at washed up dead fish, left over from the spawning season. She wrinkled her nose at the smell - even she wouldn't touch such rotten meat unless she was absolutely starving to death - but the birds that scavenged it would be tasty if caught fresh. She approached the flock casually, very lightly lapping at the water that was tangy and salty, half fresh and half oceany as the sea water mixed with the river. Most of the birds suspected nothing, so it was not difficult to get close to them. Some of them fluttered nervously, but many kept foraging. Bright took her opportunity to rush in, leaping on the closest bird that noticed her too late, pinning it down and killing it quickly.

She then dragged the fairly large sea bird back to where she'd left the crab. Awkwardly, she grabbed the crab and gripped some of the large flight feathers of the bird's wing together, and carried them deeper into the territory, where she was more likely to see some of the pack. At last she had come closer to the middle of the territory and set the food down, panting lightly. Winter was a difficult season and doing anything was exhausting. With less and much leaner food than usual, all one could do was hunt to survive until spring returned. Flopping down, Bright grabbed the crab between her paws, her teeth pulling at pieces of the cracked shell so she could get to the meat inside. As she lay there nibbling away, she hoped that someone else would find her and share in the small amount of prey she'd found today.

The tiny woman let out an irritated grumble as she raised her head out of the snow that she was digging in. She was hoping to find some sort of herbs, but it looked like the winter had claimed all the herbs in this area. With a huff she flopped back down to her rump, letting her dark blue eyes scan the area for anything that looked even a little bit green. Since her trip to the West she had been up in herbs, but there were still many things that she needed to gather. She wanted to get the whole pack together for a training when spring came, and she was going to need herbs for that! Her little rabbit tail flickered behind her in the snow as she dragged herself back up to her paws, stomping her paws a little more than usual. It wasn't often that the sweet woman got annoyed, but winter bugged the crap out of her. Yes, it was a wonderful time when her children were born, but she was also so short on supplies and so busy trying to gather more that she had almost missed Diana's eye infection! Amalia was being too careless, and it was about time that she started to really buckle down again. She had been there with Athena as much as she could, but her own cold had also lowered her supplied. Perhaps it was time to enlist some fellow pack mates. Amalia was rather fond of training on her own, but she knew that there was a lot of healers in Fiori that she hadn't even talked too yet. She had finally brought herself together with Arivae, and she was her sons special someone for goodness sake! And Leo had told her that there were more wolves as well, but she had been so busy trying to stick to her own studies that she had let her duty as the head healer fall. With a sigh she moved on through the territory, pausing only when the scent of salty meat caught her attention. Amalia's mouth watered as her russet head turned slowly, eyes narrowing slightly as she spotted a fox looking woman eating a crab not too far off. Her head tilted to the side as she studied the stranger, but she was just that. A stranger. The scent of her pack was on her silver fur though, so she knew that the woman was not over stepping her bounds. Ah, so yet another pack mate that she had not met yet? Shaking her head at herself she smiled, bounding over to the other woman with a spring back in her step. "Hey there, stranger!" She called in her cheerful manner, her stumped tail wiggling so hard that her rump moved along with it. "My name is Amalia, and I am the head healer here! I am so sorry to say that we haven't met yet, I have seemed to dive a little too far into my studies to really pay much attention." She said, a slight shrug of her shoulders seeming to brush off her more embarrassing moment. She hated not knowing pack mates, but that was her own fault! "Would you mind terribly if I joined you?" "Burn Baby Burn"

OOC: Sorry, this is supposed to be a post by Bright Moon, of course, I just posted on the wrong account. Hopefully will be fixed in maintenance soon!

The silver woman had swallowed just a couple bites of the watery meat when she was approached by someone unfamiliar. The rich, russet color of the woman's face seemed to show a relation to Leo, and Bright instantly wondered if there was a connection. The pack scent was strong on the other lady, leaving no doubt that she was facing a pack mate, not someone she necessarily needed to be concerned about. Still, the shy woman stood and backed off just a little bit, her head lowered in deference as Amalia introduced herself. Bright offered a meek smile, her tail swaying in greeting as the bob-tailed woman introduced herself. As Bright put weight onto her hind right paw, she drew in a sharp breath as she realized something was not right in her ankle, and a stabbing pain shot through her leg. Had she hurt herself while hunting without realizing it? She supposed she had been a little too intent on finding prey quickly, not being careful enough on the sand and leaping up and down from the tangled mangrove roots.

She tried to ignore it for just a moment, but was pleased to hear that Amalia was the head healer. What an interesting chance meeting. "I'm glad to meet you Amalia," she said as she lifted up her hind leg to take the weight off of it, "My name is Bright Moon. I'd love for you to join me, please, have your fill!" She didn't intend to eat all of this to herself, and she was glad someone had found her to share in this scarce season. She motioned toward both the crab and the gull. It wouldn't be as satisfyingly filling as prey found in warmer seasons, but it was enough to stave off crippling hunger for now. Taking a deep breath, she wondered how she would bring up the pain she'd just realized in her hind leg. The woman said she was a healer, so surely if she mentioned the injury, they could deal with it soon? Yet for some reason Bright didn't want to bother her with this sudden ailment on their first meeting.

"S-so... you're the head healer in Fiori?" she asked, blinking with interest as she forced herself to ignore the pain in her leg, "I don't have much experience, but I'm very interested in learning about healing techniques. Right now I mostly just hunt when I can, I've always enjoyed catching prey." She'd been good at hunting since her very first lesson, and with her long, willowy build, she was fast and agile, while her narrow snout allowed her to seek out prey accurately by scent. Delicately holding her hind paw just off the ground, she wondered if this chance meeting would eventually turn into a lesson in her secondary skill interest.

Amalia was no fool, she heard the gasp and saw the woman take weight off of her hind paw. Attentive gaze landed on the slightly raised limb, but she said nothing right away. What surprised her most is that the woman was acting shy of her, which really did make Amalia giggle. She was hardly a threat at all, but it did make her feel bad for bounding up so quickly to the stranger. She often forgot that not everyone was quite used to her antics, or her energy. She had left a few people feeling annoyed with her chipper attitude, but it was simply just who she was! The silver woman introduced herself and told her to dig in, but she was much more interested in that leg than eating now. Her eyes roved around the injured leg for a moment, and she could only guess that it was a strain or a pulled muscle. There were no outside wounds, which made her know for a fact that it was internal. Slowly taking a seat, she tilted her head even further but brought her gaze up to the woman's face. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bright Moon." Amalia said with a smile, wiggling her rump in the snow until she got comfortable. The tiny woman nodded her head when she was asked about her rank, a proud smile touching on her lips. Even though she had done little to show her rank, she was still pleased to be the one holding it. She really needed to work on teaching others more! So when Bright Moon shared her interest for herbs, Amalia's whole little body seemed to perk up as she leaned towards the woman. "Healing, eh? Well, I would love to teach you a few things, and I know just where we can start off!" She said, gaze once again traveling to her back leg. "Do you know what to use for a pulled muscle of sprained wrist?" She asked, raising her brow once more as her gaze shifted towards the foxy woman's face. She knew that Bright had ignored bringing it up, but the healer simply could not leave it alone. If not looked after properly, it could get a lot worse. "Burn Baby Burn"

Silver eyes widened when Bright noticed the other woman noticing her raised hind leg. Of course Amalia had noticed, she was the lead healer after all. An experienced eye would not so easily miss the telltale signs of pain. When the woman giggled at her shyness, she blushed slightly, embarrassed; what was there to fear, really? She should have known better than to try to ignore her injury and try to hide it. She knew that if she were a fully trained healer, she would never hesitate to help someone in need. Amalia had shown no hostility, only a friendly greeting, so Bright wasn't sure what had caused her to be so shy in the first place. She just couldn't help it. Shyness and fear had become ingrained into her being. Maybe one day she would learn to trust again, and she was sure Fiori would help her.

"The pleasure's all mine, I-I'm sure," the silver-eyed woman said with a gentle tone and a small smile, "You can call me Bright, if that's easier." She watched as Amalia leaned forward with curiosity at her mention of interest in healing. The healer then opened the conversation toward Bright's injury, so the woman finally nodded and turned herself so that Amalia would be able to look closer at the injured ankle. She seated herself comfortably, extending her right hind leg.

Bright tipped her head thoughtfully when Amalia asked if she knew what to use for a pulled or sprained muscle. "Uhm... poppy seeds, for pain?" she mumbled uncertainly - she wasn't sure what else one could use for muscles. She knew she would need to rest the injury. Oh! What about, "Lavender?" she questioned, then doubted herself, "Or is that... it's just for relaxation, isn't it? I'd love to hear what you would prescribe." In a way, she hoped at least one of her suggestions was right, however, she was much more curious to hear what Amalia would say. How would she treat the injury, and with which herbs? Considering the season, Bright wondered if there were even herbs available for this.

She couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as Bright noticed her looking at her leg, Amalia was a very observant woman and there was little that she missed. It wasn't hard to realize that the dame was in pain, but the tiny woman was not going to push the matter. It would come up when the other woman was comfortable, seeing her react with shyness made her not want to scare her away. Ama was nothing if not patient! She would wait all day if she had too, unless she thought that she was in too much pain for her own good. If she had to guess though, it was a strain. But she wouldn't know until she got a closer look at it. The pale woman saw the embarrassment in her eyes, and she shook her shoulders, trying to just push it away. She didn't care if Bright Moon had been afraid of her, it was kind of scary to deal with someone with as much energy as she had! Amalia knew that it was a bit off putting to others at times, even though it hurt her heart she understood. Everyone was different, right? Ama didn't mind in the least. When the taller woman turned towards her so that she could look at the injury better, Amalia rose to her paws and slowly closed the distance between them. She nuzzled the woman's shoulder with affection before she felt down the limb. It was swollen around the ankle, puffy and filling with fluid. The woman pressed softly against it, being as gentle as she could as she felt for a break. When nothing was felt, she pulled back and let out a soft hum. Yes, a sprain for sure. It was going to be a bit painful for her to put weight on it, but it wasn't that bad of an injury. She had no doubt that recovery would be fast, if she listened to her words. The russet faced woman looked up when the silver woman spoke, laughing at the uncertainty in the others voice. "Good! Yes, poppy seeds are good for pain, if you are in any. They can also make you very sleepy, and its careful not too take too many. Are you in that much pain?" she asked, blue eyes gazing at her silver ones. When she said lavender she nodded slowly, trying to push away her doubts. "Lavender is a very useful herb, its great for relaxation. If you were in distress of flailing around, it would be great to keep you calm while I assessed the injury. Good job Bright, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself! You know more than a lot of wolves do, and I would love to teach you more." When the woman asked to hear what she would prescribe, she leaned back and sat on her rump, eyeing the back leg. "Well, staying off it is going to be key. You won't be able to put too much pressure on the limb for a little bit, but its important not to rest it for too long. As soon as you feel ready, and the swelling has gone down, some light stretching would be good. Chewing up and putting some dandelion root on the limb will help with the inflammation, and putting something cold on the muscle will help it as well. Thankfully there is a lot of snow around!" she said with another giggle, a large grin on her coloured face. "Burn Baby Burn"

Bright blinked slightly when the woman finally approached, offering a quick nuzzle before tending to the wound - she tried not to flinch, but her body tensed for a moment anyways. The gesture seemed affectionate, and Bright wasn't sure how to take it, but she tried not to let anything show on her face. It had been a long, long time since she'd had any adult friends or anyone she could trust, and she'd grown unaccustomed to friendly physical contact. She took a breath as Amalia then looked at the swollen ankle, grateful for the gentle, caring nature of this woman, as well as her cheerfulness.

Bright smiled slightly, her tail thumping the ground, when Amalia agreed that poppy seeds would be good for pain, as long as she didn't take too many. When blue eyes met silver, Bright nodded at Amalia - now that the excitement of her hunt had drained away, she really felt the throb of her injured ankle, and it worsened by the moment. Poppy seeds might do her some good. Bright continued to listen carefully as Amalia continued, saying that lavender would indeed be good for relaxation, but it would be better if she were truly in distress. So, she probably wouldn't need any. The fox-coated lady blushed as the other praised her, telling her not to be hard on herself. "Thank you Amalia," she said, nodding in understanding, "I'm eager to learn, and I guess I'll have to be more confident in myself if I ever intend to treat someone."

When Amalia sat back, Bright couldn't help but to lean a little closer, curious as to what the woman was about to say. She nodded, eyes wide, as she listened and took note of what she must do. She knew resting would be beneficial, but she'd never thought about stretching the limb. It sounded like a fabulous suggestion. When Amalia offered two more solutions, adding dandelion to the limb, as well as anything cold to help with inflammation, the look on Bright's face was one of fascination. "That's great, I will try all of that! she said, hoping to heal up as quickly as possible. She just hoped she'd be able to find dandelion, although it was quite a hardy plant and with spring on the way, they'd be sprouting soon. "Do you have any dandelion left?" she asked, wondering if there was anything in storage, then thought of yet another question, "Are there any particular stretching maneuvers that are best, or just a good ol' stretch, like when you first get up in the morning?" She couldn't believe it, she was finally starting to learn something new about healing!