Herb Hunting: Ayahuasca Busy busy busy. He had only just come to the lands but as soon as he hit the ground he started running. He knew the first step to making his home here would be to gather the herbs he needed for his visions as he had to leave the cache he and Valentin had gathered behind. He had found it surprisingly hard to return to their den after the old man passed, and had instead simply left with nothing but the fur on his back. He walked with his nose to the ground, searching for the twisting wasteland vine. Ayahuasca was only part of what his mentor had affectionately called a “Highball”; a collection of packed herbs intended to put him in a state where he could pass into The Crossroads and communicate with both the Loa and the spirits of the long departed. He had considered inducing a trance to meet with Valentin one last time before he moved on, but knew he wouldn’t be strong enough to do such a thing. The serpent wandered through the canyon, his graceful form gliding deeper and deeper into the wound in the earth as he searched. His brightly colored coat meant he stuck out like a sore thumb against the rust colored stones, but he had learned long ago that he had no reason to hide his magnificent self and that his appearance was that of grand, unearthly beauty. Valentin had done that for him, and just thinking of that made his heart ache just a bit. text speaking sɹədsıɥM əɥꓕ

Lydia found herself deep in the southern territories. She'd travelled down to Auster in hopes of expanding her herb caches before winter hit in Boreas. Fall was already starting to claim some of the plants in the northern regions but here in Auster spring was beginning to burst into life. Lydia navigated her way carefully down the canyon trail, nostrils flaring and seeking the sweet scent of lavender. She'd been having trouble sleeping lately and knew the herb would go fast. Best to gather as much as she could and dry it while she was still able. She peered down the trail and into the slip of water that wound its way through the canyon floor. It was an unusual spot to hunt for lavender but she had the scent, she just needed to keep on climbing. As she edged her way down a few more spots she spied a strange looking man with a deep violet coat and odd green markings. She froze, uncertain what to do or what to think. She knew wolves with such coats existed but she hadn't really interacted with any. She looked away, hoping she hadn't been spotted. "Talk" "You" Think

He caught the girl out of the corner of his serpentine eyes and couldn’t help but smile just a little. Such reactions were familiar to him and he had been conditioned log ago not to take them offensively. He looked up at her, his smile widening slightly before he spoke, his voice raised so that she could hear him. “Lovely day, isn’t it Cher?” He said, his voice a smooth and sultry, purr. The girl was fairly pretty and he coyly thought “Black is always in season.” His silky tail waved behind him as he looked her over from his place below her; not as delicate as some of the women he’d seen in his time but not one of the overly muscular bitches that he had also come across; the kind that usually bit first and asked questions later. No she was a good “Average”, not too lean and not to stout. Just the right amount of fur and meat to live comfortably on their own which was more than he could say for a slight and sinewy man such as himself. But then again not everyone could be blessed with being as devilishly handsome as he believed he was. “May I ask, what’s a pretty little thang like you doing down in these parts?” He asked, raising on his back legs to drop his paw on a rock just above him, his head cocked to the side. text speaking sɹədsıɥʍ əɥʇ

Lydia nodded slowly in response to his question, gazing curiously at the man. His accent denoted him as a foreigner and perhaps that explained his unusual coat. There seemed to be quite a few wolves that travelled through Boreas and now it seemed Auster. Her ears flicked back, she could feel his eyes on her and she debated beating a hasty retreat while she still had the high ground but stubbornness has her rooted to the spot. She was so close to the lavender she hated to abandon her quarry when she was so close to obtaining it. "H-hello sir. I'm just.. gathering lavender." Carefully she edged her way down until she was on the left side of the man but still leaving a good amount of space between the two of them. That was when she spied it, the shift in her position just enough to reveal what she was looking for, the narrow leaves and irregular stems of lavender. Caution forget she grinned and scrambled a few steps down toward the plant. "Aha!" Mood improving she glanced back at the man. "Uh… what about you? What are you doing here?" "Talk" "You" Think