It was beginning to wear down, this lack of sleep and constant worrying was taking a tole on him. Dust had been gone way to long and Frost was beginning to lack in his duties. He worn eyes stared at the herb stock in their den looking over the herbs for about an hour. He needed something, but his lessons on herbs had simply been the basics which didn't include anything with helping to sleep or anxiety. He sighed heavily and turned away moving out of the den. He didn't know what herbs to use and he feared taking the wrong thing.

What was he to do, continue to suffer? Continue to wear down until he had no more energy left? He needed a healer, Dust wasn't here but there was another healer in the pack lands. He hated to bother her, one of her sons had just been returned home, but he needed something. With heavy steps the male made his way to Zuriel's den, his eyes and ears alert to what was around him.

When he reached her den he flopped down onto his rump before calling into the den.

"Zuriel?" he called.

Zuriel nosed the bundle of motherwort back into its place as she continued to reorganize her herbs. Now that Daelos was starting to recognize and collect herbs more frequently on her own their collection of them had started to grow beyond what their set up could handle. She had taken all the herbs down off the small ledge she had dug into the wall of their den so that she could expand it a bit and now she was just putting them back into their places. She had been so focused on her work that she didn't notice anyone approaching the den until she heard a voice call her name outside. Her ears perked at the noise and she quickly put down the herbs she was holding so she could poke her head out into the sunlight. She was surprised to see Frostbite there waiting for her since she wasn't sure they had ever really spoken before now besides at trainings and in passing at meetings. "Oh, hello!" she said as she quickly climbed out of the den completely, siting on her haunches as well as she tried to brush the dirt off her forepaws. "Sorry, I'm a bit of a mess. What can I do for you, Frost?" Mildly satisfied that she looked a tad more presentable she looked back up at Frost to focus her attention back on him, her necklace settling into the fur on her chest. "Talk" "You" Think

His gaze was tired and he patiently waited to see if Zuriel was home, he hoped so because he was at his wits end. He was sure she would probability wonder why he was coming to her instead of Dust, but her scent was faint in the pack and others would have surely noticed it by now. He hadn't actually went and told anyone though, which he probably should have. It wasn't long before the grey healer popped out of her den and greeted him. His tail gave one or two small wags and he smiled at her. "It's okay I'm sorry if I pulled you away from something," he said with a smile. "I needed some herbal help if you have some time." It was difficult for him to say that he had a problem, but he was once again putting the pack before himself. He needed to do his job and that required sleep. With anxiety and worry over Stardust he was unable to settle his mind enough to actually fall asleep and the lack of sleep was dragging him down. He needed to do something to get himself straightened out before his duties would begin to suffer. "Talk" | 'Think'

Once she settled down from the initial mild flustered feeling from the surprise visit she was able to take a closer look at Frost. The only reason she was able to spot his exhaustion so easily was because she had lived in that state of being for so long herself. The tired eyes, the subdued reactions. It seemed like he was having to make an effort in order to maintain their conversation. It wasn't difficult to put two and two together when he requested help with some herbs. "Of course. I have nothing but time." "Are you just having trouble sleeping? Are you feeling some anxiety?" she asked as she stood up and turned to step back into her den for a moment. There was always multiple options when she had an extensive collection of herbs to choose from like this so she needed a bit more direction to choose the right ones for him. She picked up a few options that seemed the most likely and most effective from when she had tried them herself and stepped back out into the open with them between her jaws. Her eyes settled on him again, awaiting his response as she sat the herbs down in front of her. She would be the first to admit that she had little to no knowledge of what was happening in the pack around her. She knew that Frost had taken the secondary alpha position, but that was about it. She didn't know anything about his personal life. Really she hadn't even had the chance to check in on her own sister or nieces or nephews recently. Perhaps now that Miach was back and her herb store was full she could make the time to see them more. She was curious as to what was bothering him, but she also didn't know if it was her place to ask. "Talk" "You" Think

Zuriel seemed to be on top of it, not skipping a beat and quick to reply back to him before turning to her den. Her question made him think for a moment. One was correct, but was he having anxiety as well? Anxiety was considered constant worrying and he was, over Stardust. "Umm.... Both," he replied quietly with a nod. Should he tell her? Tell her why he was like this? Would it even matter when she was treating him? Maybe he didn't need the herbs at all, maybe just talking about things would help ease his mind a bit. She had dealt with this when her boys disappeared, did she use herbal remedies? He looked at the herbs she sat down. "Maybe I don't even need herbs, I'm not sure." he said before looking up to her. "Did you need them when your sons were missing?" "Talk" | 'Think'

She was a bit surprised when he mentioned that he may not even need the herbs and it made her pause and look up at him again. In her mind the herbs were her first line of defense as a healer. She had never felt like she was a good counselor. She was good at treating the symptoms and healing what she could see, but if there were things below the surface, the mental and emotional things, she had no idea where to start. However, she knew what it felt like to need someone to talk to and not know where to turn so she put the herbs aside for a moment and refocused on him for the time being. "I did," she replied after a moment of hesitation. If she was being completely honest there had been far too many nights where she wouldn't have been able to sleep at all if it hadn't been for the medication she was giving herself. "Pretty regularly in fact." She glanced down at the lavender and valerian root she had sitting at her paws for a moment before she added, "However, I also did not know who to ask for help and I'm not the best at sharing my problems so I probably wouldn't have needed them so frequently if I hadn't bottled it up so much." It was more open than she had been with anyone in a long time, but she also hadn't really spoken to anyone besides her daughter in quite a while. "If you just want to talk about things you can," she said, leaving the floor open for him. She wouldn't be offended if he decided to just take the herbs she recommended and go on his way, but now she was a bit curious about whatever was causing his problems. It made her think that it might be worth it to try and get to know more of the wolves in the pack and be more aware of what was going on around her. "Talk" "You" Think

He waited patiently for what she had to say, curious if he could simply avoid the herbs and just find another way to cope with things. But as she started it discouraged his thoughts. Would he have to stay on them for the rest of his life then? If he weaned himself off would the symptoms come back? He sighed lightly, discouraged as she continued on, explaining that she took them quite frequently, but she changed her tune towards the end making him perk up and look at her. Hopefully he could get over this without the use of herbs, it was worth a shot either way. She even went as far as to offer her time to listen to him if he felt like sharing. His eyes softened in gratitude, thankful she was so willing.

“As long as you don’t mind.... I really don’t know who else to talk to other then Rory and he may be a bit young yet to understand,” he started before giving a pause to see if there would be any objection.

“It’s hard to truly explain what’s going on, I can’t sleep and I’m restless. Me and Stardust had discovered our true feelings for each other and had become mates, but shortly after that she disappeared,” he sighed looking to the ground and digging his front claws into the earth.

“Now it’s like I can’t become comfortable in our den anymore, and since I can’t find no trail on her I’m just..... lost. I feel somewhat hollow like a big part of me is missing,” he said his voice softening.

She could see his disappointment when she mentioned that her solution had been to take the herbs in order to get some rest, but the relief he showed when she offered to be an open ear for him made her wonder if just getting concerns out into the open could actually do that much good. Perhaps if she had simply found someone to confide in she might have had the same reaction. The gratitude in his expression made her smile gently and she settled down onto her haunches so she could pay more attention. She immediately felt a sympathy for the man when he explained what was going on. She was very familiar with the feeling of looking for someone you cared about and not being able to find them. It had been a constant, looming sadness on her mind for most of her life between her sons disappearing, not being able to find Elias after she promised to help him, all the various times her family members had disappeared... The feeling had been worse and more draining around her sons, but it was something that she knew very well. It was a wonder that all of this stress hadn't effected her health more than it had. "I'm sorry to hear that, Frost," she said with a small frown. "I believe that when you love someone and you give yourself to them like that... they take a piece of you with them." Zuriel was someone that would give and give until there just was nothing left. That was one of the reasons why she got so burned out living in Celestial and ended up leaving. Her children had given her a new life, but it was still hard. "It takes a while to let that hole fill back up again, but it will happen. In the mean time... Maybe it would be a good idea to move to a new den. Start fresh. Then you can at least stop thinking of it as your den with her until she comes back." "Talk" "You" Think

If she would have told him it would be draining he would have openly agreed. Ever since she had disappeared he had been drained, constant worry wearing him down and making it difficult to settle down at night. Her words made perfect sense, enough that it surprised him. She must have felt the exact same way when her boys went missing. So everything he was going through was absolutely normal? To also hear that there would be a chance he could move on from it was promising also. It made him wonder if Star was truly the one for him. If there is likelihood to move on then he still had the time to find the right one and have the family he had been wanting since coming to Lirim. To have kids was something he really wanted, especially after the birth of Jewell’s kids. It was another thing that made sleep uneasy because he had felt he had lost his chance to do so.

She then added a recommendation to him, to build himself a new den for the time being and move out. It made sense, if he moved out then there wouldn’t be all the reminders that stuck out when he was in that den. Why hadn’t he thought of that? His eyes looked to Zuriel and he nodded a small smile tugging at his lips, partly feeling foolish for not thinking of these things before he had come to her.

“You don’t know how much I appreciate this Zuriel,” he said his tail wagging lightly. “I honestly feel a bit foolish that I hadn’t thought to try this.”