Her herb garden was growing well in numbers, and the little budding plants that had broken the surface was her first sign that she was doing something right. It hadn’t been easy going, but the pack had helped her to level and fertilize the spot. They had dug an irrigation channel from the stream, and planted the seeds she had painstakingly gathered. She was eager to continue harvesting outside of the territory, both to add to her seeds and because her garden itself was a long way off harvesting. She always spoke to Branch before leaving the pack lands, and today was no different. After a quick chat with her Alpha, the young healer made her way West from the pack. Often her journey would take her Northeast, but decided not to head to the Orchard this time. Her favourite gathering spot was one she knew well now, and she wanted to explore somewhere new. Somewhere that wasn’t sandwiched between two packs. She found Fern Gulley by the scent of blooming flowers. She entered the territory and looked about herself with an easy grin, this looked like a fantastic place to come in Spring, and without having been here prier, it could be filled with interesting gems. The rich scent of herbs filled her nostrils as she took a moment to raise her head to the wind and take it all in. She got to work quickly, examining the plants that grew in abundance, picking pieces here and there and adding them to her travelsack. She had a mental list of herbs she wished to seek, but wasn’t fussed with getting distracted with anything else she found and wished to harvest. She collected seeds as often as she collected the herb itself. It was early morning when she started her journey, but as she slowly made her way through the field, the morning would start in earnest. Word count: 317 "Speech"

Justice paused as she looked out over flourishing plant life. She'd been exploring, not looking to harvest anything, but the profusion of herbs there made her curse her lack of herb knowledge. She only really knew how to recognize a sparse pawful of herbs, mostly the simplest things like lavender, and she'd learned to recognize yarrow when it was growing, but otherwise she knew nothing about finding herbs where they grew. She knew there were probably hundreds of medicinal herbs in this gulley, but unless she managed to spot the little flowers of yarrow she was worse than useless. It was frustrating to look at all lush greenery and know that so much of it could go towards helping Celestial and she couldn't recognize any of it. It was frustrating, and depressing, because all she seemed to be good for was hurting people instead of helping them. She was a good fighter, and she did enjoy it, and it was helpful to the pack to have warriors, but she'd always wanted to be able to help people too, and she wasn't doing a great job of that.

She eyed the plants again, and that was when she noticed the wolf moving through the foliage with a carrysack, occasionally stopping to pick at the plants and put bits and pieces into the bag. Justice's heart raced in excitement. Yes - this was what she needed! Just like when she had met Ara. She'd found a healer, bag and all, gathering plants. All she had to do was ask them to teach her... and hope they were as amenable to it as Ara had been. She hurried to the mouth of the gully and plunged into the greenery, managing to work her way through until she was within earshot. "Excuse me!" she called out. It paid to be polite when you were hoping to get something from someone. She finished working her way through the last of the plants until she stood beside the wolf, another dark colored female like her, though with considerably more white on her. "Good morning. I can't help but noticed that you're collecting herbs. I'm a healer myself - well, I'm learning anyway - and I was wondering if you'd like some help?"

Word Count: 376
Total Word Count: 639

Having a sachet made a huge difference in her life. Before now she had always placed her herbs in the small space between her paw and ribbon. The huge amount of extra room provided gave room to so many more possibilities. The young healer could carry her jar creations with her, mixing herbs into salves. She could collect seeds to store and grow, herbs to dry or prepare for her salves. She was grateful for the space, and couldn’t imagine going without it now. She had already placed seeds in her bag, and was snipping the stem of a herb with a carefully placed paw, and grabbing a flower. She stored that gently in the space she used just for this purpose, and was moving on to the next job.  She was so lost in what she was doing, she almost didn’t hear the voice calling out to her. it was a long moment before the sound drew her attention, and the words took on meaning. She blinked, and shook herself free from her head and mental lists and looked up to see the steel blue wolf, whos purple eyes where clearly settled upon Riva. She straightened, and grinned at the taller wolf, wagging her tail in a friendly greeting. The wolf didn’t stop until she was before the healer, and would introduce herself as an apprentice healer. “Nice to meet you, I’m Riva. I wouldn’t say no to some help” she said, a gentle laugh breaking free. Her mental list was rather large, and well she didn’t expect to actually get all the herbs she sought, it would certainly bring her closer if two eyes where looking instead of one. It wasn’t often she found a wolf willing to help her, normally it was the other way around. Riva, whos healing abilities where needed, supplies where used. She spent so much of her free time gathering and growing, just so that she would never have to let someone down. “And if you have any healer questions, feel free to voice them” she said in encouragement. Riva considered herself as always learning, and was always looking to see what different ways other healers did things. She was as happy to share her own knowledge as she was to receive that of others. Honestly, she wished she could take on an apprentice, and was still looking out for the opportunity to teach another wolf. She felt, vainly, that she could do a better job then her mentor had done to Riva. yes, that old would had installed upon her a need to help, and a strong understanding of herbs. But she hadn’t taught Riva with love, only with stern necessity. She shook her head, not letting thoughts of the past distract her. The stranger had offered her help, and well Riva had accepted it, she also needed to give her an idea on what Riva was doing. “I’m looking for Stinging Nettle, Ginger and Plantain among other things. Are you familiar with those herbs?” she would ask the stranger, when she got negation, she would proceed to explain them. “Stinging Nettle is a small green plant with jagged edges. It grows quite tall, and has yellow roots. The leaves and stems of some species can inject you with a painful sting, I normally slice the stem with a claw and collect it in a jar without touching it. It grows in the most fertile places, so look for herb movements, and the places they do their business most often. I use it as an anti-inflammatory ” There was a twinkle in her eye as she explained that part. She hoped to see some soon so she could offer a live specimen for the other woman to investigate. After that block of information, she gave the woman a moment to digest it, and offer up any questions, before moving on. “Ginger is a root, to identify it, look for its leafy stems, which grow to about a metre high. The flowers are dense, cone-like spikes. We dig out the roots and harvest the ginger. It can also be used as an anti-inflammatory, it also helps with nausea and is good for mothers for that reason, as it’s a gentle herb. It likes shady areas and higher areas with less water in the soil” Again, she would give the girl a moment to digest this information, and see if she had any further questions, before moving on the last one. She described the herb, how it grew in abundance, and how they should only pick the leaves “It makes a good salve for cuts and sores” she explained. She was hopeful that they would be able to find all three of these herbs, as she intended to make a salve with them. “I’ll point them out to you as we go, and other herbs too if you wish, if you need me to repeat anything or offer a clear description, let me know” she explained, easily offering up her knowledge. She was excited to show this wolf what she knew of healing. Word count: 868 total words:1,507 "Speech"