Walk | Talk | Think

Winter was beginning to give way to spring and Callisto watched it all eagerly. Spring was one of the best seasons for healers. It was when all the cold from the winter months began to disappear and the earth to warm, inviting new growth in the plants that had fallen dormant and hidden away from the chill. All around Alacriticia new blooms, new stalks, would be jumping up, and of all different sorts of plants across the spectrum. She might have been newly recovered, still a little tentative about her health, but she had already spent too long holed up in her den. She had already begun work on fixing up the stores of plants that she kept inside her den, and she had every intention of finishing that soon.

Starting with the plants that were responsible for her good health. She had been watching closely when she had begun her walks to get the strength back in her legs, scouting before she could collect where the likeliest places to find new growths would be, and she had some ideas. Max and Adelaide had shown her the Valerian Root plant after she had gotten well and on her own she had found a new sprig of it, and quietly she had tended to it so that she could gather it for herself once it was fully grown. She traveled that way now, lean grey legs carrying her thin black frame along in a swift, sneaking trot from her den upon the Steppe to the Rock Garden, and with her silvery blue eyes watching for others she hurried to the plant.

It grew in a little secluded niche with a few stubborn weeds, somewhat sheltered beside one of the many rocks that stood sentinel within the Garden but still within the reach of sunlight. That sunlight seemed to have been doing it some good, melting the snow and adding a bit of fuel to its growth spurt. She could already see an improvement. And yet it was still too small, not yet ready for use as she had been shown. It would have to be left for a little longer yet. Callisto sighed, her dark brow furrowing with disappointment, and with a quiet sigh she sat down looked around grumpily. Now what was she going to do?

Jakart licked the stone between his paws from where he lay. Salt. His body would need some salt after running up the hill near the lake a half dozen times. Endurance training. That what his father had wanted out of his two eldest?sons. As well as trust. Bane wasn't always going to watch over them as they built up their stamina, and the middle male pup took the non-verbalized challenge in stride. The Rock Gardens had salt for him, Jakart's limbs shivering and his tongue lolled out of his muzzle. The purpose of this exercise was to make yourself last longer than an opponent in a fight. Run about and dodge. Then attack when your enemy is tired. Stamina was required, and it was a hard trail to earn it.

Sugarcane. Now there was something his body could use right now. Salt and sugar. And yet he didn't even have to guess that the reed even grew up in the mountains. "Bend like a snake and shy away like a dog, then strike like a snow leopard." Jakart mumbled. A weird phrase he'd come up with for what his father was putting them through. His ears flicked and he let the stone settle back onto the bare earth. He missed the snow. And yet it meant spring. A time of young prey and vegetation. The yearling staggered to his paws and went off into the rock field, searching for a hole of lately born rodents that wouldn't struggle much as he dug them out. But he wasn't alone. No. A black pelted female, around his age too, was amidst the rocks near him. Jakart gave a wag of his tail and strode over to the she-wolf, head low but gaze friendly as he stopped a few paces away and sat down. "Hi packmate." The yearling panted and tilted his head. "What are you doing?"

Walk | Talk | Think

The temperamental girl's gaze had settled again on the plant with an accusatory stare, as if her poor timing in gathering it had been its fault for not growing fast enough. She would have liked very much to have been able to take it back to the den now, to know that she had some there at her disposal should it be required. There were other places, she knew, where the plant could grow. It was surprisingly common and there were even places on the Steppe around her den where it had taken root. But this plant she counted as hers, and she had been very eager to take her first gathering from it.

An ear turned to acknowledge the sound of someone walking past, or at least she thought they were walking past. They came her way and when they drew nearer she finally turned her head to gaze their way. She was a little surprised to note that the path the wolf made was not one meant to go around her but toward her, as was confirmed by the wag in his tail and the friendly expression he wore. One of the boys related to the girl who smiled too much, looking to make friends Callisto assumed. Pity she had too much to catch up on to humor him.

The grey boy made himself comfortable and settled on the ground across from her, greeting her politely and nosing into what she was doing here. Well, at least he did not smile as much as his sister Sunshine did. "Nothing now," she answered flatly, once again turning her silvery blue eyes on the plant. Still no closer to being ready for gathering than before this wolf had shown up. "This plant isn't ready to be collected yet. I'm just checking on it now." Not like he would know anything about that sort of thing. She might not have tried to be friendly with her packmates but she did see them occasionally, hunting, training, patrolling. And this was not a fellow healer-in-training. "What are you doing?" she asked, turning the question back on him and wondering whether he fit into the hunter or fighter category best.

Jakart eyed the female where he sat, forelegs give a quiver. His muscles throbbed, the yearling laying down in one fluid motion. That felt much better. His attention turned to the black female to his front, then to the herb spouting up right in front of her. A wag of his tail was given. A healer! Jakart planned on just saying hello and be along his way, but the meeting with this plant-mender would change that. Plants and roots and herbs. All of it was so interesting. But his father, Bane, had wanted him to be a warrior, and so while he lived with his family that's what he went with. Jakart almost laughed at the thought of his father kicking him out into the world, but suppressed the bubbling mirth. Bane loved all of his children to much for such action. Maybe one day if he dispersed he would take up the art of healing to add to his knowledge of first aid.

"Watching you." Jakart smiled and flicked his ears, pondering a matter if this healer could help him in his search. "But no, I'm actually looking for some salt. Or something sweet tasting. Been running up and down the hill over there to gain endurance. Conditioning. Fights can last a moment in one on one, or a battle. Gotta move to live. To find food. To make a den or collect an herb as your doing." The grey yearling shimmied a bit closer. "I guess I'm trying to moving better than others." He spoke with a glimmer in his eyes. "What's your name. Mines Jakart." The young male blurted out.

Walk | Talk | Think

Her brows quirked a little more deeply into a frown as she eyed the boy across from her, now lying down instead of sitting comfortably. Apparently she must not have been giving off as much of a disinterested vibe than she thought she did, not if he was making it apparent he had no immediate plans of leaving. Though, as he went on, she started to think she might have gotten it wrong. He had been training, exercising his body as befit the regimen of an Ebon Knight - or whatever they were called now - and it had taken a toll on him. She could see it a little, the way his legs still jittered a bit from exertion. No wonder he had sunk to his stomach so fast. Callisto was glad all over again not to have chosen that path for herself.

She considered what he needed, salt and sugar, and whether she knew of any places nearby that might yield enough for him. Max was still better at this sort of thing - he was always prepared for everything - but she did not know at the moment where he was. And she was not going to learn anything if she did not at least try to do things on her own first. The grey youth scooted closer, the shift nearly mistaken as just a restless maneuver meant to calm his legs, and inquired after her name while giving his. "Callisto," she answered a bit absently, her blue gaze turned away as she still thought of where to find something to help the boy. Salt, she thought, might likely be abundant here, but sugar? Less likely. If they could find a reedy place with ready access to water then maybe, but...

Callisto turned her stoic stare back on Jakart, unsure just how far he had already pushed himself and how much further he could go. Either way, she doubted the other half of what he wanted could be found in this immediate vicinity. "Come." The order was spoken simply, directly, and without waiting to see if it would be followed the dark colored wolf was already moving away, leading through a path between the righted boulders of the Rock Garden and toward its edge, where she thought it most likely that they would find the sugar cane. Her silvery blue eyes roamed the path ahead, spotting another small plant growing within sight, its small white flowers already in bloom. "That's good for fatigue if you want it," she said informatively, motioning with her muzzle toward the small flowering plant as they walked past.

She had gone looking for water in this area once before, after she had helped Maximous and Katja patch up the three-legged stranger - well, that was not entirely accurate; she had only chewed off her paw - who had ended up here. Water and what grew near it had been essential at the time, so she had put in effort to make sure she was better prepared next time around. She found the water source now, a narrow, shallow stream that she thought shared a common waterway with Ebony's lake. It was open here, exposed almost like it was in the lake's territory, and she was relieved to note that a few reedy stalks grew close by. "Wait here," Callisto instructed, leaving her company as her spindly grey legs hurried to inspect the reeds. Her dark nose sniffed closely around their bases before she thought she found the right one, and biting into the stem she struggled a little to pull it free and brought it back to Jakart.

Setting the sugar cane down before him, she licked at her lips, tasting the sweetness on her tongue. "Hopefully that's enough," she said, reclining back on her haunches and curving her tail loosely at her side to watch and see how well it helped him recover first hand.

Jakart's gaze brightened considerably when he learned this she-wolfs name. Callisto. Paws kneeded the earth when she spoke again. It took him a moment to realize what she said and he shot up on sore legs to follow her between the boulders as she meandered a path through the Rock Garden. He kept his ears alert to hear Callisto, attention turning to a white petaled flower with curiosity when she pointed it out. The yearling was quick to snap up the bud and held it under his tongue for better absorption.

He found himself in a rather cheery mood, the flowers taste questionable of whether he liked it or wanted to spit it out.?The sounds of water trickling by held his attention for a moment as he swallowed the remainder of the flower, mismatched eyes watching the healer in training as he did as she asked. Jakart plopped onto his stomach and panted continuously as his new friend searched for whatever she was looking for. At least he hoped she wanted to be his friend. Serecia didn't have any pups his age or status, and so it was that Jakart had never had anybody else to play with besides his siblings.?

Callisto was tugging on something, her body visably fighting with the object. It gave way, and Callisto returned to him with sugar cane. Jakart's eyes lit up at the treat, gratefully accepting it as he began to gnaw on a reed. Like before he held it under his tongue. Though it took a few minutes Jakart began to feel much better, his tail wagging in appreciation for his new friend's deed. "Thank you Callisto. It's enough." The grey male stood and shook his pelt, unsure of what to do next. There was a strange fluttering in his chest, a very confusing sensation he'd never experienced before.

Walk | Talk | Think

The boy took to the reed quickly, and Callisto's assessing eyes never left him as she watched him pull the sugars from it. The effects were not immediate, which was to be expected. Most of the remedies she had been taught happened only after a certain amount of time, after the plant in question had gotten into the individuals' system, and her patience with her work paid off now. Eventually she could see as the shaking in the grey wolf's limbs subsided, how his whole body seemed to ease as the sugars took effect, and she was surprised as she always was watching the way the plant effected the body. It was always so strange, how something so small and often overlooked, could have such an impact.

After a short while Jakart was even able to rise, getting to his feet with a wag of his tail and thanks to her. The black and grey healer-in-training nodded her head in response, brushing off his thanks in a sense. Really, any practice was good for her, and thankfully her patient had been cooperative and had not whined about anything, which only made her job and training easier. Maybe she could do this whole bedside manner thing after all.

She continued to watch him, vaguely wondering if he had happened to pick up the little plant she had spoken of but also about the training he had been undertaking before he found her. Was it often than he raced up and down hills? Or were spars more the norm? She had never taken much interest in fighting or strength training - what good was it for her when she held no interest in it at all? - but, knowing what she did now of plants she wondered if there might not have been a place for someone like her in that sort of setting after all, someone to piece together the participants after they had beaten each other or themselves until they fell apart.

"Do you do this sort of thing a lot?" she asked, her tone only slightly betraying the growing curiosity she felt after the new turn of her thoughts. "The training, I mean."

Jakart wagged his tail with a half smile plastered about his face. He liked this she wolf. If it was more than a like, such as affection, then perhaps he could court her into being his wife when they were older. Wasn't that how it worked? The yearling though about his mom hunting about for wolves her children's age. But there were almost non, and all Jakart had was his brothers and sisters. Maybe now he had Callisto. Who was asking about how he got into the state when he met her. Training? Why would a healer want to know about training for battle? Jakart's tail gave an involuntary wag and he shook his pelt.

"Me and my brother do this off and on. My Da wants us to learn how to defend ourselves. And kill with counter attacks. Mainly it involves the throat, but you could also maul the inside of a leg and get the artery your pinning somebody, and the only thing that could happen is you get an ear ripped off." Jakart realized at this point that he was rambling, quieting off with an minute sigh. "My brother already has a funny ear from a thunder during that hurricane a year back. So I guess it doesn't matter if he loses that ear. It twitches funny as if still searching for a sound that will never come..." He realized that he was getting grossly off subject, rather suddenly switching back. "You wanna learn anything? I learned where sugar cane is, and if I need it again I should just take the tops off so they grow back. Take so leave some."

Walk | Talk | Think

He was surprisingly free with his information - apparently whatever his dad had his kids training to do was nothing very top secret - and Callisto was an attentive listener. Training, counter attacks, specific locations where, when left opened, made an opponent vulnerable enough to be killed. It was all foreign to her, and honestly her interest was still minimal. Killing was all good and dandy, but where might a place for her, for her ability to fix people up, come in? It certainly was not going to be much help if killing was the ultimate goal in the end. The boy's explanations turned to rambles, and though the shadowy youth could feel her interest and usefulness to that situation dwindling she kept her sigh quiet enough to be easily overlooked.

And quite suddenly she was being offered to try her hand at learning something Jakart could teach her, of things that she had already decided she had no use in knowing. Her expression flattened almost to boredom as she answered quickly, "I don't fight." But what did she do instead? She had been hoping to learn about harmful plants, to be able to have them in her arsenal to use if the need ever arose. But how often, really, when she ended up in a predicament would she honestly have those needed plants at hand?

She frowned, visualizing one irritating, purple-eyed individual in particular, before she made herself amend her answer. "What can you teach me to defend myself?" Callisto asked, unsure even if her request was specific enough or if it was even the sort of thing Jak could teach her.

Callisto was difficult to read during his rambling, the yearling not noticing the sigh?she gave. And she said that she didn't fight. The she-wolf probably had her reasons, being a healer and such. Perhaps she distasted violence and only sought to heal others and not hurt. Was there a vow taken when one decided to be a healer? "Why not? What if you're attacked? Don't healers need to defend themselves?" Jakart mumbled with a tilt of his head at her remark about not fighting. She didn't see to care about what he was doing, noting her bored expression.

Jakart considered leaving his packmate at that point, feeling a sense of uselessness. He didn't want Callisto to get hurt. But there was a new question by her, Jakart listening rigidly. The yearling beamed and wagged his tail, mind sorting through what he could teach her, settling on a basic block. "Well you could always run away. But no. That would be letting the wolves your helping be maimed to never fight again or be killed." A rather dry joke, a aura of seriousness overcoming Jakart as he took a few steps away. "Alright ones coming toward you, really fast. Won't be able to turn as you can if your standing. What your gonna wanna do is lower you center of gravity and spring to the side." Jakart was going through the motions as he spoke, abet slower than required for the demonstration. "And when the enemy overshoots, jump against the shoulder and grab the side of their neck as they fall. All it will take is a good shake to break their neck." Jakart finished the moveset and looked up at Callisto. "Got it?"

Walk | Talk | Think

She could tell that she had likely offended him and his preference for fighting, but it only began to matter to the girl when she thought it might hinder her chances of learning once she had finally asked a question. On any given day, fighting would be the farthest thing from her mind, the whole of it pointless and rather barbaric in her mind. She did not need a strong bite when her words could cut deeply enough already, and there was no use bulking up when her lanky legs could draw her away from dangers relatively quickly. But as her thoughts crossed to the white male who so often tormented her she knew she needed to up her game, and surprising him by being able to defend herself sounded like a really good surprise for them both.

Thankfully her question seemed to be just what was needed to turn Jak's mood around and he was grinning and wagging his tail excitedly, apparently very eager to teach her what he knew. In comparison, the grey and black girl was focused, straight-faced and attentive and ready to get this lesson under her belt even as he tried to joke. It was no laughing matter to her; if she ran, she would be chased, and it was much too easy for her to be captured if she could not outrun her pursuer. Jak's instruction was thorough, each direction spoken but also acted out by him in a demonstration that the girl watched closely to, noting how he moved himself through the motions, where he stopped, how far he leaped, just how he turned himself when he demonstrated the snap. It all seemed so simple while he did it, his body already familiar with each little move that he made. Could she execute the motions so flawlessly?

Her dark brow had drawn into a frown as she watched and it lingered now as he asked whether she understood his demonstration. "I think so," she answered, though from the look of concentration about her it was likely obvious she was still working over how she might do it if given the chance. She shifted her weight on her grey limbs slightly as she thought, quiet for a moment before she stilled and made herself ask, "Show it again?"

Jakart stood their panting in the aftermath of the furious demonstration. It was his hope that he hadn't skipped a step. Or that he went to fast. Fast was good in terms of practice or the real thing, but as demonstration? Well, one had to have a good set of eyes and a general idea of what to do if they wanted to follow the moveset. Even Bane had to repeat the combination a few times for Nako and him to learn. And even slower for Callisto who was by all assumptions a foreigner to the art of personal combat. The yearling licked his lips and a noted her request to do the move again. "No problem."

With exaggerated slowness besides the sidestep and lunge Jakart went at the requested pace. "Sidestep, turn, dip, raise forelegs, turn head to reacting opponent and use momentum for downward lunge to base of skull. Shake until neck breaks." The male mimed everything as he spoke, combining audio as well as visual to help Callisto. Legs already sore, Jakart sat down and gulped in air for a moment as he caught his breath, spent. His muscles ached in response to his demonstration after running up and down the hill however many times he did. Jakart's gaze found Callisto's and he gave a wry smile. "Got it?"

Walk | Talk | Think

She could see that the demonstration the boy had just given had tired him out even more than he had been when she had first been found by him. It should have made her feel guilty, she supposed, for asking him to repeat the maneuvers that he had been trying to teach her when he was already out of breath and still recovering from the training that he had been doing before. But, then again, he had been the one to offer to teach her, and really she had almost turned him down. To his credit though, as a fighter and a teacher, he did not back down from her request, and she watched him closely as he answered her in the affirmative that he would demonstrate the motions again for her.

Just a little the girl straightened, becoming more attentive as Jak started over from the beginning, setting up the scene and going through each move as he spoke of it. Callisto listened to the instructions, watched the placement of his body, the movements that he made, and tried to envision herself doing the same. Sidestep. Turn. Dip. Raise. Lunge. The words wound their way through her skull, causing the muscles in her legs to fidget a little as she tried to remain still. She thought she understood it better now, at least better than she had before, but as for being able to execute the actions as artfully as her new teacher...

The poor boy was more winded now than he had been before his demonstration, but still he questioned again whether she had understood now what it was that he had been trying to teach. A little sliver of doubt still coursed through her mind, reminding her that she was in no way a fighter but solely a healer as it tried to stamp out any thought she had about recreating the movements that Jakart had shown her. Her brow still furrowed as she stared the male, glancing at his mismatched eyes with growing uncertainty even as he managed to offer her a smile. Feeling flustered and unsure of herself - why did she even bother with this stuff anyway? - Callisto looked pointedly away and turned her ears back against her head, her lips pursed as she deepened her frown. "I can't do it."

Callisto had listened and watched as he went through the moveset, Jakart trying to keep his eye on her throughout the demonstration of the counter. Remaining somewhat impassive behind her hard exterior when he was done. Panting punctuating the air as his weary gaze held on the healer, giving a dry gulp of air. Bane would've hopefully been proud of how much his son had pushed himself today, Jakart's tail giving a renewed twitch at the thought. Callisto now looked uneasy, her ears pinned and gaze adverted from him. His heartbeat pounded in his splayed ears, which pinned back at the healers words.

She couldn't do it? She didn't even try! Jakart let out a huff and flopped onto his belly, eyes closing as he mulled over her words in his head. "Well... I can't exactly show you again now. Did you also say you couldn't do herbs and healing when you first started? If a packmate is dying in front of you and you have the power to save his or her life, are you going to say you can't do it? You have to four legs, you can do this." The yearling smartly remarked, head laying to the side on the earth, limbs quaking uncontrollably for a moment. He hoped his logic worked for Callisto and she would at least try.

Walk | Talk | Think

She honestly expected that to be the end of it. Jak was already winded as it was, what point was there for him to tire himself out more by trying to teach someone who pointedly refused to attempt the lesson at hand? In fact, Callisto almost counted on it, willing him to take his leave and excuse her from this silly impromptu lesson that they had started so she could get back to other things, things like plants and healing and gathering and prepping for times when her skill, her true skill, would be necessary.

But he did not leave. He flopped against the ground and seemed to fall inward with thought, the girl casting a quick glance at him from the corner of her silvery blue eyes. He tried to draw her out by talking about her chosen craft, her herbs and healing, and it worked a little. She might have still been frowning, but Callisto turned her head to glance his way, taking in his references and the suggestions he made of switching the scenario to make it more applicable. And, of course, he was right. Damn it.

He could barely sit upright at this point and Callisto watched and waited in silence as he eventually slumped over onto his side, with his direct gaze still watching her expectantly for her to begin the training he had demonstrated. The grey and black yearling still refused to move, though already she was feeling as if it was a lost cause. He was right, as much as she wished him to be wrong, and she had been the one to pursue the lesson after he had offered. Even if she never got to use the skill, she had already determined it to be something good to know, and there was no chance of her remembering quite so well what to do later on if she did not go through the motions now.

Callisto groaned but dragged herself to her spindly grey legs, still frowning and fuming quietly to herself. She stepped away from the spot she had been sitting in and gave herself a little distance from her teacher, setting herself up in a position similar to the one he had started off in. Let's get this over with. In her mind, she saw the stances as Jak had played them out, and as she went through them, slowly and a bit awkwardly, she said them mentally to herself. She sidestepped, turned, shifted her stance to something more square, leaped, and reached with a snap of her jaws at an enemy that neither of them could see. And all the while she felt incredibly silly for attacking and reacting to nothing.

She was not winded or exhausted as Jakart was, but she certainly felt uncomfortable. She had not been able to see her own motions, but she was sure they were nothing like Jak's precise and practiced movements. Straightening where she stood, ears splayed awkwardly and with a great deal of self-consciousness, she made a gesture that was something akin to a shrug. "There. I did it." And now that she had, she was not at all sure she wanted to hear his critique.

Jakart fought to relax his body and keep an alert state of consciousness. A tired gaze staring at Callisto intently. He hoped that she would get past whatever mental barrier she had put up and would show what she had just been taught. She was stubborn. A fighters heart lay deep within her as Jakart believed resided in all wolves, though in her case she had chosen a different path to travel down. Now it was as inert as his will to move. He scraped his left leg's dewclaw into the dirt in a lazy circle while waiting. But she began to gather herself up. And he could relax in victory as she began to move how he did.

It wasn't half bad. As was everything when trying something so alien for the first time. But Callisto did good. Jakart was proud of her. "Nice job Cal. Much better than my sisters." He mumbled with sincerity. Of course he didn't need to tell her that Anais and Lior had chosen a different path to walk in life. Perhaps she had seen his sisters around a training or some such. But she had made the first effort before them, and that was good. "If you don't mind I think I'll rest here for a while." Jakart mumbled as his eyes slid closed.

-Jakart is asleep-