Halla carried a bundle of elderberry leaves and green inner back back toward their temporary camp site. She and Káti had found a good camp site in one of the few clearings of the thicket. They'd dug a deep fire pit to help keep the fire contained. When she arrived she settled down next to the fire and pulled out a couple of ceramic bowls. She took a bundle of the elder leaves and added them to one of the bowls. She then used a deer bone to bruise and mash the leaves. She'd need to get the tincture started as well. Halla added the green bark to the other ceramic bowl and worked to mash it and break it so that the healing properties could more readily dispersed into the water.

Káti settled down with a gathering of chamomile. His first task was to make himself some tea for no other reason than it sounded good. He also planned to work on making a poultice to test. He knew using chamomile in a poultice could help with swelling and calm inflammation. He'd found a large grouping of chamomile and then picked enough to make tea and get an experimental poultice going. Selecting a few plants, Káti started to snip the flowering tops off of them, dividing them into two piles. One for the tea and one for the poultice.

He paused for a moment to glance at what Halla was doing, his eyes immediately going to the bark. He wanted to ask but he wasn't quite sure how best to inquire.

She figured after her night with Allegro and they parted ways she should find something to take back to Lirim in case Torin was wondering if she had abandoned them or something of the sort. So before she went off back home she went out in search of some herbs to make the trip seem at least a little meaningful in one of the neighboring territories that she left from Allegro. She'd go through the thicket, looking for something that would be useful in the coming seasons and when she spotted Marigold, she would find it was the perfect pick. She'd grab and break it at the root, carrying the stem in her mouth as she would chose to head back. She would be interrupted by the sound of other wolves nearby and she would go to cautiously approach them. She'd spot them inside a dome clearing of the bushes, and would only speak out quietly through her gripped teeth over her herb, "I was just passing through, didn't want to startle you both." She'd look down at what both of the two wolves were doing, interested of course, but didn't want to get in their way if anything. Walk "Talk" Think

Halla carefully used a deer scapula to scrape the fat she'd brought with her into the bowl. This method would be a bit cleaner than trying to lick the substance off her paws. With the fat added to the bowl she took a stick and mashed the fat and the leaves together, looking to get everything well combined. She gave the concoction a quick sniff. It looked and smelled right. She scooted the bowl onto a piece of raw hide and dragged it over to the fire so the long end of the rawhide was facing away. Halla turned her attention to the tincture. She pulled out a bottle of water and a small jar of wine as well as an empty bottle. Inside the empty bottle she carefully placed some green elder bark. As she worked she heard someone approaching. The woman was wandering through with a bundle of marigolds in her mouth. Halla smiled gently and nodded in greeting.

Káti reached into a bundle on his travois and pulled out two ceramic bowls. He put an ounce of the flowers in one bowl for tea and several other flowers in the other. Taking a deer fibula in his mouth, he titled his head and used the balled end to mash the chamomile flowers for the tea and for the poultice. He worked back and forth between the bowls until he was satisfied with the results. At that moment a woman wandered in with a lovely bouquet of marigolds in her mouth. He smiled and set down the bone. "Oh, it's no problem. My name is Káti. You can join us if you want. Are you going to make something with the marigolds you've gathered?" He was happy to share the fire and some of his bowls if the other woman needed them.

She watched as the two wolves worked, the brute greeting her a bit more friendly. But he'd ask if she was going to craft the Marigold and though that wasn't her intention she looked down at his fire and the supplies he had together to make tea. Her pause only a couple seconds, "If you didn't mind the company I wouldn't trying out the Marigold in a tea for sore throats." Not that she was sick, but she would be able to feel the bit of numbness to see if it's effects from the tea would be ideal for the winter time. She happily joined beside them, peeking at what the woman was busy doing. Though she would be quick to pick the Marigold petals through the run of her teeth along the stem and placing them in one of the bowls offered by Kati. She'd use her claws to poke a couple holes in the petals just enough to open up the properties of the herb. "My name is Aranea by the way." She responded rather late to his introduction but wouldn't try to fret over her busy mind. She felt very accomplished that she had learned from the healer Svala how to make tea. Even though she didn't have all the supplies herself to make tea, it just felt like something new and fun to use in the future and teach to others. After placing her bowl near the fire and waiting for it to boil, she'd look at the other two wolves again interested in what they were doing. It at least appeared they were both making tea or something of that sort as she was. But she looked at the woman's bark in the bottle with question. "I'm interested in what she's doing with the bark." She noted quietly toward Hati though not necessarily to make her voice unheard by the woman. Walk "Talk" Think

"A pleasure Aranea. The shy one over there is Halla." He smirked and grinned at the serious woman. They'd been crafting for awhile together and he couldn't resist a little jab. Taking his water skin, Káti added a pint of water to the tea bowl. He didn't want the healing properties of the herb to just evaporate so he added a lid to the ceramic bowl. Once that was taken care of, he very carefully scooted the bowl towards the fire before turning back to the poultice. Káti added just enough water to get the herbs wet before scooting that ceramic bowl near the fire as well.

His ears pricked up as Aranea spoke lowly that she was interested in what Halla was doing with the bark. He nodded. Come to think of it he was to. "Hey, Halla, what are you doing with that bark there?"

Halla carefully picked up the bottle of white wine and added some to the glass bottle with the green elder bark to create a tincture. Setting the tincture aside so it could begin to age she scooted the bowl with the fat and leaves over to the fire where the fat could melt and absorb the properties of the elder bark. Eventually when the mixture started to turn green she would pull it from the fire and let it cool into a solid ointment. The visitor introduced herself as Aranea. Before Halla could give her name Káti introduced her. She scowled at him but agreed to share what she was working on. "I'm making a tincture of the elder bark. You can use wine or vinegar to pull healing properties out of plants, even without heating."

Her head did a little crook as the woman explained though Aranea was still curious, "Oh, I don't think I've ever made a tincture before." She wasn't embarrassed or anything but it seemed that the wolves she was meeting now a days had new and strange ways of different healing techniques that were much different than the simple ways she was taught. She looked down to see her tea had finished boiling and she would carefully grab the edge with her teeth taking care not to let her lips or tongue touch the hot bowl. She scooted it closer to her, waiting for the bowl to at least cool a little before going to attempt to taste it. "What exactly is a tincture?" She asked, not sure if it was something you ingested or applied or perhaps both as some things were which was convenient. She'd blow down on her bowl before going to gently take a sip. After a few sips of the warming liquid, she'd notice just the faint amount of numbness to the back of her throat. Maybe not overwhelming enough if actually ingested by the properties of the boiling water itself would make up for it especially when it was cold and you were sick. Walk "Talk" Think

ooc: I'll just pos Halla for now.

Halla slowly started to open up more as the conversation continued. A reserved, and introverted wolf she'd never really gotten accustomed to socialization and holding conversations but talking about healing was easier for her. "A tincture refers more to the liquid that extracts the healing properties of an herb. So if I were to put the bark in white wine wha results would be a tincture. If I were to boil the bark in water I'd have an infusion." She grinned. "I know, it's confusing. I'm not even really sure if there's a difference between an infusion and a tea." There was so much to learn, some times it could be a little overwhelming. "Anyway, you typically add a tincture to water to give it to a patient. They tend to be stronger."

She was surprised by the amount the woman had spoken now but was very interested and listened to everything she had to say. She was never too old to learn, or so it seemed as she kept coming across wolves with new methods to everything. She'd probably stick to her own ways rather then attempting a tincture, only in fear of doing it wrong and wasting resources. Of course she had only discovered wine and booze recently too. But she would still keep the information at mind and maybe one day she would try herself. She'd go to finish her tea before standing, "The tea seems to work just as well, definitely more appetizing." She'd look to Halla and then Kati, "It was nice meeting you both, maybe we will meet again." And she'd offer a friendly smile before grabbing what was left of her herbs and heading out of the thicket. Meeting friendly wolves was bringing her out of her shell a little more and helping her with anxiety of fearing they would hurt her. Maybe she should stop by passing wolves more often. -Exit Aranea- Walk "Talk" Think