The hut that the healers kept down near the hot springs had quickly become one of her favorite places to linger. She didn't necessarily have the same level of energy or desire to explore that most of her siblings did, instead feeling completely content with staying near home and learning what she could about the herbs and plants that were stowed away there. If someone were to take her out of the pack lands on a trip of some kind she wouldn't complain, but she also wasn't begging for it the way that others were. She wasn't sure why there was a difference there, but she also didn't dwell on it too much. It was easy enough to explain away with a difference in interests.

She had settled herself in the corner of the healing area, settled in to one of the warm beds made of furs that were supposed to be used for anyone that was sick or injured, but no one was currently occupying them so she had taken one of them over to relax on while she studied. There was several different kinds of dried flowers and leaves laid out in front of her and she took turns examining, smelling, and silently reciting off what they were used for to herself. It probably would seem pretty boring to some of the other pups in the pack, but she was having a great time. She laid there with a little smile on her face, her tail giving a little wag behind her whenever she would remember her facts faster and faster each time. Sometimes she'd get up and put away the ones she was looking at and pull out a couple more, rotating them out to test herself again later. She was a little bookworm immersed in her studies.

Walk | "Talk" | think

The Hot Springs had been one part of his home that Artorias had not spent a lot of time around. His parents were overly cautious about the pups going near the water, let alone the scalding hot pools that boiled up from the earth. The terrain wasn't much different than the falls were, with many of the same trees, plants, and fauna in the area, with the only substantial difference being a slightly warmer temperature in the cold autumn air thanks to the eternally heated pools. Amber eyes wandered around the bear trees that had already shed most of their leaves in preparation for winter, and Artorias found that his coat had started to grow fluffier with each passing day, helping to retain warmth against the coldness of the changing seasons. Little paws crunched through a pile of fallen brown leaves, announcing his presence to the world. Corbin flew overhead, the large black bird keeping an eye over the dark-furred pup as he traveled around the hot springs.

When he passed by the old hut at the edge of the springs, the familiar scent of his little sister made his nose twitch. Gwyn had been the quietest of the five children, keeping almost entirely to herself and her studies. That was fine; if that was what she enjoyed, Art wouldn't try to force her to do things like fight with him and Rudy or go adventuring with him and Bowen. It did make him a little sad that she seemed so lonely all the time... or maybe she just enjoyed being alone? Either way, it was enough to make the boy veer his path toward the hut, approaching it while Corbin came to rest atop the structure. Artorias poked his head inside the hut, spotting Gwyn tucked up in a bed of furs with her plants laid out before her.

"Hey Gwyn!" he called in to her. "How come you're out here all alone?" If she wanted to be left alone, Art had no problem turning around and continuing on his way. But he'd be remiss if he didn't offer her his company first.

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

The sound of something shifting and scratching against the roof above her was what tipped her off to someone approaching her even before she looked up and saw Artorias standing in the door way of the hut. Gwyn perked up with a bit of surprise, blinking at her brother for a moment when he questioned what she was doing here alone since she definitely wasn't expecting any company - especially from her brother who was definitely far more interested in stuff like fighting than anything to do with healing. She thought maybe Bowen might appear at some point, but she was glad to see Artorias too. She didn't spend nearly as much time with her brothers as she did her sisters so it was a nice change. Still, she was a little embarrassed for him to find her tucked away by herself with just leaves keeping her company like this and her ears flicked back shyly while she gave him a small smile.

"Oh, um... hi, Artorias," she replied while she tried to figure out how she could explain what she was doing without it sounding completely lame and silly. "I was just doing some studying... There's so many herbs to remember, you know! And I wanted to think of some questions about them to ask Indigo so like... how do I know what I don't know without seeing what I do know, you know?" Did that made any sense? Gosh, she hoped so. The bit about thinking of questions for Indigo wasn't entirely true, but it also wasn't entirely false either. She'd definitely have more questions for the big, purple healer when she was all done doing her practicing today, but she still would have been in here studying and practicing without a "reason" to do so. It just felt easier to talk about if she at least at a purpose behind it.

She shuffled her paws awkwardly on the fur under her for a moment before offering, "Um... Do you wanna learn about herbs too? Telling you about them might make it easier to remember." She knew he probably wouldn't care about it at all, but knowing Artorias he'd probably still agree to be nice. That was one of the things she loved about her brother.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Gwyn's responses to him were spoken in her characteristic soft and timid manner; she had always been the most introverted in their litter, even more so than Bowen. She began to explain what she was doing on her own, Artorias' amber eyes following her gestures and paws down to the small assortment of herbs and leaves she had scattered across the fur bedding. His brow furrowed a little bit as he tried to identify even one of the plants she had, only to come up empty-handed. Botany and pharmaceuticals had never been his strong suit, nor something he had ever thought to study the way he did his warrior training or his navigational skills. This was definitely way more in her wheelhouse, and Gwyn knew so much more about herbs and healing than he could ever hope to imagine! Something at the end of Gwyn's statements caught Art's attention. Indigo? He hadn't seen the wolf around the pack much lately, almost as if he had been keeping to himself. Something must have happened, but Artorias didn't dare ask; it wasn't his place to go snooping in the affairs of others.

When Gwyn invited him to come learn some of the herbs and help her with her studies, Artorias cocked a curious head tilt to her. She wanted him to learn with her? The dark-furred boy paused for a moment, waiting to see if his sister would hit him with a "just kidding!" as some sort of prank. When that didn't happen, he was stunned. While they weren't at odds, Gwyn had almost exclusively kept to herself and her tutors, barely interacting with any of the others beyond mealtimes and bedtime. Their interests seldom crossed paths, and other than their first day out of the den, they hadn't played much with each other either. Were this anyone else, Artorias would probably politely decline—but this was his sister. Gwyn was inviting him into her space. She was trying to connect with him, and even if she was a bit awkward and shy in her asking, bless her heart she was trying, and Artorias would do anything for his family.

"Uh, yeah, sure!" Artorias replied, giving her a small smile and padding over to her, pausing long enough to unsling his wooden sword from his body and setting it down on the bedding before he collapsed to his belly to look over the plants with her. He recognized a few that grew wild around the hot springs and the falls, but he had no idea where to even begin with them. He reached forward with a delicate paw and grasped the end of a piece of horsetail, holding it up to examine it. "I recognize this! I see it growing along the falls during my patrols sometimes. What's it do?" Amber eyes turned to his black-furred sister, half curious and half quizzing her in the same moment. This was Gwyn's time to show what she'd been learning.

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

A shy grin pulled at her features when he accepted and her tail wagged behind her in response. Of course she was very aware that he didn't have a real interest in learning this stuff like she did, she still appreciated that he was willing to spend a bit of time with her in the only way she knew how. Her mint and lavender eyes flicked to the wooden sword that he pretty much always had with him, but didn't give it too much attention. She never liked being around her siblings when they were fighting and training, but she also knew that it was something that they really liked so she mostly just kept her opinion to herself. The idea of them getting hurt without purpose didn't sit well with her though she did try her best to understand the logic of being ready for whatever may come.

Once he was settled next to her she watched him look at the plants without much recognition in his eyes - not that she had really expected him to. However, he was at least able to point out the pieces of horsetail that were laid out among the other herbs and she grinned with a nod. That was one of the ones that was easier to come by around here since there were so many bodies of water around. "That's horsetail. It's kind of sticky on the inside and to use it you have to chew it up or grind it with a rock to make a paste. Then you can use it to keep cuts closed!" Her expression lit up more as she talked about the plant, smiling as she explained its uses since it was something she was actually confident in. "Apparently you can eat it too and it'll help if there's any issues related to your kidneys or bladder and it can help keep claws strong and healthy!" She mainly just thought of it as something to keep wounds closed, but she tried to remember even the more obscure uses for herbs too just in case it ever came up.

Looking back at the herbs in front of them, she pointed out a different one with a light gray dipped paw. "This soft one is called a lamb's ear. If you use it with the horsetail you can make a bandage to cover up smaller wounds. It's fuzzy, see?" Pulling it closer to them, she passed the leaf over to him so he could feel it too. "It'll help keep the cuts from getting all dirty while they're healing. And if you crush it up it up and put it on there before you cover it up with a bandage then it can keep the cut from getting too irritated... but I think some dandelion root would be better cause dandelions are way easier to find than lambs ear so why would you waste lambs ear leaves on that?"

Walk | "Talk" | think

As soon as he picked up the horsetail, Gwyn immediately started into her exhaustive explanation of where the plant grew, what medicinal purposes it had, and how it was used. Artorias stared between the plant and his sister, shocked by just how much she knew about the one plant. Apparently she had really put a lot of effort and dedication into her studies. Not that he had ever doubted her, of course; he was the same with his training and fitness regiments, but it was nice to see her so passionate about something too. Huh... This could be useful after a fight... he thought to himself, making a mental note to remember that horsetail was good for cuts. Then Gwyn mentioned the horsetail also helped strengthen claws and Art's ears pricked up atop his head. "Oh wow, I didn't know that!" he remarked, waiting until she had turned back to her collection of herbs before sticking the end of the horsetail in his mouth and beginning to chew on it. The plant had a grassy flavor, not unpleasant but certainly not his favorite. Oh well, no matter—strong claws, here he came!

Gwyn placed another plant before him, this one a flat green leaf that looked incredibly soft to the touch. An experimental paw confirmed his suspicions. Art watched his sister while she explained how it could be used as a bandage along with the horsetail that was currently hanging out his mouth, half-chewed at one end. Artorias sheepishly pulled the plant from his mouth and looked at it next to the lamb's ear. Lamb's ear and horsetail... Good for cuts... Got it...! "Huh, okay, I think I'm following you..." he said, amber eyes darting between the two plants. "That's probably really good to know if you ever get hurt in a battle or while traveling. Cool! What else can these plants do?" He looked back to Gwyn, his tail subconsciously starting to wag and sway behind him on the fur bedding.

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Gwyn wasn't paying full attention to her brother so when she looked up at him to see his reaction to all the information she was giving him and saw the piece of horsetail hanging out of his mouth. She blinked with surprise and then giggled softly with an exasperated sigh, giving a little shake of her head. Sure, they could be eaten, but that didn't mean she had meant for him to. Ah well, she watched him drop it back to the fur under them turned her attention back to the herbs with her tail wagging gently. She really hadn't expected Artorias to show much interest in all this stuff, but once he mentioned that it would be good to know just in case he had any injuries from his activities she was reminded that this was still helpful knowledge even for the fighters. It might not be his favorite subject, but she appreciated that he at least saw the benefit in paying attention.

She hummed softly when he asked about what else these plants could do and let her swirled eyes scan the plants in front of her for a moment, trying to pick out some of the ones that might actually he helpful for him. She could start rattling off facts about most of them, but she wanted to give him information that he'd be able to use instead. Reaching forward with one paw, she pointed to a bundle of dried flowers that were slightly browned because of how they had been dried to preserve them, but their orange hue was still pretty obvious. "These are marigold flowers. The petals are actually really good to use on all kinds of injuries - cuts, burns, stings, bites... It helps them all heal. Oh, also, if you have a sore throat or something like that these are really good to chew on too." She brought one of the flowers closer for him to look at, setting it next to the sample of horsetail and lambs ear. "So what I'd do if you had a cut that I needed to treat, is crush up some of these petals, put it right on the cut, close up the cut with some of the sticky horsetail, and then steal it over with one of the lambs ear leaves so there's no way it'll get dirty and it'll heal faster!" She grinned happily while she explained it all, proud of herself for being able to remember all these things. "Of course you don't have to do all that if you're out on your own and get hurt or something. You could just close it up with a bit of horsetail to keep it from bleeding till you get back home and then a healer can do all the other stuff for you."

Just as she was finishing up her explanation, she heard some scuffling on the roof for a moment and it was enough to make her look up toward the sound with a little tilt of her head. It only lasted a moment, but then it sounded like maybe Artorias' raven took off and that seemed odd to her since Artorias was still here with her and his raven didn't really seem to leave his side. She looked back to her brother with a questioning look, asking, "Should we go check on him?"

Walk | "Talk" | think

Artorias' eyes followed Gwyn's paws as she pulled out another plant she introduced as marigold. He sniffed curiously at them, but most of their fragrance had died away after they had been dried. He made a mental note to remember the marigolds when his sister explained their purpose as a medicine as well. She went on to detail the process she would take to treat a cut if he came to her with one, and while she listed off each step as if she were explaining something mundane and common knowledge, Art was impressed by Gwyn's dedication to her art, especially since it all seemed like gibberish to him! He was very proud of his sister right now. Rudyard had always toted that their family were going to be the masters of their crafts, the best in the world! After seeing how Gwyn was already so smart and knew a lot about healing and herbs, he was more inclined to think that maybe Rudy was right. "I think if I get hurt badly, I might just come see you," he replied with a light laugh. "I think I can get the horsetail down, but you're definitely gonna be the master healer in the pack! Can't learn too much and put you out of a job." He laughed and playfully nudged his sister to show he was joking.

The sudden scratching and scuffling above their heads caught Artorias' attention too, followed by an aggravated cawing in Corbin's low voice. His brown knitted together, narrowing while he tried to figure out what was going on outside. "Yeah... Something's not right..." he muttered, rising to his paws and grabbing his sword before heading for the door. He took the lead, making sure Gwyn stayed behind him in case something dangerous was lurking outside the hut. With slow, cautious steps, Artorias made his way outside and turned around to glance up at the roof.

"Madam, I assure you, the children are fine!" Corbin remarked in a snappy tone, hovering in the air with strong flaps of his wings. The raven was facing off against a snowy white raven, slightly smaller than he was, and looking almost exactly like his opposite. "They are both under my care, their parents are nearby, and they do not need another babysitter!" The white raven looked positively uninterested in what Corbin had to say.

Artorias put his sword down and cocked his head. "Uhhh, Corbin... What's going on?" he asked, looking between the two birds.

"Ah, Master Artorias, Lady Gwynevere!" Corbin floated down to land on the boy's back, shooting a wing up at the white raven still perched on the roof. "Please tell this nosy busybody that you two aren't abandoned puppies and that I'm not waiting for one of you to die to snag a quick meal!"

Artorias was even more bewildered now than he had been a moment ago. "Uh... what...?"

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Gwynevere grinned shyly and looked down at her paws with a giggle when Artorias insisted that she was going to be the master healer one day, her ears folding back with embarrassment. She could really only hope that she'd be that good at some point... There was a lot more for her to learn still and even if she knew all the facts in the world about the different kinds of herbs and what they did, she still needed practice with how to actually use them and putting her skills into practice. But even if she never got to be the best healer out there, she still enjoyed it so much she didn't mind. As long as she was able to help take care of her family and got to do what she enjoyed that's all she really cared about.

When Artorias got up to go outside, she followed suit, staying mostly behind her brother while still peeking around him to see what was going on. Her brows lifted with surprise when she spotted the creamy white raven that her brother's friend seemed to be facing off with and her head tipped to the side with curiosity. She didn't know ravens could be all white like that too! She looked to Corbin when he came down to land on Artorias' back, accusing the other bird of thinking he was going to eat one of them when they died. She blinked a couple of times and looked up at the white raven again questioningly.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Eilwen insisted as she took off from the roof as well, fluttering down to land on the ground in front of them, her blue eyes peering up at Corbin with a little glare. "I was merely asking if they were alright in there and making sure someone was looking after them! Besides, can you blame me for being concerned? You were looming up there like a vulture!" The ivory raven gave a little shake of her head and then focused her blue eyes on the pups in front of her, her feathers practically fluffing up in delight. "Oh look at you two! You're just absolutely adorable! Artorias and Gwynevere, was it? What lovely names, absolutely precious." She took a few waddling steps closer to the pair, peering up at Gwyn with a slight tilt to her head. "Your eyes are just beautiful, my dear. Just like a lavender field with purple in green."

Gwynevere gaped with surprise at the pale raven all through her scolding of Corbin and all the praise she had for her and her brother until the attention got turned to her directly. The compliment she got on her eyes made her face flush and she giggled, her shocked expression changing to a wide smile as her ears folded back shyly. "O-Oh! Well, thank you!"

"Don't be shy, dear! You're absolutely gorgeous!" With a nod that said she had already made a decision before she even spoke it aloud, Eilwen took flight again for a moment so she could perch herself on Gwynevere's back the same way the darker raven had landed on Artorias. "Well, that settles it! I'll stick around and help watch after you, sweetie. Eilwen, at your service!" She looked at the black feathered raven beside her with an amused stare, waiting to see his reaction. If a raven could grin she probably would.

"Gwyn" | "Eilwen" | think

Corbin's feathers fluffed up in indignation to the white raven's remarks. "Vulture?! Why I never!" he remarked, turning away from the female avian and turning his beak up in the air. "Master Artorias, I strongly suggest we leave this... this... I don't even have the words!" His feathers ruffled again in agitation, half-contemplating going to find the pups' parents to tell them they were being harassed by a strange bird. The bigger one with one eye would certainly not take too kindly to that.

Artorias watched the white raven as she fluttered down to land before them, complimenting how adorable they were, then focusing in on Gwyn. He didn't feel any threat from the raven, despite Corbin's verbal protests, but as she walked closer to his sister, Artorias naturally took on a defensive edge, just in case. When she took to the air and landed on Gwyn's back, Artorias' head turned subtly towards his wooden sword, just in case, but when Eilwen introduced herself and settled in, the boy began to relax again. "Uh, better make sure it's okay with Mom and Mama first, Gwyn," advised Artorias. "And you—" He turned to Corbin on his back. ""—don't be jealous, okay?" Corbin huffed and shot a venomous glare at Eilwen, but otherwise made no further protest.

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"