Hanako padded through the Plains, feeling a smidge of guilt as she narrowed in on Sedna's den. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen the grey pelted healer, let alone actually had a conversation with her and caught up. So much had happened in what felt like such a short period of time, the past a series of flashed through her mind, with many memories she tried not to linger on too much. Beyond all that, the reason she was seeking out her friend wasn't exactly a selfless one, out of all the healers in the Armada she was the one Hanako trusted the most. Both to treat her right and not blab about her personal business.

Still it was a little... This wasn't embarrassing, since Hanako felt no shame about what she'd done-and what she'd continue to do, quite merrily- but the thought of asking even Sedna wasn't at the top of her list of things she wanted to do. In fact, it was quite far down the list, right on the other side of the page on the furthest edge. Some ways above telling Sirius herself that she was boning his son. She shuddered at the thought. Of course it had to be done, for more reasons than she cared to count, but there was no reason not to pretend this was anything but unpleasant.

Approaching on dainty paws, she stopped before the lip of the den and gently cleared her throat as she tapped at the archway. From the smell of it someone was inside, so she felt safe to peer in a little and call out for her Archer friend.

"Hey Sedna, you free?"

Sedna had been pulling away from the rest of the pack for a long while now. There were days when she would stand in the water up to her chest and look out and wonder, if she swam long enough, would she ever make it home? But it had been the currents that had carried her here, and to swim against them, she would surely drown. So she would return to her garden and her lonely little den and she would sulk.

Most wolves had taken to harassing one of the other wolves when they were injured. Undoubtedly they had a much nicer bedside manner and that suited her just fine. She was happier on her own, with Otis and Chips for company. She could come and go as she needed, as long as she came back with some useful plant in Otis’ bag, the journey could be justified. Unless Seer himself came to tell her to get out, she was firmly entrenched where she was now sulking. Really, it was fine. She was fine. Besides, if she got to close to someone they’d probably just end up finding the love of their life and leaving anyway.

A shadow crossed her door and her nose twitched, her tail daring to thump against the ground before the voice cut through the dark. She pushed up and moved towards the light, only pausing to shake the dust from her fur, rather than offering a reply at all. Her eyes squinted against the light as she moved into the sun, brushing against her guest as she did so, scrunching up her nose as she passed. Someone had made a close friend…

"What brings yer all th’ way out ‘ere?". She asked, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She could guess, but she was going to make her friend say it.

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Hanako couldn't contain her pleased little butt wiggle as Sedna emerged from within her den. It felt like it had been forever since she'd seen her face and now that she was here it was as though old routines were effortless to fall back into. Maybe the Armada was her real home after all, she just had gotten a little too comfortable with it. Leaning into Sedna's casual brush, Hanako stepped aside so they could stand at a more conversational distance. She'd kind of wanted to talk inside the den but no one was within immediate earshot, this place as safe as any, and judging from the sly gleam in her eyes Sedna wasn't going to make this easy on Hanako. Go figure.

She wrinkled her nose, her lips jerking up at one corner as her face scrunched in thought. How to best put this delicately? Hanako liked to think she had a way with words, but she doubted Sedna would let any wish-washy speak fly. No hints or implications, she needed to be on the nose with no details spared. Rolling her eyes, Hanako settled onto her haunches, her front paws pressed together as she swept her tail around her haunches to act as a buffer against the wind. She wasn't high-born by birth but she certainly knew how to act as though she was.

"So you know about plants and stuff." Not the best way to start, she was still avoiding the elephant in the room. She tried again. "And you read the rules when you joined right? Particularly the one about...having free access to certain medications if you need them. My point being, gimme."

-prescribing thread 1/3-

The girl was being coy and Sedna’s grin stretched wider. "Sure I did, but I’m jus’ a lowly warrior, what makes yer think I’d ‘ave somethin’ like tha’? I reckon yer’d be better off tryin’ whatsisface the specialist. He’d have access ter th’ main stores…"

While her tail thumped merrily against the ground, she could hear Otis rummaging around on the higher shelves behind them. While she was happy to make the poor girl sweat, the opossum wasn’t really one to suffer Sedna’s bullshit, and she felt the small bundle collide with the back of her head shortly thereafter and tumble to the ground at her feet. She hefted the small pouch, consideringly, moving to pass it over to the other woman, then hesitating. "Yer sure this isn’t th’ one ter make brats more likely?" The following bang and offended screech was all the confirmation she needed, but still she held onto it for just a moment longer, light dancing in her silver eyes. "So who is it then?"

After all, she wasn’t running a charity, there had to be some sort of payment. She even tipped her head, offering to retreat inside. She needed to show her how much to use when she brewed her own anyway.

"Speech."

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Hanako swatted at Sedna's muzzle, lazy and half-hearted with no real force behind it. She knew the Archer would draw this out but she was really laying it on thick, acting all dumb when she obviously knew what Hanako wanted. If she'd been feeling real stubborn and petty Hanako  would have thrown in the towel long ago, but there was no harm to be found in a bit of banter. Jesting aside she knew Sedna would have her back, a bit of poking here and there was a small price to pay. One Hanako was willing enough to play along with.

"Dunno about that, remember most of the stores got washed out. Anything left is probably soup by now." She tilted to the side a little to peer into the den, from the rustling within she felt safe to assume Sedna's place had escaped mostly unscathed. She watched with an amused gleam in her eyes as the Archer's companion tossed a little satchel in their direction, it seemed as though he wasn't a fan of her game of cat and mouse. "Well if the worst happens you can have them, you're not as young as you used to be, you know? And I think motherhood would suit you splendidly. She couldn't stifle her laugh and held a paw to her mouth, they were both terrible and just as bad as a pair of pups.

A moment or so later the laughter passed and Hanako's expression turned thoughtful, almost wistful.

"Azure."

-prescribing thread 2/3-

Sedna pulled a sour face at the reminder of the flooding. Her poor garden was still half flattened from the deluge and there was a lot of staking and weeding to be done before it got too much colder if anything was to come back after the snows. She was just glad she happened to have some of this concoction, a mix of fennel, willow, pennyroyal and a few other bits to tamp down the bitterness, kept on a higher shelf. It was all poison in high enough doses, and she had mixed emotions about prescribing it. Particularly once she heard who the other party involved was, although Hana’s quip did make her laugh right down to her belly. "I’m sure no-one would expect a thing." she chuckled again, "Yer got a brother? We might be able ter pass it off, as long as they don’t come out lookin’ like their dad… But no, really, do yer have a brother?" she continued to tease as she walked back into the den.

Otis had already left the storage den and entered the main. He had busied himself putting a tortoise shell with water in it over a small hearth they had dug out last winter. Keeping it stoked with coals from the bonfire had been helping to clear out some of the lingering damp. "Yer need ter be careful, it isn’t a nice concoction, and it isn’t a guarantee if things are already… comin’ along… enough ter be noticed." But her friend certainly didn’t smell pregnant.

As steam began to rise from the water, Otis used a ladle to scoop water into a smaller bowl, and then pulled out a small leaf wrapped bundle from the pouch. His dexterous fingers unravelled the smaller bundle and dumped the contents into the smaller vessel. "Let it soak an’ cool a bit, then drink th’ lot. No more ‘n once a day. An’ if yer don’t need ter take it, don’t. It might make yer guts ache, but not as much as brats would." She paused for a moment, her voice dropping, her humour long gone. "If somethin’ does eventuate… There are… other options. I jus’ hope for both our sakes yer never need it."

"Speech."

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Hanako snorted, dropping the ladylike façade for just a moment. "Not that I know of. Shame though, no doubt he'd find you a delight."

She wasn't even sure if she had any other family to speak of other than her parents, it didn't bother her much, since they couldn't have loved her all that much in return if they'd given her away just like that. Without a fight, from what she'd been told. The Fatalis' were the closest thing she'd ever had to a family, treating her right regardless of their recent disagreement.  Some distant and reasonable part of her knew she deserved worse than a slap on the wrist and out of love she was sparred of any real punishment that would do lasting harm to her ego. Sirius was so good to her, it was why she had to do this, to dance to his tune for both his and Azure's sake.

Sedna sobered up, a knowing gleam settled in her gaze as she explained the nature of what she was offering Hanako. From the scent alone she could tell she was speaking the truth, it smelled far from palatable, but these sorts of things rarely did. Oh the things she did for love. She watched the opossum work, the gravity of the healers words making her think, dwell on the implications of it all. Thoughts that were almost as bitter as the medicine itself.

"Mm, it shouldn't come to that if you're half as good as I think you are." It was easier to flit back to heartfelt banter then worry about the details. As long as she followed Sedna's instructions all would be well, right? If nothing they had time to kill before the concoction was cool enough to drink. "How bad are we speaking though? Am I gonna be den bound?" Hanako loathed the thought of dealing with any discomfort, least of all the belly kind.

-prescribing thread 3/3-

Sedna couldn’t disagree with her friend. Either on any imaginary brother finding her a delight, or her being good with herbs, particularly this type. Both were a… side-effect of her upbringing.

As to how bad it would be? "Some cramps fer a short while after takin’ it, shouldn’t be more’n an’ hour. Might not affect you at all, but the more yer use, the worse it gets. Yer shouldn’ need it if yer not in heat, thank all my mothers old gods… but if yer gettin’ particularly inter it an’ yer not on heat, it might be safer ter take it just in case." She was happy to assist where she could after all.

"Speech."

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Hanako wrinkled the pale of her nose at the thought of cramps., it was a word no woman liked to hear. But much better than the alternative, with its myriad of horrible side effects and implications. It made her wonder how people got accidentally pregnant, did they simply not care to take precautions or were they simply not available to them?  Hanako batted those thoughts away with a swish of her tail, she didn't care what mistakes other people made and she was determined to not be like them. She was fairly laid back with most things, bone idle at worst, but she was determined to keep on top of this. Cramps and nasty taste or not she'd make do...and maybe milk it for a bit of sympathy, if she could get away with it.

Regardless, taking it whenever she needed it seemed to be the right course of action. She'd no doubt be seeing more of Sedna from here on out, which was a good thing either way in Hanako's opinion. The less time she spent with stuffy warriors the better.

"Mm, thank you. I owe you one, for this and your discretion." She'd left the former unspoken till now, but it felt like a good enough time as any to point it out. Just so they were clear. "Really though, how have you been? I haven't been around much but...you don't have an excuse, you barely leave your den. "

-prescribing thread 4/3-

"Oi, discretion costs extra..." she teased with an obvious smirk, belying that Hanako’s secret was safe with her, but she couldn’t help but prod the poor girl. "But no, any time. If yer need anythin’ else an’ yer have ter go ter someone else, yer’ll have ter tell ‘em yer takin’ it, just so there are no accidents that wind up with yer dead, I don’t need that on my head." Not that she expected the dappled woman to be getting herself into any more trouble with Azure to keep her company, but it was always worth mentioning. Not all healers thought to ask if someone was already taking anything before doling out their remedies.

The next question was a bit more personal, and the greyscale woman failed to keep her face in check, muzzle scrunching in annoyance. “E’ry time I bother ter get ter know someone, off they fuck. What’s the point? There’s enough work ‘ere fer three wolves, without the rangin’ fer stuff not local. If they don’t put in an effort ter get ter know me, why should it all be on me ter get out there?” She was spitting pointless venom she knew, there was nobody to blame for her loneliness but herself. She sighed and rolled her shoulders, bringing a small smile back to her face. “I’m just sulkin’. I’ll come good once this mess is cleaned up…” She managed a more wicked smile, “An’ then yer can help me find a husband as payment fer all this eh?” She was teasing again… Sort of…

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Hanako couldn't help but shoot Sedna a mock appalled look, a woman scandalised. She supposed it made sense though, she knew next to nothing about medicine, but some things just weren't supposed to mix. Like oil and water. Beyond her own sense of self-preservation, the last thing Hanako wanted was to get Sedna in trouble for doing her a solid. It wasn't like they were sneaking around doing stuff they shouldn't, the laws were sanctioned by the Warlord and place for a reason, but if something bad did happen then the blame would probably land squarely at the Archer's paws. Azure least of all would throw a fit if something happened to Hanako, in instances like this it was better to be safe than sorry.

Though Hanako had a lot going on in her life, she did feel a lingering sense of sorrow for Sedna. She'd been hiding away for a reason, nursing hurt she didn't really know how to deal with. Hanako searched for the right words, a solution that would magically make things better from here on out. But there wasn't a quick fix to this, the Armada had always been full of wolves who came and went and she wasn't really sure why. Had they wandered off for the same reasons Hanako had: wanderlust and a desire for more? Or was the strict regime of a military pack just too much for some to handle? Hanako pursed her lips, ultimately unsure if their reasoning even mattered in the end.

She wondered who exactly Sedna was talking about, no one special really jumped to mind. But maybe Hanako was just too biased, self-absorbed to see what cards everyone else had in play.

"All that sounds like a them problem. " She was quick to dismiss whoever they were with a flick of a paw. "Who even caught your interest anyway? Anyone I know? "

For all her brash exterior, Sedna wasn’t really one to put herself out there in a meaningful way that might end up with her getting hurt. Hanako wouldn’t have known about Sigrun leaving in the night, or maybe even the Hallows wolves leaving just as she was getting to know them. She wouldn’t have known that even starting to forge a friendship with someone like Magnus after all that had come immediately before could hurt her so deeply when he chose to leave them. Even Baracuda had vanished in the night. Not a single explanation between them. Time and time again, Sedna and her feelings weren’t even an afterthought, just a casual bystander to be forgotten as soon as an interaction was done. She wasn’t too keen on putting herself in a position to be burned again… But she couldn’t handle being so alone anymore either.

She forced a laugh to leave her chest. “Nobody yet… doesn’t necessarily have ter be a guy either…” she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Ma had a husband an’ a wife… and some others on th’ side.” She still struggled with the idea of being stuck with one wolf forever. “I come from a really big family. It’s jus’ gettin’ ter me, bein’ surrounded by others but still bein’ alone.” She tried to brush the uncharacteristic moment of vulnerability with a shrug and a clearing of her throat, tipping her muzzle towards the bowl of steeping herbs. “Should be cool enough by now.”

“Speech”

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Hanako understood where she was coming from, after all she'd never tried to tie herself down with a label. She liked who she liked and that was that, it didn't need to be complicated or messy. Still, she was a little surprised to hear about Sedna's past life, she didn't talk about it much or maybe Hanako simply hadn't asked. She frowned a little, her chest twinging at the knowledge her friend felt so alone whilst still surrounded by wolves from all walks of life. Maybe it really was an Armada thing, people came here to get strong and all that and mingling just got...lost somewhere down the line. Heaven knows Hanako didn't really hang out with most but a select few.

"Hmm, it makes sense though. It's a big change." Hanako made a thoughtful sound, trying to relate as best she could. It was hard though, since Hanako had grown up with pretty much only her Keepers and nannies around. Even now her friends were fewer than you'd think. "I find heading out helps more than trying to make friends here. Something about this place...people either don't stay or they do and get real serious."

Eying the concoction, Hanako wrinkled her nose before nudging the bowl close enough to drink. She bowed down and took a tentative lick, only for her pretty features to squish in repulsion.

"Bleehk." The temperature wasn't the problem, at all. "Are you sure this won't make me go infertile or something?"

Colourless eyes were thoughtful for a moment, and she nodded in silent agreement. She had seemed to have better luck outside of the borders of the Armada, although it made her sad to acknowledge the fact. A pack was supposed to be family. Perhaps, if she couldn’t find what she was looking for here, she would need to make something for herself elsewhere. After all, her mother and grandmother had done just that. Why couldn’t she too?

Her smile had a teasing edge as her friend pulled a face, and she barely stifled a laugh, reducing the outburst to a snort instead. “Maybe, if yer drank all I got an’ managed ter survive th’ next week without blowin’ yer guts out yer ass an’ gob.” She had never been one for subtlety and graphic descriptions were often the ones that stuck when it came to giving warnings. “Best way ter take yer mind off it would be ter go fer a run. Care to join?” She was making her way towards the den exit before her friend had a chance to answer. It had been a while since her last patrol of the borders and she wanted to at least appear to be contributing in some fashion other than maintaining her own stores.

“Speech”

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed