Kotori let Halo lead them through the woods to find the beehive she spoke of.  Alongside him was Splash the snow leopard and riding on top of the leopard was Fang, the little mongoose had his little paws around the bucket to keep it in place on top of splashes back.

Kotori glanced amongst the trees as they went.  Halo thought she knew where one was but might as well make sure he didn’t spot one closer.  The horned wolf scented the air, keeping his senses alert for predators.  The main thing he noticed with the hint of deer to come back to later.

“How long does this process normally take anyway?  Do the bees calm down right away or does it take a while?”  A moment's thought before adding, “What do you want the bees for?” Kotori imagined he was supposed to know about the other members of the pack if he was to reach his goals.  Kotori wanted power for simple selfish reasons but he could also hold up his end of responsibilities.  

Thank goodness the wolves in the pack he had spent time around seemed decent.  Some were weak and he questioned the promise of his nephews and nieces.  Still, they were young, and time to improve them if they pushed themselves.  It was bad for the pack if any of the wolves were weak but that was less important than if his own flesh and blood were weak.  Well, step one to gaining power was to catch a queen bee.  How ridiculous was that?

Kotori Fatalis

 

Halo lead easily, her tail wagging at her haunches. She carried the bucket carefully, making sure that it wouldn't make contact with her chest. Still, the shorter girl came close to whacking into the hot metal with her forelegs as she carefully tried to step across the ground. Not only that, Halo had to work a bit harder to keep up with Kotori's much longer strides. Really, was everyone here a giant? They were all so much faster. Meanwhile, Kotori's companions moved alongside the pair, seeming to know just what was asked of them. Would her raccoon friend be to that point someday? Maybe. Halo could hope. Though Halo had seen a hive in days prior, it would be much easier and much safer to find a swarm. A hive had something to protect, but a transient swarm was already in search of a new home. Swarms were fairly docile anyway, and they'd be stung less, losing fewer bees in the process. "They usually chill out pretty quickly, but I've never tried to catch them, only push them away from the hive to collect the honey and wax." Halo admitted, a soft smile on her face. As the yearling asked about the bees, the healer's eyes lit up. Something she really could speak about, something she knew about. Something she'd feel comfortable talking about, for once. "Honey is very good for wound care and cleaning," she explained. "As well as tasting nice. I want to experiment with bees' wax for waterproofing things too, it will be especially useful for bandages on the lower extremities during wet seasons." Halo looked to the yearling, checking for any questions or at least for understanding. On the question of weakness, Halo knew she was weak. She could feel it. She could feel every comparison of her own to the wolves of the Armada-- Halo wasn't like them. She wasn't like any of them, and really, it had her feeling like an outsider. They had been so kind, but Halo would find herself feeling (time and time again) alone in this place. Alone in the world. That was where the grey came from, and would keep coming from. Right. She was going to have a good day to spite herself. Halo would have a good day. And so it would be. From somewhere off to the right, the girl could hear a faint buzzing. She froze... this wasn't the location she'd found the hive the other day. This was a good sign. "I think there's a swarm over here," her words were soft, voice low. "I need you to be careful not to get stung, because if you get stung, the bee doing the stinging will die." The words came as she lead slowly in the direction of the buzzing. "Swarms don't have a hive, so they're not protecting anything. That means they're more docile, not on guard. I just need you to hold the bucket open, I think." Halo looked to the yearling, nodding to herself. That seemed straightforward enough. As they crept closer, Halo could see the swarm hanging out on a blackberry bush. Excellent.

Kotori nodded slightly at Halo explaining past use.  If she’d done this before and it worked then Kotori was relaxing more on the not getting stung bit.  He remained quiet while she spoke of the uses. “Good to know you’ve got experience at it.  I guess you have some experience as a healer then.”  Kotori remembered as a pup when he thought he’d be a healer.  It was boring enough to put one to sleep on a regular basis.  Hunting was far better.

Kotori slowed as she mentioned a swarm, nodding his head.  Good, they were almost done with this.  Then Kotori’s head jerked up and eyes narrowed at her next comment. Try not to get stung for the sake of the bee?? For the bee? “Bee doing the stinging would die even if the process didn’t kill it,” Kotori assured her.  

“You think?”  She only thought he needed to hold the bucket open?  “So basically all I need to do is not have the lid on the bucket and sit close to it?” He could do that much.  Kotori eyed the bunch of bees warily.  Glancing to Splash and Fern he pointed to a spot.  The pair walked ver and Kotori scooped up the bucket from Fang and placed it on the ground.  The mongoose gave Kotori a vicious glare that he ignored at first then glanced to Fang, “Look, Halo will give you some of the honey later if you like it.”

"Kotori Fatalis"

Halo's tail wagged softly as she walked with the yearling. "I have some experience, but I learn more every day. Sedna has been a big help," she couldn't help but smile. The older woman had been kind, and she was looking forward to more lessons by her side. Learning came easily to the pale healer, as long as she had the right teacher. It was also nice that Sedna wasn't quite as giant or intimidating looking as many of the others that called the Armada home... though she had come into contact with sharks and lived to tell the tale. That was enough to intimidate Halo just a little, but heck, she did find most things intimidating. "The hope is that none of the bees die," Halo clarified, sighing softly. "We need to get enough home to make sure the colony is healthy, otherwise I have to track down and find even more bees." The explanation seemed to make sense in her head. It was the tenderhearted girl's hope that they only had to capture bees once, and she could get this colony stabilized and bolster their numbers enough to help them survive through the winter. She had plenty of time before the winter itself set in, but she was still worried. "I think," Halo looked to Kotori, tail wagging. "Just make sure that you open the lid for the bees, and then shut it when there aren't bees coming your way." Halo nodded emphatically, setting down her own pail. Quickly, she moved to pluck several dandelions from the ground, nosing the lid to the formerly empty bucket open and dropping them inside. "In a couple weeks, when they've settled in and have honey to spare I will. I can offer you fish when we get home," she spoke to Fang, before her gaze flickered to Kotori. "Does he eat fish?" Halo didn't know anything about mongeese (mongooses?), but it would be interesting to learn. Though she was doing her best to hide it, it was Splash that made Halo a bit anxious. "Ready?" Halo picked her pail back up, moving in the direction of the swarm. She'd cut wide around them, careful not to scare them off quite yet. At this distance, she'd be able to hear a ready from Kotori, and then she could begin herding the bees in his direction. To her, it seemed like it should all work out at least reasonably well.

Well, at least one wolf was really interested in the whole mess.  Healers were good things to have and this one had a cheerier personality than Sedna.  Then again Sedna was good for hunting with and had taught him about tanning a hide.  So Sedna was someone to go to if he wanted help with tanning hides but if he was injured he’d probably go to Halo first for the doctor's politeness.

Her goal was none of the bees dying but, Kotori’s goal was making sure he didn’t get stung.  Kotori imagined going home and reporting to dad that he’d failed.  With a deep huff, Kotori imagined he needed the damn bees to live also.  “Right, bee’s gotta live,” the response was dry enough to share how much he cared for the bees.  No reason to have a pretense of caring for the flying stinging bugs.

Kotori took off the lid of the bucket, then sat down close enough that it would only take one paw step in and a stretch of his neck to get the lid put on. “Fang?” The little mongoose had its attention sharply on Halo when she spoke of him.  

Fang’s look always seemed to come with intense focus, unblinking gaze held the wolf for a moment before losing interest and choosing to groom some of its blue glowing furs. “He probably would eat fish but he mostly eats bugs, sometimes other stuff, birds, lizards and he kills snakes when he gets a chance.”  That was the fun thing he could gloat about his tiny pet.  It was fun to watch the tiny animal manage to take down the venomous snakes.

“Splash likes fish though,” saying that to glance to the cat who now had more attention on the wolf who was mentioning easy to get fish.  Splash was the most relaxed one about amusedly.  The cat found itself a spot to lay down, a bit farther away from the bucket conveniently.  Kotori noticed and doubted it was just a coincidence

“Yup, ready.  Let’s get this over with..” Kotori had a dad to get back to and beat in a fight.

"Kotori Fatalis"

As a healer, Halo really did have the whole bedside manner thing down. Halo was gentle, and she would always be gentle. There was nothing that would shake it from her. Kotori huffed as the tenderhearted girl explained that the bees needed to live through the collection process as well. Well, all they could do was try their best, right? Halo certainly thought so. That, and she really was excited about getting the bees collected and brought home. Feeling Fang's gaze on her made Halo a bit uncomfortable. He was rather... intense. Small, glowing blue, and he killed... snakes? Halo's gaze flickered between Fang and Kotori. "He kills dangerous snakes?" That was really quite impressive, especially at his small size, and the awe colored her voice. The tenderhearted girl examined the creature with interest, though she attempted to avoid eye contact. A bit unsettling, but also really cool. Splash had settled nearby as well, and Halo nodded to the cat. "Well, then after this, we can have fish. I have some drying near my den." Her tail wagged, a reward for a job well done. On Kotori's ready, she knocked the lid from the pail. The smoke rose from the bucket, and Halo carried it towards the swarm slowly. The bees shied from the smoke slowly, drifting in Kotori's direction. Okay, that's not bad. With careful, soft steps, Halo drove them forward towards the yearling. Every step careful, but it wasn't too bad. This swarm wasn't aggressive, but were easily pushed from their spot within the bush. As the smoke started to thin, the pale girl set her pail down for a moment to blow into it some. Softly, she coughed a bit of the smoke... that's fine. Still, the swarm drifted towards Kotori, and the first of the bees seemed to be taking interest in the dandelion filled bucket. Okay, not bad.

The tiny mongoose returned the wolf's look but where she tried to not look directly at him, his eyes never left her.  “Yeah, pretty impressive to watch.  I saw him getting hit by a snake once.  Didn’t phase the guy at all.  He seemed kinda pissed after that.  He made a point of killing another snake the next day to prove he could dodge it.  So either the venom didn’t bother him at all, or he’s too proud to admit and still just didn’t kill him.” Kotori would never understand Fang.  There seemed to be no love between him and Kotori yet the little mongoose still hung out with him despite all the glares.  Convenience Kotori assumed.

Splash glanced up at Halo when she mentioned fish.  The large cat’s mouth opened enough to lick its chops and a soft deep purr rumbled from its throat.

Kotori watched as Halo started moving the bee’s his direction.  Kotori watched with a wary gaze and moved his body over just a tiny bit more.  He was stung as a pup and well recalled the sting it had.  One sting wouldn’t be all that bad, just an irritation.  If a bunch of bees stung him? Nope, not happening.  A small sidestep was taken.  Kotori would gladly fight any predator but there was no damn good way to fight a bunch of tiny bees.

"Kotori Fatalis"

Halo found Fang to be a bit... unsettling. Yes, she'd go with unsettling as her response. The pale healer had never encountered a mongoose before, but to hear that it could hold up to the bites of venomous snakes? Well, it was something that she'd never heard before. "That's fascinating," her words were breathless. Halo felt as if she was learning something new every day. Learning was... well, it really was good. "If he gets bitten again, will you bring him by? I'd like to be able to monitor for signs of distress," and really, for the body's immune response overall. At the mention of fish and Splash purring, Halo's gaze went to the cat as well. After the incident on her very first day, big cats made her nervous. Still, this one seemed agreeable enough. Halo would try and win his affection with fish, and if that didn't work well... maybe she'd get lucky? Anyway, he probably wouldn't try to eat her like the panther had... probably? Unless Kotori told him to? Sheesh. Still, there were more important thoughts to have in her head, and Halo refocused on the bees. Her anxieties could get a bit loud sometimes, another impact of the grey fog that seemed to settle over her head. Halo understood bees. They had simple needs, and simple responses to things. They were far easier than anything that could deceive, or lie, or make the choice to hurt someone else. They'd defend themselves, their resources, their queen... yes, simple, simple things. Halo could understand them. Understanding other wolves though? That could be a bit harder. Once more, she dipped her head to blow in the bucket and stir up more smoke. They'd all mostly drifted in Kotori's direction, which was good. Less chasing they'd have to do. At a bit of a distance, Halo set her pail down. Wouldn't want to herd the bees past where Kotori stood and waited. The bees took pause, a few curious individuals making their way to the dandelion filled bucket. Halo nodded softly to herself-- excellent. There was a shrub low to the ground, easy to access at her height, just to the boy's side. Even better! Halo crossed from the bucket to the bees, carefully inspecting the ones that were resting on the nearby plants and flowers. "We're looking for a bee that has a longer body than the others, she'll probably be surrounded by some workers so she might be hard to see," Halo explained quietly as she began to search. "That one is the queen, if we scoop her up and put her in the bucket, the rest should be close behind," her words were confident, and she trained her focus on the bees where they gathered.