*Herb gathering, white willow bark

It had been since a mild season, that she hoped that she wasn't too late to find some wintergreen. It was a very rare herb, but it was the very best to use against severe injuries. She tried to not keep too much of it in her storage though, it was fatal to pups and could cause miscarriages in pregnant wolves. Sometimes that was a wish that some wolves had though, and she had been using it in hew studies. Only thing about it though, was that it was a prickly little thing. She had to be careful when she gathered it, it irritated the skin after very little exposure. Generally she tried to wrap it up in another plant, a large leaf or something. But she was heading for the Fern Gulley, somewhere that she knew white willow trees grew. Their bark was a useful thing as well, and she knew that she could gather both at the same time. Two birds with one stone! First she needed to find the willow trees though, and then she would begin her search for the wintergreen. Amalia had no idea if it was even still alive, but there was no snow on the ground and it was still relatively warm. She knew that it liked dry soil, if it was too damp it would have died off already. It could take her a very long time to look for it, a lot of effort for something that might not even be growing. But every herb was worth it. Plus! The trip wouldn't be a lost cause if she didn't find any, she was nearly out of white willow bark anyways. The tine woman strolled through the gulley, her dark blue eyes scanning for the tree she sought. Once she did, it would be a battle to get the bark off. It was strong and took a lot of energy to pry off a good sized piece. Taking a deep breath, she scanned the horizon. She knew that there was at least two trees here that she had harvested from before. But where were they again? She couldn't remember the exact location, and she scolded herself for that. It was a large area, but the trees were fairly big. It shouldn't be too hard! "Speech"

— herb gathering; white willow bark

teach me gently how to breathe

There was so much to learn about healing, and Solveiga had barely begun. She was excited, always eager to learn more and absorb all the knowledge and experience she could. Sometimes it made her wish that she had paid more attention to her mother when she was a child. Maybe if she had, she would have an easier time identifying herbs now. After all, her mother had been a healer, and a fairly good one too. Her two children had never really struggled much with ailment or injury, and yet she'd always had a decent stock of herbs tucked away in their den. If only she had asked her mother about them, showed interest in learning more about the practice. But, at the time, she was too caught up in following her big brother around. And look where that had gotten her.

Solveiga sighed gently through her nose, carefully holding her bundle of herbs between her teeth as she walked along. She had no deer hide or other fancy pouches to carry her findings in. Not yet, anyway. But early on in her herb gathering trip she had found a young foxglove tree, with leaves nearly two feet across. She had folded one of these leaves the way Regulus had taught her, and it had made for a perfect little herb carrying device. Right now it held alfalfa, marigold, watercress, and a bit of lavender. She had even managed to find some lamb's ear yesterday, surviving here in the south thanks to the mild winter they'd had. Now she walked into the Fern Gulley, an area the other healers of Celestial had told her about. This was the farthest she planned to travel; after looking around here for a while she would turn and begin her journey home. But this place was just as wonderfully filled with herbs as the other healers had told her it would be, and she planned to stay awhile and see what rare herbs she could find. She looked around, slowing her pace so she wouldn't miss anything. Granted, she didn't know enough to identify half the plants in here, but that wouldn't keep her from trying. If only she had a more experienced healer with her, to tell her what was what.

As she walked, she came along a big, drooping willow tree. She stopped, setting her little leaf bundle at her feet again as she pouted a bit in thought. Willows had something useful, didn't they? Was it the leaves, the bark? As much as Solveiga wracked her brain, she couldn't seem to remember. She supposed she could collect both, just to be sure...