As Life Rolls By
Kavdaya Of The Nomads |
How does the time fly by so fast? It was a thought that often crossed her mind as she sorted and stored herbs in their various deer and rabbit hide bundles. Winter was in its latest stages, and Spring would be here before they knew it. With it would come a bounty of herbs to replenish her dwindling supplies. With it would come an influx of new life; fawns on spindly legs, and hairless, sightless, deaf kits hidden away deep in the warrens of rabbits. With the arrival of Spring would come the departure of her first pupil in the family, Zuriel. She’d be sad to see her go, but in a way, there was gladness in the leaving. Zuriel needed the venture into the world. There was only so much Kavdaya could teach her young relation when a lot of the plants she had worked to imprint descriptions of and uses for into the young woman’s mind didn’t grow in this end of the continent, if anywhere at all on it.
With Spring, also came her seventh year of life. And her sixth cycle of heat. For the last several years, she’d simply ignored the cycles. She’d kept busy, and taken herbs that dulled the effects of a body that was preparing itself to house new life; and threw quite the tantrums when no measures were taken to begin those new lives. She simply hadn’t been looking for a prospective mate; there were herbs to gather, categorize, learn, and store. Regulus and Surreal had both been ill multiple times over the last year or so, and she had been helping Zuriel and Falk, supplying her knowledge to their efforts. She already feared Surreal would never be quite as powerful as she had been before the illness that had sunk in during her pregnancy. The older woman still had a faint rattle in her lungs, and a light cough that refused to let up.
So love had not been set to the forefront of her priorities. Part of her wasn’t too bothered. If it came, it came. And if it didn’t? Well, she could always adopt children and raise them as her own, much like Erani had done. Still… Another part wondered what she was missing. Alright, well, she knew what she was missing, to be honest. Love, companionship, a shoulder to lean on, and an ear to confide her fears and dreams to.
She was padding down the ravine, headed out to gather any herbs she could find, and wasn’t paying much attention to where her paws took her; or what was ahead of her. Should she take young Solveiga out on a gathering expedition? The girl seemed eager to learn. It had been a while since the last healer’s meeting, too… She was slacking. She didn’t like that.
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
Winter was drawing to a close and the aging male could feel it within his bones. It already had been an unnaturally warm cold season and he could tell that spring would soon be on its way. With it came a sense of anxiety. Not because he feared the coming spring, but rather he feared the season after it. Summer would be around the corner before he knew it and with it came the realization that he was getting old. He hadn't felt old lately. Sure his stamina wasn't what it once was and it took him just a little bit longer to recover from things than he used to. He still did them anyways as his brain refused to believe that he was nearly an elder by the standards of most wolves. Eight... Eight. He was going to be eight. That was a terrifying thought. A part of him was compensating for the short amount of time he had by traveling so much. He was still around for the important things and already he was planning a trip for him and Baine. It would be best for him to get in all the last bit of training he could for the girl before he got too old to travel anywhere. He didn't fancy the life of sitting around feeling useless. Sure he could share experiences with Surreal's children and act like an actual elder would, but he was a busy body. He enjoyed having things to do, places to go, and others to see. He needed in his life. It was all he'd really ever known in his life. Adjusting to a slower paced lifestyle was going to be rough. He could feel it. Then there was the regret of not settling down sooner. The longer he sat and thought about it the more he envied Surreal and Falk. What if he'd never left Ardent and had stuck around? Would he have gotten to stick around with Surreal and her family? There was even a remote part of him wondering if he'd be in Falk's place and be Surreal's mate instead. It certainly could have been a possibility in an alternate universe. Of course he was never one to overstep his boundaries and hadn't entertained that idea for more than a few seconds. Instead he pined after the idea of a mate and children instead. He'd always enjoyed youngsters. Even Avalon had settled down with a second mate after Newol had left her. Of course she was younger than him, but if she could find someone surely he could too? He honestly couldn't see it happening but it was a nice idea nonetheless. With these thoughts in mind Creed exited his den and slowly picked his way towards the ravine. Perhaps a walk would help clear his head. Not feeling up to a border patrol, he instead decided to just let his feet do the leading. He was already quite familiar with the Vericona plains so there really wasn't much "exploring" he could do of the place, but a walk was certainly a wonderful idea to start off with. After a while though he soon realized that his peaceful stroll was becoming a bit boring. Feeling the itch to actually do something the male paused at a patch of flowers. Were those useful? Were they something Kavdaya or Zuriel could utilize? He plopped down next to them and stared intently at them trying to figure it out. He'd never any good with herbs or plants and never had picked up the naturally knack healers had for them. Still he'd sit there and stare if it meant he'd be of some use. It may take him a while but he was sure he could figure it out, right? Walk, "Talk" Think |
Kavdaya Of The Nomads |
What would she do for Solveiga’s first lesson? Pick random herbs for the young woman to pick through, see what she knew already? She’d have to see what Solveiga knew of healing wounds and illnesses. Was she an innovative wolf? Kavdaya hadn’t met her one on one. Regulus had informed her of the young healer moving in, and she’d caught a few glimpses between herb gathering expeditions. Small, very small. It would be hard for her to shift a larger patient without something that would bring leverage.
She was so deep in thought that she completely missed the large, monochromatic ball of fluff in her path. She hadn’t been going at a high rate of speed, but it was enough to draw a yip of surprise from the woman as she jumped back to clear her nose of fur and looked to see whom she’d crashed into. “Oh! Creed. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Is everything alright?” Her amethyst flecked sapphires roved his larger form, checking the Right Wing habitually for injuries or signs of illness before they returned to his sea green, gold flecks gaze, satisfied that he wasn’t hurt or sick, but curious to see what he needed.
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
Creed was focused so intently on the plants in front of him he had no idea that he had company headed his way. He hadn't noticed Kavdaya approaching up until he felt something bump right into him. Quite surprised at the interruption, Creed leaped to his paws in an instant and whipped around to see what had hit him. His demeanor calmed immediately once he realized who it was. He noted the concerned look on her face and he offered her a reassuring smile hoping to ease her worries as she apologized. "Yer fine. Ye didn' cause any physical harm." It wasn't like she'd bowled into him and he could still take a good beating despite his age. "Ah was just lookin at these plants wonderin if ye'd find them useful." He said while turning his head to look back at the patch of white flowers. If it'd been something to do with hunting he would have excelled at it. His nose was great for tracking prey but when it came to plants he knew nothing. Neither of his parents had an affinity for it either so there wasn't anyone who could have taught him when he was younger. Celestial didn't seem to be in dire need of anymore healers so he didn't care about learning. He was curious about being able to tell which plant was which so he'd be useful in helping find them when the warmer months came back. "Are ye alrigh' though?" He'd question curiously looking the female over with worry. Even though she hadn't hit him hard he was positive she'd bumped his nose which happened to be a rather sensitive spot for most. He knew what it was to hurt yourself there. He couldn't help but be curious as to what had her so occupied that she'd ran right into him. It was actually quite humorous now that he thought about it. He didn't talk to Kavdaya often so it was a nice incident. Walk, "Talk" Think |