you lead me on my way

Justice set out with determination in her heart and a bundle of herbs in her jaws, though the effect was somewhat spoiled by the fact that she had neither very far to go nor a whole lot of head room to stretch her legs out and get a good stride going since she was already in the extensive family den Regulus and his family had used for years. She felt a little uncomfortable staying there since it was Regulus' family's den, but it was where her mother was and they were cousins if rather distantly.

"Hey Mum," she said, a bit muffled from the herbs, as she slipped in beside her mother's quiet form. She didn't wait for a reply, or even acknowledgement, knowing by now about her mother's unresponsiveness, though she did take the time to cuddle up against her mother, dark fur next to pale. She wasn't here expecting a conversation from Kavdaya, not as unwell as she was. She was just there to talk to her, and hope that her voice drew her out of the silence.

Setting down the herbs she spread them apart in front of both of them. Carefully chosen herbs. "I've been collecting herbs since I got back, though I don't know what all of them actually are named. I know that this one is lavender," she said, touching the dried purple flowers and leaves with one paw. "Everyone uses it for its calming properties but that's not all it's good for. There isn't really an herb that's just good for one thing, you know? Like lavender, it's good for calming and stuff, but it's also good for cleaning cuts, or small burns, or soreness. It's got a lot of uses."

She pulled the bergamot towards her, giving her mother a sideways glance. "I don't know what this one's called, but smell this." She deliberately rolled the dried rind between her paws, releasing the citrusy scent. "I found it down south. Isn't it a wonderful smell? It leaves a sort of oil on your paws so the scent sticks around for a long time." Carefully, she pushed the dried rind in front of her mother's nose. The plant's uplifting qualities would have been obvious to Justice even without knowing the other uses, and she didn't hesitate to use all means necessary to pull her mom from her depression.

Laying her head on her paws to watch her mother, Justice hesitated, searching for more to talk about than just the herbs she'd brought. Things that weren't even more depressing like talking about her missing brothers or distant father. "Fable's been doing pretty great. He and I went hunting coyotes with Regulus recently. We've been doing some training. Regulus made new ranks for the pack, I'm pretty excited about it. I can be a cleric, or a paladin, and do healing and fighting. I don't know if I want to be a cleric or a paladin though - clerics do more healing than fighting, and paladins do more fighting than healing." She was quiet a moment, then added with a frustrated sigh, "I wish I could get your advice about this, Mum. I don't really have very many people to talk to, you know? There are a couple other healers but Kalliope is blind and Solveiga doesn't really seem to be a fighter so I don't think they'd really understand." Leaving her head on her paws, she lay there in silence, just listening to her mother's breathing and letting the scents of lavender and bergamot wash over her and soothe her mood.