A Door Has Closed, A Window Has Opened [Open Healing Lessons]
Warm sunlight on her back and a shift in the weather had Lydia feeling more like her old self. For once the anxiety melted off her shoulders and she was feeling a budding confidence in herself as she set about her work. Meadowsweet was the quarry of the day. It would help with flu symptoms should the winter come rolling back in but for now she was enjoying the little break and the promise that spring was right around the corner. Here in the orchard there were signs that spring was already moving up into Boreas. She couldn't wait for the green to blossom. She needed a new beginning. Nostrils flared for the faint, sweet scent of the plant she desired but it was easy to get distracted. Lydia carefully set down a rabbit skin that contained a few pieces of white willow bark. Bark and roots were the best she could hope to do in the dead of winter but with the warm spells lately she was finally seeing green. There had to be some young meadowsweet around here some where. She stood for a moment, just enjoying the day and stretching her jaws. "Talk" "You" Think |
The sun was in the middle of the sky when something made a sound and her eyes flickered open. As she twisted her head around she saw another wolf. This one a bit larger then herself and much more suited to hide easily in this weather. Rylee's fear took over right there and her muscles tensed. She never let her eyes off the stranger hoping they would either pass right by without noticing the strange black blob in the snow bank or be as nervous as she was.
ooc. Caia is gonna be the worst healer ever but she's gonna try!
The north was cold as a witch's tits. Blizzards had nearly buried her within the woods where she had taken up residence. For now, the titan was roaming further from the cold. Thick fur meant that she would remain warm regardless of the conditions, so she was far from worried. Broad shoulders rippled with corded musculature as she prowled along an unknowable path. There was no destination, nor was there a plan. A pack seemed to be in order, as she was beginning to leave her prime. Not to mention, the safety of numbers seemed like a promising endeavour.
The twisted branches of dormant fruit trees reached for the heavens. Amethyst gaze would flicker to their ominous fingers, seeking to tear the heavens from above. The scents of others, fresh and heady within her nostrils, made themselves quickly known. A small grey femme was busy doing her own thing in the middle of a mostly snowless clearing. A little ways away, there was a dark female who bristled like an angry cat. Perhaps it was due to her being one of the tiniest creatures around. On par with Faria. Wherever she was. One brow would rise in question, wordless and yet curious. Now, what was her problem? A few more steps were taken towards the busy woman, thus ignoring the little ebony female.
"What you do?" Intrigue would force the words from her jaws. Perhaps she was looming, but only slightly. Heavy accent effectively making her worse at social interactions than imaginable. There were some herbs here. Not that the woman recognized them. Regardless, she was curious to see what the storm cloud was doing. Nostrils would flare, crown lowering towards the ground to warily get a feeling towards the scents. A pelt carried some bark, pale as a ghost. From the strange bleached trees near the shrine? Or another locale? "What is this?" "Talk" "You" Think |
It was faint but in a moment Lydia caught the sweet scent of meadowsweet. Perfect! She started following her nose but froze when she felt like she was being watched. Cautiously she looked around her trying to pinpoint the source of the feeling. Part of her wanted to just shrug it off but the other voice in her head reminded her that had she followed her intuition back in the canyon she would not have been enslaved. Her eyes suddenly fell on a black shape in the snow that she quickly realized was another wolf, a young woman who seemed quite nervous. Oh, goodness, was Lydia frightening? The thought had never crossed her mind before. How odd to be on the other side of such an encounter. "Oh, hello there. I'm sorry, I didn't see you. This isn't your garden is it?" Footsteps caught Lydia's attention. She turned and immediately gasped at the large, brightly colored woman striding toward her. Goodness! She never thought she'd see another pelt so elaborately decorated as Asharya's. She spoke in a heavy accent, clearly uncomfortable with the words of the common tongue. "Oh, hello there. I'm Lydia. I'm just looking to gather some herbs, some meadowsweet to be exact. Who might you be?" The woman seemed interested in her makeshift satchel. "Oh, that is some white willow bark." She flushed a bit with embarrassment. Was she going to be able to get out a sentence that didn't start with 'oh'? "Talk" "You" Think |
It was then that another wolf, this one more colorful and definitely bigger, came strolling in with no fear and bouts of curiosity. They also locked eyes for a moment before she seemed to turn and ignore her. Asking about the weird leaf she unfolded and.. Meadow sweet? Was that a herb? She too started to have her curiosity simmer to the surface, still timid and shy but her head lifted out of the snow and tried to peek at what they were sniffing. She watched the grey wolf as she seemed a bit nervous too. Her body and facial expression showed it as she was approached by the greater wolf.
Rylee slowly stood up from her spot, her paws delicate in the snow trying to be as soft and quiet as possible. Step by step she tried to get a better view at what they were talking about but as soon as one of them looked at her, she would stop and stand there froze. Her fear showing like a living animal crawling over her pelt and causing it to prickle even though she didn't want it to. When she came into view of them, her eyes scanned the little fur thing with what looked like white and brown spotted bark torn from a tree she remembered seeing not far from here. That must be the Willow stuff.. She thought and was so focused on mesmerizing it that any movements would have been lost on her.
The young thunderhead of a woman gasped, as though she had never seen a wolf before. Brow would rise yet higher, a low hum of question rising from her throat. Luckily, the ashen lady recovered quickly. "Oh, hello there. I'm Lydia. I'm just looking to gather some herbs. Some meadowsweet to be exact. Who might you be?" Lydia. The name sounded nice, rather soft. Like this woman. She looked soft, and friendly. It was rare to find such a creature around these parts. The world had become hardened since her youth. Crown would rise from the ground, gaze falling upon the features of the smaller female to scrutinize her expressions for a moment. Though her skull did not rise above her shoulders, she did not need to put effort into meeting her gaze. Was everyone in these parts still small?
"Caia." The titan grunted, tone a vague semblance to kindness. There was no one to lecture her about the art of manners. Still, she tried. Making friends was crucial to survival. Someone had told her that, once. Who? She did not remember. It was obviously not important. In regard to her earlier query, the woman said "Oh, that is some white willow bark."
Another cursory sniff of the strange bark, and she turned her attention to the little black waif. She looked as though either of them might eat her. Perhaps such delusions had served her well in the past. Glittering orbs would narrow, giving the tiny creature a once over. As soon as the ebony sprite noticed her attention, she froze as though wounded. Her hackles were bristling, though did not stand to full attention. "You," commanding vocals would announce carelessly. She did not care if the girl was scared. "don't fear. Serves poorly in life." Those were her words of wisdom, only partly fuelled by irritation. Cowards had no place in this world. They always faded away or got themselves killed. She'd learned that the hard way many years past. The girl's genuine interest in the strange bark was promising though.
Shining amethyst gaze would lock upon the small woman, who she noted smelled fairly strongly of herbs. Perhaps she would serve as a conduit for learning. "White.. willow bark. Comes from where? Does what?" She was curious, she simply conveyed it poorly. "Talk" "You" Think |
The vibrantly colored woman introduced herself as Caia. It was pretty name and a foreign sounding one. The raven-pelted woman hadn't responded. Was she nervous to? Lydia tried to smile reassuringly at her. Of course it also occurred to her that the woman could be deaf or mute and Lydia was probably standing there babbling like an idiot. Slowly the other woman would rise from her spot and move toward them. Lydia tried not to fix her with a direct gaze but that all went to mud when Caia turned and spoke in a commanding voice. Ach! Lydia quickly stepped forward, aiming to nonchalantly put herself slightly between Caia and the stranger. She nodded. "Yes, it's alright. You don't need to be afraid. I don't want to hurt anyone. In fact I want to help others, you see. I'm training to be a healer. Do you have a name we may call you?" She felt like she was rambling but she also didn't want to scare off the stranger. To be honest she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because she'd been so terribly lonely and being in the nice little group of women was a nice change from her months of solitude. She turned with a grin as Caia asked her about the bark. "White willow bark comes from the white willow tree. It's a large tree with grayish bark and I try to carry some on hand for the winter when I don't have many fresh green herbs available." She'd been working on drying them to have stores though the winter but that really only worked for a healer who had a place to stay. As a traveler there was only so much she could do but maybe one day she could have a nice pack and carry a wide variety of things with her. She'd heard of things called 'jars' that one could put items in. "You can use the bark to create a poultice to bind wounds and slow bleeding. It's also useful for easing the pain of headaches and arthritis. You just have to be careful of allergies." "Talk" "You" Think |