Wandering was basically what he did now. That and either occasionally gather some basic herbs to carry with him or try to trade knowledge with whoever he happened upon. It was bland, but,. sometimes when he was down life would give him something new and interesting to focus on to keep his mind occupied. Unfortunately that hadn't happened yet today. In fact, not much had happened at all so far.

He was laying, sprawled out on the beach, chin resting on the sand as he stared absently at the treeline. Wandering around there sounded okay, he supposed, but what was the point? He didn't really need to find or do anything right now. Goodness, was this loner getting lonely? He shivered at the thought. Next thing you knew he'd be in a pack or some crap. Hah, not likely. Not unless things got real bad and he felt real desperate for some interaction, but even then he was quite sure he'd never go that far to fix his loneliness. Maybe he just needed some friends other than his sister to check in with regularly. Sounded reasonable enough to him and there was the added bonus of far less commitment.

He was getting a bit off track now, but that was alright. The moment he'd laid eyes on the island Malleus had known he needed to visit it. He'd never been on an island before and had it been wholly separated from the mainland it was unlikely he'd have bothered with the swim, but there was a convenient little strip of land that connected the two and that made it hard to resist. Malleus wanted to know what kind of life, both animal and plant, called the island home. After reaching the beach, Malleus paused to take it all in. The island was mountainous; the many peaks seemingly smashed close together in an attempt to fit as many as possible on the island. They looked like hell to climb so he wasn't going to try. No, he'd stay on the beach for awhile and then venture into the forest; perhaps even collect a plant or two to study. His eyes were drawn to a grey blob on the beach. He couldn't tell what it was at first - a dead seal, perhaps? - but then as he padded closer the shape became more wolflike and the markings began to look familiar. Jouko? It was, wasn't it? That young healer with all the fun facts and the bundle stuffed with creepy things. "Looking for something that pairs well with maggots for your next demonstration?" he called as he approached. "Might I suggest sand fleas?"

Soft paw-steps in the sand roused him from getting too lost in his own thoughts. Turning to see who it was, Jouko was pleased to find a somewhat familiar face approaching and laughed good-naturedly at the remarks. Shaking his head, Jouko sighed, "Hm, you jest, but one never does know when they might happen upon something useful. Careful or I might just challenge myself to top the unusual things I collected last time." It really wouldn't be difficult to convince him to do such a thing either. In fact, he'd enjoy trying to be even more shocking and outlandish with the things he presented. A break from monotony would never be passed up.

Pulling himself to a sitting position and lightly shaking the sand from his fur he glanced over Malleus briefly. He seemed to be in good health, something Jouko always checked for as it had become second nature by this point. Giving the slightly older male a curious glance, he asked, "What is it that brings you this way?"

He shuddered to think about what could possibly top maggots and still be useful, but if there one person he thought capable of finding such a thing, it would probably be Jouko. Malleus was still baffled by the younger healer's knowledge of maggots. While the idea still grossed him out, if the opportunity arose he intended to try it. Of course it was unlikely that he'd get a willing test subject. Perhaps he needed to take matters into his own paws and make a test subject... Malleus thought about it for a second then said, "Honestly? I'd like to see you try." He shook his head and then grinned at Jouko. "If you do, come find me, I'd like to see for myself." He answered Jouko's question immediately. "Curiosity, mostly. I've never been on an island before," he admitted. "I wanted to see what kind of plants and animals call it home." He eyed Jouko curiously. "How about you?"

Smirking playfully, Jouko laughed, "Haha, deal. I'd never dream of depriving you of the chance to witness my healing related misadventures." Yeah now he was feeling pretty determined to go through with this new personal challenge. It would be a nice distraction to go hunting for unusual things all over Boreas. He could talk to all kinds of more experienced healers for some help on this little quest. Could be fun.

He nodded slightly at Malleus's explanation. It was always a good idea to check out as many lands as possible, since some important plants were exclusive to a small subset of lands and grew nowhere else. So, the more you explored, the more chances you had to find rarer plants. Simple enough, though time consuming. Smiling faintly, he shrugged, "Oh, nothing terribly interesting. Just wandering, mostly. I was thinking about looking for a nifty creature with hands to help me out, but this isn't the right type of island for that I don't think. There might be some interesting herbs growing here though. If you're interested, perhaps we could look for some? Or anything else at all really, I've been dreadfully bored, anything to break the monotony would be much appreciated." Moving to pad a little closer to the tree-line, Jouko's tail wagged lightly. He didn't know Malleus terribly well, but the guy seemed alright. And company would be lovely.

Malleus ears pricked forward in interest as Jouko mentioned a creature with hands. Almost immediately he figured out why the young healer would be on the lookout for such a creature. It seemed like Jouko was stuffed full of intriguing ideas. Having such a creature for a companion would come in handy when tending to wounds. Nimble fingers would make bandages so much easier to fasten on and concoctions easier to mix. "To help with your duties as a healer, I presume? What a novel idea!" He eyed the forest skeptically before turning his attention back to Jouko. "I'd like that. Perhaps we'll get lucky; I've heard of islands that teem with medicinal plants." It was too soon to say if this was one of those or not, but he was happy to find out. Malleus enjoyed being around Jouko. At the very least he thought he could get a decent conversation out of him, although he fully intended to try to tease more words of wisdom out of him. Malleus followed Jouko amicably as he padded towards the treeline and then moved to walk abreast with him to making conversing easier. "Tell me more about this creature you're looking for. Perhaps if I find some before you do I can point you in the right direction."

Should be enough to guide me through this maze And I won’t stray and I won’t lose my way Smiling and nodding enthusiastically, Jouko laughed, "Correct. Healing, and perhaps a little crafting if there's a need to make something I just can't make alone." There was no end to the things a willing and dexterous companion could assist with. The concept of making items to help with not only healing related things but for making other aspects of life easier was thrilling. Heck, if he could get more than one of the handy little creatures he'd be absolutely ecstatic. "Islands are fantastic for that very reason. Sometimes there are plants you can only find on specific islands, although that does mean you ought to be careful to not over-harvest for fear of wiping them out." Talking plants was easy and enjoyable for Jouko. He liked it most when he was talking to someone who had a good amount of interest in the subject. Idle conversation with uninterested parties was just... awkward. As they began wandering the forest, Jouko sought out faint trails to follow in hopes that they'd lead to places of interest. It was usually a better bet for him than completely winging it, but maybe that was just because he wasn't exactly much of a navigator. Glancing to Malleus, Jouko ducked under a low-hanging branch before replying. "Hm, well, I suppose it depends. Anything with hands or fingers is ideal. Creatures ranging from raccoons to lemurs to monkeys could all fit the bill. I think I rather like monkey's the best, they're quite intelligent. They're funny little creatures with hands and often times dexterous feet too. Sometimes they have tails that they can use like their hands to climb through the trees." He turned to the right at a fork in the trail, lifting his muzzle to scent the air for herbs. After continuing for a while and hopping over a couple fallen logs and stepping over a broken bit of an old antler he turned back to Malleus. So far their conversations seemed to always be interesting. Jouko liked the change of pace from the usual, rather dull interactions he tended to have with strangers. "I think I smell Earth Smoke somewhere if you're interested in collecting some of that. I'm not sure what else we'll find but I'm fine with looking for other things too." Honestly he just enjoyed the company, so Jouko wasn't in any rush to do the gathering. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Crafting, eh? Dexterous fingers would make all sorts of goodies easier to make. Weapons, if he were ever inclined, and a wide range of healing related items. Bandages, slings, splints, tisanes...maybe even containers to hold his concoctions in...the list was endless. Malleus listened intently as Jouko described his idle companion. A monkey. He'd have to keep that in mind. Although he'd never seen one, he knew what Jouko was talking about. He'd heard of primates before. Perhaps they'd find some today. If not he'd just have to keep his eyes peeled. "That's very interesting," he said earnestly, "I'll keep an eye out for them." The pair headed deeper inland and it wasn't long until Jouko sniffed out the trail of something interesting. "It wouldn't hurt to have a small stash of that." With his nose pointed towards the breeze Malleus veered off the path in search of the herb. "So tell me, Jouko, how did you get your start in healing? Or have you always been interested in it?" Malleus spied the plant he was after and after picking a stalk of it, turned back to show it to Jouko. He didn't say anything, though. No, he very much wanted to hear Jouko's answer and he didn't want to sway the conversation by saying anything else.