Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

Paladin padded slowly through the Estuary, keeping an eye out for predators as he went. He was out for a gathering trip, seeking plants that liked this habitat. He wasn’t in direct search for any particular herb, but he’d be happy to come away with several different plants for his stores. The season was nearly half over, so time was thinning to stock up. He spotted some likely stands of water mint and smiled, humming gently under hos breath as he padded to the plant, slipping his saddle bags off his back and setting them to one side and open, ready to receive his finds. Gently, he brushed a paw over the mint, deftly separating the various stems before he bent and snipped the first few stems with delicate nips of his front teeth, ears taking over to keep attentive watch over his surroundings, pausing as he heard wet pawsteps approaching from the southeast. He assessed the distance, judging that he had a minute or two before the other wolf reached his location, and gathered the stems of mint into a bundle in his teeth and tucking them into the left saddle bag, arranging the mint so that more would fit in without crushing them. He straightened, scanning the surrounding marsh foliage for another stand, smiling as he found another and went to it, glancing over as the approaching wolf came into sight.

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Lúta worked her way from the north to the far south where the weather was warmer and she had a better chance of finding some herbs that autumn had already claimed farther north. In particular she was looking for meadowsweet. It was best gathered in summer when it was flowering but with the additional warmth of the season in the south she figured that would by her the necessary time.

Lúta followed her nose, search for the familiar scent of meadowsweet and to her delight she was able to pick it out despite all the rich aromas around her. She followed the scent until she spied her quarry. Still in bloom to! Grinning at her luck she set her bundle down and called over her companion Ragna. The macaque soon found her but so did someone else. Her ears perked up at the sound of movement as she spied a pale pelted man. She eyed him carefully for a moment before speaking. "Oh, hello there. Are you out gathering herbs as well?"

Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

The young woman that came into view was large, but friendly. He smiled easily, nodding at her query as he bent to snip a few more stems of water mint. Once he’d tucked the new bundle into his bag he spoke warmly, “I am. Mostly looking for anything I can find before the winter comes. This water mint will be useful. It eases headaches when crushed and eaten. It’s a good antiseptic as well, and the tea makes a good mouthwash for infected throats and gum abscesses.” He nipped a few more and tucked them away before nosing the flap shut and moving on to the next stand, tail swaying gently behind him in contented good humor as he asked, “What are you looking for? I might be able to find some more, and I wouldn’t mind company while I look for more plants in my list.” His black-teared face wore an easy, genuine kindness as he posed the question.

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Lúta smiled as the man stated that he was gathering mint. A wonderful herb, and one of her favorite smelling ones. She nodded as he mentioned its uses, bending her head back to the meadowsweet. It was another plant with a wonderful smell. Lúta dug lightly around the base of one of the plants as she glanced up at the man to answer his question. "Oh, I'm gathering some meadowsweet. I'm going to prepare a decoction of the root for fevers and dry the tops for use to help with bleeding." Bending her head she carefully seized the plant and gently pulled until she'd freed the whole thing. She hated to pull it up roots and all but autumn was a good season to gather roots and she only needed a few, at least for the roots.

She moved to snip off a few more of the tops which she laid down next to the first plant. Lúta then bent her head to start chewing on the plan to separate the roots from the tops. She'd dry the tops but for the root infusion she'd leave it as it was for now. She separated the root and put it in it's own pile before turning back to the tops. "My name is Lúta by the way. Might I have the pleasure of knowing yours?"

With the tops set aside she turned her attention to the root. She'd need to boil it in some of Ragna's white wine but to do that she'd need a fire. In the mean time she pulled out a lopsided ceramic bowl which she set the root into. She then started scraping at the ground and moving rocks to create a little fire pit. "You don't mind if I get a fire going do you?"

Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

Paladin smile as the woman spoke of what she was after. His nod was approving as she described her plans for it, and he added with a chuckle, “It’s also very good for the ailments of old age, like arthritis. I’m afraid I may have to start using it myself by my next season.” He glanced down at the water mint, deliberating, before bent and gently began working a paw into the wet soil around the roots. Water Mint was a virile plant, capable of overtaking their area, so he planned to surround these plants with a wide circle of tree bark if he could find just the right type of tree to use for such a purpose. The bark would contain the root system, and keep the mint from overtaking the rest of his various gardens he’d planted around Valhalla over the years. Gently he prized the separated mint plants free of the ground and tucked them into his bag. Luta introduced herself, and Paladin obliged her with a smile, “I am Paladin Ancora, Incandescent Courage of Valhalla—or one of its more experienced wolves of the Healer’s Circle. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady.” As she moved to start a fire, Paladin shook his head with a chuckle, scanning the surroundings as he confirmed easily, “Not one bit. My pack has a cave solely devoted to keeping a fire lit year-round. Certainly makes concocting various remedies much simpler.” His eyes fell on the bowl with some interest as he asked, “Might I ask what material that bowl is made of? We’ve made many clay bowls and jars at home, but I’m not certain what this might be made of.”

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Lúta examined the amount she had then eyed the meadowsweet again before deciding to gather just a few more pieces. She bent her head and carefully snipped off a few more tops to add to her drying pile. She'd get good use out of the herb she had a feeling, if she kept running into large predators like she had been. The man introduced himself along with his titles and pack. She grinned as he agreed to her starting a fire. "Excellent, Ragna, would you be a dear and get something started?" She glanced to her companion who was relaxing nearby in a tree. The macaque poked her head down and yawned before nodding and going off to gather some items.

"That's incredible! Do you have someone in charge of watching the fire then? How do you deal with the smoke?" She had to admit having a fire constantly going would be nice when it came to long crafting sessions. She couldn't very well do that as a traveler. Ragna returned with some stones and started building a small fire ring before adding a variety of stick sizes working through the sizes to form a pyramid. While the primate did so Lúta reached in her bundle and pulled out a thin strip of leather, with it she carefully laid the meadowsweet she planned to dry along it, using her paws and teeth to delicately tie a knot around the stem part.

Licking her lips she looked up at Paladin and asked about the bowl. "To be honest I'm not sure. I found it while exploring an old human dwelling. It seems very similar to clay but there's some kind of coating on here." She reached out her claws and carefully tapped the bowl. "Either way it works well for heating things." Lúta took the root to a nearby stream and cleaned it off before adding it to the bowl and mashing it lightly. Ragna had a good fire going now and so she took the small bottle and worked the cork out with her teeth before very carefully tipping in a small amount of Ragna's white wine.

Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

The healer smiled easily as Luta set her companion to gathering. Luta showed great interest in the fire, and he cocked his head with a smile, readily answering, “The cave system is almost like a human… castle, I think it’s called. Not built in, but found by my Spirit’s great great grandmother long ago. In the last couple of years we got a fire started in one of the back cave chambers that has a decent crack in the ceiling the seems to have been cracked in such an angle the water doesn’t get in, but the smoke gets out. “There’s still some smoke scent, but it’s not choking at all. A good number of us live in the alcove system as our dens, so there’s usually always someone around to feed it, and much of the year we make sure to gather wood so that it stays burning, especially in winter.” In turn, he listened with interest as she spoke about the bowl, nodding slowly and considering. “I’ll have to see what Kayode and Ime say. They’re both primates, and have a lot of knowledge of human artifacts. Perhaps they know how to make things like this.” His eyes left the bowl as he ranged around the clearing, giving a soft sound of pleasure as he found yet another plant he’d been after. Gypsywort, which went by several other names, including Water Horehound. It was past its flowering season, but it was an ideal time to divide some of the roots for the streamside garden the water mint would be planted in. It was an incredible plant to have around when it came to healing internal injury, and with Cairo having found a healthy amount of honey lately, he felt like he’d hit a jackpot. Bending, he nipped some of the stems, tucking them into his pack before gently digging his claws into the wet soil around the roots, humming a favored Nomad song under his breath. It had a gentle, crooning tune, a mother's lullaby. His aunt had sung it to him as a pup while he'd been raised with the Nomads after they'd found and saved him.

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Lúta examined Ragna's fire, reaching out one of her paws to test the heat before she carefully set the bowl near the fire to begin heating. She wanted to get it to a good simmer to start extracting the medicinal qualities from the root. Of course the trick was going to be moving the bowl away from the fire once it was hot but she had Ragna for that. The clever primate could wrap her hands in deer hide long enough to move the bowl when it was time.

Her ears perked at the mention of a strange human dwelling. "Oh? I'd be curious to see that. I've seen a couple of unusual human cave systems. Mostly of wood and one of metal." She nodded as he continued to talk. "Oh, yes! I bet that would be lovely in winter. Curling up next to a fire with some warm tea. I'd love to figure out a way to do something in your standard earthen den but I haven't had much time to practice. I'm anxious to get my herb gathering done before it starts to snow. Do you get quite a bit of snow where you're from?"

Lúta moved over to the tied bundle of meadowsweet. She seized it in her mouth before moving to a nearby tree where. Her claws unsheathed as she leapt up into the tree. Climbing cat like out onto a branch she carefully wrapped the meadowsweet bundle so it hung down to dry. Once she was finished she leapt down and peeked at the herb that Paladin was gathering. "What's that you've got there?" Her eyes caught sight of a white willow tree and she padded over it to gather some of the bark while they talked.

Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

At Luta’s words, Paladin smiled, nodding thoughtfully. After a moment, he suggested, “I could speak with Aurielle, my alphess, about you perhaps guesting for a few days this winter in Valhalla. It’s just at the northern edge of this land, as a matter of fact. We get decent snow levels, but they pale in comparison to the northern lands.” He was always happy to have company during his herbal practices as he made salves, tinctures, and various oils and other implements. Justice wasn’t fond of being in the caves—they held too much negative memory for her to stand being there for long, as proven in her last visit. He paused as the larger wolf leapt into a treet, head cocking with some interest at her claws as she maneuvered and hung her finds to dry. Luta’s question brought one of his good-natured smiles to his features as he gently levered the rootball of the Gypsywort from the earth. “It goes by many names. Water Horehound, Gypsywort, Bugleweed, Water Bugle, Sweet Bugle… It’s a remarkably good plant for internal bleeding if used in a decoction.” He gestured gently to the long, jagged-edged leaves. “Waterfowl also like it for snacks, so I figured that I may take some home to replant by our local stream.”

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Lúta worked her teeth into the bark, only taking a few sections. She didn't need much and the willow bark would be there in the winter should she truly need it. She added it to her pack and then settled down to relax for a bit while she continued to wait for the water to heat up. She smiled. "I appreciate the offer, we'll have to see. I'm staying in the north so I plan to be snowed in for most of the winter." It didn't really bother her. If anything it reminded her of home and she was working on adjusting her den so that it had an area where Ragna could build a fire. She had a hide she was planning to rig up at the top to cover an opening that could be opened when Ragna wanted to build a fire.

"Ah I see. Is it similar to Watercress? It reminds me of it."

Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

He nodded with a smile as he lifted the gypsy wort from the ground and tucked it carefully into his pack before he answered Luta’s question. “They’re of different families. Watercress has rounded leaves and differing flowering clusters from the other. Water Horehound is a member of the mint family, and tends to flower in rings against the stem.” He eyed the stand of Gypsy wort one last moment before deciding the one plant he’d taken would be enough to start with—he could always come back for more to plant if he needed to. Tucking his head around he flipped the flap closed on his bag and smiled at the younger wolf, tail swaying gently in a light wag. “It’s been pleasant to meet you, Luta. If you ever wish to visit and talk healing, give me a call at the border.”