Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

He sloshed to dry land, shaking out his snow-white coat and spraying the silver sands with ocean water before he padded toward the tropical woodland he’d come to investigate. He had a hope to find some rarer herbs that might only grow in places such as this. His black marked features wore a leisurely smile as the spring sun warmed his coat. Ime and Kayode followed him from the water, both primates a little waterlogged, though the lemur looked thrilled to be in such an environment, one that called to his species’ origins. Paladin sniffed experimentally, then breathed in more deeply, letting the scents run through his nose. Orchids, maybe… not what he was after but pleasant. A headier, more seductive scent touched his nose and he hummed, shifting his path to follow his sense of smell until he spotted a stand of jasmine. It was a good start. He pulled his saddlebags from his back as Kayode and Ime went to picking the flowers. Even if he didn’t end up using these in a healing facet, they were still something he could turn into a perfume to trade. He opened the flaps of the saddle bags and moved alongside the lemur and monkey, picking blooms carefully with his teeth and dropping each into the bags, humming softly as he went.

Meadow pushes through the water, swimming toward the island that has caught her attention. She has always been a good swimmer and that, along with the calm weather, help make the swim not too difficult. Paws hit the sandy bottom as she finally makes it to shallow water. Pushing forward onto dry land, Meadow takes a moment to stop and shake out her coat. Droplets fly every which way and douse the silvery sands. Now that her pelt feels a little lighter, she strikes out toward a field of fragrant flowers. Loping along happily, she moves deep into the flowers and shakes off her saddlebag. Now free of the bag, she flops down on her belly and from there onto her side. That is when she starts to roll. Meadow feels like a pup again, as she rolls and rubs her fur with the sweet scent of the flowers. Legs paw at the air as she twists and turns. Laughter trickles from her mouth as Meadow stops her play and stands. That is when the bouncing starts. She runs a short distance away and then jumps high into the air and twists around. Doing this a few times, Meadow stops and moves back to her bag. Once more putting the bag over her shoulder, she starts to move again. Humming a tune from her youth, she moves along the beach, looking for any herbs that might catch her attention. After traveling a little ways, a new scent hits her nostrils. In among the sweet aroma of the flowers is the smell of another wolf. It seems to be from another pack. Thinking for a moment, Meadow decides this might be an opportunity to make a new friend. Mind made up, she follows her nose. Finally, she sees a figure... well, three figures actually. Approaching slowly, so as not to startle them, Meadow calls out, “Hello!” A smile rests on her lips as she comes to a respectable distance. Stopping she says, “Oh!! Are you a healer too?” Pointing to her saddlebag and then his. Deducing he might be from the way he was also picking the flowers carefully. Looking between the wolf, the monkey and the lemur, Meadow watches them all with great fascination. "Meadow"

Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

He’d gathered a good amount of the flowers with his companions’ help before the tread of paws turned his head, snowy ears perked. She was a small woman, painted in snow and sand hues, delicately built and visibly cheerful. At her greeting and query, he smiled lightly himself, nodding a black wrapped muzzle. “I am. My name is Paladin Ancora, Incandescent Courage of Valhalla. The jasmine’s really just for perfume making. It’s a good soothing scent for those who don’t find florals headache-inducing.” His words were laden with a thick, charming gaelic brogue and lilt common among the Nomads from the original chapter. Though many, many different cultures mixed with the primary of the Nomads, the Old Tongue and Old Land culture was prevalent among the elite healers, who spoke the language as effortlessly as the wind. He paused to gently nip a few more blossoms off and drop them into his bag. “Here for some rarer plants? Should be a good place for them.” Her scent touched his nose and he filed it away, noting the touch of the Armadan scent among the usual scent that sang of a healer’s trade.

Now that she is closer to the wolf, Meadow sees his distinctive coloring. His snowy white coat broken by obsidian. Black covers each eye and cuts tracks down his cheeks. It wraps his around his muzzle and fades to the pristine white. A red mark on his forehead is the only other coloring she sees on his face. Then she notices his eyes. The deepest sapphires slow change into gleaming amethysts and Meadow finds herself being drawn in. She has never seen eyes as beautiful as his. Meadow is so enthralled by his eyes, that she almost has to shake herself when he starts to speak. His voice is laden with a very charming accent and Meadow finds a smile spreading across her maw. She bows her head in respect to Paladin and his title and smiles again, saying, “Hello Paladin! I am Meadow. A student of the Ashen Armada.” Again, dipping her head in respect. Nodding as he talks about jasmine.   Watching as he gently takes a few blossoms off and puts them in his bag, Meadow finds herself envying his skills. When he speaks of rare herbs she nods enthusiastically. “I am! I have never been here before. Hopefully, the herbs will make up for the swim.” Smile grows and she adds quickly, “Not that I mind swimming, just… I like the reward to be sweeter than the risk.” A chuckle escapes and Meadow asks, “Hey Paladin. Do you know what kind of rare herbs grow here?” The ever-present smile rests on her lips and eyes glitter with happiness. "Meadow"

Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

The snow based man dipped his head in a graceful nod to Meadow’s introduction, smiling easily as he added, “A pleasure, Lady Meadow. And these are my companions and friends, Kayode and Ime, also fellow healers.” The two primates nodded in their turn, as the three males each added a few more gently plucked Jasmine blossoms into the saddlebags before Paladin nodded at the two primates and stepped away from the Jasmine bush, deciding to leave plenty for pollination, other healers, and regrowth. Flicking the flap on his bags shut he grinned in an invitation as he listened to her explanations. “Come summer I imagine a swim would be divine.” He padded forward, eyes shifting and scanning over the tropical foliage for anything familiar or useful as he added, “I’d imagine there should be some good herbs on this island. Perhaps something like.. Ah.” He paused, tail flicking as his head tilted slowly back, eyes scanning up the trunk of a tree that was quite similar to a shrub. He rose onto his hind legs, paws resting on the tree as he sniffed lightly at the tree. “Like Cancerosa. Kayode, could you?” The lemur nodded, leaping his way up the tree, taking the bags with him to begin plucking leaves and tucking them away in the bag as Paladin explained, “Cancerosa leaves can be used as a tea to treat everything from external wounds to infections of the lung and urinary tract and indigestion. It’s also a useful contraceptive, though there are others that are easier to find and use in such a way.” While he adored children, and celebrated new life, even he accepted that sometimes, a pregnancy was the last thing someone needed at a particular stage in their life, where they couldn’t care for a litter and themselves at the same time, or the litter wasn’t viable. It was heartbreaking, especially if in normal circumstances, the would-be mother would have been overjoyed by having their children. His eyes flicked back up, watching the small lemur as he called up, “How about that bushel to your right?” Kayode stuck his tongue out at him, but turned to examine the leaves in question as Paladin asked Meadow, “Are there any particular plants you’re looking for?”

Giggling when he calls her Lady Meadow (Her? A lady?), she bows her head to his companions and says, “Hello Kayode. Hello Ime.” She watches the primates and Paladin with great fascination as all three of them pluck jasmine. For a moment, she considers joining them in their gathering but just as she decides to, Paladin, Kayode and Ime step away from the plants. She follows the group, not wanting to be left behind. She nods in agreement to the statement about swimming and watches him scan nearby trees. Turning, she tries to find what he sees but cannot discover anything. Still, she follows him closely wanting to hear his words and learn new herbs. Watching as he rises onto his hind legs and sniffs at the tree, Meadow wonders if she should do the same thing. When he talks about Cancerosa, she tilts her head slightly in interest. She is about to ask what it is when Kayode takes a bag and leaps up the tree. Neck arches and eyes track the lemur as he moves about, plucking leaves and storing them in the bag while she listens as Paladin explains what Cancerosa leaves are used for. Neck still craned to watch the lemur she says, “That sounds really useful!” Looking at Paladin with curiosity she asks, “Would you be willing to share some of the leaves?” When he directs Kayode to the right, she looks up and sees the lemur stick his tongue out at Paladin. Meadow cannot help but laugh and she tells the lemur, “You are doing a great job Kayode.” and winks at him before looking at Paladin. When he asks her what plants she is looking for, Meadow says, “Oh I am hoping to find some Trillium. I know it is good for cleaning infections and wounds but it has proven difficult to locate. Also, maybe I can find some Boneset. I have found some in the past but again, it is proving hard to find.” Looking around for a moment, trying to spot either of the plants, she gives a wistful sigh. Looking back at Paladin she says, “The search proves difficult. But maybe… we could team up? Find the herbs together and share the spoils?” Tail wags slightly with hope at the thought of being allowed to follow Paladin. The wolf intrigues her greatly and she wants to get to know him better. What better excuse to stick around him than gathering herbs? Meadow smiles warmly at the small group, in hopes it will win them all over. "Meadow"

Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

Paladin chuckled softly at her query, nodding with a light, “Of course. There are plenty up there.” Kayode flashed a quick wink down at the Armadan healer as he plucked several more leaves, tucking them away and shifting down a branch for more. Paladin, meanwhile, tipped his head with an easy grin as Meadow listed off what she hoped to find. “Trillium’s pretty easy to find if you know where to look. They like low tree cover in temperate forests. If you look under the low boughs of fir trees among salal bushes, they like the soil there because it’s moist and cool, and they get just enough sunlight there. Some will grow in more open areas, but nearly always in forests unless replanted and tended very carefully.” He grinned, adding, “Trillium is also very good to use for birthing. It helps the contractions start, and also helps keep the mother from bleeding too heavily afterward, and helps with the pains. It should never be used too soon, though, or it could cause miscarriage.” Kayode plucked several more leaves, and Ime waited to catch the bag if the lemur dropped it. Paladin went on to add, “Boneset, however, is more likely to be found in good grazing lands or marshy areas, and is best collected when in bloom during the Summer, but I know of a few good areas, so perhaps if you’d like to search for those come Summer, I’d be happy to show you.” His eyes twinkled good-naturedly as he glanced aside at the woman, “We’re always happy for company regardless, today or any day. Good work gets done with many paws.”

Smile grows and eyes light up with happiness as Paladin agrees to share the leaves. She watches as Kayode winks down at her and Meadow giggles before turning her attention to Paladin. Listening intently to the information that he gives, she nods thoughtfully. His grin is mirrored with a huge smile from the intrigued Meadow. She says, “I am still learning certain herbs and the climates in which they grow in. Thank you so much for the information! You are very knowledgeable! Would you… be willing to teach me more?” Always on the hunt for information to better understand the healing arts, she is quickly finding that Paladin is a fountain of knowledge and Meadow is extremely grateful to have met him. Frowning when he mentions the information about Boneset, she feels kind of stupid for not having known that. But he does not chide or belittle her for not knowing that information and the frown is quickly changed into a smile as he offers to search for them come Summer. With her. Tail wags happily as she nods her agreement. When Paladin agrees to her idea about working together, Meadow almost jumps for joy. Already, she really likes him and wants to prove her worth as a healer. Nodding to his statement about good work and many paws, Meadow says, “I am always willing to put in a good day’s work. Especially when I have company as great as this!” She looks at Paladin, Kayode and Ime in turn and adds, “Besides, it is not every day I get to be accompanied by such a handsome trio.” Throwing a playful wink at Paladin, her smile and joy grows exponentially. Turning to cast her eyes around, looking for something, anything, that she recognizes, Meadow starts to lose hope. Nothing looks familiar and she starts to feel silly. What kind of healer is she if she cannot identify anything? However, that is when she sees it, a little distance away, there is medium size tree with evergreen foliage. The narrow trunk, heart shaped leaves and greenish white flowers give away the identity of this helpful tree. Pointing toward the tree and shouting happily, “Look!” Meadow proceeds to bound cheerfully over to it. When she reaches the tree, Meadow circles around the trunk once before starting to jabber to anyone who will listen, “Look at this! Sangre de Draco! Also known as Dragon’s Blood. The sap is prized for helping to heal cuts. They say it almost forms an almost ‘second skin’ when applied to wounds and aids in quickly closing them. Found mostly in mineral rich soil, the indicative sign of this tree is its bark, which is smooth and mottled.” Stopping to take a deep breath, excitement gives way to determination as she looks the tree up and down. “We should harvest some of the sap. But how to do that?” Pursing her lips as she thinks, once more she circles the tree. Her mind turns to her bag, “I have some leather, a small container of water, a bowl and sharp rock in my saddlebag...” She meticulously lists off her tools, hoping that something that she brought might be able assist in the retravel of the sap. After a moment she says, “Well, I guess I could peel back the bark and we could collect the sap that way… but then we need a container to put it in…” Biting the inside of her cheek thoughtfully, Meadow looks at the tree as if it will share all its secrets with her. "Meadow"