Svala headed back to the lake, seeking a little rest and relaxation after she was forced to shelter from a violent storm. She'd enjoyed the lake the last time she was there, of course it had been evening then and now she had arrived in the middle of the day. It was a gorgeous day though. The sky was blue and only a few clouds drifted by.

Svala found a good place to rest and do a bit more crafting. She'd started a nice fire and it was about ready. She had a number of marsh mallow plants in her mouth which she set down and sorted. She'd rinsed the dirt off the roots and now it was time to separate the roots from the rest of the plant. She carefully got to work chewing and severing the roots from the stalk, leaves and flowers. She planned to make a decoction of the roots as well as a tincture. Taking what she had she divided her gathering in half and set aside the tops. She'd dry those later and see if she could find another use for them.

Aranea often traveled far from Lirim on herb scouting missions but there was more meaning than that. She enjoyed the solitude even though she aimed to be socially better with the pack. When she came this far east her nose turned sour to the scent of Abaven and the old memories that brewed to the smell. But she knew of course no one would be stalking her from there anyway. That wasn't a worry at all at least. When she came across the lake, she spotted a dark woman about her own size and was immediately interested as she noticed her pulling at her Marshmallow herbs. She peaked from a distance as she pulled them from the roots and separated them, interested in what her plans were since she built a fire. She'd decide to take her chances with the fellow healer and as she came closer gave out a low yelp from her throat to show her presence. She approached cautiously to show she meant no harm and when she was close enough for her voice to reach, her gaze went to the herbs, "Sorry to interrupt, I was interested in what you are doing. I'm a healer myself." She tried to give a small grin as her eyes flashed towards the stranger but back to keep focus on her supplies. Walk "Talk" Think

After dividing the roots, Svala procured a couple of her trusty ceramic bowls. She placed two roots into one of the bowls for the decoction. Taking a deer fibula in her mouth she worked at mashing the root. This took some effort, but she persisted until the root was good and mashed.

Next she turned to the tincture. The preparation was very similar, only the liquid used denoted a decoction from a tincture. She took two more marsh mallow roots and set them in the bowl before mashing these as well.

Svala was so engrossed in her work she didn't even notice the other woman until the low yelp reached her ears. She looked up to see a woman similar in age who stated that she was also a healer. This immediately brought a smile to Svala's face. "Oh certainly, feel free to join me. My name is Svala. I was just making a few things from this marshmallow root. I've heard a tincture of the root is good for coughs. Goodness knows winter will be here before we know it."

She let herself move closer to observe and would settle in her best efforts to feel more comfortable. Only watching as Svala prepared her supplies. "Aranea." She introduced lightly but expected little recognition as the woman worked. "Yes, I suppose I should start preparing for the winter for my pack." The thought crossed her mind, it was her duty after all. It wasn't like she was much good for anything else anyway, at least in her mind. Svala put aside a couple of the Marshmallow roots and Aranea would immediately offer, "Would you like my help with anything?" Whether it was helping her continue to prepare the roots or going off to find more Marshmallow or even another herb, Aranea would oblige gratefully. Either way whatever she could learn and pull the knowledge from would help her in the long run. For her pack or for herself. Walk "Talk" Think

"A pleasure to meet you Aranaea." Svala was always happy for the company of another healer. She nodded thoughtfully to herself as the other woman mentioned she needed to start preparing for winter for her pack. Svala really only needed to look out for herself, at least for now, though she hoped one day to join a pack. She'd been eyeing one in the east but hadn't quite plucked up the courage to visit. "Oh my, that must be a lot of responsibility."

With the roots mashed and ready to be boiled Svala grabbed her water skin and poured about a pint of water into the bowl that would create the decoction. Setting the water skin aside she grabbed a small bottle of white wine. She poured in a similar amount of wine and then pushed both bowls near the fire. They'd both need to reach a boiling temperature.

"Would you like my help with anything?"

Svala thought for a moment. It really would be nice to gather some herbs and craft with another healer for a change and she had no shortage of herbs to prep. "As a matter of fact I do. I'd like to gather some meadowsweet and practice making a tea from the fresh leaves. This is the perfect time to gather it. It should be in flower now. Are you familiar with what it looks and smells like?"

Though the responsibility to her pack was quite overwhelming, Aranea tried not to over think it. Besides, she had been a part of many packs over the years and it was almost like she had gotten used to the dependency of herbs in the pack life. She still watched as Svala crafted a creation and put the ingredients together by the fire to warm. It reminded her of her encounter with Iroh and her interest in wondering if she could use herbs in tea for medical purposes. Her thoughts concluded as Svala asked to grab some meadowsweet and proceeded to want to use it in tea. She brightened a little to the thought of helping, but also that she considered herself what was offered. "Yes, I am familiar. I'll be back shortly." with a kind tone and smile. She'd go to search to grounds, her nose low as she made her way closer to the lake. It wouldn't take long to find the common bunch of white flowers. She picked a few stalks close to the root and would return with the bunches in her mouth. She'd drop them beside Svala, laying down beside her and her tools before taking one of the stalks. Her paw held it down by the root as she took her teeth and wrapped around the stalk to slide her mouth upward and remove the flowers quickly. She'd only look to Svala to make sure she wasn't destroying her plans with the herb, but she had a couple more stalks just in case anyway. Walk "Talk" Think

Svala smiled as Aranea stated she knew what to look for. That would save her trying to describe a plant. She wasn't sure she was very good at that. While Aranea when in search of the meadowsweet, Svala started getting things ready. She pulled out a few more ceramic bowls, setting down one for her to use and one for Aranea to so that she could make her own tea. She also pulled out a deer fibula and a piece of antler to muddle the leaves. Let's see… what else did she need. That was probably it really.

She turned as Aranea arrived with the meadowsweet. Excellent! "Wow, this looks like a good haul. I set out a bowl for you." She gestured to the bowl before picking up one of the plants and working to chew off the top of the plant so she had the blooms. She watched Aranea's technique with interest. She'd have to try that some time. Svala sought to use the flowers and the leaves so after she deposited the flowers into the bowl she started stripping off some of the leaves and adding them to the bowl as well. "I've had good luck using meadowsweet for diarrhea in pups and also for fever. Have you used it much before?" She was still working out what certain herbs could be used for. It seemed ever time she talked with a healer she'd learn of something else it was good for.

Aranea watched as Svala added the leaves into her bowl and would go ahead and do the same. She wasn't too sure on the ways of making tea, but she was most certainly willing to learn. She had been interested after Iroh shared his with her and just hadn't had the time to try herself. She'd focus on all the steps though also interested in the new stranger she meant. She felt like she hadn't met many healers recently, even in her pack. But that was mostly her own fault there. Not being big on socializing at least inside Lirim. "I haven't used it myself but I've also heard it helps with fevers. I'd think making it in the tea would improve it's affects toward the flu as well." She took a quick glance at Svala, though still coming off as shy and going down to look at the brewing bowl. "I recently just met someone who introduced me to tea, I was actually wondering if I could use it for medical purposes." Walk "Talk" Think

Svala listened as Aranea spoke and she nodded. "Oh, that's a good thought. I should add this to my cold and flu herbs. Goodness knows it will be needed when winter rolls around." While Svala hoped to avoid getting sick she almost always had a cold at least once a year. Best prepare for it, and while she hoped not to catch the flu any time soon there were only so many factors she could control.

With the meadowsweet added to the bowl, Svala picked up the deer fibula in her mouth and aiming the ball of it down she began to mash up the flowers and leaves, bruising them a bit. She set the bone down. "Oh yes! Tea is an excellent way to administer the medicinal properties of herbs. Chamomile is my favorite. It makes a lovely calming drink." She scooted the bone near Aranea. "You can use that to mash the herbs a bit if you like or your claws. I find bruising them first allows more of the properties to seep into the tea."

Aranea kept the Chamomile in mind while she thought of the many other possibilities of tea. She had to say she was a bit excited to try herself on a real patient. Though Chamomile seemed to fit her well with her use of lavender for depressants. Svala would hand her the bone and she wouldn't hesitate to pick it up at the end and start to mash the flowers inside the bowl. She had used some other objects to mash herbs and even as Svala had explained, her paws. But she never thought to use a bone and it seemed to be the best way she had tried so far. Maybe she never thought because she wasn't much a hunter herself and probably didn't keep her fill of a meal to the max either. She'd have to find the time to get a bone for mashing later on. That and a bowl because though she had seen a few of them now that was a new supply to her as well. She looked to Svala briefly before questioning, "Do we just need the water now and to boil?" Only observing what she had seen with Iroh though since Svala was a seasoned healer it was best to know if they were ready to boil the tea or if they should add anything else before doing so. Walk "Talk" Think

Svala nodded in response to Aranea. "Yep! That's it. I find letting it boil for five minutes works well for your standard tea." She picked up her water skin and uncorked it, carefully tipping the bottle to add water to her bowl before handing the skin to the other healer. Svala then carefully scooted her bowl toward the fire. "The tricky part is getting a hot bowl out of the fire to cool. I find I can scoot it out with a stick or antler though if you have any ideas feel free to share!" Svala was always happy to glean more tips. She'd also set rawhide under the bowls and used that to scoot them around but she had occasionally started to burn the hide for items that needed to boil longer. Maybe she ought to see if there was a way to make a pot with a really long handle and then maybe some hide on the handle for insulation.

Taking the water skin from Svala, she would fill her bowl just as much as she had and scoot it close to the fire mimicking as she learned. She'd place the water toward Svala so she could take it back whenever she was ready and not be greedy. Svala had mentioned that getting the hot bowl out was hard and Aranea wouldn't have to ask why. And she gave out different ways to scoot the bowls out and Aranea didn't have much to offer but just an idea that would be like looking for a needle in a hay stack. "It'd be convenient  to find a flat rock with a handle. I guess you might be able to make something like that though." just an idea though Aranea had never crafted before. She had seen a lot in her travels though and wasn't opposed to trying new things. It just felt weird to her the come up with different ways to do things that weren't as simple as grab it with your mouth or push it with your paw. Walk "Talk" Think