Early spring wasn't usually a fruitful season, but after such an eventful winter this year seemed more hesitant than usual to creep back into vibrancy. Wherever Jasper traveled, it was hard to find a place that seemed altogether... Settled. Maybe the lingering shadows were all in her head, but either way found nothing fruitful enough she'd consider setting down even temporary roots. Not that Jasper minded the travel, not in the slightest. Even in the short time since arriving in Boreas she'd passed through a marvelous diversity of life and landscape, which was fascinating. It was just, how was she supposed to start learning anything without a place to start? Obviously there were herbs all over the place, but this was practically her first rodeo and nothing was sticking out as familiar. What, was she just supposed to start chewing on things to see what happened? This was going to be impossible. "Talk" "Listen" Think

Lukina leaned in carefully toward the two foot plant full of tiny yellow flowers. She took a whiff and promptly had to turn her head and sneeze. Phew! Feverfew alright. She'd recognize that strong, bitter smell anywhere. She dipped her head used her teeth to snip the plant off at the base. Fever few was hardy and she trusted it would grow back in time. She'd make a decoction of the herb to help with her nerves. Lukina had been lucky to never come down with the ooze but the strangeness of the season and Bog's grave illness had left her shaken.

Lukina tucked the plant into a simple square of hide tied at two corners to enable her to carry a small gathering of plants. She had a few projects in mind for the day but opted to do a little more hunting before she returned to her camp.

Jasper was about to give up on her quest to find one of the scant few plants she knew of, just to say she did it, when a flash of white off in the distance caught her eye. This place could only offer so much cover, so she was afforded the chance to watch for a moment without being detected. Or at least, was pretty sure she hadn't been detected. That... Was a bummer. Jasper resigned this day as yet another wash, seeing as even from far away she could tell this wolf was substantially bigger than she was and as a general rule of thumb, she didn't fuck with that. The bigger they are, the harder they hit, or however the saying goes. Of course, that all changed when Jasper saw the wolf gather up a plant whose details she couldn't quite make out. It was one thing to give up on something you had no idea about, and another entirely to have a potential path to walk but turn off it anyways. Jasper dug their claws into the ground and groaned through frustration. She had to learn how to take care of herself properly, but the thought of walking up to the hulking white creature on the horizon and asking for help had turned Jasper's legs into jelly, her guts into water. She crept closer, skittering from boulder to boulder, losing sight of the wolf at one point as she diverted behind a low rise to circle around closer without being seen. If she could just get close enough to catch a glimpse of whatever plant the stranger was interested in it would be a start. Even if Jasper didn't know what it did, it would be something! She crept up to the top of the rise, ears pinned down, belly fur tickled by the grass. If she'd calculated it right, the stranger should be just down the slope. She'd get one good look at whatever-the-fuck, and then she was out. There was just one problem.... Where.. exactly did they go? "Talk" "Listen" Think

Lukina pushed ahead, trying to focus her thoughts on the hunt at hand but they kept drifting off toward Bog and the bizarre winter. She shifted course and started heading back to her camp site. She'd get her tea made and hopefully be able to settle down before going back to herb hunting.

The wind shifted and her fur stood on end. Was she smelling this right? Was someone else here. Her ears stood up straight as she looked around, eyes scanning the grass and the boulders. She didn't see anyone but her nose rarely lied. Lukina hopped up onto the nearest border before setting her bundle carefully down, placing a paw over the herbs in case the breeze tried to steal her plants. "Hello? Is someone there?" She gazed about, ears flicking back. Magnolia's strange cries noted that the fire was ready. Lukina hesitated.

Jasper froze as her mind spun, trying to make sense of things in a way that didn't make her feel quite so stupid. Okay. The pure white stranger was nowhere to be found. Probably just a ghost, and definitely not Jasper walking into exactly the sort of situation she'd usually try to avoid. That checked out. She was in the middle of debating whether that meant she should move forward and see if the ghost at least left that plant behind, or scoot her way back to avoid a litany of curses and spiritual wrath befalling her, when a flash of movement drew her gaze. She turned just in time to watch a very-much-corporeal wolf leap atop a nearby boulder. ""Hello? Is someone there?" Jasper's fur stood on end, and her spirits sank. Oh yeah, this was a great plan, genius. No way it could have gone wrong. Once more her mind whirred into overdrive. Gods, she wanted to just melt into the earth but if she continued to hide and was found anyway, would that be worse? There was no way she could outrun this- Jasper squinted. Was that... Was that a kid? What on earth did they feed pups around here?! Jasper wasn't sure if that made this encounter better or worse, but in either case she figured the odds of a yearling choosing violence for no good reason were low enough to pop her head up over the grass. "Er, yes. Sorry." ... Okay, now what? Her jaw worked a moment before more words managed to tumble their way out. "I just. Uh, saw you from up there," Jasper jerked her head back over her shoulder by way of pointing. "Wanted to see what plant you were interested in, but didn't want to.. Disrupt your day?" Jasper winced at what could not have possibly be a reassuring speech, but it was the best she had. "Talk" "Listen" Think

Lukina continued to glance about, shifting back and forth on the rock as she tried to pinpoint the source of the scent. She moved quietly, her claws retracted safely within her paws. A rustle caught her attention and she watched as a young wolf popped up out of the grass. Lukina relaxed as she saw that the other wolf didn't appear to be contaminated with the ooze. Even though the illness was becoming less frequent she still was cautious of catching something and bringing it back to the rest of the swamp wolves.

"Oh!" Lukina exclaimed as the woman mentioned she was interested in the plant that Lukina had. "This is just some fever few. I was going to make some tea with it." She gestured with her head eastward to where smoke could be seen rising up to the sky. "My companion's getting a fire going. You uh… you could join me if you wanted to. Not that you have to or anything. I just… yea."

Jasper registered the younger shewolf's initial alarm (fair) and also the way she relaxed upon realizing it was just lil' ol' Jasper there in the grass (also fair.) They got that a lot, but without a wicked smile overtaking surprise her curiosity remained strong enough to keep her mind and mouth moving. Feverfew, huh? Jasper may not know much, but right out of the gate that sounded handy. "I've never heard of that. Or 'tea' either, really." She wracked her brain. Healers back home had been skillful enough, but even so most of her care had consisted of 'eat foul-tasting plant,' 'don't ask too many questions,' and 'hope for the best.' Jasper zoned back in in time to see the younger wolf gesture to a ghostly smoke trail not far off, compunding her curiosity considerably. This was turning out to be a very strange day. Listening to the girl stammer through an invitation was, also strangely, extremely comforting. Previous tormentors always carried an air of confidence with them, one that likely came from knowing exactly how, why, and where they were going to bend her into pretzel-shape. There was none of that here, and seeing as Jasper also wanted as few fevers as possible... She took a leap, so to speak. "I'd appreciate that, actually. If you're sure you don't mind." Jasper rose and took a hesitant half step forward, showing a willingness to follow but still not wanting to presume anything. There was an instinctual urge to promise she wasn't a dangerous crazy person or anything, but seeing as from the looks of things she could walk comfortably underneath the pale girl's underside... that was probably a non-issue, huh? "Talk" "Listen" Think

Lukina's jaw dropped open as the woman explained she'd never heard of tea. It wasn't surprising she hadn't heard of feverfew. From what she understood it wasn't a super commonly used herb here in Boreas though it was a staple in her homeland and enough of a 'weed' it tended to grow well in most areas. She realized how rude she was being and quickly shut her trap. "No, not at all. And sorry, by tea I mean a decoction. You know, boiling it in water." She actually didn't know if the other woman knew but she felt bad about her initial reaction and was trying to make up for it.

"Oh yea, I don't mind! It will be nice to have company, especially someone else that doesn't think being interested in plants is weird." As a young girl most of the other wolves her age thought her interests strange. Her cousin had been one of the few wolves she knew that was interested in herbology.

She trotted back to her campsite where Magnolia, her antlered arctic fox, has a low fire full of nice warm coals. "This is Magnolia. Magnolia this is err…. oh gee, I never gave my name. I'm Lukina." She almost gave her name as Hoarfrost but had hesitated at the last moment. It was her swamp wolf name. Something she didn't really feel like sharing with the stranger just yet.