With the strange phenomena happening in the lands, the wolves of the Armada have been on edge. Halo, with her new, large litter of pups has taken steps to prepare emergency kits for… well, anything. Keahi has been lending her paws where ever she can around the pack and has been doing everything from cleaning kills to hunting for herbs. Speaking of herbs… the red woman casts a glance over at the two pups that are waddling along beside her, the woman making a conscious effort to slow her steps for them. When Halo had approached her about going to the nearby Devil’s Spout to collect some Boneset, the natural-born explorer had readily agreed. Now, having five pups let alone six, is a daunting task for any parent so, when had Halo had asked if Keahi would minded taking a couple of said pups along, the red woman had assured her that it would be a pleasure. And, it really has been. A warm smile is on her lips as they walk, the woman often casting glances to the pups and checking in to make sure that they are okay. The small group stop often for breaks when the pups need them and, having set out in the morning, the trio arrive at the Devil’s Spout in the early afternoon. The chill in the air is noticeable but, thankfully, the cold snap has yet to arrive so there are still plenty of plants around. Pulling to a stop Keahi turns to her two charges and says, “Alright you two! We are looking to gather some Boneset.” As she talks, the woman unshoulders the leather bag that the healer had given her, reaching in to pull out a sprig of the herb she is talking about. She holds it aloft so they can both see and smell it before she returns it to the bag. Next, she removes three large squares of cloth and lays them out on a nearby, flat-ish rock. Turning back the pups, a smile wiggles her lips as she says, “What do you say we make this a game?” Once they agree, Keahi lays out the rules, “Alright, every good game has rules! First one, you have to stay where I can see you. Do not get close to that area over there.” A paw lifts to jut out at where the geyser lays, thankfully, dormant. “If you go over there, you forfeit the game and have to sit right here until it is over.” A stern look is given before the smile reappears and she says, “Now, the game is simple. Collect as much Boneset as you can, without stealing from the others, and bring it back to your cloth before the time is up! Everyone ready?” She looks over them before beginning the count down, “On three. One… Two… Three!” With that she releases the puppies to collect herbs an ingenious way (if she does say so herself) of getting them to work without knowing that they are. With a chuckle, she moves off to collect some herself while keeping a keen eye on them. "Keahi Mogotsi"

Today is a good day! Mom had picked her and Wylan to go on a very special herb hunting trip. The red woman, who had introduced herself as Keahi, is taking them out of pack lands too. While the prospect is nerve wrecking, the girl draws strength from her winged sibling. Often, when a shadow scares her or a sound makes her heart leap into her throat, little Zion ducks underneath one of those wings to peek out at the world while pressing into Wylan. Finally, they arrive at the area they will find the herb and the small group comes to a stop. Curious lavender eyes turn up to the red wolf as she talks about a game and the girl’s tail begins to wag. A game! She can play games! After the herb is produced and she inspects it, the rules are laid out and she nods along. They are not difficult to follow and, as the countdown begins, Zion’s body tenses. Excitement gleams in her eyes as she readies to race off and, at three, the girl is off! Paws pound the ground as she races over toward a grassy area, immediately spying a cluster of the white flowers that Keahi had shown them. With a happy shout, the girl says, “I found some!” Coming to a stop near the plant, she carefully sets about pull long sprigs off like her mommy had shown her. "Zion Falatis"

Wylan’s interest in healing was no secret. He wasn’t sure exactly when it started, but from day one he and his siblings had been surrounded by the scent of growing things. Their bumps and scrapes had been tended to, and their mothers garden had been within reach from the moment they could leave the den. But perhaps his real interest had begun when he had found the Polar Bear cub, and his mother had picked him up and carried him home, seeing to his extensive injuries while Wylan had watched, and fetched and carried. So being picked for a herb hunting trip outside pack lands had filled him to the brim with excitement. It was his first trip outside the Armada, and he wanted to know everything He pestered Keahi with questions until it felt like the phrase 'what's that?’ was burnt onto his lips. But the pack Gladiator was nothing if not welcoming towards his curiosity. He kept his wings up when he realised Zion would hide under them. Snuggling it around her and holding her close as he walked. His own eyes were bright with curiosity, and he explained the shadows she saw in an attempt to transform them into less scary and ordinary things. When at last they arrived, his paws were foot-sore in a way he was unfamiliar with, but his good nature hadn’t waned. He studied the boneset when it was held out before them. Sniffing and touching it carefully as he committed it to memory. It was very important as a healer not to mix up herbs, or so his mother had told him. Keahi laid out the rules of the game, and he cast a curious gaze to the area outside of the limits. “But why, Auntie Keahi?” he asked, sniffing the air in that direction. There was a strange sort of smell to it, but he couldn’t begin to decide what it was. Or, maybe it was a little like when Warden let out a really bad fart. Giggling at the thought, he bounced on his paws, and then started to run when Keahi told them to. Bouncing around the oddly barren territory. This place was like nothing he had ever seen before, and it was tough to keep his attention where he needed to. "Speech"

As Keahi explained the rules, marking the geyser place as out of bounds and the ever curious Wylan pipes up with a question. A warm smile is turned to him as she says, “That mound over there has very hot water in it. If you get too close, you will burn yourself. That is why it is out of bounds. Okay?” With the question answered, she released them to go hunt herbs and little Zion finds a small patch right off the bat. Wylan bounces around without much direction and the woman laughs softly as he goes. Paws carry her around, the woman shadowing the pair without being super close to them. As she walks, the woman begins to speak, offering the young, inquisitive minds some more information about the herb, “If you notice, the plants are still growing even though it is turning into fall. Boneset likes to bloom in late summer and early autumn. It prefers to grow in rich, moist soil which is exactly why it is here. Now, do either know what Boneset is used for?” Ocean blue eyes scan the pups as she finds a small patch of the herb, softly calling out to Wylan and directing him to it. A wink is given as she continues one. "Keahi Mogotsi"

Zion plucks several stems off her first plant, listening to Keahi as she speaks. When she asks if they know what Boneset is used for, the girl shakes her head in the negative while still looking at the plant. After a moment, she says, “From the name, it kinda sounds like it is used to set bones... Right?” Once she has gathered a paw-full of the flowers and stems, the girl bounds back over to the cloth pieces and lays them done on one. With that done, she bounces back over to her patch, beginning the process over again on another plant as she asks, “Aunt Keahi… how does mommy use this stuff?” Curious eyes turn to the red woman, wondering what her mother is going to do with it once they get home. "Zion Falatis"

Ohhh, that sounded fascinating how close could someone get to the hot water before it hurt them? What made it hot? Was it like… magical hot water? If he could harvest some of that water, could he bring it home to mumma? She was forever boiling water for her healer work. Imagine if he could bring her water that was always boiling! He cast a longing look in that direction. Maybe, if Keahi looked away for a moment, he might try it. As he hunted, Keahi gave him a hint. He glanced over at Zion, who had already found her first batch. Moist… moist. He felt the earth beneath his paws, and considered where would be more moist. By the super hot water sprang to mind. He gave it another sneaky, longing look. “No, I don’t know” he admitted, distracted from the ‘don’t touch’ land by Keahi, who pointed out some boneset sneakily. He pounced on the space just in front of it, and then carefully began clipping it like their mother had taught him. Momentarily. Thoughts of the hot water out of his mind. "Speech"

Keahi half-heartedly looks for Boneset since she has already spied several clusters around the area that she knows she will pick for Hazel later. Right now, the pups were ‘playing’ (while actually working) and she is more focused on making sure that the very curious Wylan does not go to the out-of-bounds zone. As she slowly walks along, she imparts some wisdom about the herb they collecting before posing a question to the young pups and Zion is the first to speak up. A gentle laugh is exhaled as the red woman says, “That is a great guess Zion! From the name, you would think that is what Boneset is used for.” Subtly, Keahi hovers around the area Wylan collects from, ready to intercept the boy if he tries to go into the ‘do not touch’ area. Thankfully, the winged pup admits that he does not know before shifting his focus to the patch of desired herb to begin collecting. Looking back over to where Zion is, the red wolf explains, “So, you guessed that is was used to set bones. There was a time when it was believed that the leaves actually did help with that. However, it was found that the flower is more effective and helps to reduce fevers and help treat colds. It can also help with muscle and joint pain too!” The woman watches the pups as she speaks, trying not to overload them with information. Keahi knows it is a fine line between making sure they retain it and giving them too much at this age. As they finish picking their patches, the red woman heads over to the spot where she had placed the three pieces of cloth and deposits a couple of bundles that she sneakily picked. Once done she turns to where the pups are and says, “Alright! Times up! Zion, Wylan, bring your herbs up here so we can see who wins!” A smile is on her lips as she waits for the pups to approach so that they can count out and find out who has the most. As Zion approaches, she adds, “I don’t know how your mother uses the herbs Zion but I bet she can tell you all about when we get home.” A wink is tossed at the pup as she waits to declare the winner. "Keahi Mogotsi"

The girl does her best to split her focus while her aunt talks and she carefully pulls the desired herbs. Keahi talks about how her guess is a good one and the pup’s tail happily thumps the ground as she continues to work. The pause is noticed by little Zion and she looks over to where her aunt is to see what is wrong and finds that she is lingering close to where her brother is working. A giggle escapes her since she knows just how curious Wylan is. The woman glances in her direction and the pup quickly ducks her head back down as she collects several more stems and flowers for her mother. With a soft, “Wow.” Zion pauses to lift one of the white flowers to her face so she can more closely examine them while she says, “This little flower can do all that? Cool!” Soon after Keahi finishes talking, she calls them over to see who has picked the most herbs. Zion is quick to gather her bundle and waddle over to where the cloth items rest and she dumps her pile unceremoniously on top of her stack. She nods in agreement to what Keahi says before turning bright eyes up to look at the red woman in eager anticipation. The pup is ready to hear who has won! "Zion Falatis"