The devastation of the flash flood had been a nightmare. There were wolves injured, puppies, those who had taken in water, and many of their supplies had been washed away in the whole event. Valuable herbs to treat the wounded, food so that those who couldn’t didn’t need to hunt. It was a bit overwhelming trying to decide where to put his efforts. Charlie had gotten banged up, some cuts from debris in the water and bumps and bruises, but all things considered he had gotten off lightly compared to other members of the Armada. His heart broke at the sight of the devastation. Their home had gone from safe to the scene of tragedy in an instant. There had been so much chaos… In the end he had decided to approach his brother, Crux, and ask to gather herbs alongside him.

Crux had been one of the siblings he feared for, but as he held Wylan and felt the water rushing in through the smithy he knew trying to make it out would be near impossible. He had been relieved his brother was alive. He knew it was hard for his brother to get around, and it always had been. He might not have interacted with his brothers as much as he did Andy but that didn’t mean he didn’t love them. He’d be devastated had something happened to them, and the events of the flood painfully reminded him once more of their mortality. He had taken the trip with Crux toward the woods, purposefully slowing his step to ensure he wasn’t going to fast for his brother.

“What sort of herbs should we keep an eye out for, Crux? Are there any unique features I can use to tell we’ve found the right ones?” He tried to smile but it was hard. How could you act like everything was fine when their world had been turned upside down…? It was a shame that it had taken something like this to bring the brothers closer. He made a mental note to spend more time with his brother even after things started to go back to normal.

"Speech," 'Thought.'

[Location for Home Turf: Mile-High Woods]

He wondered if Charlie knew Crux knew when he was doing that, slowing his normal pace for him. Crux decided he'd not bring it up right now. He honestly was too tired to be bitter about it right now. Crux knew it wasn't his responsibility to be the one running himself ragged over looking after everyone, technically that was Halo's job but the woman had her young pups to worry over and Crux's was feeling like, aside from Keahi and Ruga, his family had taken the brunt of the flood... Not that his nieces and nephews weren't family but... Stratum was... Not well, Andy had taken sick, their father was as overworked as he was and- Well... She wasn't family, not technically but Crux couldn't help feeling responsible for what had happened to Triss... If he'd been more decisive... If he hadn't panicked for as long as he had, if he'd made her turn around the moment he'd seen her... Maybe she'd be able to speak right now!

So maybe he was putting an undue amount of strain on himself, it was probably some kind of penance, guilt thing but he honestly didn't have the time or the energy to really unpack that right now. He'd take whatever excuse he could to have a moment away from it all. Even if it was only as far as the woods. They'd need to replenish their stores quickly, winter was already proving to be harsh and Crux wasn't sure how many other packs would be offering them emergency supplies, and the one pack that had couldn't simply keep Armada's stocks full and overflowing. They'd run out eventually. Unfortunately he wasn't optimistic about many of the plants that would have been much more abundant in the warmer seasons. But oak bark at least he knew could be easily found.

Charlie asked him what he could help look for and Crux sighed. "Dandelions," he started hoping that at least would be easy, "If you can find ones with their heads still intact even better." Unlikely, it was winter and most would have shed their seeds in fall already. "There's uh... a flower, three white petals and one pink. Lady's Slipper, good for a sedative. They'll need to have minimal frost damage." Honestly he would have preferred Yarrow but he didn't have the time to go and get some right now.

"I'm going to gather up some oak bark." Easier for him to do that so he could make sure he preserved the parts of the bark he needed. "Let me know if you find either." He gave his brother a tired smile, his lips barely twitching more from exhaustion than insincerity. He silently hoped that Riya would have more luck, more able to travel to warmer parts of Boreas which was where she was right now.

"Speech"

Art by MarkLix

Part of Charlie knew deep down Crux had to have caught on to how he acted, but it was never meant in a way to belittle his brother. If anything Charlie wanted to encourage all of his siblings to take things at a pace that suited them. Only… the flood hadn't exactly given them any other option than to rush and do what they could. Injured, sick, even some dead… those who were able to function needed to help their loved ones. Charlie knew Crux wanted to help, and would be more capable of tending to the hurts than he was. Though he could see how tired his brother was, he trusted Crux to decide if he needed to rest or not.

His brother answered him, asking him to search for dandelions. Even without herbal training, Charlie knew finding any plants intact with as cold as it had been would be a miracle. Crux also gave him the description of another plant, Lady's Slipper. Charlie commits the description of the plant to memory. He gave a small smile to his brother in return. "I'll see what I can find." He broke away from his brother's side, gaze sweeping the ground. If there were any herbs to be found in this weather, he would help his brother find them.

…but, what he could immediately see was not all that promising. A lot of the flora closest to them appeared worn out, as if it was barely hanging on. A sigh passed his lips… if they couldn’t find herbs to treat their sick, then what? No, Charlie scolded himself. He would keep looking. He turned around the base of a tree, brow furrowed as he looked for the two plants Crux had mentioned.

"Speech," 'Thought.'

Crux could practically feel his brother's frustration. It was one he shared. The cold had set in quickly and it seemed storms were going to be pretty damn common though he doubted, or maybe he just hoped, that they wouldn't see anything quite as dramatic as the flood. He rose onto his hind legs to begin carefully scraping at the nearest oak with his sabres, ironically this was one of the few times his balance was no worse than most other's. The permanently flexed state of his paw actually worked here. He managed to get a chunk lifted from the surface and gently pulled it down to try and get a strip of the bark. Charlie sighed and Crux dropped back down on all fours, his strip of bark clutched in his mouth, which he dropped at his paws. Luckily the bark didn't need quite as much delicacy as many of his herbs did.

"Try checking around the undergrowth or near the base of trees, places where snow doesn't get as thick." Sure that'd mean less sun so things were less likely to grow there it was their best bet. "If you can't find anything I'll show you how to strip trees for bark. It's good for colds at least."

"Speech"

Art by MarkLix

It was easy to become discouraged when it was so important to find the herbs they needed. It wasn’t as if they were just replenishing a low store, there was nothing stocked up for them to use anymore. The weight of that fact gnawed at him as he scanned the ground. He had never really been good with recognizing plants, but he wanted to help… and Crux had been willing to let him come along. His brother had faith he could find something, right? His ears fell back against his skull, but it would seem his sigh of frustration had caught his brother’s attention. He heard Crux speak and turned to look over at him.

“Right…” At least his brother was able to gather some of the bark. He’d give a nod before he moved to the base of a tree, scanning every inch of earth, each bit of grass and weed, shifting leaf litter back. Minutes began to pass, but Charlie was focused on his task, moving methodically as a cold wind pressed against his body. Then, at last, his eyes would brighten. Moving some more of the leaf litter, he came across something.

“C-Crux! Is this it? The Lady’s Slipper?” He asked, calling for his brother to come join him. Sure enough, he had unearthed a small cluster of those flowers. Many of them had damage around the edges of the petals, but the centermost ones seemed to be mostly okay at a glance. Only his brother would be able to tell for sure though.

"Speech," 'Thought.'