After tending to her wounds Lukina focused on settling into Insomnia. As the weeks went on she learned of Medusa's desire to expand the pack into a nearby territory called the Whistling Willows and as a Necromancer she was asked to lead a group of healers into the territory to see what options there were for herb gathering. While Lukina's specialty was combat medicine she had enough knowledge of herbs to be successful at this venture and she was eager to make herself useful so that she could repay her debt.

As the sun rose above the horizon Lukina gathered her knapsack and called for her fellow healers to join her on an herb hunting expedition. Summer would be a good time to hunt and as she arrived at the willows it seemed like a lush territory. Lukina set about scouting the territory, wandering along the southern border and as she neared the southeastern edge she spied a lovely flowering plant. It stood about a foot high with small white flowers nestled in amongst the fuzzy leaves. White Horehound!

Lukina let out a call to the others that she'd found something. Carefully she began to harvest the leaves as her antlered arctic fox companion wrapped around her front leg. "What is this one for?" Lukina set down the leaves onto a square of hide that she'd wrap up and store in her knapsack. "White horehound tea and syrup are excellent for coughs and colds. Something we'll need for the upcoming winter season."

ooc: We need to gather 4 herbs total. I figure each healer can be in charge of finding an herb unless someone wants me to do another.

Her mother mentioned there was a new healer among the ranks. Thank God, because she was tired of being the only healer in the pack that was worth their salt. She obviously hadn't met this new healer yet, but part of her was eager to find out who it was. Luckily, an unfamiliar voice was calling from the nearby Willows, and Rue had a feeling it was the very same healer she was thinking about. She wasted no time in arriving, pausing for a few moments to scan the area, and she spotted the pale coat of who she assumed was one of Insomnia's newer members. The other woman was tending to a plant that Rue had seen a handful of times, but she hadn't yet discovered what its uses were. So she was pleasantly surprised upon approach to hear that it was good for something. Approaching the alabaster wolf, she dipped her head in greeting. "Hello. I'm Rougarou. I'm glad Insomnia has another healer. It was becoming quite tedious being the only one." She stated with her usual monotony. She looked past Lukina then, spotting the familiar leaves of a water garlic plant closer to the waters edge. Without hesitation, she walked over to it, checking the plants over before selecting one for harvest, carefully digging away at the base to expose the bulb. Carefully pulling it out of the ground, she wiped off the excess dirt and checked it over, pleased to find that it was in fact, ready for harvest. "Rue was hoping they'd be ready. Looks like she was right." Now she had to dig up several more to ensure she had a decent stock before the heat killed everything off. "Speak"

he had been filled already, aware of the packs expansions. he branched off early from medusa's den, her scent all over him as he assumed duty for insomnia. hearing a call, he followed it to the willows. a beautiful place and certainly the right one to pick. with a busy trot, Érebos found himself upon two women. why was it that men left out the necessities of bodily knowledge? his own father had been skilled in anatomy and herbs. with such a skill.. anything was possible.

"I assume we're all doing the same thing then?" he greeted them both with a brief nod. he recognized rou but not the other as he glanced between them for a moment before looking for useful herb. it was then after some searching and uncovering that he did spot a pale white flower. sniffing it, he confirmed aloud, "And I've found boneset. good for reducing fevers and joint pain." his eyes skimmed the ground, looking for more.


"Érebos"

He was lurking around the Willows, checking out the land that his mother said she had been wanting to claim for their own. Despite the heat, it didn't bother Grim too much. After all, there was a nice little pond to cool off in should the need arise, but the shade from the draping willows so far was just fine. He was sniffing around the base of one when he heard voices nearby, followed by three scents. Two of which he was familiar with, the other? Not so much. He peered through the branches of the willow tree he was under, watching as Lukina, Rue, and Erebos seemed to be looking for...things. Flowers? Plants? What was this nonsense? He waited a bit, looking around the bases of the nearby willows for...well, he wasn't sure. But if they were looking for plants, there were plenty to choose from! So why not grab one and help?

He hummed quietly to himself as his tail flicked against the ground, and soon enough he spotted a little white mushroom. Did he know what it was? No. But maybe one of them did. Approaching it, he hurriedly dug it from the ground and plucked it from its perch before slipping beneath the willows tendrils, crimson gaze noting the way some of them seemed dry and brittle, as if they might break off at any moment because of the summer heat. "Grim found a mushroom!" He exclaimed before tossing it somewhere in the middle of the three. They could fight each other for it for all he cared, but he sat down, tail wagging like a puppy after bringing back a prize. Okay, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all! "What else can Grim help with?"

"Speech"

Rolling the leaves in the piece of hide, Lukina secured them and added them to her pack for transportation. Around that time another woman arrived who introduced herself as Rougarou, one of Insomnia's other healers. Lukina offered a dip of her head in greeting. "Nice to meet you, my name is Lukina." Setting her pack back on her shoulders, she followed the other woman's gaze to some water garlic. Her ears perked up when a large man arrived. He also seemed to be participating and she offered him a nod of greeting as well before moving to gather some of the boneset as well. "Yes, I was hoping to meet some of the other healing minded wolves in the pack and see what herbs are available in nearby lands. My name is Lukina."

She set her pack down and start snipping the boneset off near its base with her teeth. The whole plant could be used but if she left the roots there was a good chance it would flush and produce again before the winter. Let's see, Horehound, Water Garlic, Boneset… they were getting a good haul.

Another wolf arrived, a yearling who had found a mushroom. He had the same manner of speech as Medusa and Redrum and she wondered if he was also a relative. "I'll be honest, I'm less experience with mushrooms. Does anyone else recognize it?"

Her ears flicked in acknowledgement when Lukina spoke, and she nodded. Honestly, she was just glad to have some goddamn help around here! Having been the only healer for the longest was a lot of work, but surprisingly, the wolves of the pack had managed to stay mostly intact without her help most of the time. Crimson gaze found Erebos as he came to aid them, nodding to herself. Good, she wouldn't have to tutor him on the uses of these herbs. Sounded like he knew his stuff! But then...Grim showed up. She audibly sighed with annoyance. She just couldn't get away from that shadowy little creep now, could she? While he was her brother and all, sometimes Ripper and Grim could be a little...much. Even for her. So when he said he found a mushroom and grabbed it before anyone could say anything, she took a look at it and waved her paw. "You're lucky that one isn't poisonous, but edible. It's a white button mushroom, or portabella. Useful as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and helps to try and prevent cancer." She picked it up and put it in her satchel before moving toward the willow tree where Grim had found the mushrooms. She grabbed a few more, leaving the rest to grow for now. Turning her attention to the willow tree, she began to carve some of the bark and carefully peeled off some strips, placing them next to her in a neat little pile. "Simple medicine, willowbark. But useful and effective." She always made sure she had a nice stock of this. "Grim, why don't you get me some dandelion...or marshmallow. One is a yellow flower, the other is pink." Of course, he should know what both of those were, no? But then again... "Speak"

the crowd gathered, a small one but it was all they needed. everyone seemed to be a seasoned healer, besides the youngster grim. as they clipped and set the bonset into the pile between them, Érebos couldn't help but laugh at the mushroom suddenly flung into the air and into the pile. his eyes quick to inspect it as he sniffed while rou clarified. "Good job, grim." he chimed in before turning back to his own projects. put together, they found a handful- so Érebos would intend to continue on finding more bonset. giving the yearling time to successfully find more themselves.

the white flowers Érebos found by now were dug up and harvested in a manner that preserved all it's parts: stems, leaves, flowers and roots. delicate enough to avoid disturbing other plants near by but thorough all the same to ensure he left nothing behind.
"Érebos"

His tail wagged as Erebos praised him, ears perking as his older sister explained what he had found. He hadn't really thought about what might be poisonous or not, he wasn't the doctor here! Had no interest in herbs at all. Besides, if he had gotten anything poisonous, well, he was in luck! There were not one, but three healers here to help him not die! He grinned and laughed to himself at the thought as he turned his attention to Rue when she asked him to find her some flowers. Hmmm...now where might those be?

Crimson gaze scanned the ground, nostrils flaring at the damp scent of the nearby mud, the algae in the water, the frogs. He walked around the pond, nose to the ground as he sought out the flowers Rue had mentioned, ears catching the conversations from the others, the warm breeze rustling the willow trees...he got distracted once or twice when he surprised some frogs from their hiding places, briefly chasing them until the plopped into the safety of the water. But low and behold, what fell in his line of sight was a bright yellow dandelion just on the other edge of the pond! Aha! Racing over, he began to (not so carefully) pull the flowers from the ground, root and stem until he had a huge bundle, then picked them up in his mouth and proudly returned to the others, dumping them with the piles of other stuff that had been found. "Now Grim will find the other one!" He exclaimed before turning around to search for the pink flowers.

"Speech"

Lukina bent down to examine the mushroom closer as Rou explained that it was a portabella, edible and used as an anti-inflammatory. Lukina took in the sight of it as well as the smell, carefully sort out its unique scent in her mind and committing it to memory. She wanted to become more familiar with the herbs in these lands. Carefully, she plucked a few of the mushrooms, adding them to her satchel before she moved next to Rou near the willow tree. "Indeed, always good to have some of this on hand". She stretched up on her hind legs, her front paws feeling along the rough, greyish bark. This was the best time to gather it for the bark was easier to separate in the summer.

Her ear flicked at Erebos' praise to her brother. She sighed, though she felt a little amused. "Don't do that too often, it all goes to his tiny little brain." She commented in more of a teasing manner as opposed to condescending or the like. Grim was an odd one. Most of her siblings were. But she supposed that ran rampant within the Mortem line. Turning her attention to the bundle of dandelions that her brother had managed to find, she let the smallest of smiles tug at her lips before picking it up and stuffing it into her pack. "Dandelion tea is always good to have," she murmured before moving along toward the bank, crimson gaze catching sight of the marshmallow hidden among the cattails. "Look Grim, this is the other flower I was talking about." She motioned toward it before she pushed aside the cattails and carefully started collecting some of it and adding that to her cache as well. "Speak"

it was clear grim was just a child, learning and trying to make his family and pack proud. erebos listened as they all spoke in order before he responded to medusa's daughter. "praising children encourages only goodness." he lightly laughed with his words, smiling at her before he turned back to assess the chunk of herbs grim brought next. it was.. less than perfect but he had time to learn if he wished to. "next time, try not to damage the parts. You could risk hurting the rest of the flowers still living. And always leave some there to grow back of next time." he moved near grim then, his large paws coming to separate the herb with ease and tact. "these here are the roots. It's best to clip them to avoid tearing at the other roots of nearby plants." surprisingly, he was patient. he would work on the herb and dissect it as rou called grim over to look at a flower then.



"Érebos"