Walk | Talk | Think

Callisto felt agitated, frustrated. Summer had given way to autumn much too soon, and brought back her dreaded heat with it. She was paranoid to put it simply, though it was understandable considering her history. After being forced upon by Lel and then kidnapped so that she could not terminate the pregnancy he had caused, she had good enough reason to feel anxious and out of sorts. He had found her once; who was to say he would not find her again and drag her away a second time?

Which made her mission in leaving Ebony lands the most reckless thing she had ever done, worse yet than when she had left the first time and placed herself unknowingly in Lel's path. At least this time she was staying close, and with a distinct purpose behind her actions compared to only a restlessness that had driven her before. After scouring the pack lands and finding nothing plant-wise that might help alleviate her condition - and not feeling comfortable enough to bring it up with her healer king, Kassander, for his opinion - she had at last given in and left.

The thicket was quiet, made so by the feline who stalked through the bushes and unsettled the numerous birds that lived there. A commotion earlier left Callisto feeling pretty confident that the cat was helping herself to a meal somewhere in the mess of overgrowth, but keeping tabs on her annoying little companion she wished would leave anyway was nowhere close to being on her agenda. As she walked, the black and grey wolf's keen nose scented, sifting through the many different smells and trying to pick one out that might lead to something useful.

Jakart wiggled his toes into the ground and tensed his legs, leaping suddenly at the lemming that poked its head out of the burrow at the base of the sapling. The rodent saw the wolf coming and ducked back in an instant before Jakart's paws stamped over the hole. The male let out a huff of disappointment as he looked up to survey the thicket. He sniffed, nose tingling at the scent of heat. Ebony was close by, and with it females. But this smelled much closer. More familiar.

The male sniffed and brushed some dirt over the hole for what it was worth and headed towards the direction of the scent, scarred limbs carrying him closer and closer. His grey pelt brushed against the thicket, a few burrs catching his left side as he rounded the bend. Jakart almost ran right into her. An old packmate. An old friend. Callisto. A wide smile broke across his muzzle at the sight of her. It had been... one year, since they had met? Two? Jakart couldn't remember, time blurring over with the deaths of his parents and the heartache that came with it. "Callisto." The male breathed, grin still stuck on his maw. "It has been awhile has it not?" He hopped on his forelegs once. Jak was happy to see her. To know that someone he knew was still around to talk to.

Walk | Talk | Think

Because she was paying attention, she caught the scent of someone new in the area and felt something like vague recognition stir as she tried to place it. It was no one from her pack - there was no pack scent on it at all - and yet somehow Callisto felt she had smelled it before, somewhere. Her ears perked as she heard the stranger nearing, and her own steps slowed nearly to a stop. They were close now, but the Thicket was so thick it was nearly impossible to see--

She flinched just before they could collide, and was relieved when they did not. Hastily she backed away, feeling too close, much too close, to the wolf, for any day let alone a day like this. Even up close his scent was familiar, striking some chord in her memory, and when he recovered from nearly walking into her to grin at her with a smile that brightened the whole of his face she finally felt it all click. He was not a stranger, but an old member of Ebony, gone for quite a bit of time since the healer had last known him to live there with his rather large family. Why did she keep running into wolves that she already knew?

He greeted her by name - apparently she must have left an impression on him - and looked genuinely pleased to see her though she could think of no reason for him to be. Aside from Max, Callisto could not recall anyone who was ever genuinely happy to see her, for any reason. She was such a recluse and made such horrible first impressions that it made sense to her why others would keep their distance, just as she preferred. To find someone - who was not Max - who smiled so happily at the sight of her... It was kind of weird.

In opposition with his smiles, her own expression was more closed off, her brows pinched into a little frown and her silver-blue gaze a bit uneasy, though her eyes narrowed quizzically as she continued to stare at him. "You...you used to live in Ebony." It was no answer to his question, but an attempt at putting all the pieces together. "I got sugarcane for you." Maybe if she brought him in on the puzzle he could help her figure out the mystery of his name .

Callisto backed away from him, Jakart ceasing his cheery hopping. Yes. He remembered it had been a while, and with it ones memory could be a fickle thing. Forgetful and misremembering. But Jakart knew Callisto from that one time bumping into each other when he and his family were apart of Ebony. And she even recalled so. "Yes I did. Now me and my brothers are denning just outside of the borders a little that aways." Jakart jerked his head in the mentioned direction. A paw ran over the dirt to get rid of a burr. Damnable things were everywhere. "Sisters wanted to be apart of a pack. Father passed away last winter and mom died of heartache a little bit after that."

Jakart was quiet for a moment. He didn't need to mention that. "Aye. And I taught you how to counter a frontal lunge." Jakart said with a tail wag. Glad that although she didn't remember him as well as he remembered her, they still knew how they had first met. "And then we moved. I didn't get to say goodbye." His miss-matched eyes flicked to her paws then back to her muzzle. The way she still stared at him in silence. The male taking a few steps forward to get closer to Callisto. "What's, what's been going on with you? Getting away from it all since you're like this?"

Walk | Talk | Think

Apparently fate seemed determined for her to start reuniting with old faces, and honestly Callisto was unsure what to think about it. She had never really felt anything toward this remembered fighter's family - except maybe that his sister had always smiled too much and his mother was as self-centered as they came - but it was strange to her that now she had run into two old faces that she had met long before. It made her paranoid, or at least more paranoid than she already was, that worse faces would eventually crop up again, and she was sure she would never be ready for that sort of reunion.

The wolf did not come alone, he explained. His family was near and his sisters had intentions of joining the pack again. The thought of possibly seeing the smiling one on a regular basis was rather irksome, but the sour look that threatened to creep onto the healer's face morphed as Jakart spoke of his parents passing away. That was a touchy subject, one Callisto did not know how to respond to properly. Did she apologize? Try saying they were in a better place? Could she get away with saying nothing? Awkwardly she chose the latter, and was grateful when the conversation shifted again.

He did not provide his name, but he did at least corroborate the same story she had in her memory. It was less helpful since she still could not remember what to call him, but at least she had placed him right. He stepped forward, looking as if he intended to get closer to her, and just a second after he moved Callisto did too, backing away to keep a constant distance between them. The fact he picked up on her condition and brought it out into the open did not entirely make her feel any better, and her distrust was amplified by her season. "I'm not getting away from anything," she answered snappishly, realizing after she spoke that she was more irritated than she had realized. The end of the season could not come soon enough.

She wondered for a moment if she should just give up her search, return to Ebony, and try again another time when the Thicket was emptier. At least then she would not have to converse with anyone, particularly males, who could easily set her even more on edge than being outside of the pack's borders did on its own. But she had already risked everything once to get where she was; did she really want to risk it again later? "I'm  trying to find a plant." Brusquely, she started walking again, widely skirting around Jakart so that she could resume her search where she had left off.

Jakart sniffed and ceased approaching as Callisto backed away from him. He sat down again, obviously the she-wolf wanted the distance between them to remain as it had been. The male didn't have a problem with that, even considering backing up a bit as she spoke. He wasn't coming on to her, just... happy that an old face. Wariness creased his brow at her remark of getting away. A moment of silence before she said that she was looking for an herb.

Jakart perked up at this. He could help if she described it to him. "What's it look like? Not sugarcane this time right?" But Callisto was already moving, giving him a wide berth as much as the thicket would allow. A whiff of her heat infiltrated his nose again. "Wait! Callisto," Jakart started as he caught up to her and strode beside her, their shoulders almost touching. "Do you even remember my name? Is something the matter?"

Walk | Talk | Think

The grumpy, antisocial wolf thought she might get away when Jak took his seat, thought he might keep it as she continued to walk around and past him in her search for something to take the itch off of her season. She was still unsure what it was exactly that she looked for, wishing that she had a name or a description to go off of, but this was unfamiliar ground for her, an area of research she had paid little attention to. She should have asked Max about it a long time ago, but there was no sense in beating herself up over that now, especially given the fact even thinking about him only served to irk her more. Was there no end to how high her irritation could grow?

But she should have known better. I'm cursed, damn it. Cursed! Her retreating steps ceased with a stomp of a forepaw, her ears pinning and her brows furrowing darkly over her icy, silver-blue eyes. With a sharp turn of her head she set her gaze upon Jakart as he attempted to halt her progress, realizing as she did that he was far closer than anticipated. Their shoulders nearly touched he was so close, and the way her body answered, not altogether averse to it, made her hastily step to the side to shift away from him. "Everything!" she snapped, not intending to but unable to help herself as the answers to his inquiries came all at once. "Everything's wrong, and I can't do anything about it. I don't even know what I'm looking for!"

The grey-legged wolf felt strained and rigid, taut as a bowstring without a means to release the tension. Her outburst had helped, though only minimally. Maybe she should have yelled more? It was too late for that. She could not muster up the nerve to rant off anything else, and honestly she was annoyed with herself that she had in the first place. She was not looking for pity, or help, both of which she suspected Jakart might offer her for her outburst. But what was said could not be taken back. Aw hell, she had already started talking anyway. "And no," she added in a low, sharp voice, "I don't remember your name." Why not answer all of his questions if she was going to answer the others.

Jakart kept pace beside Callisto, almost losing track of her as she broke her stride away from his. The way she spat out what was bothering her. Everything. Not being able to do anything about everything and that she couldn't find what she was looming for amidst the ticket. The male's ears pinned back as he just stared at her, hating the fact that he couldn't help her in the matters he inquired about. Ebony had been their pack those years ago and they had a mutually beneficial meeting as a healer and a warrior in training. Jakart considered her a friend after that, unsure if Callisto felt as strongly about that bond as he did. Didn't seem like it, but her previous comment about finding him sugarcane back in the day made the adult male hopeful. Although she didn't remember his name. A bit worrisome but fine, they hadn't interacted in quite a while. "My name is Jakart." The grey male politely reminded, remaining at the distance she judged to be suitable between them. "Do you want to take a moment to think about what you need to find? I'll help. Got nothing going on right now." Jakart tilted his head to the side and shuffled his forepaws. "And its good to see you." He added.

Walk | Talk | Think

If she had offended him by not remembering his name, he hid it well. He seemed actually quite tolerant of the fact and merely offered his name to fill the gap in her memory, though as he said it the spark of remembrance flared. Jakart. That was right. Jakart, warrior in training, one of a many from a rather large family. Or at least that was what her memory recalled. She had nothing to offer him in return - clearly he knew her name already - and so she remained awkwardly quiet, still fuming a bit below her cold exterior.

Somehow whatever patience she never had wound up with him. Despite her slight outburst, Jakart remained cool, composed, and a great deal more helpful than she expected him to be. The look she gave him was easily incredulous when he offered to help her locate the mysterious plant she believed to grow in the thicket, appearing entirely unfazed and simply doing his part to help her when she needed it. Callisto could not understand it. It would have made more sense if he had snapped back, offered a smart remark, and then left her to her sour mood alone. But instead he was trying to help her?

His reaction - or perhaps lack thereof - irked her, and it took a lot for her to not snap once more. No, she did not want his help to find a plant that she was only hoping existed. She did not want him to be endlessly nice and patient while she lost her cool and could not offer any niceness in her current state at all. It was a strong feeling but one she could not figure out how to put into words, nor could she properly express it. "I don't know what I'm looking for," she repeated, ever the pessimist and refusing to think otherwise. "I don't have a name for it, or know what it looks like. It might not even exist." And with her luck, that was probably right. "I'm just looking for something new."

Jakart was unperturbed by Callisto's standoffish demeanor as he trailed behind. So many herbs in the lands and she was off hunting for one that may or may not exist in these parts. Something different. The male scampered on, nose occasionally dipping to the ground to try and decipher the scents of herbs. Sweet, pungent, all mixed together in a confusing swirl of odors, and to be honest he didn't k ow were to start. Some overpowered others, and he deemed them to be more common and so a waste of time along with Callisto's visibly draining patience.

It must have been frustrating, looking for something that could cure and ailment. Prey was much easy, familiar scents, few and plentiful. But herbs. Herbs and roots were another matter. One had to find it first to scent it and recall its smell. By far the trickier of the two, and so Jakart would keep pace beside Callisto as she searched. Something up ahead held virtue in it's familiarity. And Jakart beamed, tail giving a wag at the tree. Sandalwood, a fine oil used to treat burns. His father had used the stuff in his younger days. Jakart turned to Callisto. "Sandalwood up ahead. Would Ebony need something like that?" The male took the lead towards the tree, calling back over a shoulder when be reached the trunk. "It's good for burns."

Walk | Talk | Think

He surprised her at that point by shutting up. She half expected at any second that he might go on to say more, maybe another question that he seemed to have an endless supply of, but after a second longer she decided to take her chance and move. Callisto picked up the walk she had left off on, her tail lashing once against the backs of her legs in her frustration, and heard behind her the sound of Jakart falling into step. A bit forcefully, the black and grey healer bit her tongue. So long as she stayed quiet and ignored him, maybe he would eventually get bored and leave on his own.

With her keen nose as a guide, she led them along through the Thicket, sifting through the scents and trying to isolate the ones that she recognized as well as those that were new and might hold potential. Most, disappointingly enough, were merely common smells, things that would do no good or harm, and still others she recognized. But nothing yet of what she might find useful to ease the severity of her condition.

The sound of Jakart's cheerful, helpful voice speaking out again was almost enough to cause the hairs along the back of the healer's neck to rise in agitation, but barely composing herself she managed to turn toward him and his find with only the same irritation as before. He introduced her to sandalwood, identifying a tree that he proceeded to point out and define for her.

Though she wanted not to be, she was immediately intrigued. Sandalwood was new for her, and even as she felt the urge to brush off his suggestion like it was nothing Callisto sidled slowly over to it to give the tree a closer look. She logged away the medicinal properties it possessed, hoping that Jakart's information was correct, and after a moment of close, careful inspection, responded, "That's not going to help." Even so, she did not move from it but continued to stare at it, curious as only a healer could be over a new find. Begrudgingly, she ended her drawn out pause and forced herself to ask, "Is it the bark?" As much as she wanted to walk away, she simply could not leave a new find empty handed with nothing to show for finding it.

Jakart nosed the tree and inhaled the woods scent. Hmmm. It smelled strange, not revolting or anything, just different from pines and willows. Sandalwood. An oil pressed from the meat of the tree. Jakart turned back to Callisto as the she wolf came up beside him and asked about the bark. "Ya. I think my dad would squeeze it or stamp it. Guess you can mush it up to." Jakart's jaw twisted into a frown. "He used it when he was younger, after the fire burned his muzzle and paws. The worst part was that his nerves weren't burned away. Months and months of pain..." The grey male trailed off, shivering at the thought of flesh hanging loosely from your jaws, just how much of a struggle eating must have been. The infection. "But this tree is good stuff." Jakart pawed at the bark as his thoughts shifted, lifting his jaws up to wrench a strip off. The stuff tasted foul, the grey wolf turning to offer the pack healer the procured wood. " Herr yuh goh Calestoh. Eony ned dit?"

Walk | Talk | Think

She never expected to learn anything from her current company, except maybe just how thin her patience was. There was still some skepticism in her silvery blue eyes as she regarded him and listened to his description of the plant's use, hoping that it was actually sound and tested. It appeared to be, or at least to Jakart's knowledge. His father apparently used the remedy at one point because of burns that he had sustained, and Callisto had to assume they had worked in order for the old man to pass the information along to his kids. Either that or he was a different kind of father than she thought.

Without her needing to ask, the grey wolf scraped and tore off a strip of the sandalwood bark, and within her mind Callisto wondered just how much of it comprised the suggested amount to work its magic. Maybe if she was lucky - though how lucky could you be if you sustained burns? - she would have chances in the future to determine the answer for herself. She eyed the piece of bark as it was offered to her, and thought to herself, I don't know about the pack, but I want it, as she took it. Her nose wrinkled slightly around the bark, tasting for herself the odd, unpleasantness that Jak had noticed, and quickly set it at her feet. That walk home was going to be interesting.

Her eyes stared downward at the piece of bark for a moment as she considered. She did want to bring this back to her stores, no question about it, but there was still the matter of her initial search. If she did manage to find what she sought, could she carry both home without one corrupting the other? The healer sighed, glancing at last up and over at Jakart. "I'm going to take this back," she explained to him, though she could not quite fathom why, "I'll look for...the other plant later." It might not have existed anyway. Carefully picking up the strip of sandalwood bark between her teeth, trying not to make a face this time, she turned and headed swiftly out of the Thicket toward home.

-Exit Callisto-

Jakart relinquished the offered sandalwood as Callisto nabbed it from him and deposited it at her forepaws. The way her face crinkled at the peculiar taste was amusing, Jakart hiding his reaction well behind a curious gaze. Perhaps his eyes would betray him, Callisto's gaze however not on him and instead on the bark. The amusement had passed when the healer looked back with a sigh, the male shifting nervously. Was she not satisfied with what he'd given her? He supposed not, Callisto voicing that it would be returned to Ebony and the search for the other plant would remain for another time. Jakart dipped his head and watched as the black furred she wolf turned to leave. A smile broke across his muzzle, turning to depart from the thicket with a noticeable spring in his step.

-Exit Jakart-