Starling hadn't...been very good. No, since pretty much day one he had spent most of his time hiding out in the den provided to him, barely making it out to eat or hunt for herbs. He was depressed and lonely, missing his siblings and his parents. It wasn't fair! Bass had set up this training for him, and if he knew anything about Star he would have known not to leave while he was here. His anxiety was high, and he didn't want to meet up with any Sonticus wolves. No, he wanted to go home, where he knew the smells and the plants and his brothers were there, alone too. But he had promised, and he had something to fulfill, so he went anyways. Not that going changed absolutely anything. He could feel his dialect slip every time he tried to speak Italian, going out of practice without use. He missed Bass so much, missed their italian lessons, missed trying to get his father to eat the herbs he needed to, or teaching him what he should know by now. But this...this was what Bass wanted for him, right? Yet he had been reluctant to do what he had come here to do, which was, well, to learn. So with a sigh he would lift himself from the den, unknowing that the season had changed. If he hadn't decided to extend his training he'd be home by now, but he wanted to appear much more mature, like he wanted this. Shaking his head he'd turn towards the mouth of his den, venturing off to find Arian. She had had her children, so he hadn't wanted to bother her...or at least that's what he told himself the first few weeks, but now...now they should begin, shouldn't they? He wanted to go home smarter, braver, and able to handle most emergencies on his own. He wanted to be the best Abaven had ever had...and that meant he had to get out of bed. "A-arian?" He called, trying to find her, walking towards her den. "Talk""Italian"

Arian shivered in her mind in the den. Her children elsewhere in the ship playing. It wasn't safe here anymore, or anywhere for that matter. She could feel life slipping away at her paws and she wasn't quiet sure what to do. Starling was still here and they hadn't had much of a healing lesson. It was almost like she felt herself melting away. Maybe she should send him home. At this point it was a rickety path. She made a regrettable deal with a demon out of fear. She still needed to consult the council about what was going to happen next. If they made an enemy of sin now, they would all be doomed.

Her ears twitched to the sound of her pupils voice. Raising her head Arian twitched her tail and pulled herself up. Trying to hide a sigh that left her. She smiled softly at him. "Starling go ahead and come in." She invited the boy into the den. Making space for him. She could distract herself couldn't she. It didn't have to be this hard, hell it shouldn't be this hard.

Star would gulp down his nervousness as best as he could when she called for him, and with a nod (mainly to himself) he stepped into her living space. A small smile would touch his lips then as he dipped his head to her. "S-sorry I haven't been...umh..around l-lately." He said softly. The season was up, but he had extended it. So they had time, right? "I-i...well, I c-came here for h-healing t-training. I-i was wondering...wh-when might m-my next lesson be?" He asked softly, hesistantly as he fidgetted, playing his paw against the wood beneath his paws. He was nervous, and more importantly homesick. "I-I dont w-wanna go h-home...and k-know th-the same as wh-when I left.." Sure he knew more about birthing and how stressful it can be, but he wanted to learn more. He wanted to be able to go home with pride and tell his father he could handle it. Starling was trying to grasp onto his destiny, and Arian would help...right? "Talk""Italian"

She wouldn't be letting Starling down would she? In the middle of their situation, Bass would definitely never forgive her if something happened to his son. Arian nodded her head, though her heart beated against her chest harshly. "We can have one now if you want.... if you don't mind me speaking with you. Venting almost." she would say as she pulled some herbs off of her shelves. They were old, unusable she supposed it came from when the ship was owned by someone else. However they were still easy to scent, and tell what they were. Setting the three of them down in front of Starling she looked at him. "I want you to try and identify these plants and what they do. It's okay if you don't if you don't I'll explain each one." The first in the row was Earth smoke, a herb she had gathered from Donostrea when she was there. It was a flower with light purple stems and a deep purple end. It was used when a wolf had trouble with their unary track. The second plant was Lady's slipper, a light pink colored plant with the outside petals being lighter than the inside. The herb was used to treat poison Ivy on most occasions. Then the last plant was Marigold, an orange plant glorious in it's form. It could be applied topically to heal burns and cuts but also ingested for gum pain and sore throats. As Arian went over them in her head she would look at Starling. Her tail flicking back and forth, this was a good way to distract herself. "Talk"

The young destruction would smile brightly as she spoke, accepting his request for a lesson. It was why he was here, right? When she mentioned that she wanted to speak, to "vent", he perked his ears slightly and tilted his head just slightly. "O-oh...I a-am always here...t-to t-talk and l-listen." He said with a gentle smile, stepping more into the living space to sit down. Sky blue eyes would watch intently as she pulled down some herbs and gave him his task. Ears would perk slightly as he gazed down at the flora. He was quiet for a moment, his eyes narrowing. "I-I...dont kn-know what the f-first one is..." He said softly, embarrassment washing him over. He had never been near the ocean, and he had never really had reason for it either. But as he looked at the other two he would smile gently. He knew of them because they were pretty when he was younger. "Th-the pink o-one is Lady Sl-slipper. It's u-used...to...umh.." He paused then, brows pinches as he thought before he sighed and shook his head. "A-an i-irritant...b-but I can't r-rememb-ber which.." And then he'd look to the Marigold, smiling brightly. He knew this one for sure! "The Th-third is M-marigold...y-you can t-tell by th-he gold color. I-its used for s-sore th-throats if e-eaten, o-or burns..." He'd look up at her excitedly, hoping he'd at least get one of them right. "Talk""Italian"

She really hadn't gotten the chance to really know Starling. Sure occasionally here and there, but she couldn't help but to smile at his stutter. He was a bright boy, and she definitely wanted to make sure he learned something while he was here. But thinking about where Sonticus was going, she should probably tell Starling to warn his father about Sin. Just in case. Even if she were to remain at a high rank, there was no saying an alliance would still stand against someone like him. "Very good Starling. The irritation for lady's slipper is poison Ivy. It's a green plant with three leaves on it you might wanna watch out for it because it's a very upsetting thing to have. Not to be mistaken for poison oak. Poision Ivy can spread poison oak stays in one place." she explained to the boy. As she would go on to explain earth smoke, placing a paw near the herb. "This herb is known as Earth Smoke. You find it near the sea, in sandy area's. I got this when I visited donostrea. Basically what it's for is..... if your father or someone has trouble marking territory this is what you'd feed them." hopefully that wasn't to embarrassing for the boy. Arian would look up at Starling for a moment. "A lot of things are going to happen to Sonticus this season, in fact it might not even be Sonticus anymore soon." she would start. "I've just been... wondering if I'm making the best choice for my pack. I'm giving up my throne to a man named sin. Which also means Abaven and us may not be allies anymore. So when you go back at the end of the season I want you to tell the pack to be wary. I'm sorry Starling, maybe I'm worrying over nothing." she shook her head. Now she was venting to a boy who probably didn't know much about all this politics stuff in the first place. "Talk"

Starling would stare down at the plants, nodding at her explanation of poison ivy and posion oak. He stared for a long while, taking in everything about the plants and imprinting them in his memory. ""Fumo Terra, pistone di signora e calendula..." He whispered to himself, cataloging it in his memory. As she explained Earth smoke he couldn't help but smile softly, lifting sky blue eyes up to her as she censored herself in her explination. He shook his head slightly. "Y-you don't...have t-to be careful with y-your explinations, A-arian. If I'm s-supposed to be a h-healer, I should b-be able t-to handle th-these things rig-ght?" He asked gently. He needed to know that a herb helped the urinary tract, he needed to be able to handle it. Blood, gore, he had to be able to keep a stone face, able to think clearly as he did miracles with plants and intuition. When the conversation shifted he'd tilt his head, eyes widening before narrowing slightly as the gears in his head spun. She warned him of a man she was handing her throne over too and that he should warn his father. That was his red flag, his chest squeezing slightly as he gazed at her. "W-why are y-you giving up S-sonticus?" He asked lightly, tilting his head the other way as he did and reguarding her. "Y-you're a leader! Sh-shouldn't you m-make s-sure th-that-t something is r-right be-before you d-do it? I-if he's s-someone t-to be wary of, h-he shouldn't h-have a-any p-power, right? W-what if h-he g-gets a-an army, h-he could h-hurt people!" Star's voice was forever steady, curious over accusing. He didn't understand most politics. "D-don't you h-have warriors? O-or does h-he have an army al-already? I-is he...is he p-pressuring you?" Oh that wouldn't be good. He should warn his father now! If this Sin guy had enough power to force Arian to give him her throne, he would be an incredible danger, right? "Talk" | "Italian"

Arian smiled at him, censoring or not sometimes it was even hard for her to say it. Though, blood had never bothered her many things didn't. Just the thought of saying otherwise seemed kind of childish and funny. Though it quickly melted when he started to speak about giving up Sonticus. Just the sound of it seemed ridiculous sad even. She was taken back by the boy, yeah it was her job and she hadn't really thought that through until now. It cracked in her like a whip, everyone was upset he was here the little few she could deal with. However, it meant something was dearly wrong. People left, people held grudges. Not everyone was going to like her as she wanted. She needed Sin..... gone. It didn't matter if she lost numbers, it didn't matter if he took his brood and left. He was unwelcome here, the north, was theirs. Arian would stop for a moment, moving over to the shelf as she grabbed a few seeds off the shelf. "Thank you Starling, you truly are amazing. Don't forget that. When you return to Abaven tell your family to be wary of the man sin and his family. After I drive him out, he'll probably hold a grudge that could even kill me. But, our family will fight, because that's what Sonticus is. My family." she placed the seeds in front of Starling. "This is a type of Opium Poppy, the plant has a large splotch of red in the middle. If a wolf eats around four of these, they could be knocked out easily. I've been thinking if he doesn't go quietly I could try this." she looked at the plants. "To be honest.... yeah. I'm afraid of him, but I'd have to face that fear to avoid something terrible happening." "Talk"

He'd watch her, his eyes wide as she spoke of her pack and political issues he couldn't quite wrap his head around. He didn't know the backstory at all, didn't know if this Sin man was really dangerous or just scary. It was perfectly possible that Arian was just terrified of him, and yet he couldn't hurt a mouse. Star was often very scared of many different wolves, but that didn't mean they'd actually hurt him. He wondered what would happen if he went so far gone in his fear, would he act like Arian? Feel like he was stuck and had to submit to the scary wolves? He sighed softly as he looked up at her, blinking over wide blue eyes. Cheeks heated at her compliment and he was tempted to shake his head but he didn't want to argue with her about this. He had such little self esteem and feelings of self worth, except for when it came to Healing. That was where he excelled, and he knew it. But it was only that. When she brought out the seeds he felt a cool wash flood over him, his heard suddenly began to race. She was wanting to...poison him? Sin? Knock him out? Instantly red flags blew up everwhere as he stared down at the seeds. "Wh-why must i-it be so drastic?!" He asked quickly, looking up at her, brows pinched and ears pinned back. "S-surely you sh-should attempt t-to t-talk to him first? It's possible he c-could be reasoned w-with, isn't it? Wh-what if this b-backfires, a-and he is as s-scary as you say....that...th-that could put y-you and your p-pack in d-danger, couldn't it? A-and besides, w-when he wakes up, h-he'll know..." He bit at his cheek then as he looked down at the seeds before he suddenly stepped forward to put his paw over them, blue eyes looking pleadingly up at Arian. "Y-you're an al-alpha, Arian. Th-this is underhanded. Shouldn't y-you be...d-diplomatic a-about this?" He asked softly, his voiced hushed. He didn't believe in using healing knowledge to cause harm, even if she believed it would save them. Surely it would bring far more harm than good if she went through with this plan. Perhaps he was overreacting, but he really didn't want his training in Sonticus to turn into war...he wanted to learn but not on the battlefield. "Talk" | "Italian"

The girl blinked at Starling as he went off about it? She wasn't really going to drug Sin. She couldn't afford to and besides as much as he scared her she kind of liked him. Gods knew Amachi did, it's like Itsume was clinging to Sin. Arian would let a thin smile scrape across her maw, she couldn't help but to give out a slightly nervous laugh. "I'm sorry Starling I was only joking. I wasn't REALLY going to drug him." she pushed the seeds into the rest of the herbs. "Basically, don't feed your patients too much of these. It helps with pain, and if they are afraid of taking herbs. However, they are addictive, there are some herbs out there that wolves take for fun. They affect your head and do some weird stuff. I wouldn't suggest taking any of them." Arian would tell the boy. She thought she had one around. "Oh. But this one." she would turn back to her herb storage looking for the leaf. Smiling when she found it to tear it off the shelf. The president showed it to Starling. "It's called Marijuana. Give it a good scent it's very peculiar and unique to it's own." she would place it in the pile. "It's one of those herbs that makes you relaxed, it's dangerous though because it can be addictive usually it's only a last resort if a wolf is really stressed out. It helps insomnia, and anxiety but mint is better used for anxiety. I just wanted to show you just in case. And don't let any wolves pressure you into taking it. If taken too much it can cause hallucinations." her paws went over the herbs she had placed down. "Okay, do you want to repeat back to me what each of these herbs are and what they do?" she rather enjoyed giving lessons she realized. Plus, Starling was adorable and fun to hang around. He also, was a lot smarter than he could give himself credit for. Ever so incredible, it made her smile. "Talk"

"...Oh" He whispered, embarrasment washing over him in place of the cold anxiety. He swallowed slightly and slowly moved to sit back where he was, his paw retreating as well. He sat practially curled, his head a bit lower to the ground as he worked through his embarassment, ears pulled back slightly. "I-i'm sorry." He said with a gently smile, glancing up at Arian again. It wasn't his business anyways. Sonticus wasn't his pack, now was it... He was only here training. Slowly he'd look up at her again before looking down at the seeds. He highly doubted that he'd forget that in an instant. Don't eat too many of those seeds, got it. At least she knew how to cement something in his memory, that was sure. She talked about hallucinogenics then, plant matter he shouldn't touch or have any part of except for one. He'd blink slightly as she pulled out a certain leaf, and the scent signature was instant. He quickly filed that away for later revisiting, not that he'd like to use anything that causes addiction or even hallucinations. But eh, every herb had it's sideaffect...healing in moderation. When she gave him his task he'd nod slightly then, looking back at the pile of herbs she started.  "Lady Slipper, pistone di signora, h-helps sooth irritants c-caused by Poison Ivy. Earth smoke, fumo terra, f-for umh, urinary p-problems." He guessed from her awkward explination earlier. He glanced up at her, hoping he got it right. "M-marigold, calendula, f-for sore throats if e-eaten, or to soothe b-burns." He'd look to the new ones then, the ones they had just gone over. "Opium p-poppy, papavero da oppio, pain relief. C-can k-knock someone out if they t-take too many, and c-can be addictive." He'd look to the green leaf then. "A-and that is Marijuana, u-used for relaxation, b-but extreamly addictive...a-and Mint, Menta, d-does the job better." He said with a nod, hoping he got them all as he looked up at Arian for clarification. He really was a quick learner.. "Talk" | "Italian"

She shook her head to him, there was no need to apologize. After all this wasn't his pack, as friendly as they were to Abaven Starling should be loyal to them. Arian probably had done a far too bold move by dragging him into her own problems. As he went on to explain each one, when he got them right she would nod her head. Also she would take not of the language that he spoke. She knew the tone, just not quiet what they meant. She put two and two together though that after each one he was saying them in Italian. Well, she never expected to learn a little bit of Italian in this lesson. Let alone would she expect to learn something off of Starling as well. "I think you did well this time. That's enough for now." Arian would smile softly to him. As she began to put the herbs back on the shelves. "Our next lesson can be out in the field. We'll collect a herb together." Arian would suggest. "Sonticus is having training spars at the moment. So after you could help me treat the wounded if you want. " Her crystal blue eyes looked over to him. "Talk"