Trip For Herbs

When the older wolf had awoken, she found this winter day is mild. Eulogy quickly decides that it is a perfect day for herb collecting but, the woman does not wish to go alone. So, she approaches Venom and the older wolf offers to take any of the Empress’s children along that might be interested in learning healing arts. Her son, Renegade, is offered along with a couple wolves to protect them. Honestly, the woman cannot blame the Empress for wishing them to be safe, with their location to one hostile pack and another one near the place they will be going, it is for the best.

Since they will be returning to the islands they use to own and it means that the pirates will close and she knows that they have left a bitter taste in the Empire’s mouth. So, the escort is accepted and truly appreciated. With that decided, she rounds up the small group that will be going, Plague, Void, and, of course, little Renegade. Once they have all assembled, they set out on their journey, going slow for Eulogy’s arthritis and little Ren’s short legs. When the pup tires, the two big bodyguards offer him rides and Eulogy is thankful for that. It is difficult enough for her to walk without the added weight of a pup and, while he is small, it is still extra weight that her hips might not apprecate.

Even going slowly, the group arrives back at the islands that had once been Ashen’s home in the early afternoon. The winter sun shines brightly as the woman directs the group out to Dove Island where the tropical trees create some wonderful shaded areas. It is in one of these areas, on a sloped incline, that the older wolf pulls the attention of the young pup toward an herb. With a gentle voice, the woman says, “This is ginseng. It is a rare plant but its healing properties are tremendously useful.” A paw reaches out, cupping one of the leaves so he can better inspect it while she continues to speak, “Look at the leaves. See how the stem breaks off from the main stalk? Each leaf has up to five leaflets or, these guys. See the edges? Aren’t they cool?”

She allows the pup to run his paw over the leaf, if he wishes, before letting go of it to point at the small red berries that rest at the top of the stalk. Eulogy explains, “These red berries make it easier to identify the plant. But, those are not what we are after.” A soft smile rolls across her lips as she looks to Ren, watching his reaction to her words. With a soft chuckle, Eulogy points to a gnarled root that partly pokes out above the dirt and says, “That is what we are after. The root. It offers a wide range of healing properties, including; being an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, helps to treat headaches, indigestion, and fevers. But it offers so much more too.”

The woman turns her gaze to the pup, realizing that many of the big words she has used are probably going over his head. Thinking for a moment, the woman slowly tries to explain, “We, as wolves, have what is called an immune system. Think of it as a tiny army inside you that keeps out the bad bugs. When a wolf gets sick, that means that their immune system didn’t get all the bad guys and now have to fight extra hard to get rid of them.” Renegade is royalty and it seems plausible that he may understand the concept keeping out intruders or ‘bad guys’ better than small bugs he cannot see.

“Okay, so, some wolves don’t have great immune systems and they need reinforcements to keep their army strong. This” Eulogy explains before paw once more points to the root, “gives your body those extra troops so they can fight better. Does that make sense?” Eyes search the pup, waiting to hear what he says. No matter his answer, the older wolf chuckles and offers him a smile while gesturing her paw around the area, “What do you say you help me collect as many of the herbs as my bag can carry? Hmm?” Winking at the pup, she adds, “All you have to do is dig around the roots and pull them up. We don’t want to damage the roots. Here, watch me.”

Paws moves to the root that is slightly exposed and slowly and carefully digs around until she frees the plant from the soil. Scooping it up with her paws, Eulogy shows off the entirety of the plant to the pup, exclaiming, “Ta-da! Now, what do you say we make a bet? Say, whoever digs up the most ginseng gets… an extra dessert at dinner.” Eyes sparkle as the gauntlet is thrown down and she wants until the boy moves off to begin digging up more. From her leather satchel, the woman withdraws a piece of cloth and carefully wraps the plant in it. With that the cloth and plant are replaced in the bag and Eulogy moves toward the next plant. Plague and Void linger in the trees, doing… whatever they do while pup and woman dig.



WC: 879
Total WC: 879 / 1500


"Eulogy Destruction"