when will this end?!

Laying on his side, cowering beneath the boy, he notices how lovely the dirt smells. Yes, it's a weird thing to notice, but it smells... different than the dirt at home. It is a metallic note to it that leaves Bancha wondering if the mountain has anything to do with it. Or the weirdly stacking stones in the distance. The two territories aren't far a part so why did each area smell so differently from the other? Did the wolves occupying it have anything to do with it?

He thinks about these things as he quickly chews on the hops. The other boy is hovering over him. A demanding presence that he can't ignore. When the question comes, Bancha is left with a dry mouth and closed throat. Slowly, he slinks backward, tail still tucked and floppy ears folded as backward as they could be. "Uh, I, uh, see," he can't find the words to explain it with those piercing eyes glaring daggers at him. Scooching closer to the hop bush, he hurriedly pulls another piece off of it and holds it out to the boy. "Just, just try it. I l-learned that it can help with nerves," his voice stutters, barely a whisper as he hovers close to the ground, looking up at the boy as his chin digs into the dirt. Could he get any smaller?

3/3 gather an herb - hops
3/3 explore a new land - the stone steppe