An After Effect or a Harbinger?

Oleander slumped against the wall just between the doorway of his room and the clinic. He had no appetite and his already slender frame was looking haggard. He hadn't had a good groom in days.

With a deep breath, he pushed through the door to enter the clinic and noticed his Aunt Gossy looking over some herbs.

"Hey Gossy, I got some samples of the blighted leaves if you wanna check." He said and flicked his head over his shoulder reel her into his quarters. He had a table set up in a corner with a metal pail set over them.

"Try not to breathe when you look at them, we don't want to get sick either." He reminded her, he was sure she knew. She was older than him. He was glad for her here though. Why hadn't she reached out when she had her illness? Maybe he could have helped her. He was still barely out of puppyhood himself though. It was nice to have a more experienced healer back on her feet. It made him miss his mom. Can't think about that now.

"What do you think of them? Got any suggestions on how we might cure the sick?" He was forcing a relaxed tone, a charade of unworry he could put on well.

"Speech"