be the air we breathe

CALLISTO

Walk | Talk | Think

It had not taken the stoic young pup very long to return to the Serpent Plains. Since her first visit, her knowledge of herblore had been given new fuel through the mild teachings of the healer Cael and she had been eager to retrace all of her steps inside and outside of Ludicael in search of anything that might prove itself useful in some manner of medicine. Of course, her knowledge was still incredibly limited. Of all the plants out there, the only two she had taken to recognizing by scent and sight were sage and mint, the latter of which whose scent still overwhelmed her sensitive nose at times. She had begun gathering sage and held a small cache of it within a little secluded space she had claimed in Ludicael - well away from the prying nose of her irritable brother - and now that she had gathered what she deemed a sufficient amount she thought it time to tackle the more difficult challenge.

The lands of her temporary home had proven to be a hotbed for the mint plant, though only in the sparse locations between the abundant waterways. The weather was not helping either, giving the ground such a chill that most of the plants had already begun to wither away to wait out the cold months that were soon to be upon them. She had gathered what she could from the locations that she had found, but it had been lacking compared to what she had already gathered for sage, and feeling the need for order she had decided to set off in search of more elsewhere. In her haste, she followed familiar paths out of her home and eventually her eager wanderings brought her back to the Serpent Plains, a location she was pleased to note might prove fruitful with its own waterways and mild location.

Callisto followed alongside one of the shallow creeks that ran through the territory, evading the location she had once run across a strange male pup and her sister on the off chance either still haunted nearby, and let her nose lead her along, occasionally wandering further away from the water source though always drawing herself back. Her movements and searches were methodical and precise, all designed by what she could scent of the plant she sought, until a new scent greeted her. It was one part plant but one part wolf, and though the typically evasive girl felt the stirrings of flight beginning to crawl up her grey colored legs she could not bring herself to depart so quickly. Wolves and herbs meant healers. Healers meant more knowledge.

With care, the silvery-blue-eyed youth tiptoed in a crouched posture closer to the source of the scents, drawing herself further and further from the waterway she had been clinging close to. The smell of the plant became more defined, decidedly unlike the two that she could recognize, and so did the smell of the wolf. It was not until she saw the other - at which point she was also visible - that she realized she had wandered upon someone not very much older than herself, rifling through a plant that grew before them. Callisto's pale gaze immediately fixed itself on the lavender shrub, curious about the color and the smell as well as its purpose, before she let her attention wander and fix upon the curiously colored girl. Not much older than herself... I wonder what she knows...

Boldly, unafraid, the younger grey and pitch pup approached the other, her rather serious and focused expression fixed upon the girl and her work with the plants. "What are you gathering?" she asked, foregoing any introductions or formalities; they were all a waste of time to her. Why dodge the real question when the plants were really what she wished to know about? Finally close enough to warrant herself near enough for conversation as well as to give herself a better view of this curious new plant, Callisto halted her slow approach and continued to peer at the other wolf, wondering if she was perhaps a healer like Cael and what she might be able to learn from her.

Image by Maka.