°Skill Thread - Healing
°°Gathering Herbs >> Alfalfa

It had been weeks of retreat before Peregrine had made it south into this fabled new land. She had heard of it only in rumor, and in reality found to to exceed expectations. It's climate was quite temperate; winter here seemed only to mean dry air, often at quite a pleasant temperature. It also meant that this flooded river basin had been well fertilized and then dried out. Grasses were growing, just sprouts in most places except for the highest and driest hillocks, where a few sprouts had avoided the grazing herds of elk that had descended from the nearby foothills. Pere was on a mission, and this was the perfect place to be for it. This southern land seemed unaffected by the season in many ways. Several types of plants still seemed to sprout and flourish. Alfalfa, a rugged and hardy species of grasslike plant, was good to induce milk in pregnancies. By the time she made it back to Boreas many faes would be birthing. She cackled to herself, applauding her own business savvy. She rooted along the sediment rich soil, kicking at tussels to see if they had any green coming up through their roots, trying to find which crops had been the least affected by grazers. It would probably take her miles along the riverbank and the better part of the day, but it'd be worth it. Without her damn satchel, she was really only going to be able to carry one bundle of herbs back north. Maybe two if she could find crows or ravens smart enough to haggle, and then smart enough to weave together a second bundle with reeds. It had worked before... once. She huffed and pushed the thought aside, trying to focus on the job at hand. "Talk" "You" Think

With his sister missing, there wasn't much for Rowan to do. He completed a circuit around a bit of Boreas, and now he was in Auster - a decision he didn't regret, inasmuch as weather and scenery. He missed his sister, of course, and worried for her, but at this point... he wasn't certain if he'd see her again. She disappeared, gone. He didn't think that Tempest had found her; rather, he believed that she simply got a bug and up and left. It was simply part of her personality, what she did. Hopefully, though, she would make right decisions - and hopefully, she would return. But her scent had grown stale, and all traces of her gone. No leads, no signs, no wolves who had seen her. It had been months now, and growing still.

Where he was now was quite beautiful, though. Wandering on his own did wonders; while lonely, it was quite educational and definitely breathtaking. This was one such place. Greenery was in abundance, and the rich smell of wildlife filled his nostrils... including that of another wolf. Snapping to attention, the male scanned the area around the dam, to spot a brown female searching around the river bank. For what? Hmm, possibly herbs - there was quite an abundance around this area. He approached quietly, curiosity in his gaze. This would be his first interaction in a while; why would he pass up such a thing? "Hello!" he greeted cheerfully enough, pausing several feet away.

Pere looked up at the sound of a man's voice. How he'd snuck up on her she couldn't say, but she was somewhat miffed about it. Okay, maybe she'd gotten really into looking for that damned plant but that was novice level shit! Part of her wanted to get mad at him for it but he was rather a large fellow. Big, strong, maybe capable of digging up tufts of grass... She allowed a smile to curl onto her lips. "Hello yourself, handsome." The river murmured quietly to itself a few paces away, she'd blame it for masking the sound of his arrival.

She had been dreadfully bored, after all. One could only spend so many hours doing the same monotonous task before a few twigs started to come loose from the old nest, if you know what I mean. "It would appear the gods do answer prayers after all! Color me surprised," she scoffed. Here Peregrine had been starting to wander if she wasn't the only wolf on the whole damn continent. It was quite a large place, with it's myriad biomes stretching on for many leagues. Surely it had a wealth of undiscovered treasures waiting to be found farther within the continent's depths. She supposed alfalfa would do for now. Peregrine returned to her work, waiting to see what the male would make of it.

Ah, a flirt, eh? Rowan chuckled, flashing the woman a grin in return. "The name's Rowan Hawkeye; it's a pleasure, miss," he introduced himself. He was rather awful at flirting, and awkward at it, but if the oppurtunity came up, he would return the compliment, for she truly was a stunning lady. A stunning lady that was in heat, though he was not one who would push such a thing. It did, however, make for a very pleasant and alluring scent.

It seems she was quite the opposite of him in that regard, though. "Oh? I must agree with you - they certainly answered mine, for they have allowed a beautiful woman like you grace my presence." Hey, that was actually pretty smooth. Or... so he thought. And hoped. Soon enough, the woman returned to scraping at a plant, and Rowan would try to peer at what she was doing. A second of staring, and he then understood; this was an herb she was scraping at. He could spot a patch near him, and he would approach it, sniffing at it. He'd seen this before, if only he could... oh! Alfalfa! That was the name; he remembered, now. It was s funny looking and so funny-sounding, how could he have forgotten? For the life of him, though, he couldn't remember the use. Nevertheless, he scraped at his own patch, trying to free the plant from the clutches of the soil. "Alfalfa, eh?" he questioned, casting a sidelong glance at the chocolate-and-russet female.

The man seemed easy going enough, and Peregrine started to relax. When he chuckled she did the same, and oh, he had manners too! When he introduced himself she smiled and replied, "And I'm Peregrine Myre." Her suggestion that the gods had been kind went over easily enough, in fact he agreed with her, and pushed back with some flirtation of his own. She laughed, "And here I was praying for a strong buck like yourself to help out little old me!" Best to curb that before it got too out of hand. After all, she wasn't about to risk winding up with pups, no siree! She lifted a paw across her chest as if she'd suddenly gone lame, too weak to carry on.

Pere finally found a good clump of the plant, tall enough to be called more than a sprout, but not so old that it would become oddly flavored. She began to dig around it, wanting to pull it up root and all so she could offer as much of the plant as possible. "Alfalfa?" Rowan questioned, and she turned to him with a smile. This was turning out better than she could have hoped for. "Exactly so. I'm told its good for pregnant woman in small doses. I'll be trekking these back up to Boreas in a week or so, after they dry. Care to join in? There might even be some profit in it." She sent him a sly wink, despite having no idea what that profit might entail. Most of her customers traded her a meal, as Peregrine was often a dismal hunter despite her keen namesake, but it varied. She wouldn't force the issue either way, but ultimately she decided it would be nice to have some company.