Herb hunting! This was probably something he would find to be his favorite thing to do. Before leaving to meet with Karabela he would seek out some relaxing time with himself. This was odd, not being surrounded by a border - or by a pack. Sure it would be short lived but Qualm rather found it to be interesting. Here he wasn't looking for someone. His black tail flicked behind him as he stayed well away from the edge of the cliff. His nose closer to his ground as he remembered what grew in high places. There was three herbs to choose from, but one was common and the other two might have been hard to find. As Qualm raised his head, it seemed like someone was approaching. The male would sit himself there, a little on edge but not enough to make it seem unnatural. After all out here he was still a stranger to most things. He had lived a mostly sheltered life. "Talk"

Mortar was feeling much better about himself lately. Ever since reuniting with Ricochet life didn't seem so hopeless. He still had family and even Arsenal and Caliber were out there somewhere. Finding them and becoming a family again gave him something to look forward to. He hadn't realized how much he missed his siblings, having thought they were dead, but now that he knew that they were alive he wanted to see them. He knew he couldn't be with Ricky all the time, but if she was ever up for it he wanted to see if she'd help him find them. In the mean time he was back in the east. He wasn't a very experienced healer, but he still liked to look at the herbs. This place in particular had a beautiful field that reminded him of the prairie Donostrea had claimed. The flowers were in full bloom and ground was covered with an array of many colors. It made him think of Voltage, Glacier, Anais, and Seraphiel most of all. He missed his spunky gray and blue friend and not a day passed that he didn't pine for his adopted family. Having some closure certainly would have helped. Instead he padded onward and he almost didn't see the edge of the cliff. The sudden drop made him nervous. What if someone didn't see that and walked right off? He didn't notice the male until the scent reached his nose and he looked to his right to see a male sitting there. Curiosity drove him to pad over to him and he stopped a respectful distance away. "Doesn't it scare you to sit that close to the edge?" He asked curiously, glancing towards the cliff. Walk, "Talk" Think

Qualm had been right, and the male made a comment about his closeness to the edge of the cliff. The male looked off, and he decided then he wasn't really that afraid. He should have been considering he got carried off by a giant bird when he was younger. However he believed as long as he was careful, and kept his footing right, he'd be just fine! He smiled and turned towards Mortar. "Not unless you're considering pushing me off sir. I'm looking for some herbs." he would explain why he had been trailing the edge. With the heat this place was probably heaven. Qualm would step forward away from the cliff as he greeted the stranger with the same happy smile as he usually did. "I'm Qualm Rivers, it's nice to meet you." He flicked his black tail to the right. His muscles still on edge, but only that if he was attacked he could take a run for it. He really needed to do some exercise. "Talk"

Mortar found himself grinning sheepishly at the other male. The large boy would take a seat near him and shook his head. "Lucky for you I'm not the sort to push wolves off cliffs." He could never imagine doing such a thing, but he wouldn't put it past another. After all wolves already led packs to war and killed one another. Pushing someone off a cliff would have been an easy feat, especially for one as large as him, so that didn't surprise him one bit. Luckily he'd never taken to harming another creature if he could help it so the other male was safe from falling to his death. "I'm Mortar Armistice. It's nice to meet you too." He greeted the man politely. He'd glance back around him to look and the field of herbs that lay all around them. He supposed it was a perfect spot to look for them. All sorts of grasses, flowers, and useful things seemed to grow here and he was a bit jealous over it. He'd never gotten to finish his lessons in Donostrea before the pack had disappeared, but he'd been more than interested in learning. "What kind of herbs were you looking for?" Walk, "Talk" Think

He was glad that the other confessed not to be the type to push wolves off cliffs. It put Qualm at a little bit more of peace of mind. After all he had a duty a pack to serve and a life most definitely to live out as he was determined to do so. The male introduced himself as Mortar and the male locked that into his memory. It was polite and important to remember ones name should they give it to you. His last name as well. "Feverfew actually. I can never get enough of it." it was an excellent herb to have most definitely. Especially once summer was over, they would need it. "It's a white flower with a yellow center. Why do you ask? Are you interested in healing?" Qualm was rather curious at this point. Then again he could have just been wondering what Qualm was up to. "Talk"

Mortar listened as Qualm explained the flower he was searching for. He didn't recognize the name (he'd had no training at all) but he realized he'd seen the flower all over when he'd traveled from one area to the other. It was an easy recognizable flower and he felt bad he didn't know the name or its uses. The fact that it seemed to be pretty useful to the man made him feel a little bitter. All the things he could have learned from Terrae and the pack had ended up leaving him before he could learn anything. "Yeah... kind of." He admitted a bit more sullenly than before. "In my old pack I was supposed to learn healing and fighting, but the pack disappeared before I could start training. I've been on my own since." He felt kind of bad venting his problems to a stranger, but there was some small part of him that still wanted to learn things from someone. He didn't care that this guy was a stranger. If he had anything he could teach him Mortar would readily soak it all in like a sponge. Would this guy be willing to give him a lesson? He certainly hoped so. Walk, "Talk" Think

Qualm would smile at the male as he wagged his tail mildly. "I'm sorry about that Mortar, but I can always give you a lesson if you want." he would look around for a moment. The plant was in abundance here he knew that for a fact, as he trotted over to one he pulled it out and brought it back over to where they had been sitting previously. Qualm hadn't thought about it, but he loved this so much it was sort of scary. "Feverfew as its name suggests is usually used for fevers. Yet it has a ton of other uses too." Qualm tried to relax himself as he looked Mortar in the face, making eye contact out of respect. Then back towards the plant. "It can be used for headaches, tooth aches, stomach aches, infertility, bug bites, and could come in handy during birthing. As you can guess it can be applied but mostly ingested. " he then took a moment. "Have you considered, joining a new pack?" he know it was probably not his position to be recruiting. But might as well see if the male would be interested at all. "Talk"

Mortar's ears perked up at the suggestion of lessons. He tilted his head slightly as he thought about it. He'd never considered getting a stranger to teach him, but he supposed it didn't really matter. Learning was learning no matter who taught him so he nodded his head eagerly. He eyed the other male as he padded over to a plant and plucked it before heading back. Mortar studied it curiously and it didn't take him long to recognize it. He didn't know its name or its uses but he certainly had seen it around a lot. He listened as he explained the name of the plant, to which Mortar made sure to pay very close attention, and then as Qualm included its uses. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. He'd known plants were useful but it was hard ti imagine one tiny little plant could help with all of that. Instantly his mood brightened and he was glad that the male had offered to teach him after all. "Wow. One plant can do all of that." He murmured. He was about to pester the male for more information but his question took him off guard. He flattened his ears to his head and looked at his paws for a moment. Joining packs never seemed to work out for him. He felt like he had some sort of curse lingering with him. His birth pack had been attacked, then Dono had disappeared, and then of course there'd been the female Ricky had been following. He didn't know much about it really, but he was almost too timid to try again. "Honestly, not really. I wanted to find my siblings, but I don't think I'll be able to do that either." Walk, "Talk" Think

The male would nod his head keeping a calm smile on his face. He understood, he wouldn't force the man if he didn't want to. Qualm just had a habit of making sure others were okay. He'd only been so lucky to actually be happy in Ivory Ridge. "Even then I hope you find them Mortar. I'm sorry if I offended you." Qualm's head tilted for a moment as he then straightened himself and pushed the feverfew towards him. "You can keep this if you want, and I'm always willing to teach you more." The male would smile and wag his tail a little bit. Plants were indeed a bit amazing. Some of them had so many hidden uses it was interesting. Qualm didn't know if mortar needed the plant but he was happy to give it away if he wanted to study it or something. "Talk"

The male was calm and it reminded him almost of Glacier. The thought made him sad as he thought of the male that had went as far as to call him son at one point. He missed everyone even though he was angry with them. He didn't dwell on it for long and instead pricked his ears up as Qualm wished that he had good fortune in finding them. He was more surprised by the apology. Offended? He shook his head. "No, it's okay. You didn't offend me at all." He glanced back towards the plant as Qualm offered to let him keep it. He couldn't see the harm in it so he nodded and padded forward to grab it before he settled back on his haunches giving the male his space again. The offer to teach him more was a tantalizing one. His last mentor had been a bust, but just maybe he could learn some things from Qualm? It was worth a shot. "Maybe ... maybe I could come find you at times so you could tutor me, if that's okay?" Walk, "Talk" Think

Qualm was happy to teach others when the time came. After all - he'd missed his chance to be taught by anyone and sometimes teaching made it easier for him to learn. As his tail wagged, he thought that he made a new friend today that's what this felt like to him at least. "Any time Mortar I'd be happy to! I'm a call away." he smiled towards the other. He was happy to have another student. At least he knew he needed to pay more attention to Delaney and Nah. Perhaps when he got home he'd play with Nah before taking Delaney out. Qualm looked around for a moment. It was probably about time that he headed home anyway. "I probably should head home. It was nice meeting you Mortar. I hope to see you again soon." Qualm smiled. "Talk"

Mortar's tail wagged slightly as Qualm agreed to teach him. That was one worry off his chest at least. He'd have to track down this pack the other male was in and show up from time to time. Healing was definitely he wanted to pursue. Now all he needed was a mentor to teach him how to fight. He could do that, right? Yeah he could. It would be harder because he wasn't a part of a pack, but he refused to join another one for the time being. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. "It was nice meeting you too. I'll see you around." He said before rising to his feet and padding off. He needed to find a place to sleep for the night. -exit Mortar- Walk, "Talk" Think