Navigation Points: Avian Estuary Herb Search: Kava (Maybe idk yet) Aranea traveled far and wide the lands of both Boreas and Auster. She always loved exploring and learning new things. She was a very lively girl, sometimes even so much to make others uncomfortable but she was always trying to make them happy. She came across a marshy land in the west, the sounds of birds filling her ears with noise so much it could have given her a headache. She actually found herself at one point charging at the creatures flinging her head up and down with pinned ears like a horse. For once she was getting annoyed with the things, as she did with her sleeping habits. It was rare to find her in such a bad mood, but perhaps today wasn't her day.  Her temperamental break through was sending swampy water up onto her white pelt and she couldn't help but grunt, "Uhhhhgh." rolling her eyes she dropped her rump into the puddles under her, shaking her head not even caring about her dirty pelt. Yeah, today wasn't her day. Walk "Talk" Think

If Ásvor felt aimless before, well.. she was feeling completely lost now. Winter had passed quickly, and spring seemed to move by just as quickly. The harsh terrain of the north, once a comfort to her, had caused her more discomfort than she liked once the weather grew more tolerable. Unsure what else to do, she had headed south again, deciding to explore the more western areas of Boreas. Much of the west was unknown to her, and probably full of plants she knew little about - and it was hard for Ásvor to pass up the possibility to learn more about herbs. She'd spent the day traveling through dry, hot desert, and so when the scent of moisture in the air touched her nose she had trouble turning away. Disappointingly it didn't end up being a great water source, but instead a bleak wetland. The birds, at least, seemed happy here though their incessant squawking overhead didn't lighten her mood even a bit. A slight frown touched her lips as she padded through the marshy land, trying to avoid the wetter areas. It seemed a fruitless task, though, because before she knew it her paws were caked in mud. Only the scent of a stranger, a young female, distracted her from her irritated musings. Quietly she shifted her course, navigating over an alarmingly deep patch of mud - nearly coming halfway up her limbs - before finding a better patch of solid ground, and catching sight of the stranger. "Doesn't look like the best place to rest, if you ask me," Ásvor called out, her voice laced with sweetness and a bit of mischief, as she aimed to close the distance between them carefully, not wanting to get any more dirty than absolutely necessary.

Aranea looked to the woman as she approached, a tiny grin in the corner of her maw, still annoyed, but welcoming the stranger. "Tell me about it." a roll of her eyes and then back to look at the white and russet girl, she took a lot of care not to make of mess of herself as Aranea did. She looked her up and down, still that crooked grin, and would continue. "Any reason you came to this place from hell?" The birds chirping in the distance she would again make some more weird noises, "Ergggg." A little bit of a growl in her throat. "Um, Aranea." She introduced through aggravated lips. The girl was usually a lot more upbeat and easy to get along with. She wasn't really mean, just distracted and that could have been found as rude. But she was still trying her best not to run the girl off, she never wanted to throw out an opportunity to make a friend. Walk "Talk" Think

Ásvor had never quite understood the appeal of getting quite so dirty. They were close enough to the ocean though that at least the female would wash herself off easily enough, but it still seemed like a bit of a hassle to her. At least the younger woman seemed to take it in stride, greeting her with playful words and a friendly grin. She was a fair bit smaller than her, with a vivid white coat - well, it used to be white, but now much of it was covered in mud. What a shame. Ásvor tilted her head at Aranea's question. She took a few tentative steps closer, no more than a yard from here now, though her gaze was skeptical as she eyed her.    "Was looking for herbs, mostly," she admitted after a moment of thought.   "I smelled water so figured it might be a decent spot to explore, though I think my judgement was a bit off." Another smile touched her own lips, tail flicking behind her.   "And I'm Ásvor Finnvi. Nice to meet you." She'd mad a habit recently of throwing in her surname, in the off-chance someone knew anyone from her family. It was unlikely, but a possibility nonetheless.

"Mhmm." She responded to her greeting with a quick wag of her tail. Boy was this woman in luck, she found herself not only a healing apprentice, but a poison one at that! All of a sudden, the birds were no longer plagued in the back of her mind. And her reaction to the joy of herbs showed her new attention span. "What is it you were looking for?" She jumped slightly in her words like an excited pup. "There could be uh... uh..." She rose her nose and sniffed around, and then put her face down a little too far, but even as her muzzle hit the swampy water, she wouldn't pay much mind to her mis-judgment. "Khat... Watercress... or um... Kava?" She rose an eyebrow as if asking a question.  "Yes! Kava!" Hallucinogenics probably weren't something she should be shouting out the names of, mainly actual healing herbs. But she was obviously open about how she felt by these plants. She was of course no expert, there was still a lot of learning to do. She may have even thought she was an expert, but that was an exaggeration on her part. She may have been surprised to find out about more herbs but all the willing to learn. Walk "Talk" Think

It was easy to see the way Aranea's eyes lit up at her words. She'd grown accustomed to how easy it could be to tell when she met wolves who had similar interests right off - and her ears flicked, pulling forward slightly with obvious interest at the stranger's reaction. "Ah, nothing in particular," Ásvor admitted with just a touch of hesitance. Admitting she was as much of a novice as she was, well, it wasn't favorable - but she wasn't ashamed in trading knowledge for knowledge, either. The sound of the birds overhead seemed far less stifling than it had before, and a slight grin pulled at her lips at Aranea's obvious excitement. A soft snort of amusement fell from her throat as she dipped her head to the mud, watching as she spoke again. "I've heard of kava, thought I can't say I've seen it before. Nor have I tried it."  A glimmer of playfulness shone in her eyes at the thought of someone who might be familiar with.. well, herbs not typically used used for medicinal purposes. "Any idea where we might be able to find some?" The woman's attitude lightened now, her tail flicking and her head leaned forward inquisitively.

"Hmm..." Her excitement now diverted into concentration, her nose dropped to the surface of the swampy water yet again. Her tail even with her spine, she would trot off and around searching for a stronger scent of the plant. She wouldn't turn around to see if the woman was following her or not, only hoping that when she did find their herb and turned, she wouldn't be gone. She may have seemed lost at first, going a little left and a little right, but soon would find herself a straight path to the rooted plant poking out of the water. There was a good amount here, enough for a whole pack even. "Here." She announced proudly, though she wouldn't be surprised if the girl had found the nest before herself and she just wasn't paying attention. She sniffed one of the large leaves lightly for a couple minutes, "Do you know what Kava is used for?" She wasn't asking her as if she were dumb, Asvor did say she had heard of the herb. She was just wondering if she truly knew what it could do, or if it's something she just heard from a story. Walk "Talk" Think

At the very least Aranea would be a decent enough distraction for now, someone she could possible gain some knowledge from or at least feel some camaraderie with since they both seemed to be interested in herbs. A faint look of amusement lit up her features as her new acquaintance wandered off, nose dropping to the ground to sniff feverishly, clearly in search of something. Kava, she presumed, though she knew it wasn't wise to be too presumptuous. Confident that at least she wasn't wasting time, at least, she followed after her. Her gait was somewhat wary, not because of her destination or who she was accompanying, but because of the terrain. Getting covered in muck wasn't her idea of a good time. Her eyes fixed carefully on Aranea when she announced she'd found it, a slight smile tugging at her lips. Did she know what Kava was used for? Asvor wished she could say yes, but she was only vaguely familiar with the name - and she'd seen it once before, so she knew enough that this resembled what she'd seen. Beyond that, she was sadly ignorant. After thinking for a moment, she answered somberly,   "I don't. Do you?" A single eyebrow was raised in inquiry.

She looked down at the plant as the woman stated she didn't and would wait a moment with hum before starting, "Well..." She put her mouth around the begining of the stem where it meets the leaf and plucked it, "It could be good for a wolf with anxiety. But only just a little." She looked at her with a raise of her brow, "Or if you like to get high, that's what most use it it for." She giggled slightly and went to pluck another one. As much as her mentor was into Poisons, he liked to be a hippie himself. He never gave Aranea any of these herbs, thinking she was too young and it would mess her up but she still tracked the scent and tried these different things now and then. After she picked a few, she had about three large leaves in two piles on a dryer spot of the land, offering it to the woman. "I do have to warn you though, the headaches can sometimes be killer..." She looked around seeing that the birds had been scared off by their movement. But she also had a thought in the back of her mind, hopefully her pack wouldn't be offended when she brought these home... She would have to hide it somewhere. Walk "Talk" Think

Confident that she'd avoided as much muck as she could, she relaxed when they came to a halt, and moved to sniff somewhat feverishly at the leaves of the plant. Asvor listened as Aranea explained the uses for Kava, and pulled back slightly as she moved to gather it. Good for anxiety, also for getting high. Her ears flicked curiously at the prospect. These things interested her, but she also didn't particularly enjoy the feeling of being out of control, especially in the presence of someone who was little more than a stranger to her. "So, you've tried it, then?" She asked, not bothering to hide her curiosity, watching as she removed the leaves carefully and laid them on the ground. It was a fair assumption, judging by the way she spoke of its effects, but she wanted to be certain. After a moment of thought she added, "I'd be interested in trying some." Maybe, she added in her head - knowing her willingness to actually try the herb rested considerably on whether Aranea would be doing it with her or not. She knew enough about most herbs to not overdo it, but she couldn't be too safe, especially when it came to something that would affect her mental functions.