Justice had set out from the pack lands to explore the lands to their north. She'd let Gwen know she was leaving first, of course. With so few adults to protect their borders anyway, having anyone leave for any real length of time meant some serious rearranging of patrols and hunts and put an additional burden on the remaining adults, but Justice had been getting a bit stir-crazy being stuck in pack lands so she'd gotten permission to go on what Gwen had called a "fact-finding mission" to see what was going on in the world between Celestial's territory and Lirim's. She'd gone up along the coastline until she reached a natural bowl in the land filled with sweet-smelling grasses. In the heat of the summer sun the smell was almost overpowering to her keen wolf nose, but she was interested to see small herds of bison and pronghorns and other grassland dwelling prey animals grazing in the distance every time she bounded high enough to see over the long grass.

It was too bad Mask had left the pack without a dedicated hunter. This would have been a great place to hold a pack hunt under his leadership. She herself was an ok hunter, and Aurielle had some training from Mask, and Laisren had experience with hunting, but none of them were really hunters, but rather all warriors. They could use the same fighting moves against prey that they would use against another wolf, but a real hunter would know the behavior and habits of every prey animal they were likely to come up against, they would know where to find them and how to track them, and the best tactics to use against them. They didn't have that sort of subject matter expert anymore. She certainly didn't have any interest in learning hunting to that depth. She just wanted to fight, and to heal.

Not that she did a whole lot of the second - she had no one to teach her. Paladin hadn't held another training session after the one about birthing, probably because it was clear that his interests were in a very different side of healing than hers and Domari's, and then many members of the pack had left, and now the only healers were he and Justice, and it probably didn't seem worthwhile to him to train just her. It left her somewhat at loose ends, though, and she'd spent far more time with the pack's legionaries, Gwenevere and Laisren, than she had with the healers, who at this point meant just Paladin. Maybe, though, if any of Gwen's new pups were interested in healing, they'd be holding more training sessions again. But what if Paladin was still reluctant to? Or wasn't back from his trip to finish his training with the nomads? Who would? She couldn't. She didn't even know most of the basic healing knowledge.

She puffed out a frustrated sigh, then bounded up above the grassline again, twisting catlike on her way down to land back on her paws. Wait, what was that line of movement through the grass there? Another wolf? A wildcat of some sort? A wolverine? It was certainly moving closer and closer. She went on the alert, eyeing the grass in front of her warily.

Ara was still, slowly but steadily, getting used to life in Lirim. Over time, she had gotten quite accustomed to living life as a rogue, and being surrounded by other wolves was something that was taking her time to adjust to. Much to her disappointment - though she didn't dare show it - Athena hadn't been quick to join her as she had expected. Perhaps she wouldn't join at all, but Ara could only hope she would, having grown close to her in their time spent together before deciding to settle down somewhere. At least being around others, even packmates who were still nearly strangers to her, was enough to keep the constant nag of loneliness at bay. Ara knew that she would eventually get to know the wolves that shared the same lands as she did - and she hoped she might be able to offer her skills, whether as a mentor or in the field, whatever was needed. With spring in full force, and summer not far ahead of them, Ara knew she had to balance time spent within Lirim's lands as well as her own personal time spent in neighboring lands, collecting herbs. Today she was fully prepared, leaving Lirim's borders early in the morning with her tattered satchel in tow, draped loosely down the right side of her body. Ara had gotten used to wearing it now, finding it far more useful than irritating, and oftentimes she felt strange when she couldn't feel it weighing down around her neck. It was better to be prepared than not, even if it meant carrying it when she might not need it. Today, though, she had a feeling it would prove useful - and she was optimistic that her journey would be a fruitful one. She'd headed west, veering around the southern edge of the deep gorge that lay to the west of Lirim territory and toward a much more fertile section of land, past a vast dried lakebed. The luscious grasses of Sweetgrass Basin could be scented from a long distance away, easily noticed among the scents of the more barren lands of western Boreas. It was no surprise that Ara's interest was immediately and easily piqued. Determined, she pushed on through the warmth of the spring afternoon. By the time she reached the basin, she'd spotted the movement of a stranger through the grasses up ahead. Not wanting to intrude - and, as always, curious as to whether this stranger had a purpose here or was simply passing through - Ara approached slowly, tail hanging low at her flanks. "Good afternoon," Ara called out, somewhat tentatively, as she sought to close the distance between the two of them. If it seemed like she was intruding, she'd gladly leave this woman alone, but part of her hoped she wasn't... some of the scents that reached her nose told her there might be herbs of use to her here, and she hoped she'd get a chance to search properly for some of them.

_________________________________________________________________________ The grass parted before her to reveal an older woman with a bag draped around her. Justice relaxed out of her wary stance as the woman greeted her, feeling a bit sheepish. Being careful outside of the protection of a pack was all well and good but... come on. How likely was it that an old lady was going to jump you and rip your head off? "Uh, hey," she greeted in return, somewhat uncomfortably. She didn't really know how to act around old people, really. Like, sorry you're at the end of your lifespan, hope you had a great time with it, yolo? Please don't be incontinent or anything. Her attention was drawn though by the bag the woman carried, a bag that smelled like it had been carrying herbs for a while - probably as old as the continent itself, Justice decided firmly after eyeing both the bag and the woman. But she had a pretty good idea that the stranger was probably an herbalist of some sort, and if she was a trained healer, hell. Maybe she'd be willing to teach Justice a thing or two. If she wasn't senile, anyway. She flashed a grin at the stranger. "Hello," she started again in a much more friendly manner. "Nice day for gathering herbs, isn't it?" Testing the waters, you might say, to see if her guess was correct. Maybe the woman wasn't a healer at all. Just because her bag smelled like plants didn't mean anything - she might just collect pretty flowers, or heck, she might have gotten it from someone who really was a healer. It could be full of rocks for all she knew. ""

Ara had never been a terribly good judge of character, but then again... she had little reason to be. She was a healer at heart, and she was indiscriminate in who she offered her services to. Anyone who needed her help would receive it, and she wouldn't ask questions - unless they were someone who had personally harmed her family, she cared little about the type of wolf they were. The current stranger she was approaching was no exception. If she happened to require help of some sort (she didn't look hurt, but Ara knew as well as any that not all ailments were noticeable, or even physical), she would gladly aid her. Justice's slight discomfort didn't go unnoticed, though Ara deduced she perhaps just hadn't expected to be approached out here. Her smile only wilted slightly, though her kindness was worn plainly in that simple expression on her white-flecked muzzle. Noting the way the female's gaze shifted to the bag at her side, she almost expected either a question about it, but instead Justice was probing for information in a more subtle and conversational way. She nodded slowly, though her slow manner of speaking increased suddenly, fueled by the chance that this stranger might be someone with similar interests. "It's the perfect day for it, really," she agreed readily, casting a brief glance away from Justice and to their surroundings. The grasses were tall, nearly up to her belly in spots, and the aroma of wildflowers and various herbs seemed to be assaulting her from all sides. "This summer in general has been proving to be one of the better ones I've seen. For herb collecting, I mean," Ara clarified quickly. It'd been a long while since she'd been able to properly collect herbs like she had been, and now that she had a proper place to store them - and attempt to plant ones that were especially rare - she found a renewed sense of purpose regarding her craft. "Are you a healer yourself?"

_________________________________________________________________________ The elder wolf greeted her comment with enthusiasm, and Justice couldn't help but feel an answering enthusiasm. She'd always been interested in healing, but even before she'd passed on her mother had been in a coma and unable to teach her what she'd wanted. Being able to recognize a handful of herbs like lavender was no substitute for actual knowledge, so Justice had never tried to use what little she knew - and for a time after her mother's death she hadn't been able to bring herself to learn more anyway. Her lack of knowledge hadn't diminished her interest, though, so as Ara's enthusiasm buoyed her own she found her tail wagging and a grin tugging at her muzzle. "Not really," she said in response to Ara's question. "I mean, I want to be but I wasn't able to get any training when I was younger and I just kind of... defaulted to fighting instead. But I always wanted to do both." She tilted her head slightly in a more relaxed greeting than she'd given earlier. "Name's Justice Ancora, from Celestial." She glanced around at the waving grasses as the woman did, and pricked her dark ears. One of the best summers the woman had seen for herb collecting? She'd clearly seen a LOT of summers so that had to be pretty unusual - something it would be a good idea to take advantage of. Maybe if she helped the woman out collecting what she needed, she'd teach Justice what the herbs were, and working together they could gather up enough for her to start up a cache of her own. "So what kind of herbs would you gather out here?" ""

Even if Justice had shown some wariness or judgment regarding her age, it was highly unlike Ara would've cared. At this point in her life, she found herself caring even less about what others thought of her than she ever used to - such was a natural part of growing older, she figured. Luckily though, she didn't notice any such judgment, only a gentle enthusiasm when she implied she was a healer. She had thought Justice's question might be a casual way of asking just that, and she hoped she could share some insight with this woman who seemed interested herself. The smile was answered with one of her own, a gentle expression that she wore with ease.  "Fighting and healing is a good combination of skills to have," she agreed calmly. Ara had no interest in the former, but it certainly helped to know how to tend to your own injuries. She introduced herself as Justice Ancora, from Celestial. The name wasn't familiar to her, but then again she'd largely kept to herself for a long while now, so it wasn't a surprise.  "Ara, from Lirim," she returned the introduction gladly. After a brief pause, she thought to add, "It's never too late to start. We might change, but the plants never do." It wasn't meant to be an insightful comment, but simply an honest one. While sure, some seasons might bring better harvests of certain herbs, they never really changed in what they could be used for, or in general where they could be found. There were some exceptions, but Ara still believed the constant nature of healing made it so that it was never too late to learn at least something. Instead of having to pry to ask if she wanted to know anything, Justice was eager to ask what sort of herbs she might gather out here. She lifted her head to gaze across the grasses, considering the question before answering.  "Honestly... quite a bit," she started, that smile of hers brightening.  "One of the more useful ones, in my opinion, is a flower called Yarrow. It's a pretty distinct one..." Actually finding some would be easier than trying to explain, and so with that Ara trailed off and sniffed at the air, heading in a random direction in search of it.  "It's fairly common, but work really well to stop cases of minor bleeding. They grow in wide clusters at the end of their stems. You'll see what I mean. They're usually white, but I've seen some with a yellow or pink tinge to them." Something caught her attention, and her pace quickened slightly as she moved to verify that she'd seen a small cluster of yarrow. She had, and she urged Justice to follow her to it, gesturing to those wide clusters of flowers. "Do you know anything about making poultices?" Ara didn't mind explaining, but likewise she didn't want to treat her like she knew nothing at all, since she did seem to have some interest.

Justice blinked at the startling insightfulness of Ara's casual comment, then gave her an urchin grin. "Well that's good to know. Wouldn't it just suck to learn all you can stuff in your head about herbs just to have them change on you the next day? But I suppose techniques and stuff, that changes over time, right?" It was just a matter of curiosity, an idle observation. "Like, I've never really seen anyone else carry around a bag like that. It seems like it would really save time gathering herbs if you're able to just put them in there, you'd be able to collect so many more of them."

She listened without comment as Ara absently described the uses of a plant called yarrow, obviously distracted by seeking some out to show Justice. Justice frowned in concentration, carefully committing the uses to memory as they meandered along looking for the plant... which Ara located and homed in on. Justice pricked her ears and studied the little plant closely. Stopping bleeding was a major perk for her, but she knew that plants often had more than one use, especially if they were as useful as Ara had said this one was. "Can it be used for anything else?" she queried, sniffing at the plant to get the scent of it. She'd be able to recognize the fresh herb now, and track down more of it. "I don't know really anything at all about poultices," she admitted, "except having been patched up a time or two. I don't even know how to dry herbs properly."

Ara nodded at Justice's question.  "Techniques can definitely change, and I'm sure everyone has their own methods that are equally as valuable. I've mostly been self-taught," Ara admitted, though she didn't sound particularly sad about it. She'd learned a lot from Loccian as a child, and more from the Destruction family, but much of her own knowledge had been piecemealed together over time from the various creatures she'd met.  "So what I explain to you might be different than what someone else might teach you." It didn't make anyone else's information for valuable - though she knew she herself wasn't the most advanced healer in the world, she had no qualms about admitting that - it just meant everyone had something different to offer. She nodded at Justice's observation. "My.. mate, she used to carry a bag like this. I got the idea from her." The thought of Novel sent a sharp pang through her chest, but she tried not to let the pained expression show on her features. "There's a lot of old relics like this, leftovers from whoever came before us, if you look hard enough," she admitted, offering a slightly sheepish smile to Justice. Finding her satchel hadn't been easy, but she'd seen quite a few useful trinkets, if you explored the places most unfamiliar to you. The ruins of whatever had come before, the strange unnatural structures that housed metal machinery and things that were even more unfamiliar to her. She was glad when Justice asked if the plant had any other uses, and she nodded eagerly. She certainly had the mind of a healer - sharp and inquisitive - and hoped that this little lesson might jump start her interest again. "I've heard it can help reduce fever, but I've never used it that way myself. Making it into a poultice is pretty easy," she cast a glance at the plant, wondering if she ought to collect some herself. "Basically, you just take a mouthful of the leaves and chew until they turn to mush. It can be gross, and most useful plants don't taste very good, but you get used to it." Surely there were better ways to go about it, but that way was what she knew. "You'll want to try to draw any fur back before sticking it on the wound, then spreading it around to make sure it covers all of it. If you can find something to wrap around it to keep it in place, that's your best bet, but most of the time that's easier said than done. If your patient is injured enough to really need a poultice, you'd be best trying to keep them still and calm anyway."

The woman admitted to being self-taught, but whether Ara felt self-conscious about that or not Justice latched onto the idea, finding it to be a bit of a relief to know that she had become a healer of wisdom without the benefit of others taking an interest in training her, so there was hope for Justice to do the same. "So I should probably make sure to learn things from a lot of different people, because they might have different ways of doing things that might work better in a situation," she observed aloud. So stop moping around waiting for Paladin to hold training and go find trainers yourself, she admonished herself mentally.

The woman went on to describe making a poultice, and again Justice listened carefully to commit it to memory. She nodded absently at the woman's conclusion, mind already mulling over the possibilities for improving on the technique. She saw the healer eyeing the yarrow. "You can take that bunch if you want," she said generously. "I can find us some more now that I know what it looks and smells like." Ara might not have been as infirm as Justice had initially been wary of, but surely at her age she'd prefer to have a younger wolf doing all the footwork for her. Besides, looking for it would give her more practice in identifying the herbs while a more experienced wolf was around to correct her if she found the wrong plant.

Snorting to clear the scent of the yarrow from her nose, so that it wouldn't interfere with finding more of it, she lifted her head and sniffed carefully, sorting the various plant scents. Most she didn't recognize, but here and there was the yarrow-scent. Strongest, of course, was right next to her, but she carefully sorted that one out and ignored it, and identified another possible direction upwind of them. She continued to follow the elusive scent step by step until it was strong enough that she ought to be able to see it. It took a few more seconds of looking before she finally spotted another of the plants. "Found some!" she called out excitedly, like a pup on a scavenger hunt.

Justice's excitement was contagious, and fueled Ara's own excitement at sharing what she knew with the younger female.  "I'd learn as much as you can, from as many wolves as you're able to meet. Experimenting on your own is a good idea, to some degree, when you know what plants aren't going to be detrimental to your health." Obviously experimenting with some herbs was just plain dangerous, but some were well known to be the sort you couldn't ingest too many of, and topical uses were generally safe to experiment with anyway.  "Luckily, I've learned that most healers are the social type, and eager to share in their craft," Ara commented conversationally, stressing the word most. She knew some were interested in herbs for far less benevolent reasons, but she'd been lucky enough to encounter few of those wolves in her long life. Hopefully Justice would be equally as lucky as she had been. She offered some of the yarrow to Ara, who nodded appreciatively. Perhaps in her younger years she would've vehemently refused the offer, but in her older age she was grateful for the offer. She knew too that yarrow wasn't terribly uncommon and finding more wouldn't be a hard task whatsoever. "Thank you, Justice," she responded, her gratitude obvious as she leaned to gather a bundle of the plant, carefully snipping them off halfway down the stalks - giving them room to grow again throughout the season, rather than pull them from the roots and halt their growth completely. She focused on gathering a bundle for herself while Justice went in search of more yarrow. Ara briefly lifted her head to watch her pull away, though her attention returned to her own task - and subsequently stashing away what she'd collected. Before long she heard Justice's excited call announcing her success in locating more yarrow, which earned a quick grin from Ara. "Good job!" She called out, not at all over-zealously; her joy was genuine, and she felt a spark of pride at knowing Justice was gaining some knowledge from her. Hopefully it would benefit her in the future. Once she was finished, she headed over to Justice's side, her smile remaining.