UNITY IS STRENGTH It had been a quiet winter, and a strange one. It was her first season in a pack, and she was still becoming accustomed to it. She liked and respected Branch, and he had placed her in a decent position within his pack. She wanted to push herself and become better, to prove her worth, and to learn what she could from the other healers within the pack. She wanted to take this as a great opportunity for self-improvement. Digging out a permanent den had been a strange experience, she hadn’t stayed in any place long enough to call it home. Her paws itched at the thought, but something in her heart was.. Glad. she knew she was making the right decision, even if it was going to change her life, and go against some of the values her mentor had taught her. She had gone through the stockpiles, both those she had put away in her den, had carefully harvested and dried for winter, and also the pack stockpiles as well. She had begun to put together a list of things they would need come spring. It was a surprisingly fine day for winter, and she was outside her den, making small piles out of her remaining herbs, and making marks on the earth around her as she considered what she would need as soon as spring bagan the growing process once more. She was completely lost in her task, humming gently under her breath, shuffling herbs, marking the earth. "speech"

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He had finished his morning activities long ago and had taken some time to do some sunbathing on this mild winter day. He hadn't taken a lot of time to just relax because he seemed to always have something to do. He didn't mind it because he would rather be busy then completely lazy. In all honesty Branch couldn't sit around for to long and even his little bit of relaxation didn't last long. He was soon up and stretching before trotting away from his spot to find something to do. He moved through the woods with ease, his blue eyes looking around for activity from his pack members. It wasn't long before he spotted something different that drew in his attention. He spotted several piles of herbs outside of a den and then spotted a pack member shuffling them around and humming. He wondered what she was doing and approached her and the herbs. She seemed immersed in whatever she was doing and he felt bad even disturbing her, but he was curious to see what she was doing. "Hello Riva," he greeted with a smile. "Speech"

UNITY IS STRENGTH She was so lost in her task, that she didn’t notice the approach of her Alpha, marking the earth, shuffling herbs around and creating a general list in her head. She wouldn’t be alerted until he made a noise of greeting, and she jumped a little, turning her head over her shoulder to see him watching her, and offered him a smile. “Branch, it’s good to see you.” she said politely to the older wolf. Reclining back on her haunches as she paused her work. “Is there something I can do for you?” she wondered, eyeing him carefully. He didn’t show any signs of a cold, despite the harsh winter, the pack seemed to have feared rather well from it. It had been nice to have a steady, warm den to return to over the harsh months. It was a luxury she wasn’t accustomed to, and was grateful for the shelter his pack provided her. Being a member was still a new thing to her, and she wanted to go out of her way to do all the right things for Branch and Kesali. "speech"

Art by sterling-raven

She would jump slightly and his smile faltered. He had surprised her and he didn't like to do that, but then she smiled making his smile return. She greeted him and he smiled even more his tail wagging. She then asked what she could help him with. "Well I was curious to know what your doing?" he asked as he looked back to the pile of herbs. He knew the very basics, how to identify plants and to store them. He didn't know what all they were used for. He didn't know if she was simply going through her herbs or something entirely different. Plus he needed to get to know his pack members all equally and what better way then to find ways to bond with them. "Speech"

UNITY IS STRENGTH She looked up at her Alpha, a wolf who stood a great deal taller then she. It was easy for the healer to feel she was surrounded by a world of giants, and the wolves of this pack where no exception. She felt at ease around this man, already judging him to be a gentle giant, much the same as his brother was. “Oh!” she exclaimed, brought out of her thoughts by his words, and glanced down at the array or herbs before her. “Stocktake, checking my stores and compiling a list of what i’ll need most come spring.” she explained. “A lot of the cold remedies are less important in Spring, but herbs to aid breathing can come in handy, and some of my long terms stores are looking a little depleted, things I like to have on hand all year round, poultices for wounds and the like. But… I ramble. A stocktake was probably the answer you were looking for.” she smiled up at Branch, craning her neck to meet his eyes. "speech"

Art by sterling-raven

Right now he was realizing how much smaller she was compared to him, something he hadn't really noticed when the pack was first created. He didn't always like his size and this time was one of them. Lowering his head he tried to make himself a little more eye level with her as she began to reply. She went into a lengthy reply, but Branch was able to keep up with what she was saying. He smiled glad to see that she seemed to be settling in very well. She seemed like she was getting prepared for spring, at least he assumed that why she was taking stock. He smiled at her as she finished up, nodding his head to let her know that he understood what she was saying. "Do you want any help?" he offered. He had time on his paws currently plus he would like to get to know her a little bit more. "Speech"

UNITY IS STRENGTH She would not how he made efforts to help her see eye-level with the much taller wolf, and knew it to be a part of the kindness in his heart. The gentle Alpha had won her loyalty with the ideals he had displayed to her so far. He welcomed all into his home, and promised here that no wolf stoof before another in terms of healing. He cared enough to ensure she was ok, and see if she needed help. She was unaccustomed to it, having lived so long on her own. She blinked away the emotion misting in her eyes, and smiled at the older wolf. “I’m mostly done with this, but.. Actually, well you have a moment.” she said, perking up with an excited wiggle of her tail. There was something she wanted to ask her Alpha, and now would be a good a time as any for it. “I was wondering if I could begin a herb garden in your territory, and where you wouldn’t mind giving up some space for me to plant it. It’ll require some heavy lifting in soils, and a great many collecting of seeds, the latter I can do myself with ease, but if you could also spare someone to help me with the former..?” she hoped she wasn’t asking too much of her Alpha, but if she could start a herb garden, it would make her life here easier, and really drill home how permanent it was. "speech"

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She was finishing up with her task and there was nothing left for him to help with. He was a little disappointed, but she didn't shoo him away. She asked if he had a moment and his curiosity was perked. He grew even more curious when he spied the excited wiggle of her tail. He was all ears, ready to hear what she had to say. When she went on to explain he found a smile forming on his face, blue eyes bright as she spoke of a herb garden. His tail began to wag, definitely loving her idea. "Of course! I think a herb garden is a wonderful idea, eventually it'll cut down the stress of actually hunting for herbs," he said with a grin. "Do you have a specific spot in one of the territories picked out already?" He would be able to get her the muscle she needed and maybe even others in the pack would be up for helping to plant seeds to. It would be a great time for the pack to bond. It was another thing that could aid in the pack's success and he was grateful that she had come up with the idea. "Speech"

UNITY IS STRENGTH She watched her Alpha with excited, and slightly nervous ideas. The land was first and foremost his, and she wouldn’t make such a change to it without his permission - of which he was quick to grant. His own enthusiasm added to hers, and the young girl’s eyes shone with it. “Actually - yes, in the Weeping Woods, on a slight incline near the stream, where the earth is quite soft and moist in some places, and more dry in others, I could grow a decent variety of herbs right there. It would require only a small amount of churning the earth and adding a bit of fertility to the dirt. I could begin planting once Spring arrives” she spoke quickly, ideas spilling together in a jumble that was more outspoken thoughts then a real sentence. She had some seeds, but mostly she had put her efforts into the collecting of herbs themselves. She would need to add to her collection as best she could - but a bountiful harvest wouldn’t happen until Spring arrives, so she would want to collect and plant as much as possible in the early days of spring. She had a lot to think about now that Branch had given her permission to go forward. "speech"

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