Rain had left the comforts of his southern home behind for the season. The heavy rainfall in Auster had waterlogged most of the plants he could find or caked them heavily in mud and mold. The abundance of tropical healing plants had become a haven for dangerous fungi and while Rain was happy to have more options within his stores of poisons he found the spores they released to be too unmanageable and far too risky while collecting. His old home in Boreas it seemed was suffering from strange weather itself, the smell of fire and acrid dry soil clung to the air and the falls he explored now hoping to find new remedies to replace his flooded supply were a faint trickle. Most of the lush foliage surrounding the falls was now discolored and wilted but there were still a few that were salvageable. He found the succulent leaves of the aloe first, the ends of the plant orange and curled inward. His silent companion strode on all fours beside him and dutifully began to harvest the plant per Rain’s instruction. “It’s good for burns.” He explained as the baboon worked in silence. “It can also be used as a water supplement and can be flavored.” The baboon worked on seemingly unaware that his companion was speaking. He had been in a foul mood lately although Rain couldn’t begin to imagine why. He suspected the monkey might have arthritis and he considered for a moment asking the hunters of the empire if they could supply him with cat grease he could use to make a balm for his dour companion. It was more work than he believed the monkey to be worth but Fauldr had after all been an irreplaceable asset to him in the year they had been together. It struck him then why Fauldr had seemed moodier than usual. They had known each other and worked together for almost a year and Rain had done nothing to commemorate the occasion. He was surprised to think that the golden beast even cared about such a frivolous concept, but he supposed he at least owed it to him to recognize what they had gone through together. “Fauldr…” He started. “Are you…” He cut himself off, he was being an idiot, and now was not the time to press him for such questions. He knew better than anyone the monkey never spoke outside of their confidence, deep within the dungeons of the Abraxas castle. He would ask him then, but for now he needed to salvage what he could from the droughts that had plagued the area. He found a bush of lavender growing in abundance and snipped several stalks from the sweet smelling blooming plant with his teeth before placing them in his pack. Slowly his eyes fixed on bell like stalks waving daintily in the breeze. Fox glove. He looked over at his companion who was now sitting sullenly in front of the picked aloe. “Fauldr come over here.” He called, attempting to keep his voice light in an effort to keep the monkey’s mood from becoming worse. Word Count: 520 speaking Thinking   You

Cannival It wasn't a long trek from the rapids in Abaven to the neighbouring Sunset Falls, and so Cannival had decided that in the interest in supporting her pack that she'd take the trip in search of herbs to help those injured in the fire. Shaye had all but begged her to stay, gifting her a lovely feather from her collection that reminded the lioness of her friend Motif each time she felt it rustle behind her ear. She'd agreed to do her best to assist in the rebuilding of Abaven, but Cannival still felt useless with her lack of general knowledge in this strange land. Shaye had offered to set her up with a healer to learn from, and so the lioness was determined to be the best assistant she could with such a lacking skillset. As she wandered, Cannival gathered whatever looked distinctive and bright. From her experience so far, it seemed these plants were most likely to be medicinal in some way. She only found one herb she recognized- a fuzzy green leaf that was called Horehound, she couldn't remember for the life of her what it was used for but she scooped up the plant regardless. Most of the healers Cannival had met carried pouches to hold their stores, but the lioness had yet to acquire one. Instead she carried a large wide leaf that served to contain the herbs a safe distance from her mouth in case she picked anything inedible or dangerous. There was one more plant that she had heard of, Lamb's Ear. It was supposed to be incredibly soft and able to act as a bandage for wounds. Seeing as many wolves of Abaven now carried multiple burns that needed to be treated with salve, Cannival thought Shaye would appreciate if she could find something soft to wrap the wound with. No matter how long she looked, however, the lioness was unsuccessful. Just as she was beginning to lose hope, Cannival spotted another just a short distance away. Upon this wolf's back was a satchel much like she had seen the healers of Abaven carry. A small sigh of exasperation puffed from blackened lips as she considered her approach. Please don't run away. She had had enough experience of fear-laden, aggressive, and prejudiced wolves to last a lifetime. "Uh, hello!" The lioness greeted, allowing her voice to swell with pleasant warmth. Large paws carried her forward in a relaxed trot towards the other. "I was hoping you could help me? I've come for herbs, but I'm afraid I can't find what I'm looking for. Abaven needs Lamb's Ear to cover some wounds. Have you seen any around here?" "You.""Think.""Speech"

Rain wheeled around, tail raised while Fauldr dashed between his companion and the lioness with a low teeth bearing hiss, his body low to the ground and his arms striking threateningly at the ground. Rain had just barely heard the large cat’s request over his golden companion’s rancorous defending but it was enough to assure him, at least temporarily that she didn’t intend to kill them outright. “Fauldr, relax” He commanded, his eyes never leaving the lionesses. “Maintain Eye contact.” The words whispered in his mind although he wasn’t quite sure who it was that had given him that warning when dealing with cats. With a physicians eye he looked the lioness over, the smell of ash and singed fur still clung to her which his sensitive nose could detect even at a distance. “Lamb’s ear wouldn’t do well in this weather.” He said simply, righting himself and wearing a façade of confidence that he didn’t feel. “And while it’s good for scrapes and scratches it wouldn’t do well at all with burns.” He explained. Fauldr continued to glare at the cat even as Rain stepped in front of him, shielding him in case the lioness decided he was being too rude. Without looking at his assistant Rain turned his nose slightly to regard the baboon. “Would you mind harvesting some of that plant I was just inspecting?” The baboon continued to glare but begrudgingly he turned to regard the fox glove and began carefully picking the bulbs. “If you want to treat burns you’ll want to use animal fat and aloe or…” He trailed off and took several nonchalant steps backwards before judging he was a safe enough distance from the cat’s reach to turn his back on her. He walked over to the pool at the base of the trickling water fall, his head turned downward before he snapped his head forward and withdrew a shimmering trout. With little caution, far too enthralled with discussing healing he approached the lioness again placing the trout down in front of her. “This is what works best.” He grinned. “A trout’s flesh is moist, and the scales provide some protection against the elements, unlike salves or gels.” He explained. “They’ll need to be changed frequently however and you’ll need something to bind the fish skin to the wound. My companion will happily demonstrate.” He then turned his attention to Fauldr who was glaring once again, but this time at Rain. With a dejected flap of his lip, the baboon moved from his task of gathering foxglove to inspecting the ivy vines that climbed over the trees surrounding the falls. He gathered several and picked the leaves away before rolling them into fibers and twisting them together until he had fashioned a rope. With the single most cynical face the dog faced ape was capable of Fauldr presented his creation to the cat one hand raising the coil above his head while the other gestured to it. Wordcount: 496 speaking Thinking   You

Cannival Cannival eyed the companion wearily as it threw itself between her and it's master. Many of the Abaven wolves had familiars of their own, but no monkeys as far as the lioness had seen. She could see the use in it, however, as the small creature obeyed the male and used it's flexible hands to daintily pick the herb he had asked for. Luckily the wolf did not appear violent; he may have been nervous, but Cannival couldn't fault him for being uncomfortable in the presence of a larger predator. "Why couldn't the Abaven wolves be this accepting?" This wolf was just absolutely full of knowledge, and Cannival found herself becoming more impressed with each word. She was teetering on enthralled, watching the healer with bright and intent eyes as he explained the uses of Lamb's Ear and why it wasn't an issue that it was out of season. Aloe... She repeated internally, willing her empty mind to retain as much as the wolf could teach. Animal fat.. and... The wolf paused and after an odd show of backing up, approached the falls. When he turned back to her, a glistening fish wriggled between his jaws. "Wow!" The exclamation flooded out before Cannival had a chance to reign it back. She had never seen a wolf catch a fish before, and he said that it could be used to heal? Maybe Cannival had some hope yet for her own healing career. "That's amazing, I would never have guessed." The wolf continued his lecture. Unfortunately for Cannival, she had no companion and knew nobody with such flexible paws. The creature now began to fashion a rope, and she watched in fascination- not bothering to contain her amazement at this point -as his fingers twisted and pulled to slide the foliage into a functioning tool. "Where did you learn all that?" She also wanted to ask where she could find such a useful familiar, but she thought the question might be too rude. "You.""Think.""Speech" [Accumulated Word Count: 1790]