The winter had finally bled away to spring and in truth Octave felt a little guilty. He hadn't had much chance to teach Kite as they'd originally promised. Their focus had been on helping to nurse the man back to health and that meant mostly making sure he was getting fed and slowly upping how much he'd eat until he could stomach a full meal and making sure the small man got a full night's sleep and that his coat was growing in. When they'd chosen to give the man an herb they'd make a point to teach it's name to Kite and what it was used for but that hadn't been common...

And now, well the pretense for keeping Kite within the pack had melted away. Still he owed the small man at least one lesson and he figured it was probably a good idea to help him make sure he didn't make the same mistake that had gotten him into trouble in the first place, at the very least he could help make sure the man was equipped to handle himself once he was gone...

Octave gently nosed at the sleeping form of the small man, they'd shared a den the whole season, at Kite's request, and he was already starting to dread the loss of the small warm bundle at his side. He hummed gently as he sought to rouse the bobtailed man, he hadn't spoke allowed to Kite since the night he'd found the man but he'd managed to work up the courage to hum for him, sometimes it was songs he himself remembered and sometimes it was just tunes he came up within the moment. Noko had left the den earlier in the morning to fetch the main ingredient he had in mind for today's experiment, they'd discussed it the night before. Noko had given him a look he'd come to recognize over the season, it was the face she made that meant he ought to just voice his opinions... not that it was really easy for him but he knew Noko who could help out, but only with his go-ahead. But Octave was nothing if not a nervous wolf, that much was obvious and despite his desire to ask Kite to stay, he wasn't willing to put his own desires above anyone else's.

WC: 389/1500

Octave & Noko

As seemed to be the trend most days, when Kite was roused from his sleep by the gentle humming of Octave, he woke with a smile. It was a very pleasant way to start his days and he would openly admit that he'd developed a heavy level of fondness for the silent man. Blue eyes opened and a smile spread across Kite's little maw. "Good morning." As usual, Octave had risen before him. Kite was a sleeper. A dreamer. He liked to cling to his mental fantasies for as long as he could manage. It was easy when he was curled up against the big, warm body of Octave. Sleeping together had become so natural for him that he barely thought about it. They'd shared the same space for a season now. During the winter, Octave and Noko had allowed Kite to stay with them, for which he was eternally grateful. The pair had started to teach him various things about plants and their uses. For this, he was also grateful. They'd managed to identify one or two of the plants that had almost killed him. He still felt so stupid about all of that but... he hadn't died and he'd gained two new friends, so had it really been that bad? Shaking off sleep, Kite rubbed any sleep crusties from his eyes before bringing the teal depths up to smile into Octaves gaze. "What do you have planned for us today?" He knew that there was something in the pale mans mind simply by the look of intent upon his handsome features. He was coming to learn the quiet intricacies of Octave's mannerisms. Soon, he'd be able to read him as well as Noko. Okay... well maybe not as well. But... better than someone who had just met him? "Speech"

WC- 300
Total-689

There was something almost hypnotic about watching the small man return to consciousness, it always drew a small smile to Octave's lips. Getting to see the way that wakefulness transformed the man and the look that passed over the soft seafoam gaze Octave had learned to love so much. Kite asked what the plan was and Octave hummed softly, gently nosing the man's shoulders to gesture for him to roll over and gently extracted his limbs from the tangle that was their sleeping positions.

The man moved softly towards the mouth of the den, he turned back to make sure Kite was following him. He gestured with his muzzle to indicate they'd be heading out. Not too far though, no there was a small pile of herbs, mostly just common things but notably bitter, left a little from the mouth of the den. Noko hadn't returned yet so Octave simply settled himself in front of the herbs, gesturing for Kite to face him. He was content to wait for a little bit. But his ears were perked for the telltale patter of Noko's little paws. He figured he might as well test Kite on his knowledge, nodding towards the pile. Some dandelion heads poked out from between Marigold petals and motherwort leaves. They'd only be ingesting small doses of the herbs, nothing enough to affect either man who didn't really need their medicinal properties but just enough to find how they could help to mask their flavor.

WC: 247 (936/1500)

Octave & Noko

-Delete please-

Octave prompted Kite to get up and the smaller man gave a little wiggle before doing so. He extracted his legs from the pile and stood, but as he did, he made sure to slide his muzzle beneath the pale chin of Octave in a gentle nuzzle. He enjoyed getting his friend a little frazzled and he definitely enjoyed touching him. The time that they'd spent together over the season had been some of the best time spent, as far as Kite was concerned. Though his companion was exceptionally quiet, Kite felt as though he was able to be himself around Octave. And he absolutely adored Noko. Speaking of... where was she? Having risen from his place, the tiny sir followed the larger form of his friend out of the den. His minted eyes narrowed slightly as he spied the pile of herbs. After his near death experience, Kite still wasn't a fan of plants, but he was determined to learn them. Not only because it might save his life, but because learning the different herbs and things made Octave happy.  The gesture understood, Kite lay across from his pale teacher. Looking down upon the pile of plants, Kite's face lit up. "Oh, oh, I know this one." Reaching forward, his small paw tapped one of the round yellow flowers. "This is a dandelion. And this...." Staring at the other flower, he needed to sift through his mind for the name. "Mariiii...gold?" Ears perked and he looked towards Octave for confirmation, minty eyes meeting purple. There was another plant in the pile that he didn't know, although he felt like he should know it. Kite tapped the last plant and tried to recall a name, eyes squinting as he tried. Eventually he wrinkled his nose and shook his head, a sigh letting loose a moment later. "I don't remember this one." Hey, he was new to all of this. It would take him a few tries to get everything right and memorized. There were just so many damn plants in the world... Surely he'd learn them all in time. "Speech"

WC- 349
Total-1285

Octave couldn't help but smile as Kite settled himself and began dutifully naming the plants he recognized, the smile growing with each correct answer, and he nodded encouragingly as Kite glanced up at him, stumbling over his guess. There was a moment as Kite was thinking over the last herb and Octave waited patiently, smiling softly as he admitted he didn't know.

"Motherwort." Noko was marching up from behind Octave, she was waddling on her hindpaws, a large leaf bundle clutched in her forepaws as she approached. "Good for making pregnancy easier and help lessen heat symptoms." She said, tossing a wink Kite's way. She set the leaf bundle down between the two men and gently and carefully started to unwrap the bundle, it was a bit of a process as it was clear whatever was in the bundle was sticking to the leaves. Finally she managed to wrangle the bundle open to show a rather general pile of honey. "There was a hive a little further in the plains and we figured we might be able to use some honey as part of a lesson. Though Octave didn't help with gathering it." Noko lifted some of the fur on her forarms to show some rather nasty stings. "You're both going to try a little bit of the herb meledy and then we're gonna mix them into the honey and try them that way." Noko dropped back down onto all fours again, winking at Kite again.

"Figured this time we'd choose herbs that'd play nice with your stomach for this experiment."

WC: 261 (1546/1500)

Octave & Noko

A little voice sounded from behind as he tried to figure out the last herb. "Motherwoooort! Thank you, Noko." The small man flashed the lemur a sweet smile. He'd become incredibly fond of her and often felt like she was a sort of mother figure. She surely cared for the pair of them enough, didn't she?

Noko explained what they would be doing and promised that the herbs would be better on his stomach than the last ones had been. Kite tucked his ears and gave the woman a bashful grin before turning his gaze to his stoic companion. He enjoyed looking at Octave so much. It was difficult to keep his eyes away for very long. "Shall we?"

Kite watched as Noko prepared three greens that they'd be consuming. He didn't exactly need help with heat or pregnancy, (honey, they hadn't even slept together yet) but he saw the wisdom in trying the taste of something simply to know what he was giving to his patients. Leaning down to the prepared pile, Kite inhaled gently, testing the scent of the herbs before putting them in his mouth. He frowned. "Dry. So dry!" His mouth was full of the sticky, earthy weeds and he did his best to swallow them down. Looking again to Octave, he motioned him forward. "Your turn to make silly faces."