Svala settled near to her fire, setting down the angelica plants she'd gathered for that day. She intended to make an infusion of the roots and a poultice of the fresh leaves. To do that though she'd need to separate everything from the stem. Svala got to work, first chewing the roots from the stem and then going along and snipping off leaf after leaf with her sharp teeth. She then discarded the stems and gathered the roots and leaves into their own separate piles.

The weather was good in the Rustling Thicket. It was a warm, summer evening. Svala drank it in while she still could, knowing that sooner or later autumn was going to catch up to her.

Adventure is in Meadow’s blood. A restless soul, the small healer has always been the type to love traveling and exploring. That is why she finds herself out this way on this warm summer evening. Eyes roam over the land, taking in all the sights and sounds as Rigel flies overhead, keeping a close eye on her as she walks. A hoot from her companion alerts the earthen hued wolf to the presence of another nearby. Always eager to make new friends, Meadow quickens her steps until she spies the form a charcoal and silver wolf. They appear to be working hard on a project and Meadow calls out with a friendly voice, “Hello! Do you mind if I join you?”

As she gets closer to the new wolf, she notices the female is working on separating leaves from the steams of a plant. Eyes widen with surprised happiness as she asks the stranger eagerly, “Are you a healer too?” Meadow, always happy to find others that share her love of plants and the healing arts, gets as close as possible to the other female with intruding into her personal space.



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Svala wandered over to her travois and fished two ceramic bowls out of wrapped deer hide. She set them down in front of her then grabbed two of the roots and placed them in the first bowl. She didn't need these to be super mashed but they did need to be bruised so she took the deer fibula she used as a mortar and pestle, and then worked at crushing the root.

Once that was done she took the fresh leaves and added them to the other bowl. She mashed them a bit as well. She looked up as she heard approaching paw steps and saw a woman about her age. She smiled. "Oh, go right ahead. I think it's nice to have company!" The woman asked if she was a healer and she quickly nodded. "Yes, I am. My name is Svala. What about yourself?"

Happily, Meadow joins Svala and plops down close to the other healer. Realizing she has yet to offer her own name, she says, “My name is Meadow and yes I am a healer! Can I help with anything? What are you doing?” Eyes scrutinize the bowl and its contents, sniffing the air to see if she can identify the plant being crushed. When she does not recognize the scent, Meadow turns curious eyes to the Svala and watches how she works. The earthen hued wolf notes the deer fibula used to crush the herb and thinks that it would make a suitable substitute for the rock she uses. Shrugging off her saddlebag, so it is more comfortable to sit, Meadow readies herself to help in any way she can.


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The woman introduced herself as Meadow and stated that she was a healer as well. Splendid! "I had an abundance of Angelica so I'm practicing with it. I'm working on an infusion of the root and a poultice for the fresh leaves."

Svala returned to her travois and fished out her water skin. Removing the cork she carefully poured water into each of the bowls and then pushed them near the fire to heat up. The poultice mixture would not need to stay by the fire long. As soon as it was warm she'd pull it away and then finish mashing the herb into a paste.

"I have that pretty well tended but I was thinking of looking for some marigold. Would you like to join me?" She'd heard the petals were good for bug bites and she longed to test that theory out. She'd gotten several mosquito bites on her travels and they were driving her crazy.

Nodding as Svala speaks of making an infusion and poultice, Meadow watches as the wolf moves to a nearby travois and retrieves a water skin. Keen eyes follow Svala back and note how much water is placed in each bowl before being pushed toward the fire to heat up.

Sitting back, Meadow says, “Very impressive. Have you made these before?” When Svala talks about going to search for a certain flower, Meadow enthusiastically agrees, “I would love to join you in gathering some marigolds!”

Standing and retrieving her bag, the earthen hued wolf tells Svala, “You lead the way and we can use my bag to store them in. I have some herbs already but there is plenty of room for more.” A smile on her lips, she moves to follow Svala in the search for marigolds.



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Svala shook her head at Meadow's question. "No from Angelica. I've made a number of infusions and mixes for poultices but this is my first time working with this particular plant." She'd seen another healer working on similar items when she was at Valahalla's festival and she'd been eager to try since then. Meadow agreed to join her on her hunt for marigolds. "That sounds wonderful!"

She started working her way through the thicket. Marigolds were particularly hardy plants. As long as they had at least half a day of sunshine and a moderate amount of soil they could grow just about anywhere. They generally didn't grow terribly tall so she expected to find them somewhere in a clearing. She sniffed the air, testing it for their particular scent.

A smile rests on her face as she listens to Svala speak about working the angelica. Nodding absently to herself, Meadow vows to herself that she will start experimenting with poultices and infusions when she returns to The Hallows. Svala’s kind acknowledgement of her joining the search is greatly appreciated by the earthen hued wolf and her smile only grows.

As she walks with Svala, eyes scanning for marigolds, Meadow cannot help but say, “There are so many plants that are so useful. Marigolds are amazing to me. So hardy and their petals are so beautiful… and useful. I have had to use them a couple times.” A small chuckle escapes as Meadow remembers the time she got stung by a bee. It had been horribly painful but the marigold had helped the pain and inflammation.

Looking to her traveling companion, Meadow adds, “Did you know that another useful, and very common, herb is dandelion? It is amazing to think that something we pass every day is so useful.” It always amazes Meadow just how many plants are useful to wolves. But, on the other hand, it is also useful to know all the plants that are harmful to them as well. Even as she talks, her gaze roams over everything, looking for the telltale petals of the marigold plant.



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Svala continued to search for the marigold, nodding to Meadow as the other woman spoke. "Oh, I agree. I'm hoping to try the petals out on some of my mosquito bites. I scratched at one quite a lot and now its swollen." She knew better than to scratch at them but some times it was so hard to resist the itch. "I think I might try to make an infusion of the laves and see how that does when applied topically. What about you?" She was always on the lookout to learn about more uses for plants she was aware of as well as new ones.

When meadow brought up dandelions Svala chuckled. "Oh, I know! It's a shame so many see them as a nusiance." The difference between a weed and a beautiful flower really did come down to a judgement. A flash of orange caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, there they are!" She bounded through the brush over to a patch of marigolds growing with their bright orange flowers. They were so pretty. Svala wanted to plant some near her den during the next spring. Both to have some on hand and also just for their beauty.

Listening to Svala as they both search for the plants, Meadow nods at the comment about scratching the bites. Mosquito bites are horrible, she knows. The little blood suckers  loved her as a pup and she has so many memories of being slathered with marigold leaves. Quirking a brow at Svala’s idea to make an infusion, Meadow nods her agreement to the idea.

Next, Meadow answers the wolf’s question by saying, “I like to try find rarer herbs that I haven't seen before and experiment with them. Just for example, I found horsetail not too long ago. The leaves can be used to help wounds clot and slow bleeding. I decided to crush the leaves and make a paste out of them. It really helps bind the wounds better. It almost acts like a second skin and closes any open area.” Was she talking too much? Meadow feels like she is talking too much.

When she brings up dandelions and Svala chuckles, agreeing with Meadow, the earthen hued wolf finds her tail starting to wag. Svala is a very nice wolf and Meadow is glad to have stumbled upon her. It is her new friend that is first to spy the marigolds. As Svala bounds through the brush, Meadow follows her, tongue lolling out her mouth in excitement. The orange flowers peak their heads up them, tiny sunbursts of color in the thicket. Oh, how she loves their happy little faces.

Moving to a small group of them, Meadow rummages through her bag to pull out a small strip of cloth and lays it on the ground before she absently starts to pluck the petals from the flower. After she has a few petals in the cloth, the thought to ask Svala what she is looking for comes to mind. Turing to Svala, Meadow inquires, “I forgot to ask, did you just want the petals or would you like the whole flower?” Maybe she should have asked that before starting to harvest the flower.


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She listened as Meadow spoke of horsetail. "Oh, that's a good idea. I'll have to keep that in mind. I've had pretty good luck with sphagnum moss once its been dried. It does an excellent job with bleeding and lowering the risk of infection." It never hurt to have more items to bind wounds with the way wolves in Boreas liked to fight. She mentally added horse tail to her list. She preferred fresh herbs when she could get them and the moss only lived in particular areas.

Svala reached down and carefully started snipping marigold plants off with her teeth near the base and setting them aside to carry back. She only needed a few and she hated to deplete them. She could always get some to dry later. "I'm getting a few of the whole plants so I can experiment with the leaves but the flowers can be dried and stored easily enough. I think I have what I need. How about you?"

Nodding to Svala, Meadow says, “That is good! Where do you find the moss?” Meadow had heard that some types of moss were good for healing but she wasn’t sure where to collect them from. She asks, “Is there any other herbs you find useful for wounds? I have found that a balm made from the resin from myrrh, mixed with the oils harvested from coconuts and some beeswax really helps to seal open wounds too. I had to stitch a shoulder wound closed once and I put the balm over the stitches. Kept it closed and helped it heal quickly.” Meadow wasn’t trying to boast or anything, just sharing her knowledge with a fellow healer.

After Meadow has plucked a few petals, she looks to Svala for guidance and watches how Svala harvests the plants. Carefully, Meadow reaches down and cuts three of the plants near the steam, just like Svala and places them on the cloth with the petals. Once Svala informs her that she has what she needs, Meadow nods and syas, “Yes, I am done. Would you like to put your flowers in here too?” Offering the cloth to Svala to place her plants in, if she wants. Meadow then bundles the plants she has carefully in the cloth before picking it up in her mouth and moving to follow Svala.



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"You can find the moss in bogs and conifer forests. It tends to die in the winter but you can usually find some most other seasons."

Svala listened attentively as the other woman spoke. "Oh? I'll have to try that some time. I've worked with beeswax but I never thought of trying to use resin. I still swear by yarrow as far as slowing the bleeding of wounds. It works wonders to constrict the blood vessels near a wound." Svala picked a few more so she'd have a few to dry later and quickly accepted Meadow's offer. "Certainly!"

Together they walked back to the fire and Svala settled down to continue her work. Svala loved marigold, the colors were so pretty. She settled down next to her fire with some fresh-picked marigolds. She had a few topical applications planned. She was going to make an infusion of the leaves and then a poultice of the flowers. Setting one of the plants between her front paws she started snipping the flowers off and then the leaves. Soon she had a small pile of flowers and a small pile of leaves. Excellent, now to get something to put them in. She glanced over at Meadow. "Do you need to borrow any bowls?"