It had been a long year, turning this pack into a home. For herself, her partner and their children. Designing the house, the gardens, and the apothecary had taken some work. Much of the actual building could be credited to Py. The house itself was a modest affair. A small wooden building tucked into the side of the ravine, where it opened up before Wolfpaw lake. Out of the way, and beneath an overshadowing of trees. Propped off the ground to avoid the dampness that lingered here, with a little deck filled with growing things of all shapes and sizes. The apothecary was built next to that. A carefully crafted hot hose on one side, and storage on the other. The perfect place to store her concoctions. The garden she had built spread out across from that. Built into a naturally rising hill, with irrigation dug beneath it. Offering different levels of dampness to suit the needs of the numerous herbs she grew there. As winter approached, she had harvested what she needed from the garden, and ensured essential herbs were growing in the hot house. She wished to be prepared for any eventuality. This chilly winter day found the small healer woman in her apothecary. Lying on a rug on the floor as she carefully pruned a pile of herbs, separating the usable parts to the discardable ones. ""

Eligos had grown up in a castle, but the idea of actually building something was somewhat foreign to him. Still, when Riva had expressed the need for this apothacary, she called it, as part of her healing necessities, he had been willing to go along with it like he had with the garden. But like all healer related things he didn't understand it, so while he wasn't uneasy when he entered the apothecary he did feel... awkward, and out of place. Still, he went. "Riva," he greeted her warmly when he saw her there, doing things with plants. "How have you been?" She had been busy with building her buildings and her garden so he had not touched base with her for a while.

She looked up at the sound of another wolf approaching. A smile already growing over her tiny face. She put down her plants, careful not to crush anything. Letting it sit before her as she watched Eligos walk in and speak her name. She offered him a polite nod, dipping it over her work space before raising it again. “Eligos” she said warmly to her brother in law. “I’ve been good, my works been keeping me busy” she explained, her eyes creasing at the edges with warmth. “Was there something I could help you with? You haven’t caught a cold, have you?” she asked, eyeing him carefully. ""

Riva's concern did her credit as a healer, but Eligos was chagrined that he sought her out so little she would assume he'd need to be ill or injured to account for it. "No, nothing like that," he reassured her. "I was simply seeing how you were faring." He gave her a small, odd little smile before glancing around. "I hope you have been doing more than just working all the time, Riva. Your diligence does you proud, but you shouldn't spend all your time wrapped up in it. That can't be healthy for you. All work and no play, you know." He studied a far off plant intently to cover the sudden flush of embarrassment he felt at his unplanned, if gentle, scolding.