Finally free of his illness Álarr headed outside Fireside to stretch his legs and replenish his herbal stores. He'd gone through most of his marshmallow trying to ease is ooze filled cough and that brought him along the banks of the Rio Grande. Already signs of the horror of winter were fading. Very little bioluminescent algae remained in the river and there were fewer and fewer glowing plants. He sent his raven to get a fire going as he felt a tickle raising in his throat. He'd make some tea as well as do his gathering. Álarr worked down the banks, eyes combing through the plants. Each day the sun rose a bit higher and a bit higher. He could almost see it peeking above the horizon.

Ikigai, also free of her illness, had decided to venture away from Ashen lands for a time just to stretch her leg and try to forget some of the horrors that had taken part there. The pallid princess's face still wasn't fully healed from where the crystals had pushed through her skin, nor was the bite wound upon her leg that had been inflicted by some unknown attacker. Willa, Ikigai's snow white, antlered cat, padded along beside her mistress as the pair moved along the edge of the river. Things were getting back to normal, but they weren't fully there just yet. The land would heal, the wounds would turn into scars, but Ikigai had a feeling that the mental wounds would be long lasting for a lot of the wolves of the world.

"X"

Álarr followed his nose and soon found a patch of marshmallow growing along the river bank. It stood about three feet high with velvety oval leaves. He used his sense of smell to double check for the flowers would not bloom til late summer. Like the flowers, the leaves were often collected in summer but today he was after the roots.

Álarr started to dig, pushing mud and soil away from the base of the plant. He paused when he heard someone approach and turned too see a young black and white girl with an antlered cat. He dipped his head in greeting. "Hello there. Out enjoying the increasing sunlight?" He assumed he wasn't the only one eager to soak up the sun. He'd certainly taken it for granted before winter struck.

As the pair moved along, they came upon a horned man. He was much larger than the princess, but she felt no fear. A lot of her fear had been washed away with the shift in the world. The girl's mercuric eyes landed upon the brute as he greeted her. The red rimmed corners of her eyes lifting as she smiled in return. A soft chuckle pulled from the princess and she nodded. "Yes, eager to soak up some sunlight after the long dark," she admitted in her clear, smooth tones.

Noting that the man was unearthing some sort of plant, the girl gave her head a little tilt. "I apologize if I'm bothering you, sir, but what kind of plant is that?" Ikigai was eager to learn healing, but her grandmother was in short supply lately with the sickness that had ravaged Ashen.

"X"

She was a very well spoken child and expressed interest in the plant he was digging up. "Marsh Mallow. Its roots are a good remedy for coughs and bronchitis." He set back to digging, talking as he worked. He noted the scent of pack on the girl and traced it back to Ashen and he couldn't help but wonder how the other packs had fared during the Darkness.

"Has Ashen experienced any… odd illnesses? I myself came down with some strange fungal illness. Wretched cough, just wretched." He reached out to the base of the plant and with a tug pulled it up, root and all before setting it aside. "I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Álarr Imperialis of Fireside."

Marshmallow, the man admitted. Iki took a step closer, watching with rapt interest as he unearthed the plant and explained it use. After the plant was plucked, the antlered man asked after the health of Ashen. Now, Ikigai knew that admitting to illness could be used against the wolves of the Empire, but there was something about the brute that she trusted. Absently, one snow dipped paw rose to rub over the healing bite wound on her opposite foreleg. "Yes," she admitted. "I was taken quite ill myself. Crystals they..." The horned girl gave her head a shake. "They pushed out of my skin. Grew out of my very blood." The whole ordeal had been horrific.

The man gave his name and Ikigai gave a low, princessely bow. "Okiku Ikigai Ōritsu Abraxas, but please, call me Iki." She tilted her head to the side again. "Do you eat them whole? How do you prepare them?"

"X"

Álarr seized the top of the plant and scooted closer to the riverside to rinse the root in water as the girl explained that she'd fallen ill with a strange crystal illness. He nodded lightly and set the plant aside. "I see, we had a few members fall ill with that as well." It might seem foolish to divulge so much to a foreign pack that might very well bear a grudge against his own but Álarr felt confident the illnesses in Fireside had not been an isolated event. Clearly, there were some dark forces that transcended inter-pack conflict.

He listened attentively as the girl introduced herself and thankfully gave him a nickname to address her by. "I find it works best served as a tea. You can dry or mash the root and boil it in water. If you like I can show you. My raven has a fire going nearby."

Alarr informed her that some of his own pack had been afflicted with the same illness that she had. The girl's obsidian ears slicked back to her crown. She wouldn't wish the crystal sickness on anyone, not even her worst enemy. Not that Ikigai had any enemies. "Your people... they're okay?" Some hadn't survived the long night, this she knew.

When Alarr offered to show her how to process the root, the girl's features brightened, "Yes please, Sensei." She bowed her head again, taking on the role of student to Alarr's teacher. Both she and Willa followed the antlered man to the fire that his avian companion had stoked. "Your lungs are still healing from the sickness?" She could only imagine that the marshmallow tea was to help with his own ailment. There wasn't anyone else around.

"X"

Álarr hesitated at Iki's next question. "Most are ok. My brother and our youngest members have recovered. A few of our oldest though, succumbed to their illness. I imagine it is the same for yours?" It had been a terrible loss to lose Ásvor and Valdís though not unexpected. Both of them were well advanced in age and likely only had a year or two left but it still felt like they'd been taken from the world too soon. "Is… Hattori ok? I met your alpha before the Darkness. I know our packs have been at odds in the past but he seems an honorable wolf."

She agreed to follow him to see how he prepared the root and he turned to head toward the small encampment he and his companions had made along the river. Álarr nodded. "Yes. Although I am healed from my illness my lungs and throat are still inflamed. It will take time to reach a full recovery."

Soon the pair arrived at the campsite. His white raven, Brynhildr, was settled on a stone near the fire. A hide was spread out nearby with a number of ceramic bowls, bones, water skins, and other odds and ends. Álarr set the root down and chewed the top off before placing it in the bowl. "You can use your paws to mash it but I find using something like a deer shin bone works better." He picked up one such bone and aimed the ball of the joint down as he mashed at the root.

It seemed that the losses hadn't stopped at Ashen. Alarr had lost packmates as well. Ikigai was versed in the alliances and relationships between packs and knew that there was no bond between Ashen and Fireside, but she felt for the man. "I'm sorry for your loss," the girl whispered softly.

Iki was a little surprised when the man asked after her father and the dark eyespots on her brow drew together. "My father is well." Or at least as well as could be. He'd sequestered himself away from the rest of Ashen. She hadn't seen him in some time, but she knew he was still within Empire lands. Hearing that Alarr thought of her father as honorable was pleasing to the pale fae. "He is very honorable. I've learned a great deal from him," she admitted.

The slender fae moved up to sit beside Alarr as he began to prepare the drought that was for his own ailment just as she surmised. Again, she watch with sharp eyes as he processed the root, nodding as he gave instruction. She would need to acquire tools, but she was sure that she could replicate the brew. "I do hope that you heal quickly, Alarr."

"X"

He was surprised to learn the girl was Hattori's daughter but in hindsight perhaps he should've guessed. "I appreciate your kind words, Iki and I'm glad your father is well." It might be possible in the future to negotiate neutrality between the two packs and maybe work out a trade agreement, but it was difficult to say. He left diplomacy to his brother. Raiding was a part of Fireside's culture but so was trading.

Once the root was mashed well he scraped some out with an antler and deposited it in a small jar which Brynhildr corked for him. "For adults I find I find one ounce boiled in a cup and a half of water works well." He took his water skin and carefully uncorked it with his teeth before pouring in the proper amount of water. "About that much. I've done this enough I didn't bring any of my measuring tools with me." He hadn't expected to run into a student today. "What gives you an interest in healing, Iki?"

Iki was fairly silent as Alarr showed her how to make the brew that would aid his sore throat and lungs. The girl's mind was sharp and she filed away every last bit of information from the measurements and amounts to the way that he moved his paws while he worked. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be able to reproduce the drink that he had crafted. She would have to find marshmallow root near her home and she would try it for herself.

As Alarr questioned her desire for knowledge, Ikigai raised her mercuric gaze to the man. "My deepest wish is to better my family, be dutiful, help where I'm needed." A slightly mischievous glint appeared in her eye and she extended one paw towards the man, showing her dainty, yet dexterous digits with a little wiggle of obsidian toes. "And I have these. Delicate tasks are much more simple for me than most wolves. I can craft and stitch. They also allow me to play music." Curiosity struck. "Why did you become a healer?"

"X"

Álarr listened politely to Iki's answer, craning his head to gaze curiously at her paws as she wiggled her toes in a way that he never could. He grinned. "You are indeed blessed. I rely on my companions for finer movements. Brynhildr," he nodded his head to his raven. "She can suture far better than I ever could hope to." He folded the corners of the smaller piece of hide the bowl was setting on and then carefully used it to carry the bowl toward the fire. Once close enough he used his fangs to hold the hide and his paw to scoot it off.

"Now we wait. We'll want the water to come to a boil and boil for five minutes or so." She asked why he became a healer and Álarr had to think for a moment. "Hmm, it just always seemed interesting to me. My pack is a pack of warriors so injuries are frequent. It seemed a good way to help in addition to battle."

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