The days had been passing quickly through spring, and Halo didn’t know what to make of it. Though it really had no reason to, the grey still colored life as she knew it. A sort of filter, sinking in and obscuring some of the light. The life that she’d stumbled into was so lovely… did she deserve it? Did she belong here? A land filled with giants and brilliantly colored creatures, Halo couldn’t help but feel more than a little plain. The idea of belonging anywhere was foriegn to her. Did she really and truly belong here of all places? Still, she’d do her best to push those thoughts from her mind. She’d set about getting plants into her garden, and tending them carefully. Some of them were thriving, for which Halo was pleased. Keeping a garden was serious business, and she was already thinking of the winter. They had months yet, but an anxious mind could be quieted more effectively if there were plans in place. Being able to actually store anything was such a new concept for Halo. Maybe one of the more experienced healers in the pack knew what would be the most necessary over the long winter. It was mid afternoon when Halo moved towards Sedna’s den. She had yet to meet the woman, but she was one of the few other healers that called the Armada home. As the pale girl neared, she called softly. “Sedna, are you home?” Her tone was light, gaze bright as she peered out. “I had a question about some healer things, if you have time,” Halo was nervous, as she often was in meeting anyone new. Still, it was important that she learn, and important that she grow.

The greyscale woman was busying herself in the storage den, sorting through bundles of hanging herbs, turning them to make sure no mildew had crept in, pushing bundles and bowls on shelves this way and that, trying to find the best layout for what she still held while making room for what would need to be harvested from her own garden, if she could even call it that after Otis’s haphazard planting attempts. She was almost convinced he had just taken the seeds they had so carefully preserved from the year before, chucked them in a bowl and convinced Chips to fly up and drop them all down on the carefully turned sod while she wasn’t looking.

She clicked her tongue and glared at the fat opossum, laying on his back in front of the small hearth lined with embers to keep the damp out. One of these days, she would have to come up with some sort of door for the place. Probably before the next snows set in. Perhaps there was a hide large enough to hang in one of the other caches about the place… Or maybe she could turn sourcing one into a lesson for Katori?

The voice outside her door was so small that she hadn’t quite heard it and almost bowled the poor woman right over as she exited the den, catching the last of her greeting as she leaned her whole body back. She pulled up short, her head recoiling so as to not poke the poor thing in her pretty purple eye. She took a moment to look the other wolf up and down, her eyes narrowed as she made no effort to hide the fact she was judging the other woman, and then her expression melted into a grin and her tail waved at her back as she sidestepped into the open air outside her door. Finally, it seemed she wasn’t the only one without whacky colours or monsterous height around here. “Sure, what sorta questions?”

“Speech”

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Halo stumbled backwards as the woman came through the door, her eyes going wide for a moment. Her heart picked up in her chest, ears pressing backwards against her head. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," her tone started off fairly confident, but settled to a more... well, a concerned murmur, really. A bit of a guilty feeling prickled at her shoulders, head ducked nervously. She'd gotten in the way, but what else was new? With her parents, the pale creature had always been under foot. Would this be much different? Really, Halo thought that she aught to be more careful. Would Sedna be mad at her? Halo wouldn't blame her. The woman had to be busy, standing as both a warrior and a healer within the Armada. There were so many thoughts in her head as she looked at the woman. "I'm Halo, I just joined the Armada," her introduction came with quiet words, looking up at Sedna nervously. She could feel the woman sizing her up, taking her in. Oh no, the thought rang through the pale girl. Would she see Halo's size and deem her weak? Again, she wouldn't blame Sedna for it at all. Still, the taller woman's expression morphed. It shifted into something that resembled... something that resembled approval? As her tail wagged, Halo's did as well. There, that was... that was better. At least she was smiling, and Halo could smile back. "I was wondering what sort of herbs you'd recommend I focus on stocking up." Her gaze was soft. Halo stood much shorter than the more experienced healer, but at least it wasn't an unnatural difference. Her color too was comfortingly... comfortingly normal. She feels a certain comfort in the way the woman looks, and in the way she stands nearby. In a world that was so very strange, it was nice to not feel so alone in her plain appearance and smaller stature. "I was thinking about how to best start preparations for winter here and I don't really know where to start," her tone was sheepish. Halo was prone to rambling when nervous, after all.

As the girl skittered and stammered Sedna had to come to wonder how she had landed herself here. The Armada certainly had a type and they tended to be bullheaded extroverts, the sort to leap before looking with little value placed on their own wellbeing. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to bring in someone with some self-preservation instincts. Even better if they were willing to be on hand to patch others up.

The Archer had to think on the other woman’s question for a moment. It was a good one to ask, and she bought herself to a seat as she considered. “Depends on what yer comfortable treatin’ fer a start. Nobody’d expect yer ter set a bone or stitch a wound if yer weren’t comfortable, but most o’ th’ injuries we get around ‘er are from trainin’ or fightin’. Bumps an’ bruises, lacerations,” She looked at the girl, considering. “Do yer ‘ave a companion?” After all, stitching wounds took more dexterous fingers than a wolf possessed.

As though summoned by the sound of her voice, the sleepy opossum emerged from the den behind her, hissing at her as though it were her fault he had awakened before waddling off into the garden to, no doubt, look for some bugs. She gave the creature a scowl, but her fondness was evident in the smile at the corner of her eyes.

“Speech”

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Lesson 1/3

Truly, Halo didn’t know how she’d ended up here either. Well, she did, Sirius had found her and taken her in. The Warlord had been good to her, incredibly good. He’d taken her under his (metaphorical) wing. The man was teaching her how to fight instead of running scared, how to defend herself. Halo was learning, and she was growing. Already starting to come out of her shell in the new environment, but still… she’d still stumble over her paws. She’d still worry about offending others, and she’d worry about way more things than necessary. So it goes. Standing and talking to Sedna, the tenderhearted girl realized that she had so much to learn. It was exciting though, and she was happy to have someone to talk to about it. “Mostly cleaning wounds and bandaging them, and splinting legs for sprains and breaks during emergencies.” Halo’s gaze was soft, her tail wagging softly. “I’ve never even tried to give stitches,” her tone was sheepish as she looked up at the taller woman. Companions– Halo’s eyes went wide as she saw the hissing opossum, taking a step backwards. “I don’t have one… I should get one, shouldn’t I?” The tenderhearted creature considered for a moment what she could tame, peering carefully at the more confident healer. “What kind of animals make the best companions for healers?” She was filled with questions, and felt like a child in moments like these. Still, Halo was excited and wanted to learn.

Well at least she had the basics down. “I’d recommend sticking ter what yer know for now, everythin’ has a different name ter what I’m used ter here. If yer find anythin’ in that mess that yer can make use of, feel free to grab some, I still have seeds from last autumn an’ at this rate, I’m gonna have ter pull it all out an’ start over. What I get fer leavin’ th’ plantin’ up to a possum eh?” The last was punctuated by a self-depreciating chuckle. “As fer companions, generally somethin’ with thumbs is useful, lots o’ healers I’ve met have monkeys, but I get creeped out by their faces. Otis does all my stitchin’, but I also have Chips,” She tipped her head towards a ratty looking ibis that was strolling through the grass a short distance away. “‘e helps with things that might otherwise be outta reach, an’ it never hurts ter ‘ave an extra set of eyes overhead, ‘specially if yer need ter swim somewhere an’ yer worried about sharks.” The last was added with a joking tone, although it was exactly how she had ended up with the bird to start with.

She knew how strange this place could be for those that hadn’t always been here, and she was trying to think about what else was different to where she had grown. “Oh, ‘ave yer ever made tea?”

“Speech”

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Lesson 2/3

Stick to what she knew-- Halo could do that. She nodded softly along with Sedna's words, watching carefully. "The next time you need to give stitches, may I please come watch?" Halo's tail wagged softly. Well, she supposed it would be Otis administering them, but it would certainly be helpful to see the process in action. Learning was important, and the pale girl really did want to soak in as much knowledge as possible. "Thank you," her smile was soft. "I have some specimens I've collected live to transplant, to figure out what grows best in the soil here. You're welcome to come by and see if there's anything that would be helpful as you replant." After all, Halo always picked too much, and it would be nice to be able to repay the taller woman's favor. Carefully, she looked to the sky to study the bird. "Sharks?" Her eyes went wide, looking from Chips to Sedna in turn. It took Halo a moment to relax, realizing that she was joking... but was she? Were there sharks? Had Halo been in far more danger than she realized during her swim here? Still... there was something about it that had the girl a bit nervous in hindsight. Tea! Halo's tail wagged at the prospect. Her mother had been fond of tea, but she hadn't got a chance to learn how to make it herself. The different blends of herbs and all... it really could be lovely, especially in their cold northern home. Though Sirius said they didn't get as much snow as Halo was used to, it would still be awfully nice to learn. She shook her head, though the smile didn't drop. "I haven't made it myself, but I'd love to learn." Halo was eager, as always.

Sedna nodded her agreement to fetching Halo the next time someone was foolish enough to split themselves open. It was a shame Naiche was gone. If anyone could be relied upon to do stupid shit and earn themselves an injury, it was that guy.

She stood and moved to her storage den, fetching the kettle she had ‘traded’ for from the witches hut and a blend of peppermint, lavender and a small section of honeycomb taken from her hive. Otis ran off with the kettle to fill it with fresh stream water. Once the ingredients and implements were set outside, she set about stacking kindling. “‘S a bit o’ a process, but th’ results are worth it.” She returned to her storage den to collect an already smouldering stick to serve as a starter for the new fire. It would take some time for the fire to give off enough heat to warm the water and she exchanged pleasantries and explanations of each of the ingredients while they waited for the water to begin to simmer.

She wasn’t as refined as some wolves, no tea cups and saucers for her guests. Instead, she got her opossum to divide the simmering water between two turtle shells that had long been cleaned of any signs of flesh. She added the peppermint and lavendar, and allowed Otis to take a sniff and add a dollop of honey to hers. She trusted that he had a better nose for this sort of stuff than she did.

“Speech”

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

-Lesson 3/3-

At Sedna's nod, Halo offered a grateful smile. To learn about giving sutures, that sounded... well, it sounded intense. "Are there any supplies that you need me to look out for, for stitches or anything else?" Making the most of her trips to collect herbs or anything else was important, and Halo was glad to help the other healer. Heck, she was glad to help pretty much everyone, as was the role of a healer. Halo watched carefully as Sedna and Otis set about making the tea. Her eyes lit up as she smelled the lavender, tail wagging. It was a wonderful mix, and she could smell it from the small distance. Halo took careful note of the herbs used, and their benefits. "It smells wonderful," her tail wagged. The peppermint mixed with the lavender, it was something that Halo wouldn't have thought of on her own. She wondered briefly what other things could be steeped into a tea... and decided that she liked tea very much, even before tasting it. With a wag to her tail, the girl dipped her muzzle to the turtle shell filled with tea. It smelled so lovely-- so incredibly lovely. Halo was a fan of lavender already, and to add the mint, it was truly excellent. She was able to relax here, spending time with Sedna. "Are there other herbs that are good to use in tea?" Her gaze flickered to the other healer, soft and curious. Always curious, and always learning.

The girl was full of questions and Sedna gave an uncharacteristic patient smile, “All sorts o’ things can go in tea, its usually better fer aches, or stress, or upset stomachs, tryin ter stop unwanted pregnancies, that sorta stuff. If it’s a gapin’ gushin’ wound, obviously tea won’ ‘elp much, unless yer lookin’ ter end their sufferin’ more permanent like.” She allowed the weight of her words to settle. “O’course sometimes tha’s the kinder option.” But she didn’t want to end their encounter on such a dark note. “So tell me, what sorta plants do yer have in yer garden?”

“Speech”

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

(happy to fade here if you like and we can do another for more skills)