Solo's news of a pup still afflicted with the illness worried her. If the blight still existed, she had to find a cure. She'd tried desperately to administer various remedies to herself with no results. Eventually the sunshine seemed to take care of most of it, but there was still a residual thickness in her throat. Her stamina was shot. Sleep was hard to come by. Even now, while she craved the sunshine, there was part of her that still seemed repelled by it. Theory sighed deeply as she strolled along the Rio Grande, watching the current flow steadily towards the sea. It was a chilly spring afternoon with the sun covered by a thin layer of clouds. She'd hoped it would burn through by now, but its rays were elusive; her eyes rolled up towards the sky with a withering glare. Since the long night, she'd grown almost resentful of the sun. Why had it forsaken them for so long? But just like the volcano's eruption, nature owed her no explanation for its cruelties. Grumbling under her breath, Theory sped up by the water's edge and began to search for tender new green shoots. At least the plants were finally returning, forcing their way up through the loamy soil.

Though the sun had long since passed its peak in the sky, the layer of clouds above remained, blocking out the most intense rays of sunshine, and leaving a dreary and washed out grey sky. It was not good weather for sunbathing, nor curling up in a nook or cranny to sleep away the time, so instead Inoki was out adventuring. She had no real goal in mind, and went wherever her paws deemed it was a good place to go. Her exploration brought her to a wide but calm-looking river, and she sat on the bank for a few minutes, simply watching the fish that swam by. She was no fisher, and wasn't even sure how to go about actually catching a fish, but they sure were fun to watch as they swam past. The scent of another diverted her attention, and she turned her head to see another wolf, one much larger than her, face-first in the greenery along the river's edge. A small grin appeared on her as he stood up, casually stepping closer, but not close enough to impede on any potential personal space boundaries the wolf may have. "Looking for anything in particular? I may be able to help." She had little else to do that day, and helping someone with a task would be a good use of her time.

A stranger's voice caught her ears and she turned on her heel to greet the smaller, younger female. "Oh!" Theory exclaimed, laughing softly to herself. "I'm sorry, I must have missed you there." She shook out her coat and glanced around at Inoki's offer to help. "Yes... I could use some assistance. Have you had any experience with the sickness that recently ravaged the lands?" Even describing it again had bile rising in throat at the memory of her own infection, but she pressed onward: "Mushrooms, crystals, thick liquids oozing from every orifice..." It was impossible to forget if you'd seen it. "I recently got news that there may be a child in the midst of my pack still suffering mild symptoms. I need to figure out how to alleviate the symptoms - ideally, how to cure it," she sighed, glancing around again the young green foliage. Not much had grown yet - Spring was still in its early days. "Did you encounter anything useful?" Theo probed further, before pausing to chide herself. "I'm sorry - I'm letting my personal matters overtake politeness. My name is Theory, my pack Abaven has just begun to run a school on the Eastern coast."

~Gonna be vague AF cause teeechnically the cure was the sun, but uh, yea, the event roll said otherwise xD

Inoki hasn't intended on scaring the larger wolf, but it seemed she had been quieter than anticipated, or the other woman was just very focused on her task of searching around amongst the greenery along the river's edge. She nodded silently at the question, wondering why the woman was so interested in it. The sickness was gone, or at least still leaving, with only a few remnants remaining in some of the prey-oh. Oh, there was possibly a child still infected with the sickness. If it was for a child, then she would definitely help out as best as she could, even if she didn't fully understand why the apparent 'cure' had seemed to work. The other woman had spoken many words, and Inoki had been so caught up on the sick child part of it that she took a moment to digest that she had been given a name, and information about a pack. The pack. Her pack? Oh, this must mean Theory was an alpha then, of some type of school to say the least. "No, it's quite alright, ma'am! I'm Inoki. I have some knowledge of the sickness, and I may even be able to help you out with the child?" She didn't want to sound too sure of herself, as there was no guarantee the special concoction would work. "I assisted another healer in her attempt to create a cure, and it seemed to work, or at least alleviate the symptoms, but I can't be sure if it actually worked as a few days after that all the sickness began to disappear across the lands." She did her best to sound at least semi-confidant, already running through in her mind all the different herbs and plants that would need to be collected to make up the concoction.

Visible relief crossed her face when Inoki said she may be able to help. "Thank you!" she said earnestly, bowing her head gratefully. "And I'm very glad to have met, Inoki." A younger, starry-eyed Theory might think it was fate, but she was hardened and skeptical now. Nevertheless, for someone who had direct experience with a cure to cross her path certainly had to be luck. "Please, describe everything you can in as much detail as you remember. Anything would be much appreciated," she said, fixing Inoki with a clear and expectant gaze. The sunlight had seemed to clear up most symptoms, but perhaps the child was more severely effected. Even now she still felt a thickness in her lungs some nights or woke and struggled to breathe for a moment. Nightmares of fluid filling her throat were more common than not. Perhaps this mystery cure might serve her as well. "Who did you assist?" Theory asked, wondering in part if Inoki was part of a pack or if she might poach the young healer to help at the school.

She could see the visible relief on the other woman's face, and felt a warmth bubbling up inside her at the thought of helping out a young pup who seemed to be struggling at overcoming the last stretch of the strange sickness. If it could help the pup, then she was all for offering up what she knew, even if it wasn't much. "Okay um, there were quite a few different ingredients, mostly in small amounts, plus a strange thick liquid," Inoki began a little hesitantly, nose scrunched up as she thought back to that day and what the kind woman had explained to her. "I'm pretty sure there was some boneset, a bit of elderberry, and just a touch of wolfsbane," she continued on, and listed a few others purely by description of their appearance and texture as she didn't know what they were called. She described how Hazelle had instructed her to grind up everything and take only a few pinches of each, some a little bit more than others, before mixing it with the strange liquid. Inoki offered up what she did know was in the liquid, as it was quite thick and looked very earthy, but was pretty sure there were more ingredients to the liquid than she could remember and was aware about. "I think that was about it, but I'm not entirely certain if it'd work on everyone, or if it was a fluke that it seemed to work on the fox." Inoki looked at Theory with a bit of a nervous expression, hoping the information she was able to provide would work for the pup, and potentially any others who were also still afflicted with some last remaining remnants of the sickness. "Her name is Hazelle, but I don't believe she's associated with any pack, so I'm not sure how to go about finding her."

Theory listened carefully as Inoki listed out the ingredients of the concoction. It was quite a few different things to keep track of, but aside from the more rare herbs, she was certain that she could recreate it from Abaven's stores. The rare herbs she'd have to track down separately, but if she knew exactly what she was looking for - well, that was more than half of the battle. "Thank you," she said earnestly. Theory repeated it back again to her just to be sure: "Boneset, elderberry, wolfsbane, and a thick liquid..." She nodded when she finished. "Alright, I can figure it out from there. Theo rooted through the undergrowth at her paws, spying some boneset there for the taking. [b]"Excellent," she chuckled, "just what we were looking for!" Theo rooted out the boneset and set it aside. "What can I do to thank you?" Theory asked, gazing at her imploringly.

Inoki nodded when the other woman repeated back the ingredients. It all sounded correct to her ears. She was glad to see Theory knew of the herbs she could remember the names of, as at least that way she was reassured the concoction would be remade with at least some of the proper ingredients. She watched as the woman dug into the thick greenery beside the water, sitting back on her haunches to observe silently. A grin appeared on her face when she saw the boneset. One herb down, only a bunch more to go. "Oh! Uh..." Inoki was surprised at the question, maw opening and closing a bit like a fish underwater as her mind drew blanks. What did she want? There wasn't much she was after, and while she liked collecting trinkets it was more to give them to other people, either as a gift or via a trade. There wasn't anything in particular... well, there was one thing, perhaps she should ask. "You seem to know a bit about herbs, I was wondering... maybe if I could learn some more from you, or someone you know? I don't know much other than the basics, but I am interested in learning." It was a bit of a tall order, but even just a short lesson would be helpful to her.

"Absolutely, I can show you a thing or two," Theory said confidently. However, if it was learning she was after... well, a little shameless self-promotion wouldn't hurt. "I would like to inform you that I've recently opened a school on the Eastern coast. We have a wealth of talented instructors - you're welcome to come stay for a spell and learning alongside other students." She gestured in the direction of the coastline. "We will have dormitories built into the cliffside, so you won't have to worry about a place to sleep. Just an offer, if you'd like. You're welcome to think on it." The Headmistress turned and surveyed the riverside, trying to think of an appropriate lesson for the area. "Alright - as far as lessons go, how familiar are you with herbs that grow in water? They can be more difficult to cultivate, so it's worth knowing how to find them when you need to."

Her tail wagged happily behind her at Theory's agreement to her request. The confidence of the other woman was reassuring, and at the knowledge of there being a pack dedicated to teaching wolves she felt curiosity rise with her. The pack part had her holding back in caution, but if she was allowed to only stay for a short while and able to leave when she pleased then perhaps it would be alright. Maybe she could stick around long enough to learn more and then leave to spread her newfound knowledge with others. "Thank you, I'll definitely think about it," Inoki said with a gracious smile, happy that she was even being considered for a spot in the school. But that was for future her, and she focused her mind on the woman in front of her, stepping a little closer to the water's edge. Her head tipped to the side, eyes squinting in thought. She didn't know much of anything about water-growing plants, other than some could grow in water. "Not much," she said with a slight droop to her ears, but quickly forced herself to perk up again. That was the whole point of this impromptu lesson after all: to learn stuff she didn't already know about. "But I'd be happy to learn!" Lesson 1/3

"Yes, of course," she murmured, glad to see a sparkle of interest reflect in Inoki's eyes. She was just the kind of student Theory would love to teach - gracious, but a voracious learner. Theo nodded encouragingly as Inoki stepped closer to the water's edge. "That's perfectly alright! Never a better time to learn than right now." She stepped up beside Inoki, then stepped a bit further along the shallows of the river. Towards the center of the river the water raged on towards the coast, the current swift and deadly. "First thing to note is that most plants of use will grow in still or slow-moving water, so don't worry about swimming all the way out there," she gestured towards the frothing river. "Aha! Let's take a look at these," Theory strode up to a bunch of cattail that bobbed at the edge of the river. The tall stalks waved gently with the current and the mild day's breeze. "Do you know the name of this plant? I'll give you a hint: we both have tails."

giving lesson 1/3