Acacius was honing his craft quickly and for the most part had no one to thank but his dutiful porcupine companions. Most of his day was spent following along behind them receiving verbal lessons, examining new flowers, theorising new medicinal concoctions, or collecting corpses to practice essential paws-on skills upon. Today was to be another practical lesson but this time a study in salves. His porcupines had brought him to the center of Fern Gully and had him set up his materials, he had lit a fire in preparation for melting down his beeswax, and few shallow containers had been cleaned and ready to collect and hold the salve itself. All that was left to do was to find and gather the herb and then to begin preparing the mixture.

As every lesson lately, the porcupines would not let him set off until they were sure he was fully understanding the task. "Wintergreen. Do you remember what it looks like? You are looking for oily, oval looking leaves upon a bush. It's not the right season for the berries so it will be a bit harder to distinguish, but you'll know the right one when you crush a leaf open - it will smell funny, very distinguished." Poke gave the lecture with the tone of an admonishing mother, her quills rattling as she addressed the distractable yearling.

(1/3 Collected an Herb +10)
(0/3 Healing Lesson +15)
(0/3 Crafted an item related to healing +15)

"Speech"

Seere is out exploring the gulley this fine warm spring day since it is perfect for sunbathing. The monochrome girl is on her back, in a nice, big patch of long grass, squirming around to her heart’s content. Joyfully, she wiggles and wags, when a sound pulls her attention away from her rolling and the girl flops onto her side to try and catch the noise again. The sound of heavy paws crunching the tall stalks of grass under their weight reaches her ears and the girl quickly sits up. Curious, she gathers her own, smaller paws under her and shakes out most of the grass that is stuck in her monochrome coat before moving to trot toward the noise.

Wiggling her nose, Seere pulls in the stranger’s scent in as she moves and notices that they do not have the scent of a pack on them. Slowing her pace, the girl makes sure she is downwind so she can try to stalk this unknown wolf for a little bit longer. Being a small wolf means she needs to be more careful about meeting others… or so she tells herself. As the chocolate-colored wolf sets about setting his space, the girl watches from a safe distance, behind a large, conveniently placed rock. He doesn’t seem to notice her so she continues to watch him and his porcupines with great interest in her mismatched gaze.

As one of porcupines begins to speak, giving the tall wolf his task, Seere’s head tilts in curiosity and she decides to finally make her appearance known. Stepping out from her hiding place, she gives a short bark of greeting and trots toward the wolf and his friends. He seems to be okay… or well, she hopes he is at least nice. Tail wagging happily as she approaches, the small monochrome girl says, “Hey! Are you a healer too? Can I join you?” Coming to a stop near the little group, she casts her mismatched gaze around before remembering how to be polite and adds, “My name’s Seere. I’m from the pack Ashen! Now… can I please join you?”


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Another yearling approached, bringing Acacius's fur to stand on end in fright and unashamedly requesting to join in on his activity. His floof began to smooth as he realized she meant no harm, and glancing over to his porcupine companion he posed the silent question.

Poke knew of her wolf's shyness with strangers and directed her smile toward the newcomer, waving her small paw to invite her closer. "Of course you can join, dear, our Acacius here might need some help finding the plant he needs to anyways. Normally you can find it by searching for the berries, but they aren't in season until the end of summertime." Straightening herself and shaking out her quills, the porcupine repeated her instruction for the other child's benefit. "Wintergreen has oval, waxy leaves and is easily distinguished by the scent given off when you crush them. Bring me back a good handful of them please, I'll mind the fire and start on the beeswax."

Watching his companion turn away and leave him to it alone, Acacius' ears fell back against his skull. What if this yearling was mean and bullied him, like others had? "Hi." He peeped shyly as he began to set off through the gully, poking his paw into bushes and flowers to search for the plant in question. "I'm Acacius, I'm training to be a healer but I'm not good enough yet. Have you ever collected this herb before?" Maybe he'd gotten lucky and had found a healer with more experience and confidence who could lead him through this exercise.

(2/3 Collected an Herb +10)
(0/3 Healing Lesson +15)
(0/3 Crafted an item related to healing +15)

"Speech"

The huge boy doesn’t speak and seems… scared when she approaches. Mismatched eyes blink as his porcupine companion speaks up and she turns her attention to it. A happy smile is on her lips as the creature speaks and she sidles up next the big, shy boy. Listening intently, Seere nods her head in understanding and the cute porcupine turns away to go about her tasks. Head tilts as she looks at the quilled creature, pondering how her Auntie Venom has something similar to those around her scruff.

A shy voice peeps and Seere turns her eyes up to huge boy as he shyly speaks. The bright, happy smile never leaves her lips as they start to poke around at the nearby bushes and flowers. After he gives his name, she says, “Pleasure to meet you Acacius! I’m training to be a healer too!” For someone so big he seems so shy! Is he worried that she might hurt him? The small girl never goes out of her way to be mean or rude let alone attack anyone. Besides, if she did attack him, all he would have to do is sit on her!

A soft giggle escapes her lips at the thought and, as he asks if she has ever collected this herb, Seere happily chirps, “Nope!” Looking up the boy, she quickly adds, “But that’s okay, I’m sure we’ll find it soon. Since the plant is still growing, maybe we can smell it on the wind?” Eyebrows raise as she offers her idea, nose lifting to scent the air while sticking close to Acacius.

After a moment, Seere looks over to the tall boy, mulling over if she should say something. Finally, she decides to share and says, “You know, you don’t have worry Acacius. I noticed you seemed uncertain of me when I approached. I won’t hurt you. In fact, I promise to protect you if anything tries to attack us!” With a huge, beaming smile, the girl trots happily next to the boy as the pair search for the herb.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

It was clear the other yearling was kind - perhaps overly so, to the boy who understood that men were not supposed to be afraid of girls, nor defended by them. Acacius wanted to speak up and say as much, but the warm smile upon her face made the idea much less palatable. This could be his first real friend outside his littermates and Pocus, he couldn't blow it by being rude.

"That's a good idea, we can try." He agreed, knowing that it would soften the blow of his retaliating words. "And I'm not scared, I'm training to be a fighter and a healer. I just.. some people are bullies, y'know?" Shrugging his large shoulders, the yearling put on his best non-nonchalant expression and trotted forward, nose up and flaring to catch the scents drifting on the breeze as she had suggested. Truthfully Acacius didn't know what he was smelling for, and all the flowers within the gulley smelled odd and foreign enough to him that he knew he'd not be able to distinguish. Peeking down past the sides of his muzzle, he kept his eyes peeled for the described bush while he walked along.

It took a few false positives, but eventually his eyes and nose combined led him toward a bush that matched the description his companions had given. Reaching out a paw, he touched the waxy oval leaves and hummed. "Do you want to be a healer first, or a fighter first?" He asked conversationally, pulling off one of the leaves and smushing it between his paws to see if it gave off a certain smell. It seemed to be the correct plant, and while he couldn't be certain, Acacius was absolutely going to pretend he knew what he was doing infront of a girl. He dropped his small rucksack onto the ground between them, beginning to pluck the leaves from the stem and deposit them within.

(3/3 Collected an Herb +10)
(0/3 Healing Lesson +15)
(0/3 Crafted an item related to healing +15)

"Speech"

Seere happily trots next to the taller Acacius, her mismatched gaze looking around for the herb they need. Talking is one of her strong suits and the monochrome girl is happy to talk the shy boy’s ear off. She suggests trying sniff it out and the chocolate-hued boy agrees before following up to her statement. Since her arrival, her small tail has not stopped wagging but, at the mention of bullies, it stills. Ears flatten against her skull as she remembers the kids that use to heckle her, their taunting words and jeering laughter that would chase her away. Pain flashes across her features as memories lodge in her heart like broken glass.

Pausing in her movements, the small girl looks up to Acacius, wide, sorrow-filled eyes meeting his golden gaze as she softly asks, “Others were mean to you too?” Seere had always thought that bullies only picked on the smaller, weaker wolves but, the fact that this tall boy has faced his own seems to nullify that line of thinking. Still, he seems so nonchalant about the fact were, for the smaller girl who only dreamed of following in her father’s pawsteps, those sharp words and cruel kids still haunt her. Shaking her head, as if to get rid of the horrible thoughts, she resumes walking but the happy bounce that had been present in her gait is gone.

They continue to search, poking in every bush they find. After some diligent work, the pair find their herb. Seere, who has been uncharacteristically quiet for herself, quietly watches as Acacius reaches out one of his large paws to touch the waxy, oval leaves. His question has her mismatched gaze dropping away, falling to the ground as she says, “I… I always wanted to be a great fighter, like my dad. But, uh. I was not gifted with height like him. So, I have been trying to learn more about the healing arts.” Looking up to the tall boy, she offers him a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. It is difficult to know that she will never be as a great a fighter as her father simple because of her height.

As Acacius crushes the leaves between his paws, a smell reaches her nose and Seere says, “Well, looks like we found our plant!” The smile she offers is warmer and, as she begins to pluck leaves with him, the sadness falls away as the memories of her bully’s fade. By the time they are finished, her small tail is back to wagging and she cheerful asks, “So! What’s next?” She falls into step beside him, her shorter legs trotting next to his longer strides.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

Acacius noticed the way her exuberance dropped at the mention of bullies, beginning to regret having brought the topic up at all. Just because he expected people to be mean to him didn't mean he needed to instil the fear into this other yearling too. He glanced over at her as she resumed walking but without the same enthusiasm, frowning as he realised from her question that she had suffered similar mean kids too. "Yeah. I have a friend that nobody but me can see, it makes others look at me funny sometimes, so I can't talk to him in front of people anymore." The admittance was delivered casually and off-handed, but Acacius stole a few quick worried glances at the other yearling to spy any sign of her own judgement.

She answered his question next, their combined efforts filling the bag with leaves quickly. As he scooped it back up and slung it over his back, Acacius continued to gently prod. "Do kids pick on you because you're small? Because small people can be strong, too. Maybe they're just jealous about how fast you must be compared to them, it must be hard to win a fight if you can't land any hits at all on your opponent." He knew of many small individuals, a vast majority of them growing to become warriors or in training for it the same as he was. Every advantage came with a disadvantage too, and Acacius did not doubt that Seere would be a formidable opponent for even any boy.

Together they arrived back at the central area of the gully where his porcupines awaited, one tending the fire and the other watching the yearling's approach. Acacius motioned for Seere to join him where he sat, diverting his attention back to his companions for them to let him know what the next step in the craft might be. "Well done children." The porcupine praised. "Wintergreen is a good anti-inflammatory and can be used as a mild pain relief. We could turn it into tea, but I prefer a salve because it's more convenient to carry and have on hand. First you will need to tear up the leaves as well as you can, you can put them in this tin when they're chopped fine enough." Pushing the shallow tin between the yearlings with her snout, she stepped back to supervise their technique.

Acacius dropped the bag of leaves off his back once more, pulling the mouth of the bag open with his paws and carefully extracting one to begin to tear up. The scent of them crushed was a bit more then he liked, so he was careful to use only the tips of his teeth to do the shredding and to not get too much of the smelly oils within onto his tongue. He worked carefully, sneaking glances at his partner as he did so. "Do you live in a pack?" The boy asked as he finished with a half dozen leaves, placing the remnants onto the tin and reaching into the bag for more.

(1/3 Healing Lesson +15)
(1/3 Crafted an item related to healing +15)

"Speech"

The small girl walks with Acacius, head turning so she look up at the tall boy as he speaks. He tells her of a friend that no one can see and how others make fun of him for it. The small girl’s brow and nose crinkle as Seere makes a disgusted sound. Puffing out her chest slightly, she proclaims, “Other kids are stupid, Acacius. They think that, because we are different from them, that it is okay to make fun of us.” Small head turns back forward as they arrive at their herb and quickly set about gathering it.

As they work, she thinks of all the mean kids that have laughed at her, the way they mocked and jeered about her size. She remembers the sting and hurt, the feeling of betrayal from those she thought were her friends. Seere cannot imagine what life would have been like for a boy who sees someone that no one else can. Mismatched gaze turns up to Acacius as she says, “You know, Acacius, you can talk to your friend in front of me. I don’t mind.” A warm, friendly smile appears and she returns to their work.

Once they have enough of the leaves, the tall boy slings his pack over his back and the pair begin to walk back to the porcupines. He asks if kids picked on her because of her size and, at first, her ears shift backwards, head ducking in quiet embarrassment. Acacius continues to speak and the words that follow, have the monochrome girl looking up to meet his golden gaze. A warm smile plays across her lips and joy rests, once more, in the corners of her eyes.

Tail begins to wag as she explains, “Yeah, all my siblings are taller than me. Kids like to call me the runt. I told them I am going to be a great fighter and they say runts aren’t good fighters. But, but I’ll show them!” The bounce is back in her step as they arrive, the girl grinning happily at the porcupines. The female explains their next task and the small girl nods in understanding as she seats herself by the tin. Seere slowly scoots closer to Acacius finding a kindred spirit in the tall boy and enjoying being close to his side.

Reaching into the bag, Seere places a small pile of leaves in front of her and picks up one, carefully tearing it up. Tongue sticks out of the side of her mouth as she works, concentrating on doing a good job. His voice pulls the girl’s mismatch gaze up to him and she smiles as she happily chirps, “Yeah! My family lives in Ashen! My aunt Venom is the Emperoress. She is so cool.” With her leaf torn up, the small girl deposits it into the tin, allowing her focus to return to her work.

Picking up another leaf, she says, “Do you live in a pack Acacius?” Seere had not smelled one on him but she could be wrong. The girl is curious where he lives so she can go and visit her new friend.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

The children worked and began to place their chopped and shredded leaves into the tin, and once enough had been gathered the porcupine moved forward with the next ingredient. "Alright, next is to melt the beeswax. I've got the fire all ready for it -" Pausing, she used her small paws and began to separate the block of wax into two portions, so each child could learn and practice. Dropping the other half into a separate heatable container, she slid one toward each wolf along with a branch that could be used to stir it if necessary. "- We don't want to burn it so the fire does not need to be large. I've put the grate ontop of the flame so you'll have somewhere to set your wax. Once it's melted, you will mix it together into one salve."

Acacius reached for his portion of the wax, shuffling toward the small fire and placing the container upon the grate as directed. While he expected it to turn into liquid near instantly, it seemed to take some time to melt. Sighing, he sat back to wait a bit. At least they had good conversation to move the process along. "Kids are mean." He agreed. "I can't wait for you to become the best fighter Boreas ever seen and beat up all the big wolves." It was very nice of her to not exclude his friend, offering even to let him talk to him while they worked. Acacius' ears flicked back. He was normally not embarassed to talk with Pocus, but somehow being given permission made him feel like a bit of an oddity. Giving her a small smile, he nodded to the open space beside him. "His name is Pocus. He's sleeping right now, so nothing to talk about." The imaginary friend wasn't sleeping, but Acacius was enjoying his new friend Seere and didn't want his weirdness to interfere with the budding friendship.

"Wow, that makes you like royalty." He replied as she mentioned the pack where her family lived. "I used to have a pack, but I don't anymore. I was born in Fireside but then we left there and I don't know why. Then we went to Aerie - my dad and my siblings - but once we grew up a bit we just kind of wandered way. It must be nice being so close to your family." The wax was starting to grow soft, and Acacius used his stick to prod at it to push the more solidified parts from the top nearer to the base of the container, impatient.

(2/3 Healing Lesson +15)
(2/3 Crafted an item related to healing +15)

"Speech"

The duo work and, once they have enough of the leaves shredded, the female porcupine steps forward once again. A huge smile is on the monochrome girl’s lips as she listens, watching as their instructor separates the block of beeswax into two portions. Deftly, the porcupine puts both halves into separate heatable containers and slides them toward the young wolves, along with a tree branch each. Carefully, Seere listens to the instructions and, once they are done, the girl nods her understanding.

Gathering up her equipment, Seere moves with Acacius to the fire and places her pot close to his. As they wait for the wax to melt, the girl pokes her glob of not liquifying stuff with her tree branch and sighes (to mirror what Acacius does) before settling back onto her haunches to wait. The tall boy’s voice pulls her mismatched gaze over and up to him, where she offers a solemn nod to that fact that kids are mean. His next words have her tail wagging hard and a happy laugh spilling out into the air.

Eyes dance with joy as she says, “Yeah! And, when I am the best, I’ll help you beat up those mean wolves that are… mean!” Okay, so maybe Seere isn’t the best wordsmith at times but the sentiment is there! Acacius’s small smile is answered with a joyful one of her own and, as he nods to the space where his friend Pocus is asleep, the girl darts her gaze over to empty air. Quickly looking back up to the tall boy, she leans in toward him and asks, in a hushed voice, “Our talking won’t wake him up… will it?”

Seere wants to be respectful if Acacius’s friend is asleep but she also really wants to talk with her new friend. Next they talk about the pack and her relationship to Venom, to which, he says, that makes her royalty. Chuckling, she waves one small paw through the air as if to dispel such a thought, while saying, “Me? Royalty? Nah. Maybe my brothers and sister but not me. I’m just… me!” Another happy laugh spills out before she asks about him and his story has her nodding her head in understanding.

As Acacius leans forward to poke his beeswax, Seere does the same and finds that it is growing soft. Stirring the wax, the girl hums thoughtfully before darting a glance at her friend. After a moment, she says, “You know, if you and Pocus and your nice porcupine friends ever want to come visit Ashen lands, I could show you around! There is this one island that is filled with doves! You’d like it! Well… I know I do.” A shy smile is given to the tall boy and heat flares along her cheeks as Seere turns back to her beeswax and stirs it a little more vigorously then before, hoping that he doesn’t think she is silly.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"

The beeswax slowly melted, and Acacius' gaze was pulled from staring intently at it to blink at his friend at her words. She was worried she would wake Pocus up? Darting his head over his shoulder to glance at his ethereal companion (where he should be sleeping) and back at her, Acacius was rendered speechless. His ears slicked backwards, emotion wavering his voice as he gave her a thankful smile and a soft reply. "No, it won't wake him." The yearling promised. He hesitated, gaze dropping down to his paws briefly as he worked over the words. "Nobody has ever really cared to ask before." It wasn't fair that this friend he'd made was not a loner like him, but a princess born to a pack he'd likely never meet. Would he ever see Seere again, after the lesson was over? Glancing back at his beeswax, he hoped it would never finish melting.

As if reading his mind, Seere made an offer to one day come see the lands in question. Acacius fell into thoughtful silence, struggling with the princess' offer. He was a loner, a bit of a weirdo. Would her parents even want her to associate with someone like him? Side-eyeing her shyly, he nodded his head. "I think I'd like that... but I don't know how to swim." Acacius had seen plenty an island on the western coast of Boreas, all of them consisting of a decent swim from mainland to isle. How could he go see the doves with her if he couldn't make it across the sea?

The porcupine interrupted his thought process, Poke's quills rattling together to draw the yearlings' attentions as the beeswax was thoroughly melted. "You must pay attention else it will burn." She counselled. "Now that it's melted, it's time to take it off the heat and mix the crushed herbs into it. Mix thoroughly, when it cools the concoction will be your salve and you want the herb to be spread throughout it all." Acacius ducked his head as he was chastised, reaching forward to pull the container from the heat and placing it between his paws for an easy reach. Scooping a portion of the crushed and cut wintergreen, he began to slowly sprinkle it into the wax - taking breaks to stir it to ensure it was spread evenly, as directed. He knew that it was supposed to take all of his concentration, but it was hard to focus on the craft when his time with Seere was inevitably ending.

(3/3 Healing Lesson +15)
(3/3 Crafted an item related to healing +15)

"Speech"

The two young wolves talk while allowing their beeswax to melt. When Seere asks if their talking will wake up Pocus, she watches as Acacius looks to where his friend is sleeping. A kind smile is offered to the tall boy as he looks to her, his ears slicking back as he speaks, emotions choking the words. Now it is the monochrome girl’s chance to blink in owlish surprise at her new friend, as she listens to him say nobody cared to ask before.

With a great snort of something akin to contempt, Seere says, “Well then you just haven’t met the right wolves Acacius. Everyone should be considerate enough to ask if others are comfortable. Even if we can’t see them.” She nods, showing her belief in the statement as determination blazes in her mismatched gaze. As she spoke, her face had taking on a stern countenance but it softens into compassion once she finishes.

A happy smile is offered as they continue to watch their beeswax, Seere scooting a little closer to the tall Acacius as she finds herself thoroughly enjoying his company. However, the move has another reason behind it as well, the young girl wants to keep her voice low so as not to disturb Pocus’s sleep. She invites them all to come visit her in Ashen and he accepts, which has a huge, bright smile bursting forth onto her features.

He speaks of not knowing how to swim and Seere waves a paw to dispel his worry, saying, “Oh you don’t have to swim! If you meet me at the shrine I can take you across the land bridges! But, uh, if you ever want to learn, I can teach you!” Mismatched eyes are bright with excitement as she looks to Acacius, thoughts churning as lays out plans for when visits. The female porcupine rattles her quills to draw their attentions back to their work and she offers their teacher a sheepish grin.

Carefully, she pulls the hot pot from the heat and places within reach. Following Acacius’s example, Seere scooping out several of the wintergreen leaves they had cut up and begins to sprinkle them into the beeswax. Casting glances to the tall boy to makes sure she is doing it right; the girl takes turns sprinkling and stirring until the concoction is finished. With great reluctance, Seere moves the finished salve away from her, ears slicking back in sadness as she looks to her new friend.

A sad, uncertain smile flits across her lips as she worries that this might be the last time she sees Acacius and his porcupine friends. However, she holds onto the promise of a visit and the smile warms immensely. Without hesitating, the small girl steps up to the tall Acacius and aims to throw her small legs at his chest. She is trying to hug him, while saying, “I look forward to seeing you again Acacius. Remember, go to the shrine and you won’t have to swim.” Releasing the hug, Seere steps back and beams a smile to them all and says, “I’ll see you all very soon! Please tell Pocus it was nice to him too when he wakes up.”

A serious nod is given before the smile reappears and she adds, “Be safe in your travels!” Then, with a happy wag and joyful bark, Seere trots off, delight making her steps light and bouncy as she goes.


"Seere Abraxas-Destruction"