There had been talk of some of Mortis and Halo’s yearlings wishing to learn more about healing and Andy is always ready and willing to help. The crisp fall day finds her inside one of the caves that have been set aside for lessons where she is swiftly setting up. On a large wooden table, she has arranged several clusters of different herbs that she has borrowed from the healer’s stores while thick, plush furs have been arranged for them to sit on.

The various berries have yet to broken down for their specific uses and are perfect for the plan she has in mind. Once the bundles of alder buckthorn with its bright red berries, blackberries, elderberries, ginseng root with its stem and berries still attached, and juniper berries are all laid out for her students to see, Andy moves to the entrance of the cave and issues a call for her students to gather with the promise to learn woven into her words.

With that done, she moves back into her classroom, settling in front of her table, she greets each youth as they enter. Once they are all seated and waiting, the lavender woman will call their attention to her as she says, “Welcome! Who is ready to learn about different berries and what they are all used for?” Brows arch as Andy scans their faces, a warm, welcoming smile pulling at her lips as she tries to see if they are excited for this lesson.


"Andromeda Fatalis"

Since her mother and siblings had left, Zion has felt… lost. While she, her sister, her brothers, and their father have all remained in the Armada, the girl cannot help but still feel somewhat abandoned. Mortis is doing his best for them all and she is grateful for that but she can still get nervous going into the Col. But she keeps forces herself to go, to put herself into uncomfortable situations so that she might learn and grow. Case in point. Andromeda’s call from inside the Col finds her wandering underneath the family’s treehouse and Zion is quick to answer the call. Not hesitating a moment, she crosses into the Col and makes her way to the cave where the lesson will take place, nodding to the lavender woman as she is greeted, the girl quickly picks a fur and settles herself onto it. Once her brothers appear and seat themselves, the woman pulls their attention to her and asks if they are ready to learn about berries. Excitedly, Zion leans forward and chirps, “Yeah!” while her tail sweeps across the fur. Learning has always been interesting to her so this is perfect! "Zion Fatalis"

Wylan came readily to the lesson, hungry to grow his knowledge of herbs. But the moment he entered the den, he was hit by a sudden sense of surrealism. So many days had started just like this. Herbs spread out, his mother ready and waiting to ask him if he knew what each one did. Prepared to tease the answer out of him

Swallowing past the sudden emotions, he meekly took a seat, glancing at the herbs in front of Andy. He ran a quick catalogue of them, through learning the names and uses of herbs was his cradle. He would have loved a lesson in trauma and guts, but he welcomed the familiar scents. Trying to let it comfort him as he waited for his siblings to arrive. He hadn't spent much time with anyone but Ollie since their mum had left. It would be nice to see who else turned up.

The skinny pale boy runs at top speed as he hears Andromeda's call. He approached the cavern entrance at a skid-helt and wagged his tail back and forth ecstatically at the promise of learning more. He was delighted to see his brother and sister Wylan and Zion already had taken their places.

"Hey guys!" He greets and sits on an empty fur. When he sees what's on the table his eyes light up! Last fall when the berries were ripe he was in the thick of his illness and he had missed many lessons due to it.
"I am!" Ollie exclaimed excitedly.

"Speech"

As the yearlings’ filter in, the lavender woman chuckles at Zion and Oleander’s enthusiasm and offers her winged nephew, Wylan, a sympathetic smile. Once they are all settled and mostly agree that they ready to learn, Andy comfortably settles back into the teacher roll once more. Lifting a slender paw to indicate the table behind her, she begins, “Behind me, you will find several bunches of berries. Some of them are safe to eat while others will make you ill.”

Paw returns to the ground as she meets each youth’s gaze while she continues to speak. Andy’s tone is calm and warm as she says, “Now, there are also several berries up here that can be used for more than just the fruit. For example.” quickly, she shifts, turning to pluck the bundle of blackberries that are dangling from thorn riddled branches with their leaves and even a few roots still attached. Turning back to the group, she carefully passes the bundle to Zion, indicating that she should pass it down the line.

With a nod toward the berries that are being passed around, Andy says, “Blackberries themselves are extremely delicious and a wonderful treat. However, the leaves and roots are also edible. When dried, they can be steeped in tea to help aid with digestive issues, general inflammation, and to help boost the immune system.” Once the berries make it through the line of students, she carefully takes the prickly berries and puts them back on the table before swiftly grabbing the bundle of alder buckthorn and turning back to the group so she can present it to them.

Turning it this way and that so that the torch light can reflect off the delicious, plump, red berries, Andy continues, “Now, this is alder buckthorn. The berries look delicious but they will cause intense nausea and vomiting if you try to eat them. For this plant, it is actually the bark that is usefully but it must be properly aged and dried or you risk having the same symptoms.” With that, Andy passes the bundle of berries to Zion and instructs her to pass them along. As it changes paws, she gently questions, “Any questions so far?”


"Andromeda Fatalis"

Zion sits at attention, eyes sparkling with excitement as her brothers make their way in. With a smile to both of them, the boys quickly settle in and the purple woman begins her lesson. First, they are presented with blackberries and, extremely carefully, Andromeda passes her the thorn covered branch to pass between them all. Curious lavender eyes scan the bundle, arching a brow in amazement at the fact of all its uses. With the same care that Andy had handed them to her, Zion passes the thorny bundle off to her brother and returns her attention to their teacher. The girl often likes to eat blackberries but to find out everything else that it is used for truly astounds her. Once they are passed back to the teacher, they are replaced and another bundle of berries is selected from the table. Eyes glimmer with quiet astonishment at the plump red berries and she is taken aback by the fact that they aren’t good to eat. The berries are passed to her and she quietly sniffs them, filing the scent away for when she finds them in the future. With that done, she passes the bundle off to her brother and shakes her head at the teacher’s question, ready to learn more. "Zion Fatalis"

Once everyone had finished filing in, Andy would begin the lesson. Wylan sat up a little straighter, paying attention to the lilac wolf. Berries he didn’t know as well as most herbs, so he listened carefully as Andy began to explain one of the berries. It was passed first to Zion, and then to him. He gave it a careful sniff, turning it in paws to examine the berries, and the thorny branches they lay on. He passed it on to Ollie, and looked back to Andy as she began to explain a little more. Tea fascinated him, so he filed that information away.

When the next berry was passed around and sniffed, Wylan lifted a paw upwards towards the ceiling. “Would this berry be useful to induce vomiting in a patient that needed it?” He asked.


"Wylan Fatalis"

Oleander's viridian green eyes watched Andromeda's every movement. When the blackberries were passed to him his pads caught a little on some of the spikey thorns, thankfully he was gentle enough to make sure they didn't prick through his paw pads. He passed it back to Andromeda after noting the size of the leaves and the differences they had from the other berries.

The bright Alder buckthorn berries make the rounds and Wylan asks his question. Oleander takes the buckthorn berries and offers his question, "What's the bark used for?" It seemed as if she didn't get around to its uses. He passed it back to his aunt.

"Speech"

As the alder buckthorn is passed down the line, Wylan pipes up with a smart question and Andy smiles warmly at him as she says, “That is a great question! Yes, the berries can be used for just that purpose because, while they make a wolf feel sick, they are not actually poisonous. Still, it is important to be careful with the amount you give because it will make the patient extremely uncomfortable.”

Eyes then track over to Oleander who asks what the bark for and Andy offers him another bright smile for the boy while she takes back the bunch of berries and says, “Great catch! I didn’t give the purpose of them did I?” A wink is given to the boy before she explains, “The bark is used as a laxative. It is helpful if the patient needs to pass something quickly or if they do not seem able to pass stool by themselves.”

With that done, Andy replaces the bundle on her table and picks up the ginseng root and, just like before, she passes it to Zion first while saying, “This is ginseng root. As the name suggests, it is the root that is the most useful part. Ginseng tea is a wonderful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, which can help boost weaker immune systems in the winter months. While this herb is harder to find, it is those bright little red berries that will alert you to where it rests.”

Once it makes down the line she takes the herb and swaps it out for the elderberries and passes it off to her students. With a smile, Andy explains, “And finally, we have elderberries. The berries themselves can be eaten to boost immune systems as well. These are more common to find so it is reasonable to give these to patients first before using the ginseng root. They are also really good for helping to treat respiratory infections. Much like the buckthorn, the bark and root of these berries will cause intense vomiting if ingested, so be careful with them.”

Taking the bundle once it reaches the end, Andy puts it back on the table and faces her students. A warm smile rests on her lips as she wraps up the lesson, “So, as you can see, the berries that you might find in the wild have very different uses and it is always wise to learn what can be ingested and what shouldn’t be.” Looking to each student, she then says, “And that’s it! If you have any further questions, you can stay behind and talk to me, otherwise you are free to go! I hope you all enjoyed them lesson.”

With the lesson officially over, Andy watches the young wolves for a long moment before turning to her table to clean up after herself.


"Andromeda Fatalis"

Zion’s brothers both ask amazing questions and her lavender eyes blink in surprise because she had never even thought of them. With a smile, she listens as Andy speaks, nodding at her answers to the questions put forth and filing away the information for later. The lesson moves on and she takes a keen interest in the ginseng root, shifting it from paw to paw and examining the bright berries intently as their teacher talks. Passing the bundle to Wylan, her eyes follow after the root for a moment longer before she turns her attention back to Andy. After Ollie passes it back to the teacher, elderberries are then given to her and the wonderful fruity aroma of their ripeness almost has Zion plucking one off the branch and putting it in her mouth. But she restrains herself and passes it Wylan while saliva pools in her mouth. An explanation is given and Zion dutifully files the information away, eager to go and find more berries to see if they are useful as well. Andy draws the lesson to a close and the girl’s tail thumps the ground happily as she says, “Thanks Auntie Andy! I really liked the lesson.” And, with that, she stands and makes her to the table, giving each bundle another look before excusing herself to go on about her day. "Zion Fatalis"

Wylan’s tail picked up some speed behind him at the praise Andy gave him. He was definitely a sucker for praise, after all. He took in her advice, and filed it away for future reference. Ginseng root Wylan knew, but he obediently picked it up and sniffed it, wanting to keep his teacher proud.

He takes the elderberry next, giving it a sniff. Both were for the immune system, and he wondered which one was better? Andy called an end to the lesson, and he bounced from his seat to hop over and give his Auntie a hug with his wings. “Thank you for the lesson Auntie Andy, I really appreciated it” he said warmly. Knowing that while he missed Halo, it wasn’t Andys fault.


"Wylan Fatalis"

Ollie wags his tail as he was praised as well as Wylan! He was delighted to learn more at every opportunity.

He took hold of the ginseng root after Wylan and looked it over thoroughly. Anti-inflammation, antioxidant, got it, good for steadying the immune system, a little hard to find. Bright red berries. Holly had bright red berries but these leaves were very different from the holly. He passed it back.

Elderberries, "I think I remember Mama telling me that the berries need to be cooked before we use them." He mentioned casually. It was a very familiar herb for him, it was fed to him practically daily as a pup, that and the ginseng, but he remembered the flavor of the elderberries the most. He passed it back.

"Thanks Auntie Andy!" He said and bounded after Zion, hoping to entice her to a spar on the beach.


"Speech"