Gavroche was within pack territory for once, letting his dear friend know that he had to be home sometime. He knew she would understand, being a wolf who prioritized her family as well… and it wasn’t as if he didn’t want to spend time with her. In fact he felt a little guilty about how much he’d been sneaking off to go see her. He hadn’t brought the fact up to Trixy yet, either…

Gavroche loved his family, but it was hard to stay put and “behave” when there was so much fun he could be having with his best friend. Gavroche let out a soft sigh as he padded through the territory of the falls. He’d been feeling so guilty in fact that he’d given himself an upset stomach. He wished there was a better way to balance what he wanted to do with his friends without having to worry his family.

There was an herb that grew within the territory of the falls that Gavroche could use to soothe his upset belly. Peppermint, it was one that his mother had given him and his siblings before for the same problem. It tasted good, and she said it was hard to take too much of it so it seemed like the perfect solution to his problem. Only, when he found the plant, a pup had her head buried in it.

Gavroche slowed as he watched her, the young winged wolf arching a brow as he wondered what exactly it was the kid was doing. “Enjoying the peppermint?” He asked, hoping that he wouldn’t end up startling her.

"Speech," 'Thought.'

table coding by bunni ♥

Her brother was jumping on her last nerve lately and she just needed a free breath before she pushed him over the falls for real. Alexandrite did not want to do that, she really loved her brother, he was the only thing truly familiar to her, and the only foundation she could rely on.

She ran off the path, still having a hard time taking a steadying breath when a familiar scent guided her to the bushel of sharp and clear smelling plants she had used with Ume and Lucette to clear up the fleas...

Shoving her whole head into the plant she closed her mismatched eyes and breathed them in deeply. It invigorated her and calmed her at once.

A voice broke into her thoughts and she pulled her head out of the plants as if she had been physically kicked. "No! Nono, I-wasn't" She said shaking her head, reflexively lying and huddling into a small bun and slinking backward. She hadn't met this person before... Were those... Wings?

Her sudden interest in the forms on his back brought her ears forward and her eyes focused, "Wingses?" She asked, using the wrong plural word for them.


Speech/Thoughts

Gav hadn’t considered that the girl might have been using the scent of the peppermint to calm down… but usually his mom used lavender to help his dad and grandmother rather than peppermint. The purple furred girl pulled her head out of the plant in a hurry and hunkered down to make herself seem small. Gavroche frowned at that - he hadn’t meant to scare her. Immediately his brow furrowed and he took a step back. His maw opened but the words to apologize felt stuck in his throat; was he really that scary? The yearling wasn’t sure what would make the pup be so afraid… had someone hurt her? There weren’t any wolves like that in Ethne, right? But then, just as quickly as she had recoiled and moved away her expression changed. Her ears flicked forward and her gaze focused on his back. Oh, right… wolves with wings weren’t exactly normal. It had been so long since anyone had made a fuss over his wings that Gavroche had almost forgotten that fact. He glanced at them, taking in the new feathers that were growing in, and then looked back to the pup. “Yeah… I’m not able to fly with them though.” He stretched them out so the girl could see them fully. “They are still pretty neat though! They help buffer when things bump against me, and the feathers make nice gifts… I think.” Gavroche grinned, looking back at the younger wolf. “My name’s Gavroche. I was actually coming to grab some of the peppermint for my belly. My mom says it’s the best for a sour stomach.” He tilted his head to the side. “What’s your name?” "Speech," 'Thought.'

table coding by bunni ♥

He stepped back and eased off, just like Fenix did when he startled her! Maybe these folk weren't that bad... She wondered if she could stop herself from getting startled.

He mentioned he couldn't fly with them and she looked disappointed right up until he flayed them out and she couldn't help but crawl forward in awe as the light shone around them.
"Suuuper neat!" She agreed, daring to stand up again and uncoil from her posture.

He introduced himself as Gavroche and mentioned the... peppermint? It's name! She finally knew its name! Her little white tail swung back and forth, she loved learning about all the names of the plants and their uses.

"I'm Alexa." She replied quietly, "Alexandrite... I really like the pep... the Pepperrr mint!" she smiled at the plants as she looked at them.
"Why's your tummy sour?" She asked then. 


Speech/Thoughts

For a moment, when Gavroche mentioned that he couldn’t fly, he could see the look of disappointment that had entered her eyes. He’d been disappointed too, up until that hawk nabbed him as a puppy and took him for the ride of his life. It had been a terrifying experience, and he still wasn’t quite sure how he felt about big birds of prey like that, but thus far no other birds had dared try to make him into a meal. Gavroche was glad for that. But seeing how he was able to move them still seemed cool enough, and Gav gave a nod of agreement. He couldn’t fly, but they were still neat to have… and feathers made awesome gifts!

The girl would then introduce herself as Alexanderite. She hadn’t known the name of the herb and the winged yearling nodded to confirm the name with a smile. Only the smile would falter as she asked why his tummy was sour and Gavroche shifted on his paws. “Oh… well…” Green gaze would shift to his paws as his ears fell. He knew she didn’t really know him, and she wouldn’t have a reason to tell the adults but telling her could still lead to them finding out. Still… guilt made Gav feel like he should tell her anyway.

“Well, long story short is I did something that really made everyone, especially my aunt Haydee and grandma Bells worry… I was supposed to stay in pack lands but I’ve been leaving to see a friend of mine whose family is staying here.” As he spoke his stomach began to twist again. He approached the plant and leaned forward, taking a couple leaves into his mouth and beginning to chew them.

“I feel bad, because I know if they found out they’d be upset… and probably still worried about me. Part of it is because I’m small and… I guess I’m not good at reading what could potentially be dangerous…” He still wasn’t sure what to make of the Raiders coming to take their chickens. It all felt like it could have been avoided… but not all packs talked things out. He didn’t get it, but he knew that the next time they came up, he’d at least defend better… even if it made him feel bad to do so.

Gavroche sighed and glanced over at Alexandrite. “So my feelings are making my stomach hurt, and my mom always gives us peppermint for it. It tastes good and it’s hard to give someone too much, unlike a lot of other herbs.” A small smile touched his lips. “I’m training to be a healer like her, and a fighter like my dad. I want to help keep us safe, but also make sure no one is hurting.”

"Speech," 'Thought.'

table coding by bunni ♥

Alexa cocked her head to the side curiously as he explained how he had made his family worried about him, and his tummy was sour because his feelings were all twisted up.

She ducked out his way while he grabbed a few leaves of the plant and chewed them. She watched him continue his story, not knowing about anything happening outside of her and Copper. She leaned toward the plant again and grabbed a leaf, crushed it until its juice met her tongue, and then immediately made a sour face. It was... Spicy?? She liked the smell but the flavor was so strong on her tongue.

She used one of her white paws to grab the leaf out of her mouth and flick it away but it stuck to her paw as she waved it around for a moment. She didn't hear everything he was saying, her mind was still easily distracted.

She straightened up, the leaf still stuck to her paw, and sat with her back as stiff as a board when she noticed his attention came back to her. Her tail wagged as he smiled at her and the wagging grew more fervent as he talked about training to be a healer.

"I wanna be a healer too! Just like MY Dad!" She chirped. So peppermint is good for tummy aches and it's hard to give someone too much. Got it!


Speech/Thoughts

As Gavroche plucked a couple extra leaves of the peppermint he noticed that Alexandrite tried some too. Her reaction to the herb was different than his own, though. Her face scrunched up as the tingle and ‘spice’ of the herb danced on her tongue. Not everyone enjoyed peppermint because of that, but he personally enjoyed it. “Peppermint is interesting, it has that sharp flavor but after you eat it the herb leaves your mouth feeling refreshed. Because of that you can use it for bad breath too, not just an upset stomach.” Gavroche explained.

He loved talking about herbs, but lessons could be hard for a child to focus on. That seemed true for Alexandrite - she seemed distracted as he tried to teach the lesson… but at least she had tried to listen to what he had to say instead of dismissing him. Gav appreciated that, he knew that herbs could be a hard thing for some wolves to talk about. Yet, at the mention of wanting to be like his mother, the winged male drew Alexa’s attention back to the conversation and she brightened. So her dad was a healer too? Gavroche’s smile widened.

“Really? Your dad is a healer too?” He wondered who the man was. His grandmother had brought back an older male from the north somewhat recently - could that male be Alexandrite’s father? But more important than the fact her father was a healer was the fact that she also wanted to be a healer. Gavroche’s tail swished behind him in excitement as an idea came to him. “If you want to be a healer, maybe we could have more lessons! I can teach you all the things my mom has been teaching me, and we can gather herbs! …If you want to, that is!” A sheepish smile appeared on his lips. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind!

"Speech," 'Thought.'

table coding by bunni ♥

Bad breath!? She wondered if she could shove some peppermint in her brother's mouth while he slept. Maybe he wont wake her up with his bad breath!

At the mention her dad was a healer her tail waged back and forth.
"Yeah! His name's Fenix. My brother's name is Copper, he's not gonna be a healer tho." She scrunched her nose up at the mention of her brother. He was a poopy pants.

Gavroche introduced the idea of them learning healing and herbs together!
"Fuck yeah!" She exclaimed, demonstrating her very feral upbringing.
"What other herbs can you teach me?" She asked, bouncing on her toes.

Speech/Thoughts