Upon their return to the pack, Basilisk made His way to the healers den. He knew Ollie liked his treehouse, but his growing reliance on the young healer left him wondering if he shouldn't move to the heart of a pack. Set up a proper clinic with more space, and closer to the Warlord. He chewed on that as he finished the walk and arrived at the healers treehouse. He stepped up and knocked on the door before opening it slightly. 

He found Ollie working on something in the main area and waited until the wolf was done. “A moment of your time, Ollie?” He asked, stepping back from the door and out into the woods. Away from any ears. “How important to you is patient confidentiality, and the ear of your alpha?” He asked mildly. As if the answer wouldn't change the course of the wild wolf's advancement in the pack.

Ollie finished setting down the steeping tinctures when he heard a knock on the treehouse door. He was surprised to see the warlord request him in this way. He checked on Vesper first to make sure she was still stationary, placing Jace by the door, then followed Basilisk out into the woods. The youth bounced along eager, to hear what he had to say to him, and grew more serious and subdued as the question was posed.

He narrowed his eyes at Basilisk, trying to measure the loaded question against his pale experience. He idolized Basilisk, and to have his ear and talk about confidentiality was an important topic.

"As the Warlord your confidentiality is the most important." He started as he was thinking about the implications were Bas being injured and what it meant to the pack, "We'd want to keep appearances strong and not let anyone see a reason to find us, or you, weak." He said walking with a viridian eye on the warlord, trying to guess the hidden meanings behind his titanic face.

"As for your ear, I hope they stay on your head!" He replied with a mischievous grin, wiggling his own for effect. He couldn't help but put a joke in somewhere to lighten the mood!
"Speech"

The Warlord nodded his head, pleased with Ollie’s response. It was clear the young wolf was taking him seriously. With Bas’s desire to bring him up to lead healer, these questions and answers were vitally important. He twitched a smile at Ollie’s joke, but wasn’t willing to be pulled from the topic. “As a lead healer to me, I would expect you to tell me about anything directly important to the pack. For example, a pregnant wolf directly affects me and everyone else in the pack. That's a lot of extra mouths to feed. Private medical history otherwise, I would expect you to keep the confidentiality of the wolf so they can continue to respect you and use your expertise.” He continued, walking slowly, and drawing out his thoughts as he spoke.

“I would expect you to keep your silence first and foremost on anything I bring to you. Can you promise me that, Oleander?” He asked softly, coming to a stop and turning to the white wolf.

As Lead Healer! Quite the title! He was eager to work up to it, but as he had discovered with Vesper, he felt so woefully naive and unprepared.

"Right, makes sense." Confidentiality only goes so far, if it affects the rest of the pack... like a pregnancy, a plague, the loss of a pack member... Hmmm... Several points of conversation sprouted from such a list. Did this have anything to do with those herbs he gave to him?

They stopped and Bas turned to Oleander seriously, requesting he vow his absolute silence on anything Bas brings him. He nodded, "Yes, anything you bring me is for my eyes and ears only." He replied simply, looking around for a moment.

"I should probably get a more suitable den for such instances... It seems the tree house is starting to get crowded." He'd be loath to leave his brother but Wylan seemed to be gathering friends faster than Ollie could earn his rank. And with that rank, he could be seeing more patients with needs like Vesper that require more long term care. And private conversations out in the woods don't tend to stay... private.

Eterna cawed above them to make his internal monologue point.

"Speech"

Basilisk looked at Ollie, watching him as he spoke. Alright, the man had given his pledge. Bas had to decide to trust him or not. He was inclined to do so. He knew he needed to put his faith in a healer, and Oleander hasn't let him down yet. “Thank you, Ollie.” He said solemnly, and meant it. As for the den… “I agree. You'll need the space to set up an infirmary, and it'll probably be best to have your own den attached to it. This profession you've chosen can be a taxing one, but I believe in you.” He started walking again, he found it helped to jog his thoughts when he was chewing on ideas.


“Now. You gave me some herbs for contraception. The wolf in question…” he glanced over at Ollie again. “...Ignita. reacted to them. She seemed to have a mild tummy upset. From what I understand, the use of them within 24 hours shouldn't cause any side effects.” He stopped there, letting the healer have his say.

He strolled beside the Warlord, listening intently.

His paws slowed to a stop as Bas mentioned the wolf he had given the contraceptives to. His deep green eyes flickered back and forth between Basilisks as he processed the information, and what the information meant. He hadn't seen Hazel in a while either. What the Warlord did with his love life was none of his business, but it was only recently did he come to know what the word fuck even was. Was Bas using Ignita like Vesper had been used? It turned his stomach at the thought.

Nothing like diving into the deep end of the pool, that's for sure. He'd rather be fighting polar bears. He took in a breath as his gaze centered on the terrain between them, and slowly blew through his mouth, just like his mama showed him. He shook out his fur for a moment and stepped back into the conversation.

"Hm, does she have any allergy to carrots of some kind? How soon did you give the tea to her?" He asked, breezing through the identity of the wolf in question.

"Speech"

He caught Ollie's look, and gave him a sideways glance. “It was consensual.” He said dryly. “I'm just not ready to announce the relationship yet. So soon after… Hazel left.” He hated how it was still difficult to get those words out. She hadnt died, she had left. And it was his own damn fault.

Ollie asked some pointed questions which raised an eyebrow. Carrots? He hadn't expected that. “I'm not sure. I could send her to you for a chat, If that helps get to the bottom of it. I gave it to her within 12 hours of the act.” He continued, giving Ollie whatever information he needed. “I won't play around with her health, is there a contraceptive I can take instead of what you have upsets her?”

He visibly relaxed after hearing the word consensual. Hearing about Vesper's poor experience had him side-eyeing Bas briefly.

"Within 12 hours, okay so..." He narrowed his eyes at the ground as a thought occurred to him, processing what it actually takes to make a baby had thrown him for a loop over the last few days. He looked up at Bas as if measuring him up for a second then looked beside him as if he was trying to remember how tall the little songbird was...
And if she ever did get pregnant...

"I can change up the recipe if she's sensitive to parsnip, parsley and carrots. The Queen Anne's Lace could be giving her some stomach upset if shes sensitive to those. But... The other diagnosis could be... She's just... Small." Or hasn't gotten used to it yet but Oleander didn't know a girl's first time could give her grief. He shrugged his shoulders a little awkwardly.

"Speech"

He squinted at Ollie as the other wolf Eyed him, and then the space beside him. Imagining his little Songbird? She was incredibly small and delicate. It was almost terrifying at times. Ollie spoke of a few other things he could try, but it was hard to tell without knowing what Iggy was reacting to.


His next words drew Basilisk up short. He paused, and his next words were spoken very carefully. “Her stomach is a long way from other parts. Why would her size mean she would hurt there?” He asked the healer. Ollie was so incredibly young. He'd proven quick and clever with his medicine and learning. But how much did the boy actually know about sex? He didn't want to hear that they were logically incompatible. His little Songbird… he… he wasn't quite ready to admit exactly what she meant to him.

If he was going to be a healer and lead at that, he was going to have to have the tough conversations that were making him squirm. He was going to have to think through situations until a logical end. He didn't know what he didn't know, and he wanted to prove to be the trustworthy and capable sort.

So much to his chagrin he thought it through, the mechanics and the implications of what little he knew, picturing the whole thing. Where her stomach might be... It was all internal...

He took a moment to respond, picking his words, "Well... Some girls complain of feeling queasy or stomach aches when they're in heat... and a lot of the herbs that help ease their heat also prevent pregnancies. So she could be just... sore. If... If it happens again after we adjust the tea recipe we can rule out the herbs." He took a steadying breath and stepped a little closer, "But Bas, I know I'm young... and I've only just learned about the whole thing. If you two conceive... I'm not experienced enough to know if that would be risky for her or not. I'd rather find a mentor for a few weeks before things escalate... between you two." He at least knew the history of the Armada, of Zee. He didn't want the same thing to happen to Little Ignita. Maybe he could spend time at the Hallows or another ally.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle/Witchdogtor DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Basilisk fell silent after Ollie had said his piece. He didn't know if he wanted children with Ignita. Did he want children at all? Hazel had just started to implant the idea in him before everything had turned upside down. Spider had seemed shocked by the idea, and he wasn't sure if they would appreciate younger siblings running around.

But the idea of losing the opportunity before he could fully contemplate it, left him with an odd sense of loss. He wanted the choice. The chance to decide for himself, and not have fate take these things away from him. “I see.” He said at last. “You only know what you know. I know Halo left before you could finish your training. I'll see about getting you a mentor. As for me and Iggy, we will try the change of herbs and go from there.” He would need to do some thinking. He was sick of taking things away from Ignita. She needed to know that being with him meant a chance she couldn't have children. He didn't know if they that was something she wanted in her future. They hadn't spoken, there were so many conversations they hadn't had…