Gwynevere sighed as she stepped into the infirmary and immediately went to stand by the roaring fireplace. The Auster winter felt particularly harsh this year and her paws were stinging and sore from walking across the ice and snow. She pulled her traveling cloak off and draped it over a chair that was sitting next to the hearth so that it could dry while she warmed herself and contemplated her next move. The only herb that she used frequently and hadn't really found a way to successfully grow in abundance in the pack's green house was horsetail. There was something about the river bank that just cultivated it so naturally that seemed to be hard to replicate indoors. She usually had a fairly good stockpile of the sticky substance she extracted from it, but she was concerned with how chilling this winter was that it might affect the supply of it come spring or that this winter might stretch on longer than she'd like. Either way, she was going to have to get creative with what she had just in case.

She didn't have any patients to tend to immediately and she had already checked on Briar's new pups this morning so she had some free time to do some experiments. Once she had thawed out from her herb scouting mission to the river she got up and went over to the cabinet that held at least one jar or vial of all of her usual supplies. There was only one jar of horsetail left on the shelf and a little frown pulled at her lips. She knew they had many more prepped in the pharmacy closet, but it just felt ironic given her concern. Perhaps she would need to think of a better way for her and the packs other healers to communicate when they used a certain medicine or at least when they were running low on something so they would avoid running out. For the longest time she was the only healer using these supplies so she only had to keep track of herself, but now with Solaire successfully working on his own and Syanna back and working in the pack once more there were more paws in the pot–so to speak.

Turning back toward her desk, she put the jar on the surface and carefully pulled out a wide, shallow, ceramic bowl for her to work with. She didn't like to use the surface of her desk since she didn't want to risk messing up the more porous material of the wood and sometimes felt like wood could absorb some of whatever she was working with, wasting the substance. Scooping out a bit of the substance, she spread it across a portion of the bottom of the bowl while she pondered its properties and what might be most similar to it. Before she could land on any particular solutions or thoughts, however, a sound at the door drew her attention and she looked up to spot one of Bowen's pups. She smiled to her niece, immediately and happily distracted from her work to greet the little girl. "Sprig, come in! Are you just visiting or did you need something?"

WC: 533
Total: 533 / 1500

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

Spriggan had certainly felt the chill of the season, her tiny form didn't do near as well in insulating her form. Her moss held no warmth either, and likely her own body heat was the reason it survived so well upon her. She tended to it every day, braving the weather to make sure it got enough sunlight to thrive. In her efforts she was adding to the collection, ferns, grasses, little pink flowers, were all thriving on her garden. Just as much as the mushrooms that bloomed from her flesh. She knew that she was an oddity, there were so many stares whenever she was met by new eyes, but the loving looks of her family reassured her. Yes, she was strange and different, but that was what made her so special.

The girl took a particular liking to her aunt Gwynevere, the woman was as big of a fan of plants as herself and was the main caretaker of the Hallowed gardens. She was also one who was most curious about Spriggan herself. There were wolves with strange growths and mutations, but very few who were born with mushroom buttons like Sprig. From before she could remember Gwyn had taken interest in her mushrooms and the garden she was cultivating on her back.

She found herself making her way to the infirmary now, maybe looking for some advice. She was tired of being cold whenever she needed to expose herself to sunlight, and she wondered if her aunt had any insight into what else she could do. Maybe her best idea was to just start living in the greenhouse. Whatever Gwyn said would be better than laying in the cold and wind of the castle towers.

”Hi, aunty Gwyn.” she greeted her brightly, a little smile on her tiny features. ”Kind of both, but I don't mean to bother you.” She went on cautiously as her blue and lavender eyes spied the work that Gwyn was doing in her little bowl.

Wc 337

Gwynevere chuckled and gave a little shake of her head when Spriggan mentioned how she didn't mean to bother her. "You're never bothering me, sweet heart. You know I love when you visit." She gave Sprig a quick once over as she usually did any of her family with her constant, subconscious need to make sure they were all healthy and well. "I see your garden is doing well despite this weather," she mentioned appreciatively as she pulled over a stool so that Sprig could get a better vantage point on what she was working on at her desk. She had admittedly been concerned when Spriggan was born and she first noticed the mushrooms that seemed to grow from her as naturally as her fur, but quickly she began to realize that they weren't causing her niece any harm or pain and removing them did nothing to stop them from returning so in the end she assured her caretakers that she was perfectly healthy and encouraged her nieces' love of adding to her own personal garden. It was beautiful it its own special way and Gwynevere couldn't help but marvel at the unique individual that Sprig was.

Once Sprig was where she could see what she was working on in the dish, Gwyn turned her attention to the mostly clear, sticky substance once more. "This stuff is what we extract from the horsetail plant that we collect down by the river," she explained, scooping up a bit on her paw and holding it out for Spriggan to examine. "I was just contemplating how to make it last longer or maybe be able to stretch it further or what we could use in place of it... or maybe even just use less of it when we do need it to make sure we don't run out during the winter." She hummed thoughtfully as she cleaned off her paw on a near by rag and returned to the patch of horsetail she had made in the dish before, lightly touching it and feeling how tacky it had gotten. That was what she needed to try and replicate or at least make sure it was still able to accomplish if she added something to it. She had added herbs to horsetail plenty of times in the past to make a medicated balm, but she had never tried to thin it out. Curious, she stepped away for a second to get a waterskin and added a small amount to the bowl before scooping up a fresh blob of the horsetail substance with her paw and beginning to mix it together with the water.

Once it was combined into a thinner paste, she made a swipe of it on a different part of the bowl so that she could wait and see if and how it dried. In terms the mean time, she glanced over at Sprig and asked, "Well, even though I'm more than happy to have you visit as much as you want and love showing you what I'm working on, I'm afraid this part is going to be terribly dull so I can get you whatever you needed while we wait."

WC: 529
Total: 1399 / 1500

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

She always loved her aunt and the shared feeling was palpable, the healer adored her little niece for who she was. That genuine love was one reason that Spriggan was so confident in herself. Her family believed in her and loved her. Gwyn gave her the usual once over and commented on her little garden, which made the girl smile big, Thank you, that's part of the reason I came. I'm not sure I'm giving it enough light since it's so cold.” they didn't need to focus on that though, since her aunt was already doing something.

She jumped up on the stool Gwynevere offered her, and blue and lavender eyes watched her aunt work with the horsetail. Something the pack was getting low on. Gwyn was trying to decide how she was going to get it to last, and showed Spriggan just that. The girl listened Intently and tried to think about if she had any ideas to add. The only thing she could think of was, ”What about using the rubber tree sap?” She asked, uncertain if that could even begin to work. ”Or maybe add some aloe?”

Wc:196