Erani

She was fully healthy now, and physically ready to head to the pack. Surreal's visits were regular, every time she got to the end of a patrol. There was something in the air, recently, that had Erani feeling a bit better, emotionally, than she had since the siege. True, it was Spring, and technically her season for mating and bearing a litter, but since her mating with Nova, and her litter? She hadn?t experienced another cycle since. Nova? As her head lowered to lap from the spring fed pool beside her cave den, she paused to stare into her own eyes, though the image of her reflection was highly distorted by the small waterfall that fed the pool. Why had he gone? Gone and never come back? A slow sigh brushed against the rippling surface, and she brushed the thoughts aside, drinking her fill before turning away from the stream and gazing about the wide area that made a perfect place for patients to rest in the shade of the ravine, or for pups to gambol without worry of predators from above. Her ears folded back. So many happy memories. Her youngest children struggling to get their small bodies up the three natural stone steps that led into the main chamber of the den when they were still small. Surreal and Arella rolling about in the fresh snow, while Gabriel sat off to the side. Castiel joining the play. Lyric settling beside Gabriel. Of all her youngest, Surreal was the only steady one, the one to stick around like a burr in the fur. Arella was sometimes in, but would be gone again before Erani would have a chance to catch her. The remaining three? Eyes became downcast for a moment, silently mourning the losses. Turning, Erani padded down the ravine, leaving the entrance behind, and stopping as she remembered how she?d found the den. After mating with Nova, she had found a path, and taken it. A small paradise within a paradise. Happy memories, painful memories. Cairo, in all his disappointed anger after her reaction to Collisions attempt at marrying Chrysanthe to Maverick. Waking up one morning to realize how long it had been since she?d seen her mate and eldest son last. And waking once more to find Gabriel gone. Had she been a good mother? She had tried? Yet only one of her litter remained. With a sigh, she headed toward the borders. She would stop by Friction and Eria?s den first to see if they wanted to come to the pack with her, as the pups would certainly be much safer within the protection of a pack, than outside. Then she would start her trek to the family. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns?

Muscles trembled in fatigue and pain; the festering half-healed wounds had broken open miles ago, releasing blood and worse to trickle down his forelegs. He'd been relying more and more heavily on his brothers' help to keep on his feet, but he'd refused to stop moving. He had this horrible feeling that if he stopped, if he lay down again, he wouldn't be waking up this time.

So on he had trudged with Thor and Loki on either side. At first he had taken care to keep his ever-present rage throttled down so as not to piss off Thor - because right now he really, really needed Thor's help - and Loki's irritating jokes and bantering had stretched his control nearly to breaking. But as the miles went past, he'd started feeling numb. Numb to the pain, numb to the anger, numb even to Loki's bullshit. Loki had gone quiet a while back. Hati wasn't sure if it was because he'd given up or if his throat had just finally given out. Either way was just fine with him.

Between one step and the next he found himself on the ground staring up at his brothers. "Oh, hey guys," he slurred. "Why don't you just go find someone else to bother, huh? Just leave me the hell alone."

Was Hati being self-sacrificing, valiantly pushing his brothers away that they could go one with their lives? Hell, no, he was just sick of them following him around everywhere. Hati could only stand his family for so long. And wouldn't it be some sort of justice for him to die alone or something?



"Speech"

the sins of our father, the sins of our young

Hati isn't nice. He swears, he is violent, and is more than a little insane. If you can't handle what might come of that don't thread with him.

Hati wears a bear skull on his head unless otherwise stated in the post. He also has a ram's skull that might be switched in sometimes if he finds it again.
Help keep my thread list updated so your thread isn't forgotten!

At this point, Thor was nothing but a walking ball of pent up bad energy. He wasn't even sure what he felt at this point. Was he angry? Livid? Frustrated? Annoyed? Grumpy? The brute wasn't quite sure. He just felt..negative. He was beyond angry, beyond livid, frustrated, annoyed and he'd passed grumpy so long ago he didn't even know what it looked like anymore.

On his right was a slurry, delirious and yes, smelly, Hati and even further to his right was the thorn in his side. Loki. The brute had chattered away, taking every opportunity to criticize and spew snark. Four times Thor had gotten fed up with Loki's insults and threatened him, and finally on the forth time, he'd fallen silent. Perhaps the threatening had finally done the trick, although it was more likely that he'd simply grown tired of hearing himself speak...if that were possible. Not that Thor really cared why Loki had stopped flapping his gums; really, he was just grateful for the silence. He couldn't handle much more irritation.

Hati, on the other hand, had been oddly silent throughout the journey. This alarmed him for a couple of reasons. One, he was being far too indifferent to the occasionally shoulder bump that had to be painful. Two, he hadn't done much to shut Loki up. And finally, three, he hadn't bitten anyone or even threatened them with violence, which was so far from his normal self that Thor was actually more concerned with not getting bitten by him than getting bitten.

Slowly, so slowly that Thor didn't realize what was happening at first, Hati slid to the ground. Alarmed at this new development, Thor whined, the sound grumbled under his breath as he tried to decide on a course of action. Was this it? Could Hati really die right here, right now? In all honesty, the brute didn't know how he felt about it. On one hand, Hati was kind of an asshole, like their father, but on the other hand, he was family and Thor couldn't quite picture the world without him.

He laid down beside his brother and leaned into his face just in time for Hati to open his mouth and bathe him in an odor so foul it made his piss n' pus shoulder smell pleasant in comparison. He almost gagged. It was like something had crawled down his throat, died and rotted there. Thor turned his gaze to Loki and shrugged. Honestly, was it time to just...let him go?

At first, Loki had been irritated at being Hati's crutch. He'd made snide, nasty comments to make himself feel better, seeing Hati practically turning purple trying to hold back his temper. It was actually quite an impressive achievement for Hati. Maybe the idiot actually realized for once just how much he needed Loki around. Thor didn't have that compunction keeping him quiet - he had no problem threatening Loki from the other side of Hati. Loki just stuck his tongue out at him when he wasn't looking and kept on. As the distance ticked past and Hati stopped responding to his insults entirely, Loki started to get mildly concerned. His insults and heckling started to get much more pointed and direct in the hopes of rousing his lethargic brother to anger, but Hati remained indifferent. Finally Loki fell silent as well - not because his voice had given out or because he'd run out of things to say, but simply because he wasn't willing to waste his breath on something that was obviously not working. He was trying to decide whether he should just insist that Hati stop, when he realized that Hati had stopped, in fact had slipped quietly to the ground several steps ago. Loki did an abrupt about-face, ears pinned back in annoyance. For a moment he actually considered doing exactly what Hati had demanded of him - turn around and just walk away. Even Thor seemed to be at least mildly indifferent to Hati's plight. But the idea of doing something that Hati had demanded rankled. "Oh, for the love of... I'm not going to be going anywhere," he snapped, thoroughly pissed that he needed to save Hati - though on second thought the realization that Hati would be just as pissed was pretty appealing. "And you're not going to die, so just shut up before you make Thor keel over from your breath." The slim black wolf threw back his head and loosed a loud howl, a call for help from anyone nearby. Lowering his muzzle, he stared at Hati, furious green eyes daring him to protest. "Speech"

Baldur was trailing behind, kept silent by the bat carcass he still held i his mouth. He bit down when it twitched or when he found Loki particularly annoying. For the most part though he trailed behind like a wandering ghost, occasionally disappearing off on his own only to appear again behind the group. There really wasn't much he could do to help. He supposed he could've made more of an effort to shut Loki up but so rare was it to see the ebony male actually helping someone he decided he didn't want to spoil the moment. Even if that brute was Hati. Stifling a growl he bit down harder on his unfortunate chew toy, only for one of the wings to fling up and smack him in the face again. He gave the creature another good shake, sending blood and bits around him in a little halo before continuing to follow. Baldur's feeling toward his brother Hati had always been tempestuous and mostly bitter. Why though? It was difficult to sort out. Hati was a murderer, a raging , self-centered brute that looked far to much like their father for Baldur's liking. But he had freed them in a way. Hati slew their oppressive father? and then abandoned the lot of them to Vili and Ve. He didn't know how to feel about Hati's injuries. So when the brute slid to the ground, Baldur stood there for a moment before setting down his bat. Something stirred in the center of him and he tried not to care, he really did. Licking the excess blood off his maw he let out a short howl for help then looked at his brothers and shrugged. "Worth a shot I suppose." Picking up his bat he flopped down on his side and batted at it much like a pup. Intent on ignoring any negative feelings or emotions that clung to the group or to Hati. He just wasn't ready to deal with this.

Erani

Erani was nearly to the border when a scent wafted over her muzzle. Several scents, really. She snorted, blowing the rank smell of living decay from her nose, head turning to gaze toward the direction the scent came from. Four males. All strangers. One was very unhealthy by scent. There was urine on the scents that didn?t match that of the sick male. She turned and headed back for her den. Sick wolves needed help, as the howl that came from behind her told clearly. She padded through the ravine and up the three natural steps of stone, and stopped at her dwindling herb supply. Thinking over the scents, she picked out what was needed, gathering them neatly in her jaws before turning and heading out again. She traversed the old territory with graceful ease, arriving on the scene, eyes assessing the four wolves. One white, with black markings, who was in possession of a bat, a brown male, and two black males, one of which lay on the ground with infected wounds. Fever. Through the wolves natural language of the body, she made it clear to the males that they were to follow her with the injured male, turning with a wave of her tail. She would lead them to the river, where she set her plants down and looked first at the brown male. ?Wash yourself.? Her eyes turned to the black male who was in dire need of mending. Quietly, she set the plants that he would need to eat close to his nose, the aromatic smell hopefully inducing an interest, and once he ate them, she would begin to work on the injuries. ?Some of this may hurt, but the pain will be worth it.? The snowy Theta radiated serenity and relaxation. Calm. Reserved. Gentle. ?I am Erani, Lead Healer of Valhalla.? The introduction was given as she pressed her paws on either side of the shoulder wound, working to squeeze the pus out. She went until the liquid oozing from the injury was fully blood, then turned and dipped her muzzle in the water, holding the liquid in her mouth. She let the water run free as soon as her jaws were above the male?s shoulder, the water pouring over the wound, cleansing debris from it. After a few repetitions of this ministration, she applied her tongue to the wound, cleaning it further. Any retaliation from the injured male was met with a long, patient stare.

will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns?

They didn't listen to him when he told them to go away. Why would he even have halfway expected them to listen to him? A low rumble vibrated his chest, but the sound didn't even make it out before it faded again. What was the point anyway? He had never been capable of leading his family - this was just another symptom of the base problem. Hroovitnir had been right all along and he'd known it. He was no alpha. Bastards should be grateful he'd left them alone after he killed Hroovitnir but no, they all acted like he'd been the one oppressing them all those years. He saw the way they looked at him, the anger and the disgust. Hate, even. Like he'd been any better off, you know? Lame.

He jolted awake - had he fallen asleep? - when his brothers jostled him to his feet and half-dragged him down to the water. He could feel Loki's teeth in his scruff, but he couldn't really process why Loki would be biting him when he was already hurting. Prick. They dropped him at the edge of the river, a relief as far as he was concerned. His eyes were drooping again when a bunch of smelly plants were dropped practically on his nose. Gold eyes opened again warily, Hati regarded the older, dignified looking white female who'd appeared there like magic, then back to the plants. Was he supposed to eat them? With a shrug - purely mental, as he had no energy to shrug even if it wouldn't have been incredibly painful - he snatched up the herbs and swallowed them.

Seems he really was supposed to eat them, since the old woman didn't kick up a fuss over it. Instead she was saying something about the pain being worth it. But the pain was fading from whatever plants he'd just eaten, so what the hell was she -

Hati bit back a curse as the woman pressed on his shoulder, but that single reflexive sound was the only one he made. Pinning his ears back, he watched her with a stoic, narrow-eyed glare. He didn't bother glancing at his wound - he knew it was gross, and didn't need to be reminded of that - but glared at the white bitch instead until she'd finally stopped, and gone down to the river. Then he transferred his glare to his brothers, a glare that very clearly said "I hate you all for this."

Not that he had much time to actually summon the energy to say it out loud, since the healer had returned and was drooling water all over his shoulder. Repulsed, he growled and tried to pull away, but she just gave him this look that made him feel about two months old again, so he put up with it. Sullenly, but still put up with it, even when she went back to the river for more water to do it all over again. And again. And again.

And then she started licking it. The snarl bubbled up in his chest again, but again, that look forestalled any physical retaliation and, abashed, he let her get away with it. With licking him. It was fucking humiliating.

He very studiously avoided the eyes of all three of his brothers. "If any of you guys tell anyone about this, I will kill you." The softly growled words may have come out weakly, may have sounded like a joke, but the fire in his eyes as he glared straight ahead at the river was purely Hati. Hati didn't tell jokes.

OOC: Uuuuhhh, I had lots of melancholy Hati muse apparently.



"Speech"

the sins of our father, the sins of our young

Hati isn't nice. He swears, he is violent, and is more than a little insane. If you can't handle what might come of that don't thread with him.

Hati wears a bear skull on his head unless otherwise stated in the post. He also has a ram's skull that might be switched in sometimes if he finds it again.
Help keep my thread list updated so your thread isn't forgotten!

{{Ooc:: Bri was cool with me bringing Ellis to the thread since, with the way another thread went, it would make sense to bring Akemi in. :3 Hope the rest of you don't mind~~}}

Long legs carried the small wolfess forward, a shorter than average muzzle testing the air every so often. It was clear by the scent of the woman's coat that she was a loner, unclaimed by a pack and a foreigner to the lands of Alacritia. She moved with grace, much more like a doe than a female wolf. Paws would gently tread the ground, carrying her forward as she searched, though for what exactly she wasn't entirely sure. Something in these lands seems to intrigue her soul, however, and Ellis, in the back of her mind, would wonder. Would this new land she had come to be the one to call home?

She was barely over a year old, and still learning her trade, but when she heard the call for help in the distance Ellis would not ignore it. With long, loping strides the female would start in that direction, breaking into a faster pace. She didn't have any herbs with her, not really having a way to carry all that she needed, so she would have to first find the one who needed assistance, assess what needed to be done, and act from there the best that she could.

Ellis would be surprised to find she was not the first one upon the scene, but that surprise would quickly give way to relief. Another healer was already working on the wolf that was injured, tending to his wounds. The wolf was elderly, but Ellis did not at all see this as a weakness. The female healer would be very knowledgeable of her trade, meaning that the one she was working on would be alright. Still, just to be on the safe side, the curvy female would approach the others, dipping her head in respect, though it was the other woman she would address.

"If you need another set of helpful paws, I'm a healer as well." The black brute that she was treating didn't look all that happy, but not all wolves had a outwardly kind nature. Besides pain could also quickly sour the mood of a wolf. She would, while waiting for an answer from the other healer, glance towards the other three males that were present, teal-green eyes going over each one as she slowly breathed in each scent. It would seem the four males were related, though the woman clearly was not.

Somehow Thor succeeded in extricating himself from the yawning stink hole that was Hati's ever flapping mouth, and veered off that particularly unpleasant path to find fresh air a few steps away. Honestly, if Loki hadn't been there he may have just given into the urge to let his front legs give out and drop him on the ground, but for the sake of integrity, the brute would remain standing and quietly go about recovering like the unflappable figure he was.

From there time ticked away at a meandering, nearly lifeless crawl...much like Hati (too soon?) and Thor took up pacing restlessly. Every time Hati so much as breathed funny the brute was at his side and checking him over, and every time he was found still clinging to life, Thor took up pacing again. He wouldn't sit by him while he was still living, but should his brother take a turn for the worst he figured the least he could do was stand by him, although Hati would probably loathe the gesture. Sentiment and all.

Looking back, Thor couldn't quite pin where exactly their relationship had soured. If he looked back far enough he could dig up pleasant memories, but somewhere along the way they'd just grown apart and from there conflicting personalities had developed. Now there wasn't much left between them except scars. Still, a part of Thor clung to the hope that some day they'd be able to look at each other without immediately wanting to chew each others face off. It was a vain and pitiful hope, he knew this, but the side of him that remembered how simple life had been at one point wanted it to be that way again. Of course there were others sides of him, bigger facets, that wanted more easily reached things. The moon, for example, was something he wanted to sink his teeth into just to see what it tasted like. This wish was a better, more likely to be fulfilled, wish than cuddly feelings from Hati.

At last a wolf approached, bringing with her an air of no nonsense determination and Thor immediately sensed this and fell into line. Years of order taking had pounded this response into him. When she motioned for them to haul Hati up and follow, the brute did so without question. When they reached the river and he was ordered to bathe, he complied. "Yes, ma'am."

He came back to the group just in time to see Hati's shoulder erupt like a volcano. His nose wrinkled, revulsion making his insides squirm...and yet...part of him was fascinated. The rest of him felt almost guilty for feeling that way. Still, he watched the procedure from start to finish, a stoic expression on his face, all the while quietly musing to himself about how the purging of Hati's physical sickness could be compared to his emotional one and how it should be handled.

Loki rolled his eyes at Baldur's antics with the bat corpse. Disgusting. Though not, he supposed, as disgusting as Hati was right now. For a while he contented himself with watching Thor pace, back and forth, until Hati's breath would hitch and the brown wolf would rush over to check on him. It was almost sweet, in a way, if an outsider were to be observing. To Loki, who knew the family dynamic only too well, it was just a form of cynical amusement. The form of an older white female approaching drew his attention. She didn't speak to them, just made a gesture for them to follow her with Hati. Loki's brow went up, but he shrugged and did what she asked, reaching down to - with Thor's help - force his older brother back to his feet and get him moving. The heftier black wolf's legs threatened to buckle halfway there. Loki unthinkingly fastened his teeth into Hati's scruff, keeping him up. Surprising even to Loki, who was tempted to just drop him and walk away, see if Baldur and Thor could manage Hati without his help... yet he didn't let go after all until they reached the river. There Loki dropped him and backed off a good amount to sit down and look away to study the landscape around them while the healer was working, his face completely smooth and expressionless. Let Baldur and Thor assume he was planning something, some trick or plot that needed Hati alive and well, rather than some foolish sentimental attachment to his elder brother. Loki didn't do sentiment. He really didn't. The healer's introduction of herself earned a sharp, ironic laugh. "Valhalla, seriously?" he sneered. "I'm starting to wonder if everyone here is as obsessed with the old stories as our father was." A dismissive snort, and that was the end of it for him. The arrival of another female, a young delicate one, caught his attention. Surprisingly, Loki had no interest in engaging the pretty young healer in any manner, choosing instead to just shrug moodily at her words and look away again. He should probably just leave; Hati was obviously in good hands and he wasn't needed. But he stayed. "Speech"

Baldur's nervous chewing had worn away much of the bat until there really wasn't anything left. Letting it go he left the creature to return to the earth just in time to see an old white femme appear and start at them with sparkling blue eyes. Without a word she gestured for them to follow her. Baldur looked to his brothers and shrugged again. Loki and Thor helped Hati to his feet and the group was off traveling again, following the healer to a water source. She introduced herself as Erani, lead healer of?. of Valhall? Baldur's eyes turned to the sky and he was thankful he'd left the bat behind or he might well have choked on it. Valhalla?! What were the odds. Apparently his parents naming convention was present in Alacritis as well. Soon another healer appeared. Either his call had worked or Hat i stunk so strongly of blood and infection he was like a beacon to every healer in the area. "If any of you guys tell anyone about this, I will kill you." Baldur rolled his eyes again. Typical Hati, even when he was at deaths door he was still capable of making threats. Baldur smirked and nodded at Loki's words. "No kidding." To think one of the first pack wolves he stumbled upon would be from Valhalla of all places. Baldur turned to look at his ebony pelted brother. Surprised that he was still hanging around. Then again, Baldur was surprised at himself for hanging around. The reasons escaped him and so he simply lay down and watched the healer work. Nose wrinkling as he made a face at the pus. Yuck?

Erani

As Erani worked over the wound of the black male, she paused to take up an herb, chewing slowly, letting the juices mix on her tongue, then gently slathered the mixture over the wound. Yarrow, which would help fight further infection. The males? reactions to her introduction drew a small flick of her ear, before her eyes rested on the other black male, locking with the emerald eyes with that same measuring stare she?d given the injured patient. Steady, patient, and gently scolding. To the threat the patient made, she spoke quietly. ?There is no lack of honor in having one?s wounds mended. If they are mended, you stand a chance of fighting strongly in your next battle.? To the most polite male, the brown one, she spoke next. ?Hunt down a rabbit. We have beaver around here as well, but they have offspring that need to grow before any can be hunted, or a source of prey will die out without a parent to care for them. This one should eat something soon. The plants I gave him will keep it down.? A young female had arrived while Erani was concentrated on her ministrations to the wounded male, and the snowy Theta turned her attention to her now. ?There is a stand of comfrey a ways downriver. I would like you to gather some of the leaves. It?ll make a good poultice for the bruising around the wound.? To the white male with the black markings, she issued her next words. ?You, hunt with your brother. Perhaps take a deer instead of a rabbit.? Lastly, she turned to the black male. ?You will go with them. The better chance there is to bring down a good meal, the more chance that all of you will eat well this evening.? All of the orders given, were spoken in a calm, firm manner, that brooked no protest, and should any protest be given, she merely looked at the protestant wolf. Once things were underway, she turned to the plants she hadn?t set in front of the patient to be consumed. Marigold would go into the comfrey poultice to add a binding stickiness that would hold the poultice to the wound, and she would need to apply cobwebs overall to ensure the poultice remained stable. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Be careful making wishes in the dark
Can't be sure when they've hit their mark

Hati twitched as the healer smeared some sort of smelly chewed-up plant all over his wound, a snarl bubbling up automatically at the sting. The sound turned to a snort of disgust almost before it even reached his ears. "What do you know about it, old woman?" he sneered. "I don't care about honor. Honor's a useless stupid daydream for people who have nothing better to do with their time. People who are just fine wasting their whole lives for something stupid." A private opinion he would not have shared, had his tongue not been excessively loosened by his delirium. He turned his baleful gaze to his brothers. Yes, that's right, hate me for what I am, just as you should. Let me die like you all know I deserve. Had Hati been in his right mind he might have noticed the sharpness of his mood swings, but Hati hadn't been in his right mind most of his life so it was little wonder.

OOC: sorry for the crap post. Just wanted to get one out before I left for the weekend.



"Speech"

And besides in the meantime
I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart

Hati isn't nice. He swears, he is violent, and is more than a little insane. If you can't handle what might come of that don't thread with him.

Hati wears a bear skull on his head unless otherwise stated in the post. He also has a ram's skull that might be switched in sometimes if he finds it again.
Help keep my thread list updated so your thread isn't forgotten!

Thor's rump had just barely grazed the ground when the healer issued another order. He hauled himself up and shook out his coat, flinging water in every direction. The healer, Erani, (from Valhalla, no less) continued handing out assignments and Thor hung around for perhaps a second too long, much like the smell of Hati's pus eruption. Call him nosy, but he wanted to see what the others got saddled with. The words out of Hati's mouth were just as bad as his breath. Sure, to some extent Thor agreed with him, but he didn't have to be such a dick to the wolf who was practically scooping out his pus-filled shoulder with her paws. Well, maybe he did; what went on in Hati's head was a mystery to him. Really though, would it kill him to shut his trap for just a little while and accept a kindness? "Ignore him, it's not the infection that's going to kill him, but the charity. He's allergic to kindness." Alright, so him, Baldur and Loki. The three amigos? Hardly. But maybe they could work together for a little bit longer. At some point Loki was likely to just spring away and never return. Thor could see it now...the three of them barreling after a deer, closing the distance and getting ready to bring it down...and Loki suddenly veering off to disappear into the sunset, having finally gotten/achieved/witnessed whatever it was he'd stuck around so long for. Breaking away from the group, Thor set out in search of some kind of game. Something a bit bigger than a rabbit would be great, but he'd take a bunny if that was all he could find. Having no knowledge of the land, he didn't know where to start, so he simply wandered around with his nose to the breeze. The healer had mentioned beaver and even though that was an easy catch she'd said they were off limits, and he didn't really feel like butting heads with that particular wolf. The brute paused above a sheltered creek bed, nose twitching. He couldn't quite see through the trees, but some kind of ungulate was down there. Speech

OOC: Not sure you guys want to handle the hunt. If you all want to wrap it up this round feel free to include Thor's actions in your post. If you want to start a new thread, go right ahead, I'll jump in.

The healer would continue her work, giving orders to each of the wolves present. Ellis would calmly wait, and when the snowy female would turn her attention to her the young femme would dip her head. "Of course. I'll be back." She moved off a gentle trot, her form swaying from the movements with the grace of some creature other than a wolf. Ellis had always been much more delicate than her own kind, though she saw nothing at all wrong with that.

The leaves of comfrey were larger, growing low to the ground. It was a plant she knew well enough by sight and smell, luckily, so finding it for the healer in training wouldn't necessarily be a difficult task. This was the work that she had dedicated herself to -- helping strangers when she could, and with any luck at all she might learn something new from the older, more experienced healer that was already at work treating the male.

Ellis would move along at her trot until she spotted the plant she was searching for, coming to a stop beside it. She would lower her head, carefully snipping off the comfrey leaves the white female had requested.

ooc: i think we could make it pretty quick, left my post a bit vague so we can make it speed it along xD you or Tea can pick what we're going for.

Baldur listened to the healers recommendation. He was a bit hungry too and the bat had only served to give him a bit of an upset stomach. A deer sounded better. He hadn't the energy at the moment to go chasing all over creation for rabbits which some times took more energy to catch than a deer. He turned to Thor and laughed a bit at his brother's words. That was true, any sort of kindness made Hati twitch like a flea-infested coyote though that still didn't mean Baldur would go out of his way to be nice to the golden-eyed male. Baldur stretched before following after Thor. He'd let his older brother lead the hunt though he wondered if Loki would follow or take direction. Surely the other male was hungry as well? Thor eventually settled on something and Baldur squeezed in close to see what it was they were looking at. Elk? Worked for him. The three of them could maybe pick off a calf or something, if the old lady wouldn't get upset about it. Once he got the signal, Baldur slunk down and around through the creek bed, taking shelter behind the logs and debris that rested scattered around. The sun was behind him, helping to obscure his form. Patiently he waited til the others were in place before he lurched suddenly forward with a snarl, fangs bared and hackles raised.

Loki Moody he might be today, but Loki was not above letting out a sharp, mocking laugh at the healer's words and Hati's quick and cynical rejoinder. Not that he didn't actually agree with Hati's sentiments, because to be frank he did agree, but Hati had always used that as an excuse to be a crude, obnoxious barbarian with no taste whatsoever. The old woman went on to start giving instructions every which-way, and for a moment Loki considered just fleeing. But sprinting off to avoid having the healer give him a job was undignified, and he was too late anyway. The healer had told him to go with Thor and Baldur on a little hunting expedition, basically 'go make some dinner'. Well, it wasn't the first time the three of them had needed to work together on similar assignments, and Thor's words about Hati made Loki think he may have actually picked up a sense of humor somewhere along the way. And to be honest, the idea of a nice tasty deer or elk was tempting. He hadn't had a large kill like that since he'd left the pack. Still, to be ordered by a stranger... He met the healer's eyes haughtily, a silent refusal to be commanded to do anything even if he was salivating a little at the thought of red meat. But the healer met his gaze with a flat, calm command, and Loki wilted a little. He was impressed despite himself at her regal manner, mentally calculating ways to recreate that way of command for himself. He looked away from her casually, yawning with nonchalant boredom as he stood to follow his brothers - who of course had hopped to it like little bunny soldiers at her command. "Well, this is exciting," he said mockingly to Thor and Baldur as he sauntered along with his brothers. "Just like old times! Why next you know dear old Dad will rise from the grave and start flinging orders and punishments around. What fun that would be." He might have continued chattering in that same viciously mocking tone of voice, and likely been bitten for his trouble, had Thor not spotted something. Loki paused, disdaining to squash in close to his littermate like Baldur was to see what they did. He was just fine back here. The signal came, a familiar sign as he'd been hunting and fighting with both of these wolves his whole life, and he automatically fell into the old habits. He hated it, hated that it was still so ingrained in him, and strongly considered just leaving them here to hunt for themselves just to prove that he could, but working with his brothers felt right. Instead of strutting off into the figurative sunset, he settled into a crouch and moved gracefully and silently into a position to flank whatever prey Baldur managed to scare in the right direction. Both brothers were in position and Baldur leaped forward with a snarl. The elk herd scattered, the cows bawling desperately to keep their calves close in the confusion. Not all were successful, and one older calf raced bawling toward his and Thor's position, Baldur's snapping jaws at it's heels encouraging it. Acid green eyes widened in anticipation. Thor bounded toward it, perfectly timed to snap at it's nose and turn it where they wanted. On cue, Loki moved smoothly from hiding as Thor drove the calf to flank the little beast. As Loki leaped forward to hamstring the calf, his heavier brothers went for the kill. Between the three of them they made short work of dispatching the young elk. As the dust settled, Loki stood panting, the taste of blood sending electric excitement shivering through his body, raising his silky pelt in ripples. Eyes gleamed with a fiery light, and Loki had to admit to himself that he'd missed the thrill of hunting as a team with his brothers... But as the adrenaline faded, Loki gathered his dignity about him and returned to feigned boredom. "Well, now that we've finished that nonsense, shall we get this whole fool business over with?" Taking hold of the calf, he began dragging it back in the general direction of their older brother and his healer. Presumably they would follow - preferably they would actually help him, because the beast was damn heavy. OOC: I took some liberties with Thor and Baldur's actions - I can change it if you like but I figured getting back to the main thread faster would be good? "Speech"