She'd been restricted, a slave to her new masters. They called it a lamb, but she knew in reality it was still a slave. Still a position that took all her freedoms. A position that meant she would be abused for the amusement of her betters. She knew no matter how submissive she was or compliant, they would still likely find a reason to give her new scars. It never mattered to those that placed themselves on a pedestal, they never cared about those that they thought were beneath themselves. They wouldn't look at her and see a woman who was intrigued with plants, they'd just see a thing to abuse.

Winter had come and she knew she would find very few herbs here. Not like there would be much when spring came either. They had chose a land that barely had prey, and barely had any necessities for life. Dens were in the plenty, but any source of water she had found so far was poluted with sulfer. She hadn't drank much, keeping her hydration to the prey she was able to catch. Her hunting technique was one she knew very few employed, but without speed or sight on her side she had to make due. She had become an ambush master but with snow falling it would become much harder. She knew she would eventually have to ask the man that had brought her here or the alpha if they would allow her to hunt in a neighboring land. It wasn't like she was going to run. She knew she would risk her life if she didn't return to the pack lands.

She had settled in a den closer to the base of the maw. It was in a gathering of pine trees, formed by a large rock leaning against another. A tree blocked the rear of the den, keeping it a little warmer, though not nearly as warm as if she had chose to settle nearer to the lava of the mountain. She couldn't bare to go near the heat though, knowing no one would care if she died from getting to close. She was laying in the entryway of her den, the marigold she had gathered the day she had come here, between her forepaws. It was wilted now and unuseable. That was the problem of not having formal healers training and just learning from the scents of what was used on the warriors and her eavesdropping on certain healers in her birth pack. It was quiet for now outside her den. A sigh escaped her. It would be a long time before she could go find more herbs.

Walk "Talk" Think

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but it felt like her pregnancy was progressing more quickly than her first had. Even though she knew that wasn't possible, she still still wondered how she could be so large already. The only solution that made sense in her mind was that even more pups, or larger pups, were growing in her than with her first litter. For the most part she was excited. Excited that she and Elias had more children on the way and that the pack would have new life to celebrate so soon. She loved being a mother so she couldn't wait to continue that role with these pups. At the same time though, the thought of a larger litter, whether in size or number or both, did make her a bit nervous. She had taken a look at the herbs she had available that morning and decided to take the day to go in search of more motherwort at the very least. She'd love to find some trillium, but she knew that it was late in the season and it was already fairly hard to find on its own. Even though she left early in the morning, it was still late afternoon by the time she began to make her way back through the rocky terrain of their home. She was proud of the bundle of motherwort between her teeth, but the one trillium flower and the couple of leaves from the same plant were the ones that she was really thrilled with. It would be hard to keep the flower from wilting, but she did hope that she could dry it to keep it more useful. If nothing else she could always make use of the leaves and stem. "Talk" "You" Think

There was a scent on the wind as it blew, one she recognized mixed with another she knew. The nubs that were left of her ears pressed back, dissappearing into her scruff. Pregnancy and herbs. Herbs she had once taken after Sintaro had been what she thought a mate should be. He'd been so gentle, so loving, yet all at once he'd ripped the love from her. He took from her, ripped her children from her, then ripped her tail away. The memories were painful ones but they were at least her own.

She slowly sat herself up, head extended to catch the scent better. There was traces of the Alpha in that scent. She must either be his mate or one of possibly many that he forced into living there to breed with. The sound of snow crunching had her head twisting in the direction of the woman she knew was there. She'd be passing the den Tana had chosen it would seem. With a mere whisper Tana recited to herself what the herbs were called. "Motherwart, to stimulate lactation and stave off heat feelings. Trillium, use unknown but taken by women giving birth...." She knew the names and had only figured out a few uses by taking the herbs herself, or eavesdropping on healers training lessons in Hael.

Walk "Talk" Think

The scent of the herbs under her nose kept her from really smelling any other scents around her so the younger woman hidden away in her den to her right went unnoticed until she spoke. Zuriel only caught bits and pieces, but she heard enough to make out that the mutterings were about the herbs that she was currently carrying. That got her attention and she stopped, looking around for the source of the sound. She spotted the den a short distance up the hill in a small stand of trees and curiously moved toward it. She really hadn't interacted with the rest of the pack very much so it felt right to take the opportunity to do so. She kept a respectable distance just in case the other woman wasn't as keen on company, but she stopped outside the den and sat the herbs down in front of her so she could speak. Maybe what had really gotten her interested was the opportunity to teach the woman about these herbs. Her chances to be a teacher to anyone other than Daelos were few and far between. Teaching was one of her favorite things in this world so she didn't want to let this chance pass her by. "Trillium is good for relieving pain during birthing," she clarified with a small smile. The den was shadowed enough that she didn't notice the heavy amount of scarring across the brown-toned woman's body at first. Her smile faltered a little and her ears flicked back when she noticed this and how her eyes were nonexistent. Her father had been blinded and had fairly significant scarring around his eyes for most of her memory of him, but this was at a completely different level. If there was one thing she had learned from her father it was that she should never pity anyone with disabilities like hers. She had no doubt that this woman had been through more than her fair share of hardships, but Zuriel tried to move past that quickly. "Sorry to disturb you. I just happened to be passing by and heard you say something about the herbs I was carrying. I'm Zuriel." "Talk" "You" Think