Rhyme moved with a swiftness as he made his way to Shaye’s den to find his long tailed daughter. He was going to take Motif out for a bit of a healing lesson that morning. With summer coming on full swing he needed to find replacements for some of his spring herbs. His young daughter would surely get a kick out of learning with him. Icy paws halted at the entrance as he looked in to see his two young daughters sleeping peacefully. Shaye was out and about already, not a real surprise to be honest.

He slipped inside the den, careful not to wake Poem as he nuzzled Motif lovingly. ”Wake up, beautiful. Lets go out and learn this morning.” He whispered to her as he nuzzled her ear. He didn’t wait long for her to wake up, the longer they lingered the more likely Poem was to wake up.

His large slate marked form shifted again as he returned to the already warming air outside. He needed to find some mint, lemon balm (which was practically mint but not quite), and red clover to replace his chamomile and violets. Rhyme looked back over his shoulder, smiling, as he waited for Motif to catch up.

The young girl raised her sleepy head and immediately her mouth split into a wide yawn. She closed her eyes and gave her head a shake as the lingering sensation finally fled her. She looked up at her father then and her long appendage gave a little wag behind her.

Rhyme however was in a rush, and he nudged her to her paws, which she quickly obliged. Still shaking off the sleep, and forcing down her questions, the young pup followed her father from the den, with only a parting look at her sister.

Once they were clear from the den, and the danger of waking Poem was passed, she bounced a little on her paws. Clumsily, because she was still sleepy despite her excitement. “Where we ‘goin what we learning?” the little one asked of her father. She talk to walking between his front paws. She was two season old now, and was very quickly going to be too big to walk beneath her father. Of course, she still thought she was tiny enough to fight into all the small places she was accustomed to. As a wolf who was going to grow to the height of her parents, it would likely be a shocking event once she realised.

The young Motif was swift to wake, and didn’t seem eager to try and wake Poem up to come along. He had his suspicions that there were other things in store for her today. Besides, she had seemed to lose much of her interest in plants when her mother announced her rank as Heir. Motif would do much better with the knowledge he planned to impart upon her. She seemed to wake slowly, with the excitement obvious in her giddy gait. He smiled down at her as she asked what he had in store for her. He chuckled softly as he reached down to nuzzle her affectionately.

”Well, you’ve noticed how hot it’s been now that summer is here.” One of the reasons they started so early, to avoid the heat of the day. ”Some plants don’t like being so hot, when that happens you need to search for different season plants that have similar if not the same effects.” He explained to her as they continued walking on the edge of the rapids. ”Do you know what a violet is?” He couldn’t remember if he had pointed out the bright flower this last spring or not.

She walked alongside her father, and listened as he spoke. She leaned into his muzzle, feeling nothing but affection for her parents. “it has been real hot, that's why I like the rapids.” she agreed, hunting salamanders and swimming in the quieter sections of the rapids where part of her favorite routines.

“So you can use different plants to do the same thing?” she clarified, interested in the idea. She was just starting to learn more about herbs, and was building a garden with Epitaph too. “No, what’s a violet daddy?” she wanted to know. “What plant is it similar to?” she would also ask, getting the gist of where he was going with this. If he wanted her to learn about summer plants that could do the same thing, then this violet must do the same thing as a plant she already knew, right?

The rapids were certainly a perfect place to get cool during the hotter months, however plants didn’t have that kind of option. Rhyme nodded in approval at her choice, wishing he had more time to spend in the water with her. He smiled down at his daughter as she asked her own little questions. ”Yes, many plants share the same effects. Which is good because of seasonal availability.” Which was the larger term for what they were talking about. He stood slowly and started to lead her to the edge of the forest. ”Violets are small purple flowers, they’re used as an anti-inflammatory. So if you have a bug bite, or an older wolf has arthritis. It also has a mild cooling effect if you mix it into a poultice.” He told her as they walked. ”Chamomile is the same way, it has anti-inflammatory properties but is mostly a spring plant. “

He walked her along as he told her of these plants so she might have knowledge of them down the road. ”That one also has beneficial calming effects, can help with belly aches.” Icy white paws carried him onward as he let his daughter on. ”Smell the air,” he told her as they slowed. He wanted to see if she would be able to pick out the herbs he was looking for now. The mint was rather pungent, but the lemon balm’s citrus smell was a bit more subtle. ”What can you tell me about the scents?”

wc:264 total:1019 (3 more herbs)

He agreed with her, and got back to his feet and began to lead her onwards. She jumped up herself, and followed obediently beside him, walking with her head faced up towards him. She wanted to hear everything he had to say, and her smile was for him alone as her tail wagged gently behind her.

“Okay, so I can use Camomile in spring, and Violet when, daddy?” she asked, trying to clarify the seasons for the plants he spoke of. She wanted to do her best by him, and sought to remember the names of the herbs as he spoke.

He would get her to stop, and smell the air, asking what herbs she could catch. She did so, closing her eyes as she sniffed extensively around her, and caught the scent of the mint. “Mint daddy?” she asked him, opening her eyes and bouncing forward. She landed in front of a cluster of the mint and sniffed it again, beaming up at her father as she did so.

Rhyme watched his younger daughter out of the corner of his eye as he led the forward. Her smile was precious, and a memory he would keep for the rest of his days. Her eas were perked as she continued to ask questions when she didn’t fully understand what he was saying. Chamomile in the spring as well. What we’re gathering today will be summer herbs.” He answered as they shifted back towards the flora before them. Rhyme watched Motif as she made show of scenting the air, and as he had all confidence in her, she named the plant he thought she might.

The proud father smiled brightly towards herr as he nodded approvingly. ”Yes, my dear.” he praised her as he inched forwards, blue and lavender gaze trying to find the other plant. ”Another to use is this lemon balm.” He told the young Motif as he nosed the plant. It looked a bit like the mint, but the plant was smaller with slightly lighter and less fuzzy leaves. ”Both can be used as you would violet or chamomile. And both of these work as breath freshener.” He chuckled as he turned away. ”There’s one more I want to show you.” He reached back and nuzzled he again before leading her towards another direction. This time closer to the edge of the water than the edge of the forest.

He halted in a bed of shorter growing plants and looked back at his daughter with pride. He was proud of all of his children, but having Motif take after him in both of his favored skills made him feel so much closer to his long tailed daughter. ”And this, is red clover.” He caressed the colored leaves with an icy paw. Another alternative to use when dealing with inflammation.

She nodded her head vigorously as her father spoke, and tried to ensure she had it all to memory. The plants he was telling her about where all spring herbs that would keep through Summer

She was proud when she guessed the Mint right, and beamed up at him, stepping forward to sniff the Lemon Balm as he pointed it out to her. The more subtle scent hadn’t been easy to find amongst the stronger smell of Mint, she looked up at her father in appreciation. He must have such a good nose, that he can pick up all this around them, she hoped she could one day.

She leaned into his nuzzle, enjoying this solo time with her father, and moved where he indicated, heading towards the stream. She resisted the urge to cast a look about for salamanders, she had a job today and play wasn’t in it. “and what does Red Clover do?” she asked as she sniffed this last herb he had pointed out. She hoped she could straighten out all the smells in her head and remember which was which.