Chrysanthos worked his way back with his bounty of wintergreen to find a good place to start drying his herbs. The redwater rocks seemed a good place. It was certainly one of the dryer areas. It was hot for sure by the time he arrived and the warm stone wasn't kind to ones paw pads though it was not unbearable yet. After some searching they found a small tree nestled into a crack in the rocks.

Bolla scrambled out of his pack, holding the wintergreen wrapped in a piece of doeskin. Chrys carefully unwrapped it and laid the small bundles of wintergreen out. He would hang dry these. Bolla started rummaging in his pack for the twine as he worked to separate the plants into even portions so that they would dry relatively equally.

TIED TO WHAT IS LATE, AIN'T YOU NOW

Aureus strode confidently into the barren territory even though he really didn't feel that confident inside. He was pretty certain he'd managed to get lost in his effort to clear his head. He had a lot to think about. The nature of hid being for one, his battle skills for another. He just kept playing in his head over and over what went wrong. He need a distraction and while the desert landscape was beautiful in its arid and barren way it wasn't really serving to be the distraction he needed.

"This is getting ridiculous Aureus. Let's just head back south."

The jaguar was not pleased at all to be out in the sun with his jet black coat. Griff however seemed to be enjoying himself and the bird called out that there was a man up ahead. Aureus slunk down and crept closer to see a wolf doing something nearby. The man was rather fetching, his coat a mixture of canyon wall colors and black and white. He smelt of herbs and of a pack Aureus could not identify. There was something about the shape of the man that was making him feel a certain way, like he wanted to know what the other felt like. He shook his head roughly. What the hell was he thinking. Aureus cleared his throat and strode forward as if he owned the territory.

Chrysanthos used his fangs to snip the twine into even portions before setting them down on the deer hide. At this point it would be up to Bolla who could use her nimble fingers to tie up the herbs and hang them from the tree for drying. In the mean time he would try to cool himself off. Chrys found a slightly shady spot and stretched out on his belly his hind legs splayed out behind him. This was going to be a miserable wait. Perhaps there was an oasis or something nearby he could use to indulge himself.

Someone cleared their throat and his head jerked up as he turned to see a handsome, young man pelted in gold and sable. "Oh, hello there. Can I help you?" While he spoke Bolla eyed the man for a moment before busying herself tying twine to the bunches of wintergreen.

TIED TO WHAT IS LATE, AIN'T YOU NOW

Aureus gazed at the plants. He was curious about them but it wasn't really a keen interest of his. He trusted the Abraxas healers to take care of him whenever he became sick or injured. There was too much to learn in the world and he had to be selective in where he focused his skills. The man asked if he could help him and Aureus mind drew a blank. He should've rehearsed something to say! Oh crap! His mouth opened and then shut a few times before he finally found his voice. "Oh, I was just… My name is Aureus and I caught your scent and I was wondering what you were doing out here."

Kali leaned in close so he could whisper out of earshot. "Ask him for directions genius."

The young man seemed a bit shy and awkward so Chrys just tried to smile encouragingly. He got up and shuffled to the side a bit. Patting his paw in the shade in an offer for the young man, Aureus, to get out of the sun for a spell. "I'm just drying some wintergreen for this winter. Its a good pain killer. My name is Chrysanthos Beaufort. Do you live near here?"

Bolla finished tying the wintergreen and one by one she scampered up the tree to hang the herbs from the branches. In a few moments she had everything where it needed to be and now was the fun part. Now they had to wait. She eyed the jaguar the stranger had come with and decided that she was just fine staying up in the tree for a bit.

TIED TO WHAT IS LATE, AIN'T YOU NOW

Aureus nudged Kali back, he didn't appreciate the jaguar trying to rush him. The stranger was named Chrysanthos. An odd and rather exotic name and like he guessed the man was a healer. He watched the lemur for a moment before turning back to look at the healer's lovely golden eyes. "No… actually I was wondering if you might be able to give me directions to Auster? It turns out I'm a bit turned around." He hated to admit it but he was a fighter and a tactician, not a navigator and while there were areas where those disciplines over lapped he was not an expert in the art of navigation. Though perhaps he out to give the study more focus.