His Grandpa had given him a super important mission today! Apparently one of his cousins was interested in healing, just like him! And Sirius had suggested He show her his collection of herbs and explain what some of them did. He was very excited to show off his collection, and he carefully scooped up the drying herbs and grabbed a bag from his mothers stores. He dumped the bag on his Polar Bear companion who was quickly recovering from his injuries.

Thus prepared, he trotted out of the woods and made his way to the Col. His grandfather had told him what den he could find his cousin, but when he approached the maze of warrens, he realised he wasn’t actually too sure. He hadn’t spent enough time wandering around them to be familiar with them. “Zeejay!?” He called out, tilting his head so his voice echoed off the walls. “Zeeeeejaaaay?”


"Speech"

Huddled next to the fire in her mother's den, Zeejay absently flicked her ears at the sound of a young voice echoing through the warren, but then suddenly went alert when she realized he was calling her name. No one ever called for her! She threw wood on the fire to build it up to light the fairly barren room, then shoved the tea kettle onto the coals, nearly spilling it in her haste, then hurried to poke her head out of the entrance to the two connected caves her mother claimed for herself. "Yes! Hello! I'm Zeejay!" she called out and waved to the figure calling out to her. "I mean, please come in and make yourself comfortable."

He grinned, and his tail went ‘swish swish’ behind him in happy strokes as a wolf answered his call. He turned to the doorway and found the pale wolf there. ”I’m Wylan!” he said as she confirmed her name, and trotted over. Heading into the cave as she directed. Despite being older than him, she was small.

“My Grandfather said you were interested in herbs, so I brought some that I’ve collected. Did you want to see them?” he asked as his polar bear companion trotted in behind him. His mothers bag over his large pale shoulders. He gently scooped it back off the bear, and tipped the contents on the ground before waiting for a reply. Too excited to show her the things he had found. As well as herbs, there were also dried flowers scattered among his things.

"Speech"

The younger boy quickly joined her in the den, offering his own name as well as an explanation for him seeking her out. Frankly, she would have been just as happy if he'd sought her out for any reason at all, just for the pleasure of someone actually wanting to see her around, but as he explained and then spilled out the herbs her eyes brightened even more with interest and excitement. She'd chosen healing only because it was really the only choice, but it was really interesting too. "Oh wow, that's great! You're training to be a healer?" He seemed so young from her lofty age of a year old, but Zeejay wasn't one to hold that against anyone, not when she herself was most often mistaken for a pup his age or younger. "Do you know what they are? Wait - your grandpa? Who's your grandpa? Wait -" She looked more closely at the other boy and blinked. Oh, of course! "Oh! You're a Fatalis, aren't you? That means we're cousins!" Probably cousins, anyway.

He nodded his head vigorously at her question. “My mumma’s a healer too. Her whole den is filled with healer stuff. Most of these are from her garden.” He explained, scooting around his herbs to sit closer to the smaller Fatalis. He picked out a flower at random, and held it up to her. “For you, if you want?” He suggested, moving to tuck it behind her ear if she allowed him to.

“Grandpa Seer!” He explained as she asked about his grandpa. “He’s like, the oldest wolf in the whole world”He confided in her. Certainly the oldest wolf he knew. But then anyone over the age of two was ancient to him. “I am a Fatalis, just like you!” He agreed ” I think my dad and your mum are brother and sister.”


"Speech"

Zeejay was surprised when Wylan went to put a flower behind her ear, but she caught herself from flinching and held herself still instead. Even with as much younger as he was, she didn't need to duck her head at all for him to reach. So his dad was one of her mom's brothers? Well, there were only two brothers that was likely to be, and with the wings it really narrowed it down... though she did know that Azure's litter was older, so it was definitely Mortis who was his dad anyway. Having figured that out, she quickly moved on to more important things. "So do you know what that flower is?" she asked about the flower he'd tucked behind her ear, excited at this new source of information her grandfather had provided her. Since his mom grew all the flowers, he'd probably grown up learning them all, right? Just like she and her siblings knew where all the inside parts of an animal were because they'd grown up around her mom. "Maybe I should grow a garden," she added wistfully. Then she'd always have herbs around to use and look at. The rattle of the water boiling in the tea pot caught her attention and made her jump. Oh, right! "Can I offer you some tea?"

“Yes!” He agreed eagerly, grinning at his new friend. “This is Alfalfa. Mumma says it's good for arth-ritis.” He explained, which was apparently something old wolves got. Maybe he should give some to Grandpa, too. Mostly he just thought it was pretty.

“You should! Maybe we can grow it together?” He suggested eagerly. Perhaps they’d be able to plant different things in it, and watch them grow together. As the tea rattled, he leaned a little closer and sniffed curiously. His mother loved to make teas as well, did he recognise the scent of this one? “Yes please” He agreed, tail swishing happily behind him.


"Speech"