Today Mojito was spending time with one of his sons. Shochu was almost always chomping at the bit to go explore, might as well do it under the watchful eye of one of his fathers. Besides Mojito was eager to get some of the herbs he couldn't in Valta's lands. So he'd led Sochu past the hot springs back towards Tall Grass Plains, once Mojito's own home. "It's easy to get lost here." Mojito warned his son softly, leaning down to nose at the boy's head. "So stay close until we get a little further in." Mojito wanted to get closer to where the old abandoned shed would be, though he figured he'd let his son discover that by himself. As he walked he noted a few useful herbs, Lavender, good for calming others. Meadowsweet for joint pain. Several for inflammation. And importantly: Yarrow. Hana would mean that would be one herb they would need to make sure was always on hand. Luckily there was at least a source nearby. The ground was becoming more familiar, worn down by generations of paws even now. They would be close enough that the shed he'd once called home would be very close by and the grass had thinned enough he could keep an eye on a small pup exploring to his heart's content. "Okay, don't go too far and let me know if you find anything!" Mojito told Shochu, keeping an ear perked for activity from his son as he turned his attention to a clump of yarrow. Speech

Holy Heck, thanks Kat!

Shochu had been surprised when his papa had asked him if he wanted to come along on an herb collecting trip, but once his father had revealed they would be leaving Valta lands the boy more than happily accepted the opportunity. With a bounce in his step the boy trailed beside his papa, just a few pawsteps behind so he could make sure he was going the right way and not rushing off without him. Eager as he was to explore, Shochu was also smart enough to know that if he didn’t listen on this trip it would be very unlikely either of his fathers would bring him outside of the lands again. So being as good as he could, he kept close.

“I will, papa.” Approaching the grasses, and seeing how they were getting tall even for his father was impressive. His eyes widened, noticing that not only were the grasses tall, but it seemed like there were different kinds too. Long blades of various greens, and the ground soft and pleasant to walk on after a fairly recent rain. Spring had been mild, and the boy enjoyed the sunshine cascading down upon their backs as he looked around. Even for a place that was made up of so much grass, it was different than it was back home. There were even thin bits of grass with fuzzy ends of them! Shochu liked the look of those.

The grass seemed to thin out again, and Shochu was getting antsy as he kept looking around and flicking his gaze back to his papa. He wanted so badly to run ahead now, but he was holding back, a soft whine leaving his lips. Who knew what he could find here? Things hidden in the grass like treasure! His gaze lit up at the thought. And then his father gave him the go ahead.

Shochu darted off immediately, calling back to his papa as he bounded through the grass! “Okay!” At least he’d try not to go too far. There was still a lot of grass around and if he lost sight of his papa it might be hard to gauge just how far he was in. But that was a problem for later Shochu! Tail up and wagging, the boy moved his nose to the earth and sniffed at it. He could smell the plants among the grass his father would be gathering… and there was something else too. He lifted his head, sniffing again. A new scent…

"Speech," 'Thought.'