((Sorry it's so short!))

The pup’s steadily growing legs took her on a swift dash to Amor Glade. She had been told the evening before that today was her first day as an apprentice healer, and yet she was running on the edge of being late. On her very first lesson! How unusual. By nature, Athena was a very punctual wolf, but last night she had been filled with so much excitement and anticipation that she had stayed up way past midnight, and unconsciously slept in a bit.

Breathlessly she galloped at full speed down the winding path to the beautiful flower field that was to be her meeting place with her new mentor, Lead Healer Creek. What an honor it was to be trained by the best in the pack! Looking up to check the position of the sun, relief flooded the young fae. Her fast running had put her back on track, time-wise. Controlling her breathing, Athena padded through the brush at a brisk trot. Upon reaching the mixed sea of herbs and various flowers, she smiled and called out, "I’m here, Lead Healer Creek!” The light fae smoothed out her pelt in a small series of licks, cleaning out the leaves and other bits of foliage she had acquired on her rush to class since she did not want to look scruffy on her first day.

Laying lazily in the sun Creek let the sweet aroma of wild flowers captivate her mind. Today was the first day her new apprentice Athena would join her and the healer's mind was filled with ideas and hopes for the young fae. It was an extreme honor for her to be training the kin of the Alpha's and Creek hoped she would be able to please them. Cracking an eye open the cream fae peered around, noticing her new pulpil was slightly late. Growing a bit concerned Creek rolled into a perched position and looked around, seeing a bouncing figure in the distance. A smile played over her face as the pure image of youth and innocence came into view, ah to be young again.

Pulling her body into a standing position Creek smiled more as Athena came into view, pausing to straiten her fur. Hearing her call Creek cleared her throat, knowing the short distance would allow her voice to carry. "Hello miss Athena, nice to see you out and about. Are you ready for your first lesson?" She asked, now walking closer to her. "I thought we could take a walk around this field and look for some of the common plants that we use for healing here." She suggested, grinning down at the eager fae.

Athena quietly sighed in relief to see that Creek was not angry with her timing, but instead wore a smile on her face. She nodded excitedly to her mentor at the question. Of course she was ready! She was born for this, or so she believed. Her bright gaze darted around the meadow, searching for a plant she knew to be an herb. At once, she located a golden flower surrounded by a patch of grass. Trotting ahead of Creek, she sat down beside it and pointed to it with her wet little nose while looking sideways at Creek. “Alright. What’s this one then?” She looked up and spotted a green plant, gesturing to it with her paw, “And that one?” Athena’s attention snapped back to the pure fae, bursting with excitement, “And how do we use them? What’s it like to heal? Do other wolves look up to us because we help them feel better? My brother says I’ll be a weak little botanist while he’s going to grow up to be a big, strong brute, but I don’t think so. I’ll be the greatest healer yet, I just know it. I’ll just try my best and work for it. Do all herbs taste that bad? Is there anything that we can do without using herbs?” Question after question spilled out of the young fae like water out of a fountain. She knew that the Lead Healer had a lake of knowledge, and she wanted to sponge up every last drop.

Only then did it occur to Athena that she might’ve been obnoxious, and annoying her new mentor was not something she wanted to do. Lowering her slowly darkening head, she apologized, “Sorry for that.” She could get carried away sometimes, and she knew it. Raising herself to an upright position, she continued in a more professional sounding tone, despite her voice still being so youthful, “Why don’t you show me some things now, and I’ll follow, Lead Healer Creek.” Athena prepared to follow her mentor into her first training session, now actually being led by the one mentoring.

Excitement and eagerness flowed from the young fae just as her multitude of questions did. Almost overwhelmed by them all Creek simply sat down and bit back a chuckle. Not feeling overburdened by the questions, but instead glad for her enthusiasm the healer listened with intent until Athena grew silent. "I appreciate your willingness to learn young one, but we must take this slowly. I Shall answer your questions, don't be afraid to ask, and then we shall begin with an easy lesson." Creek said warmly, touching the tip of her tail to Athena's shoulder with affection. "The yellow flower is called goldenrod and we use it for healing wounds. The green plant there is called coltsfoot and we use it to help with breathing. What's it like to heal? That's hard to say, to me its an adrenaline rush of doing something not many can do. To see a sick wolf and know that we can help them and heal them gives us a warm feeling that makes us feel important." Creek said, thinking back to the first time she ever healed a wolf.

"Well your brother might be destined for a path of hunting or fighting, but that doesn't mean what you shall do is weak. Think about it, he might be able to inflict pain and damage, but you shall have the power of fixing it with knowledge and insight, something he couldn't do." Creek's eyes filled with a determination that she hoped filled Athena, for she too felt the same ridicule the pup did when she started out. "Taste? Well sometimes we can add honey or nectar to bad tasting herbs, but mostly they taste bitter to some degree, that because there are healing powers in them and aren't normally meant for eating. As for not using herbs, Ive heard of wolves going into deep swamps and laying in the mud for days at a time to help draw out snake venom, but not much besides that." Creek finished, glad that list of questions was done.

"Now for your first lesson. This is what my mother taught me when I was your age and it will be the cornerstone of all you learn from now on." Creek started, now bending over to draw three circles in the dirt that overlapped slightly. "This first circles represents fire, this one water and the last air. The place they overlap in called ground. Most wounds and ailments can be put in these categories and the same is said for plants that affect them. Under fire we would put burns, fevers, rashes, stings and bites. Under water we'd put bleeding, stomach problems and throat problems. Wind represents breathing issues and colds. Earth is broken bones, strength, pain and sleep problems." Creek said, going slow so the lesson would sink in. "All of these categories have one of two herbs that can affect those ailments, with a few exceptions. Today we will learn about the ailments under the Earth section. A common herbs for pain is called dock, which is also used to help those with broken bones. For sleep we use poppyseeds or thyme to help relax wolves. For strength we would use shitake mushrooms, for they help wary wolves regains themselves after a bout of disease. Now we shall find these four plants and they shall go in the earth section." Creek finished, now rising to her feet to signal Athena to follow her.

Athena watched and listened in awe as Creek took the time to go through each question and answer it separately. The young fae quickly took note of the herbs mentioned, as she was sure that they would be useful to recognize soon. But the motivation that flooded her and soaked her to the bone was astounding. She would show her brothers. She would show everyone how important and valuable healers were! That was certain. Her ears pricked as her mentor began the official lesson. Focusing with all of her being, she watched the older fae draw a Venn Diagram on the soft earth. She studied the image and listened to every word that the Healer said, trying to memorize it now. ‘Fire, Water, Air, and Ground. Burns and fevers, stings and bites, all go under fire since they make you burn bright. Bleeding, stomach, and throat, all go to the boat. Wind causes coughs and wheezes, as well as breathing like geezers. Strength, pain, fatigue, and fractures all fit in the element of the crossing circles.’ She tried to memorize bits in a rhythmical way, though not proper rhymes. However, it was hard to think of something for ever fact, and she was still listening to the lecture. Healing poetry would just have to wait.

Creek continued with giving descriptions of the uses of herbs, and the pup fought to remember it all. For now, it seemed to be lightly etched into her growing mind and with time and repetitive practice, it would be carved there permanently. Raising herself with her mentor, she followed the white wolf, her amber gaze scouting the surrounding plants. A familiar green fern with small, lightly-rimmed leaves came into focus a little to her left, and she trotted towards it. Under closer inspection, Athena was almost sure it was thyme. She raised her head away from the herb and called to Creek, “Hey, I think I found some thyme!” Her tail lashed happily from side to side while her cream chest puffed out proudly. One of the lesser healers had been carrying back some to the medicine wolves’ den once, and she had asked what it was. Athena had been a small pup in the Caretaker’s den then, but her memory was quite remarkable.

At first Creek was concerned that Athena would have trouble with her lesson, but as she listened it was clear that her young student was taking it all in. Rising to her feet the pair set off and it wasn't long before the pup found thyme growing nearby. Impressed by her knowledge of herbs Creek walked over to her and smiled. "Very good Athena, that is indeed thyme. As I said we use that to help promote sleep or calm nervous wolves. To use it we mash it slightly to release the healing juices and place it on a leaf to put on a wolves' nose. After some time the wolf inhales enough to feel the effects. We tend to use it fresh, but after drying it will work as well, though we use more." She said, proudly staring at her apprentice.

"Now we shall find dock. Its a tall broad leafed plant with big thick leaves. It liked to grow in shady areas and has a bitter scent. See if you can find it." She said standing up again to search out the plant.

Athena filed away the new information about thyme in her mind and thought about her next herb. ‘Shady areas, huh?' she thought as she reared up to get a better view. There was a big thicket of large bushes that seemed to create a shady ring. Landing back down on four paws, the young apprentice closed her eyes and focused her senses to try to scent the plants in the air. Indeed, from that direction, the faint tang of a bitter plant wafted into her nostrils. Raising her tail high so that her mentor would not lose her, she trotted off to track her find.

When she reached the bushes, Athena squeezed under their prickly branches to enter the dark enclosure. A gasp escaped her mouth. Large plants towered over her, reaching just below the top edges of the bushes. Their leaves and bitter smell filled the air. Locating a smaller specimen, she snapped the stem and scrambled back under the gorse to show Creek. “Creek!” she cheered excitedly through the strong stem of the herb, “You wouldn’t believe what’s in there! They’re HUGE! I mean, they were taller than me and had big, broad leaves, just like you said!”

ooc-Time skip

bic-Time passed into the colder months and young Athena's knowledge as well as her body grew more everyday. Creek had recently taken ill from a cough and the young apprentice cared for her while studying in her spare time. When Creek was well enough to return to work it amazed her how much the yearling had learned on her own. Pride beamed in her eyes watching Athena prepare poultices and get herbs without much word from herself. Harder challenges were in store for her, though. One cold day Creek had brought the yearling out for a new test, one more difficult than before. In the snowy landscape finding herbs proved difficult, and storing them was a skill that needed to be learned quickly. Barking to Athena Creek sat down by a fallen log and motioned for her to come close. "Now young one I shall teach you about preserving partially frozen herbs that you may find in winter. They are commonly found under cover of a fallen trees or under layers of leaves. When you find them, try not to disturb the roots as you dig them from the ground. Also try to breath warm air on them, or the sudden blast of cold will kill them instantly. Try with these."

She said as she motioned under the log at some dock. "You will have to work fast to retrieve it and wrap it in moss before it feels the cold, or it will turn black in to days and be unusable."

When Creek had fallen ill, Athena had seen it as the perfect opportunity to begin private fieldwork. She had looked forward to proving herself capable of working on her own if needed, and so far, it seemed to have worked. Mastery of simple poultices and decent results with the harder mixes seemed to surprise her mentor. In between kneading and chewing plants, Athena had noticed flashes of what seemed to be pride in her mentor’s eyes. Though she did not show it, the young fae was secretly satisfied. But this came not only from her academic success, but also with her own growth. What was once a pure pelt had darkened in places, her legs grew longer, and she gained muscular weight. Yearling-it sounded so much better than pup. No one could simply pick her up and move her, nor could they look down at her, at least not to the extent that they used to. Athena was quite excited when Creek had announced that they would have another lesson today, and happily fluffed up her winter coat as they headed out into the field.

Though her paws tingled in the cold snow, she paid attention to each of Creek’s words. Then, when the older, paler fae was finished, her brown gaze darted to the dock. She crouched against the ground, her back to the wind to protect the precious plant. The apprentice looked at it for a split second, rapidly formulating a plan, before she dug her claws into the frozen ground around the dock, pushing up to loosen the dirt around the roots without breaking anything. She repeated this action several times while she kept her mouth open, breathing heavy, warm air onto the plant. Finally, she lifted the dock with her paws, only to realize one thing- she had no moss on paw.

Athena’s eyes darted around desperately, but all she saw was an endless field of snow and a log in proximity. It took a moment, her breath billowing around the plant in thought, but she finally realized the importance of the log. The apprentice transferred the plant onto one paw and held it lightly against her warm chest, while trying to scrape barely living moss off of the underside of the log, then warm it with her breath as well. Finally with a decent wrapping, she stretched out a hind leg, put the plant on her inner haunch, and wrapped it well in decently malleable moss. Finished, Athena looked to Creek in a tentative way, wondering if she did it right.

Creek watched her young apprentice work, noting her triumphs and flaws. She had grown so much under her training that it astounded Creek. The young fae before her was nearly full grown and so full of promise she made her prouder each day. Still without perfection Creek pushed her harder each day, driving her forward until she was sure the right thing had been done. Watching her do this exercise nearly made Creek chuckle. It was a hard task to gathering drying herbs in winter, but very important. To not be perfect at this could mean that the herbs would die sooner and not be able to be used, this couldn't happen. Athena had done well, but some of the leaves had been bruised by her jaws or felt too much cold air, she would need to repeat the task.

"You did good for your first time Athena, but I'm afraid you bruised a few leaves and chilled a few others too long. Most of this can be used, but not all of it. Next time have the moss at the ready so you can work faster. Want to try again?" She asked, hoping not to offend her apprentice. Creek had been trying to be tougher on her and not sugar coat things like she did when she was a pup. It was important for her growth to accept criticism and failure, for accidents and mistakes made her learn.

Athena listened to her mentor, accepting the critique and also adding her own. ‘Idiot. Keep your moss on paw! How will you ever become what you aspire to be when your mistakes as brainless as a hare's?’ But she met Creek’s gaze determinedly and nodded, “Yes, ma’am. I will do better this time, forgive me,” she said calmly and nodded before rising to her paws and stepping back over to the log. She started harvesting dry moss and heating it with her breath beforehand, being careful not to dampen it. Now with her supplies near, she began her work immediately. The wind had changed directions and now blew favorably against the other side of the log, but her body still guarded the precious plants from frost. With careful claws she removed the dock from the semi-frozen ground and smoothly transferred it into the moss. As gentle as with a newborn pup, she wrapped it and continued to warm it with her hot, sweet breath. Movements fluid, she proceeded with little hesitation, focused on her work and noting her past mistakes. When Athena deemed the task complete, she looked to her snowy mentor, asking quietly, “Now, is that any better?”

Approving eyes and a smile met the small healer's gaze of determination. Pride overcame Creek as Athena did the tasks now perfectly. "Excellent Athena, that's just how it should be done, I couldn't have done it any better myself. These herbs will be safe to use now." She said noting which herbs were still left to be gathered. "Now to finish our lesson today I want to give you a challenge. I'm a wolf with cracked pads that were bleeding and sore from days of travel. I want you to think of a way to help my feet and perform it here." She said the dropped to the ground.

Her demeanor changed and the proud healer suddenly turned into a sniveling whining wolf. "Owwey my poor little pawsies hurt sooo. Please Healer Athena make them better" She whined rolling on her back and whimpering. Almost bringing herself to laugh at her actions the cream fae waited to see what Athena would do.

Athena rolled her eyes for a moment, a small smile creeping along her face, as she watched her mentor play the victim. She looked a little pathetic, but the young fae quietly nuzzled her soft, creamy neck fur momentarily before looking to the paws. Checking all four of them with a studious gaze, she pretended only the forepaws were hurt as to avoid wasting herbs, which she was going to do anyway if she wanted to pass the challenge. Licking and cleaning the snow-covered pads, as well as warming them with her breath, she prepared the rough skin for the treatment it ‘needed.’ The tawny fae looked at the herbs and sighed, then went to gently harvest from the last bit of the dock. Not wasting any time, she chewed the usable portion into a creamy paste. Then, after warming and soothing the pads one last time, she softly coated the scratched and cracked paws with dock. Upon finishing, she looked at the smooth application and pulled out some moss, “I’d rather you stay off your paws, but you’ve got to get back to the den somehow.” With that, Athena stretched out the moss into a small, web-like fabric, patching it onto the paws in layers to protect the mixture, “That and I don’t have anything else near me, but with the paste, the moss would be easy to remove.” Athena quickly stepped over to check on her personally packaged dock to see that it was alright, blowing one more warm breath on it before walking back to Creek and sitting down, awaiting the results with pricked ears but a calm, neutral expression.

Creek enjoyed playing a patient for Athena to work on. Sometimes she was a difficult pup with splinters, yowling and carrying about. Another time she played a savage loner who nearly attacked Athena, but each time the young fae handled herself quite well. In today's lesson it was about using what you ha don hand. Dock was certainly available as was moss, but Creek wanted to try and get Athena to realize that in spring sap runs in the trees, and sap was very useful in this situation. Not wanting to give away the answer Creek remained quiet wondering if it would come to her. Standing up Creek took a few steps as if to walk home, but the moss quickly fell off. Not wanting to waste herbs she flopped on her back with her paws in the air to try and preserve it.

"Oh if only there was something sticky around to glue to my feet, they are so owie!!!!" She yowled wondering if Athena got the hint. Clenching her blue eyes shut she pretended to shake in pain and add in a few whimpers for good measure, my what a babyish patient she made. Athena's training was progressing well, she had made great progress and Creek felt confident of ending her training soon. Her and Eclipse had started to discuss having a family soon, perhaps that would be a good chance for her to practice on her own, for if Creek were to get pregnant she would need Athena to take over for the time being, perhaps even help her if needed.