Rudeneja

The sun is high in the sky, but inside the den it is cool and smells of herbs. Dandelion is stored in cracks in the rock while charcoal sits in a log on the other side. With light paws a batch of winterfat is gently folded into a leaf to be stored. The wolf storing the herbs is russet colored, with a white muzzle and light colored paws, like sand. Her gray eyes are focused and deep in thought and she twines a leaf stem around the pack of winterfat. The wolves name is Rudeneja. Rudeneja is the word for the feeling in the air as autumn arrives.

The air feels suddenly warmer and Rudeneja turns to see her mentor, Owl, the packs herbalist. He gives her a smile and licks her ears to show his appreciation for her hard work. She shows great promise for the future of the pack, being very into herbs and healing since she arrived to the Fallen Valley pack.

- Arrived to the pack when she was only a couple months old with her friend Conifer. They were brought in with open paws due to their young age.

- She is more on the quiet side when meeting new wolves, but will quickly warm up to them and talk for hours on end, a big grin on her face, as she explains all the herb remedies she knows.

- Is a bright light in the pack, and always makes the other wolves sure the other wolves are cared for.

- She spends a lot of her time talking with the older wolves, entertaining them with her contagious excitement.

- Hates when others are unkind or sad and goes out of her way to cheer them up.

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"There you go, snug and cozy." Rudeneja tucked the leaf wrap into the hole in the log with her nose. She pulled away and admired her handy work. I should really go double check what herbs grow here, maybe I'll do that on my next scout. She turned her head around as the bushes surrounding the herbalists den swished. In came Owl, the packs current herbalist; he was also Rudeneja's mentor. He looked at her with a kind, worn face. She could see the age slowly creeping into his eyes, the corners of his mouth, his muzzle. She returned a smile.

"Hello there, how does everything look?" Rudeneja asked, glancing back to the log that held bundles upon bundles of leaf wrapped herbs.

"It looks lovely, very nice work." He replied. Owl walked towards the back of the den and flopped down on to a nest, curling his tail over his nose.

"Are you feeling okay?" Rudeneja questioned, she knew that age was taking it's toll on her friend, but seeing him give in to it was scary. Owl glanced up at her with tired eyes, however, letting a small smile play on his face.

"I am feeling just fine, besides the old age creeping up on me like a cougar hunting a lone pup, I am just fine." He breathed.

"Are you sure? Does anything hurt?" Rudeneja walked over to his side and started sniffing his flanks, letting worry seep into her voice. Owl lifted up his head and batted her face away with a paw.

"Get your face away, I'm fine!" He chuckled. "Here, you go out and look around the main den, it'll do you some good instead of being stuck in this stuffy place worrying over me all day." Owl returned his nose under his tail and closed his eyes. Realizing that the conversation was over, Rudeneja turned and walked out of the leafy shelter.

She breathed in the outside air. The sound of the pups playing filled the air and she could hear the adolescents being told about scouting adventures by Pine. She trotted over to where her friend Conifer was lecturing another group of adolescents about how to stay downwind of prey. She arrived at the end of the conversation.

"-want to go upwind, because the prey will smell you. You can check the direction of the wind by smelling the air, feeling it in your fur, or, well however you'd like." Conifer looked up and met eyes with Rudeneja. He looked down at the adolescents and spoke quickly, then walked with his tail high through the crowd to meet her.

"Great ending you did there," Rudeneja said with a small laugh. Conifer smiled and rolled his eyes, walking by her side as they went to the far side of the den. 

"I tried my best! They just kept squirming and I got REALLY bored." Conifer said with a grin. Rudeneja laughed as they found a place under the shade of some spindly pines. Conifer found an old bone beneath the tree and went to work gnawing at it.

"How's the herbalists life? You stink of herbs." Conifer observed with a crack from the bone.

"It's going okay! I absolutely loved it. I only wish that I could be a full time herbalist instead of a scout too. Did I tell you that I spend most of my time scouting looking for the places where herbs are most likely to grow?" 

Conifer threw his head back and laughed again. "So that's why you get so little done!" He squinted his eyes at her, full of laughter and joy. It's nice to be able to relax from time to time, just like when we were pups. Rudeneja let her mind wander. Conifer was her fourth or fifth cousin (she couldn't remember) but seemed almost like a brother to her. They had arrived at the pack when they were young puppies after their first pack had gotten scattered and lost in an invasion by rival wolves. Ever since they'd "stick together like honey and bears," according to the rest of the pack.

"I do not!" Rudeneja snapped at him. Conifer brought up a paw in defense. "I get plenty done! For example, I can name every herb here so far." Rudeneja held her head high and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh really? Do it." Conifer teased. She knew that he didn't know a single herb that could be found here, but she'd humor him anyway.

"Fine. Arnica, boneset, buffaloberry, burning bush, cedar bark, charcoal, dandelion, feverfew, garlic, ginger, mullein, oregano, St. john's wort, tansy, tobacco, winterfat, and yarrow. Take that!" Rudeneja shouted, earing a few annoyed look from wolves in the area.

"You're wrong, feverfew isn't found here." Conifer said matter-of-factly, keeping his eyes on his bone.

"It isn't? But- wait, you're messing with me!" Rudeneja leapt up and was just to slow to get to tackling her cousin. Conifer bolted up, sending his chewed bone toppling, and ran into the woods behind the den. Rudeneja raced after him. Goodness did it feel so great to run. She hadn't done this so care free since she was a puppy!

She chased after her cousin, his multicolored tail flicked and flashing between the trees and bushes as they dove deeper out of the prairie and into the deciduous forest. Her paws thrummed the now mossy ground and twigs caught the fur on her face. The wind came in streams and it felt like she was flying. This is so great!

Rudeneja slowed down as she spotted Conifer waiting for her at a sheer drop on top of a hill. She came over as he dropped down onto his side and rolled over onto his back. She dropped by his side and panted.

"That was amazing! I haven't run like that in so long." Rudeneja spoke in between pants, her tongue lolling out to one side. 

"You're getting old plant collector, you need to get out more." Conifer gave a sly grin.

"I know, I know, very funny."

Rudeneja looked through the woods over the slope and sighed. Things would be well in this new territory of theirs. She looked over at Conifer and smiled. As long as I have family with me, I'll be okay.