thyme is of the essence

The early morning sunlight dripped down between the crimson and flaxen maple leaves, creating pools of honey in the rainwater collected in the curves of the earth. A faint, opaque mist hung in the air, creating an ethereal feel that should have been a marvel to behold. Arthur yawned tiredly. He had been up all night, reading by firefly-light within his small, makeshift den. It wasn't much, and it even leaked during the rainy nights (like last night), but it was cozy and enough for him. He set up a small collection of water and put tall, fresh grasses near the entrance-- enough to lure wayward fireflies into his little dorm, especially during a rainy night. Together, their tiny little glowing bodies created enough glittering light to fill the hovel. He enjoyed the contrast of their warm light against the cool blue storm. The young man yawned again, blinking rapidly to try and force wakefulness into his heavy eyes. He had agreed to go hunting for herbs with one of his classmates, Leilani, but had put off researching the herb until the night before. It wasn't that he wasn't invested in the cause-- healing was important to the College, and even important to his political leanings-- but he felt his time was better spent with his own studies. This, of course, made him feel vaguely guilty-- so he stayed up the entire night reading about thyme, where to find it, and it's uses and storage. He hoped he retained the information and didn't look like an utter fool in front of his younger classmate. He was supposed to be a role model, wasn't he? He sighed, sitting down and hanging his head briefly, stifling yet another yawn. He lifted his pale muzzle when he thought he heard paw-steps approaching. "Good morning, are you ready?" he greeted, starting to stand again.

@Leilani

LEILANI SARCOVA Leilani was ready to begin today's activities, already awake before the first rays of the sun poked through the horizon, she was always like this. And morning dove others often called her, and that was okay, she didn't saw any ill with that alias others often gave her. She was taught to be awake early for making the day more productive by having more time to do her stuff without rushing later. And today she would go into a big quest along with a fellow classmate, someone she didn't know that well, only his name. Arthur it was, and she didn't know things would go but all she had to do was having trust in him and on herself, and have the faith that they would make it. Last night she prepared as well, ready all she could about the herbs they were trying to collect this morning. And it mattered little for her that she stayed out late in order to do that. But either way, she stood up from the door of her house, looking at the still dark heavens, but slowly the sun now started to rise and it marked the start of her day. Smiling and breathing deep she started her walk toward the place both Arthur and her agreed to meet for their small trip. Small shouldn't be the word to describe the length of the journey but until they didn't finish she wouldn't be able to know. She arrived and the older student greeted her. "Yes I am ready, ready whenever you are!" She said smiling as with patience she waited. She was both excited and a bit nervous, but she didn't show those emotions on her face, which reflected serenity instead. She walks. | "She talks." | She thinks. | OC- @Arthur

Wolf stock by Kati.H , background form Unsplash

@Arthur

She emerged from the thick underbrush, and a gentle golden halo settled around her earthen pelt as the early sun caressed her figure. Arthur turned to greet and face her. "Yes I am ready, ready whenever you are!" she smiled brightly. More ready than he seemed to be, he reflected to himself. If she had stayed up late (or all night) as he had, it was not apparent on her kind, sandy face, or in her glowing green eyes. Her grin was infectious, and Arthur offered a small (yet still exhausted-looking) smile in return. In class, the girl always seemed eager to learn and answer questions, and while Arthur didn't know her well, he guessed she would be a good partner for this endeavor. Perhaps they would even finish early and he would be able to take a nap. At the thought of a nap, he had to stifle another yawn. "Perfect," he responded. "I was thinking we could focus on finding some thyme, since we're heading into winter and I'm sure there'll be an influx of cough and sickness." he suggested. "Though I think we'll have to go to the hills of Edinburgh to find it... we could try and find some sweet woodruff, which should grow well in the forest, but might not be as useful..." his voice trailed and his grin turned momentarily sheepish. He was being indecisive, and he rambling. "What do you think?" he offered, letting her choose. His original plan had been to find thyme, but the trek to the hills seemed daunting now as he stood upon his tired limbs. But if she thought that'd be more useful, he wouldn't complain.

@Leilani

LEILANI SARCOVA She patiently waited for him to set the start of their trip for herbs, and as always she didn't like to rush others, she was gifted with a good level of patience with everything. She could be dying inside to do something she really wanted, but yet she wouldn't desperate nor put pressure on someone involved it, the best things were made through time, rush and lack of patience could easily ruin everything and thus she preferred to wait and have things done well. She knew him little, enough to just know his name and in what class he was, but other than in this moment she hasn't had the chance to exchange dialogues with him. He always seemed serious and distant, but who was she to judge? No one and she wouldn't complain as she had her own stuff others considered weird. Like her nerd-like attitude, or when she was awake too early for a wolf of her age. She took a detailed but quick look on his face, but even if it was very subtle he seemed tired, but not wishing to offend even if she was dying to be as honest as she could be, she managed to draw the urge to ask why he was this tired, so, for now, she kept the question to herself and instead focused on what he wished to say. After he spoke about the potential plans for their expedition she took her time (hopefully not too much) to reflect on that. "We could look for both? Maybe someone else could be needing the Sweet woodruff. I don't mind just collecting Thyme, but i thought we could help someone on the way." But ultimately it was his choice as he was older, and in her eyes more experienced and in charge of this foray. She walks. | "She talks." | She thinks. | OC- @Arthur

Wolf stock by Kati.H , background form Unsplash

He offered her the options, and she did not respond right away. The young man blinked, lips parting as he wondered if he should make the decision for her-- but it seemed she was truly just mulling over the options, for she spoke in the next moment. "We could look for both? Maybe someone else could be needing the Sweet woodruff. I don't mind just collecting Thyme, but i thought we could help someone on the way." She wasn't wrong. There was no doubt that someone would use any herbs they brought back. But finding both would likely take a good part of the day, if not the entire day. Those words sat on his tongue, but as he looked down at her he found he couldn't say that finding both would be too much. After all, that was more his fault than her own -- she was right, in her good nature-- and he was wrong, in his fatigue. Instead of speaking against the plan, he offered a brief smile and a dip of his head. "That's true. Let's start with the Woodruff here, that way we can drop it off at the Arboretum stores before heading out for the Thyme." he said, giving a good shake of his pelt before motioning the direction they would be heading. "There's a small, thick copse a little ways down this path-- Sweet Woodruff loves to grow in the shade, with lots of leaves for fertilizer-- so hopefully we can find some there." he explained, setting off down the small trail. "So," he began as they started their little journey. "Do you have a focus of study yet?" he asked, side-glancing her, genuinely curious. She was still young, so it was possible that she was still exploring all of her options. Youth didn't necessarily mean not knowing, though-- Arthur knew what he would study from the moment he knew he would join the College, and it had only become more refined and focused the more he studied, and the bloodier the lands of Rionnach became. A gentle frown pulled at his lips at the thought-- the dissatisfaction among the people, the rebellion, his mother-- the young man flicked his ears dismissively, not allowing himself to go down that path of thought.

@Leilani