Wolves Bane

Summoning the Voice of Healing

 Once we walked out of Hayden's humble abode, I quickly changed back into my wolf form. Hayden looked up at me, I lowered my head and closed my emerald eyes. I felt his clawed hand be placed on my nose extremely gently. He then understood that I'll never hurt him like that again. I then lowered myself, allowing him, Oliver and Greta, although she wasn't much in on it, hitch a ride on my back.

"I'm not sure Hayden...can we really trust Ulf? Let alone the others?"

"It will be fine Greta, do trust my judgment. If my judgment is wrong, I'll let you do whatever you wish upon the surface."

Greta then huffed and took his hand, climbing up upon my back. I made sure everyone was settled before I started making my way to where my brothers once held me captive. Strangely, Véttr was nowhere to be found. The stars he made lingered but were beginning to dim. I laid down and allowed Hayden, Greta and Oliver down.

"Stay here, I need to gather the others for council. Including Soarin."

Hayden didn't look too happy when he heard Soarin's name. I know Soarin will try to fight me on this matter but she must listen to reason rather than blindly casting judgment from past deeds.I lowered my head down to Hayden's level and smiled. I needed him to trust me.

"I trust you, my friend. Go and find your brothers and Soarin, we shall hold council upon the matter of what to do about this creature."

I nodded and went off, first informing Soarin and then finding my brothers. I know she won't take this well but she must be there since she was the voice of healing. I ran out of the cave and made my way to the base of her mountain. I lifted one paw and the mountain lifted to support and allowed me to easily scale up the mountain. The closer I got, the smell of rosemary got stronger in the air.

"Soarin!"

I called out to the great healer, but there was no answer. Was she even home? I poked my head over the edge and looked around, the fire was still burning but it was dying slowly. She must've left at noon. I hope she is not looking for Hayden to cause harm. I know she holds a grudge against him and will probably do anything to get her claws on him and rip him to shreds. I looked around more to see if she left a sign or anything as a clue to where she could've gone. That's when something caught my eye. I walked over and lowered my head, examining the root.

"Ginger?"

I then realized where she was headed. My garden. I smiled to myself, knowing that she still used the crops from my garden to help heal others. Then when a scent suddenly hit my nose. The smell of baked apples with a hint of something sweet. I walked over to the pot and saw where the sweet scent came from. There was a beautiful amber and lightly brownish goop. I lowered a claw into it and saw that it was a little thick but made beautiful ribbons as it drizzled down from my claw. I lifted my claw to my mouth and licked away the thick creation. My ears twitched as the creation was smooth like cream, thick like roasted butternut squash soup but was sweet like candy!

"This...stuff...is like candy but something about it is comforting."

That's when my right ear twitched when I heard something flying above. I turned my attention to the sound and saw Soarin flying in clutching some herbs and ginger. I then sat down and watched as she gracefully glided down. Her lion paws touched the ground first then her free eagle land then touched the ground. Tucking her wings, she looked at me and bowed, giggling.

"Greetings Ulf, here for Henrietta? Are you here to satisfy your sweet tooth with my caramel?"

"Caramel?"

"That's what's in the cauldron. I'm guessing you tried it?"

"Guilty. But no, that's not what I'm here for."

"Then, what are you here for? Henrietta?"

"No, I need you for council."

"Council? We haven't held a council since...well I'm sure you're aware."

She turned her back and placed the ginger and other herbs on a wooden table. She sat down and wrapped her feathered tail around her almost like a barrier. Her black talons started peeling and slicing the ginger. I sighed and watched her, knowing full well that she'd be very angry over this.

"Who is the council for?"

"There is a creature ruining the ground below. We are holding a council to hear Hayden's plan."

Soarin paused and her white coat started fading to black and the soft pink hues on her wings faded to blood red. I heard her start to growl as her talons dug into the wood. She then whipped around to face me with fury in her eyes.

"HE IS STILL ALIVE!"

"Soarin please, he can help us get rid of this creature. If he betrays us, I'll let you take the first swing at him. But please, listen to me."

She then sighed as her colors faded back in. she pressed her face into my chest and nuzzled into me. I lowered my head and nuzzled my muzzle against her. I cared deeply for her, more than anything this world could offer. I pulled away and looked into her eyes.

"Will you attend council as the voice of healing?"

"I will hear him out, but that does not mean I will trust him."

"I understand, your trust is hard to earn. But I do see where you stand when it comes to Hayden. I know what happened between you both and I understand why."

She sighed and went back to work. She started cutting up the herbs and dumped them into a mortar. She ditched the ginger and dumped that in with the herbs. Grabbing the pestle she started mashing and mixing.

"I shall see you in the council hall. I won't be long."