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Description
Featuring: Aneirin and Rhoda
Mentioning: Melark
Year 763 NA, Spring
Glenmore, Somewhere North

Aneirin
It felt like they’d been on the move non-stop the past few days, Melark had finally called for a longer rest for the small group. After his watch was done, Rin slept heavily for a few hours, waking groggily from half-formed nightmares. Luckily, everything still seemed calm and peaceful, everyone was in sight. Rising from his small nest, Rin stretched and made his way over to the small rivulet nearby for a drink. Raising his head, he noticed one of the does studying the plant life; realising he hadn’t really introduced himself, well they hadn’t exactly had time for long conversations, he made his way over to her.
“Hey there..uhh Rhoda, isn’t it? How is the journey treating you so far?” His still slightly sleepy head didn’t seem to want to make more than simple sentences, which placed him firmly in the ‘me stag, you doe, you small and weak, me big and strong’ category.
’You smooth talker, you’ he thought to himself, sighing ruefully.
“I apologise if I’m interrupting you, I just thought that perhaps it would be nice to get to know one another a bit better, seeing as we’re stuck in each others, possibly horrendous, company for the foreseeable future. I had also thought to ask a favour of you.”

Rhoda
The trek north had been grueling in more ways than one. Every day, the group pushed onwards as fast as they could go, hardly daring to stop. Physically, everyone was drained, particularly the heavily pregnant doe. And mentally, Rho was also exhausted. She felt… numb.
Her family had always been such a cornerstone of her world, and to suddenly be traveling amongst a group of strangers without any familiar faces had shaken her in her core. When the group stopped to rest, Rhoda had stayed silent and opted to catch what sleep she could. Each day fell into a pattern: run, refuel, rest, and run some more. She didn’t speak and she didn’t really interact with the others. Rhoda might as well have been travelling alone, she was so lost in her own head.
But today Melark had allowed them a longer rest than they’d had since leaving the herd. Rhoda woke from her customary short nap, and found that the others were still resting. Melark seemed to be on guard, ever watchful for pursuers and danger. Rho glanced at the sleeping fawnlings around her, and felt a stab of guilt in her gut. She really should try to get to know them. But for now, everyone was resting.
Rhoda wasn’t entirely sure what to do, so she decided to have a quick drink to wash out her sleep swollen tongue. While she sipped from the rivulet, Rhoda’s eyes came to focus on a stand of purple flowers close by that looked awfully familiar. It was a patch of foxglove! Rho felt some of her old self returning as she remembered what foxglove was useful for. And then a voice broke into her thoughts. Rhoda turned to see the other stag in their party.
“Oh, hello,” She replied awkwardly, “yes, I’m Rhoda... I don’t believe I caught your name, goodsir?”
The stag, a dark sooty bay, seemed like he was still half asleep. He shifted his weight and blinked slowly while he spoke.
“I don’t mind the interruption,” Rhoda murmured, looking down with a sheepish smile, “I was just thinking it would be good to get to know my traveling companions.” When the stag continued, she looked up at him with mild surprise. “W-what kind of favor?” She asked hesitantly.

Aneirin
Realising how creepy that had probably just come across, Rin mentally berated himself.
“Nothing major! I just..well I’ve realised I know next to nothing about our indigenous plant life. I know what’s good to eat, and the most dangerous things to avoid, but it strikes me as suddenly a lot more important that I learn more about these things.”
He gestured feebly at the patch of purple flowers, “I think they’re….bad? To eat? Foxhats?”
Stop talking, stop talking now
He sheepishly cleared his throat and raised his head to look the champagne doe in the eye with a nervous grin.
“See? Awful. Please help me, I need to be able to pull my weight around here in more ways than just..well, weight. Oh, and please, just call me Rin. I think we’ve left all semblance of ceremony behind us.”

Rhoda
“Oh, I suppose we have… in which case, you can call me Rhoda or Rho, whichever you prefer!” Rhoda answered, startled. Rin was painfully earnest, and Rhoda felt a part of herself warm in sympathy for another soul who found talking with strangers awkward.
It hadn’t truly dawned on her that leaving the herd behind meant they could also leave the conventions of the herd as well. An idea occurred to her. She let it stew in the back of her mind for a moment. Rho couldn’t resist the opportunity to talk about plants if her life depended on it.
“Regardless, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Rin. And as for your knowledge of plants, well I’d be happy to help expand it.” She offered him a smile in return for his anxious grin.
“Those purple flowers are actually ‘Foxglove’,” Rhoda corrected gently, “and while they are poisonous in large quantities, they can also be useful! A small portion, when eaten, will give you a boost of energy.”
Rhoda stepped over to the plant and carefully broke off a couple small pieces. She nosed some over to Rin so that he could take a closer look.
“I think that could be quite useful for all of us as we travel, don’t you? Although, I hesitate to offer it to the doe with fawn, just to be safe.” Rhoda glanced back at the still slumbering forms of the other does and the young fawn. She had some spearmint in her satchel of herbs from Glenmore, why hadn’t she thought to offer some to the doe?
”You’ve been acting silly, all lost in your own head. Rhoda chided herself, Now it is time to start making amends!
She looked back at the stag, Rin, with determination in her eyes. What she was about to ask would be turned down in less than a heartbeat back in the herd. But out here…
“Perhaps in exchange for learning about plants, you could help me learn how I can best defend myself?” Rhoda asked, a steely look coming into her eyes. “I’m not ignorant of the dangers of traveling, and you and Melark cannot be with all of us, all the time.” She took a deep breath and then lay her thoughts out bluntly, so there could be no confusion.
“I should like to know how to fight.”

Aneirin
Inspecting the proffered herb, Rin began trying to memorise its properties, scent and colour, agreeing that it was a useful herb to know about, especially during this journey.
He chided himself on waiting so long to learn about such useful things, thinking about how much he could have used these herbs, and others, on long patrols. It was hard to realise how much you relied on having a team of herbalists and healers waiting for you upon your return until that security was taken away from you.

Learn fast…

Taking a brief look around him, he began noticing all the different plants beginning to stand out where once they merged into the general greenery of the forest. He swallowed nervously; this was quite the undertaking.
Still, he didn’t have to learn all about everything just enough to be helpful. He felt a wave of gratitude to the doe beside him for being willing to share her knowledge and take time out of their precious resting just to teach him.

He turned his full attention back to her as she paused, seemingly working up the courage to say something, and he was not expecting the question.
“You want to fight?” He replied, slightly taken aback, having never really thought about does fighting before.

Well…it makes sense I suppose. There are only two stags out here, and we can’t be everywhere. It wouldn’t hurt to know there was a bit more back up
He tried picturing the expressions of his commanding officers being faced with a trained, fighting doe and couldn’t keep the grin from his face.

He politely dipped his head to the fierce champagne, “dear Rhoda, it would be my pleasure to teach you. It seems only fair to trade one skill for another. I can’t promise that Melark will be as pleased as I, but for as long as we’re companions, I will teach you everything I can.”

Rhoda
Her request clearly threw Rin for a moment. She watched his face go through an array of emotions as he processed what she’d said. First, disbelief. Understandable, since Rhoda was having a hard time believing she had even asked such a question.
And then, amusement. Rho felt her little spark of hope begin to wither and freeze. Was he going to laugh her off? It could hardly be surprising, does did not fight in Glenmore. It had been stupid to ask… but-
Then Aneirin’s face became composed again. Serious and courteous. Was he going to politely shut her down? No, he was not! Instead he agreed to train her!
-I will teach you everything I can. He concluded.
Whatever remaining numbness and cold that had been shadowing Rho since the day of their flight from Glenmore, why, even since the passing of her mother over the winter, truly fell away at that moment. Pure elation filled her from hoof to ear. True, she still missed her family terribly, and worried about her cousin Kol, but this- this! This was something that never would have occurred otherwise.
“Thank you, I promise I won’t disappoint you!” Rhoda promised Rin determinedly. As she spoke, she felt a tickling around her legs. Glancing down revealed that in her excitement, Rhoda had started greening the grass about both herself and Rin.
For a moment, she started to panic. She’d have to do some fast explaining before- before- but then, again, this new reality struck her. Her magic would be an asset to her traveling companions, not an embarrassment to hide.
“I… I suppose you’re plenty practiced in magic, being in the guard, aye?” She asked instead, “I’m hardly a master like Melark, but I will be happy to use my talents to serve our group as we travel.” Rho promised the dark stag.

Aneirin
Watching the tension drain from Rho’s face, and seeing it replaced with joy was wonderful to behold. Rin found himself grinning in response, very pleased to able to leave behind some of the old, stagnant rulings of their herd; does were worth so much more than the next generation.

“I’m certain you won’t disappoint, Rho, I have no doubt that you’ll achieve anything you desire so greatly.” Rin still couldn’t get the image of a ‘Doe Division’ out of his head, it made a lot of sense when he really thought about it.

Stags still had to fight for two seasons without antlers and they managed, surely does could do just as well; they would remain fleet and agile all year round. Assuming they weren’t pregnant of course, but then, stags often took time off for injuries, it would work out about the same, surely?

Noticing the sudden panic on her face, Rin glanced down towards his hooves, surprised to see such a lush patch bloom in front of his eyes. His eyes widened with surprise.
“Now that’s a useful talent to have, especially when we hit winter. Can you do that whenever you want? How big a patch can you make?”

He bent down to nibble at some of the stalks, ending up with a bigger mouthful than intended, “s’pretty good too, s’cuse my manners. Well, lack of.” He gave the doe a cheesy grin through a mouthful of green, feeling a bit more at ease now.
So classy…

“As to myself and magic, I’ve seen a lot used, and I definitely feel…something, but I’ve not really explored it much.” He thought back to the greatest event in his paltry magical history.
“I assumed I had none until the Oak was regrown, after that it feels like I have more of a sense of growing things…bad soil or soft ground. A lot of the time I’m wrong, and it didn’t seem important before, but now? It’s one more thing I feel I need to work on; any pointers would be greatly appreciated, if it’s not too much to ask.” He hoped he wasn’t asking to much of the doe, some things he could figure out alone, but magic scared him a little, and he would rather practice with someone who could help him out if things went ass up; which they often seemed to when he had bright ideas.

Rhoda
Rhoda glanced down at the greening between her and Rin with a critical eye. The patch was roughly the length of a fawnling, and just as wide. She had stopped herself from expending too much energy, so the stalks were still fairly short in height.
“I’m still learning where my limits are,” she began tentatively, still eyeing the ground, “but I could probably green about half of this glade that we’re in, all at once, if I was well rested and didn’t have to do anything for the rest of the day. Magic still takes it out of me when I try to do it intentionally… but not as badly as before!”
Rhoda broke off talking and couldn’t help but laugh when Rin began nibbling on the new growth. The big stag looked so comical, glancing up at her with greens sprouting outwards from his silly smile. It reminded her that she too was feeling a bit peckish.
“You’re excused,” she giggled as she cropped a mouthful of her own, “so long as you leave some for the rest of us!”
Rho listened to Rin explain his relationship with magic and nodded as he spoke. It was a familiar story, she was beginning to understand. The New Oak had changed everyone’s lives more dramatically than the herd had wanted to admit.
“You’re not too different from me then, I hadn’t a lick of talent until the Oak was regrown! And to be honest, I was too scared to try and practice with it at first.” She admitted. “Since I worked with plants and herbs already, it seemed logical to try and use magic in my gardening and collecting.”
Rho paused for a moment, absorbed by the memories of her private garden and the glen she had called her own, now empty and abandoned. Creeping tendrils of regret tickled at her mind, but she resolutely pushed them away with thoughts of magic.
“I mostly know how to speed growth and strengthen existing plants.” Rhoda continued, “Your talent for sensing the lay of the earth sounds really useful, especially with all the unfamiliar ground we’ll be covering. I can’t promise I know much more than you when it comes to magic, but I would be glad to practice together!”
The wind shifted in the canopy overhead, sending leaves rustling and splashes of sunlight to dart through to the forest floor. Wary of which way their groups scent would be blown, Rhoda raised her head to mark the air’s direction. The thrill of nervous energy that had sustained her for most of the flight echoed through her legs.
“I think, perhaps, we should hold off on any magical or fighting training until we’re further from the herd.” She said quietly, “We can work on herb lore anytime, but I don’t want to slow anyone down while we’re still in danger of being caught because we drained ourselves doing magic, or sprained something sparring. Agreed?”

Aneirin
Rin nodded along to the does’ explanations, already trying to think of ways to turn both their skills to the best advantage. So far ‘green grass is good, we eat that’ was the prevailing thought. He was impressed at how far she had come on her own, comparing it to his pathetic attempts of magic.

“If nothing else, if we’re practicing together, it means one of us can keep an eye on our surroundings, just to be safe. Or spot if we think the other is getting too tired.” Thinking back to his own previous experiments, he added, “or too frustrated…I would definitely be grateful to have someone to make me stop when it’s obviously not going anywhere. Last time I tried moving a pebble, I stared at it for so long that my eyes crossed and I had a headache for days afterwards.”

He couldn’t help but feel chagrined as he thought back to his few, small attempts at practicing magic. They’d always been when he was far out on patrol with no risk of anyone stumbling across a stag staring at the ground and talking to himself.

He halted his musings, startled slightly by the sudden whispering of the trees above. Pleased to see Rhoda doing the same, he tasted the air, no fawnling scents rode the breeze, it seemed safe to assume there was no risk of ambush. From that direction anyway. It didn’t stop the tension from creeping up his neck.

“Most definitely agreed on waiting until later, I think I’d be too tense to focus on magic for the time being anyway.” He paused thoughtfully for a moment, “with all this travelling, you’ll essentially be doing the first level of training new recruits go through anyway; fitness and stamina, so you’ll have a bit of a head start.”

Glancing back down at the green patch beneath their feet, he tried to think of any good questions to ask; irritated that his mind had gone happily blank. “Herbs!” He blurted, “Um. Sorry. Let me start again. Back to my first questions, what sort of herbs are good for what, which are the most common ones I’m going to see?” He had a vague notion of picking a few interesting looking ones on his scouting to bring back for identification, but didn’t want to go grabbing ones that stung or were poisonous .

Rhoda
Rhoda blinked in surprise at Rin’s response. “I hadn’t thought about all the running we’ve been doing as being good for anything more than putting distance between us and the main herd!”
There was a moment of silence as Rin started eyeing the plants around them. Rho couldn’t help but laugh when he blurted out ‘Herbs!’
Rhoda glanced around the clearing with a practiced eye. It would be best to work with plants that were immediately available to start, so that they had examples. They’d already talked about foxglove, but there were plenty of other plants near the dampness of the streambed. She stepped closer to the bank and peered at a stand of thin reeds. And beyond them on the other side of the bank there were clumps of silvery green shrubs. More spearmint! Perfect!
“Let’s start with some common plants right here,” Rho said simply, “and keep in mind that it’s not just the plants that grow in small clumps and bushes that can be useful! Plenty of the trees in our territory have helpful properties, as well as mosses and fungi. The more you look, the more you will find!”
Rhoda nodded towards the reeds “Like, this is Willow Reed. You’ll find it near water, growing in clumps. Actually, you might recognize the pattern of the bark if you’ve had wounds wrapped before! While the bark is poisonous if you eat it, strips of the bark are excellent for binding injuries on limbs and appendages. Here, this is how you would harvest it-”
She leaned in next to the plant and went through the motions of carefully stripping the bark. Rhoda moved slowly, exaggerating her motions so that Rin would be clear about what she was doing. Once the strips were clear of the reeds, she laid them out on the ground between them for Rin to inspect.
“Would you like to try? I can show you how to use them, if you haven’t had experience with them before.” Rhoda offered glancing back up at the stag to see if he was following along.

Aneirin
Rin watched Rhoda with slightly envious eyes; it was clear that she was pinpointing various plants that to him were no more than another green thing in a sea of green. Albeit perhaps a slightly different shade or shape. He felt a slight pang of shame for his herd that so quickly dismissed does because of their gender, who knew how much knowledge they must have that was all too easily overlooked unless it came from someone with antlers.

The does voice startled him out of his musings, and he quickly shoved all thoughts other than ‘plants’ out of his head, trying to absorb as much information as possible. He nodded along as she pointed out some things, pleased that he did actually recognise the willow; now that she’d pointed out what it was anyway. Not wanting to interrupt, he nodded silently along, watching where she pointed and noting the particular properties of growing Willow.

Leaning in close to follow her movements, he watched avidly as she deftly stripped the Willow of its bark, committing the movements to memory. He studied and snuffed the proffered strips, the scent bringing back hazy memories of healers’ visits.

“I’ve had them used on me, but I don’t think that quite accounts for experience with them.” He replied, feeling oddly nervous considering it was just greenery. “Let’s see if I can do it right” he muttered, stepping towards the reeds, accidently crushing a couple in his haste. Guiltily he cleared his throat and stepped back, before cautiously taking a small step forwards and reaching out with his head towards the spindly plants.

Carefully he tried to mimic how he’d seen Rhoda strip them, and quickly realised it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Determined, he furrowed his brow and tried again on another couple of reeds, intent on getting it right at least once.

After a few minutes of fumbling, he proudly lay out a few, slightly bruised, crushed and, well…chewed strips of bark for Rhoda to examine.

“I’m err..I’m sure I’ll get better with some practice. They’re a lot more fiddly than I had expected.” He admitted, becoming less and less proud of himself the more he compared his strands of willow to Rhoda’s neat strips.
“So how exactly would you use them? It’s hard to picture the transition between ‘plant bits’ to ‘helpful medicine things’. It’s always seemed like magic to me”.

Rhoda
Rin was proving to be an attentive student! He listened to her explanations carefully and Rhoda noted the way that his eyes began to flick about the clearing with dawning understanding. Glenmore was rich in natural resources that many of the herd members didn’t even realize existed. It seemed that even their brief talk so far was opening Aneirin’s mind to their presence.
“At least you have some memory of them,” she replied, “and now we can build on that. Let’s see how you do when it comes to harvesting.”
Rhoda watched critically as he made a first attempt, and then a second attempt, and then third, to harvest the surface of the willow reeds. She did her best to keep her face neutral and not let the wide grin that threatened to spill out at his antics show. She didn’t usually see the big guard type stags trying to interact with herbs, and the image was a little comical.
Instead she inspected his proffered strips gravely once he had them laid out. Rho looked back up and smiled encouragingly.
“It may not seem so, but these are good for a first attempt!” She assured Rin, “The first time I tried to harvest reeds I ended up ruining the entire patch with nothing to show for it. There’s a trick to breaking the surface cleanly with your teeth when you start a strip that takes practice.”
Rhoda folded her legs underneath herself and settled to the soft ground by the stream. She motioned for Rin to do the same with her tail. Demonstrating the use of the strips didn’t require them to be standing, and they still had to be mindful of the trek ahead of them later in the day.
“Think of these strips as bandages. We’ve separated them from the plant and now they’re thin and flexible. The inner side of the bark is what you want to have in contact with your injured limb. Mainly these are used for sprains or stress injuries, not to keep a cut closed, but they’re work alright if that latter is the case. These strips will stick to you if you put them on fast enough, watch-”
Rhoda extended her left foreleg and picked up one of the strips in her mouth carefully. She draped the strip over her lower leg and nosed the free floating ends against her limb. The liquids inside of the reed bark stuck to her fur and clung to the other end of the strip once it was wrapped around. The strip was long enough to circle her leg twice fully, creating a narrow band. She displayed the mock bandage for Rin’s inspection.
“As you can see, it takes quite a few strips to cover a limb!” She commented wryly, “Why don’t you try one yourself?”
As Aneirin started looking back at the collection of strips between them, Rho felt a smile play about her face. It had been a long time since she taught anybody about herbs. She’d forgotten how satisfying it was to see others learn.
“Oh and if you’re working with older reed strips,” she added thoughtfully, “I can show you a simple paste to make that will keep them attached to the limb. That’s something we can make and store, which is useful. But I think that’s a lesson for another day!” Rho laughed.

Aneirin

The wave of pride at being praised for his mangling of bark strips caught him off guard; apparently no matter how old or big you got, being told you did a good job at something provoked the same reaction. Trying not to show it, he restricted himself to a small, pleased smile and a thankful nod, before gently lowering himself to the ground at the doe’s direction.

Once more absorbed in her instruction, he watched her intently as she demonstrated how to use the plant correctly, it made sense that a strained limb would need extra support; he was almost certain he’d had something of the sort applied to him at one time or another. However, picturing that sticky substance on a raw wound made him shudder. Perhaps there was a way of padding out a tear with something else before binding it with those sorts of reeds, well, if there were an injury that called for it anyway.

Rin filed away that question for later, along with a host of others, he didn’t want to bombard Rhoda all in one go, or interrupt her teachings for what would be an unending torrent of queries. First it was time for another practical test!

“Alright, let’s see how we do with this then…” he murmured, smiling at his patient teacher, and starting to look through the strips in front of him, trying to pick out the freshest ones.

Starting with a likely looking reed, he gently picked it up, mouthing it a little bit as he almost got it stuck to his tongue, and gently applied it to his own foreleg. Once again, it wasn’t as easy at it looked, and he had to nudge it a bit to stop it from slipping before he’d completed the first wrap. Pleased, he watched the sap (or whatever it was) stick to his fur, and completed his ‘bandage’ with a flourish.

Rhoda’s was a lot neater than his, straight and tidy, whereas his wasn’t quite tight enough and was definitely a bit crooked; a good first attempt though, he thought.

Satisfied, and mentally tired, he grinned in response to Rhoda, “that sounds like a good idea. I’d like to start being as useful as I can early on..but preferably with nothing I can mess up too badly. A bit like this…” He nudged his, now slipping, bandage mournfully before looking back up with a sheepish grin.

“Once again I’m amazed at your knowledge, I’ve only spent half an afternoon on this and my head is already full and a bit sluggish. I don’t know how you do it. I only hope I can be of as much help to you.”

Rhoda
Rhoda chuckled as Rin started fussing with his slipping bandage. She hadn’t had much of a stomach for humor lately, and she’d forgotten how good it felt to simply laugh. Rho could hardly keep a smile off her muzzle. Maybe… maybe leaving the main herd had been the right thing to do. Despite how much her heart ached for the familiar company of her family and friends, she was coming to realize that she was truly glad she had left!
“I have you at a disadvantage on this subject, Rin,” Rhoda laughed, coming back out of her head and into the present, “as I’ve been studying and practicing herbology since I was very young. It’s been my passion to work with plants and to learn about them. We live in a land so blessed with life!”
Across the clearing, some of the other fawnlings were stirring from their rest. Rhoda made sure to soften her voice. In her merriment, she had started speaking louder.
‘I’ve never been good at staying prim, proper and demure around friends!’ Rho thought wryly.
“I’m sure that our positions will be reversed once you’re teaching me about fighting.” She continued with a smile, “Just you wait! I’m sure to make a fool of myself at some point.”
Rhoda leaned down and carefully caught the edge of her mock bandage and began to tug it apart. While the strips they had practiced with wouldn’t be much use after being taken off, they could hold onto some of the better pieces to have for another time. It was always good to be prepared!
“To be honest, I don’t know what the capabilities are of our little band now. I’m not an expert in herbs or healing by any stretch, but I’m glad you’re interested in learning! The more each of us knows, the better off we’ll be facing any future… circumstances.” Rho glanced back at the other fawnlings. This was her new family, for good or ill. She would do everything in her power to keep them safe, whatever that meant.
“Since your head is feeling full, let’s stick to muscle memory?” She suggested lightly, resolutely turning away from the dark and serious thoughts. “We have all these bandages ready to go, and you’ll only get better at applying them with practice! Let’s see if you can’t manage a tighter wrap - but not too tight!”

Aneirin
He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the doe sparring; he remembered how ungainly he’d first felt when he started training. Although it would be a new thing to teach someone who already had world experience and their own ideas, most cadets were young enough that answering back was unthinkable. He’d definitely have his hooves full. Although if she proved even half as interested as he felt about herbs, she’d make damned good fighter.
“I won’t go easy on you, that’s true, but I think we can move past the hazing that a lot of colts go through. You seem agile enough to do well, but I can’t guarantee you won’t fall on your head..or your tail a few times.” He said with a grin. Rhoda didn’t seem too phased.
Perhaps it would make a nice change, being able to explain a theory through, instead of having to wallop it through a thick skull. Speaking of thick skulls, Rin groaned ever so slightly at the doe’s cheerful tone, reminding him what he was here for; his head felt so full!
“Muscle memory, right. Ok. Wrapping a … bandage, yep.” He muttered to himself as he selected another decent strip and went back to work. A few strained, mostly silent moments later, Rin looked up happily from what he deemed, his most perfect bandage yet. He nosed his handy work proudly, making sure everything was in place before asking Rhoda to judge his latest efforts.
Are the ends tucked in? Uhh..ye-yes, now they are.
Is it going to slip? Nope, not this time!
Can you still feel your hoof? Uhm..yes, yes I can. It is not too tight.
Is the worm firmly attached? Yep! He’s right th-wait. Worm?
With a surprised snort, Rin flicked away the curious intruder who’d managed to get stuck in the sticky sap of the bandage.
“I think I might actually be getting the hang of this now. Well, this tiny part of it anyway; I’m trying not to think about all the multitudes of stuff I have no idea about.”
He glanced up at the doe as he flung his leg out for her to inspect, pleased that she’d come out of her shell a bit more, and proving that he’d have at least one proper friend in this small band of outcasts. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such an easy conversation, or enjoyed himself for so long. Despite how much his stomach twisted at leaving behind his home, there was a definite glimmer of a better future ahead.
The sounds of shifting undergrowth disturbed his ruminations; the rest of the herd were starting to wake fully and stretch out. Melark would be calling for him soon, to start scouting for their next path. With a small pang of sadness, he started to rise to his feet, groaning slightly at how stiff his legs felt, rolling his eyes at Rhoda when he heard their leaders soft shout.
“It has been a true pleasure, miss, to spend the afternoon with yourself, but mine captain calls” he said with mock formality, adding in a little bow, such as guardsman give to passing princesses or royals, before the grin ruined the whole display.
“I can’t wait for the day this constant movement becomes unnecessary, reaching our new home can’t come soon enough.”
He gestured towards the bandages that still lay on the ground, “thanks for your help today, I’ll try and remember it all. Perhaps next time I’ll start teaching you how to fight, and we can spend the rest of the day learning how to treat the bruises.”

Rhoda
She watched Rin turn his attentions back to the bandages even as he spoke about her future training. Rho smiled, and there was a fierceness in her face that rarely graced the expressions of does in the main herd.
“I would expect nothing less!” She replied with a good natured snort. “Coddling trainees means you never challenge them to surpass their limits. I hardly think the Guards of Glenmore are big on playing things ‘safe’ when it comes to bringing up the future ranks.”
They lapsed together in silence as Rin concentrated on practicing his bandage wrapping. While he worked, Rhoda selected a few of the remaining strips to store for later. She tucked them away into her supply satchel and returned her attention to the stag’s progress.
Rin proudly flourished his leg, covered in mock bandages. His latest attempt was markedly neater than the other previous ones. Rho carefully inspected the bandage for staying power and how tightly it wrapped around the limb. The results of her examination were favorable.
“You’re already getting a handle on it!” She told him warmly. “I know it can be overwhelming to think about how much there is to learn, especially with herbs! But think of it this way: I'll teach you basics enough that you can act as a healer if needed. Once you have the basics, if you're still interested, we can focus on a particular aspect of herbs for you to learn more about. Some fawns are more interested in making potions and mixtures, others want to learn how best to treat external wounds- the list goes on!”
Rhoda caught Rin’s attention shifting as the rest of the small herd started rising in earnest to continue their trek. She cut short what she had been about to say. Instead she smiled as Rin rose up, ears flicking to catch Melark’s voice, and stood as well.
“We’ll figure it out!” she offered simply. “I…”
Now it was Rhoda's turn to be at a loss for words. How could she sum up everything that this unexpectedly friendly encounter had stirred up? New opportunities to learn, to teach, and to become friends? It was a little more than her mind could handle. So she kept it to the point.
“That day you're describing doesn't sound like such a bad time. I'm looking forward to it! And… thanks for coming over here, and, you know, saying hi? I just… Thanks.” Her throat felt like it was closing up so she stopped talking. Hopefully he's get what she meant. Rho smiled awkwardly.
The rest of the group was casting about for any last things they might have forgotten. Intent to keep herself from backsliding into silence, Rhoda waved to Rin before heading over to the others. Now was as good a time as any to finally offer her herbs to the other does. Maybe she'd make some more friends before the day was out?

___________________________________________________________________________

CAN YALL PLEASE GO PELT Rhith WITH BACON, PLEASE?! SERIOUSLY! This has been a collab long in the making, but it was incredible fun! I can't wait to see how Rin and Rho becomes renegade bros ahhhhhh!

Also: So many stat points! Stat points for all! Same breakdown for both characters, I think? <3
+2 ______ - collab art
+4 ______ - collab lit - 2000+ words
+1 ______ - practicing/sparring/fighting with another Fawnling

Description
Featuring: Aneirin and Rhoda
Mentioning: Melark
Year 763 NA, Spring
Glenmore, Somewhere North

Aneirin
It felt like they’d been on the move non-stop the past few days, Melark had finally called for a longer rest for the small group. After his watch was done, Rin slept heavily for a few hours, waking groggily from half-formed nightmares. Luckily, everything still seemed calm and peaceful, everyone was in sight. Rising from his small nest, Rin stretched and made his way over to the small rivulet nearby for a drink. Raising his head, he noticed one of the does studying the plant life; realising he hadn’t really introduced himself, well they hadn’t exactly had time for long conversations, he made his way over to her.
“Hey there..uhh Rhoda, isn’t it? How is the journey treating you so far?” His still slightly sleepy head didn’t seem to want to make more than simple sentences, which placed him firmly in the ‘me stag, you doe, you small and weak, me big and strong’ category.
’You smooth talker, you’ he thought to himself, sighing ruefully.
“I apologise if I’m interrupting you, I just thought that perhaps it would be nice to get to know one another a bit better, seeing as we’re stuck in each others, possibly horrendous, company for the foreseeable future. I had also thought to ask a favour of you.”

Rhoda
The trek north had been grueling in more ways than one. Every day, the group pushed onwards as fast as they could go, hardly daring to stop. Physically, everyone was drained, particularly the heavily pregnant doe. And mentally, Rho was also exhausted. She felt… numb.
Her family had always been such a cornerstone of her world, and to suddenly be traveling amongst a group of strangers without any familiar faces had shaken her in her core. When the group stopped to rest, Rhoda had stayed silent and opted to catch what sleep she could. Each day fell into a pattern: run, refuel, rest, and run some more. She didn’t speak and she didn’t really interact with the others. Rhoda might as well have been travelling alone, she was so lost in her own head.
But today Melark had allowed them a longer rest than they’d had since leaving the herd. Rhoda woke from her customary short nap, and found that the others were still resting. Melark seemed to be on guard, ever watchful for pursuers and danger. Rho glanced at the sleeping fawnlings around her, and felt a stab of guilt in her gut. She really should try to get to know them. But for now, everyone was resting.
Rhoda wasn’t entirely sure what to do, so she decided to have a quick drink to wash out her sleep swollen tongue. While she sipped from the rivulet, Rhoda’s eyes came to focus on a stand of purple flowers close by that looked awfully familiar. It was a patch of foxglove! Rho felt some of her old self returning as she remembered what foxglove was useful for. And then a voice broke into her thoughts. Rhoda turned to see the other stag in their party.
“Oh, hello,” She replied awkwardly, “yes, I’m Rhoda... I don’t believe I caught your name, goodsir?”
The stag, a dark sooty bay, seemed like he was still half asleep. He shifted his weight and blinked slowly while he spoke.
“I don’t mind the interruption,” Rhoda murmured, looking down with a sheepish smile, “I was just thinking it would be good to get to know my traveling companions.” When the stag continued, she looked up at him with mild surprise. “W-what kind of favor?” She asked hesitantly.

Aneirin
Realising how creepy that had probably just come across, Rin mentally berated himself.
“Nothing major! I just..well I’ve realised I know next to nothing about our indigenous plant life. I know what’s good to eat, and the most dangerous things to avoid, but it strikes me as suddenly a lot more important that I learn more about these things.”
He gestured feebly at the patch of purple flowers, “I think they’re….bad? To eat? Foxhats?”
Stop talking, stop talking now
He sheepishly cleared his throat and raised his head to look the champagne doe in the eye with a nervous grin.
“See? Awful. Please help me, I need to be able to pull my weight around here in more ways than just..well, weight. Oh, and please, just call me Rin. I think we’ve left all semblance of ceremony behind us.”

Rhoda
“Oh, I suppose we have… in which case, you can call me Rhoda or Rho, whichever you prefer!” Rhoda answered, startled. Rin was painfully earnest, and Rhoda felt a part of herself warm in sympathy for another soul who found talking with strangers awkward.
It hadn’t truly dawned on her that leaving the herd behind meant they could also leave the conventions of the herd as well. An idea occurred to her. She let it stew in the back of her mind for a moment. Rho couldn’t resist the opportunity to talk about plants if her life depended on it.
“Regardless, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Rin. And as for your knowledge of plants, well I’d be happy to help expand it.” She offered him a smile in return for his anxious grin.
“Those purple flowers are actually ‘Foxglove’,” Rhoda corrected gently, “and while they are poisonous in large quantities, they can also be useful! A small portion, when eaten, will give you a boost of energy.”
Rhoda stepped over to the plant and carefully broke off a couple small pieces. She nosed some over to Rin so that he could take a closer look.
“I think that could be quite useful for all of us as we travel, don’t you? Although, I hesitate to offer it to the doe with fawn, just to be safe.” Rhoda glanced back at the still slumbering forms of the other does and the young fawn. She had some spearmint in her satchel of herbs from Glenmore, why hadn’t she thought to offer some to the doe?
”You’ve been acting silly, all lost in your own head. Rhoda chided herself, Now it is time to start making amends!
She looked back at the stag, Rin, with determination in her eyes. What she was about to ask would be turned down in less than a heartbeat back in the herd. But out here…
“Perhaps in exchange for learning about plants, you could help me learn how I can best defend myself?” Rhoda asked, a steely look coming into her eyes. “I’m not ignorant of the dangers of traveling, and you and Melark cannot be with all of us, all the time.” She took a deep breath and then lay her thoughts out bluntly, so there could be no confusion.
“I should like to know how to fight.”

Aneirin
Inspecting the proffered herb, Rin began trying to memorise its properties, scent and colour, agreeing that it was a useful herb to know about, especially during this journey.
He chided himself on waiting so long to learn about such useful things, thinking about how much he could have used these herbs, and others, on long patrols. It was hard to realise how much you relied on having a team of herbalists and healers waiting for you upon your return until that security was taken away from you.

Learn fast…

Taking a brief look around him, he began noticing all the different plants beginning to stand out where once they merged into the general greenery of the forest. He swallowed nervously; this was quite the undertaking.
Still, he didn’t have to learn all about everything just enough to be helpful. He felt a wave of gratitude to the doe beside him for being willing to share her knowledge and take time out of their precious resting just to teach him.

He turned his full attention back to her as she paused, seemingly working up the courage to say something, and he was not expecting the question.
“You want to fight?” He replied, slightly taken aback, having never really thought about does fighting before.

Well…it makes sense I suppose. There are only two stags out here, and we can’t be everywhere. It wouldn’t hurt to know there was a bit more back up
He tried picturing the expressions of his commanding officers being faced with a trained, fighting doe and couldn’t keep the grin from his face.

He politely dipped his head to the fierce champagne, “dear Rhoda, it would be my pleasure to teach you. It seems only fair to trade one skill for another. I can’t promise that Melark will be as pleased as I, but for as long as we’re companions, I will teach you everything I can.”

Rhoda
Her request clearly threw Rin for a moment. She watched his face go through an array of emotions as he processed what she’d said. First, disbelief. Understandable, since Rhoda was having a hard time believing she had even asked such a question.
And then, amusement. Rho felt her little spark of hope begin to wither and freeze. Was he going to laugh her off? It could hardly be surprising, does did not fight in Glenmore. It had been stupid to ask… but-
Then Aneirin’s face became composed again. Serious and courteous. Was he going to politely shut her down? No, he was not! Instead he agreed to train her!
-I will teach you everything I can. He concluded.
Whatever remaining numbness and cold that had been shadowing Rho since the day of their flight from Glenmore, why, even since the passing of her mother over the winter, truly fell away at that moment. Pure elation filled her from hoof to ear. True, she still missed her family terribly, and worried about her cousin Kol, but this- this! This was something that never would have occurred otherwise.
“Thank you, I promise I won’t disappoint you!” Rhoda promised Rin determinedly. As she spoke, she felt a tickling around her legs. Glancing down revealed that in her excitement, Rhoda had started greening the grass about both herself and Rin.
For a moment, she started to panic. She’d have to do some fast explaining before- before- but then, again, this new reality struck her. Her magic would be an asset to her traveling companions, not an embarrassment to hide.
“I… I suppose you’re plenty practiced in magic, being in the guard, aye?” She asked instead, “I’m hardly a master like Melark, but I will be happy to use my talents to serve our group as we travel.” Rho promised the dark stag.

Aneirin
Watching the tension drain from Rho’s face, and seeing it replaced with joy was wonderful to behold. Rin found himself grinning in response, very pleased to able to leave behind some of the old, stagnant rulings of their herd; does were worth so much more than the next generation.

“I’m certain you won’t disappoint, Rho, I have no doubt that you’ll achieve anything you desire so greatly.” Rin still couldn’t get the image of a ‘Doe Division’ out of his head, it made a lot of sense when he really thought about it.

Stags still had to fight for two seasons without antlers and they managed, surely does could do just as well; they would remain fleet and agile all year round. Assuming they weren’t pregnant of course, but then, stags often took time off for injuries, it would work out about the same, surely?

Noticing the sudden panic on her face, Rin glanced down towards his hooves, surprised to see such a lush patch bloom in front of his eyes. His eyes widened with surprise.
“Now that’s a useful talent to have, especially when we hit winter. Can you do that whenever you want? How big a patch can you make?”

He bent down to nibble at some of the stalks, ending up with a bigger mouthful than intended, “s’pretty good too, s’cuse my manners. Well, lack of.” He gave the doe a cheesy grin through a mouthful of green, feeling a bit more at ease now.
So classy…

“As to myself and magic, I’ve seen a lot used, and I definitely feel…something, but I’ve not really explored it much.” He thought back to the greatest event in his paltry magical history.
“I assumed I had none until the Oak was regrown, after that it feels like I have more of a sense of growing things…bad soil or soft ground. A lot of the time I’m wrong, and it didn’t seem important before, but now? It’s one more thing I feel I need to work on; any pointers would be greatly appreciated, if it’s not too much to ask.” He hoped he wasn’t asking to much of the doe, some things he could figure out alone, but magic scared him a little, and he would rather practice with someone who could help him out if things went ass up; which they often seemed to when he had bright ideas.

Rhoda
Rhoda glanced down at the greening between her and Rin with a critical eye. The patch was roughly the length of a fawnling, and just as wide. She had stopped herself from expending too much energy, so the stalks were still fairly short in height.
“I’m still learning where my limits are,” she began tentatively, still eyeing the ground, “but I could probably green about half of this glade that we’re in, all at once, if I was well rested and didn’t have to do anything for the rest of the day. Magic still takes it out of me when I try to do it intentionally… but not as badly as before!”
Rhoda broke off talking and couldn’t help but laugh when Rin began nibbling on the new growth. The big stag looked so comical, glancing up at her with greens sprouting outwards from his silly smile. It reminded her that she too was feeling a bit peckish.
“You’re excused,” she giggled as she cropped a mouthful of her own, “so long as you leave some for the rest of us!”
Rho listened to Rin explain his relationship with magic and nodded as he spoke. It was a familiar story, she was beginning to understand. The New Oak had changed everyone’s lives more dramatically than the herd had wanted to admit.
“You’re not too different from me then, I hadn’t a lick of talent until the Oak was regrown! And to be honest, I was too scared to try and practice with it at first.” She admitted. “Since I worked with plants and herbs already, it seemed logical to try and use magic in my gardening and collecting.”
Rho paused for a moment, absorbed by the memories of her private garden and the glen she had called her own, now empty and abandoned. Creeping tendrils of regret tickled at her mind, but she resolutely pushed them away with thoughts of magic.
“I mostly know how to speed growth and strengthen existing plants.” Rhoda continued, “Your talent for sensing the lay of the earth sounds really useful, especially with all the unfamiliar ground we’ll be covering. I can’t promise I know much more than you when it comes to magic, but I would be glad to practice together!”
The wind shifted in the canopy overhead, sending leaves rustling and splashes of sunlight to dart through to the forest floor. Wary of which way their groups scent would be blown, Rhoda raised her head to mark the air’s direction. The thrill of nervous energy that had sustained her for most of the flight echoed through her legs.
“I think, perhaps, we should hold off on any magical or fighting training until we’re further from the herd.” She said quietly, “We can work on herb lore anytime, but I don’t want to slow anyone down while we’re still in danger of being caught because we drained ourselves doing magic, or sprained something sparring. Agreed?”

Aneirin
Rin nodded along to the does’ explanations, already trying to think of ways to turn both their skills to the best advantage. So far ‘green grass is good, we eat that’ was the prevailing thought. He was impressed at how far she had come on her own, comparing it to his pathetic attempts of magic.

“If nothing else, if we’re practicing together, it means one of us can keep an eye on our surroundings, just to be safe. Or spot if we think the other is getting too tired.” Thinking back to his own previous experiments, he added, “or too frustrated…I would definitely be grateful to have someone to make me stop when it’s obviously not going anywhere. Last time I tried moving a pebble, I stared at it for so long that my eyes crossed and I had a headache for days afterwards.”

He couldn’t help but feel chagrined as he thought back to his few, small attempts at practicing magic. They’d always been when he was far out on patrol with no risk of anyone stumbling across a stag staring at the ground and talking to himself.

He halted his musings, startled slightly by the sudden whispering of the trees above. Pleased to see Rhoda doing the same, he tasted the air, no fawnling scents rode the breeze, it seemed safe to assume there was no risk of ambush. From that direction anyway. It didn’t stop the tension from creeping up his neck.

“Most definitely agreed on waiting until later, I think I’d be too tense to focus on magic for the time being anyway.” He paused thoughtfully for a moment, “with all this travelling, you’ll essentially be doing the first level of training new recruits go through anyway; fitness and stamina, so you’ll have a bit of a head start.”

Glancing back down at the green patch beneath their feet, he tried to think of any good questions to ask; irritated that his mind had gone happily blank. “Herbs!” He blurted, “Um. Sorry. Let me start again. Back to my first questions, what sort of herbs are good for what, which are the most common ones I’m going to see?” He had a vague notion of picking a few interesting looking ones on his scouting to bring back for identification, but didn’t want to go grabbing ones that stung or were poisonous .

Rhoda
Rhoda blinked in surprise at Rin’s response. “I hadn’t thought about all the running we’ve been doing as being good for anything more than putting distance between us and the main herd!”
There was a moment of silence as Rin started eyeing the plants around them. Rho couldn’t help but laugh when he blurted out ‘Herbs!’
Rhoda glanced around the clearing with a practiced eye. It would be best to work with plants that were immediately available to start, so that they had examples. They’d already talked about foxglove, but there were plenty of other plants near the dampness of the streambed. She stepped closer to the bank and peered at a stand of thin reeds. And beyond them on the other side of the bank there were clumps of silvery green shrubs. More spearmint! Perfect!
“Let’s start with some common plants right here,” Rho said simply, “and keep in mind that it’s not just the plants that grow in small clumps and bushes that can be useful! Plenty of the trees in our territory have helpful properties, as well as mosses and fungi. The more you look, the more you will find!”
Rhoda nodded towards the reeds “Like, this is Willow Reed. You’ll find it near water, growing in clumps. Actually, you might recognize the pattern of the bark if you’ve had wounds wrapped before! While the bark is poisonous if you eat it, strips of the bark are excellent for binding injuries on limbs and appendages. Here, this is how you would harvest it-”
She leaned in next to the plant and went through the motions of carefully stripping the bark. Rhoda moved slowly, exaggerating her motions so that Rin would be clear about what she was doing. Once the strips were clear of the reeds, she laid them out on the ground between them for Rin to inspect.
“Would you like to try? I can show you how to use them, if you haven’t had experience with them before.” Rhoda offered glancing back up at the stag to see if he was following along.

Aneirin
Rin watched Rhoda with slightly envious eyes; it was clear that she was pinpointing various plants that to him were no more than another green thing in a sea of green. Albeit perhaps a slightly different shade or shape. He felt a slight pang of shame for his herd that so quickly dismissed does because of their gender, who knew how much knowledge they must have that was all too easily overlooked unless it came from someone with antlers.

The does voice startled him out of his musings, and he quickly shoved all thoughts other than ‘plants’ out of his head, trying to absorb as much information as possible. He nodded along as she pointed out some things, pleased that he did actually recognise the willow; now that she’d pointed out what it was anyway. Not wanting to interrupt, he nodded silently along, watching where she pointed and noting the particular properties of growing Willow.

Leaning in close to follow her movements, he watched avidly as she deftly stripped the Willow of its bark, committing the movements to memory. He studied and snuffed the proffered strips, the scent bringing back hazy memories of healers’ visits.

“I’ve had them used on me, but I don’t think that quite accounts for experience with them.” He replied, feeling oddly nervous considering it was just greenery. “Let’s see if I can do it right” he muttered, stepping towards the reeds, accidently crushing a couple in his haste. Guiltily he cleared his throat and stepped back, before cautiously taking a small step forwards and reaching out with his head towards the spindly plants.

Carefully he tried to mimic how he’d seen Rhoda strip them, and quickly realised it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Determined, he furrowed his brow and tried again on another couple of reeds, intent on getting it right at least once.

After a few minutes of fumbling, he proudly lay out a few, slightly bruised, crushed and, well…chewed strips of bark for Rhoda to examine.

“I’m err..I’m sure I’ll get better with some practice. They’re a lot more fiddly than I had expected.” He admitted, becoming less and less proud of himself the more he compared his strands of willow to Rhoda’s neat strips.
“So how exactly would you use them? It’s hard to picture the transition between ‘plant bits’ to ‘helpful medicine things’. It’s always seemed like magic to me”.

Rhoda
Rin was proving to be an attentive student! He listened to her explanations carefully and Rhoda noted the way that his eyes began to flick about the clearing with dawning understanding. Glenmore was rich in natural resources that many of the herd members didn’t even realize existed. It seemed that even their brief talk so far was opening Aneirin’s mind to their presence.
“At least you have some memory of them,” she replied, “and now we can build on that. Let’s see how you do when it comes to harvesting.”
Rhoda watched critically as he made a first attempt, and then a second attempt, and then third, to harvest the surface of the willow reeds. She did her best to keep her face neutral and not let the wide grin that threatened to spill out at his antics show. She didn’t usually see the big guard type stags trying to interact with herbs, and the image was a little comical.
Instead she inspected his proffered strips gravely once he had them laid out. Rho looked back up and smiled encouragingly.
“It may not seem so, but these are good for a first attempt!” She assured Rin, “The first time I tried to harvest reeds I ended up ruining the entire patch with nothing to show for it. There’s a trick to breaking the surface cleanly with your teeth when you start a strip that takes practice.”
Rhoda folded her legs underneath herself and settled to the soft ground by the stream. She motioned for Rin to do the same with her tail. Demonstrating the use of the strips didn’t require them to be standing, and they still had to be mindful of the trek ahead of them later in the day.
“Think of these strips as bandages. We’ve separated them from the plant and now they’re thin and flexible. The inner side of the bark is what you want to have in contact with your injured limb. Mainly these are used for sprains or stress injuries, not to keep a cut closed, but they’re work alright if that latter is the case. These strips will stick to you if you put them on fast enough, watch-”
Rhoda extended her left foreleg and picked up one of the strips in her mouth carefully. She draped the strip over her lower leg and nosed the free floating ends against her limb. The liquids inside of the reed bark stuck to her fur and clung to the other end of the strip once it was wrapped around. The strip was long enough to circle her leg twice fully, creating a narrow band. She displayed the mock bandage for Rin’s inspection.
“As you can see, it takes quite a few strips to cover a limb!” She commented wryly, “Why don’t you try one yourself?”
As Aneirin started looking back at the collection of strips between them, Rho felt a smile play about her face. It had been a long time since she taught anybody about herbs. She’d forgotten how satisfying it was to see others learn.
“Oh and if you’re working with older reed strips,” she added thoughtfully, “I can show you a simple paste to make that will keep them attached to the limb. That’s something we can make and store, which is useful. But I think that’s a lesson for another day!” Rho laughed.

Aneirin

The wave of pride at being praised for his mangling of bark strips caught him off guard; apparently no matter how old or big you got, being told you did a good job at something provoked the same reaction. Trying not to show it, he restricted himself to a small, pleased smile and a thankful nod, before gently lowering himself to the ground at the doe’s direction.

Once more absorbed in her instruction, he watched her intently as she demonstrated how to use the plant correctly, it made sense that a strained limb would need extra support; he was almost certain he’d had something of the sort applied to him at one time or another. However, picturing that sticky substance on a raw wound made him shudder. Perhaps there was a way of padding out a tear with something else before binding it with those sorts of reeds, well, if there were an injury that called for it anyway.

Rin filed away that question for later, along with a host of others, he didn’t want to bombard Rhoda all in one go, or interrupt her teachings for what would be an unending torrent of queries. First it was time for another practical test!

“Alright, let’s see how we do with this then…” he murmured, smiling at his patient teacher, and starting to look through the strips in front of him, trying to pick out the freshest ones.

Starting with a likely looking reed, he gently picked it up, mouthing it a little bit as he almost got it stuck to his tongue, and gently applied it to his own foreleg. Once again, it wasn’t as easy at it looked, and he had to nudge it a bit to stop it from slipping before he’d completed the first wrap. Pleased, he watched the sap (or whatever it was) stick to his fur, and completed his ‘bandage’ with a flourish.

Rhoda’s was a lot neater than his, straight and tidy, whereas his wasn’t quite tight enough and was definitely a bit crooked; a good first attempt though, he thought.

Satisfied, and mentally tired, he grinned in response to Rhoda, “that sounds like a good idea. I’d like to start being as useful as I can early on..but preferably with nothing I can mess up too badly. A bit like this…” He nudged his, now slipping, bandage mournfully before looking back up with a sheepish grin.

“Once again I’m amazed at your knowledge, I’ve only spent half an afternoon on this and my head is already full and a bit sluggish. I don’t know how you do it. I only hope I can be of as much help to you.”

Rhoda
Rhoda chuckled as Rin started fussing with his slipping bandage. She hadn’t had much of a stomach for humor lately, and she’d forgotten how good it felt to simply laugh. Rho could hardly keep a smile off her muzzle. Maybe… maybe leaving the main herd had been the right thing to do. Despite how much her heart ached for the familiar company of her family and friends, she was coming to realize that she was truly glad she had left!
“I have you at a disadvantage on this subject, Rin,” Rhoda laughed, coming back out of her head and into the present, “as I’ve been studying and practicing herbology since I was very young. It’s been my passion to work with plants and to learn about them. We live in a land so blessed with life!”
Across the clearing, some of the other fawnlings were stirring from their rest. Rhoda made sure to soften her voice. In her merriment, she had started speaking louder.
‘I’ve never been good at staying prim, proper and demure around friends!’ Rho thought wryly.
“I’m sure that our positions will be reversed once you’re teaching me about fighting.” She continued with a smile, “Just you wait! I’m sure to make a fool of myself at some point.”
Rhoda leaned down and carefully caught the edge of her mock bandage and began to tug it apart. While the strips they had practiced with wouldn’t be much use after being taken off, they could hold onto some of the better pieces to have for another time. It was always good to be prepared!
“To be honest, I don’t know what the capabilities are of our little band now. I’m not an expert in herbs or healing by any stretch, but I’m glad you’re interested in learning! The more each of us knows, the better off we’ll be facing any future… circumstances.” Rho glanced back at the other fawnlings. This was her new family, for good or ill. She would do everything in her power to keep them safe, whatever that meant.
“Since your head is feeling full, let’s stick to muscle memory?” She suggested lightly, resolutely turning away from the dark and serious thoughts. “We have all these bandages ready to go, and you’ll only get better at applying them with practice! Let’s see if you can’t manage a tighter wrap - but not too tight!”

Aneirin
He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the doe sparring; he remembered how ungainly he’d first felt when he started training. Although it would be a new thing to teach someone who already had world experience and their own ideas, most cadets were young enough that answering back was unthinkable. He’d definitely have his hooves full. Although if she proved even half as interested as he felt about herbs, she’d make damned good fighter.
“I won’t go easy on you, that’s true, but I think we can move past the hazing that a lot of colts go through. You seem agile enough to do well, but I can’t guarantee you won’t fall on your head..or your tail a few times.” He said with a grin. Rhoda didn’t seem too phased.
Perhaps it would make a nice change, being able to explain a theory through, instead of having to wallop it through a thick skull. Speaking of thick skulls, Rin groaned ever so slightly at the doe’s cheerful tone, reminding him what he was here for; his head felt so full!
“Muscle memory, right. Ok. Wrapping a … bandage, yep.” He muttered to himself as he selected another decent strip and went back to work. A few strained, mostly silent moments later, Rin looked up happily from what he deemed, his most perfect bandage yet. He nosed his handy work proudly, making sure everything was in place before asking Rhoda to judge his latest efforts.
Are the ends tucked in? Uhh..ye-yes, now they are.
Is it going to slip? Nope, not this time!
Can you still feel your hoof? Uhm..yes, yes I can. It is not too tight.
Is the worm firmly attached? Yep! He’s right th-wait. Worm?
With a surprised snort, Rin flicked away the curious intruder who’d managed to get stuck in the sticky sap of the bandage.
“I think I might actually be getting the hang of this now. Well, this tiny part of it anyway; I’m trying not to think about all the multitudes of stuff I have no idea about.”
He glanced up at the doe as he flung his leg out for her to inspect, pleased that she’d come out of her shell a bit more, and proving that he’d have at least one proper friend in this small band of outcasts. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such an easy conversation, or enjoyed himself for so long. Despite how much his stomach twisted at leaving behind his home, there was a definite glimmer of a better future ahead.
The sounds of shifting undergrowth disturbed his ruminations; the rest of the herd were starting to wake fully and stretch out. Melark would be calling for him soon, to start scouting for their next path. With a small pang of sadness, he started to rise to his feet, groaning slightly at how stiff his legs felt, rolling his eyes at Rhoda when he heard their leaders soft shout.
“It has been a true pleasure, miss, to spend the afternoon with yourself, but mine captain calls” he said with mock formality, adding in a little bow, such as guardsman give to passing princesses or royals, before the grin ruined the whole display.
“I can’t wait for the day this constant movement becomes unnecessary, reaching our new home can’t come soon enough.”
He gestured towards the bandages that still lay on the ground, “thanks for your help today, I’ll try and remember it all. Perhaps next time I’ll start teaching you how to fight, and we can spend the rest of the day learning how to treat the bruises.”

Rhoda
She watched Rin turn his attentions back to the bandages even as he spoke about her future training. Rho smiled, and there was a fierceness in her face that rarely graced the expressions of does in the main herd.
“I would expect nothing less!” She replied with a good natured snort. “Coddling trainees means you never challenge them to surpass their limits. I hardly think the Guards of Glenmore are big on playing things ‘safe’ when it comes to bringing up the future ranks.”
They lapsed together in silence as Rin concentrated on practicing his bandage wrapping. While he worked, Rhoda selected a few of the remaining strips to store for later. She tucked them away into her supply satchel and returned her attention to the stag’s progress.
Rin proudly flourished his leg, covered in mock bandages. His latest attempt was markedly neater than the other previous ones. Rho carefully inspected the bandage for staying power and how tightly it wrapped around the limb. The results of her examination were favorable.
“You’re already getting a handle on it!” She told him warmly. “I know it can be overwhelming to think about how much there is to learn, especially with herbs! But think of it this way: I'll teach you basics enough that you can act as a healer if needed. Once you have the basics, if you're still interested, we can focus on a particular aspect of herbs for you to learn more about. Some fawns are more interested in making potions and mixtures, others want to learn how best to treat external wounds- the list goes on!”
Rhoda caught Rin’s attention shifting as the rest of the small herd started rising in earnest to continue their trek. She cut short what she had been about to say. Instead she smiled as Rin rose up, ears flicking to catch Melark’s voice, and stood as well.
“We’ll figure it out!” she offered simply. “I…”
Now it was Rhoda's turn to be at a loss for words. How could she sum up everything that this unexpectedly friendly encounter had stirred up? New opportunities to learn, to teach, and to become friends? It was a little more than her mind could handle. So she kept it to the point.
“That day you're describing doesn't sound like such a bad time. I'm looking forward to it! And… thanks for coming over here, and, you know, saying hi? I just… Thanks.” Her throat felt like it was closing up so she stopped talking. Hopefully he's get what she meant. Rho smiled awkwardly.
The rest of the group was casting about for any last things they might have forgotten. Intent to keep herself from backsliding into silence, Rhoda waved to Rin before heading over to the others. Now was as good a time as any to finally offer her herbs to the other does. Maybe she'd make some more friends before the day was out?

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CAN YALL PLEASE GO PELT Rhith WITH BACON, PLEASE?! SERIOUSLY! This has been a collab long in the making, but it was incredible fun! I can't wait to see how Rin and Rho becomes renegade bros ahhhhhh!

Also: So many stat points! Stat points for all! Same breakdown for both characters, I think? <3
+2 ______ - collab art
+4 ______ - collab lit - 2000+ words
+1 ______ - practicing/sparring/fighting with another Fawnling