A strange thing had happened to the old, lonely lioness that used to lurk among the apothecaries. Once she rarely had lifted her eyes to meet the gaze of another. Once she had barely spoken more than was necessary... not from shyness or sour temper, but because life had seemed almost vain to her. She had been left behind in this broken world while her loved ones had all passed from it to the next plane. She had worked to provide what the healers had needed, so as to keep as many in this world as possible, but she herself had felt cold and nearly dead inside herself.

Until Vigo had arrived. How he'd known she needed him and the vibrancy he brought with his company, she never was quite sure. But she no longer was the wistful, mournful lioness she used to be. No longer did she prefer quiet and solitude. No more did she seek the assignments that led her out away from the dens. No indeed. Now she was grandmama to several litters of cubs, now full grown and living their own lives here in the pride. She had cared for their needs, wiped their tears, snuggled them as they napped... he had brought purpose back to her life, and she never could repay him for that unspeakable kindness.

But as a consequence, she found herself now rather reluctant to venture beyond the main area of the pride. Oh, it wouldn't hurt her to go, nothing was likely to go wrong while she ventured towards the borders. But even though they were grown, she felt a powerful urge to stay close to the cubs she'd nurtured... to ensure that if they ever did need her, she'd be close by and able to provide for them. Perhaps it had to do with losing her own litter so long ago. Regardless, it put her in a position where she needed an extra set of paws to go wandering for her. Besides, it was better to send someone untouchable by the plague, surely!

Thus she had asked about, and now had an eager young leopardess listening intently to her instructions. "They look like this," she said, showing Brauna a dried sample of a leafy twig. "There won't be any flowers on it this time of year, either. Just look for these leaf structures, with those specific colors," which she'd had to ensure Brauna could recognize, since the dried specimen had lost much of its color. "Then there are these," she then pointed to a handful of still ripe berries, though their color was unappealing. "Do not groom yourself after tucking them into the pouch, remember!" she warned firmly. "They will poison you enough to make life truly miserable on your journey back." She dumped the samples into a small pouch, then handed it and a much larger pack to the attentive leopardess. "Be safe, young one, and come back swiftly!"

Brauan made sure the sample pouch was cinched tight, gave the older lioiness a bright nod, slung the pack over her shoulders, the pouch around her neck, and set out for the roguelands. This was one of the lovely advantages of being both a scout and a species immune to the disease. She was a good candidate for helping out various folks when what they needed was beyond their reach. This time it was searching for herbs and berries. Next time it might be hunting down a merchant that specialized in teeth and shells. Mostly she was content to keep close to the pride, as it kept her close to her mate Jabez as well, but sometimes it was fun to go out on an adventure.

This time she was aiming quite far out into no-pride's land. Most of what she'd been asked to get was around the base of a distant mountain. She traveled several days at a steady pace before she saw it in the distance. Excited to have her destination in sight, she picked up the pace and was collecting the needed ingredients a couple days afterwards. Before long the pack was bulging, and she had found all she'd been asked to get. Feeling satisfied and accomplished, she turned for home, but movement caught her eye not far away.

Wary, being a leopardess on her own out here, she crept to a vantage point and peered at what turned out to be a hyena. Ears twitching, eyes roving, she searched for the hyena's pack, but detected nothing. Well, that was good at least! The more she watched this lone hyena, though, the more alarmed she became. It wasn't fear for her own safety, but fear for the well-being of the creature staggering along below her.

Decision made, Brauna broke cover and bounded towards the very thin, very ragged female hyena. She skidded to a stop as the hyena flinched away from her a little, ducking her head as if expecting to be berated.

"I'm sorry, is this your territory?" Dreyma asked wearily. Granted, this leopardess didn't look angry, but you never knew. Sometimes the kindest looking souls could be the cruelest, after all. "I'm not hunting, I promise." Entirely one hundred percent true, much to her own detriment.

Brauna gazed anxiously at the skin-and-bones condition of this creature. "Are you sick?" It was a very logical conclusion, especially given where she'd been spending her days of late. It was all she could think of to explain the hyena's thin condition. "Maybe you should do some hunting," she added. "This isn't territory belonging to anyone, that I know of," she continued thoughtfully. "In fact, if you are too weak, I could always hunt for you?" She peered hopefully at the poor thing, willing her to think rationally and let Brauna help.

Dreyma perked her ears, startled at the offer. "You... would hunt for me? Even though I'm a hyena?" The antagonism between felines and her own kind were well known, though not always typical. "That is... so very kind of you." She paused, hesitating whether to admit her problem or not. "My not hunting isn't because I'm too weak or tired," she began reluctantly, bracing for the scornful reaction. "It is because.. I do not like to kill other creatures." Whoever heard of a carnivore who hated to kill? It was ridiculous, of course, and was why she was all on her own. No pack wanted a pitiful excuse for a hyena such as her!

Brauna, though, suddenly understood the difficulty. "Ah, so you are a scavenger only, eh?" After all, no carnivore could live without meat. She hadn't said anything about not eating something already dead... just that she did not like to do the killing. "Just a moment, I'll be right back." A good little huntress from her time in the roguelands alone, it was no difficult feat to catch and kill a smaller creature and bring it back. While she had hunted, she'd turned things over in her mind, and offered her new friend not just a meal, but a proposal.

"If you come to my pride," she spoke entreatingly to the too-thin hyena, "it is possible you wouldn't have to hunt at all. Many of our members are sick and cannot hunt, so there are those who hunt, and plenty who do not hunt. You could easily find a place among us without having to do any killing yourself."
She hoped it was tempting enough, as she liked this other female already, and thought she would be a good addition to the pride's strength and spirit. As Dreyma ate, she continued to explain what the pride was about, and why they lived as they did. By the time the female hyena was done cracking the bones and sucking the last of the nutrition from them, they had spoken much of the advantages of becoming part of the pride.

"It seems to me," Dreyma finally said, her expression cautious, thoughtful, and now with growing hope, "that this is a good solution for me. If you think they'll have me," she added hastily. Her new leopardess friend just laughed and shook her head. "Of course they will," she was assured.

It seemed that she had found a new place to belong and maybe, just maybe... a permanent home.