The brick tsabhua doe slid towards the slate huntress, tail flicking.  "Wheeler!" She called out, catching her blue tribemate's attention.

 

"Lark?  What is it?" The huntress asked, looking over her shoulder and away from whatever she'd been studying.

 

The farmer dipped her head in greeting, giving a kind smile to the more stoic doe, "We've been asked to take over a few gathering patrols for a few days." Lark explained simply.

 

Wheeler's eyes rolled, the duty clearly seen as an inconvenience to her, "Why did I get assigned to go?" She asked, even as she made a gesture for her apparent companion to lead the way.

 

Lark gave a little huff of amusement, "Because apparently they thought you would do well at the task." She shot back as she led the way, already having a few spots in mind they could try their hand at gathering.

 

Setting off across the plains, the two tsabhua does made their way to a large field filled with golden fronds.  Wheeler's gaze sharpened, darting around as if assessing for the trails of prey or searching for dangers.  The expression made Lark snicker to herself.

 

"You may find some jaebo, but nothing large or worth hunting.  Besides, we're here to look for plants - not meat." The farmer chided, gently pushing aside some of the golden stalks.

 

"Why not just take this stuff back?  Don't we use it for baking and such?" Came the instant challenge.

 

A soft huffing laugh followed, making the slate huntress glare in annoyance, "We could, but this is a wild field that we leave mostly untouched aside from the occasional harvest.  And that means that we can probably find some medicinal herbs, like centu and emric."

 

That got the huntress to lapse into silence for a few minutes as they made their way deeper into the field, "What do they look like exactly?"

 

"In fields like these they tend to grow together.  Centu is about half the size of the wete and is green - generally with purple flowers.  Meanwhile emric basically is a ground plant, just a little taller than normal grass, and grows around the stalks and Centu - almost like a dark green leafy blanket that's spotted with yellow fluffball flowers." Lark explained, pausing a moment later as a grin split her face.

 

"There!" She called, shooting through about five yards of the wete field to get to a small patch of green.  What appeared to be an extremely low-lying bush with small, round yellow flowers was surrounding several tall green stalks with purple flowers.

 

Wheeler approached more slowly, tilting her head as she studied the plants and nodded almost studiously.  "Alright, so that's what we're looking for?"

 

Lark bobbed her head in an eager nod, bending down to snap off the flowering stalks near their base and grabbing several of the hidden clumps of the bush - plucking out small bouquet-like sections by a connecting piece.

 

Wheeler nodded, "I'm gonna go look for some more." She said, moving off.

 

By the time they made their way out of the wete field, they were both carrying armfuls of centu and emric - something that would be eagerly accepted by the healers of their colony.

 

~~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~

 

Lark had a plan.  She figured they could spend this second day travelling to a more distant area and gathering herbs that didn't grow as close to the tribe's home.  She had even gotten two carrying packs so they could carry more back with them.

 

Wheeler had other ideas, as she wandered off in the opposite direction without a word.

 

"Wheeler, where are you going?!" The brick doe snapped, irritated with the huntress's silence.

 

"Gathering." She shot back, pausing as her tail flicked, "Aren't you coming with me?"

 

"Well, we are supposed to be going together." Lark clipped, "So where are you wandering off to?"

 

Another eyeroll, "To look for some food.  We restocked supplies yesterday, now let's bring home dinner for our tribemates." A pause, "Or, well, at least an appetizer.  So come on."

 

Lark sighed, knowing this wasn't going to go anywhere if she stood there arguing, and followed after the slate tsabhua.  "Where are you leading me?" She asked after a few minutes of walking.

 

"There's a huge berry patch this way, with lots of different kinds of berries we can pick." She shrugged, "We hunters use them as bait sometimes, but they can be excellent food for us too - or made into dressings and stuff." 

 

That actually made Lark smile, giving a gentle shove to the other doe's shoulder, "Look at you!  And here I thought you were too much of a warrior to have anything to do with plants!" She teased, receiving a harsh glare with very little actual heat behind it.

 

"Tell anyone and I'll make sure you regret it." The huntress practically growled, suddenly completely serious.

 

Lark waved her hands in surrender, "Alright, alright!  Geesh!" She laughed softly, "It can be our little secret, berry picker."

 

Another half-hearted glare was shot her way, making her laugh louder as they continued to walk to their destination.  The berry patch was impossible to miss as they came to the top of a hill, the bushes a thick mass of various shades of green and dotted with berries of almost every color you could imagine.

 

"The lavender and sky blue berries are the sweetest, and I'd recommend avoiding the lime green ones." Wheeler said, "They're not poisonous or anything, but they've got quite the bite - especially if they're not perfectly ripe."

 

Lark nodded, and gave a sharp turn away from the lime green berries she'd been approaching - hearing the snort of amusement behind her as the two spread out to different areas of the berry patch.

 

Pausing in an area of mainly lavender berries, Lark began picking the small food items - grabbing some of the nearby yellow and red berries as well, just for variety.  Wheeler, meanwhile, chose an area with plenty of her recommended sky blue berries, though picked some white and orange berries as well.

 

By the time they left a couple of hours later, their packs were practically bursting with berries of various shades and colors - their job well done.