At the smell of blood, the gelding usually runs liberally in the other direction. He isn't a warrior, not by any stretch of the imagination, yet his keen ears detect the heaving breaths and pained huffs of a mare in labour. The black sighs, lifting his head from his grazing. A mare foaling is none of his business, and yet...and yet. He's never going to have children of his own, and the process is the most natural and beautiful thing on earth. Is it so wrong of him to watch, to pretend? He is, after all, an aspiring healer, and perhaps he can lend a hoof to ease the pains of childbed.

Slurping the bits of grass into his throat, Badger turns and begins to wander towards the noises and the smells. The moonlight glints off his furry winter coat as he breaks into a heavy trot, then immediately slows back to a walk because effort. The snow slows him and he's soon puffing, and is about to give up and turn around when he hears a scream. It is the cry of a mare in need, begging for her lover, but judging by the pitch of her voice, she may not live to see the foal's father arrive. Suddenly there's urgency in the gelding's paces as he throws himself into a canter, huffing icy breaths into the frigid night air as his little legs work overtime.

He sees a shining white tree, and there, beneath it, a mare with fur of darkest ebony and the wings of a blackbird. The steely tang of blood is almost overwhelming, and the gelding nearly recoils. "M...miss?" His voice is soft as he approaches, making sure he gives her lots of space. He's been kicked in the face for his foal-related curiosity before, and isn't keen to repeat the experience.

His warm eyes dart downwards, and beneath her tail where the foal should be pushing its way into life, there is only a dark puddle. Well, that's not good. Immediately he's thinking of everything he knows about healing - his humans had been very into herbal medicine, and he's seen it used many times. But can he remember what is helpful and what is deadly? He doesn't even know what plants here are safe to eat, let alone which ones would help a badly bleeding mare. But dammit, he has to try. His mother had told him that she had bled a lot when she gave birth to him, and that the humans gave her mixed raspberry leaves and nettles to stop her bleeding out whilst they waited for the vet. With single-minded determination, the gelding begins to run around like a headless chicken, collecting the necessary herbs. Nettles? They're easy to find even in the snow, and he snatches up a few mouthfuls. Raspberries are slightly harder, because in the cold winter air they are fruitless, but he grabs a leaf that looks vaguely like what he remembers raspberry plant leaves are like.

With his mouth stuffed full, he edges closer to the mare again, nudging the herbs towards her. "Um, my name is Badger, and I know...a little bit about healing. These plants should slow the bleeding, but we need to get you to a proper healer." But how? He doubts there is a healer conveniently wandering nearby, and he can't exactly carry her to one of the herds on his back! Frantic, he begins to panic, but fights to keep his face as gentle and unworried as possible. All he can do is wait, and hope a brainwave comes to him.