Planting an herb garden naturally seemed like the type of think that Roan would be doing, rather than his uncle. In fact, that had originally been the plan, since the Typhoon's herb stocks were rapidly beginning to diminish thanks to the sudden influx of injuries. However, also because of that sudden influx of injuries, the young sage had suddenly found himself extremely busy, unable to really do anything except watch over and treat others. Michael had, at first, offered to help by simply going and stealing herbs from another group for themselves. Roan, unfortunately, was less than pleased with this idea, practically clawing his uncle's ears off with his words before he sent the bobcat off with a book and several sproutlings. He had been told a very specific place to plant all of the herbs, with Roan outlining each of the conditions that the plants needed to be grown in, in order to grow and work effectively. In all honesty, it was enough to make Michael's head spin even without the concussion, but he didn't want to disappoint the kid. So, he had tried to remember as much as possible of what he had been told, making his way out towards the jungle part of the Typhoon's territory with quite a grand variety of different sproutlings in tow.

It had taken a little bit of searching, but Michael had eventually found the exact location that Roan had told him about, right where sand met the edge of the jungle. It was perfect for several different kinds of herbs, since it provided them not only with a dense leafy area, but also with sand and sunlight as well. Taking a deep breath, the bobcat began to shove his dark paws against the sand and dirt, clawing up big pawfuls and tossing them aside. He did the celandine first, since it could sit right on the line between sand and jungle. He then moved on to the dock, planting the roots of the large leafed plant slightly further within the jungle. Next was the horsetail in the slightly damper area of the jungle, and then the fennel as well. Before long, Michael's front legs were dirty and brown all the way up to the elbow, and he could feel exhaustion clawing at him. Shoving his paws into the dirt to plant one of the last sproutlings, he cursed as his claws caught on a thick root hidden down below, twisting his ankle painfully. Yanking one of his paws back into his chest, the privateer grumbled lowly, "I wish Roan would've warned me of what a pain in the ass this would be..." It was entirely possible that the boy had warned Michael, and he had just been too in his own head to hear it, or he had just accidentally ignored it when one if the waves of nausea from his concussion hit him.

Michael knew full well that Margaret wasn't supposed to be out and about in the jungle, especially after the meteor strike. However, Michael also knew that he was hardly the type to be scolding someone over breaking the rules. Even if Maggie didn't know about his past – well, sort of past, sort of present – as a thief and fugitive, the thought of lecturing someone else after all he had done sort of made his skin crawl. So, when Maggie emerged clumsily from the shadows to make sure he was alright, he shot her a halfhearted look that was supposed to be disapproval, but really just seemed to look like he was in pain thanks to his paw. The privateer was still holding his injured paw close to his chest as he muttered, a sigh leaving him, "Hey Maggie... I'm alright. Just accidentally stuck my paw a bit too far down and twisted it a bit." His wrist ached a little bit in reminder, but he mostly shrugged it off. After all, he had been through much worse injuries in his life. Hell, he had been through much worse in the last week.

He then found himself blinking mismatched eyes in surprise when Margaret offered to help him with his task. He supposed it made sense that the young girl would want to contribute in some way, but he couldn't help the worry that flashed across his face. His teeth sunk gently into his cheek as he thought about how small she was, and how easy it would be for her to do worse than just twist her paw. Still, the thought of seeing an expression of disappointment on his niece's face made his stomach twist even more, so he knew what he had to do. Glancing between Maggie and the still empty pit that was ready for a sproutling, he nodded and muttered, his tufted ears flicking downwards for a moment, "Uhh... yeah, course you can help. I mean, it's nothing all that complicated. You just gotta put that sproutling in that hole, and then cover the based up with dirt." He pointed at one of the horsetail sprouts, still feeling a sense of anxiety. Hopefully nothing would happen, or Roxie would kill him.

It wasn't long before the scent of two others mingled with the strong scent of the budding herb garden, causing Michael to lift his head again. Hollow was the next to arrive, and the bobcat couldn't help but notice just how gingerly that he stepped around the plants, clearly terrified of trampling them. The thief vaguely wondered if the sabertooth had experience with stepping on gardens, a little snort leaving him. When the other male offered to put up some kind of barrier, Michael smiled, mumbling, "A barrier, huh? I supposed that'd be nice of you. I'm just doing this for Roan while he's busy, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind a bit of extra protection, especially considering how important these plants are." Although alternatives could often be found for the purposes of most herbs, Michael had been told that Roan was losing more and more of his stock by the day as more injured by the meteor and the aftermath showed up. Running out of everything would be problematic, to say the least of it.

When Roxie arrived, Michael found the usual smile coming to his face, immediately put at ease by her presence. He hadn't been particularly tense before, but the presence of both her and Maggie as his family always put him in a better mood. Waving a paw to her, he muttered softly, "Hey Rox. Your kid's got me doing hard labor for him now." He was joking, of course, considering the crooked smirk on his face and the mirth in his mismatched blue eyes. After this, he turned his attention back to Maggie, his smirk softening to a genuine smile as he heard her, "I'll be sure to keep him in mind. Although I think Roan's got his paws full for a little bit." He watched as Maggie buried the plant as she had been instructed, nodding his head firmly once she was done, "Yeah, that was perfect! Although... you should probably make sure to wash your paws after this. The dirt has a tendency to stain." It wasn't as big of a deal on dark fur like his own, but he didn't want her light and colorful pelt getting stained a dirty brown.