Don't Stop Beelieving!

Ragna separated from Skælingr as she scouted through the prairie. It was a gorgeous day and the sun shown down warm on her fur. She had a short list of herbs she was looking for, namely boneset and meadowsweet. Her stores had been depleted over winter and there were few other herbs, apart from maybe yarrow, that she felt were essential to a winter herb kit. Especially as her husband seemed to be prone to respiratory infections. Perhaps she should see if she could find some elderberry or something else to help with immunity. While there was no magic solution she knew there were still small things they could do. Eat well, keep warm, get plenty of sleep and a few herbs like elderberry or echinacea here and there certainly wouldn't hurt.

Ragna followed her nose, first finding meadowsweet. The wonderful smell lead her right to the plant and its delicate, fernlike foliage and graceful, creamy-white flowers. The flowers were a sign that summer was on its way, just around the corner and the warm weather of the southern regions would become even hotter. That was one thing she wasn't looking forward to when living in the south. Summer was likely going to be sweltering. Ragna supposed they could just move with the seasons. That was one nice thing about not being anchored down by a pack, they could move as they needed to to be comfortable. However, there was the problem of all of their crafts and gear. They'd stashed the travois' and their crafts in a temporary den but it would be a lot to move later if they gathered too much. Perhaps they should just settle down in the middle of Boreas and call it good.

She continued working her way through the prairie after gathering some meadowsweet and bringing it back to her main pile. She wasn't terribly worried about it being stolen. From what she could tell there weren't many other wolves out in the fields and she doubted a deer or other grass eater would go out of its way to eat the herbs she gathered. If it did she'd see if she could track the foolish beast and have it pay her back for her work in meat. The prairie was alive with the sounds of spring. Birds were singing loudly and numerous bugs were joining the concert. It was nice to walk through a land so full of life. The prairie was a beautiful patch of land, she had to admit. The fact that it was teaming with flora and fauna only doubled the beauty of the place. It was kind of surprising that there wasn't a pack already here. Well, she was glad there wasn't. She didn't want packs to take over every nice piece of territory in Boreas. Spring flowers were blooming all around her in dozens of colors and the sweet smell was enjoyable.

However, as she walked she caught a sweet smell that was not from flowers. Honey? Curiosity prompted Ragna to follow the scent. If there was a beehive nearby she wanted to know so that she could come back later and smoke the bees out. Honey was also useful for a winter sick kit and could be preserved reasonably well. The smell led Ragna to a nearby tree and there ,in a knot on the tree, was a swarm of bees, buzzing about. they darted about to and fro, doing their work and taking advantage of all the lovely spring flowers. Satisfied with knowing where the hive was she turned to head back when she just about ran into another hive in a tree across from the first one. Oh! She heard buzzing right near her ears and she yelped as she was stung on the shoulder. Oh that hurt! Rotten little creatures, it had been an accident. With a snarl she shuffled back then turned and ran. The bees were in pursuit right behind her, moving faster than they had any right to.

As she raced away from the small group of trees she spied a nice, well-leaved branch. Probably felled in an earlier spring storm. Her head dipped down to scoop up the branch, without breaking her run. She wished she had some fire but alas she didn't so she would just have to make do with what she had. Whipping her head around she started swinging at the bees, aiming to use the breeze generated to knock them off course and maybe swat a few down as well. Due to her running the pursuing bees were strung out and some just hadn't bothered to follow her all the way to where she was now. Ragna thrashed her head madly, her ears peeled for any sound of buzzing. When at last the buzzing seemed to subside she came to a still. Ragna's ears flicked forward. Silence, good. Grumbling to herself she dropped the stick and headed back toward the rendevous point so she could tell her husband. They'd get a good fire built and smoke those bees out. She felt she was owed some honey and beeswax after getting stung. Ranga turned her head and licked at the skin around the sting. She had a few herbal ointments that could help with the pain and inflammation. What a frustrating turn to an otherwise lovely day.