Autumn was just around the corner. The summer morning dawned with just a hint of coolness to the air that reminded Ragna she needed to finish her crafting for the winter ahead. She hoped it wouldn't be too harsh a winter. She and her husband had been eyeing the pack that had taken up residence in the far south near a lovely lake. Assuming the wolves were decent enough it would make a suitable home.

Ragna found a good place to work and got a fire started. She had some Marshmallow with her, a useful herb for colds and sore throats. Perfect for the colder weather. She had rinsed the dirt off the roots and now she needed to separate the roots from the rest of the plant. She carefully started chewing and severing the roots from the stalk, leaves and flowers. Ragna planned to make a decoction of the roots as well as a tincture. Taking what she had she divided her gathering in half and set aside the tops. She needed to find someone who knew what to do with those. Maybe she could make tea out of them?

The past few days had been exhausting to say the least. So much had changed in a night and it had definitely taken it's toll on the poor girl, with so many of the days after spent weeping constantly in the darkness. Abby wasn't even sure if she'd be able to cry ever again. Another thing lost, but maybe a blessing in disguise. At least the lack of tears gave her the guise of coping. She really wasn't right now.

Her leg still hurt like hell, but she'd rather fight a bear in her current state rather than go another day without the warmth of the summer. She knew it would end soon, she could feel it in the cool winds and the crunching of leaves underfoot. Fall would soon be upon them, she could feel it in her bones. The orchard was relatively easy to navigate at least. All of the trees were aligned, and she already was familiar with the path. But she halted, pressing against the tree next to her as she heard rustling to her right. "Hello?" She tested, muscles tensed. "Is anyone there?"

After dividing the roots, Ragna pulled a couple of ceramic bowls out from her travois. She placed a root into one of the bowls for the decoction. Taking a deer fibula in her mouth she worked at mashing the root. This took some effort, but she persisted until the root was good and mashed.

Next she turned to the tincture. The preparation was very similar, only the liquid used denoted a decoction from a tincture. She took another marsh mallow root and set it in the bowl before mashing these as well. As she worked she heard a voice call out and looked up to see a young woman. Ragna quickly came to the conclusion that the woman was blind. She also seemed to be dealing with a few injuries. "Hello, yes. My name is Ragna a healer. Do you need any help?"

Abby listened closer, the gentle clicking of fibula against ceramic bowl giving the tri-colour woman a feeling of deja vu. The tea making session with Wyndelin and Kati hadn't been that long ago, but so much had happened since then it felt like decades had passed. And like before, she was gripped with the same curiousity. She was very much aware that the situation might not be the same, and that if the crafter wished, she'd be easy prey. But again, she found that she didn't really care, and probably for the wrong reasons. She pushed those thoughts down again like normal.

"I'm alright, thank you." She called to the direction from which the woman spoke. Her wounds had been already tended to as much as they could, and all she could do at this point was make an effort not to strain herself. Of course, the best thing for her to do in that situation would be to return to the barn and sleep for a couple more weeks, but she refused. Better not to be alone with her thoughts right now.

She moved closer, paw steps slow and cautious as she stretched her limb as far as they could go before moving the rest of her body. Her stride was strange, but it was nessecary for now, as she had no idea what was in front of her and it was better to make sure she didn't end up ramming her nose into a wall for the seventh time. "What are you preparing?"

The woman stated that she was alright and likely she'd already been tended to. Ragna found herself curious what had happened. Based on the missing piece of ear she assumed it was a fight but she didn't see any scarring around the eyes. Perhaps she had been born blind? Ragna knew better than to pry so she focused on what she was working on. "I'm preparing some marshmallow roots. Thought it would be a good to have for the winter. Are you familiar with marshmallow?" If the other woman wanted, Ragna was happy to share her knowledge.

Now that the roots mashed and ready to be boiled Ragna grabbed her water skin and poured about a pint of water into the bowl that would create the decoction. She set the water skin aside and grabbed a small bottle of white wine. She poured in a similar amount of wine and then pushed both bowls near the fire. They'd both need to reach a boiling temperature.

As Abby approached she heard the crackling of fire and as she sat by the woman she felt it's warmth. Was she preparing tea? Abby tried to determine this by scent, but even though her other sense had sharpened with the sudden loss of sight, it was too difficult for her to determine. She didn't need to wonder to much longer, as the other wolf explained for her. "Good for colds, right? At least the symptoms." A wise choice, given the changing of seasons. She could feel the cold wind at her back, maybe a bit more than desired as she still had chunks of fur missing that had yet to grow back. Who knew plants could be so voracious?

"What will you use it in?" she asked, the scent of the wine hitting her nostrils as the crafter poured it into a bowl. "And is it alright if I help?" She asked, her uncertain tone making it clear she was prepared to be turned down. She'd been feeling too useless, too stagnant for her liking.

Ragna nodded. "Yep! It helps ease inflammation and pain in the throat as well as cold symptoms. You can also use it to help bruises and sprains." She'd only recently learned of the external uses and as she and her husband were both fighters it was always good to have herbs on hand to help with bruises, sprains and cuts.

Ragna settled back to let the fire do the work, content to just speak with the other woman. "Oh, I placed a marshmallow root into each of my bowls. One I added water to and one I added wine to. I've put them near the fire to heat up. I'm afraid all there is to do now is wait." She hadn't realized the other woman had wanted to help but they could still chat unless she wanted to go hunting for something.

"Oh." She her posture slouched down a little bit as Abby was disheartened for a moment. She made an effort to shake off the feeling as soon as possible though, returning to her original curious enthusiasm as best she could. Talking was something she could do.

"What brings you here?" She asked. It seemed that this was a particularly desirable place of rest for nomad crafters, having come across three within the same season. Though maybe it was just a desirable place of rest period. It wasn't like Abby could argue against the idea, she had found herself returning to the orchard regularly.

Ragna felt bad for the woman but there wasn't much to do at this point, but they could talk about healing. The woman asked what brought her to the Orchard and Ragna had to think about that for a moment. "I guess it just seems like a nice place. Are you interested in healing to?" She kind of just assumed but realized she probably should have asked before simply assuming. "Do you know of any good herbs that grow around here?" She assumed the other woman was from around this area, she smelt similar to one of the packs that had taken up residence in the region and so she figured the other might be more familiar with the herbs that grew in this region. Ragna knew some herbs based on lands that were similar to her home land but she'd never seen trees growing quite like this.