Leading the way around the edge of the mangrove swamp, the young healer tried to avoid the muddier regions. Poor girl didn't need to be covered in dirt and muck after what she'd already been through. Bug had turned to sit backwards on his companions hips and stare wordlessly at the strange girl, for whatever reason. He never trusted strangers, but he also didn't trust big strangers with mysterious histories who his idiot wolf friend decided to cart home on a whim. Blank, wide set eyes stayed fixed on the pale fae while the healer skirted the worst of the mud pockets until the ancient maple came into view. "Home sweet home," he sighed, gaze traversing the brightly hued leaves that were slowly beginning to drop from the canopy of his beloved maple, littering the clearing and creating a soft bed over the loose, sandy substrate. With the sun beginning to set over the thick canopy of the mangrove, it threw even more firey hues over the brilliant leaves of his tree. Bug flung himself awkwardly from Bog's hips when the small wolf stepped onto the soft bedding of the clearing, and hopped towards the little mud puddle that was lovingly tended and upkept nearby for his comfort. "You're welcome to make yourself comfortable, I'll get the fire goin' and then I've gotta go grab the fixin's for dinner." he drawled, glancing over his shoulder with a grin. With a cheery swing in his step, the healer vanished into the mouth of his den in search of his flint and striking platform, as well as some of the tinder he kept in one of his precious glass jars that still had a lid. Even when the air got humid, the tinder stayed nice and dry. It was a mixture of dried witch hair lichen, shredded birch bark, and some of the cottony fibres he'd traded for a season or two back. He kept it stocked with whatever he happened to have on hand, he didn't have the luxury of being picky about tinder. With those things clutched awkwardly in his jaws, he reemerged in the clearing where he hoped the young girl had decided to settle down. He dropped the glass jar carefully, and then placed his firestarter next to it in the sand and trotted to the area behind his tree in search of some kindling. Firewood was hard to collect in a swamp, everything was so damp all the time. He tended to bury his firewood in loose sand and hoped that the worst of the drizzle would be warded off. With a mouth full of small and mid-sized sticks, the young healer trotted back towards the fire pit in the middle of the clearing and dropped the bundle into the middle of the circle of stones. "So pinkie, what are you thinkin' for dinner?" he asked lightly as he settled a small pile of tinder atop the kindling and arranged the small sticks into a sort of ring around the fluff. In case a sudden breeze came through, it would hopefully keep the embers from dying. It always took him several strikes to get the fire going, his paws weren't especially nimble and his skills hadn't been given the time required to develop into the easy grace of his mothers' firestarting abilities. He fed small scraps of leaves and twigs to the ember until it took to the kindling, and settled back on his haunches with a heavy sigh. Verdant eyes lifted to the pale features of his guest with a warm smile, trying to seem like a happy host and a friendly face to offset the sorrow that seemed to still be hiding in those cherry red eyes, maybe offer her some reprieve from her trauma for a few moments. "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina scrambled after Bog, doing her best to stick to the larger roots that she thought could best support her weight. Thankfully she was not a heavily built girl. The frog, Bug, staring at her made her uncomfortable so she purposely kept her eyes either down where she was walking or surveying the landscape around her. Soon they arrived at Bog's home and he invited her to get comfortable. "That's a pretty tree." She said, gesturing to the maple before settling down in a nice pile of leaves.

Soon Bog returned and got a fire going before asking her what she was thinking for dinner. "Well, I would like to try your catfish stew if that was ok. I can help out, just tell me what to do. I don't want to be a burden."

The small healer enjoyed company, whether he made a point to express it or not. Guests were always welcome, and though he was an awkward, standoffish oaf at times, he greatly enjoyed spending time with strangers and learning about the outside world through them. He flashed a grin at the girl when she offered compliments on his choice of den site. He rocked back on his heels and listened to her speak, green tipped ears perked. "Well, I would like to try your catfish stew if that was ok. I can help out, just tell me what to do. I don't want to be a burden." she replied, prompting the young healer's tail to start twitching with excitement. Having help while hunting catfish always made the work easier! rising back to his paws, he grinned at the pale fae. "That sounds just fine to me, would ya mind helpin' me dig the pit to cook the stew? Deeper into the mangrove there are a few plants with broad, waxy leaves that're great for linin' a cookin' pit to keep everythin' from soakin' into the soil." just like that, he was rambling away. There was a spot on the side of the clearing that was further from the water, usually still disturbed from the previous use as a cooking pit. The soil was loose from constantly being removed and then refilled. He tipped his head to the side, gesturing for Lukina to follow as he plodded to the spot where the leaf litter was all askew, partially buried in soil and smelling vaguely of spice and cooked meat. "This is the spot where I usually dig my pit, when I'm cookin' somethin' special for Gatherin's or guests. If ya would be so kind as to dig.. uh.. I usually dig about as deep as my front legs, but yours are a lil bit longer than mine.. so maybe half o' yours?" he drawled, frowning lightly as he lifted a brown forelimb and glanced between it and the long limbs of the youngster. Yeah, that was probably good enough. "I'm gonna check my stores, hopefully I've still got some of the nice dried mushrooms left." he chuckled, scampering back to the den in search of whatever ingredients were lurking in his stores. Sure enough, there were still a handful of the dried chicken of the woods pieces, which soaked up flavour from whatever else they were cooked with, and bulked up the stew easily. Some of his black stone lichen was still sitting in the covered bowl on a back shelf, so he pulled it forward for easy grabbing when he needed it. Some watercress would be useful, but he didn't appear to have any. Winter was coming far too quickly, he needed to go out and collect more for when the weather began to turn. Perhaps he'd see if there was any alfalfa while he was hunting, and use it to bulk up the stew as well. It would also help the girl- if she only ended up eating this meal with him before she left again, he would want to be sure she would get some weight on and some good stuff in her body. Oh, he had two water chestnuts left. Smashing them into a loose pulp with a rock and adding them to the stew would make a good addition. Returning to the clearing, he opted to check the girl's progress on the hole. Nub twitching, he grinned at her. "Ya feel like catchin' some catfish with me? Might lose a toe or two, but it's worth it." he said, nodding his head towards the mangrove, whose waters were only beginning to show their gentle glow in the dying light of the day. "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina eagerly scrambled after Bog, eager to help out. She wasn't the best digger but she did have big paws that could readily scoop earth and she wasn't afraid to get dirty. She padded over to the area of loose earth and listened as Bog explained the rough depth and measured one of his legs up to hers. She nodded. "Ok, will do!" Lukina dove into her job with gusto, her white paws quickly digging through the dirt and leaves. She delighted in sending the mud and muck into the air and out of the hole. As she got the hole to a point where she thought it might be deep enough she stuck a leg in to gauge the depth. Yep, that seemed pretty close.

At that point Bog returned and mentioned trying to catch some cat fish. "Yea, I'd like to help and I'd just like to see one of those fish try to get my toes." She held up a paw and released her cat claws with a grin.