Halo was too busy to really... sort out her feelings about the move. That was okay! She was okay, she promised. There were way, way too many things going on in her head, but she was okay. Too many feelings. Way too many feelings, especially after the conversations that Halo had with both Mort and Sen but... well, she'd squish those down for later. There was work to do. There was so much work to do. As long as Halo was working, then those thoughts didn't have time to creep up, they didn't have time to settle in, and they didn't have time to bother her. All of the projects that she'd planned for the winter could in theory be done at a higher elevation, right? Yeah. Right. Then it wouldn't stop her now.

Mort had been kind enough to help Halo set up the barrel to begin making lye, settling it sturdily over a foundation of rocks so it rested a good two feet off the ground. Beneath it, the healer would have space to bore holes and place a bucket to collect the lye water when the time came. They'd be able to continually add ashes from the fires to this bucket all winter, as soon as they were cool. Still, with the bucket already in place, Halo realized that she'd run into a problem.

That problem was, of course, she was too hecking short to finish her project. Mortis had been called away to whatever actual business he needed to tend to-- frankly, Halo felt guilty having kept him busy for so long. The Warlord's son had far better things to do than help the healer with her projects, tasks that felt menial in the scheme of things. Still, she's too short to continue on with her present task. Halo stood back for a moment, thinking to herself, before resolving that she'd carry on regardless. Couldn't let the doubt creep back in around the edges.

A bucket. Right, she'd go collect the pebbles for the bottom of the barrel from around the lake, but she needed a bucket. Well, she needed two buckets, really-- one for washing the pebbles, and one for the clean pebbles once they were done. Mr. Raccoon was camped out in one bucket, peering at her curiously. Halo could have sworn she had at least two, if not three more... but where were they? From somewhere just within the cavern she heard a crash, followed by a faint I'm okay! from Hazel. Wait... had... hm. "Hazel, have you seen my other buckets?" Her tone isn't unkind, and barely conceals a giggle.

"Halo"

Listen, setting up a den was hard work, something that Hazel was learning the hard way. It's not unlike the red and pale girl to rope Basilisk into whatever she's doing, and this was no different. She'd turn this place into a home, or whatever. Maybe she was feeling a little broody, something about being a teenager and all that. Right, a teenager, or something of the sort. Teenagers and their less than smart choices. Maybe it was one of those less than brilliant choices that has Hazel teetering precariously on two buckets, attempting to use some dense tree resin to stick yet another piece of foxfire to the cavern walls. It would act as a sort of guiding light in the dark, at least so no one would smash their muzzle off one wall or another in the low light... especially if that someone was Hazel, who'd already scuffed both her ankles and her nose on at least one occasion. How did it get so dark in the caverns at night, anyway?

Hazel had enlisted Bas as a spotter, because frankly, you rarely saw one without the other. Maybe it should have been the taller boy on the bucket, but Hazel was convinced he wouldn't do it right and would probably make a mess with the pine resin itself. Not that Hazel wasn't sorta making a mess, but at least it was a contained mess, smearing the thick paste off of a piece of bark that she'd found a few days ago. As she attempted to stick another piece of foxfire to the cavern wall, Hazel could feel the bucket beneath her hind leg shift. As it shifted, the yearling overcorrected. Down she went, in the exact opposite direction of her best friend's waiting form. The bucket beneath her hind legs slid out first, and then the one beneath her forelegs went after it. A great, metallic crashing as each pinged off the wall, and the yearling clattered to a heap on the floor. Knowing that Halo was in earshot, and also that Bas would probably worry, she couldn't help but call (loud enough for the healer to hear) "I'm okay!"

But their new head healer asked about the buckets. Hazel's ears went flat for a moment, looking to Bas. "Shit," she whispered to him with a grimace. "I thought we'd have time to put them back." The words were quiet as she reeled, looking for an answer for the healer. "We'll uh, we'll help you look," she was doing her best to think on her feet here, calling back to Halo. They could just uhhh... pretend they found the buckets inside. Yeah, that would work. Maybe. Probably. Hopefully? Hazel finally returned to her feet, shaking the dust from her coat haphazardly.

"Speech"

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur euismod auctor metus id venenatis. Duis tempus tincidunt enim eget rutrum. Nam eu venenatis metus. Morbi mauris metus, porta hendrerit lorem sit amet, aliquet commodo metus. Donec dictum odio dapibus lectus euismod elementum. Praesent condimentum facilisis dapibus. "Ut a faucibus est. Sed semper ipsum ac quam dignissim eleifend. Fusce imperdiet purus justo, quis vulputate mi luctus eget. Integer euismod, orci eget vehicula luctus, nulla libero mattis ligula, at iaculis mauris lacus eget elit. Praesent at dolor ornare, pretium ligula ut, dictum nisl. Vivamus sed risus erat. "Consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur euismod auctor metus id venenatis. Duis tempus tincidunt enim eget rutrum." Basilisk shifted on his paws as he leaned forward, watching Hazel work. He’d tried to insist that he was tall enough to do the work from one bucket, but Hazel insisted. He was used to letting Hazel get her way. She was little - compared to him - but could outstubborn him any day. He’d finally given up butting heads with her (for now) and let her climb on the bucket. But standing below it was boring and he didn’t see what was happening until it was too late. He tried to dive for the bucket as it started to fall, but it was much too late. His own weight just helped to ping one of the buckets against the wall as he half fell over her. He stumbled off the smaller wolf and offered up a paw to help her to her paws. He gave the buckets a guilty look. Maybe Halo wouldn’t see them in the corners. He trotted forward, so Halo wouldn’t go too far and see them. He hissed at his reindeer companion, who’d been lurking in the shadows. “Get the buckets outside!” before turning back in the direction Halo’s voice had come. “Weah, we’ll help” he agreed "Speech"

It wasn't like Halo didn't know, at least after hearing the crash, but she wouldn't be hard on them. Heck, Halo didn't really know how to be hard on anyone. It wasn't in her nature, and she'd let the kids have their fun. Whatever kept them busy, right? Busy and reasonably out of trouble. Speaking of trouble, she wasn't quite sure where the large pup had found a reindeer of all things, but they certainly weren't the stealthiest of creatures. She figured the creature, much like Halo herself, was more comfortable in the cold. There were at least two of them that would be more comfortable, at least through the summer months, now that the Armada had shifted north. Yes, at least one good thing had come out of the move... Halo could keep telling herself there were positives. Maybe that would drown out the alarm bells in her system that any sort of change set off.

She pretended not to see the reindeer as he set the buckets outside, looking pointedly behind a tree, somewhere she certainly knew her buckets were not. The pups could feel like they'd gotten away with something. Still, Halo also had at least a bit more authority now, and she could use their help... hm. Trauma specialist was the title the Warlord had bestowed upon her. Well, if there was one thing that Halo knew well, it was trauma-- ha... haha... ha. But really, the tenderhearted healer did find herself standing a little straighter these days.

"Oh, they're right here," Halo called back to the yearlings after giving the deer time to retreat from setting the buckets down. "But since you two were so eager to help, why don't you two come with me to the lake? I could really use your help," and it was true, their help would be appreciated. Washing the stones would take time, even more time if it was just her. That, and a part of her knew that Hazel really did thrive on feeling like she was important.

Be somebody who makes everybody feel like they're somebody.

"Halo"

They were saved from their conundrum, or at least, Hazel could hope that they were. They... they kinda were? They were kinda saved? Maybe she'd gotten her bell rung a little bit, as she disentangled her limbs from Lis's. Damn his elbows were so sharp, but well, Hazel was used to it. She was pretty much always used to it. It's fine. She's fine. Stubborn may as well be her middle name. Really, the red and pale girl was as hard headed as they came. Independent as all hell (unless it was Bas helping.) (Even still, sometimes when it was Bas helping.)

Maybe someday one of them would realize how much Hazel really did need him, but that... well, those were complicated thoughts. Something about a coming of age story. Something about the weird nature of... them. Those were things that the yearling would ignore as they ricocheted around between her ears.

They had, after all, been roped into helping. She supposed they really had committed now, and dad wouldn't be too pleased if he heard that she'd wiggled her way out of helping Halo when she'd specifically asked. That and... well, maybe sometimes helping the little healer was fun. Even when it wasn't fun, Halo always seemed to have the best snacks. At the trauma specialist's request for help, Hazel looked to her best friend and shrugged. "Why not... maybe she'll feed us after," after the period of scarcity in a very formative period, Hazel had developed a rather odd relationship with food. Still, another thought for another day.

She strode out into the mid-afternoon sunlight, blinking hard against it. One look at Halo's face, and Hazel knew that she knew... but also the yearling was glad that she was playing it off. "Yeah, uh... okay so what are we doing at the lake?" Always curious, she crossed to pick up the bucket that was already full (of raccoon.) (One raccoon.) (One surprised, and then delighted raccoon.)

"Speech"

Basilisk looked tentatively at Halo, trying to distract her and ignore the clanging noises behind him as the reindeer sneaked the buckets out of the cave. A moment later, and Halo found them where the reindeer had left them, lying haphazardly on the ground. He frowned when he realised one had gained a hoofprint dent in the side. He picked it up and gave it a rough bang with a paw, trying to hide the evidence. He sighed at Hazel when Halo asked for help…. But then Hazel spoke the magic words, and he perked right back up again. That was true, Halo always had snacks. He could already hear his belly complaining… Hazel picked up the other bucket, and seemed a little startled. Looking into her bucket, Basilisk saw a raccoon face staring back at him. He stuck out his tongue, before hanging his bucket over one of the reindeers antlers, and scooping one handful of singular raccoon out of her bucket and putting him on his own broad shoulders. “Okay Halo, we’re coming!” he shot Hazel a wicked grin and stuck her bucket over the reindeers other antler. The reindeer clanged a little with each step. "Speech"

If it was possible for the reindeer to be less equipped for stealth, well, they'd found a way. Mr. Raccoon chittered happily where he sat on the yearling boy's shoulders, burrowing into his thick fur. This was a real treat, after all, and a new vantage point to boot! Halo couldn't help but smile at the motley crew as they made her way in her direction. They really were a sight to be seen, that was for sure. Her eyes glimmered softly in the afternoon sunlight, and it occurred to her that they'd have to make good use of the daylight. Though early in the afternoon, it seemed that the sun came down earlier and earlier these days. Hazel had the questions, Halo had the answers. The tenderhearted healer explained things in her typical, soft voice as they walked. "Now that it's winter, and especially while we live somewhere cold, we're going to spend a lot of time with fires lit." It would be a long answer to a short question, but at this point, they couldn't really expect anything less. "When we burn hardwood, like the wood from these trees that lose their leaves, " Halo gestured as they walked past some of the trees that had barren branches, "it creates a specific sort of ash." The pale girl looked to the pair of yearlings, unsure exactly how much they were taking in. Ah well, she'd continue with her lesson. "That ash is white, and it's full of a nutrient that we use to make lye, which is then used to make soap." At least, that was how Halo understood it. Sometimes their band came into contact with wandering traders, and it was the traders that spoke of this process. "So what we need to do is take a bunch of pebbles and wash them until the water stays clear, and then we'll pack them into the bottom of the barrel. On top of that, we can salvage some of the dried grasses that we used when we were packing, and then the white ash that's cooled from the firepits. We'll keep adding it to the barrel throughout the winter, until it's almost all the way full." They'd arrived at the lake, and Halo moved to free the reindeer from the buckets. "Thank you," she spoke to him, moving to the water's edge with the buckets clutched between her teeth. "Here, the size of the pebbles should be about this big," Halo drew a template in the sandy lakeshore, one for a pebble that would be bigger than the holes she'd eventually put in the bottom of the barrel. And with that, she set to work chucking small rocks into one of the buckets, expecting the yearlings to follow suit. "Speech"

In truth, Hazel was probably only half listening (at best) to Halo's answers to her question. She'd asked for the time, not how to read the sun as it tracked the sky... or whatever the saying was. Something like that. Still, the sound of Halo's words as she rambled on, combined with the subtle clanging of the buckets against the reindeer was somewhat comforting. Noise. There was noise, friendly noise, noise that let her know she wasn't alone. She wasn't alone in this world. It was enough to remind her that she wasn't alone in this big ol' world. There's comfort here. As she walks, Hazel occasionally allows her shoulder to crash into Bas's, haphazard but playful... as long as Halo isn't looking.

She tunes back into the lesson as they near the lake, peering at the template that Halo had drawn in the sand. "That seems like a lot of steps for soap... wait you didn't even get to the soap part." Hazel squinted for a moment as she looked at the healer. All of this to... start the process to make soap. Wait, had Halo explained the soap part when she'd been spaced out? Shit. The red pup shot a look to Bas to see if she'd missed something after all. "Okay so we're washing rocks," the words were a bit more to herself, processing the information. In order to start the process of making soap, they needed clean rocks. Frickin' wild.

Hazel neared the water's edge, feigning that she was looking for a rock the right size, and flicked her paw through the cold water. It was a splash in Bas's direction, and a giggle as she immediately put herself on the defensive. There was no telling how he'd retaliate, after all, but it was all part of the fun. She'd alternate, coming up with a handful of sandy rocks and dumping them in the bucket, and harassing Lis... yeah, that seemed fair.

"Speech"

With the raccoon chittering happily in his ear, and the reindeer going clank, blank, clank with every step, they were a procession to wake the dead. Poor Halo had to talk around the noise, and Basilisk definitely heard what she was saying. Like… a solid five words out of every ten. Mostly his attention was on Hazel, who bumped his shoulder any time Halo’s back was turned. He alternated stepping out of the way to see if she would trip, and nudging her back. A very quiet roughhousing just out of Halo’s view. As Halo explained the process of soap making (white ash, grass and… pebbles? ) he considered the implications for a moment. “Can you add smells to the soap? My mum really likes soap. And she likes fish. Do you think she’d like it if we made her a fish soap?” when Hazel asked if they even got to the soap part yet, he gave her a look. “Halo said pebbles and ash and grass make soap. Silly.” he found a stone and tossed it into the bucket. He aimed for the side so it dinged and bounced about the bucket first. When Hazel splashed water at him, he picked the raccoon off his back and (oops, this might get him into trouble) launched the critter at Hazel in revenge. “Catch!” "Speech"

Well, at least Hazel had... sort of been paying attention? Enough to realize that they weren't even to the part where the soap is actually soap. She was no wiser to the yearlings and their play, off behind her back, and just figured they'd probably picked up enough of the explanation. That, or she'd repeat herself when the time came. Maybe that would be a better approach. Sometimes she gets ahead of herself, too many words and not enough actual doing. Teaching yearlings can be challenging. Halo had always faced challenges head on, or at least, as head on as she could without being confrontational. She'd simply adjust and make the best of it. And with Basilisk's question, Halo finds herself pleased. Carefully, the pale healer dumped more rocks into the bucket. "You can add smells to soap, absolutely." Ah... hm. Hanako probably wouldn't appreciate fish soap, but the large yearling's train of thought was a good one. Halo would need to steer that train, though, ideally to somewhere that didn't smell like low tide. "Things like nice smelling plants are usually used to add scent to soap, I bet we can find some flowers that grow around the water when the spring comes." As she worked away, filling the bucket with pebbles, she can't help but ramble quietly. "Scent is one of the senses that ties in the most to memory, so if it smells like the plants around the water where fish live, I bet it will remind her of fish." Or... something like that. Ah, Halo would have to tell Hanako about her son's almost ill-fated adventure with fish soap. "Well, Hazel isn't entirely wrong," a soft smile as she sets yet another rock into the pail. "When the ash barrel is full, I'll boil some snow and pour that over it. There are holes in the bottom of the bucket, and the water will filter down through the straw, through the pebbles, and into that bucket. When it does, it will pick up the good nutrients in the ash. Sometimes it needs to be poured over a few times, but we'll test it to make sure it's good. The water that's left isn't water anymore, it's a chemical called lye." Another rock. "Lye is very dangerous on its own, so I'll do that part by myself. Lye is one of the two most important ingredients in soap." A shout from Mr. Raccoon draws Halo's attention, her head snapping up nearly immediately from where she'd been browsing on the shoreline. "Hey, hey, he's a raccoon not a football, please," her eyes were wide with worry. Still, before the tenderhearted creature can even rush to her companion's side, the creature was already scampering back to Bas and looking up at him expectantly. He'd landed in the water, and was wet and rolling about on the sandy lakeshore. At least someone had enjoyed his flying lessons. "No raccoon launching, please, I can't have Mr. Raccoon getting hurt... and I can't have you," she nudged Mr. Raccoon with her nose, "getting salty and doing something retaliatory if you land wrong." Halo's daily heart attack, after all. The raccoon pouted, looking hopefully to Bas as soon as Halo's back was turned. Would he take the raccoon's invitation to fling him once more? Meanwhile, Halo was satisfied with the rocks collected in the pail, and set to dumping them from one to the other with Hazel's help, swapping the water as they went, until it ran clear. "Speech"

Halo was rambling again, which gave Hazel ample opportunity to begin dumping rocks that were only sort of appropriate into the bucket. She was getting bored, and it seemed like they had a long process ahead of them. Too long, ugh. What had they gotten themselves into when they agreed to help? Shit. Was Halo still talking? Yeah, she was still talking. Hazel caught the mention of fish soap... ewwww. Did he even know what fish smelled like? Hazel stuck her tongue out and made a bit of a gag-y face where Halo couldn't see her, but Bas certainly could. Why did boys have to make everything so gross?

It seemed like Halo hadn't noticed the only somewhat rocks that had been added to the bucket, so she'd take that as a win. The red and pale pup looked up just in time to see a raccoon shaped cannonball hit a waist-deep part of the lake. "Your aim sucks!" It's a rakish grin, a wild glimmer in her eyes. There's something in Hazel that's a bit... a bit much sometimes, but her tail wagged happily behind her. Halo's reaction though... that made her feel a little bad. A mother hen type, she was worried. Shoot, they'd worried her, and... ugh okay Halo was boring but maybe this time she had a bit of a point. At least no one seemed to be hurt.

As Halo returned to the bucket, Hazel couldn't help but ask a question. "So if you need to lie to the soap as one ingredient, what's the other important ingredient?" They were just about done with the pebbles, setting the bucket of clean pebbles on the beach and getting ready to walk back towards the heart of the territory.

"Speech"

Halo was quick to offer a way to make fish-smelling soap. Just fish-memory smelling soap instead of the actual thing. Or something. She was the expert, so he would defer to her knowledge. He was fascinated to learn that rock and ash water was lye, and it was dangerous. He snuck a look to Hazel, wondering if they should snoop and see what this ‘lye’ was When he tossed the raccoon, the creature scampered back to him with his little claws and belly all soaked. Basilisk huffed a laugh when the raccoon seemed to ask for more flying. He hefted him back onto his shoulders and found another stone to toss into the bucket. A little confused at this whole soap making thing that only seemed to get more confusing the more Halo explained it. As soon as Halo’s back was turned, he grabbed the raccoon and rocked him back and forth in his paws. Miming throwing him. The moment Halo was looking at him again however, the raccoon was safely on his back, and Basilisk was innocently looking for rocks and mouthing later to her companion. "Speech"