No One Suspects the FDA

Chrysanthos made his way slowly to the dancefloor. It was one of the few places in the west where he could possibly find herbs but that window was closing by the day. The west was warm and arid most of the time but with winter closing in and the sun light blurred by the clouds of ash and smoke it was colder than usual. Any more he'd have to rely on gathering bark and roots if he wanted anything fresh. The stress and despair wrought by the volcano's eruption made a vacancy noticeable in his herb stores. He'd gathered a little valerian root but he didn't think he'd need a lot of it however after the disaster many wolves, himself included, were having trouble sleeping. He wake up in a cold sweat, swearing he could feel the earth shaking again, certain his den was about to collapse. Some nights he was tempted to sleep outside but the chill winter night's made that risky.

Chrys flinched and looked back at hind left leg. There was a good gash just below the knee that he hadn't tended to yet. He knew he should but he was so focused on what he was doing he hadn't bothered. While exploring the lands close to the veteran's plateau a sudden tremor had caught him off guard. He'd slipped and cut his leg on a piece of metal. At first the wound didn't seem so bad. It hadn't even hurt but as he'd walked on it on his way back to the west it had opened and was now red and angry and when he moved some times the little clots of blood would break loose. He told himself he'd tend to it but he hadn't, perhaps out of embarrassment and shame. It was a stupid injury and here he was trying to keep the stores as full as possible. Winter was just starting and he hated to waste the herbs because of his own dumb mistake. It was silly but what could he do. So he kept on his way, promising to take care of the injury after he found some more valerian and he was certain he was close. He could smell the plant nearby and soon he saw something that looked promising. Most of the plants were missing their leaves making them even harder to identify.