Strange plants, adapt now

Lúta reached down with her jaws and carefully snipped the steps and appendages coming off the root which she then picked up and set back down at her paws so that Elizabeth could get a better look. "Here let me show you, my camp is just right over here." Lúta picked up the root. She didn't have to go far at all to still be in sight of the Valerian. She moved over to her pack and pulled out a small square of deer hide. "This is how I used to carry everything around." She set the root in the center then folded the hide into a diagonal then she brought the two corners together and lifted her head to show that she could carry the bundle. She set it down. "I have a pack now that was given to me by another loner." She gestured to her knapsack."I'm not sure where he got it but it's nice to keep your mouth free. Still a scrap or two of deer hide works well enough."

Her macaque came over to her. "I have the fire ready, who's this?"

"Oh, this is Elizabeth. Elizabeth this is my companion Ragna." The macaque smiled and nodded in greeting.

"I've got some catmint I'm trying to figure out a good way to preserve. I think I'll see how it does dried. Do you have experience drying herbs?" Lúta reached down to the bundle of catmint she was planning to work on and she divided the bundle in two. The first half she bunched together and laid on a small piece of leather twine. Ragna sat down next to her and tied the twine in a knot. She was much quicker than Lúta who often stumbled about with her mouth and big, klutzy paws.

For the other half of the bundle she carefully worked the catmint into one of her clay bowls. From there she took her paws and muddled the mint a bit so that it would release its healing properties better. Her head disappeared into the main compartment of her pack as she pulled out a water skin. Ragna helped her with the cap and she added some water to the bowl. With the waterskin put back away she settled back down. "I wish we had more days before winter. I feel so pressured to get what I need crafted and stored."