Brokerage

SHIBA KLEIN

Shiba was surprised when the bird came to get her, but was pleased that her niece had thought of her for whatever it was that she needed. The request for unspecified herbs caught her interest though, and she moved to sort through her stores. There wasn’t a lot, admittedly. She’d gathered enough to get them through winter, and had hoped that spring would bring a nice bounty, but it seemed the cold weather was only getting worse. She frowned as she looked over her supplies, but there were a few things she felt she had enough of that she could spare a small amount.

Meadowsweet was used in threatening the flu, something she feared might become a problem if the cold didn’t let up soon. Marigold and horsetail were both good for treating cuts and scrapes, and were always helpful to have around. Lastly, she grabbed a few elderberries. They were less common, but helped with respiratory issues as well as giving the immune system a boost, both things that could be a great benefit in this extended winter.

She bundled the herbs up in a rabbit skin before exiting her den and moving to go find Recluse. Shiba had settled her den in the nook, a decision she somewhat regretted with how much warmer Mount Vulcan was, but she had hoped that the end of winter would have brought fresh plant life. She had wanted to be close to a good source of herbs, but it seemed it would be a while still before she would be able to see the place without a layer of snow. Her alpha was close, though, and she arrived quickly.

The sight of the four large strangers so close to the border made her feel uneasy, but she kept her expression neutral and moved to stand by Recluse and carefully set her herb bundle on the ground by her paws. "I brought the herbs you asked for." She glanced to Recluse when she spoke, but her gaze didn’t stray from the loners for long. She was curious about what they were doing here, and why Recluse had asked her to bring herbs, but trusted the woman would explain soon enough. None of them seemed injured, so she doubted she was here to heal them, and figured if she was she’d have been told in advance so she would know what to bring.

Word Count: 399 Total: 1,408/1,500

"Speech."