I must be gettin' too flashy

Sedna pulled a sour face at the reminder of the flooding. Her poor garden was still half flattened from the deluge and there was a lot of staking and weeding to be done before it got too much colder if anything was to come back after the snows. She was just glad she happened to have some of this concoction, a mix of fennel, willow, pennyroyal and a few other bits to tamp down the bitterness, kept on a higher shelf. It was all poison in high enough doses, and she had mixed emotions about prescribing it. Particularly once she heard who the other party involved was, although Hana’s quip did make her laugh right down to her belly. "I’m sure no-one would expect a thing." she chuckled again, "Yer got a brother? We might be able ter pass it off, as long as they don’t come out lookin’ like their dad… But no, really, do yer have a brother?" she continued to tease as she walked back into the den.

Otis had already left the storage den and entered the main. He had busied himself putting a tortoise shell with water in it over a small hearth they had dug out last winter. Keeping it stoked with coals from the bonfire had been helping to clear out some of the lingering damp. "Yer need ter be careful, it isn’t a nice concoction, and it isn’t a guarantee if things are already… comin’ along… enough ter be noticed." But her friend certainly didn’t smell pregnant.

As steam began to rise from the water, Otis used a ladle to scoop water into a smaller bowl, and then pulled out a small leaf wrapped bundle from the pouch. His dexterous fingers unravelled the smaller bundle and dumped the contents into the smaller vessel. "Let it soak an’ cool a bit, then drink th’ lot. No more ‘n once a day. An’ if yer don’t need ter take it, don’t. It might make yer guts ache, but not as much as brats would." She paused for a moment, her voice dropping, her humour long gone. "If somethin’ does eventuate… There are… other options. I jus’ hope for both our sakes yer never need it."

"Speech."