resupply mission

The swamp queen rarely ventured so far from her home, but her stores of yarrow were incredibly low. It was a staple in her pantry and it wasn't something she could go without. A delicious soothing tea, a rinse for a wound, for loose stools, colds, arthritis. Yarrow was indispensable. Mud felt uncomfortable walking across the soft, dry grass. She missed the fragrant loamy earth of her swamps and mangroves. Here, the earth was just so firm.

She was headed for a spot she knew very well. It was a perfect valley that grew tons of beautiful flowers, grasses, and herbs. She knew many creatures used the gifts of the earth here as well. Rabbits, voles, deer - the plant-eaters were well acquainted with the area. In her mind, the creatures feasting upon the bounty here were not to be hunted. No violence or bloodshed of any kind. It was a spiritual place - why else would so many herbs grow in a condensed area? It was not planted by intention. It was the will of the soil.

Mud was carrying the soft skin of a wolverine. It perished in the swamp, and she and Detka got to it before it decayed so they were able to harvest what they could use. Detka was happy to eat the majority of the meat. Mud collected some of the bones, the skull, the skin. She hated waste so any creature they found they collected for these purposes. She had the skin with her today to use as a makeshift bag to carry her precious herbs back home with her.

The field with the best yellow and white yarrow was just ahead. She could just barely see it in the distance. The sun was just getting to the middle of the sky and radiating a pleasant warmth across her back. What a perfect day...