I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha returned to the Submerged Woods where she was going to meet Lúta for a brief chat. The colorful woman want to do some exploring in the north and Natha was happy to be her guide in exchange for the yarrow. Supposedly this herb would help with bleeding. Myskia confirmed it and so Natha went about fulfilling her part of the bargain. The sky was growing more and more cloudy. To the north she could see thick gray clouds gathering, threatening an autumn storm. Behind the mountains the sun was struggling to rise. The'd better make this quick.

Natha leapt gracefully of the frigid dark waters onto the main ice area that held the trees frozen in place. "Well, here we are."

Natha settled down and carefully extended her claws. She eyed the spot where she leapt over then padded over to it. There she carefully started to carve out a little x. Ack, too small. Natha worked at carving a bigger x to try and remember where she'd leapt over. It was a good spot and preferable to some of the more treacherous crossings. She worked carefully to try and make the mark deep but not too deep. She hoped it would survive the winter but chances were when snow covered everything the marks would be useless. Still, she was enjoying the practice.

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Lúta followed Natha north, way farther north than she intended but she was curious about this great lake that was so deep you could peer down at frozen trees. When they arrived Lúta leapt to where Natha was and gazed in amazement at the world beneath her. The ice was clear and she felt almost like she was looking straight down. It was unnerving. She moved to a more translucent area and set out her supplies to do a bit of crafting as they'd agreed to take a break when they arrived. "That really is something. I wonder what happened to fill something up with that much water." She reached in her bundle and pulled out a bunch of dried peppermint and dried echinacea. She was hoping to make another good winter mix with peppermint to help with coughs and soothe sore throats and the echinacea to help boost the immune system.

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha gazed down at the trees. They weren't tiny trees by any means but large trees that likely once towered above the land before the flood. Lúta asked a good question and the lynx shrugged. "I have no idea. It certainly wasn't rain." She turned her gaze northward to the ocean. "Hmm… I wonder if there was a tsunami or something in the past, or a flood and this lower area filled up with water and then froze." There would have to have been a drop in temperature but that wasn't unusual this far north. When the flood waters receded the water would've been trapped in this deep valley.

While Lúta set to crafting Natha found herself walking carefully across the ice, looking to see if she could find any fish that were frozen in the ice or if they were in fact moving deep beneath the ice. She did spy a rather interesting tree that seemed to have a bend in its middle. Ok, that was worth marking. Her claws were out again as she attempted another trail marker. She carefully etched a rough tree shape in the ice. This was kind of fun.

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Lúta gazed for a moment at the weather. They'd better not waste too much time. She quickly got to work. Lúta had never mixed these two herbs before so she decided to start with an even 50/50 mix. She set aside the mint and got to work on the echinacea, carefully grinding it up under her paws on a piece of hide until she was pleased with it. The herb flakes were bigger than what she could do with a mortar and pestle but it just wasn't practical to carry and she hadn't noticed too much of a difference based on the size of the ground herbs. Though it was difficult to test. She reached over and delicately picked up the echinacea before grinding it beneath her paws as well. She kneaded at the plants, almost like a cat, pausing just for a moment to watch with amusement as Natha scurried across the ice.

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha hunted diligently but she didn't see any fish. She did notice some green down below that didn't seem to belong to the trees. Were there other plants down there? Movement caught her eye but it was gone just as soon as she thought she'd saw it. Maybe there were fish down there. If there were had they been trapped during the flood or was there some sort of underground water system that lead into the vast lake? It was a curiosity but one she wasn't sure they'd have time to investigate. Natha looked up at the weather and turned to Lúta.

"Hey, are you about done? We should get going to shelter in case it storms." While she had a well insulated coat she didn't make a habit of getting caught in snow storms. Hmmm... one more marking. She eyed the greener patch. What could she possibly draw for green? Maybe a square for a patch? Natha quickly scribbled in the ice until she had a rough square shape. Yes, that would do for the marking for now. She could always try and come up with something better in the future.

I wanted to seek, but I got distracted

Lúta brought out a small clay bowl and set it down in front of her. She then stirred the herbs together lightly on the piece of hide til they were some what mixed. Next she folded the two sides of the hide to form a makeshift funnel. Carefully tilting her head she was able to pour the herb mixture into the bowl. She set the hide aside and looked at Natha then at the sky and nodded. "Yes, I'm pretty much done, let me get packed up." She extended one of her claws and carefully stirred the herb mixture a little bit more before wrapping it in the deer hide and adding it back to her bundle. It would be secure enough for the, hopefully, short journey to shelter. When she got back to her temporary den she could arrange to have things stored a bit better.