And just like that, winter had come again. It was desperation after the flooding that led to the Archer-Lyall even mentioning the hut. Now as she walked through the frigid swamplands, hackles up and head swivelling, her lip curled as she remembered the last time she was here. Sedna was suddenly deeply regretting her offer to lead the expedition. She could swear the stress of her last visit had shaved at least a year or two off her life. Carnivorous flowers and monstrous fucking toads. Not to mention that witch…

The monochrome wolf held her breath for a moment. She was kinda counting on the old hag not being home so they could ah… borrow some of her stores. It’d be easier that way she was sure, and it wasn’t like she wasn’t leaving payment. Sedna had some trinkets she had traded for in Otis’s pack, a large fish wrapped in a pair of her personal salvaged fox furs. Sure it would have been plenty useful for the coming winter, but she didn’t want the witch coming after her again. Laden down she continued to trudge through the mud, hoping she wouldn’t get them turned about.

“Speech”

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn was swiftly debating whether or not she should just turn around. She found herself in an eerie human structure. Every time she set a paw down on the wooden floors they would creak and grown. The wooden ceiling had fallen in, jagged rafters and beams pointed inward toward the middle like spears. Blue-tinted moonlight poured in from the hole in the ceiling beaming down onto the floor. A wooden table sat in the middle of the room. Off to the side she saw a large bookcase stacked with chests, books and strange jars and vials. There were a few bright orange flowers and a couple green vines growing up the side of the shelf. At the top though she froze. A wolf's pelt was stuffed into the top shelf. Her fur stood on end and she started to back up.

With winter picking up speed and careening towards the height of the season, herbs and supplies were in scarce supply. Nature's bounty was either buried a foot deep, hibernating, or simply gone south for the winter. She'd chosen to check out any structure with a roof or overhang that she could find within a days' journey from the pack lands. It had been a week or so of spelunking in damp, half-frozen caves for moss and moonlighting at the very edges of other pack's territories, exploring beneath half-fallen trees. There was precious little to discover - beyond the cave moss. At least there had been plenty of that. Which led her to this dilapidated building with a surprisingly haunting aura. Theory slowly nosed her way through the ramshackle door, surprised to find someone already inside. "Oh! Hello," she said, her voice a half whisper. It someone felt inappropriate to talk at normal volume in here. Just outside she heard the sounds of someone else approaching, so Theory kept the door propped open by leaning against the frame as Sedna drew near. "theory speaks!"

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╚══════════════╝

A voice ahead made the fur down Sedna’s spine bristle, but it didn’t sound like the witch, so she continued to move forward through the gloom. Ears turned forward as a dark shape resolved itself against the doorframe of the shack, seemingly propping it open. Of all the places she might have thought to encounter other wolves, this certainly wasn’t one of them. Her chin lifted, a familiar scent on the air though not coming from the wolf in front of her. Movement inside gave away the presence of another. Of the witch and her giant toad, there was no sign.

“Didn’ expect this place ter be so popular.” She said bravely with half a smile, moving to leave her offering by the door of the hut just in case. She peered around the propped open door, eyes struggling to adjust to the dark inside. Once whoever was in came out, she would raid whatever was left that might be of some use.

“Speech”

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Despite Theory's whisper Jynn still jumped when she realized she wasn't alone. She whipped around but swiftly sighed in relief to see two normal looking wolves and not strange beasts with no hides. "I can't imagine why. It's really creepy in here." Jynn stepped aside to let the other wolves in to take a look. She could only guess that this was human work or at least the work of something sort of human. "What brings you two here?" Maybe they knew something she didn't or perhaps, like her, they were also just explorers and fate had brought the three of them to the same place at the same time.

She let out a short laugh. As the hut began to fill with others - and they seemed the amiable type, at least - it seemed to lose a little of its dread. "I've been looking for herbs to restock some of my pack's stores. Winter has already eaten up so much, I figured I'd have better luck if I started checking structures with some cover. A nearby cave didn't yield much, so..." Theo shrugged. The leggy female seemed as perturbed as Theory about the state of the hut, but the stockier grey female seemed less surprised. "Have you been here before, then?" She asked Sedna, her eyes bright with curiosity. This was a place that seemed like it was chock full of stories. "theory speaks!"

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╚══════════════╝

Sedna recognised the leggy red woman, but just now realised she had never gotten her name. When asked why she was out here, a small shrug was offered before her answer. "A bad storm wiped out most of the Armada’s stores. It’s hard ter restock this far inter the cold season," She turned her attention to the darker wolf. "A while ago… it was… different then. Like somethin’ was wrong with everythin’. There was a woman ‘ere, she blinded one o’ my pack mates, but let me go fer whatever reason. There were giant flowers tryna’ eat me an’ the biggest toad I ever saw… Bigger’n a bear!" Sedna shuddered, knowing the others would probably think her mad. "Anyway, I remembered this place, I got some stuff ‘ere last time. Thought I’d be a bit more honest an’ try ter trade proper like this time, maybe she wouldn’t be so pissed." But it didn’t look like anyone was home.

"speech".

I've got no doubt that the only way out of this thriller
is if I am a killer too

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn's mouth formed a silent 'oh' as Theory explained that she was looking for herbs to restock her stores. Well that made sense. There were certainly plenty of dried plants in here though Jynn didn't have a clue what any of them were or what they were for. She glanced to the gray and white wolf whose pack seemed to be in a similar situation in regards to herbs.

"AHH what? Really?" Jynn stared at Sedna in horror as the woman relayed her story. Jynn's tail tucked between her legs. She was liking the sound of this place less and less and she backed herself under a table. "Well, I don't think anyone is home. Maybe we should just go?" She wasn't sure if the healer's wanted to wait around for the witch to show back up but she sure as hell didn't.

Ah! That's where that scent was from, Armada. Theory knew it was pinging as familiar somewhere in the recesses of her brain. "Armada, eh? I haven't heard word of that. If I had, I would have sent aid. I'm Theory, alpha of Abaven," she announced to Sedna, dipping her head briefly in greeting. The two packs had reached an alliance after her sisters' safe return from being bought and sold at a slave market - but not before they had been kept and trained for some time against their will. Theory didn't exactly agree with Sirius' methods, but as long as Armada's paws stayed away from forcefully claiming her family or members of her pack, she supposed they would continue to peacefully coexist. She wrinkled her nose at Sedna's story of her last time visiting this hut. "Well, that sounds awful," she replied, her eyebrows arcing in surprise. That would be putting it mildly. Theory gave Jynn a half-apologetic smile. "As terrible as that all sounds, I can't help but be curious about this place. It sure seems like there'd be valuable ingredients here, especially if they were so closely guarded beforehand. Mind showing me around?" she gestured towards the Armada wolf who seemed intent on sticking around as well. "Maybe you can teach me a thing or two and give my regards to Sirius once we part." "theory speaks!"

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Sedna put her offering on the remains of the table inside, fully intending to leave it there anyway, whether or not the witch was there to accept it. When Jynn suggested they leave, a nervous half-smile pulled at her lips. If she hadn’t been desperate, she wouldn’t have been here in the first place. "I’ll be ou’ in a minute, maybe someone should keep watch?" She had hoped one of the other Amada healers would have accompanied her for just that reason but as she trudged, she had resigned herself to a blinding or a broken leg, if only so her pack would be better off.

When the other wolf introduced herself as the leader of Abaven, a brow arched and her head nodded in acknowledgement, although things like that didn’t bother Sedna as much as they used to. She wouldn’t even bow and scrape to her own leader, she wasn’t about to do it for someone elses. Sharing knowledge though? That was something she could do. "Yer gotta dig a bit fer th’ good stuff," She said, hooking her paw on the bottom of a long decayed cupboard and pulling, the door falling off its hinges from years of damp and neglect. Glass clinked together as she nosed through the stores, just preserved bodies in jars, strange birds and snakes, even what looked to be the floating skeleton of a kitten in a round orb. It was all a bit wierd, and clearly not medicinal storage.

Otis must have snuck past them, she could hear more clinking of glass in the back, and she tipped her head indicating the Abaven wolf should follow her. Dexterous paws screwed off jar lids, cautiously sniffing and sorting the loot into useful and not. That’s not to say the stash in the not pile wasn’t any good, it was just more likely to be poison, and her companion didn’t have the same appreciation for it Sedna did.

She briefly passed her nose over each jar off to the ‘good’ side, "Very nice," she muttered her appreciation. She was starting to wonder if the glittery things in her opossums pack were going to be sufficient. "this one is goldenrod, its good fer all sorts o’ aches an’ pains. Yer can mix it in a tea, or add it to a dressin’, " She wrinkled her nose and sneezed as she passed her nose over the lavender, "Lavender is supposed ter be good fer stress, but th’ stink o’ it tends ter give me a headache, but ter each their own." Her face lit up as she passed by a third jar, the brown powder far from resembling the green leaves she was used to, "Sealwort? I reckon even if I left all I ‘ave it wouldn’t be enough ter cover this one, it help with sleep, but it also speeds up healin’ broken bones. I wonder where she got it?" Sedna’s whole face had lit up with respect while her pilfering companion took small quantities of each of the ones he had deemed useful and carefully wrapped them before placing them in his bag. It wasn’t much in the scheme of things, but at least it would cover her off in an emergency.

"speech".

I've got no doubt that the only way out of this thriller
is if I am a killer too

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn wanted to leave but wasn't entirely sure how to exit without seeming rude or particularly cowardly. She watched the Abaven healer for a moment as the woman explained that there were likely some useful items in the hut. Oh yes, she was sure of that, but she wouldn't be caught dead stealing from the owner. Sedna suggested someone keep watch and Jynn nodded. "On it." She exited the hut and lingered just outside the entrance, peeking in every so often to see how the healer's were doing. Jynn's large ears stood on end as she caught the sound of something large moving about in the woods near the hut. She stuck her head back in. "Pssst, hey, something's moving around out here. Something big. Let's scram!"