Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn wandered through the dense mangrove forest. Tall trees with long tendrils of gnarly roots formed small little islands amongst the lattice of teal green water. It was a gorgeous day. Rays of sunlight beamed in through the green leaves of the trees, casting verdant reflections on the water. She leapt from one miniature island to the next, padding through shorter grasses interspersed among the dirt. One tree off to her right was leaning a little precariously and she skirted around it before moving on to the next island. When she arrived she paused and stretched up the tree, working her claws in to form a marking to help her track where she'd been. The mangrove forest was dense and trees grew as far as her eyes could see, growing fainter into a fading wall of browns.

Gossamer trotted along after Ásta with a fresh marshmallow plant hanging from her jaws. She'd gone on a quick trip with her companion to gather marshmallow root for a lesson in making tinctures. As it was more than a territory over she had Natha as another escort. The cat was currently up in the trees in exploring while the duo set up to do some crafting on the largest of the mangrove islands.

Ásta had a fire going and had set out a few ceramic bowls by the time Gossamer returned triumphantly and placed the marshmallow plant at her feet. "Found it, I found it right?" Ásta grinned and nodded. "You did, good job! Ok, first I'll have you separate the root from the rest of the plant. Go ahead and rinse it in the water when you're finished."

Gossamer nodded and picked up the plant by the stem. She trotted over to the edge of the island and dipped the root in the water, swishing it around to clean the dirt off it. Once that was done she moved back to where her companion was and chewed the stem off so that she was left with the root.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn marveled at the roots of the trees that seemed so fragile individually but on mass they were able to hold up these towering trees while creating shelter for fish below the water. She'd heard from another loner that at night the mangroves lit up with bioluminescence and she was very tempted to spend the rest of he day here, maybe do some fishing until evening fell. The weather was good and though she couldn't see the sky through the rich canopy of the trees here was sunshine and it was warm. She paused to mark her path on another tree with her claws as she worked deeper and deeper into the grove. As she neared the western edge of the territory she came to a large mangrove island where a large fox and girl were working. She soon recognized them as the pair she'd met at the Rio Grande. "Hey there, what are you two working on this time?"

Ásta inspected the root and nodded. "Ok, good. Now put it in this bowl here and use the ball end of this bone to mash it a bit. This will just help the good stuff seep into the wine." Gossamer nodded and picked up the root with her teeth before dropping it into the bowl. Once there she grabbed the bone in her mouth and tilted her head so she could mash the herb with it. It was hard work for the smaller pup but with a heavy dose of determination she got the task done. "There, how's that?" She looked to her companion who nodded.

The fox was about to speak when a familiar voice called out to them. Gossamer looked and saw the maned wolf she'd seen at the river. "Oh, hi! What brings you out here?"

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn shrugged lightly at the pups question. "Oh, just continuing to explore while the weather's nice. I see you're in the middle of another lesson?" Pups these days sure were studious. Jynn had been more rebellious and spent much of her time getting into trouble rather than learning the skills she should have. Misfortune, however, eventually made a quick learner out of her.

The wind started to pick up a bit more and Jynn noted it was a cool breeze from the north. It stirred the leaves of the mangrove trees and hinted at a still blue sky. However, it wouldn't be long before autumn really se in and took the last of summer's warmth away.

"Yup!" Gossamer chirped as she drew herself up proudly. "I'm making a tincture out of marshmallow root to help wolves with coughs." Ásta had informed her that a lot of wolves tended to get sick in the winter so they were practicing for that.

"Indeed, and we're almost done. The last step is to add the white wine and then we'll move it near the fire to boil. Pour it slow and I'll tell you when to stop." Gossamer nodded and grabbed the wine flask the fox had. She used her teeth to uncork it and then carefully, very carefully started to pour the wine in a drop at a time til Ásta helped her tip it more to get a better flow. Then once the bowl was filled the proper amount the fox pushed it near the fire to heat up.