a dying gasp

Corbie stretched out in the shade of the barn, far from the fire ring with its tiny fire that was going beneath the tea kettle. She'd already poured some hot water over a bowl of mint, lemon balm, and honeysuckle, and it was cooling off in the shade beneath a cloth to protect it from the flies. Hopefully once it was cool, it would do a good job of cooling her. The day was crazy hot despite how close the autumn was, like the summer was giving a last fight before succumbing to cooler whether. Luckily all the sheep were shorn of their wool, or they'd be dealing with heat stroke in the herd, but as it was they were standing listlessly quiet under the shade of their shelters rather than out grazing so there was little work to be done there. For now she just lay flat in the shade, and hoped her pack members were being careful to do what they could to stay cool as well.