The day was grey and damp, much like the ones that had come before. Even though most of the leaves had long torn themselves from the branches above, the thicket was still relatively dry, the tight bramble even offering shelter from the worst winter snow. But so far it had been mostly rain, managing to snake its way down to the forest floor and clam up everything. This change from the usually dry and dark environment influenced every resident of the thicket, but especially the medic had noticed the change, and she wasn't happy! Her herbs were at risk from the water, moisture in the stores was the worst possible thing that could happen to a pack, at least as far as the medic was concerned, especially this time of year. Of course she'd taken her precautions, spreading her stores out between several caches, and guarding them as well as possible against the rain; But you can never be to safe!

And she had more problems than the ones with the dried herbs. With the increased rains and piled up leaves, areas that were usually dry had become permanently moist, and the vegetation was suffering for it. In several patches, where the Thicket wolves had been able to collect necessary plants throughout the dry summer, the remaining stock had started to rot in the ground, or had already succumbed to the excess water. All of this left the Woodlands medic struggling not to panic, running from place to place, trying to stay on top of everything. But evidently, some loses occurred, and they had to be made up; And before the snow really sets in! So after a few days of fretting, the vixen-like wolf finally decided to trek south, hoping to find areas that had been more protected from the rain underneath the evergreen cedar trees.

Heading south had another benefit, and despite the urgent circumstances, Aideen Athesila couldn't help but smile as she set out that morning; In Cedarwood forest lay Grizzly Hollow, and the opportunity to pay a visit to Merlin (@Veho). Any chance to talk with a fellow healer could make the petite woman giddy, and perhaps, she thought, the man might have some experience and ideas in tackling in a wetter environment. To start off though, she banked further east, her top priority after all being to replenish the lost herbs in her stores, and she remembered from the other herbalist's description that the Hollow lands were quite moist because of the river. So she started searching through the drier parts of the woods, pleased to find most of what she sought. Then, when her jaws could carry no more, she turned westward, eventually finding her way to a broad creek that seemed to run in the right direction.

Following the water, she made note of the plants she saw, for any future trips. When she reached a place where the stream widened into a small pool, she decided to take a short break, gingerly placing her gathered herbs on a large rock before stepping down to drink. The water was cold and clear, and quickly quenched her thirst, but that as she lifted herself, she felt the empty slosh of it in her stomach. The hunger made her brows furrow, an annoyed twitch bending the corner of her mouth, she didn't have time to hunt now. Trying to shake the thoughts of food off, she picked up her plants and turned to continue her trek. Barely had she started though, before the most heavenly scent reached her nose; FOOD! She galloped through the trees, soon coming upon the source of the alluring scent, the carcass of a young deer, killed recently enough for the blood to still be flowing. There was no sign of its killers though, and not one to miss such an opportunity, the slender medic paused only long enough to put down her herbs once more, before biting into the tender flesh.

Word count: 661