Redhawk Caldera Trains and winter rains

Raven loped toward the little old badger den that served as her medical cache, her long legs setting a fast pace that ate up the distance in a matter of minutes. Once there, it took her some time to find what she was looking for. Over the past few months, her stores had gotten mixed-up and disorganized, and the den was generally just a mess. A lot of muffled shuffling and bumping, a crash, and a few grumbles and curses later, she emerged from the tiny shelter with a new bump on her head and a bunch of dirt and dried plant dust stuck in her fur. Giving herself a quick shake, she scooped up her medicines and got to work.

The first task was finding some fresh nettle. This was one of the few things she couldn't use dry, because then its stinging properties became more pronounced and that really just sucked to try to eat and swallow. Fortunately she knew of a few thickets of the stuff not far from here; she was glad that it was a hardy plant that withstood cold temperatures well because it still had plenty of green left on it. Next, everything had to be mixed together and chewed to a pulp. She didn't want anything to scratch at Wildfire's throat on the way down, so she chewed and re-chewed everything until it was a mostly-smooth, if slightly lumpy, texture. So accustomed was she to this practice that the bitter, green flavor of the plants no longer bothered her. To help her sister relax, she tossed in a few poppy seeds as well. It wouldn't be enough to get her high or make her feel drugged, but rather just enough to make her feel less terrible and perhaps get some good, restful sleep.

The rose hips gave the mixture a nice fragrance and a slightly rosy taste, but to make it a bit more palatable (because she really didn't want to be the reason Wildfire barfed again), she dug out a small, old piece of honeycomb that had a little dried, crystallized honey sugar encrusted on it. Into the mash it went, giving the medicine a very subtle sweetness that took the worst of the green, planty edge off. All of this took half an hour, perhaps a little more. Satisfied, she placed the mixture -- enough for about two good mouthfuls -- onto a large deer scapula, which she used as a carrying vessel. Slowly, carefully, she walked with the scapula held awkwardly in her teeth, doing her very best not to drop too much along the way. The mash was quite thick and held together fairly well, and she made it back to Wildfire with most of it intact.

She carefully set the scapula and its green, goopy contents on the ground beside Wildfire. Much to her approval, her sister was still resting right where she had left her. "Okay," she said, her voice soft, "This...doesn't look very appetizing, I know. And it's going to taste really weird and probably a little gross. But I promise it will help if you can get it down."