Herbalists' Cache Before we packed our bags and left all this behind

Gundham's somber attitude hadn't changed much. He avoided wolves like the plague and remained by himself. But winter was coming, and he'd never been on his own in the season before. Could he survive it alone? A part of him yelled, Of course! I, Gundham Tanaka, can do anything! but the voice that had been dominant for several months now said... No, you can't. Just the idea of joining a pack and willingly subjecting himself to others made his anxiety flare up, but starving to death was a far worse fate.

Or was it?

His legs brought him into an unfamiliar forest, and he decided to shove those thoughts aside for now in favor of focusing on examining the new area. The sun had already set, and the land was blanketed in darkness. A terrible chill replaced the sun's warmth, and while Gundham could tolerate it, he felt the desire to find someplace to curl into a tight ball. He could find a safe place to rest in these woods for the night, but he wouldn't retire just yet, if only to keep his mind occupied. Sleep had been all-too difficult lately with the fog that collected around his head. Gundham put his nose to the ground, picking up the scents of various animals, none particularly exciting — hares, deer, squirrels; the usual. However, he also detected the scent of another creature: wolf.

His heart picked up its pace the way it always did when he sensed a wolf nearby. Gundham had so little interaction with his own kind in the past few months that the mere presence of one nearly brought him into a panic attack. Instead of confronting his fear of interaction to quell this reaction, though, it only encouraged him to avoid them more — and so the cycle continued.

Gundham's ears picked up a strange sound, and at first he thought it came from some strange creature. However, as he continued to strain his ears, he discerned it as weeping. It was coming from the direction of the wolfess, and he had no doubt it was her. His anxiety urged him to turn the other way and mind his business, but a tiny voice in his head encouraged him to approach. You should help her, It said. Gundham knew deep down that he wasn't heartless, despite how he pretended to be. He was quite the opposite, really. She appeared to be alone. Was he really afraid of a lone, sobbing wolfess? No, of course not! That irritatingly boisterous voice yelled. He'd been ignoring it for the most part lately, but Gundham did agree with it there. He was being ridiculous.

So his feet took him closer to the wolf instead of further — something they hadn't done in months. The sound of her soft cries and whimpers intensified as he neared, and sympathy swelled in his chest. Gundham found her small, pale body crumpled on the ground, tears in her eyes. She was just a girl, alone and presumably lost in the woods at night. It was dangerous for her to be out here. That thought urged him to speak. What's wrong? Are you lost? Gundham murmured gently as if speaking to an injured animal, though his voice was startlingly hoarse from misuse. He crouched down to her level to appear less intimidating, remaining several feet away for his own comfort as much as hers.