Rising Sun Valley beneath this

Emberwood had its own little types of herbs to choose from, but she needed more. That need, that urge to collect as much before the snow soaked them all to rot forced the girl to leave the safety of the borders and bravely (as far as she could feel, this was brave) go out into the wilderness again to gather as many new ones as she could. 

Thankfully she had found some mint, a herbalists' dream as far as she was concerned. The frost-resistant herb was fantastic for many things. She was careful to not draw too much attention to herself, but with the lack of snow and many covers of leave like summer had - she carefully slunk through, holding a few bunches of mint in her jaws. 

From one cover to the next until gasp, the light inhale sucked in as she held her herbs tighter, awkwardly stepping back when her eyes landed on a dark figure just feet away from her. His dark complexion was easier to hide in the drab of winter without snow, she hoped she went unnoticed but a part of her, as she struggled to keep moving back, knew all too well that she was not as slick as she would have liked to be in this moment. Her feet slowly getting tangled in the undergrowth as she lost focus on her footing...