Herbalists' Cache portable ops

Veteran was the son of a woman who was often away on work trips, and when she was home, she was constantly distracted, leaving him in the care of others within the Glacier. It was all he knew, and he did not blame his mother for her failings, even as he saw that the other children of the Glacier had more present parents. Lane's distance gave the boy the opportunity to grow on his own; to slip away into the outskirts of his home territory and push his boundaries. 

He was not often missed. With so many caregivers on rotation, it happened that when he was not with one, that one imagined that he was with another. This was not the first of his excursions away from home, but it had proven to be the most interesting one so far. 

The boy had happened upon a garter snake, slithering among the plants with their medicinal aromas. His mother would like it here. Perhaps he would gather some herbs to bring back to-- No! Concentrate, Veteran! He trailed after the snake, creeping along behind it as it glided along the floor of the copse.