femalefred

They spent the next few days caring for the unconscious trader, pouring tinctures and healing herbs and strength potions down his throat. Warrick completed his trek up the mountain to retrieve pockets of snow and fed nearly half of them down the throat of the stranger. Finally, the stranger woke. He was grateful for the care they had shown him and equally grateful that they hadn't robbed them blind. He offered Meander all sorts of herbs but Meander shrugged it off, saying he was duty bound as an herbalist to help. Besides, the herbs weren't anything he had a great need for or didn't already have. Once Meander had left to attend to other bus

It was a beautiful spring day. Acoya and Chuqui slept in the shade of an embankment, as was the Oakfern way to deal with the searing sun. They would come out at night to collect herbs and graze and sing in the light of the moon. When they had settled in for their nap, Inti and Quilla had snuggled in with them. But not so, now. Inti had opened his eyes to discover that Quilla had wriggled away, waddle-trotting down to the beach of her own accord. A more dependent fawn might have bleated to his parents for aid, but not so Inti. He hadn't yet met a problem he couldn't solve himself. He untwined himself from his mother's silky tail and hobble-l