The evenings were becoming colder, the mornings retained that misty chill. Despite that, he was out gathering the herbs needed for his tonic, one that was a pressing matter considering the close proximity of the full moon. The lantern within his hand would sweep the forest floor as he kneeled within the tall grass and scattered fallen leaves. Condensation marred the glass from the sear of heat colliding with the mist that splayed like a dulcet blanket upon the earth. His breath roiled in a cloud before his eyes as he released a long sigh, pulling the warmth of his collar higher once again to cover up to the bridge of his nose. His hood was already drawn tight as well, trying his best to shut out the cold all together.

Soon, this area would become a burial ground of colored leaves, and the blankets of snow would drive him to a different region to gather Wolf's Bane. While many strands grew during the long eves of winter, the easily accessible batch here did not, finding it more of a fair weather genus. He knew for certain he hadn't gathered all of the ones in this particular bed, either, a rather irritating prospect if he was to be honest. It would sorely dwindle his numbers of preserved goods, potentially enough to make him do without until the bloom of colder seasons. It was a possibility he certainly didn't favor as he possessed no moonstone, nor did he have a mind to get one either.

Despite how far he narrowed them, his eyes could not pick free the likeness of the purple hooded flowers. He would raise to his feet, raising the housed flame up as he looked for another path he seldom followed. Another spot where he had discovered them before, though they were in far fewer numbers. Aeternum raised her head as well with the motion, the great winged mare's attention hinged upon her chosen companion. Clouds of froth billowed from the flare of her nostrils as her wings shifted, her footfalls trailing after him in relaxed measure.

The sun would be rising soon, and he would have to return to the shop, with or without his intended target.

Autumn would be nearing soon. It was evident in the way the rich emerald color of the leaves were beginning to slowly fade. The wind was a little more blustery in such a way that it seemed it was pestering the trees and their branches in a cruel taunt.  The nights began to feel longer just as the days seemed to linger a little less. Shoulders of the young wild maiden would rise and fall taking idle note hoping the winter would be a little kinder than the last. Resting in the bend of her left, was the rather surplus collection of various flowers and plants alike from the purple budding of wolfsbane, sunburst colors of marigold to basil and rosemary. The thick woven vines which wrapped and draped loosely around her petite frame danced lazily in the harmonizing feat of her step. Arethusa merely wandered in an aimless stride, evasive of the settlements save for the occasional travelers and passerby’s either by horseback or carriage. Even then she did well to hide away from curious eyes as she watched from the safety of camouflaged trees and foliage. Though the night still carried on and judging from the patterns between night and day, the wilds remained quiet save for the trilling choir of evening cicadas and bell crickets. Sights fell away from the glittering canvas overhead, her nose and cheeks were flushed with red painting across freckled features from the cold though despite the slight chatter of teeth, she did not complain about the cold. Instead with a twitch of her ear, something else pulled her attention. She saw the feathers resting upon the equines back following the idle flick of their tail. The one it followed was not quite in her view though her curiosity was drawn to the winged equine. With single twist of her freed hand, she rooted a single carrot from the soils coaxed by gentle tendrils of magic. She held the root vegetable anxiously with her palms as she slowly turned her course to follow the mare but with courteous distance.

Jahi

His other option was to use magic, perhaps. While it was a tactic he had employed before for various uses, it wasn't one he was readily entertaining either. He wasn't very skilled with the arcane, it didn't take much for him to get a headache, and while he supposed if he ended up empty handed today he would merely have to suck it up and deal with the repercussions. Maybe with enough practice and pushing himself such a barrier would eventually ebb and a good-to-have skill  for his trade could be added as a notch in his belt. He couldn't exactly find such leisurely time in the present, however. Not with all the upheaval going on with politics, famine, and the promise of conflict. He also wasn't a medic for the front lines either. He had already done his part of submitting numbing tonics and sleeping tinctures to the infirmaries and confrontational clinics. Medicine well needed in such cases to ease suffering and provide rest when the savagery of nerves refused it.

When he wasn't working over the mortar and pestle or the large mixing cauldron, he'd been gathering the necessary herbs and roots for the same causes. He could only blame himself for overlooking his own necessities.

The lantern lowered from up next to his face to linger low at his hip. His eyes closed, head craning back as he allowed a very long and abrasive breath to leave his lungs until they were spent entirely and felt shriveled to draw in the cold air. He would turn to Aeternum, the words he would have spoken to the mare dying upon his lips as he noted her wholly transfixed on something behind them. Her body language did not speak of a threat, her wings in a position of interest and curiosity rather than defensive or flighty. While she was no coward, she did harbor a deep concern over his own person. She had been his self appointed guard and stalwart companion since he had saved her in the wilds of his own home.

His own interest piqued, he would take the few steps around her to view what had captured her attention so gently that he hadn't even taken heed. It appeared to be a young woman, one who must sure be miserable from the cold in her lack of clothing. Within her arms was a bounty of gathering - including but not limited to precisely what he sought. In the hand outstretched towards the Pegasus, however, was unmistakably a carrot. A slight laugh would leave him and he would incline his head as Aeternum would glance towards him, a wordless communication. "Well? Take it." He waved in vague gesture at the animal, trusting well her judgement of the other. One which would now command the whole of his attention. "Aren't you cold?" He would ask, shrugging off the outermost layer of his attire, a thick cloak of pelts that he would extend to her in offer. What was someone doing out here dressed - or lack there of - like this? His first thoughts were not pleasant ones, a nagging whisper that perhaps she had escaped being captured or some other likewise horrid occurrence. After all, armies were currently on the move through the wilds, and carrion would follow in their wake, a meaning not reserved solely for birds. However, his brief glance over her didn't reveal any injuries, though he wouldn't look too closely without risking discomfort.

The point of the carrot faced the equine as Arethusa almost seemed desperate to gift the creature in some hopes of formed friendship with the animal. However, she stood far enough away, that her arm outstretched began to feel the strain of her efforts while her other remined busied, holding on to the collection of assorted herbs and flowers gathered earlier in the day. Once the Pegasus made eye contact, Arethusa struggled to contain the childish excitement that bubbled within her as she took another cautious step forwards even if it did seem more like a sliding step forward in hopes to remain neutral and not startle the large beast. Cerulean sights soon caught the glimpse of another coming from around as she inadvertently found herself taking two clumsy steps back out of anxious habit. Brows knitted looking back and forth between the large beast and the unusual man with anxious scrutiny. Heart skipping every other beat as she froze stiffly in place with the carrot still extended towards the larger beast though attention bouncing between the Pegasus and the appearing stranger. The two seemed to share some sort of kinship that which remained alien. Arethusa would freely give the carrot to the winged equine should she take it but then several steps back were taken despite the longing year to comb her hand through its mane. Oh, she would look so pretty with the ring of flowers too, wouldn’t she?! Aren’t you cold? Uncertainty claimed Arethusa as she clung desperately to the bundle she gathered through the day. Cerulean gaze settled apprehensively upon the bundle of furs that soon shed from the strangers shoulders and extended her direction. Apprehension soon turned into wary confusion as a blank expression soon formed her freckled features. She didn’t understand the question though understood enough to know a question had been asked. The furs though, perplexed her. Did he want a carrot too?? There was part of her that desperately wanted to flee right then and there but then she wouldn’t able to befriend the winged creature next to the stranger. What the predicament. “Ah..?” she murmured with an anxious sigh. Eventually she made the unconscious decision to cautiously offer a second carrot pulled from the earth from where she stood.

Jahi

At his appearance, the stranger would back peddle, her steps bearing a clumsy nervousness that certainly stemmed from him rather than the attention of the winged horse. Aeternum wasted no time in following after her, lips almost desperately trying to grip the carrot before finally finding purchase upon the orange flesh. Her crown gleefully bobbed, gently, though no less, thrashing the carrot up and down as she drew it into her mouth. The rumble of her pleased voice filling the otherwise void silence.

His cloak remained outstretched towards the dame, though she made no move to take it. In fact, after the Pegasus had taken possession of the root, she put further distance between them. Her sights flickered to and fro between he and the beast. Her expression didn't bely understanding, either. Rather, bemusement had colored her brow, concern reflected within her pallid green irises. Her cheeks and the tip of her pert nose were flushed pink with the chill of the early morning. Despite such details, she didn't make any move to claim the offered covering.

She didn't seem to understand his offer, or perhaps she was wary of him luring her into a trap. Her skin was marked with past injury, some carved deeper than others. The intricate map was intersected by the loose and partial veil of tangled vines. No blood pulled at his senses, no current harm to mark her as injured. While it served to somewhat ease his inclinations, it did little in the ways of explaining what she was doing out here in her current state. While the days still got rather warm, it was exceedingly clear that further preparation was required ere the sun rose and sat.

He settled, instead, on making himself smaller. Lengthy legs folded until he nearly sat upon the ground, the large gathering of skins far more resilient to rest over the threshold of frost than his pants were. It still remained outstretched towards her in offer, nearly completely upon the earth. Still, her distance was kept. She also began to kneel, though it was not to take the offered covering. Instead, she conjured forth with a sprig of arcane. No, she didn't just take the damn coat.

Rather she offered him a carrot as well.
And he sighed. Heavily.

"It's the ears, isn't it?" His voice emerged on a flat, empty note. This certainly wasn't the first pun endured, and his free hand cupped his cheek as he nearly pouted at her. Unless it was a well played act, she didn't seem to understand him, and with that in mind he spared her the bitterness of his sharp tongue, instead, he merely shook his head. Perhaps a trade is what she expected to be happening rather than a free kindness. Gesturing to the carrot, he would shake his head, once more lifting the cloak towards her while his empty hand instead pointed towards the Wolf's Bane cradled closer towards her. "I'd rather have that, if I could?" He spoke the words slowly upon clearing his throat, trying to articulate his raspy vocals in hopes she could better understand.

In hand, the carrot remained held with a firm certainty assuming that this stranger was also in search of the same meal that which the winged companion had graciously taken. If it were not for the company of the man, a chuckle would have hummed from the back of her throat though only the bemused impression of satisfaction and gentleness in her features remained instead. Attention would shortly then return to the stranger with the usual pelts still extended towards her by the hand of the stranger. Cerulean sights would shift back and forth between he and the pelt with apparent confusion and uncertainty. Arethusa could not piece the two together and instead, offered him a carrot just as she had with the Pegasus. It made sense in her mind – assuming that the winged equine beast and the long-eared one were well acquainted with one another. It was only fair, right? Instead, she was met with a heavy sigh to which the maiden withdrew, clutching her coveted supply. Did she offend the stranger? It’s the ears, isn’t it? Her expression drew into an uneasy blank canvas. Confusion. What did he mean by that, she wondered? Ears? She withdrew the carrot, looking the root over as if to inspect for any maladies or imperfections, was there something wrong with the vegetable which caused him to deny it? It looked to be rather generic carrot. I’d rather have that, if I could? Words spoken slower this time. Arethusa blinked as she returned her attention to him, perplexed while trying her best to follow his notion – the direction in which he pointed. Jade sights fell to the bundle of flowers that nestled in the cradle of her arm. There was a long pause as if the cogs within her head were reeling. If it were ever a possibility, steam may as well have blown out from her ears. Did he want one? She pulled a stem, the wolfbane following a marigold and daisy. The young maiden then looked back to the fold of furs with contemplation. Maybe… With a twist of arcane did the trio of flowers curl and braid. Of that method did she manage to create a flower crown. “Hmm,” Her expression gentled as she then cautiously placed the craft upon the furs but not without the carrot too. She offered a half smile to the stranger with hopeful intention that he would like this offering instead and still leaving the furs with the stranger despite the biting chill that nipped at her freckled shoulders.

Jahi