The Last Herb

Bush pawed at a fallen log, claws shredding up chunks of fine bark. Carefully, she brushed the debris into a small bag and pulled the drawstring taut. She’s almost done! From cuts, to sprains, and broken bones, just one more medicinal herb before she’d have all she needs to treat any injured Stelciars she comes across. 

Tilting up her head, she tasted the chilly night air, the heavy dampness that seemed to weigh her down on the battlefield now instead helping to amplify the distinct scents she was searching for. Distant howls in the direction of the war zone drifted over, brought along by the gentle breeze and Bush flicked her ears back anxiously. How many Stelciars were back there, hurt? How many more would be injured by the time she gets back? Her antennae quivered at the thought. She would need to hurry.

“Spiders’ silk for dressing the wound and yarrow to stop bleeding,” she chanted quietly to herself as she padded onwards, eyes scanning the forest floor. Murmuring the medicinal herbs and different treatments she had learned from a passing Stelciar well-versed in medicine helped her calm down and focus. 

Padding along the forest floor, she caught a tiny taste of a familiar herbal scent. Her heart soared. Is this it? Quickening her pace, she did her best to track down the source of the scent, eyes flicking back and forth across her path.

Finally, a glint of green in a familiar shape flashed across her peripheral vision and she quickly turned and rushed over just to be enveloped by the scent she was so desperately seeking a few seconds earlier. Carefully cutting off the leaves with her claws, she gently placed them in another small bag before fixing it into place alongside the others. There! All done!

Adorned in countless bags, Bush took flight, her heart beating almost as fast as the fluttering from her light green insect wings. Turning back to the direction of the war zone, she took a deep breath and steeled her heart. She may not be too good at fighting, but she can help in other ways!