Welcome to Gaia! ::

The woman turned a forbidding glare on the boy. The idea of having anyone underfoot in her own kitchen was not one that appealed to her, especially at this hideous hour of the morning. "Sit." The sharp command was punctuated by her pointing at the table with her current cooking tool - a sharp, two-pronged device that was lovely for flipping food around in a pan, but also managed to look particularly menacing in her grip.

Hecate, in contrast, was refreshed for a new day and sprang ahead to meet Thane, intent on wheedling a bit of play out of him.

For her part, Alice was content to ignore the romping felines so long as they stayed out of her way and did not destroy her house - not an unreasonable concern given that grimalkins were much larger than average cats.

Regardless, she had breakfast whipped up in no time at all and started setting all manner of serving platters and dishes on the table, ending with a pitcher of cold juice she had dug up from somewhere or another. Taking her seat, she started helping herself before realizing that Lynden was still sitting there, looking meek as a mouse.

She scowled. "Eat."

Eating rather more slowly than her ravenous guest, Alice looked up from her meal and considered him. Her home was in good repair, thanks her own efforts as well as favors traded with the village men. However, it was true that her supply of chopped wood was beginning to dwindle.

"Very well," she agreed, her mood beginning to improve with the meal. "The axe is by the door, whenever you are ready." She allowed a long, but comfortable enough, silence to fill the room before she spoke again.

He had not been awake all that long, but... "Have you given any thought as to what you wish to do, now that you've been chased from the Wood?"

"Most of the wolves are in the north, yet. It is all fear and chaos there." She glanced at her unusual guest. He would certainly stand out amongst any crowd.

"I do not know how readily they would welcome you," she admitted at last. The small villages of the north were wary enough of strangers under the usual circumstances. With the added suspicion that was doubtless going around now, the may chase him off instead.

Closing her eyes, Alice took a deep breath of the steam from her tea and hummed softly. "I do not believe that they will be content to stop in the north. The people of Oldcastle are rallying in preparation of their coming. Thus far, it seems to be the strongest effort in the area. They could use your skills, if you have a mind to help them."

Alice nodded. "If you like, I can take you to town when you are ready and point you in the right direction." This presupposed that Lynden had not been to Oldcastle, of course, or that he was not entirely certain of its relative position as opposed to where they were. He may, in fact, not need the assistance, but it was polite to offer anyway, and she needed to go into town, at any rate.

"I am sure I can manage as much," she informed him drily. Allison might not always be popular or personable, but she was respected and surprisingly well-connected. Particularly with those who were preparing for the worst. She was one of the relatively few women who joined the men in watching for wolves and she did her fair share in protecting against them.

"Go on, then," she said. "But don't overtax yourself. I'd rather not have to nurse you back to health." Healing brew or no, he had still spent a fair few days on the run in the Wood in the depths of winter. That was enough to tax anyone's health.