Squeezing out of the exit she had made on the other end of the tunnel that had helped with her timely escape, Branna heaved A small sigh of relief, Shaking the dirt from her fur before tilting her head back the direction she had come and caulking her ears to listen. Distantly, she could hear the baying of the hounds intermittently punctuated by a whinny, But the sound seemed to be steadily distancing themselves from her, heading in the opposite direction. Her body sagged gratefully at the information, ears drooping back against her head, And she wearily turn her body in the direction that would take her home, starting off with a prominent limp as she favored her right hind leg.

The journey was slow going and evening began to creep up on the world as the hare wove her path through the trunks of the trees. By the time she hopped her way out into the clearing outside of the cottage, the last hints of twilight were fading in the western horizon. With what little strength was left to her, Branna concentrated on her body, stretching out her legs, lifting herself onto her hind feat. Gradually, but quickly, her body began to grow, the thick black fur receding, long ears shrinking away. As she came to the small well near the front of the building, she gratefully leaned against it's stone lip with her human hands, thankful to be back in her own skin once more.

After a long moment, With the quiet of the night punctuated by her steady panting, a laugh suddenly bubbled up within her, Breaking past her lips in a breathless tinkle. Supporting her weight with her hips against the stone, she lifted her hands and rubbed them over the skin of her face, through the ringlets of her dark hair, and laughed. "you foolish lass." She managed to get out between bursts of giggles, Shaking her head slowly. "almost got yourself killed over a bit of fun. But oh, what fun it was." Continuing to chuckle with amusement at her own silly game, Branna lifted A bucket from beside the well up to the opening, letting it drop into the darkness in a sudden descent until she heard a splash as it hit the water below.. Waiting only a moment, she reached for the handle to the left of the structure, cranking it with a steady rhythm until the wooden container reappeared, Full to the brim with clear liquid. Reaching out, she pulled it to her, resting it against the top of the wall. Cupping her hand, she scooped a mouthful of the cold liquid passed her waiting lips, Savoring the sweet liquid as it washed away the dry feeling on her tongue. With another grateful sigh, She lifted the bucket into her arms, Taking every limp she received in payment for her foolishness as she carried it into the stone cottage.

Placing The bucket of water onto the stone hearth of The fireplace with a soft thunk, The young woman reached out to carefully touch the outer surface of the kettle she had left to hang over the flames, pleased when she discovered that it was still warm. Before she lifted it from its hook, she threw A couple of fresh logs onto the glowing embers, Provoking their gentle flicker into new life. Satisfied with the quickly growing flames licking eagerly at the fresh wood, Branna retrieved the water and took it over to her table, setting it onto the surface before she retrieved a shallow dish and a handful of clean white bandages, a washing cloth, and a small bottle of wine. Before sitting down, she carefully bent and retrieved her discarded dress, letting The soft material fall over her naked body and cut the chill that she had started to feel. With nimble and well practiced fingers, she tied the ribbon at her back into a bow, Straightening out her skirts before returning back to her task. Lowering herself into one of the chairs at the table, she went about filling the bowl with water, pulling another chair closer to her, And propping her injured leg onto it's supportive surface. With several grimaces, she carefully began to clean and inspect her wounds, wincing as several of The punctures broke open anew.

"you deserve every one of these." She spoke to herself as she began disinfecting the cuts with the wine, biting at her lower lip as they stung and prickled unpleasantly "that dog nearly took your leg off. You should be grateful that didn't happen."talking aloud to herself seemed to be helping with the swell of guilt she felt in her stomach and the pain of the bite on her leg, Keeping her going as she found some left over herbs to make a poultice to spread over her wounds, Bandaging the lower half of her calf and the entirety of her ankle in clean strips of cloth. "there." She breathed, Tying off the end of her wrappings. "feeling better already." She mustered up A small smile, for it was truly beginning to feel a little less tender, even allowing her to put her weight onto her leg for a short time as she stood, collecting The things on the table to put them away.