No room for that sort of optimism here. She knows what people disappearing in the woods means likely as not.

"Well. That's more than nothing." The plate clatters to the table as she wipes her hands off. "And they're trying to build things up around here before the cold sets in?" That would be the plan anywhere else. It's cold but not unbearable outside yet, but it seems as though it's just setting in rather than starting to clear up. If there's a winter to be endured here, people would need to scramble for supplies and fortification.

Which meant opportunities to be of use, and not get left out in the cold.