Stone Circle Poor Unfortunate Souls

It had been just over three weeks since Steph's accident, and she was healing well. The herbs that Keoni used had worked well on her external wounds, which were now scabbed over. But, for her broken rib, only time could heal that. She found she could move a bit more with less pain, but she felt she still had a while to go before the pain would be completely gone.

She laid outside the den today, her head on her forelegs, her mind lost in memories of her older sister. She had liked the time they spent together the past few weeks, even it was because of Steph's thoughtless actions and getting herself hurt. It seemed like almost a dream that she was gone; a dream Steph wanted to wake up from. 

She sighed, remembering the burial that had been given to Keoni at Stone Circle. That was certainly reality. She didn't want to be alone to wallow in her sadness, and lifted her body gingerly off the ground. She walked forward slowly in no particular direction, hoping she would come across someone.

Now Keoni passed away Valette was worried that Steph might not make it as well. Her superficial wounds were scabbed over but what was happening internally? Maybe that broken rib would puncture something, an organ! Valette walked to the den to find Steph there. Valette looked tired, she hadn't slept much with her worry and sadness. She instantly moved to Steph to fuss over her. Her nose sniffed the wounds and gently licked them.

"How are you feeling? Are you doing alright?," she asked. "No hurting, like inside?," she added. 'We should get you walking, or maybe not," she frowned. It was three weeks so she should be able to walk, right? Normally Valette was quite calm and confident with what she did but now she didn't know. She didn't know about healing, only how to hunt and make it worse. Valette seemed to have trouble with the whole idea. She sat down trying to fight back to tears. She needed Keoni.

Her tail wagged when her mother came into view, and Steph gave her a gentle smile, licking her cheek as Valette began to fuss over her. Some pups might grow tired of the attention, but Steph never did. It had always been something her mother did, and Steph grew fond of it, expecting it now.

I'm doing okay, she said. My side hurts when I move, like a sharp pain, she confessed. But, it's not there when I don't move. Steph had no idea about what internal injuries she might have, or how dangerous they could be, so she wasn't nearly as worried as her mother was. She didn't give Valette the time to really go back on her offer of walking, and got up, though not quickly. Let's walk! she said excitedly. She was going stir crazy being cooped up in and around the den, and she was ready to go.

Valette didn't think that Steph's sides would still have hurting sides. The mother looked worriedly. Because if she moved then she would be in pain. "Um.. no. We shouldn't walk then. What if it causes something worse!," she spoke to her daughter. Valette tried to block her path. She didn't want Steph to be in pain.

Valette wasn't sure what she could do to have Steph less pain. She glanced at her daughter. "Are you sure you can walk? We don't have Keoni anymore to check up on you," Valette spoke with pain in her tone.

Her mother tried to block her path, which didn't surprise her at all. She gave a very teenager-like expression to her mother that said she didn't like being babied, but she didn't try to go past her, either. Mama, pleeeeeeease? she begged. It's only when I scrunched up my sides, like if I'm turning too sharply. Going forward is okay, as long as I don't  go fast, she pleaded. She really wanted to get up and out and about. 

Her face feel when Valette mentioned Keoni. I know, she said softly, her eyes casting downward to the ground. It was so odd that they had spent so much time together in the the few weeks after Steph's accident, and now her sister was gone. She closed the gap between Valette and herself, nuzzling her mother's neck. The argument over going for a walk was over as far as Steph was concerned. She didn't like seeing her mother upset, and comforting her was more important than a little exercise.

Valette felt better when Steph comforted her. The alpha female had a lot of knowledge about hunting and scouting but not with healing. She disliked that she didn't know what to do. Steph pleaded to take a walk and she couldn't really say no to that. "Alright, let's walk. You give the pace," she spoke with a firm nod. Valette wanted to keep her mind off Keoni anyhow. Her death had been so sudden. So unfair.

Valette still looked worried and upset at her daughter. What if the same happened to Steph?! Valette would probably die of heartbreak. Why did she have to lose several loved ones over her lifespan? She wasn't even three yet.

Her tail wagged when her mother finally agreed they could go for a walk. Usually, Steph might have jumped forward in excitement, but with her injuries that would surely be a mistake. So, gingerly and slowly, she stepped forward, careful not to move in such a way that would cause her the sharp pain she hated.

As they walked, she asked How's Nikai? She hadn't seen him, mostly because she wasn't able to get up and about, and she knew he couldn't do much, either. But, she did worry about him, especially with the loss of their sister, as well.

Valette kept to Steph's pace so she wouldn't walk too fast for her daughter. Steph asked how Nikai was doing and Valette honestly didn't know what the boy was feeling. He was probably just as upset as she was. "I don't know. Should we check up on him?," she asked. Maybe it was good to try and visit Nikai, then they had somewhere to walk to and back from. Plus it might give Nikai some company.

Her ears swiveled this way and that, taking in the sounds of the forest, as well as her mother's voice. Do you think he'd be up for a visit? she asked. She didn't want to bug him if he was resting. She assumed Valette checked up on him just as much as she did Steph. 

She paused to nose a bush next to her. She was really trying to relax through a little pain, but she didn't want to show that to her mother. If she knew, then she was sure she'd make Steph head straight back to the den. The pain wasn't bad, not nearly as bad as it hurt to bend her body to the side. It was more of an ache. But, nothing she didn't feel she could push through.

Valette wasn't sure if Nikai was resting. "Why don't we just keep walking. Maybe he is resting. I will visit him later today and see how he is doing," Valette spoke. She rather wanted to keep her full attention to Steph at the moment. Then she had an idea. "Okay so why don't we walk to the river. You can take a bath there. It might help the wound," she offered. It sounded very logical to the mother. Water usually helped with things right?

She nodded, knowing she wouldn't want to intrude on Nikai if he was resting. The thought of going down to the river sounded refreshing, and she agreed eagerly to that. They took their time getting there, and Steph waded into the water, careful not to slip on rocks or allow her paws to sink too far into the muddy bottom.

She lowered her body so that most of it was submerged in the water. The river was calm today, so she didn't have to fight to stay in place. With a gleam in her eye, she would have splashed a little water towards her mother, though maybe not enough to actually reach her. 

They'd spend some time there, chatting and relaxing. Steph would do her best to ease her mother's worries about her wounds and injuries, and they would head back to the den so she could rest.