Stone Circle Momma is there for you

Valette was so relieved the moment she realized @Steph was still alive. She wasn't certain she would ever get over this heart attack. In that moment, she felt such dread. Merely the thought of losing her daughter, losing another one close to her, almost made her go crazy. But, luckily that hadn't happened. Her daughter seemed okay mentally, only she needed tending to her wounds. Valette couldn't even remember what was wrong with Steph but she did have some instructions how to keep the wound clean and make sure infections would stay away.

Valette grabbed the plant she got from Keoni and was instructed to chew. It tasted horrible but she would do it for her daughter. She stepped closer to Steph and gently spit it out against the wound. She had no clue if her wound looked better. Keoni couldn't tell her what to look for. It sucked. It was three days now, so if there was some sign of infection it should come any day now, right? She looked with worry over her daughter. Valette had barely left her side since the attack.

@Clary and @Ezra also welcome if you guys want to.

Steph had stayed inside the den for two full days, mostly sleeping in whatever comfortable position she could find, which wasn't often. Her side hurt every time she tried to move, so she didn't. She was forced to lay on her side instead of curling up, because that made it hurt even worse. It also hurt to take a deep breath, so Steph made sure not to exert herself. Sleeping was the easiest thing to do to keep herself out of pain.

On day three, Steph could not stand the confines of the den any longer, and made her way slowly to the entrance. She made it about a foot out and laid down on her stomach, keeping her back legs under her to support her body. She was still as Valette tended to her wounds, her tail wagging a bit to show her appreciation. She winced a little as the vegetation was pushed into her flesh, but she did not protest as she knew it would futile. Besides, she got herself into this mess, she felt she deserved the pain she got.

Her mother rarely left her side, and it made the pup feel both awful and grateful at the same time. Valette, as the Alpha, was supposed to be securing borders and making sure everyone stayed in line. Steph knew she was taking up far too much of her time. She could see the worry on her mother's face, and tried to make her feel better. I'm okay, Momma, she said softly.

Valette's worried unfolded into a light scold towards her daughter. "You aren't fine, Steph," she pointed out and glanced at the wounds. She hoped that Steph wouldn't suffer permanent injuries. She hoped that it would all heal and she hoped that there wouldn't be an infection. Valette wouldn't leave her daughter's side only if Keoni was there to look at her or someone else she trusted.

The bison really had done some damage to her members. It only proved how dangerous they were. "Why did you even go close to the bison, Steph?," she spoke, sounding a bit disappointed. Valette wasn't too mad at Steph, just disappointed that it happened. She felt like she had warned her daughter. She thought she lost Steph for a brief moment. It were the most horrible seconds of her life. Perhaps she was a bit mad that it happened. "You are very lucky to be alive. You could have been trampled if Murdock hadn't been there to save you in the first place."

Steph sighed, knowing this was coming. Valette wouldn't be a mother if she didn't scold Steph for doing something wrong. Sure, Steph had learned her lesson the hard way, but she expected Mom to bring it all the way home. They came to Stone Circle, she pointed out. I didn't go to them. Still, she hadn't exactly avoided them, either. I thought I'd chase and nip at them, like the pack did in the hunt, and they would just run off, she admitted. She hadn't expected one to turn on her so angrily. If they had just ran, Steph wouldn't have followed. 

Her ears flattened when Valette mentioned Murdock. She wondered if he regretted saving her. He hasn't even come by to see me, she said softly. She expected that he would, they would make up, and everything would be fine. That still hadn't happened. With her broken rib and injuries, Steph was in no position to get up and go to him to thank him.

Valette let out a soft sigh. "Bison are not anything like deer. They defend themselves," she explained about the big ungulate. Valette had some close calls as well with this herd. They were very protective. "They were probably reminded of the hunt when seeing you so it is logical that they would defend themselves," she spoke. She looked at her daughter and gave her a lick on her cheek. Just to fuss over her. "Luckily you are still alive. I would be so miserable if you would have died," she sighed.

Valette stayed a bit quieter then. Until Steph spoke about Murdock not even coming to visit her. Valette was kind of getting done with this whole drama between the two. "I think Murdock doesn't feel welcome," she pointed out to her daughter. Then the mother howled loudly to @Murdock summoning him to the alpha den. "There now he will come and visit you," she pointed out. Perhaps this was a bit of the payback she had for Steph for scaring her so much. "You will talk this out with him. Because I am done standing between the two of you," Valette stated.

Haha Val is done with the drama xD

Murdock was nearby. He couldn't bear not to be, after almost losing his precious girl to the bison, the wolverine, this pettiness that had risen up between them. If she'd died, she would've died believing he had cast her off - that he hadn't loved her as fully and completely as he'd loved his own dead daughters and good, sweet Chemukh. And that would be silly. They were dead. Steph was alive and real, and she needed him. That much had been made clear.

But Valette had rightly pinpointed the reason for his not having visited. He didn't feel welcome in the alpha's den - partially because of what had transpired between himself and Steph, but mostly because of how he felt he'd failed both of them. He'd stood there while Steph had run to her doom, and now she might never be the same. She'd gotten  hurt - and not the little hurts of childhood, but the raw wounds of survival. It made his heart ache to picture her lying in the den, reduced to inactivity by his own inaction.

But he couldn't keep his distance when Valette called for him. He arrived a few minutes after her howl, his limp carefully disguised so that he would not bring even more of his shame to her. After a quiet chuff to announce his presence, he stood silently outside, wishing it didn't hurt so much to stand.

Steph listened as her mother explain the difference between deer and bison, and that bison were a lot more dangerous. Steph had already learned that lesson the hard way, but she didn't dare speak up against her mother. She knew that, in addition to her injuries, she would still be scolded. That's just how it was.

What she didn't expect was her mother to call Murdock. Her ears flattened as her head lowered. She was not ready to confront Murdock again. She would much rather to go play with the herd of bison again. She resented Valette a little for this, but nothing that would last long, especially if this meeting went well.

She was quiet as they waited for Murdock to come. It didn't take him long. The anger she felt towards him in the days following his return was gone, and left was only sadness. Her eyes didn't raise to meet his, but her head did turn in his direction. Hey, Moo, she whispered, wondering if he would talk to her at all.

Valette knew that her daughter wouldn't like her actions but when two stubborn wolves weren't going to make peace, she would have to mediate. Valette greeted Murdock with a chuff in return. He had come swiftly. The mother glanced at her daughter and saw how she was avoiding eye contact. It seemed the anger from before was less. Valette wondered if she needed to intervene. She wanted to explain and lay out the situation for the both of them but this was also a learning moment for Steph. To tell him what she wanted to say. She nudged Steph to encourage her daughter.

When he arrived, Steph said something he nearly missed. His name? It was difficult to tell with the strange ringing in his ears he got whenever he exerted himself, lately. Even the short jaunt had left him breathless.

"How are you doing?" he asked quietly, not quite sure what to say. He felt as though he'd been ejected from the circle of her affection, and looking at her now, could feel little aside from detached anxiety and and edge of nausea. But that was probably from the pain, now from Steph.

He asked how she was doing, and normally she would have shrugged, but she was afraid the movement would cause pain in her side. I hurt, she said honestly. Both physically, due to the injuries from the bison, and mentally, from their torn friendship. 

She glanced at her mother, feeling a little embarrassed over the whole thing. Looking back at Murdock, though, she knew she would rather swallow her pride than to have their friendship dissolve into nothing. I'm sorry for how I acted, she said genuinely. I know I can't be your only friend, but I do still want to be your friend, she added. He had been more like a father-figure to her than anyone else, and it scared her the most to think that his attentions may be elsewhere. But, at least he hadn't disappeared like her biological father had. Murdock had returned, and she hated that she had acted so mean towards his new friend.

Murdock's heart thudded unevenly at this pronouncement. He didn't want her to hurt; that was the last thing he wanted. "I'm just glad you're alive," he said quietly, moving forward to give her a gentle, feather-light nuzzle. "I was terrified that we would lose you, Steph."

He laid his head on his paws, almost on top of her own. "You'll always have a special place in my heart, Stephie," he said solemnly. "No matter what happens."