The Sentinels And silence gives you space

Backdated a bit, for @Eilidh

 

Upon returning from her seascape adventure, Pearl finally came back to the Sentinels, set on finding Blue Willow or another aspiring healer that could help with her most recent addition to her coat. Though the distance between Sea Lion Shores and the territory was short and the bite not serious, the wound on her flank was irritating as hell when she passed the borders. 

Rolling her eyes at the nagging minor pain, she kept on to attempt to find a Mayfair. Daylight pierced through the branches, and the cool air bit at the uncovered part in her fur. She had already cleaned it out farther down the beach in the seawater, which was freezing, but it helped to drive away risk of infection. 

Pearl came across Blue Willow and Lasher's den, only to find it temporarily deserted. Huffing with annoyance, she turned away to try and find Eilidh, who she heard was following her mother's footsteps. A relief, since they needed more than one healer in the pack.

Eilidh was indeed following in her mother's footsteps. She was that very day searching for some herbs she knew would help speed her mother's healing after childbirth, digging through the frozen ground to find anything that looked promising. Already she had a small pile of herbs and plants, though they were still quite frigid, tucked under a fallen log nearby, to keep the herbs safe from any stray gusts of wind. One such gust brought Pearl's scent toward her, and with it the scent of blood.

Nostrils flaring, Eilidh secured the herbs beneath the log, and turned toward the wind, following it toward her injured pack-mate. It didn't take long for her to find Pearl and she barked to get her attention, trotting to her side quickly to inspect the girl's injury. "What bit you?" she asked softly, placing her nose gently upon Pearl's hip, tracing the outline of the wound, before gingerly licking one of its edges clean. The blood was mostly gone, and it tasted extra salty. "You bathed it?" she asked, emerald eyes flickering toward Pearl's own, waiting for confirmation.

Pearl's attention snapped from the trees to Eilidh when the bark reached her ears. Breathing a quick sigh of relief, she gratefully let the young healer take a look at the bite. "A seal bit me while I was hanging on to its neck. They're incredibly flexible and kinda hard to get at the artery in the neck." she said with a sheepish smile. Really, it was a live and learn world when it came to doing anything, especially hunting and healing. How was she supposed to know anything about seals? At least she knew how to kill it, though a strenuous process. 

"Yeah, I cleaned it in the ocean, though I don't suggest going in unless you want to freeze," she said with a quick lopsided grin, peridot meeting emerald.

A seal. Eilidh had seen them from afar, the giant grey creatures that lumbered along the beach and the rocky outcroppings there. Pearl's experience with them made sense, considering what Eilidh had observed about them. She wasn't ever going to try to hunt one of those on her own. "You're lucky it didn't bite you in the neck, Pearl. Maybe next time you should have some backup." After getting bit, Pearl did cleanse the wound in the ocean. Eilidh nodded at Pearl's assessment; the water was freezing this time of year and anymore than a brief dip would cause some health issues.

"It looks pretty clean now. But I think we should put something on it. A salve or something." Eilidh frowned as she took a few steps back from Pearl. What would her Mamma do? "Just make sure to keep it clean. Can you walk to the healing den?" Eilidh asked softly, looking into her pack mate's green eyes. They were more alike than she thought.

At this, Pearl snorted with a laugh of irony. "I did. That's how I didn't get bit any other place. She was a fiery red loner, and didn't talk at all," she concluded. That was about the best she could describe Tuwawi. They would most likely run into one another again, in the wide yet small territory of the Wilds. 

"I can walk just fine, it's irritating at the least," she said with a shrug. It didn't hurt too bad, since it was only a flesh wound and didn't effect much muscle. A scar would definitely reside there, though, despite the efforts of the healers. A reminder of her trade and her first hunting of a seal.

They started off back towards the healing den being hit time and time again with frigid blasts. Pearl couldn't wait to curl up in her warm den. But for the moment she would enjoy Eilidh's company. "So what have you been up to?" she asked.

Eilidh nodded and led the way to her mother's healing den. It didn't take long, but they talked along the way. Pearl's description of a quiet red loner piqued her interested, but Eilidh didn't say anything in reply; it wasn't like she knew that the woman she met begging for food was the same that Pearl had hunted with. Pearl then asked what she'd been up to, and Eilidh shrugged as she walked. "Not much really. Trying to ignore my brother's drama and all. Helping my Mamma and learning her trade." She didn't know that much, but healing was in her blood, and each time she helped someone, it became easier to see that this was what she was meant to do.

By that time they arrived at the healing den. "Wait here," she pointed Pearl toward a log she could rest against if she wanted, then slipped into the den. She gathered a few things she thought she might need, then with them clamped gently between her teeth, returned to Pearl's side. She placed her bundle on the ground and grinned up at the girl. "It's a good thing you cleaned it before you found me. Otherwise this would suck." She sniffed at the edges of the bite and then licked at it tenderly, before she bent to clean it more thoroughly, trying to be gentle, but knowing that it would be painful anyway.

Pearl nodded and listened to Eilidh's recent events. "I'm going to try and help with this drama, but I don't think it's going to go away anytime soon. Do you like learning healing so far?" she asked with interest. It was always good to have a trade that you enjoyed doing. 

She accepted the offer and waited patiently on the log when they arrived. Pearl smiled back down at her younger copy, grateful for the help. "That was the point," she said, slightly wincing as Eilidh's tongue met the raw flesh. She stayed silent after that, the pain only being reflected in her eyes.

Eilidh laughed between cleaning the wounds at Pearl's willingness to step into her brother's drama. Nothing would ever make her do that unless it threatened her brother's life or the lives of her family. Otherwise, he and Behati and whoever else was involved could stir up their own drama between themselves. As long as nobody bothered her, she was fine. "Good luck with that. He's more stubborn than a thorn between your toes." After making sure the wound was clean and fresh (as horrible as that sounded), Eilidh bent to the pile of herbs at her feet. She picked out the Devil's Nettle leaves, placed them in her mouth, and chewed.

After a few minutes she spit them out onto Pearl's neck. "Ew, sorry." She said softly, screwing up her face. She laughed as she spread the chewed up leaves with her nose, making sure to get it all over the wound and raw flesh. "There, that should do it. Leave that on for two days, then you can wash it off. The scab will be terribly itchy, but don't scratch it. Come back on day four and I'll give you something to soothe the itch." She then returned the unused herbs to the den and after rinsing her mouth out in a nearby stream, came back to talk to Pearl. "Healing has been fun. My Mamma knows way more than I do, obviously, but she's been teaching me when she can." She smiled and sat down next to her, again noting their resemblance. "Besides hunting seal, what have you been up to?"

Pearl just smiled and rolled her eyes. "If I'm going to be a mediator I'll need the practice," she said. She watched the pale cloaked girl chew up the plant she needed, then gave another unwilled grimace of pain. She gave a nod to the directions she was given, and inspected the wound as well as she could while Eilidh went off. It was going to be difficult not to itch this. 

When she came back, Pearl gave a smile before answering. "Not much, just exploring up and down the coast. I actually hadn't ever seen the ocean until the pack came here." she said. There wasn't much else to say at this point in time, since she had just come back.

Eilidh smiled, knowing Pearl was right. If she wanted to be the pack's mediator, she needed to practice on the youth and their issues first, before moving onto more serious problems. "He's still rather stubborn, so don't feel bad if he doesn't listen." She hadn't spoken to her own brother in months now, it seemed, at least not any deeper than a passing pleasantry. Eilidh had been far too busy helping her mother, tending her new sisters, or doing something productive to deal with her brother's misguided hormones. Whatever.

"I hadn't seen the ocean, either, until we moved." At least that was something they shared. Eilidh wondered a bit about Pearl's past, but didn't know exactly how to phrase it without being rude. "So, uh, Pearl...What do you like to do for fun?" She wasn't very good at small talk, but at least she was trying. Eilidh did want to know more about Pearl, but sometimes it was hard for her to think of the right things to say.

Pearl gave a small snort of laughter. "Yeah, tell me about it," she said, rolling her eyes with a smile. Casmir had become incredibly moody and hormonal as of late, and personally she wondered how and why these two girls managed to fall for him. 

Pearl nodded in acknowledgment, and started to wonder what she even did for fun. "Hunting and exploring, I guess. The beach is pretty cool to walk along, especially if you find rocky pools with all sorts of weird ocean creatures in them. The stuff you can find is really cool. We should go sometime," she suggested. She felt she could do with more mature conversations.

Eilidh hadn't explored the beach as much as she probably should have, given that it was so close-by, so she smiled at Pearl's suggestion that they go together sometime. "I'd really like that, Pearl. Those pools sound cool." Immediately she wondered if there were any creatures or sea-herbs she and her mother could use for healing, but didn't let herself get carried away. She was still sitting here with Pearl and not by herself, after all. "I haven't been down to the beach much, so that sounds like fun."

It had been a while since she'd seen Malachi, and she suddenly wondered where he was, or if anyone had seen him recently. "Hey Pearl, have you seen Malachi around recently? He's been pretty scarce since the move. I'm worried about him." Maybe if she wanted to be the pack's mediator, she could find out what was going on with him, and make sure he was okay. Was that was mediators did?

Pearl nodded and smiled at the girl. "I'll take you up on that when I need someone else mature to talk to," she said with a chuckle. Talking with Eilidh was easier than the other teens, and she enjoyed it, no matter how awkward. 

When the subject of Malachi come up, her past suspicions were aroused about the blue-eyed mystery man. "I actually haven't seen him either. Any idea where he might've gone?" she said in a concerned voice. He was one of the wolves she especially liked to talk to, or rather, not talk. She'd been worrying more about him as time crawled on.

Eilidh's hope burst like a sea-foam bubble breaking upon the shore, and she felt her shoulders sag slightly. She tried not to let it show, but being a child with a first crush, it was hard to deny the fact that her heart ached for someone absent. Eilidh shook her head slightly and sighed. "No, I don't." She felt a little silly pining for someone she truly hadn't loved, but it was probably the way with first crushes. She hoped the future didn't bring drama like it had for Behati and Aria when it came to concerns of the heart.

Then the girl decided it was time to move on. Perhaps not from Malachi so quickly, but at least from this moment. She had things to do, and she was sure Pearl did, too. "Well, if you hear from him, let me know, okay?" She smiled softly at Pearl. "Remember to leave that wound alone. Come see me on the fourth day and I'll give you something for the itch. Maybe we can go to those pools then, too."

Fading :) Thanks for the thread!

Pearl observed the subtle signs of another teenage heartbreak quietly and with interest, as she didn't know of the feelings Eilidh reserved for the silent man. If was hones, she herself might've had some feelings for Malachi, but they didn't do much good if he wasn't there. Pearl wasn't much of the jealous type, so she'd gladly try and find him for Eilidh and try to set them up. She felt sad for the girl who had already had her first heartbreak, and gave a sympathetic smile. Pearl had seen how destructive heartbreak could be, so she hadn't ever tried a relationship before, though she wanted to find a mate sometime soon. 


Returning to the ending conversation from her thoughts, she nodded in response. "I will, and sounds good. I'll howl for you," she said, smiling at the girl before getting up and sashaying from the scene, her hip feeling better but still painful when she walked. Pearl felt it time for a good nap in her warm den.