Blacktail Deer Plateau but I still think she's a queen

A few days after the incident at the Keep, Grayday found that his chin wasn't healing up quite as well as he'd expected it to. The scrapes on his chest and legs seemed to be doing fine, but he could now barely put his head down without feeling a dull throb on the underside of his jaw - it didn't bode well.

"Pema?" the male called late that morning, stopping by the woman's den just before heading to bed. "Can you come look at something for me?"

Pema woke to the sound of her name being spoke, and her ears turned in the direction of her den entrance. Standing up and stretching out responding with "Sure" before she walked to the entrance of her den where she found Grayday standing asking if she could took at something. 

Right when she looked at him she could tell that he had been cut up, with the scars that covered parts of his front legs and chest. Then around his mouth was something, but she wouldn't be able to tell unless she got a closer look. "What did you get yourself into Day?" she asked calling him Day for the first time, since it was early and her responce was mainly feuled by shock, not expecting him to be injured outside her door step.

"It's nothing," he was quicky to assure, although he was a little worried he might be lying. It'd seem inconsequential at the time, but a few days removed from the event and it hurt worse than ever. He was starting to wonder if he shouldn't have gotten it looked at much earlier. "I just slipped on a hill and hit my chin in some rocks. It's not too deep or anything."

He sat down and hunched his shoulders so that she could get a good look at it.

"If it were nothing you won't have come over there." she playfully protested. His legs and chest seemed to have been healing nicely, but when he sat down she still inspecting them. Mostly by smelling around. It reminded her of when she first had come into the pack and Grayday and looked her over rather closely. Now it was her turn. It might have seemed strange to smell or then look, but once she got to his mouth and chin area it became clear why she was doing this. She could see there was still a few bits of gravel in his chin and when she went to smell it she immediatly retracted her face.

"Just because it's not deep don't mean it can't be infected. Which it is." the smell alone could have told her that it was infected and needed to be treated as soon as possible before it got any worse. She would be able to treat it, though it might be awhile before it full healed now that it was infected. She hadn't had a chance to stock up on herbs yet, so the two would need to search for the things she needed.

Good point, he thought a bit sheepishly, though out loud, he did not deign to reply. Instead, he simply held still while she inspected him, though he couldn't quite help but pose while she did. Even under a purely clinical gaze, the male always felt gratified to be looked at.

His expression fell a little bit when she gave her diagnosis. "Oh," he said unhappily, ears flicking in agitation. "Can you fix it?" he asked, then, remembering how well his last infection had gone. His eyes were still getting worse. He knew, objectively, that an infected chin was a different situation than infected eyes, but the very idea still set his teeth on edge.

He asked if she could fix it and she thought for a moment. There were a few things she could treat it with, but with it not being from a bite and with no near by hot springs in the territory it helped to cancel out her options. Some chervil root paste should do the trick she thought. The root looked more like a vegetible then a root, similar to a potato or carrot growing in the ground.

"There is something I can whip up for you, but I'll need some help getting what I need. Chervil root to be exact. Do you know what that it?" she asked him wanting to know if she would have to give a discription for him before they headed out. Some wolves might know about the leaves of chervil, but unless they dug one up or knew about it prior, she doubted many knew about it.

Grayday huffed in thought, trying to remember whether or not he did. One memory-scent stuck out to him, but he couldn't really be sure if that was right. "It's got frilly-looking leaves, right?" he asked, trying to match a picture to the scent. "Long stalks?"

He scrabbled a paw at his chin, suddenly overcome by the discomfort. He'd been trying not to scratch, but, "It itches," he muttered, thoroughly unimpressed by the whole ordeal. "I think there's some by the creek. I'll be back in a second."

Grayday trotted off to find the chervil roots, grimacing at the increased awarness of his wound. It was like hearing that it was infected made it ten times more uncomfortable, but the male knew it had to be all in his head. Luckily, he found what he needed quickly enough and dug up the roots with haste. After rinsing them and giving his chin a quick wash in the river, the male returned to Pema, presenting his findings to her. "This it?" he asked.

As he began to list off some characteristics of the plant, it seemed as though he did know what it was and even where it was. He began to itch his jaw saying how discomforting it was. Pema felt that Grayday was old enough to know that when something like an injury itched, you probably shouldn't itch it. Though sometimes the feeling was just so over whelming one couldn't help themselves. Especially of it was a place on the face and near the mouth. Having that odor under your nose and puss so close to your mouth was so gross in Pema's mind. But these were the thing Pema would need to get used to on a somewhat regular basis. Hopefully she would be notified sooner and their wouldn't be time for an infection to even take hold.

He returned with the stalk and root in his mouth, two of the roots attatched. They were wet along with his muzzle. It was good that the herb and wound site were now clean but, "It was a good idea to clean up, but you want to make sure it stays fairly dry going forward. I'm not sure if you want to whip it off on the grass or some moss, but I wouldn't sure your fur." she told him, laying down on the ground and grinding the touge vegetable into a paste in her mouth.

Grayday thought he'd heard that rule before, now that he thought about it. Maybe it was something Adeline had said? To Nimue, perhaps...? The male couldn't quite remember, but bobbed his head dutifully in response to Pema's instructions. "Seems like you sold yourself short," said the male - "You're quite the young healer."

Pema looked up from the chervil root and up at Grayday. At first she didn't know what he meant when he said she had sold herself shot. But soon after him compliment she understood what he was trying to say. Even though she had helped a few member of the pack already with herbs, she didn't quite feel the same way. "Really?" she asked.

She had been surrounded by so many master of their trades that anything she did seemed to be pale in comparison. Her ability to remember things was what she was really thriving on right now. Remembering what others had done in the past in her pack. They knew exactly what to do in every situation and even knew why what they perscribed would do what it did. This negative self talk seemed to be in Pema's mind often, but well hidden away. She thought she might never be able to live up to the level of expertese that they possessed. Most of the time she told herself that she could get better through practice. But for the time being, with how she compared herself to others she didn't think she was doing much help. "I'm really only remembering things. I mean if you had know that chervil root could treat infection, you could have done all this one your own."

"But I didn't know," he reminded her, a teasing edge to his voice. "I've heard people mention it, and I know what it smells like - but it could've been poisonous for all I remembered about what it does. Better leave it alone and hope for the best than risk poisoning myself." The thought made his lips curl in amusement.

Wiping away his humored expression, he turned an earnest stare on the young woman before him. "We'll get you a teacher, Pema. For now - you know that healing is about more than knowledge. It's about caring for others - and I've heard from a certain young wolf pup that you're very good at that."

She blushed. Grayday had always been so kind to her with his compliments and genuiness. Even if she didn't think she knew that much more then the average wolf, the most important thing to look at was that even if it wasn't much she still knew more then others. His humorious comment about him choosing to leave something alone then find out if it was poisonious brought a smile to her face. Cheering her up as she chewed up the last of the chervil root and spitting it out onto the pile of paste she had already made.

His tone turned more serious when he said they would find a teacher for her if she needed and that the herbs weren't the only important thing a medic needed. With her tail lightly tapping the ground she stated, "Their so sweet." she said generalizing, seeing as how she had spent time with more then just one of them. "I hope I'm as lucky as you one day to have my own pups." she stated as a matter of fact.

"There you go." she spoke of the paste. "You can dip your chin in that and it should help prevent further infection along with heal yours. If it's close to your mouth you might want to just eat alittle, but it doesn't taste the best."

Grayday's ears flickered in thought as she mentioned her desire for children. Khoe had once thought she wanted children, too - but when it came down to it, she'd abandoned them without so much as a goodbye. Would Pema be a better mother than that? Only time and trials would tell, he supposed. But if she showed that she had more care in her than the mother of his children had, Grayday thought that new pups sounded like a fine idea.

"The season's almost on us," he replied, leaning down to dip his chin, as she'd instructed. He even licked some up, wondering how bad it could really be - and nearly paid for it with his dinner. "Yuck," he muttered, shaking his head as if that could rid his mouth of the foul taste.

Grayday spoke of the breeding season approaching. January would some in 3 months, but unknown to the two of them, Pema wouldn't be in heat until April in 7 months. Even though it was a ways away it went threw her mind. Bringing a smile to her face. the thougth of having little creations of her running around her brought warmth to her heart. She could recognize the feeling from when she had spent time with Dauntless and Easy. "Ya, just a few more months. It'll be my first year. But I doubt I'll find a mate by then though. Maybe next year." she shrugged and signed with a slight sign of disappointment thinking of how she would have to have her fantasy wait.

He applied the paste to his chin and with her suggesten ate a bit of it. She could see his expression change when it hit his tongue and he shook his head. She laughed "Haha. I told you. Not everything from plants can taste as sweet as berries."

Grayday's mind flickered through all the eligible males in the pack, and he found he had to concede to her point. Kieran was probably still too young to sire pups, and Sylvas... well. Grayday just wasn't sure the sad young male had it in him to open up like that again.

"Stranger things have happened," he decided, his words half-directed toward her and half toward himself. He stood and offered a grateful smile and a wag of his tail. "Thanks for taking care of me, Pema. I'll be sure to keep it dry. "

It was possible, Pema thought, but in 3 months. She didn't want to rush things. She wanted to find someone who she liked, not just find someone to give her puppies. But alot could happen in 3 months, even more in 7, in Pema's case. "I guess you're right. We'll see..." she remarked.

He thanked her for the help, "Sure, no problem. I'll check on it in a few days if you like."

Grayday have a favor nod of agreement and turned back toward his bed. The kids were probably asleep already, and he was looking forward to curling up and taking a nice, long snooze.