Moonspear calculate the pattern that is causing my disease

​Weather: 39°F and cloudy. 
Time: Around 2:00 PM.
Attention: @Lyra!
Note: Set before this thread.

It had been a few minutes since Rannoch had woken from his mid-day nap and finally, he stirred. Since getting injured, he often found himself laying on his side when he slept, and this occurrence was no different than the others. It was easier for him to sleep like this, as resting his head between outstretched forelimbs for a prolonged amount of time often irritated his neck, and it was when he slept on his side that he found himself less groggy. 

"Lyra," Rannoch called once he had lifted his head from the ground and surveyed to see whether or not the Medic was around. "Hey!" he greeted with a smile, happy to see that she was here.

While she had scarcely left the man's side while he was out, Lyra slowly allowed herself longer and longer trips away from the den now that he was on the road to recovery. Usually her trips were only to collect herbs but this time involved a quick hunting trip with her sisters. When she had returned, Rannoch had still been sleeping and so Lyra sat outside, devouring a rabbit leg, until...

Lyra. She immediately perked at the sound of her name and whipped around, peeking her head past the den's wall to see Rannoch looking and sleepily smiling up at her. Her eyes were wide from being startled, blood from the kill still smeared across half her face, and the girl took a few moments before she spluttered out a quick, "oh, hi!" before just as quickly turning away to make herself look presentable to the handsome man.

It seemed as though Rannoch had caught Lyra at the wrong time. The with remains of her meal smeared across her face, Rannoch's ears fell, and he shot her an apologetic glance. He hadn't meant to take her away from eating, and he felt bad for stealing away her moment to herself. 

She returned his greeting after dolling herself up; a break in which the Iota rolled from his side and onto stomach and waited patientely for her to do whatever she deemed proper at that moment. When it appeared to him that she was setting aside her food for their conversation, he shook his head lightly. "Please, don't stop eating just because of me," he assured her, knowing how much of her time he already took up. As an afterthought, he added, "Sorry to interrupt." 

She wiped the blood off her face with a rough swipe of a forepaw, quickly then shaking out her scruff to fluff it up again. While she wasn't as pretty as Alya — oblivious to fact that they were identical to everyone else; the differences between the three were easy to spot solely amongst themselves — she could at least attempt to look nice for Rannoch. Even in his state, he had this gentle yet mysterious mien that Lyra couldn't help but admire.

She caught his apologetic look as she turned back to her patient, and offered a smile back. "I was done anyway," she replied, twisting to retrieve the remains of the leg. It was the truth, too, somewhat. All that was left were the tender strips of meat that clung to the bone. She leaned in to place it within reach of Rannoch, giving a nod to him to indicate he was free to the rest. "It's okay, you need it more."

Rannoch smiled with appreciation in regards to what she had said and her offering. Not wanting to offend her, and because his stomach was beginning to feel the first irritating hum of hunger, he accepted the leg. Making quick work of it, once he had proposed the limb before his forearms, Rannoch devoured the portion quickly before turning back to the Medic. 

"Thanks for that," Rannoch replied once he had pushed the bone away and licked away most of the residue from the meal. Despite his best efforts, a tendril of meat hung from the corner of his mouth, and it went unnoticed to the Iota. "I was out for a while, wasn't I?" he inquired as he quickly surveyed the den and realized that the light that tricked into the den was already dimming.

The rest of the bone was quickly stripped, and Lyra was relieved the man had an appetite. That, in her extremely limited experience, was generally one of the best signs. At least, Terance had been ravenous after his recovery. She looked away as he worked at it, instead focusing on cleaning her blood-stained paws.

His thanks was received with a pleased smile, widening as she noticed the rogue left over that still clung to his jaw. Lyra didn't mention it, instead wondering how long it would take Rannoch to notice in some sort of petty payback. After all, he had caught her in a similar state only moments before. "Yes," she replied a little more sullenly to his question. "Th-there's a scar," she nodded to his neck, glimpsing the jagged ridge that made her stomach twist. "But I think that's the only lasting damage..." I hope.

With his suspicions confirmed, Rannoch's nodded stiffly as he found himself unsure how to follow up to the news. Though he was curious to know how long he had been asleep, he kept that question to himself as Lyra hesitantly filled the brief silence that settled between them. The Iota's attention was drawn to the wound that he had felt for quite some time, and despite his inability to examine it, he was left to assume of just how nasty it looked. Based on the level of pain that he had felt, Rannoch quickly concluded that it was a rather ugly wound. 

With a frown, Rannoch asked, "Will it last forever?" With his limited medical experience, Rannoch had found himself remembering the time that he had been healed by the water. Though he was unaware of just how it had healed him, Rannoch knew that it had done something to aid his recovery. So, with this memory in mind, he added curiously, "Or is there a way that the water can help it?" Unfortunately for Rannoch, he was unaware of how absurd his idea was.

She sucked in a hesitant breath as he asked if it would last forever. While she was no expert, it was pretty easy to see that a wound as deep as his was not going to go away. It would fade, but she was certain there would always be a gnarled, knotted scar across his neck. While it was ugly — at least in its current raw state — it kind of added to his roguish charm. Of course, she would never admit this, instead continuing to cast shy, bashful glances his way.

His frown tugged at her heartstrings. She couldn't bring herself to tell him the absolute truth. "We...we could try!" she said, perking up with a semi-forced cheerful smile. She stood, backing up slightly to allow Rannoch passage out of the den. "Can you walk? We can go to the river if you'd like."

The Medic's response evoked hope within the Iota, and despite his initial hesitance to answer, he worked quickly to reason with himself. "I could try!" Rannoch replied, his eyes bright as he looked to Lyra. Pulling back his excitement just a bit, as he knew he had to be somewhat realistic about it all, he added, "I just might be a little slow, if that's okay?" 

He shared in her bridled enthusiasm, and Lyra felt her cheeks grow hot as she beamed back at him. Though at his remark about being slow, she gave a soft, incredulous snort and almost shot him a look that said, you literally came back from the brink of death, Rannoch, take all the time you need. She reigned in Alya's sass, however, trying to remain a professional.

Indeed, it took them quite a while to reach the river that thankfully wasn't too far from the den. As Rannoch hobbled along, trying to find his legs again, Lyra assisted by lending a shoulder to lean on. It occurred to her just how big the man was as she did so, her own legs struggling whenever he lurched just a little too far in her direction. When they finally got to the banks, she helped Rannoch settle before stepping forward to take a drink, trying to mask her heavy breathing. She needed to train with Hydra more.

Lyra was helpful in her assistance of being his crutch, and Rannoch appreciated the support she provided. Even with her help, the two wolves moved slowly as they picked their way towards the river. Like Lyra, whose sides heaved from the effort she exerted, Rannoch was fatigued by the time that they settled by the river. Unlike Lyra, Rannoch lingered a distance from the river as Lyra stepped forward to quell her thirst. 

"The water is great, isn't it?" Rannoch began lamely once he had sufficiently caught his breath. "A long time ago," almost a year, he realized as he spoke, "I was thrown into the ocean, and I had a medic along the coast heal me in the water so that I could learn to walk again after my fall." His eyes were drawn to the shore as he spoke. "I don't know if you have ever healed somebody who needs to gain strength in their legs again, but, the water is a great way to do it." he looked at Lyra then as he attempted to gauge whether or not he preaching this information to the choir.

She stood in the ankle-deep waters, letting the tip of her tail lazily brush against the surface as she drank. All the while, she kept Rannoch in sight from the corner of her eye, trained on his every movement. It was good he was away from the den, at least. She didn't like leading her patient into the unknown (even if it was just Moonspear), away from the certainty of the den. Anything could happen out here.

She quickly yanked her thoughts away from worrying about such things, instead looking up to Rannoch as he spoke. She quirked her head slightly, horrified that he had been thrown into the ocean. She had never seen it, but she had heard tales of it from Charon. It was a fascinating, mysterious, and terrifying thing all at once.

"Oh," she murmured softly as he continued, taking the information on board. While Terance hadn't needed much therapy after his injuries, Lyra figured Rannoch may need a little more time to recover from his own. She frowned thoughtfully up at him; he seemed to be the more experienced one in this matter. "How so?" How did water help them get better?

"The Medic that healed me said that the water provides a lower impact on joints," Rannoch explained. "At first I really didn't understand how she explained it would help me, but, once we started with the session, I quickly understood." It had been Rannoch's first time swimming when his rehabilitation had occurred and when it came to swimming, the yearling had not known what to expect. 

"When walking on land when I was injured, it hurt for me to walk. But, when I was in the water, it suddenly didn't. The water allowed me to float and work on re-building my strength without putting too much pressure on my legs." He paused then, to gauge Lyra's understanding before adding, "I'm not a medic, but, if somebody ever needs to heal this way, I can help you." 

He explained how it helped with such knowledge, Lyra was surprised he himself wasn't a healer. She listened attentively, ears perked towards him as he spoke and then nodding in understanding. If she was going to help Rannoch gain his strength back this way, they'd need to find a deeper river. She didn't think ankle-deep water would be of very much use. She smiled and gave a wave of her tail, laughing, "maybe I should make you my apprentice." Or maybe he her mentor?

The giggles stopped for a moment and, more seriously, Lyra added, "thank you, Rannoch." It truly was valuable information that she didn't think she would have gotten from within Moonspear. "I-I'll try and find a deeper river for you later."

Rannoch smiled at Lyra's remark. Though the Iota didn't have any particular interest in medicine, he knew that he had to pull his own weight in regards to the responsibilities of the pack. "I'd be willing to help where ever I can," he vowed, "I am a sitter and coach by trade and, previously, I was a guardian as well." For the most part, Rannoch was well versed in many departments and he never minded taking on more work. "But, if it's ever needed, I can step in an assist with any medicine work." After all, he owed her for healing him.

To her last remark, Rannoch dipped his head in appreciation to her offer. "That'd be awesome, thanks, Lyra."

No wonder Charon accepted him so readily. His list of skills was impressive. They aligned well with the Cerberus' own, too. No doubt Hydra would make use of his previous guardian abilities when he had fully recovered, and Alya could pick up some coaching tips from him as well. As for Lyra, she wanted to see if she could glean any more healing information from him but, for now, he had to focus on himself. She would rather this one didn't die from infection or over exertion.

His offer to help wherever needed gained him a wide smile from Lyra and she dipped her head thankfully, looking over then further down the river. She knew the rivers all along the mountain pooled near the base, so perhaps some deeper ponds could be found there?

She was getting ahead of herself. For now, this stream would do fine. She picked her way back over to where Rannoch lay and sat daintily beside him, cleaning her damp paws while he further explained the benefits of using water for recovery.