Stone Circle sleepless long nights

She'd found the place shortly before the snows had come, hidden away near the roots of a tree at the edge of a small clearing. It was a healer's den; that much was made obvious by the tidy little shelves and piles of fast-fading herbs. It smelt musty, cool and earth, obviously having gone unused for a long time. Most of the herbs were useless, but a few had kept fairly well, and the girl hoped that they may be of use. Drawn to the semi-familiarity of the place, she'd moved all the herbs she'd amassed here; those taken from Krypton's old cache, those she had found herself, and those already here.

She spent much of her time organizing carefully the stores in silence, sometimes humming little tunes under her breath as she worked. She knew the basic herbs, of moss and cobweb too, but some of the herbs she had found in the established dens were foreign. She'd have to figure out their uses eventually (and for that she had a plan she was hesitant to enact) but for now, her knowledge would have to suffice. 

She left the den now, peering into it once and huffing her satisfaction before moving through the clearing, shaking the herb dust from her pelt as she inspected the pile of rejected herbs a short distance from the exit, picking through it to ensure that she hadn't missed anything useful.

perhaps @Illecebra? AW!

Illecebra couldn't hold still for long,no matter how sore she was. She wanted to look around the home she hadn't seen in so long and staying in her empty childless den caused her heart to ache greatly. Anyone who knew her could see how much pain she was in both in the way she held herself and the blankness in her golden eyes.

As she explored she caught wind of the scent of musty herbs and the scent of someone she hadn't met yet. Following it she found herself in front of an old den that smelled of various herbs. Chuffing softly she peered inside and saw Keoni. Offering a small wag of her tail she sat down "hello...are you the resident medic?" She asked curiously.

The woman who approached seemed at first to be a stranger, but after a moment Keoni recognized the woman. Cebra, or something like that; the mother of the missing Rowana, the kidnapped Cyron and the injured Burr. He was at Morningside, the latter, where Sunny too had gone. The missed the boy more than she thought she would, but it had been his own decision to leave Easthollow. Her attention did not stray far from the heavily injured woman, however, dipping her head in agreement before darting back into the den, backing out with a clump of marigold in her jaws, gaze finding the woman again as she canted her head, hoping she was correct in her assumption that the woman had come here for her help. How effective that help was to be, however, would be discovered.

It has taken her a moment to realize who the girl was,but she has seen her around. "Ke...keoni right? Sorry we haven't met before." She said and stepped inside the den. She lay down hoping that would make it easier for Keoni to do what needed to be done with herbs. "If you could um..my tail needs to be patched up again...whats left of it. My ear should be alright I think" she said and turned into her side,exposing the still raw and scabby nub of a tail she now had.

The woman pushed past her to lie inside the den, something that had the girl's heart clench. She had not had anyone inside since she found the place, and she considered it mighty rude of the woman to see herself inside, and for the briefest of moments, her face fell. But she could hardly judge the sick, and perhaps the cold bothered the woman. She squeezed in after the woman, her small size having her able to move around her as she pointed out her various hurts. She seemed alright, and her missing tail certainly garnered Keoni's sympathy.

Positioning herself beside the woman after grabbing a few choice herbs, she began to carefully clean the stub, knowing not to do so was to invite infection. Then came the herbs; first horsetail, which she knew was good for infections, along with marigold, which she had in abundance and knew was good for wounds. These she chewed quickly into a paste before applying liberally, glancing at the finished product a moment before moving to a corner of the den. Here she carefully plucked a bundle of matted cobweb from the corner, patting it down around the wound tenderly, finally viewing her handiwork with a certain amount of pride.

Always one to study the wolves around her she had noticed when Keoni's expression changed as she entered the den and realized her rudeness. Her own facial expression dropped and she flattened her ears back,talking as the girl tended to her "I..I apologise. It's rude to enter anyone's den uninvited..I've been alone all these months apparently it's made me lose my manners." She spoke in a quiet voice so it wouldn't echo around the den.

She tried not to wince as the wounds were applied to her tail stub and kept still despite the soreness of that area. Once Keoni had finished she exhaled and smiled "thank you. Very much." She said gratefully. She cleared her throat and shuffled her paws "I'm..I'm not used to being weak...it makes me feel helpless" she uttered and blinked once unsure why she had spoken those words. Maybe it was Keoni's silence that made her feel comfortable with sharing information she would normally keep secret,either way she once again ducked her head sheepishly "sorry.."

Her attitude towards the woman better greatly when she apologized, accepting the woman's words with a small smile and gental shake of her head, as if to say that all was forgiven. Once she'd finished and stepped back from the woman, and accepted her word with a dip of her head, her expression turned to interest as Cebra seemed to confide in her. Her admission was not strange to the girl; no, since the attack, how often had she felt helpless. Even today, the feeling came quite suddenly to squeeze down on her and have her desperately try and form words in the solace of solitude. She mirrored the word, only a breath of air escaping her as she mouthed it. Helpless. The girl's mouth widened a fraction, displaying nothing but fangs and the bottom of her mouth, her tongue well and truly gone. Keoni did not think that many knew the reason for her silence, but in showing it to Cebra she was empathetic and bitter, though she had thought the latter long faded. The woman had lost a tail; something that would mend and heal. Her voice, on the other hand, would not.

Illecebra watched with curiosity as Keoni showed her the injury and she winced,not in horror but with sympathy. Taking a deep breath she thought for a moment "you're not entirely helpless. You're small and that grants speed and agility. Besides....strength doesnt always lie in fighting." She said softly. Her eyes softened and she stood up thinking for a long moment. "I think there is a certain beauty in silence, but you just have to find it. It also must be frustrating.." she mused and then shook her head. "I'm not the best for wise words, I'd offer to try and help figure out a new way of defensive fighting for you but I...don't know where I'd start" she said awkwardly.

The woman's words confused her at first, but she quickly realized that the scars marring her face made it fairly obvious that her tongue had been taken by force. Her next words made the girl bitter; for surely one could speculate on the beauty of something without actually experiencing it, but rarely was a romanticized image of something true. But still, she'd learned to live with it; any attempts to speak were limited, and rare; for the mess of noise and the horror of her first attempt to speak after the accident haunted her still, and silence seemed easier, better.

Her gaze glinted when the woman spoke of fighting, a skill she'd never actively sought to hone, but when offered to her, glistened temptingly in her mind's eye. Teach. She mouthed again, carefully, for the woman had seemed able to read her lips the first time; hopefully, it'd work again.

Keoni still has her teeth right?

Shee was able to read the word that Keoni mouthed but for a moment she simply remained silent. It wouldn't be too hard to teach the girl to fight, she'd have to figure out how Keoni could use her size against her opponent. "Alright. I'll have my husband Mawk help too...we both have histories in fighting. I'll see if he knows anything useful." She said with a small smile.


After a moment she spoke up again "do..you think you may be able to teach me what you know of herbs? I seem to be able to read simple words off your lips so that helps I...I am interested in learning about healing" she asked hopefully. "There was a female...Krypton. she was going to help me but she vanished..." She murmured unsure if Keoni knew Krypton or not.

yep! her only injuries are the scars on her face and her missing tongue

Her muzzle twisted into a grin when Cebra agreed to teach her, to some degree, and her tail flicked at her haunches. When the other woman proposed her trade; lessons in fighting for lessons in healing, the girl dipped her head in quick agreement, gaze flickering to the mother as she mentioned Krypton. She had been hoping to study under the woman as well, but she'd left suddenly and quickly, and the girl had to rely on sparse information pieced together by watching the former healer, learning from the odd loner, and her own experimentation.

With her own nubby tail giving a single wiggle she offered Keoni a smile. "Sounds like a plan then. Hmm...we can try tomorrow or the next day if you wish, hopefully I'll have some more energy then" she said as she began to think about ways to teach her. The best way was through paws on learning, aka spars. She'd probably offer tips and suggestions and see if she could get Mawk and some other Easthollow members to spar Keoni so ehe gets a feel for different opponents. 

with that in mind she dips her head in gratitude and respect to the young girl "if it's alright I'd like to go back to my den?" She asked not wanting to be rude and simply say goodbye and walk off.

if she says yes then you can assume that Cebra left!

The woman promised to teach her in the coming days, and the girl smiled again, eager to begin. Nervousness flopped in her stomach like a dying fish, but she pushed it aside, deciding to focus on the excitement of learning to defend herself. Surely, she'd feel more confident if she decided to pursue the idea that had been nagging at her recently. With a nod farewell, she watched as Illecebra slipped from the den, turning back to tidy the herbs before resuming her previous task.