Fox's Glade As if your soul were on fire from within, the moon lives in the lining of your skin.

set after this, anybody from IkKanattuk is welcome

Bloodied and battered, she returns to where their group has camped hours later as silently as she left with her goose clamped in her dire jaws. She moved through the camp as if she were a  ghost, not noticing any she passed for her silver eyes were glazed with exhaustion. If anybody was alarmed by the injuries, still raw, that coated their most silent member - Tupilaq didn't see it. She stopped, blinking slowly before realizing she had stopped instinctively where she usually dropped off food for the mothers and their children. 

With a soft thud, she drops the goose. It's a respectable distance from the dens but still within sight, close enough that she knows @Tahani or @Shivali (visibility) will come fetch it or else @Siarut (visibility) will come across it and deliver it to his sisters and their brood. Tapeesa tears a fatty leg from the fowl, simply too exhausted to search for anything else. Typically, she doesn't take from the prey she brings for the young ones but angakkuq fears if she doesn't eat soon, she won't be able to continue.

Coat rusted with blood and mud, she finds a secluded corner of their site and makes little work of the delicious goose meat. She gnaws on the bone for good measure - cracking it open as easily as a walnut with her over-long incisors - and sucking down the nutritious marrow found within.

the scent of blood sent alarm bells running through her mind, though it was a distance away from the den. leaving Shivali to deal with the pups for a short time, she rose to her feet and squeezed out of the narrow entrance, following her nose. the pale, silent woman was eating, her pelt a mess, looking quite more ragged than when Tahani had seen her last.

"what happened?" the healer asked, keeping her voice calm but firmly interrogative; she would have answers. this looked like more than just a wayward tumble down a hill--these were deliberate marks left by an attacker, and by the smell of it, it had been another wolf. if that was so, that meant they had enemies. . .already.

she could only hope that the altercation didn't entice whoever it was to try their luck near the den. she would have their throat, were it so.

just gonna assume she's met Tahani, let me know if I need to edit

Tupilaq is just finishing off the bone, preparing to set it aside, when the pale form of one of nanuk's sisters drew near. The tundrian set her bone aside, her ragged ears falling with respect as the other approached - recognizing her as Tahani. Tapeesa isn't usually open with her words, sharing them doesn't come easily. Yet, Tahani's voice has iron in it that says she won't take no for an answer. Uki finds her feet slowly, so that she might explain without appearing too badly injured. 

"Another stray, he was alone. He was too close to us. I don't speak the common tongue but he refused to leave. It became violent but he's gone now," the waif explains softly, her moonlight eyes settled on the ground. She doesn't do well under pressure and it seems obvious from the way her shoulders are hunched protectively.

"I came back with Siarut because he offered me a place amongst his family. If I'm part of your family, I should protect it. I'm sorry if I've upset you," Uki murmurs, dipping her head. It was hard to tell for certain if the intensity in Tahani was caused by anger or concern.

Tahani heard out the entire story, shaking her head as Uki apologized. the ghost of a smile even came to her face, and she dipped her muzzle to the woman in gratitude. "no need to be sorry," she responded gently. "you did the right thing. i'm thankful you were there to stop him."

she canted her head at the newcomer, intrigued. Siarut had recruited several to their family over the past moon, but this one was different, somehow. maybe it was because this was the first proper interaction she had had with a joiner, having been so wrapped up with Currituck and Shivali's pups. but in this moment, she was overjoyed to have Uki with them.

"you need care," she noted, eyes raking over the wounds littering her body. "lay down, relax. let me bring herbs to help you." with a wag of her tail, Tahani turned and took off at a slow trot, heading toward the cache she had hastily made upon her arrival. it was low, but she thought she had enough to bring to Uki without running out and having to gather more in a hurry.

Tapeesa feels the urge to refuse - to insist that Tahani save the herbs for someone else who may need them more - for once left dumbfounded in the face of kindness. For a moment, she wavers on her paws where she stands, mouth still agape with surprise. She seems torn between allowing nanuk's sister to help and refusing before finally, she rests resolutely on her haunches. Somehow, she doesn't think the healer will let her turn away aid anyhow.

Uneasily, the waif rested; seemingly unsure that she should be allowed to do so. But, even the berserker had to admit that with medical assistance she would heal sooner. The quicker she healed, the quicker she could go back to protecting Siarut's family as he had tasked her to do. 

"Thank you," she murmurs when Tahani returns, the words shy despite her intentions.

she shook her head, setting the herbs back on the ground and smiling as she began to arrange them in some semblance of order. "no need to thank me," she responded absently, looking down at the plants. "northerners take care of their own. that is how it always has been. that is how it always should be."

oak leaves--the ultimate life-saver for injuries sustained in a fight. helped to stop bleeding and prevent infection, all in one. the lack of deciduous forests up north had prevented her from using them much in her life, but here, it was different. Tahani chewed industriously, making a paste out of the green leaves and holding it on her tongue, scrunching her nose at the taste.

"hold still," Tahani said through a full mouth, then spat some of the poultice onto the largest of Uki's wounds, spreading it around until the gash was covered by a liberal amount of green goo. she would do this for the rest of the wounds, then hold it all together with leaves left intact--and give firm orders to the woman to be still for a while, while the herb did its work on her body.

The tundrian hummed softy in agreement, falling silent and still with Tahani's next command. The spearwife lapsed into statuesque-like stillness, not daring to move even as the healer spit a poultice of green plants - oak leaves if her guess was correct - and saliva right into her leg wound. Her scarred muzzle wrinkled slightly with distress and she turned away from the sight.

The berserker settled into a comfortable position after her wounds had been bound - leaving her pale coat looking oddly striped with green - stretching out to rest as the medicine worked its magic.

she finished layering the whole leaves onto the paste, applying them with gentle pats. the healer then turned to Uki with a smile, pleased at her handiwork (and how quickly it seemed to have gone). "there," Tahani murmured, stepping away. grimacing, she ran her tongue along her paw, cleaning herself as best she could. she needed a drink of water.

"was the man in the glade?" Tahani asked, pausing. she bristled at the thought. no stranger would come close to the babes without consequences. she was stunned that she hadn't heard of this sooner. "does Siarut know what happened?"

"Thank you," she murmurs with relief. Perhaps she's imagining it but she feels better already under Tahani's capable care. It's almost as if she can feel the medicines working on her battered body. She wants nothing more than to sleep for about a week but know that isn't possible, shifting to answer Tahani's questions. 

"He was. He was by himself, eating. He should be gone now, and no. I hadn't told him yet," her brows furrowed with confusion. Perhaps she should have sought Sia out first, but it had been a long day and she'd considered the threat dealt with. 

Tahani gave Uki a nod, brusque but kind. she was all ears at the woman's brief description of the altercation, frowning as she processed the situation. she would be on the lookout for any strangers, particularly ones that appeared recently battered. and as for Siarut. . .

"i'll leave it to you to give the details to my brother," she said, not wanting to intervene in any way beyond offering first aid. her job, after all, was just about done. "in the meantime, rest up, get something to eat, and don't strain yourself unless absolutely necessary. your body needs time to heal. you can wash the poultices off in a day or so."

wanting suddenly to get back to the children, Tahani shot Uki a smile of farewell before retreating into the trees, looking for Shiv and the babes. if there was one thing she appreciated about the dark woods, it was that they were relatively safe there. now, on the road, they faced dangers on all sides.

the glacier couldn't come soon enough.

In truth, Tupilaq hadn't been keen on telling anyone about the interaction - somehow embarrassed that she had gotten so injured in the process of chasing away the rogue. She squirmed slightly, uncomfortable with the notion of approaching Siarut and telling him about the fight. 

Still, the spearwife nodded obediently. "I'll tell him, soon." She only nodded to the rest of the instructions, already stretching out wearily on her side as Tahani left to be with her child and sister's children. Settling herself so that all of her battered parts were held as comfortably as possible, she soon dozed.