Water rushed against the sands with a swift push and tug, lapping at the shoreline quietly. The bay was secluded enough that it had allowed for Skellige to hunker down in peace. The injury to his shoulder and neck was causing him discomfort. Traveling alone was not wise, and his knowledge of herbs was limited. His attempt to bring down a young elk calf had ended in a protective mother driving her hoof into the side of his collar. He’d darted away, but not without sustaining injury. In times of famine, the laceration would be enough to kill him. Once he had been free of the mother elk, he had sought the salt of the ocean water in hopes that it would clean his wound as it had countless times before. To some extent, he had been right, but he needed more.
Intense auburn eyes were kept sharply watching the outskirts of the area. Skellige would not have been surprised if Ksenia had sent one of the others to keep an eye on him. His paranoia had driven him to a state of heightened fury, and the pain in his nape was enough to make him deranged. Holed up in the bay, his odds were not good. But he had kept himself afloat by catching fish and small rodents. If he could maintain that, there was a fraction of a chance that he could scrape by.
the babe stood again at the corner where donnelaith ended and the bay began, having found a place where there was much action within the aquatic realm. her fortune here was limited thus far, but she had seen her family fail enough times and attempt to succeed yet another. the young witch tried not once to catch something, but twice; each time was a failure, and each time she swallowed her shame and stared at the swirling waters beneath her.
soaked to the bone, the girl moved from the ocean to find a moment of respite upon the shore. though she looked to be a grown woman, her consistent errors were enough for any observer to know her ineptitude could only be for her youthful inexperience. she had been too hasty, impatient, and obvious; the fish had known of her presence as she stepped around them, and attempted to give chase in the water rather than stay still. the tactics of land were not the same as the tactics of water, though she had seen few hunt in the ocean and so could not think of the right way. she moved to collapse tiredly against the sandy earth, not yet catching wind of the other nearby.
The protective nature he had taken over the bay had been disturbing; any passersby had been met with clashing fangs and wild eyes. It had made Skellige weary. He was a large beast, proportioned for more food than he had been able to intake. The hunger that lingered in the lands was enough to drive him from his mind. So when his rich gaze caught sight of a specimen carelessly tromping about in the waves, a fresh rage welled inside of him. She appeared to be attempting the capture of fish, though she was young and foolish in her attempts. The inky titan watched her quietly for some time, boiling his anger inside of him until he saw her leave the depths and collapse in the sands beside the water.
It took strength to lift himself upwards and trudge towards her. His wraith-like figure seemed to sway precariously in his steps. When he had managed to close a majority of the distance between them, Skellige leered wildly at the pale woman; her coat reminded him of Ksenia. It was not until he saw the emerald glint of her gaze that he could calm the manic beating of his heart. “Why are you… here?” his voice grumbled from his throat, catching at the end. His brows were furrowed tightly over his mahogany gaze, and his yellowed canines flashed at her.
deirdre let the sun warm her, thinking of emaleth as its rays pressed comfortingly upon her back. the trudge of another distracted her, and she lifted her head to note anothers approach. her stomach soon felt like she had swallowed a thousand rocks; for she was alone, here, and though donnelaith was incredibly close she was frozen to stillness in the first new moments of this exchange. on the open strand, there was nowhere to run or hide, and so the young witch summoned her bravery.
his query was met with lips that opened, but as she noted his fangs they parted in a wide, submissive yawn. not for any trouble! the gesture certainly proclaimed, and then, his true answer was given in a soft and lilting voice, her subtle brogue woven in: to fish,
she informed, her tail curling to tuck against a hindquarter. from ocean to man she looked, and when she did look at him she openly marveled. what she saw was not hideous, but magnificent. the strength in the other was no secret at all, nor was her admiration of him. she was too young to know to keep her interest to herself, to know anything at all of coyness or of being discreet. ah, but then she noted a sharp scent he emitted, and there she saw an oozing, ugly thing upon him. you are hurt!
came an anxious gasp and, after a beat, she continued please, may i assist you?
the world was not short on seaweed, and this she knew would aid him. it mattered not that he was a stranger; she felt compassion for all, and whenever she saw an injured being she would seek to help.
“To fish.”
“Humph,” he scoffed in response to her answer. “Not well.” An irritated glint crossed his vision for a moment but was replaced by curiosity. She seemed genuine in her response, which caused the pitch-colored titan to wonder if she knew at all what she was doing. Skellige was not in the mood to teach her, though, and with a quiet sigh, he turned to leave her to bask in the sun and “fish.” It was then that she caught sight of the wound on his nape and made a remark on it. His hackles bristled slightly and he found himself growing defensive of his own body. Showing weakness was enough to end a life on Warsaw. Instead, the inky brute was taken aback by what she suggested. She wanted to treat the wound.
Russet eyes snapped back to her for a moment and he gawked. His tail lifted and his ears were drawn forward atop his skull. Fixing her with his stare for the longest time, Skellige was not entirely sure where to proceed. “You can treat it?” he inquired in a rusty baritone. Brows furrowed on his forehead as he bore into her with his gaze.
his response was given a deflated look, lobes flattening atop her crown. i know,
she said in a very sorry manner, eyes averting. shame filled her, then, and her cheeks burned with it while her eyes stung. she blinked fiercely--she was new at this! for what reason should she cry over this?--and stared at the ocean. though he had went to turn and depart her company he paused, and now it seemed her offer might not be refused.
her eyes turned back to him, and the soft girl nodded. her sister and her mother had taught her of the oceans healing remedies. though the wound made her stomach turn (blood frightened her), she wished to build the fortitude to help others when they were in need. the girl was sensitive to the sight of it, and yet had enough strength to not turn away. at least she had that, this day.
His words of scorn had caused her shame. He could see the flush color of her pale cheeks and watched her ears flicker atop her head. Her apologetic stance did nothing for him. It was not the dark brute’s fault that she was incapable of fishing. But when she spoke again, he could see just how youthful she was… how many mistakes were left to be made. Children had always been good to Skellige. His ruthless demeanor and cold instincts had made him an enigma to them. This girl, though, would be coming into her adult life soon enough. She was not so full of youth that she could not be taught in the ways of the Warsaw wolves. A thought struck the male for a moment and he lingered longer, eyes sparking as he roved the form of the she-wolf.
“Treat it,” he chuffed softly, brows still furrowed over his dark eyes. “And I will teach you to fish as the Warsaw wolves learn.” It was an offer that she could not refuse. If she should try, he would chase the young girl from the bay and tend to himself.
deirdre watched him, and when he next spoke she nodded. she would do it, of course; her heart was large, and she could not leave the man here bleeding without aid if he might accept it. but he surprised her, and this, too, showed. a smile bloomed 'cross her lips, and she radiated with his offer. you would do that!
she whispered, her tail thumping against the sand now. she stood, and nodded to him. alright. would you mind laying? i am going to first clean the wound, first... may i?
she wasn't sure if he would allow the proximity, but she would certainly do this if he permitted it. the seawater surely helped, but before treating him she needed to be sure that there was no dirt lingering to cause infection.
The pale woman seemed to be transfixed by the idea that had been presented to her. Skellige was not too keen on becoming a mentor to the stranger he had happened upon. Certainly, he was less than thrilled when he recalled her clumsy movements in the water; he knew that he could not build his empire without knowing how to manage and recruit those around him. The young girl seemed impressionable and kind. This would be good enough for Skellige to build from. Her knowledge of healing would come in handy if she could manage it well enough.
The young girl remarked that he needed to be laying down. He peered at her intensely for a moment before bowing his head and dropping into the sands. There was familiarity there; he was much more at home beside the ocean than he had been anywhere else in the Teekon Wilds. “Just do what you must,” he told her. It was Skellige’s way of saying that she did not need to seek his permission for everything.
his intense stare was not met. she looked back into his own fierce eyes for a moment before she turned to look back to the treeline of donnelaith, where safety stood. but soon the man lay prone before her, and once he had spoken deirdre turned back to him. she nodded, understanding the message in his words, and did not delay any further. some things, they may sting,
she forewarned. and then the young beauty set to work!
she was gentle and slow, wanting to be sure she cleansed his wound properly. though the sight of the mark made her feel nauseous and ill at ease, she worked as she had seen her eilidh and blue willow work. there was, as she moved around the wounds, no sign of her discomfort, if only because she remembered her mothers features and telling her to in these moments keep calm, to not worry the others they might work on.
deirdre moved toward the ocean again to grab seaweed; she knew of its healing properties. whatever else she might need she grabbed, too, from the ocean. and once more she worked upon him, murmuring little enchantments to against the seaweed to bless it, that it might quicken the mans wound to close. it took time, and then she pressed it upon him again with a gentleness that few wielded. against the seaweed would be a sticky substance that would cling to his furs, and a salve made by the sea that would prevent infection.
she withdrew and smiled to him. it is done,
informed deirdre quietly. so that the seaweed does not come off of you, you must avoid wetting the areas for two moons.
but two nights he must wait, and she thought of his offer to her. i can return to you then, and we may fish, if you feel it is well.
The pale woman set to work on him, and while she had warned him that some of her treatments may sting him, the dark warrior was prepared for the worst of it. He had known awful injuries in his life already; some that should have claimed his life. While she began her job, he would watch her go to and fro. When it came to collecting the things she needed from the ocean, she did not seem to struggle as badly. Perhaps it was because it was something instinctual about her. Just as he had been born and bred to fight and defend, she had been raised on the idea of healing. What a peculiar thought.
They had healers on Warsaw, but they were designated to the leaders of the outer packs. Skellige had one at his side for the vast majority of his life, until the healer had been killed in a border fight. They had never appointed a replacement for the inky Cairn male. Shortly after, he had been banished from his homelands. It would not have mattered if they had found a replacement. He was no longer to call the Islands his home. The thought left a vile taste in his mouth, and the sting began to settle in his neck and shoulder. He gritted his teeth together and quietly allowed her to continue her work. She seemed busy and focused on her task. It was an admirable trait for any to possess.
When she had completed the work, she came back to face him and he peered at her with dark eyes, still remaining silent. She explained that he would need to keep the seaweed applied to his wound for the next two nights and that she could return to be taught. Blinking slowly, the dark wolf nodded his head. “I’ve lived through worse,” he told her with a flick of his tail and a gruff sigh. “I will remain in the bay. Return to me to check on the healing of this wound and we will begin fishing shortly after,” he then added with a small nod of his head.
deirdre thought of staying with him; she was very close to donnelaith, if any came looking for her. and yet she thought it might be a good time to find lucani, or eilidh, or her mother so that she might be taught more on healing and the oceans remedies. had his wound been more serious, what might she have used from the sea? the forest had very little to offer, stripped bare as it was.
she was pained to hear he had suffered worse than this, because it meant he suffered it all. the worried expression lingered on her sweet features, even as he continued to speak. alright,
she agreed at length. i am just there--
she gestured toward the sentinels, not so far from them at all, if you have need of me, please call.
she would come and check on him now and then as well, given his proximity, but in case he had need of her she wished to let him know of her accessibility.