The wolf stopped in the meadow and turned its snout upward, watching the falling snowflakes. Winter is a harsh season, but Akari had always liked the conjoint lighting brought by sun and snow: everything was clear. On a flatland like that, she could see beyond the horizon.
However, the plain is still capable of hiding dangers: tufts of grass stiffened and burnt by frost sprout from the snow like needles, and the cold turns the paws numb. Wolves raised in these lands may be insensitive to the stings of grass, but Akari's pads were still too soft: she only realized that she was hurt by the smell of blood. The infinite field stretched out before her, and as far as she could see, it offered no shelter.
She whined, more out of frustration than pain, and kept walking, leaving behind a trail of bloody pawprints.
The unattended wound started to hurt badly. Akari knew she had to stop soon. Her nose and ears searched for any signs of a watercourse. And soon she found a lake. Its sluggish waters carried ice plates, clashing and breaking with a thundering sound.
The brownish wolf approached and dipped her pads into the chilled water. She gritted her teeth with so much force she feared breaking a fang, but the pain that tormented her worn-out paws diminished.
Akari decided to stay by the lake for a while, regaining strength.
I ended up stopping anyway. I was stupid enough to believe I could endure the pain.
She laid next to the lake, licking her pads. Her tongue burned whenever it passed through the wounds, but she had to avoid whining about it. Something was wrong; very wrong: it was just a feeling, a chill running down her spine, but she could swear...
She wasn't alone.
Lane's nose quivered over the bloody pawprints in the snow. She detected no traces of infection, but then again perhaps it was overly ambitious of her to attempt to pull that information from some faded spots of blood in the snow.
Lane took up her medkit once more and moved forward, following the red-spotted trail. Whoever left the trail behind was moving purposefully at an even clip; there were no traces of staggering or confusion. There were no larger spots or splatters of blood around the trail either, which was good-- that meant that injuries were likely limited to just the paw pads. Lane could handle that. Lane had seen her share of busted-up pads this winter already, her own included.
The trail led Lane to the shores of a lake where it was likely that she would find-- oh, yep, there she was. Instinct often directed injured wolves to the nearest body of water. The woman was washing her paws, which was great. They would be clean and ready for Lane to apply her antiseptic poultice.. assuming that the owner of the paws let her near.
Lane chuffed a quiet greeting. She waited a beat for the stranger to turn and see her, and then she dropped her medkit on the ground so she could speak.
"Hey there. I'm Lane. I'm a medic. I could help with that, if you like." She nodded toward the paws that the cinnamon woman was nursing.
Akari's ears flattened, her eyes widened to the sight of the stranger she-wolf. She remained on the ground with her paws shaking nervously, even though the wolf does not seem aggressive.
Prudence demanded her to be cautious, but she needed help. After all, there is a limit to what a wolf's tongue can do. Given the circumstances, she had no choice: either to accept and have faith in that femme's kindness or to refuse and be left to care for her wounds alone, trapped in that lake for who knows how long...
"H-hi there," Akari coed in a delicate voice. "If it's not too much trouble, I would be grateful..." She stammered.
A wolf who pricks its pads on stiffened grass: not much for a first impression... Akari thought, while her cheeks turned red.
Akari's nose sniffed the air rather curiously, eager to get a closer sniff.
Lane picked up her medkit and approached the doe-eyed woman carefully. Poor thing! Even though she remained laying on the ground, her tremors were clearly visible. Was it cold, fear, or exhaustion that made her tremble? Probably some combination of the three, if Lane had to guess.
"Not at all," Lane assured her after she set the supplies down beside her new patient. Lane unwrapped the bundle slowly, so the stranger could get a good look at (and whiff of) the different herbs. "Coltsfoot and marigold," she narrated aloud, separating two kinds of dried leaves from the rest of the supplies.
"This winter has been rough on the paws, hmm?" Lane wasn't the best at deciphering emotions, but it kind of seemed like her patient might be ashamed of her injury. Lane was sympathetic; she no stranger to shame herself. "My paws looked just like this a few weeks ago.. mine and several of my packmates' too," she reassured the woman. The words my packmates felt odd on Lane's tongue, but it was the easiest way to describe her arrangement with the Glen wolves.
"So what's your name? Where are you headed?" Lane asked conversationally. The stranger was obviously a traveler, and Lane hoped the wayfarer might tell a little bit of her story. She began chewing up the dried herbs she had selected; the coltsfoot first, then small bits of marigold added slowly.
Packmates, she said? Akari's fur bristled for a brief moment, and her eyes darted around. Could they be nearby?
She soon shook off the bad feeling when she started reasoning: she had been very careful not to trespass anyone's territory. Besides, if she had trespassed any borders, the pack's healer would be the last wolf to be assigned to greet her.
"Akari... My name is Akari." She cooed.
Her gaze was suddenly lost with her thoughts. Where am I heading? That was precisely the same question she's been asking herself since she fled from Cherrywood Valley. "I honestly don't know," She seemed to be talking to herself, one of the bad habits that come with a loner's life. "I came here looking for a place where to belong. The truth is this new world is wide and full of danger," Her eyes lowered to her pads. "Even the grass hides some of them. And I don't know where I am: there is a sense of beauty in this, but also fear." She inhaled the cold air deeply. The scent of the herb mix was relaxing.
Akari turned her round shiny eyes to the healer. "Is there anything you can tell me about this land and its resident packs?"
Pretty, Lane thought when the wayfarer shared her name. She would have said so out loud, but her mouth was full.
Akari didn't have much to say about her journey, it seemed. She still looked pretty freaked out, ruff lifting and lowering, eyes darting around. Lane gave what she hoped was a comforting wag of her tail. After a silent moment, Akari spoke again. She seemed to be far away, almost like she had to retreat deep within herself to find the courage to say more.
As the wanderer spoke, Lane looked around at the snow-covered meadow, trying to see things the way Akari described them. Lane had been a nomad her whole life; she had never thought to fear the unknown. What Akari described as dangerous, to Lane that was just.. existing.
Once the herb poultice tasted like it had just the right amount of marigold, Lane chewed a couple more times and then spat into onto the ground.
"Paws?" she prompted, holding her own up in the air to demonstrate. She would begin applying the poultice once Akari offered her paws.
"Well, you're in the Teekon Wilds," Lane began, gesturing vaguely toward.. everything. "And it's really not that bad. Except there were those awful blizzards last month.. and the bear attacks.." Lane fell quiet for a minute, realizing that Akari probably wouldn't find any of that comforting. She switched tactics, deciding to answer the question that Akari had actually asked.
"Hmm, lets see... here in the Flatlands you have.. Ivory Rose." Lane tilted her head toward the Blackfeather Woods, which from here were just a dark spot on the northern horizon. "They're in those woods just ahead. They're a new pack, led by Zephyr and Rowan, who're our age. The woods are pretty, uh.. spiritual," Spooky was a better word for it, in Lane's opinion. "..If you go for that kind of thing.."
"Then on the other side of that mesa.." Lane nodded toward the west. "Is the Redhawk Caldera. A couple generations live there, it's a familial pack." That was about all Lane knew about them. "Then further west.. my pack is in Firefly Glen. And on the mountain nearby is Moonspear, our parent pack." Lane paused. "Almost done," she assured Akari, reaching toward her supplies. All she had left do do was wrap up each paw.
Akari felt more confident with each passing second. She let Lane do her job, allowing her to handle her paws as she sees fit.
Her tail wagged slightly when she replied: "Thank you... for everything. I'll keep exploring these wildernesses. Perhaps pay a visit to some of the packs."
Akari couldn't stop observing the healer with a mix of curiosity and astonishment: the wolf had just chewed on herbs, and in no moment did her expression reacted to the bitterness in her tongue.
"You must be a healer for many moons." She noted. "I admire those who master such skill: they all have a great sense of smell and an even greater heart." Like granny used to say...
The cold sting of a snowflake falling on her nose made her switch her attention to her surroundings.
"It's snowing again..." Akari stated, gazing fondly at the silver sky.
Lane figured that the wayfarer would have more questions about the packs she mentioned, but instead Akari changed the subject, commenting on Lane's expertise.
"Only life I've ever known," Lane confirmed. Her patient made a reference to her "kind heart," and Lane reacted with an amused half-smile. She wasn't exactly doing this out of the kindness of her heart. This was how she made a living, and typically those she helped would offer some form of repayment. Not that Lane would refuse to help someone who couldn't pay, of course... but neither would she turn down expressions of gratitude.
"Maybe you can stop by Firefly Glen. I'd be happy to take a look at these paws again, and I could show you around. We could go hunting or something, if you wanted." Once Akari was feeling better, assisting Lane in a hunt would be a good way for Akari to repay Lane and Firefly Glen for the medical care. They were Firefly Glen's herbs, after all.
Once Akari's front paws were wrapped up snugly in cobwebs, Lane gave a nod of finality.
"Are the back paws affected too?" Typically the front paws took the most punishment, but Lane would wrap the back paws as well, if Akari needed it.
"The back paws aren't so bad." Akari stood up slowly. "Thank you. I think I can manage from here." She said with a faint smile. "I'll look forward to hunting by your side, Lane. Although, I must confess: I am more of a fisherwoman than a huntress." Akari turned her attention to the lake and nudge the ice plates away from the border: underneath the ice, she could see the silvery silhouettes of fish swimming slowly in the crystal waters. "Here, let me show you."
Her muscles stiffened, one paw lifted from the ground, her nose pointed at the water, ears perked forward. She stood immobilized in that pose for a while, and then, in a flash, she lunged her head into the water, careful not to wet her paws, and snatched a small trout.
Akari wanted to catch a bigger fish for Lane, but she didn't want to keep her waiting. The trout she was holding firmly in her jaws was no more than a snack, but it was better than nothing.
She nudged the fish next to Lane's paws. "It's not much, but I couldn't just let you go without giving you something for your trouble. Perhaps one day, I'll show you a few tricks about fishing. Until then, I wish you luck in your travels, friend."
Akari confirmed that her back paws weren't in bad shape. Lane nodded. From her companion's tone, it seemed like Akari was itching to get a move on. Lane wouldn't stop her, although she hoped that Akari would soon find somewhere safe to lay her head for the night. Those bandages wouldn't last more than a few miles of hard travel.
Akari wasn't much of a huntress? Well that made two of them. Lane watched with interest as the fisherwoman did her thing. She posed, motionless, for a long moment. Then, in a flurry of movement, Akari pulled a fish from the river. Lane reared back in surprise.
"Brilliant!" she breathed. "Screw hunting, you can just show me more of that." Akari agreed that one day, she might teach Lane more about fishing. She then bid Lane farewell.
"Looking forward to it. Safe travels," Lane returned. She wagged her tail, watching as the little traveler moved on, continuing her trek across the meadow. Akari was definitely more than met the eye, and Lane had every expectation that she would make a name for herself here in the Teekons.