Wolf RPG

Ruenna poked her head into @Aquene's medicine den first thing that morning, and to her surprise she found the space empty. Aquene was almost always up with the rising of the sun, and it was odd not to find her already hard at work with her medicines and herbs. Perhaps she had pursued some errand outside the canyon this morning. Ruenna hesitated, wondering how long she ought to wait for Aquene's return. Rue had awoken this morning positively buzzing with energy, and she expected that tonight would be opening night for the big show, so to speak. She wanted to make sure she was prepared, and that meant taking her daily prescription.

A late night had led to an even later morning, but ultimately they both had to get back to work. She had made her rushed way to the medicine den, eyes widening slightly to find the Matrona’s presence on her walk of shame that lacked the shameful aspect. “Lady Ruenna, I apologize for keeping you waiting. Please, come inside.” She hurried hastily in, knowing that the tincture was meant to be taken daily, along with pain remedies for carrying a bulk of a man such as Germanicus on her back for the deed. She was still moving with a slight limp of her own, residual effects from the spar the day before, and a hint of relief to know she would not be alone, at least for the moment.
 
Even if she reeked suspiciously of Kallik and it brought questions, demands, or even yelling from the Matrona… all of it felt better than being alone and subsequently vulnerable for the time being. “You are getting close.” She observed once more, noticing the subtle shifts in scent that she had been trained to notice, an attentive eye to the lady of the pack. “Do you anticipate it being today? Or tomorrow?” An added concoction could do her some good, along with a heavier pain supplement.

Ruenna was surprised to find that when Aquene arrived, it was not the scent of the surrounding territories upon her fur but that of the auxiliary Kallik, so heavy that it could not be mistaken. Ruenna's first thought was that Kallik had been ill or injured and requiring of Aquene's attention this morning, but then that would not explain why the scent was so heavy upon her. She was practically bathed in his scent, which suggested activities that were more recreational in nature. 

To Aquene's apology Ruenna simply nodded and smiled blandly, giving no indication that she had noticed anything amiss. She followed Aquene inside the den. 

"Yes," Ruenna confirmed, she was getting close. "Erm.. I'll maybe try both?" she answered the second question hesitantly, her ears flattening from shyness. She had every intention of engaging in multiple, ahem, encounters with the understanding that this would ensure a greater chance of success.

Aquene made a quick pitstop by her stores of pennroyal that had been soaked in water for herself, downing it quickly. She then moved on, listening as she confirmed and Aquene hummed and nodded. She started to prepare her bundling, feeling behind as she would normally have it prepared. “I can increase your pain relief as well… and if pain becomes a problem after as well I can have something prepared for you to take.” She assured the woman fully.
 
With it, she prepared raspberry leaf, which luckily was one of the few plants to grow throughout the winter. She crushed it on a small peace of cinnamon bark. “This is to aid with conception.” She explained as she carefully nudged it over with her paw. “You ingest it now to give it time to take effect by tonight, and return for another dose of it tomorrow.” None of the ingredients would cause harm if she happened to take on her first encounter.
 
She then moved and started on the pain remedy. “I… while you’re here, Matrona… is there time for something I must discuss with you?” She asked, almost shyly unlike her nature while she was in her den. “Something of a personal nature… and something to report, a situation that occurred that was uncomfortable...” Kallik had encouraged her to report the spar to the Matrona and the Imperator, it just so happened that Ruenna was the first of the two that she had found.

Ruenna nodded, relieved to hear that Aquene had the resources available to boost her pain treatment. "The new regimen is already helping, I think," she mentioned, speaking of the short and long term courses of treatment that they had very recently begun. Ruenna already felt lighter and less troubled by the pain, but that also could very well have to do with the changes taking place in her body related to her heat. 

Aquene pushed the medication towards her, and Ruenna bent down to lap it up and swallow in one fell swoop. A seasoned medicine-taking champ, she knew it always went down easiest if one did not spend too much time looking at, sniffing, or chewing it.

Aquene spoke up with a question, and she did not speak with the easy confidence that Ruenna had come to expect from her. This caught the Matrona's attention at once, and concern etched across her face as Aquene mentioned an uncomfortable situation. Would this have something to do with Kallik? "Of course. What happened, Aquene?" Ruenna asked softly.

Aquene allowed a soft smile onto her features and a nod when she mentioned it was helping. “That is good… it is no doubt aided by the season. Once your heat fades, if the pain starts to get worse again, please let me know as soon as possible.” She did not wish to medicate Ruenna more than she had to because pain management could be a tricky subject… but she did want to help with woman. She watched as the woman took it down and she could tell she was quite experienced. Normally, she had wolves sniffing and questioning.
 
She was also glad that Ruenna trusted her to simply take whatever she offered. She was glad she had worked to instill that trust. She saw the concern on her features and Aquene turned back, preparing the next round for Ruenna to take as she spoke. “As you know, I’ve been learning how to fight… there is a man, one I fear greatly from my past… I fear one day, hopefully never, he will show his face here in Mereo.” She admitted for a bit of context. “I asked Glaukos for a spar… he is most comparable to said man’s size… and we were sparring. Things were fine. He ended up winning but when I conceded and went limp… he didn’t stop.” She explained, a hint of a shake in her voice. “He moved to straddle me instead of letting me go like everyone else does. It was very… reminiscent of the man I am afraid of.” She paused her work for a minute. “I-I know I should have said something immediately, but I was just really shaken… after I got away and fled, I found Kallik… I just, I trust him, and I’m close with him and he knows about my fears… he spent the night trying to calm me down. He… he told me I should tell you and your husband.” She explained, feeling like justifying why it had taken her so long to come forward with this information. “I don’t know what his motive or intention was… I didn’t stick around long enough to find out… but I was very…” She trailed off, trying to find the right word and half dazing out in the process.

Ruenna listened intently. When Aquene's words finally failed her, she stepped in gently. 

"I understand," she said, her voice quiet and empathetic. "I too have a man from my past I fear greatly." Ruenna had made great strides over the years in moving past her trauma, but she would never forget what it felt like to be in Aquene's pawprints. 

"My fear controlled me for a long time. I avoided men, avoided physical altercations.. physical touch..." Germanicus was the first to ever touch her intimately, and it been years since Sjorn's assault. "I'm proud of you for working to make yourself stronger, Aquene. There will come a day when your fears will no longer have power over you. I think that if you keep working, that day will come all the sooner. You're doing everything right."  

Ruenna was deeply familiar with that shaken feeling that Aquene described. That feeling that took over your body when the fear was in control. "I'm sorry that happened with Glaukos." Ruenna was aware that dominance posturing was commonplace during fights-- even to the extent of mounting an opponent occasionally-- but she had no doubt that Germanicus would disapprove of such undisciplined comportment. "Such displays are not befitting of a soldier. I will speak to Germanicus about this, if you will allow it." 

Ruenna set aside the mention of Kallik for the moment, although she was pleased to hear that there were such strong connections being forged between the members of Mereo. "Aquene... are you okay?" Ruenna asked, tilting her head in concern. She knew all too well what the shaken feeling could do to the nerves, and how it could call into question everything you thought you understood. "Do you feel safe here, in the canyon?" Aquene was very important to Ruenna, and she would go to great lengths to ascertain that she was comfortable.

Truthfully, Aquene had never intended to speak of her trauma to anyone, but things had changed. Situations had changed, and she found herself growing closer to those around her in ways she had never intended. When she had arrived, she planned to be a healer, a distant medic and good listener than others could confide in, and somewhere along the way she had found those she could confide in… her eyes softened when the matriarch’s voice washed over her, a hint of pain in her eyes to know she’d had to go through something so awful.
 
Aquene gazed down at her paws for a moment. “It was my former fiancé… an arranged marriage by my father to his beta… to him I was property, a thing to carry his children for him.” She explained softly, not delving more into the pain she had experienced than that. She did fear his arrival, but she also knew that Mereo was strong, and all of them versus one Dimitri would be no chance at all for her demon to slay her. She hesitated for a moment when she spoke of speaking to the Imperator, and she nodded hesitantly. “I was planning to speak to you both about it…” She confirmed, showing she had intended to take Kallik’s advice to report it fully.
 
The question was a complicated one. She had only one unpleasant interaction in Mereo, and it was the spar of yesterday but even then she had a hard time even blaming Glaukos. The more she distanced herself from the situation, the more she recognized that she was not in danger of being harmed that way, no matter how shaken she had been in the present. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt safe anywhere. Not truly.” She admitted softly, and she trusted Ruenna understood what she meant.
 
“I love Mereo… I love the wolves I’ve met here. I love the work I get to do here, the things I’ve gotten to learn from my presence here, the training that has made me stronger.” She clarified. “I’ve made bonds here I can’t imagine leaving… but I don’t know that I can say I’m okay… more of my own issues than anything I’ve been through here.” She confirmed further. Was the woman looking to dismiss her? Send her away under the guise of her own safety? Aquene knew it unrealistic, but the anxiety lingered.

Ruenna's heart went out to Aquene, who had suffered at the will of her father. At least Ruenna's family had offered her support and solidarity when it came to dealing her own attacker. 

Aquene did not feel truly safe anywhere. Ruenna knew this feeling well. She could recall a memory of herself as a young recruit in Blacktail Deer Plateau, requesting lessons in self-defense from the alpha. He too had questioned Ruenna as to whether she felt safe in the pack's boundaries. But that wasn't really the issue, was it? If the only blockade or deterrent at a border was a scent-marker, then Ruenna would not have felt safe inside it. She would not have felt safe anywhere. 

"Mereo is better because you're here, Aquene. We are more than just an army; we are also a pack, which means that your issues are our issues." After a pause, Ruenna would continue a bit hesitantly, "It is important that you feel safe and secure. If to this end, you feel that you need a guard with you in order to rest easy, then I could condone a sleeping arrangement that might be.. ah, slightly unorthodox." 

Ruenna leveled her gaze at Aquene. "That you are safe is my primary concern." She emphasized the word safe, and that was the only allusion she would make to the possibility that anything physical could occur as a result of the "unorthodox" arrangement. Ruenna would trust Aquene to keep herself safe by every definition of the word, and in return, she hoped Aquene would spare her the details of exactly what might be taking place in Kallik's chamber.

Aquene had managed to avoid it for a time. She pushed it down running… but every now and then it would creep up in her memory and she’d feel herself spiral. She’d go in a direction that no herbs could help her. Her gaze softened as the woman explained that they were a pack. Their issues. She offered a nod, something of acceptance. She even felt the heat rise to her cheeks at the mention of an unorthodox sleeping arrangement, though she was certain Ruenna might have been able to guess the details.
 
Should she mention that she was planning on seeing Kallik, possibly marrying him someday? Safe was her primary concern. It lifted a weight off her chest and she nodded. “I will remain safe I promise.” The double entendre did not fly over the healer’s head. “He makes me feel safe.” She admitted softly, leaving really the only details about the relationship that she was sure the Matrona would want to know out in the open while sparing her the gory details of it all.

Ruenna nodded. "Okay.. okay, good." She smiled. She almost said more.. some kind of congratulations, or words to express her gladness that Aquene was growing closer to Kallik-- but she stopped herself, remembering her position. As much as she wished to be a confidante for Aquene, it would not do for her to learn more information than she strictly required. This knowledge was hard on Ruenna: she was now is a position to realize her dream of beginning a family, but to get here, she had sacrificed the level of closeness she used to share with her packmates. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. 

"Thank you for the treatment, Aquene, and for sharing all of this with me." A dip of her muzzle, and Ruenna concluded with, "We will talk soon. Please take care." With another small smile in parting, Ruenna took her leave.