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+--- Thread: Bramblepoint Dump her on a doorstep (/showthread.php?tid=66295)
Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 11, 2025
As agreed upon, Delos had come looking for @Aureli the next day.
His mother had left for a hunting trip, one she couldn't know when she would return from, leaving him alone for the first time since they were still in Verapaz. Part of him was nervous, but the other was excited for his lesson from the strange herbalist.
He wasn't sure if he should howl. The scents coating the forest still felt so strong to him, and he couldn't be sure if there was unwanted company.
For all he knew, the healer had left.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 11, 2025
The healer had not left. In fact, he was on his way back to where he'd left the pair, feline companion in tow. When he came near enough, he lifted his head to give a quiet howl — it would not do to draw too much attention, after all.
He was not far from the boy, however, and he soon located him.
"Delos. Hello," he said, his head swiveling as he surveyed the area. "Where is your mother?"
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 11, 2025
When he came to spot Aureli's familiar face a tension suddenly disappeared from his chest, Delos speeding up to meet him.
She's hunting,and as though he suspected her being gone might cause tension;
She'll be back, she always is.
Eyeing the cat companion, he still couldn't help his curiosity.. but now he felt that he could ask questions.
So.. what's that?
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 11, 2025
It did cause tension; Aureli took on a hunted look for a moment and went silent. If he spoke, he knew he would be fuming, and he knew that would not help Delos. He felt a certain kinship with the boy despite his best attempts at keeping his emotional distance.
"It is a cat," he replied, looking down at Moke as she slinked fearlessly up to Delos and attempted to rub her face against his paw. "Have you eaten?" he asked the boy.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 11, 2025
He flinched back when the cat touched him, still feeling a bit unsure.
I don't want to eat it.He responded, assuming that was what Aureli meant.
My mom helped me catch a rabbit this morning. I think she's taking your advice, kind of.It had been quite exciting, more than he originally assumed. It turned out that he was quite good at tracking down burrows, and Leto had been nothing but enthusiastic praises since.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 12, 2025
"Ah," he said, huffing out a rare laugh. "No," he agreed, "the cat is not for eating. Her name is Moke — she's a friend."
But, friend or not, he shooed the cat away. She retreated a foot or so to aggressively wash her paws.
"If you're not hungry, we can get started. We'll search this forest, first — the plants we're looking for are fleawort, comfrey, and witch hazel. We'll search the meadow, first."
He began leading the way, leaving scent markers every so often along the way, and instructing Delos to do the same. At one point, he caught his attention and made sure the boy could see his face before saying,
"Tell me about the pack you've come from," worded as a command but with a questioning lilt at the end. "Were you born to them?"
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 12, 2025
He couldn't help feeling relieved when Moke retreated. She was much too strange looking for him, for now.
Delos didn't recognise the names of any of the plants listed off, but he was happy to tag along nonetheless. Sort of hard to learn otherwise.
Trailing behind at Aureli's hip, he couldn't help but be reminded of Soto as they began marking parts of the forest. The segundo had always done it with such swagger, though Delos hadn't understood the importance until he was older, especially since his brother had began to try and replicate it just about everywhere.
When Aureli spoke next, Delos was glad he thought to grab his attention first. Tone mattered little when you couldn't hear it, so he was able to take Aureli as being conversational.
No, I was only there for a little while.He responded, tail swishing gently behind him.
It was supposed to be safer for me. Way less sun, and there's a woman there who can't hear either - I was supposed to learn from her. She and my mom got into a fight, though.Delos hadn't been sure what to think of it. They really hadn't stayed long enough for him to decide if he liked the caldera.
I was born in a pack in the lowlands. We both miss it, but it's just too hot - not just for me, my mom won't say it but it got to her too.It would be impossible to avoid with her thick coat. It hadn't thinned quick enough for the months she was there, and seemed to puff back up the moment they left.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 14, 2025
Aureli was not one to swagger; he only left scent marks so that there would be a clear trail for Leto to follow when she (inevitably, hopefully) came looking for her son. They did not go so terribly far just yet, anyway, but Aureli did not want her to worry. Or to give up and wander off without said son.
"You've done a lot of traveling for one so young," the healer noted, but it seemed he had little else to say about the topic.
They came to the edge of the woods. The lake lay in one direction, far in the distance, while sweeping meadowlands stretched on into the even more distant foothills in the other. Aureli moved toward the meadow, nose lifted first into the air and then pressed delicately into the ground as he began to search. He'd not gone far when he found what he was looking for, and laid sphinx-like on his belly to aim his words at Delos over the plant.
"This is fleawort, or plantain," he said indicating the small, broad-leafed weed between them. "It grows almost anywhere grass does, though better in lowlands than in alpine areas. We can make a poultice of it, which can be applied to your sunburns to soothe and heal them."
He eyed the boy, watching his face for signs of confusion.
"Does all that make sense so far?" he asked. What he meant was, Do you know all those words?
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 14, 2025
Delos didn't think so. The travel had only been in the last few months, before that he thought they would stay in Verapaz forever.
His mother had told him plenty of stories about when she was young, still living with her own parents. Permafrost ground, land that stretched flat for miles, and her massive family who dominated it. They would only stay put for the time it took the youngest litter to grow big enough to watch the hunts, then they would travel with the caribou herds until the next year when another litter came. Leto would light up every time she spoke of her first home, and Delos had to wonder why she ever left.
Aureli soon seemed to find what they were on the lookout for, Delos laying down across from him. A few of the words were difficult to make out with lip reading alone, his ears twitching as though he were straining to pick up a vowel or two. Taking a sniff of the plant, his nose wrinkled at first. The smell wasn't unpleasant, but it was unfamiliar.
So..he paused, tail managing a single thump behind him.
Do I rub it on my burns?He wasn't exactly sure what a poultice was. He had seen Soto rubbing mud and chewed plants into wounds when he was young, and that was his best guess.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 15, 2025
Aureli gave a single nod and said, "Just so," the faintest hint of crisp approval in his tone. He carefully plucked the plant, leaf by leaf, until they had a small pile.
"You chew it," he said, standing once more, "Until it is a thick pulp. Then you can ask a friend to put it on you, or you can roll in it. It just needs to reach your skin."
Less of a problem for Delos and his apparently thin coat than for other wolves Aureli had treated. But he suspected that the boy's coat would thicken if he were to get someplace cooler and allow his skin to heal. This was a step in the right direction. And, on that note:
"We should get you back in the shade," he noted, looking up to see the height of the sun. They were not yet in the heat of the day, but Aureli was wary of returning Delos in anything less than perfect condition. Or, at least, as perfect condition as he'd found him in. "We'll take this with us. Our next plant grows beside rivers. Know where we can find one of those?"
He picked up the plantain, prepared to lead the way should Delos answer in the negative.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 15, 2025
He was undeniably pleased that he had been correct. It felt good to recieve what he saw as praise from Aureli.
I think there's a lake south of here.. just outside the trees.Which wouldn't serve Aureli's idea to get him out of the sun too well, but Delos wasn't sure of any other water sources.
What are we looking for?
Delos was undeniably curious of all of this 'herb stuff', partially for his own benefit, partially because it was so unfamiliar. He had to wonder if any of it would really work, though.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 15, 2025
"Comfrey," he answered. "Purple flowers. Grows near rivers."
Aureli hummed to himself, looking toward the lake. Where there were lakes, there were rivers. He stole one last glance at the sun before deciding on his course of action.
Delos was led as far along the treeline as they could go. They pushed through the open plains, then, headed for the sparkling blue up ahead. The closer they came, the clearer it was that the northeastern stretch of the lake lead off into a rich riparian zone. Aureli's tail wheeled when he saw this, and he shot the boy a quick smile before picking up the pace just a bit more.
The result was that he was a bit out of breath by the time they reached the shade. He found a rock to set their plantain down atop of, and then lifted his leg to mark a nearby tree.
"Rest a moment," he instructed the boy, raising his voice to be better understood. "We will catch us a few fish for lunch before we resume our search."
And, more importantly, Aureli took a long moment to catch his breath. There was a wheeze to it that would be inaudible to Delos's sub-par hearing, and he felt guilty for being grateful. It was bad enough that the boy could likely see how labored his breathing was — and, on that note, he began nosing around in search of — ah! Wild garlic, the potent scent of which helped ease the tightness of his chest. He dug it up and scraped at it with his claws, opening the skin to intensify the fragrance.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 15, 2025
Delos took note, he would keep an eye out for purple flowers. They left southwards as Delos suggested, keeping under the cover of trees while they could. His memory had been correct, and they found themselves staring out at the water - he was thrilled to see Aureli's smile.
Do you know how to fish?He asked, maybe a bit out of ignorance. He wasn't sure if herbalist's knew how to do much else - did they just play with plants? Soto knew how to hunt though, and he seemed to like playing with plants..
Watching Aureli wheeze, he wasn't so sure what to think. Was he just out of shape? He didn't appreciate it too much when the physician tore open wild garlic, sticking out his tongue with an audible 'blegh'.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 17, 2025
The scent of garlic burned in his nose and in his lungs, but he breathed through it just a little easier. It still took a few steadying breaths before he could speak again — he gave an unsteady nod in the meantime, answering that, yes, he did know how to fish.
He said it aloud, when he could.
"My master taught me," he said, laying down on his belly to rest. His voice was just a little hoarse, but he was used to these attacks, and had learned how to force himself to stay calm through them, beginning to end. "To fish and to hunt. I travel on my own — I must catch my own food."
He picked up the garlic delicately between his teeth and carried it to the lazy swell of the river. It made a satisfying plop! as he dropped it in, sinking first, and then rising slowly to the top. Iridescent oil snaked up to thinly ring the bobbing root.
"My lungs have always been poor," he admitted, turning his face back to the boy. "My parents feared I would never make it to adulthood. But one must be strong even when their body is weak. And, of course, one must also be clever."
He winked, and then turned back to the garlic in time to see a dark shadow darting up from underneath it. Aureli surged forward and snatched a large catfish from the water, tossing it in a wide arc so that it would not fight free and fall directly back in.
"You try," he said, breathless again. "Watch the garlic — the scent brings them up from the bottom."
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 17, 2025
Delos decided that made enough sense for him. After all, Aureli wouldn't be doing so well if he couldn't hunt.. especially if he was alone.
Aureli told him of weak lungs, parents who doubted his survival, and suddenly he felt some passing sense of kinship with the physician. However, for Delos it would still be some time before he could say he beat the odds.. if he did at all.
Do you think your parents are proud now?He asked. Surely they were, after all he was alive and well. That was what was important.
Following Aureli's instructions, Delos approached the water to watch the garlic as it bobbed. He couldn't understand what the fish would like about it so much, but sure enough the silhouette of a catfish began to swim up towards the root.
Delos, surprised, stuck his left leg into the water with the hopes of grabbing a meal.. but to his shock and horror, it grabbed him!
Reeling back with a scream, Delos fell flat onto his back with a catfish flopping about as it tried to swallow up his paw. Maybe the kid has a future in noodling.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 18, 2025
The question was one that Aureli had often asked himself, though not, he realized right then, for a rather long time. He contemplated it now, directing his gaze out across the lake with an unusually ruminative look on his face.
"I doubt they still think of me," he told the boy.
It was his turn to fish. Aureli watched from the sidelines, unconcerned for whatever the outcome might be. The fish he'd caught — still flopping weakly in the grass — was large enough to share, even if it wouldn't be quite filling. As he watched, however, Delos managed to catch a fish with his paw — a feat that the physician would previously have called impossible.
"Well done!" he said, surging in to snag the fish and yank it free of the boy's paw. He gave it a harsh shake to snap the spine, and then trotted over to the other one to compare them in size. The larger fish was pushed toward the growing boy — something that Aureli could not help regretting when Moke poked her head out of brush looking for a snack.
With a little sigh, he bit off the tail and tossed it her way.
"Eat up," he instructed. "Then we'll search for comfrey. It's a very distinctive smell. Perhaps we can make a game of finding it."
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 18, 2025
It took Delos a moment to roll back to his feet after Aureli freed him from the grasps of the fish. He wasn't sure he deserved they praise, given it had been pure dumb luck. The catfish would have been able to do any real damage, but it was certainly still terrifying!
Nodding his thanks, Delos tore into the fish offered to him.
What sort of game?He asked through bites, tail curling around himself. It was hard not to be at least a bit excited, Delos thought himself to have quite the good nose.
Today had served to be far more interesting than anything that took place in his previous months of life, even when Kemal invited him to watch Verapaz hunt down bison. He had never thought twice about most of the plants he passed by, but it seemed that many of them might have a proper use. It was hard not to wonder how Aureli kept track of it all.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 25, 2025
This stumped him. Aureli had been close to the age Delos was now when Ulysses had taken him on as an apprentice, but his memories of that time were clouded by time. He remembered only that following Ulysses had seemed like a grand adventure, and that learning from him had always been fun —
Or, at least, the closest approximation to fun that Aureli could access.
"If you can find it, you will get a prize," he decided, though he wondered himself what sort of baubles he might offer the child. It would likely turn into a more long-term endeavor — but if Delos proved himself intuitive in this, Aureli had reason to cultivate a relationship with the boy.
"Now, remember: purple, drooping flowers. Astringent scent. Close to water," he instructed, waving the boy off when it seemed he was done with his meal. "And don't put it in your mouth. I will instruct you on its uses when we find it."
He left the rest of his fish for Moke to finish and was soon ready to follow in the boy's pawsteps.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Delos - September 25, 2025
A prize was enough of a promise to convince him.
Hopping up to his feet, Delos took note of Aureli's words before taking off. He was going to find those flowers, and fast! He would will them into reality if he had to - anything for that mysterious prize.
Moving along at a slowed, loping pace, he eyed the areas around the river for any spots of purple.
It took time, but soon Delos stopped in his tracks.
Is that it?He called back to Aureli, gesturing across the water. There, on the other side of the stream, a bush of purple flowers was growing steadily despite the oncoming fall.
RE: Dump her on a doorstep - Aureli - September 26, 2025
It was strange to follow the boy through the woods in this way. He could see them as if from a distance, and superimposed in their places, the ghost of Ulysses and a much younger Aureli. Or Rémi, as he'd been called at that time. Strange. Strange and oddly idyllic.
"This is the one," he agreed, and then he offered a mild but sincere, "Good work, Delos."
Delos. Perhaps he, too, would someday take another name.
"We will discuss your prize later, with your mother. For now, pay close attention." He was sure to address Delos head-on, side-stepping so that the boy faced physician and medicinal plant both. "This plant is toxic when ingested. You can easily harm yourself by plucking it with your mouth, or by grooming after it has been applied. This is what we do..."
He talked Delos through the method, and then showed him how to rake his claws through the plant, opening its slimy green veins so that it excreted astringent fluid. There was not much, but it was enough that a good roll was enough to coat a wolf.
Aureli taught him about how his coat would need to be wet with water first to help the fluid seep in and reach his skin. He taught him to let the fluid soak for at least three hours before he could rinse, and that only after a thorough rinse was he safe to groom himself again.
It was a longer lesson that the first. Aureli spent as much time as needed making sure the boy understood.
"It's getting late," he told the boy, at the end. "Let's return you to your mother. I will teach you more another day."