The Sentinels another day, another door

AW, but primarily for @Dante. Using for trade thread. 

Eilidh had spent many hours scouring the Sentinels, using her mother's guidance and that of the spirits that spoke to her beneath the godly boughs, to find and gather herbs, roots, berries, and plants to create her own medicinal store. She didn't know what many of the plants did, but she know that her mother knew these things, and it was only a matter of time before they could go foraging together. She had visited her family a few times since her younger siblings' birth, but in general Eilidh had tried to keep busy and give them some space.

She had gathered and stored her treasure for the day and decided to take a walk down the beach. It would be fun to find other things like the jawbone she had found to decorate with, and do she was sweeping the beach quietly, wondering about Dante and his new mate, about her parents, thinking about Malachi's whereabouts. She hadn't seen him in a while, and although she wasn't sure she was cut out to be a chronicler, she wanted to keep her friendship alive with him. And perhaps that friendship could blossom...but it could only do that if he was around to talk to. She sighed softly and continued along the beach, looking for a distraction from her first crush and potential heartbreak.

Aria's herbs had stayed his condition some, but still he felt himself flagging a bit, the seasonal cold wracking hard at his lungs, especially on morning patrols. He was baffled by this... he'd had illness before, once, but it had been entirely different in his youth. This was a catch that seemed to lurk in his lungs, and it showed no signs of going away.

He refused to stay idle long, though some days he did stay more isolated. Today he'd decided to attempt some beach foraging, digging to see what he could unearth in the sand but turning up nothing so far. He made his way slowly along the strand, stopping every once in a while to dig somewhat unenthusiastically at the sand. He recalled, long ago, a she-wolf talking of something called 'crabs' on the beach, and had assumed them to burrow (since where else would the darn things hide on open sand?" but so far had yet to encounter anything edible. Maybe it was a summer thing.

Eilidh combed the beach quietly, lost in her own thoughts. Thoughts of her parents, of her new siblings, of Malachi and Casmir and the life she had here on the coast. She loved her family and would never leave them (her brief stint after running away was plenty for her, thank you very much), but sometimes she wondered if she was meant for more. What else could there be? She helped her Pappa and Mamma when she was needed. She was learning a trade - healing - which the pack definitely needed, especially now that they lived in a more dangerous part of the wilds. But could there be something else for her?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she looked up and saw Dante in the distance, coming the beach himself. She smiled softly and decided to quit her bellyaching and join him in his search. With a bark she announced her presence, then closed the gap between them with her long strides. "Hey Dante!" she called as she approached, a quick smile on her lips. "How are you?" She hadn't seen him much since they moved, and she hoped all was well with him. She had heard rumor of his mate-ship with Osprey, but didn't want to bring it up incase he saw it as rude.

Eilidh's bark brought his attention from the sand and he gave a soft one in return, greeting her happily and attempting to shake some sand from his paws.  He could use a break anyway.

"I'm alright.  How're you doing?"  Their last conversation she had been rife with indecision and self-consciousness, and he hoped that some of that had been put to rest, though he couldn't be sure.  Thinking of that reminded him of his offer, and he suddenly hoped she wasn't here to take him up on it right now.  Nothing, honestly, sounded worse than a spar right now.  Except perhaps a scouting trip.

Though he seemed well enough on the outside, there was something in the way he replied to her that made Eilidh take note. He wasn't alright, but she couldn't really contradict him without seeming rude. So instead she just went along with it and smiled before replying. "That's good. I'm doing well! Just exploring the beach and getting to know what kinds of plants grow here, so I can let Mamma know. She's been kinda holed up with the kids, you know, since she had them." Eilidh shut up then, not wanting to prattle on about things Dante probably knew about anyway.

In the silence, Eilidh combed the sand around Dante, seeing that he had been digging at a little spot near him. She sniffed at it and turned toward him. "What were you digging for?" she asked softly, herself using her forepaws to dig further into the sand, though she didn't find anything of use there, either. Maybe whatever he was search for was elsewhere, or maybe he had already found it. Either way, she stopped digging after a while, her fur speckled with sand, and turned to study him, her tongue hanging out as she panted, waiting for him to reply.

feel free to notice his funkyness speaking lol, the dummy prolly won't admit to it otherwise and I def wanna get you that healing thread! <3

"That's..." he cleared his throat a bit, noticing a catch in the back that clung annoyingly to each phrase.  "...good to hear.  I imagine she has been."  Pups seemed the least easy thing in the world, and even when he felt as badly as he did currently, he couldn't imagine spending days cooped up in a den.  Perhaps having something so small and loved to care for made up for it, but he had a hard time getting his head around it regardless.

"Looking for crabs... at least I'm pretty sure that's what she called them."  He tipped his ears back slightly.  "Some wolf I met around these parts a long time ago told me about them.  I figured, if they were here, there weren't many places besides buried for them to hide."  He frowned.  "But I think I might be wrong after all."  Or perhaps he hadn't looked long enough; it was his trouble with fishing again, not long enough was plenty long enough for him.  He was hesitant to explain why he was digging about on the beach rather than scouring the meadow.  Even if she was Blue and Lasher's daughter, to admit weakness to a packmate was the opposite of everything ingrained into him since before he could remember.

Okay! :)

Dante cleared his throat and Eilidh watched him carefully, noting the way he seemed to do so without thinking. Even as he spoke about the crabs someone told him about, the healer apprentice listened to the way his throat formed around the words, and knew there was something wrong. She stood from her perch in the sand and moved closer to him. "May I?" she asked softly, before planting her ear right on his chest. She listened to him breathe for a moment before finally realizing what was wrong: his breathing was labored. She pulled back to study his face for a moment before she asked, "How long have you had trouble breathing?"

All thoughts of crabs and buried treasure flew from her mind; now she thought about helping Dante, a wolf more like her uncle than any wolf who might ever truly carry that title. Her emerald eyes studied him, his face, the way he held himself, and wondered. But before she could wonder any more or concoct a remedy, she needed to know how long he'd been having this issue, and what he thought might have caused it.

She heard what had become almost a norm for him most days, and he stood patiently while she listened, suddenly self-consciously aware of the way each breath caught in his chest.  He tried to remember when the issues had started.  Noticably, likely around a month ago.  "A few weeks to a month," he said slowly, his ears turning back uncomfortably.  "It eases usually through the day, and really only bothers me when I hunt."  He tried to make light, still unwilling to accept the fear that this wasn't just a simple bug he'd picked up.  It had to go away eventually.  They always did.

Eilidh stored away this information while simultaneously sorting through herbs in her mental filing cabinet. She hadn't come across anything yet that would help with breathing issues, but Dante's lungs sounded crackly and irritated. "So its worse in the morning than at night?" she asked for clarification, studying him. He didn't seem to be losing or gaining weight, and otherwise seemed healthy, though she did notice his spirits weren't as high as normal. "Have you been more tired lately? Moody?" These questions she knew her mother would ask and would want to know, so she asked them in her stead, and would bring the answers to her.

"Your lungs sound crackly instead of clear, like there's something irritating them. I don't know what would help with that, aside from rest, of course." She paused, chewing on her lip, gaze locked onto him as she thought through everything she knew. Admittedly, it wasn't much about breathing, and she felt a little disappointed in herself. "I can ask Mamma about it, though, and together we can find something to help you." Eilidh didn't even think about the fact that maybe Dante wanted his privacy and wouldn't want Blue Willow to know. It was her youth and inexperience, of course, that threw that out the window.

He nodded first in response to her first question, then again when she asked the second.  "Tired," he said, remembering the ache in his muscles when he'd awoken that morning.  He'd noticed his energy flagging considerably but that was nothing odd when one was ill.

He was beginning to come to terms with the fact that his struggle would be common knowledge among the healers of donnelaith.  "Sure," he responded, not hugely enthused by the idea but understanding she was only wishing to help.  Aria had proposed much the same.  When he did begin to feel better, he would attribute it to the skill of all three.

Wrap up and have a new one?

Eilidh stored that bit of information away with a nod, furrowing her brow while she thought about what might be wrong with him. She had very little experience with things like this, but she was determined to help him feel better. "How's your appetite? The same?" Whatever was going on with him, she wanted to find out and help him, because having Dante sick wasn't good for him or the pack. He was family, no matter what, and she didn't like seeing him feeling so poorly. 

He agreed, rather reluctantly, that she could tell her mother about his illness. She looked at him askance, wondering if she should keep this information close to the vest for a while. "I'll make you a deal, Dante. I'll try to figure this out on my own first. But if I can't, then I'll go to my Mamma." She hoped that he would agree to that. "Deal?"

sounds good!  In his timeline I've got him feeling better at this point ^^ so we can assume he's been getting herbs from her and maybe they can have a checkup? :D

"About the same," he confirmed, shifting slightly.  His usual ignore it and it will go away had failed him so far, so he knew this was necessary.  If healing helped, it would be more than worth it.

He nodded with a tad of relief when she amended her statement.  It wasn't that he didn't want Blue Willow's help - he trusted her unequivocally.  But she had her paws full and Dante was loathe to rely on her if it wasn't necessary.  "Deal."  Perfect.  This way he would only be bothering her.

Awesome! :) Feel free to post or archive after this.

It was truly a shame that Dante felt so poorly, otherwise she'd take him up on his offer to teach her to spar. Perhaps once he felt better, she'd consider doing that, but for now her main goal was to get him well again. "Well, get some rest, okay? Don't exert yourself too much." She smiled softly, lifted herself up to nudge his cheek gently, and then suddenly realized how late it was getting. "I better go check in with my parents, see if they need anything for the girls. I'll come by and check with you tomorrow, okay?" She grinned again, waiting for a moment if he needed to say anything else, before heading back up the beach toward the alpha's den and her small sisters.