Morningside Cuesta bone marrow pen

@Dawn, to start out with

"Sunny," he hollered for the umpteenth time, his voice now hoarse and not quite as loud as it had been only a few minutes before. Whether from pain, panic, or something else, the leader's breaths were now ragged and labored. Everything on him hurt, and his flank was beginning to swell with uncomfortable pressure.

At this point, he began to realize that he was likely in more danger than Sunny was - and if he wanted to help his son, he had to first help himself.

With no small amount of willpower, Grayday forced himself to his paws and gave a short, shaky howl, hoping to summon help to his side. Then, he began limping slowly toward the center of the territory, where he thought himself most likely to be found.

her sleeping pattern had become erratic, returning from her adventures at any time of the day had her sleeping at odd hours, and for irregular amounts of time. she didn't mind, far too caught up in her adventures was she. earlier, she had heard a howl; Sunny. she did not wish to face him, having become fed up with his poor attitude toward her exploring, even though the talk with Da had made things better. beside, she was far too caught up in her warm nook under the sun, lids heavy with sleep. 

but when Da howled once more, her gaze blinked open, and her form uncurled from its sleeping position. something was wrong with this howl, something wasn't right. giving a nervous shake of her pelt, and blinking away sleepfulness, she darted out of the den and toward the source of the howl, moving quickly to intercept Da wherever he might be. 

she found him quickly, finding first where he had met with Sunny, as the strong scents suggested, as did the previous howl she had ignored. but she scents, while moving together for a time, separated. not particularly caring where Sunny went, she followed instead that of Da. her tail twitched nervously at her flank, and when she spotted her father ahead, she rushed to meet him. 

"Da!" she cried, fear wrenching at her gut when she realised something was definitely wrong with her strong father. she slipped beside him, pelt brushing his, worried eyes trained on his face and muzzle reached out to plant a hesitant lick on his chin. "Da! What's wrong? What happened?"  came her fast-paced questions, gaze wide, voice shook in the slightest.

A weak and pitiful whine escaped through Day's teeth when his daughter arrived at the scene. Too distraught to answer right away, he simply leaned heavily into her when she drew up beside him. Her presence alone offered him a great deal of comfort - he'd been worrying about her, lately - but did nothing to mask the pain.

"Snake bite," he said in one quick, clipped littel breath, trying to take in the air he needed while also trying to appear calm and collected before his daughter. "Sunny left," he added, his eyes flicking in the direction he'd gone before finally closing. Now that he'd been found, he had no reason to keep going. The male limped toward the nearest shelter - a scraggly-looking tree with twiggy, low-hanging branches. When he'd reached the shade, he lowered himself to the ground and curled in on himself, sides heaving. A pale tongue lolled out of his mouth, dripping with saliva as he panted through the pain.

He leant on her, which added some weight to the girl, but nothing the growing Dawn couldn't handle. she moved alongside her father, waiting for him to speak with bated breath. his answer came clipped and quick, one that had her ears flick back uncertainly. she knew about the hazards snakes possessed, but nothing beyond "snakes are bad" and "bites are sometimes really bad". She was at a loss of what to do, lacking the knowledge to help much beyond offering her presence and strength. 

he added another couple clipped words, and her gaze narrowed in anger. Sunny left? Da had been bitten by a Snake and Sunny had just left?  a hiss of displeasure slipped between her maw, and she had an idea of just what she would say to him when he returned. little did she know, however, that he had left for good. her father sunk to the earth as they neared shade, and she moved to stand near him, feeling angered and concerned for her father. "tell me what to do." she said, watching him, voice firm. she spoke again, yet this time her words wavered. "what should I do, Da?" he put on a good show of stoicism, yet it did not escape her that her Da was in pain, which was not acceptable to her.

He licked gingerly at the fluid leaking from his flank - much of it was simply blood, but there was now some foul-smelling discharge dribbling down his fur. It was bitter to taste, but he cleaned it anyway, wanting to see the extent of the damage. His ears flickered toward Dawn when she spoke, but he heard her words in a hazy sort of way, too focused on how hurt he was, and how he needed to go after Sunny.

The wound was just two angry, red puncture wounds, but beneath his skin, the tissue was quickly swelling.

"Just stay with me," he managed to say, tearing his eyes away from his leg to rest on his daughter's shaken form. I'm okay, he wanted to tell her, but he wasn't. He didn't know how this would end, and there was still so much he needed to teach his daughter, to tell her. "Dawn, I - " But he didn't want to scare her. He didn't want to see any more fear in her eyes. He was supposed to protect her, but how could he if this bite was the end of him? For a moment, panic fluttered like a trapped bird in his chest - but then he remembered this was Dawn, his little rebel. "I love you," he said, stretching his neck toward her even as he beckoned her nearer. "You and your brother make me so proud - and I know that things aren't the best between you two right now, but I need to know that, if somethin' happened, you'd take care of him. No matter what."

stay with him. she could do that, it was a given. but she did not know, did not think that she could help her father, and that frustrated her. her tail twitched against her flank as her gaze flickered to the two tiny spots in his flank. that was all that caused the pain? how? why did a snake possess such power to cause pain? all questions that bit at her tongue, but she kept tucked away, certain that this was not the time to ask any sort of question. 

he began to speak again, and the girl's brow furrowed in worry as she neared, answering his silent cue for her to come near. she touched her muzzle to his fur, inhaling his scent and calming the beating of her heart with the ver familiar scent. "I love you too, Da. Duh."  she responded, voice oddly, yet not her usual confident lilt. his next words caused her heart to flop around in her chest as if made of rubber, but she did not show her unease beside the nervous twitching of her tail and the slant of her ears, twitching toward the back of her skull. 

"I'll take care of him, Da. Even if he is kinda thick." she resolved, head dipping to his. thick, perhaps, was an understatement, seeing as he had taken off when Da had gotten bit. "But don't worry 'bout that, 'cause nothing's going to happen,"  she added, fixing him with a look. She knew what direction his words took, and could not find herself comprehending that idea. He'd be fine; a snake couldn't take down her Da.

Gingerly, he lifted himself to tuck Dawn under his chin, like he used to when she was small, and still regularly sought this sort of comfort from him. They were growing up before his eyes, and there was so much he'd taken for granted. Something he and Dawn shared, maybe. I love you too, Da. Duh. But Sunny was different - tempermental, like his mother. He'd needed more, something Grayday had neglected to give him.

"He went back to Easthollow," he shared, closing his eyes as his vision began to swim. All at once, thick, sour bile rose up in his throat. Grayday barely had time to turn his head away before he vomited up the day's meal. For a few scary seconds, he hacked and wheezed uncontrollably, and found himself completely unable to draw in air. But the moment quickly passed, and he stared ahead - glassy-eyed - while he caught his breath before drooping down again, his chin briefly dipping into the small puddle of vomit.

"Dammnit," he muttered, twisting away and attempting to look healthy and dignified before his young daughter - but he could do nothing to hide his discomfort, and he was fading quickly as a strange buzzing began to take over his mind and body. "Gotta get someone - 'Kuti or Heartha, maybe," he said, his words beginning to slur a bit as he focused less on what was going on outside his body, and more on trying to ignore the amount of pain he was in. As he thought of who else might be of help to him, another wolf came to mind. Though he did not think she'd have the experience or knowledge to do anything in this situation, he still wanted her nearby him. "And Addie," he added, "want Addie..."

Grainy black spots began to appear in his vision, so he closed his eyes once more.

back to Easthollow? Da was in pain, and Sunny had fled back to Easthollow? fury shot through her veins in a heated moment, but her attention was quickly returned to Da. they shared a brief moment of comfort, Dawn still beneath his hug, remembering for a fleeting moment days long past. but the moment was shattered when he turned from her, and open the ground retched a pile of vomit that assaulted her senses with a smell she had never before scented. 

she darted backwards as if stung, ears flat against her skull and senses reeling. while she certainly was tough, she was young, and there was an extent to how long she could remain mostly unshaken. she hissed a curse, regaining her composer as quickly as she could, stance radiating nervousness now. she moved close, nosing the fur of her Da's shoulder in concern, gaze fastened on him. when he spoke, she did not answer but thrust her muzzle to the heavens and let out a desperate call for all that would come, chiefly @Adeline, @Heartha, and Akuti, (@Khoe). her song rang long and was saturated with urgency, and when finally she lowered her muzzle she moved to Stand beside her sunken Da, murmuring under her breath, a wavering whisper, "Don't". unable to fathom finishing the sentence and what it might mean, for true fear begun to rise in the unshakeable girl's heart.  

Heartha's head bolted upright as she heard a howl for her. She stood up and shook herself out, having been on the one sloped hill. She arrived soonish after the call had been made, expecting it to be something of a rather pleasant meeting. Upon seeing the scene, she knew it was far from it. Grayday on the ground, and one of his children by his side. 

She rushed down to them, stopping just before Dawn. "Dawn, what's happened?" she asked, glancing back and forth between the two. She didn't piece anything together, as she was in a rather panicked state. She had not ever completed her knowledge in herbs, and she had seen things like this, laying around. But it could have been anything, that being a common symptom of many things.

Grayday focused as much as he could on the sound of his own breathing, slipping into a sort of half-conscious state that made him feel as though nothing existed, outside of his pain and his self. He was startingly aware of his own heartbeat, and the rush of blood underneath his skin. It was as though the venom had lit up his every vein and artery, and when he closed his eyes, he could trace each surge and flow through his body. The path was most clear closest to the bite, and the more he thought about it, the more he searched inward on himself, the less Grayday seemed aware of the outside world.

He roused himself only when another wolf came onto the scene, her voice familiar, but unplaceable in his current state. "Addie?" he begged, turning his head in her direction. A moment later, he remembered to open his eyes. A pale shadow of a woman stood before him. Not Adeline. Day let his head droop to the ground once more, and became aware all over again of how his sides heaved and labored over every breath.

Feel free to PP Grayday. He's just going to sit there and feel sorry for himself for the forseeable future.

she had begun to pace. her tail flicked her haunches in nervous frustration and her ears were pinned back, gaze searching the horizon every few minutes. she wasn't displaying outright panic, but her pacing spoke of her stress. when finally a figure arrived, her ears shot up toward the figure, and she halted, waiting rather impatiently for the woman- Heartha- to arrive. 

"He was bitten,"  she said clipped, wishing Heartha would just put some magic herbs on the wound and it would make everything better. of course, that was impossible, but she wanted this to stop. she moved to his flank, muzzle hovering above the wound, gaze on Heartha. "a snake. Da's hurt, and Sunny's gone." she relayed, frustration flashing in her gaze.

She'd heard the fringes of the first call. A sound of faint desperation that isn't as familiar as it should be. Still, her legs kicked into gear.

When the second call (louder, stronger, help), she moves even faster. She carries herself over the terrain she has worked to memorize and she struggles a little to make her way through but she does with not quite enough breath to be of much use. Grayday is on the ground and Dawn is there, with Heartha. Her ears splay back as she hovers close, afraid to close the distance and do the inspection herself and instead she frantically looks to the older woman.

"What can I do?" she blurts out, not realizing the man's last words had been her name. It is everything in her power not to give in and rush to his side. "He'll... he'll be okay right?"

"Right?"

Heartha's eyes went wide. She completely missed what Day said, eyes turned on Dawn. "A-A snake?" She looked around cautiously, thinking it may be still around. She knew nothing of snake bites. So when Adeline came along, all she wanted to do was give comforting words. She opened her mouth to try and let some out. None came.

"I...I'm not sure. I've never seen a snake bite." But she knew what snakes were capable of. Poisoning their victims, leaving them to a slow and sometimes painful death. Whether or not the type of snake that got Day was capable of that, she did not know. "And what do you mean Sunny is gone?" she asked, worries becoming more troubling. "Start from the beginning."

her brow furrowed when Heartha sounded too scared. She wasn't supposed to be! She was supposed to be a steady adult that knew what to do, knew what direction to take. Adeline came too, and she too didn't know what to do, apparently. her gaze snapped to Adelines, and she responded quickly, "I thought you knew what to do? Da wanted you, Addy."  she said, nervousness putting a hitch in her words. 

then Heartha asked for the whole story, from the beginning. Dawn whirled to her, hackles bristling as she thought of her brother. " Sunny left! He's gone, and obviously doesn't care enough about us. What does the beginning matter?" she replied, voice rising steadily in volume. "Da's hurt, and you're supposed to know what to do!"  came her voice, angry and scared both at once, but primarily demanding of the older female. perhaps she was being a bit of a brat, but she couldn't help it; her Da was hurting and no one knew how to help him.

Heartha turns out useless in the situation. She doesn’t have anything—not even comfort—to give her, son only to feel blame from Dawn. She turns her head to the girl with a blank expression, uncertain what to do with the new information, just as the other woman tries to figure out what happened with Sunny. Adeline wants to turn and scream at her that she offers nothing else in the wake of Grayday. On the ground. Unconscious.

She then ignores the two behind her, examining the bite herself. She’s ever seen a snake bite either but there has to be something. It will take too long to go to Easthollow and find Phiipa or anyone else, for that matter, and she tries to remember the few things she does know. Suddenly, her eyes widen, and she spins back around to the other two wolves. Her first lesson with Phiipa may be just what she needs. Regardless of where they are in conversation, she immediately turns to Dawn. “There’s a blackberry patch south of here, I remember it from the other day, they—” she cuts herself when she feels she’s about to go off track. She doesn’t leave any other option in that moment, either, quickly turning to Heartha. “We need water. Find some way to get some, or at least the nearest source.” Adeline sucks in a breath after her instructions are finished, waiting to see if they’ll take the initiative she needs while she searches for the other materials she needs.

Heartha did care for Grayday, but hearing information of a young one being gone. It snapped her to the situation of Sunny being gone, as if finding the child was all she had to do. It was as if her mind was hard wired to find any missing child, to bring them home safe. Home safe. Home safe.

It kept repeating in her mind till Adeline snapped her out of it. She looked to the younger female, trying to listen. "W-Water. Water, yes! Right!" She fumbled over her own feet as if she had been in another world, or daydreaming and went to look for moss. Moss could carry water. She knew it could carry water. He couldn't let Grayday down. Despite the urge to look for Sunny, she fought it.

Adeline was the first to spring into action, and Dawn was glad the woman took charge. she had no idea what blackberries might provide in this situation, but as Heartha took off in the other direction to find water, Dawn could think of nothing other to do than to lay down beside her Da, offering her stillness in what she hoped would be comforting, beginning to carefully groom his heated fur. gaze dull with worry, her heart fluttered against her chest,t urging her to do something more, but she did not move from her place beside Da.

Heartha snaps out of it right away and turns tail for water and she only catches a glimpse of Dawn but she’s going the wrong direction. She stops her own movements and turns to the girl that’s curled around her father and she frowns, trying to give the girl a break but she doesn’t know how bad the bite is and the man is clearly unconscious. What if he doesn’t wake up? What if she doesn’t do everything she can? She tightens her jaw and steps back her way.

“Dawn, please, I need your help to save him,” she begs, hoping she’ll find the leaves her. Whether or not she answers, she sets into motion for the other things she needs.

Heartha used some green moss found next to a water source. It was the best she could find, using it to soak up whatever water she could. Of course, the water would only drip across the ground as she headed back, holding the moss in her mouth.

By the time she would arrive, at least just over half the water would be gone, perhaps more. She did not know how to measure water in moss.

With or without help, she works to get the things she needs. The water in moss is about all she has to work with when she returns, mouthful of herbs. The child does nothing to further help but she struggles to blame her when she's young and doesn't know what to do. She'd hope to get her into gear but it is to no use and she sighs, working alone in the meantime to treat the wounds and to get the man to eat what she needs him to.