Bearclaw Valley and that was my fault, to not know how far down the hole i had fallen

aw! paging medics

eleven days.

eleven days since that monster had befallen her. it horrified her to entertain the notion that blights like that crippling creature existed; that there was an order out there unknown to her, with no covenenant save misery and malice.

fever had overtaken her in the preceding days, and while she struggled to keep the wound clean, it hurt immensely to contort her body to face it -- inflammation had seized her hind end and her legs were as thick as knobbly bows of elmwood. she was lucky it was winter; the cold numbed it to some extent and the snow kept the detritus at bay. it also made it immensely difficult for travel.

she had drug herself to a stream and thrown herself at its banks. she had come here to drink, but shivering, found no energy to lower herself into the water.

There was a pull on her. Blondine didn't know where she was going or why she had to move; part of her hoped that this was the fault of her instincts, drawing her back home, but she knew that it was unlikely. She'd given up on finding her way back again, at least for the duration of winter. The day had been long and at one point, Blondine found herself to be parched from her travels. After drawing into a stream and having her fair drink, she looked around and found an oddly familiar frame not too far off.

Blondine decided to investigate. She began trotting down the bank, speeding up when she found it to be the wolfess who she had met at the mountainside not long ago. Told ya I'd be seein' you again, she whispered as she slowed down and took in the situation, Wish it wasn't like this, though. The last part was more so a muttering to herself, not meant to be heard otherwise. What happened?

indra had not noticed the sylph-like female across the bank -- truthfully, she was so occupied by her present misery she hardly realized blondine was there until she was upon her. with a jolt and a yelp indra attempted to scoot back, her wounded eyes falling fearfully on the sudden apparition.

it was just blondine -- her heart hammered in her chest and her tension deflated. she tried to swallow, to focus on the woman's thin face -- but could not. "blondine," she whispered hoarsely "--abernathy." she tried to smile but her expression was too riddled with pain to comply.

what happened? indra still struggled to answer this herself, and the query caused her to sink into a grieving and disconsolate state. "i.. a man." she choked shamefully, her gaze cast dejectedly to the ground.

Pity and confusion began flooding onto Blondine's mind, though she tried her hardest to keep her outward composure. Don't strain yourself, she scolded in a cloudy whisper. She gave Indra a once over, noticing the mangled evidence of a fairly recent attack. She sucked in her teeth and silently cursed whoever was responsible for such an act, then remembered that beyond the body, there was a damaged mind sitting right in front of her. 

Blondine settled down onto the ground with her head on her paws and her eyes fixed on Indra's. I wanna help, she told her, What'd'ya need from me, huh? Anything, I swear it. In truth, she had been longing for an opportunity to care for someone other than herself again, though she hadn't expected her new patient to be a victim as docile as Indra. Blondine sighed and wondered just what had to have happened for someone to take a woman such as this.

baw i love blondine

indra was comforted by the female's brisk mein and clear composure. as distressed as she was by her attack, it brought her comfort to have blondine's presence near her. somehow, blondine's firm manner encouraged her to lower her muzzle to the cold stream and drink deeply of its waters.

when she had supped her fill she scooted back gingerly, a thin smile fleetly on her muzzle. "i.. i don't know anything about healing." she was no medic, and the wound was still angry enough that she was sickly because of it. she had done her best to keep it clean and dry, but her energy had depleted harshly since the advent of her injury. "i don't know what to do."

Blondine watched Indra drink from the stream with a soft gaze of admiration. If enough of her spirit remained to persuade her toward the water then there was hope. Betcha I do, Blondine taunted, gently poking Indra's shoulder with an extended paw. She lifted herself to get another glance at the nasty wound on Indra's backside, then sucked in a sharp stream of air.

The first thing is keepin' it clean and trying to avoid an infection. That could get pretty nasty if it gets out of control so we're not gonna let that happen, right? It was what she'd said to her cousins when they fell and scratched themselves up with stickies. I come empty-handed today, but I can come back once I've got some stuff to help.

indra felt exposed, and a little shameful, when blondine fastened her attention to the contorted mess of pure ugliness that was on her backside. she looked into the river quietly, nodding as the female explained the preliminaries for caring for such a grim wound.

"ok.. what kind of things help?" she asked hoarsely, looking up at blondine with a fraction of hope. it was unlikely she knew many plants that helped heal wounds -- if anything, it was her deep shame to know plants that harmed. for a moment she remembered astik and tapat and a sense of innate remorse consumed her stomach.

It had been a long day. Blondine laid back down on her belly and moved her eyes to Indra's, ignoring her wounds for a moment. She yawned and excused herself quietly, then started to speak, only to be interrupted by another wide yawn. My goodness, she laughed, I hope you don't think you're boring me, I don't know what's wrong!

Blondine gave another laugh and reached her paw to reach Indra's. I could try finding any burdock plants laying around, but it's the offseason so I don't know... The worst thing about herbs was that if you didn't harvest them in time, the winter would steal them away before you ever got the chance.

She bit at the inside of her cheek and thought hard about what might still be growing during this time of year. Chervil root, maybe. Might be able to find some. If it's dormant, well, I guess we can worry about quality later... Blondine continued speaking, though moreso as babble for her own ears. How much pain are you in?

she did not mind blondine's yawns -- and in truth, thought nothing of them. she shook her head slowly as if to say no apology was necessary. indra did not know either of the plants she mentioned. burdock sound familiar, but chervil reminded her of something sinuous -- like a snake. she blinked somewhat blankly, but afforded a small smile for her friend. against the pastel blue snow, blondine resembled a nymph composed of soft clay. indra was deeply grateful for her presence.

when blondine asked after her pain indra tried to fairly assess it. she had never had to inwardly examine herself that way, and found the question oddly revealing. best she could do would be to describe it. "it's worse in the morning. if i've been still a long time, it hurts more. once i get going it seems okay, but it hurts to do anything." it was not a very clear or powerful explanation and she was sorry for it, but it was the best the girl had.

Blondine's nose twitched as she thought, her ears flicking here and there to follow distant sounds. Hm, she sighed, I think we could try sumn' for the pain, too, if you'd like. This would be a lot easier if it weren't so cold. Not a lot can survive in weather like this. Sometimes, she even wondered how she herself was making it. The frost bit so bitterly at her limbs that she wished she could hibernate for the season like the momma bears and their cubs.

Don't worry, all things pass in time. Blondine wasn't the best at the counseling part of life, but she tried. If it hurts less once you get to moving, then maybe we should get up and see some things. She was interested in this oddly familiar territory and the pull that it seemed to have.

indra nodded in agreement to blondine's assessment -- the cold worked against them this time around, and any plants indra might have possibly identified as beneficial were buried beneath feet of crisp snow and shriveling hoarfrost. indra hated the winter - not just because of her wound.

she winced as she rose, but she trusted blondine's insight -- wordlessly the girl hobbled to her feet and took a few lurching steps towards her newfound guide. perhaps blondine was right in that moving would help stave off inflammation -- and perhaps more importantly, keep indra's anxious thoughts at bay.

Attagirl, Blondine praised quietly. The task of moving was given to ease Indra's discomfort, true, but it was also a way for Blondine to see if there had been any less obvious damage. A limp or stagger could mean that an infection had already set in deeper than it could be treated. Oh, how she prayed that the flame proved her thoughts wrong.

How did this happen? she asked, not expecting too many details. Blondine just needed to be certain of the entire issue so as to know what exactly would need to be treated.

indra didn't know it, but company was what she needed: she was lucky blondine was here, for more reasons than just that she had knowledge of plants. as she limped through the snow, she found the task of moving kept her mind from darker, more troubling things -- a powerful enchantment indeed.

she frowned as blondine inquired to the nature of the wound. it was natural to wonder, but she hated describing it. stupid girl she thought to herself - stupid for trusting a stranger, stupid for not running sooner, stupid for ever having left the valley at all. "someone attacked me -- i got away, but i wasn't expecting... him to turn on me like that!" she summoned up enough courage to simply say that, though she could not bring herself to meet blondine's gaze. what if she thought indra was pathetic? feeble? stupid? indra certainly did.

Blondine nodded her head in understanding. A man once tried me, she admitted, turning to face Indra then, but I was lucky to have my Pa around. He took care of him 'soon as he could. There was a moment's pause as she took in a deep breath and thought of how exactly she wanted to continue, I'm gonna be that person for you. It didn't quite feel right to say she would serve as Indra's Pa, but that's what she meant; she was going to protect Indra, from that point on.

I'm gonna be here for you, promise. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore.

WAAH i love blondine she gives me the feels

indra was surprised to learn blondine had suffered a similar encounter -- but the outcome did not surprise her. to indra, blondine seemed incredibly self-assured and capable. she admired that about blondine: she was not willowy or malleable like indra, but strong and confident. maybe someday, indra would be as stalwart -- maybe someday, blondine would rub off on her enough she wouldn't need protection.

her expression was dark as she thought of what must have transpired, and while she was deeply grateful for blondine's promise, the nature of it caused her great anger: "why are men like that?" she blurted furiously, a deep furrow of frustration and sorrow appearing on her forehead. she thought of her father, who likely would have defended her too -- but he was, as far as indra was concerned, another philandering man. it distressed her to think if he had ever made a woman uncomfortable. "why do they all suck." indra muttered quietly, feeling deeply resentful as she looked back on her life's history: every misfortune she could catalog had come at the heels of a man's impetus.

There wasn't much surprise to come from Indra's outburst. For a while, Blondine had felt the same way; she'd convinced herself that all men were vicious predators, curses sent to torment women. It had taken time for this mentality to fade but with time, she'd healed. Blondine was confident that Indra would, too. She bit the inside of her cheek and gave a solemn shake of her head. They don't, 'least as far as I know.

Some of 'em just weren't raised right. There's some good ones out there, I'd like to think. Xan seemed to be a decent man, as far as letting Blondine stay after trespassing over his borders. That had to count for something, right? Some of 'em are sick in the head. I wish I knew why.

indra couldn't share blondine's world-view: not now when everything she had come to witness of the world had been upended. for so long she had wanted to believe that life served a purpose -- that the good you made of the world would come back to hold you. she no longer believed this. not even if blondine was here to nuture or protect her. what good was being good, if bad men could still hurt you?

as if some idol had come crashing down, indra was left helmless -- a ship without captain and a hull without soul. she looked at the ground and hate stung her eyes with tears. it didn't matter what blondine said -- she didn't believe it. everyone sucked. everyone. her temples were pounding with overwhelming emotion and a sickness churned her belly. what made ithrik not raised right? what made reek incapable of fidelity, or men incapable of love? what quantified as their sickness?

she nearly threw up in the snow - a wave of hot bile pressed her throat. "because they suck." she repeated quietly.

Blondine pursed her lips and decided that now was more or less the worst time to spark up a debate. Indra was injured and clearly ill, and getting her back to full health physically was a bigger priority than working through her mental scars. Maybe we've done enough walking? I think you should rest for a few hours, let your body catch up to the rest of you.

A nice, long nap and a decent meal would give Indra enough energy to take on whatever life had to throw at her next. Blondine wondered if the flame might protest; if she did, she was in for a nice helping of tough love.

As they walked Indra could not help but feel Blondine's suggestion was pointed: she sighed but acquiesced with a shaky nod of her head. It would do her favors to sleep - perhaps slumber would free her from her foul mood and lift her dismal spirits. 

She gave Blondine a small smile as she turned back. "You're right." The sienna girl admitted, hobbling back to the den with slow and defeated steps. In more ways than one Indra was lucky to have found Blondine: she was the antithesis to Laurel, yet all the same offered a stability in her presence that Inda had long since been deprived of.