Moonspear I try it to turn it down but I can't quite drown it out

making an assumption or two, lemme know if any aren’t okay!

Only if you want ofc <3 otherwise definitely all welcome

@Tullik led her to the place fairly quickly and Bridget thanked her sincerely, smiling and letting her know that she would be fine from here.  If Sialuk knew that she was here then surely no one would bother her while she worked.  She would call if she needed anything more than what she brought.

Bridget stepped into the space where @Quennell rested carefully, quiet to not disturb him or the other who seemed to be injured too.  Had they both been hurt on the mountain?  She hadn’t heard of a bear nearby, but… that didn’t matter now.  She needed to focus in.

She inspected the both of them for a moment from afar, then stepped closer, reaching out to gently press her nose to the young wolf’s temple and forehead to gauge an idea of his temperature.  He was feverish… she could tell that nearly immediately.  This wasn’t going to be terribly easy but she was always optimistic until proven otherwise.  She could absolutely help.

Nausea became a near constant companion as her pregnancy progressed. Meerkat wished she could be more involved with building the village, not that it needed her help! The mountainside teemed with wolves. Despite her queasiness, she felt so happy for Sialuk’s success, which was of course all of Moonspear’s success too.

She felt just as poorly today, though Meerkat couldn’t stand remaining in the ulaq another minute. She strode out into the pale February morning, headed for the sick den. She wanted to see how Quennell was doing, Chakliux too.

When she arrived at the hollowed tree overlooking the glen, Meerkat froze at the sight of a strange woman silhouetted in the den’s mouth. Her whisky eyes were drawn by the stump where there had once been a hind leg. She could hear Sialuk’s voice in the back of her head saying, “a woman named Bridget who walks with three legs and makes me laugh…”

Hello… Bridget? she said quietly.

Bridget was marking off, mentally, the steps she would take to fight this infection.

Ensure the wounds are clean. Draw out any sickness, then rebind them. Give him water with a bit of elder to fight the fever from both sides. Willow too, but only if the wounds are not bleeding heavily.

Bridget had brought those and more, but she’d need water first. She turned and nearly ran straight into Meerkat, just as the other woman greeted her.

Oh, shit…. Sorry! Bridget laughed lightly, then took a step back, away from both Meerkat and the den. She still didn’t want to wake anyone inside unnecessarily. But hey! Guilty as charged, assuming Sialuk told you who I was. Guess it’s hard to mistake a new face. She knew it was more likely the leg, but enjoyed the light joke instead. You’re a part of the “village” here?

Bridget was extremely impressed, and a little amazed, at how quickly Sialuk had formed a working claim up here. She’d expected to come and find maybe three or four wolves… not the number (and entire families) that they actually had. The lady didn’t go halfway, obviously. She got shit done.

Bridget bustled backward out of the den, very nearly bumping into Meerkat. She stepped aside as the woman turned, quite gracefully despite her missing limb. Apologies rushed to her lips, along with a formal introduction sprinkled with good-natured quips. Meerkat could could see why Sialuk favored her; she liked her immediately too.

Yes, I’m Meerkat. It’s nice to meet you, Bridget, she answered, once again niggled by the woman’s name. Where had she heard it before, prior to Sialuk’s own mention? Thank you for helping with our wounded. Are either one of them awake? she added.

She tried to glance over Bridget’s shoulder but the interior of the tree was so dim, she couldn’t make out anything. It seemed rather quiet in there, so Meerkat assumed both men were fast asleep. She gnawed at her lip, thinking of the days spent in silent vigil at the roja den, almost wishing it was Swordfish inside this sick den alongside Quennell.

Something about her eyes struck Bridget as familiar, suddenly, but like Meerkat she couldn’t place it and had to let it go. She knew it would bother her for a while, even after this conversation ended, but there wasn’t much to do about it.

They both seem like they are down for the count, from what I could tell. The wolf who fetched me said this one’d been caught by a bear, but she didn’t mention the other. Do you know anything about what happened? She hadn’t wanted to move in and check until she’d taken care of this first, but if Meerkat could answer, it might save her some time and guesswork.

She hoped he was just more fully recovered and only the one needed the extra attention - more for their sake than her own. She wouldn’t mind taking care of them both when she was making the trip this way regardless.

Just as she suspected, they were both resting, which boded well for recovery. Meerkat had just pushed away all thought of her vigils at the roja den when Bridget abruptly brought up the bear. Her insides went all twisty for a second, resisting this stark reminder of her family’s last days in Sapphique. Anyway, Bridget wasn’t asking about Quennell; she wanted to know what had brought about Chakliux’s injuries.

You know, I’m not sure, though I assume it was the cat that’s been stalking the Moon villages, Meerkat replied with a thoughtful frown, her lips twisting even further as a particularly strong lick of nausea rolled through her.

Breathing through it, Meerkat sank to her haunches. Perhaps she would wait for the invalids to wake. In the meantime, she didn’t mind chatting with Bridget, supposing the woman had the time to spare. There were probably other things she could be doing, like fetching medicines.

You’re from Brecheliant, right? she asked, still wondering how she might know of this woman previously.

She was certain they’d never met—she would absolutely remember someone like Bridget, especially with the missing leg—but maybe they shared a mutual acquaintance? Meerkat had many so many wolves over the years, particularly during that long stretch of search and rescue that had ended up burning her out, not long after Towhee’s snakebite…

Wait a second, do you happen to know my mother, Towhee? she asked on a hitched breath.

ref tag ;)

Bridget winced when Meerkat mentioned a cat… that resolved that. She’d be tending @Chakliux with the same treatment as soon as she kicked off with Quennell. Cats could leave nasty infection as well, and if any of that lingered she’d sniff it (and snuff it) out.

One of Maia’s kids ran across it, but thankfully came back with a few scratches. Shaken, obviously, but it so easily could have been worse. Bridget softened a little, saying that. She’d treated Chickadee a few times before coming here, but it seemed like she’d recover (physically) just fine. Mentally it would be a waiting game.

I am…. She trailed off as Meerkat seemed to think, and then her eyes immediately lit up with recognition as she explained who her mother was.

Holy shit, I was driving myself crazy trying to sort that out. You’ve got your mom’s eyes. She grinned, thrilled to both hear that name again and to know that the dots had been connected. Towhee was still a stone cold fox, obviously, but Bridget had assumed their roads diverged for the last time a while back. I wondered where they disappeared to. How’s she doing these days? She didn’t expect or need the details, but a quick status update for an old friend would be pretty cool.

Her mouth pooled with saliva when Bridget mentioned the cat going after one of Brecheliant’s pups. Why did the apex predators always go after the babies? Of course, she knew why—they were the most vulnerable, thus the easiest prey—but it still rankled and scared her in equal measure. She just hoped the little girl would be okay.

Meerkat couldn’t recall anyone ever telling her she had her mother’s eyes. Do I? The observation made her lips curl into a smile. She thought back on their rendezvous in the fall, with all their kids. Her own life had been in shambles at the time, though everything had seemed pretty good for Towhee.

I remember her mentioning your name when she turned up, Meerkat thought aloud, not bothering to elaborate what exactly she meant. Didn’t you save her life? Wow, it really is an honor to meet you! Anyway, she’s doing well these days, as far as I know. She lives with Mereo in Redsand Canyon along with her mate and two youngest kids.

Meerkat is just full of misinformation today, lol.

It looked like Meerkat took her comparison for the compliment that it was, thankfully. She was pretty in a softer way, but now that she knew about it, Bridget didn’t find it hard to see the resemblance.

She laughed a bit louder when Meerkat said it was an honor to meet her. It wasn’t an unusual reaction when she did manage to help a family member, but it did tickle her when she thought back to the actual saving. From what I remember, it was a pain in the ass too. She’s a hard woman to give orders to, but the snakebite probably did more to force her to rest than I did. Her expression sparkled fondly with the memory of it, though at the time it had been touch and go. I’m just glad I could help, honestly. Good for her.

She was glad to hear that she was thriving and seemed to have a family of her own. Bridget remembered something about her looking for a kid, at the time, but it seemed like that had worked itself out. Here was a daughter who seemed fine and a few more there too.

It’s absolutely a pleasure to meet you then, Meerkat. Not that it wasn’t before, of course. She would need to get to fetching water before too long, but wasn’t in enough of a hurry to rush off. She had time to see if Meerkat had needed anything else before she bowed gracefully out of the scene.

Mom’s a tough old bird, as the saying goes, Meerkat could only agree. And she’ll probably outlast us all, honestly.

Bridget oozed charisma, Meerkat thought, and did not expect merely thinking the word “ooze” might trigger her biliousness. She had to actually clamp her mouth shut, suddenly afraid she might vomit all over Bridget’s toes. Luckily, she was able to push through this bout like all the others.

In case the medic noticed her sudden greenness, Meerkat said, Sorry, I’ve bene dealing with a lot of nausea lately. At first, I thought I only ate something bad, especially when vomiting brought instant relief. But it came back. I’ve thrown up a couple times and it always helps, though only for a little while. Then it’s back. And it’s like I swallowed scalding hot water; it sort of burns deep down in my throat…

She agreed with the sentiment and huffed in appreciation for it, though her look definitely shifted to concern when she noticed Meerkat’s attention wander, and then go inward, in a distinctly sick fashion. She hadn’t noticed the previous signs.

Hmm. The symptoms she described weren’t awful, though they could point to a few things. Any idea what triggered this? Sometimes it’s a certain food, or maybe stress. She watched Meerkat a moment, attentive and suddenly purely professional.

She actually had something that might help some, and she doubted that the two sleeping patients would need it quicker than she could go back home and get more. She tended to bring it just in case, but it mostly helped nausea and illness. Bridget stepped over to where her supplies were, then plucked out the root she was looking for and sat down in front of Meerkat, placing it in front of her.

Cause aside, this might help. It’s ginger. The taste is strong, and you won’t need all of it at once, but it might help settle things. I have more back home I can fetch, if I need to. She slid it towards Meerkat. Chamomile might help too, steeped in water, if your throat acts up. It can soothe the burning. That would take a little more preparation, but she wouldn’t mind showing.

I don’t remember eating anything that tasted off, Meerkat said, but before we came to Moonspear, my family and I, we…

“Stressful” didn’t even begin to cover it. And she found she didn’t want to get into it, even to get a diagnosis. Anyway, wasn’t it more likely due to the pregnancy, despite her insistence otherwise when speaking to Alaric about it?

Before she could ask, Bridget procured a root of some kind. She explained that it was ginger. Meerkat bent to sniff and recoiled, her nose suddenly itchy with a scent she could only call zesty. The healer also mentioned chamomile. Wasn’t that a flower?

And these are safe for the little ones? she asked just to be sure.

As if on cue, she felt a suddenly flurry of movement just below her rib cage. She gasped audibly, then winced when all the internal movement kicked up the worst case of heartburn she’d felt yet.

If she was pregnant that could be another cause, though Bridget read enough in her expression to think stress could be a factor. She didn’t pry, just smiled and nodded.

Both are fine. In fact, I can show you how to prepare the chamomile. It may help more than just your throat; it brings relaxation, so it might help you and them to sleep easier. Bridget wasn’t exactly a midwife but both were frequent aids for pregnant wolves dealing with pain or morning sickness. It was hard to find medicines safer. And I can leave some with you, just in case.

Sounds nice, Meerkat said when Bridget outlined the benefits of a chamomile brew. And what about this? she added, pointing a pale toe at the ginger root.

She bent to sniff at it again. The smell was truly indescribable. Was she meant to eat it? Or perhaps simply chew it? Bridget had mentioned a strong taste. Now Meerkat waited to see exactly how she was meant to ingest it, straightening out with a smile despite the pain as the unborn pups in her womb stirred so noticeably.

It took her a moment to realize what Meerkat was asking. That too. It won’t hurt them. She tilted her head, then realized an instant later, likely just as Meerkat would be opening her mouth to clarify.

Sorry! I forget where I’m at sometimes in the script. With the ginger you just chew off a bit and eat it, however much you want and however best you can manage it. I’d keep it small to start, but even a little bit should help things settle down. It might not cure her stomach trouble but it would at least offer a little relief. From her experience, the only cure was to take care of the source - and in this case, suffer through until due day.

Bridget misunderstood what she was asking, though she caught it quite quickly and told Meerkat what she wanted to know. She nodded her understanding, eyes warm. Meerkat had only admiration and gratitude for the healer’s ability to keep all this important information more or less indexed in her head.

Since there was no time like the present, she bent a third time and nosed the ginger root into a better position before closing her teeth around it. A wolf’s jaws weren’t quite designed for this sort of thing, though she maneuvered it backward with her tongue and crushed off a mouthful with her molars. The majority of the tuber dropped back to the ground as the small bite exploded with flavor in Meerkat’s mouth.

Not entirely sure what she thought of it, she chewed the tough stem and swallowed. Her sinuses felt some kind of way about the taste lingering in her mouth. Meerkat crinkled her nose, then swiped a paw across it, certain it was running. Her foot came away dry but the tingling continued until it began to ebb.

That’s one of the weirdest things I’ve ever put in my mouth, Meerkat quipped. I’m ready to learn how to steep chamomile whenever you are, she added.