Hushed Willows [m] kila ▹

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for @Reverie @Reina @Minnow @Faele @Blossom + anyone else rev wants 2 bring! med students are welcome to tag along and cameo or get in posts for a medical trade! no posting order this first round

offerings of food and good rest had restored whatever fatigue kukutux might have experienced, and now she drew little nasamiituuq along with her toward the den where she thought reverie would be resting.

courteous of their status as guests in the willowcamp, she did not approach any sleeping places, only set down a soft deerskin and called out to those healers who had wished to learn medicines from her words.

It was odd to be so far from anaa, from her brothers, but Nasamiituuq had not wept since that first night away from the spine. Each day she learned more from her grandmother, and each day she thought less of what she had left behind. There was so much to learn, she hardly thought of anything else.

And besides, anaanatsiaq kept her close; there was nothing to fear. Nasamiituuq remained shy, but a spark of friendliness lit behind her eyes as she followed her grandmother, searching for the face of the woman they'd come to help. She looked around, too, for the others who had accompanied them from Moonglow; only vaguely familiar faces to her, but a comfort nonetheless.

She was being respectful of the packs lands as this time she was a guest here. She was determined to make good memories here while she stayed and would learn as much as she could so when she heard the call for her to come learn her tail wagged and she made it over there with haste and gave her alpha a small smile as she approached.

Faele was quick to come to Kukutux. She shuffled her way in follow, until she was behind the woman and the deerskin just ahead. Her paws wriggled and her shoulders shuffled, and she could not help the way her tail shook and swayed! Inhaling quickly, there was silence first that Faele could not contain. These strangers were so new and scary-- she wanted to know all about them! In a fast, soft whisper and ears that twitched down to her head, she smiled anxiously!

"Will we be practicing today?"

Tag can be for invitation or just for ref <3

Reverie heard Kukutux's approach just beyond the den entrance even before she called. She took in a deep breath, steadying herself for what was to come; it was never easy to subject herself to healers, no matter how much she trusted them. She pressed her nose briefly to @Boone's cheek.

You could come with me, She murmured softly, almost a question; really, she would prefer it if he did, but she did not want to ask if only to avoid hearing him say no. Maybe another woman would have been embarrassed by the prospect — but by now Boone surely knew her body more intimately than any healer ever would. And his presence would mean more than just her comfort; it would mean that he too could learn from Kukutux, and perhaps next time they would not need anyone's help.

Whatever he decided, Reverie didn't keep the healers waiting for long. She drifted from her den with a gentle smile as her only greeting, eyes finding Blossom's approaching form almost immediately. Her daughter was nearly as protective and hovering as her husband these days. Reverie greeted her with a touch of her nose to Blossom's cheek, and waited for Kukutux's instruction.

Today was an exciting day for it was the red woman’s first lesson with Kukutux and her companions! It meant the start of a bright future for Reina, one where she feels she can be useful in this life. She still couldn’t say that she was grateful for all that she has been through to get her to this moment, not yet as it was still too fresh, but she was grateful to have been included in this day.

Bounding out of her den, humming a happy tune, she found the others gathered. A woof parted her cream lips in greeting, bottom wagging almost as furtively as her tail. She felt it in her bones, this was meant for her. Finally, something that she could call hers.

Yet, she couldn’t stop the trepidation creeping into her heart. It meant that she would leave the pack soon and her thoughts went to Tuft in the end. She hadn’t had a chance to speak with him; his silence towards her was deafening. But, she couldn’t let that deter her, this was too important.

Reina sat with the women, awaiting the start of her future.

@Reverie @Reina @Minnow @Faele @Blossom no posting order & slight pp! <3 sorry i was so long in responding!

"when you have a mother who seeks your medicine," kukutux began, "it is good that you are kind and cautious." she directed reverie to sit beside her, reclining somewhat.

"ask these questions: how long in the day are you sick? what time of the day? if you bring up your meals, how often? when you make water, what is its color? what is its smell? foulness in water says there is a bad spirit in the body. long sicknesses mean the body is not strong enough to give strength to both the mother and the children."

"the breath also, has great importance. breath that smells of meat or medicine, this is good. but badness in the breath can also say there is a blackness in the body. look for bleeding. a woman who carries children but does not have so many weeks is in greater danger if she bleeds a long time. it is similar to when a mother gives birth but the blood does not stop."

kukutux indicated a pale white root on the skin before her. "rattlesnake root. if a woman bleeds and is weak, she must drink a tea of this two times a day for the rest of her carrying-time. she must rest and do very little work. if the bleeding does not stop," she gestured to mistletoe berries, dried to blood-red, "you may want to stop her from keeping the pregnancy. if a woman is too weak when the time comes, she and the children may both die. it is better that she lives to be anaa again. but this must always be her choice."

"if she is not bleeding and if she has health, then it is good to offer mint, to please the stomach. if there is no blood but a bad smell to the breath, she should take a tea once a day of mint and chamomile. mothers have — they are cautious. listen to them, even if you think you know what is best. it is very serious that she trusts you."

she placed her paw gently toward reverie's belly; "you want to feel that the children move. see how fast they move, how strong. see how many times. see if you are able to find a counting-word. a woman who is new mother may have many, or she may have only one. often a mother has many first, and less later, but this is not the only way."

she paused now, lifting her head for questions.

Reina was enthralled in Kukutux’s lesson, taking in all that she could. Her mind reeled with questions, but she chose one as she realized she had no idea how to answer it for herself. It was something she never encountered before.

“I have a question—what if you do not feel movement? What if the mother tells you that she has not felt movement. What would one do for this?” She could remember the feeling of her siblings . It was strange to watch her mother’s belly change shape as the babes turned themselves, or when they stretched. It had haunted her as a child. She chuckled softly as she recounted the dreams—or, rather, nightmares—of thinking she had been pregnant, but odd creatures would burst from her belly. A child’s mind, she knew, ran wild, and was beyond imaginative, curious.

"offer red cohosh, to make the belly move. see if that brings the child to kicking. watch for three days. if it does not, then birth must be induced. the one you call nightshade, ah, a very small amount."

a sigh. "the little one will not live. tell this to the mother first. she will understand, even if she too does not wish to live. such things are hard, reina. it is also hard for the one who heals."