Stone Circle Doting the "i"

@Nikai, Pema has permission to be in Easthollow and is not tresspassing.

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It had been a few days since she had come to Easthollow and she was expecting the search party to be back any day now with news of Burr. She wanted to be optemistic and believe that Burr would be back safe with them, which is what she hoped would happen. But seeing how large that pool of blood was and how long the trail had went on for, she wasn't going to ignore the chance of him being severly injured when he arrived. 

She wanted to have all the injured Easthollowers taken care of before she would need to tend to Burr. One last day of seeking out the injured before she threw herself towards the aiding of Burr.

Nikai's back left leg was still healing poorly. He'd not taken much care of it since Keoni died, and in recent days Nikai had started to feel worse. The wound felt like it was burning and he had been feeling dizzy and hot, as if he was getting sick.

Today Nikai was spending time at the stone circle where Keoni was buried, as he did most days. He was sat there, flopped to the right and leaning against one of the tall stones to relieve pressure off his left leg.

She found herself coming to a group of tall stones in the shape of a circle. Within in all the rocks was a layer of snow and a section that looked distirbed. She stayed clear from it, not what what it was and found a male who look to be a similar age to her. 

As he leaned against the stone, his injured leg didn't pop out to Pema right away and instead of mentioning it she went to introduce herself. "Hello there. My name is Pema. I'm visiting from Morningside." she commented, wanting to clear the air right away incase he might she was an intruder.

Nikai glanced around as someone approached. He looked like he was about to get to his feet, but changed his mind when the pain struck and leaned back against the stone again. This wolf didn't seem hostile, regardless, and the familiar scent of Valette was near enough that he didn't think her an intruder. She confirmed this vocally, and he nodded with a kind smile on his face.

"Hiya! Nice to meet you. I'm Nikai. What brings you to Easthollow?" Nikai knew Morningside was a friendly pack because of Grayday; thinking about him made Nikai think back to him, though he didn't remember much. Valette said that he used to be close to Grayday when he was very little but Nikai didn't remember anything of it. He just knew that there was friendship between the two packs now.

She gave him a smile and responded to his greeting by saying, "Nice to meet you as well." before he asked his question. He more then likely wouldn't have known how much of a loaded question that was going to be. So she would save him the gory details, "I was bringing Burr back after I healed up his leg, but we got seperated and now some of the other members are looking for him." she said, trying to put on a small smile to mask how hard it was to say that with the truth right underneath it.

Nikai had heard about Burr; he'd hoped to have seen the boy back by now, remembering him as an energetic and cheerful lad, but unfortunately there seemed to be no good news so far. He frowned with worry as he thought of the kid out there all by himself, and feared the worst considering how long he was missing.

"I hope he's found soon," Nikai shared with a sympathetic frown. He didn't immediately think of how she was a medic and might be able to help his leg, too, and at first allowed silence to fall between them. Then suddenly he realised this and asked, "Could you have a look at my leg? It got hurt a while ago during a hunt, but it hasn't healed as well as my other wounds. I still can't put pressure on it and the wound seems to grow bigger rather than smaller, if anything..." Nikai leaned to the side to show the bad leg he was relieving pressure off. He leaned to his right side so that the left back leg was showing; around the height of the knee there was a wound that looked a lot fresher than it was, and if one would look closely there were small festering wounds spread around the main wound between the hairs. "I've been getting along decently on three legs, but I've been feeling unwell the past few days and just... do you think it'll ever get better..?" He'd asked Keoni that same question and it had only ever elicited a worried frown but, of course, never a real answer.

Pema shared Nikai's hopes if wanted Burr to be found, but thinking about what was infront of her and what was at hand the subject of healing was brought up. Nikai told her about his leg and showed her the swollen mass around his knee. He shifted his weight and exposed his wound, giving Pema a chance to have a closer look. "Sure" she said, before stepping forward and lowering her head to get a closer look. 

Nikai said this had happened during a hunt and so Pema assumed that this wasn't from a bite. But then again that would depend on what he had been hunting. It was very swollen and other, smaller wounds were surrounding it here and there. It looked to be something that had gotten infected and sealed up, from the looks or it and from how he made it sound it had been festing for awhile.

"That makes sense." she said agreeing with Nikai when he spoke about his wound getting bigger rather then smaller. "It appears to be infected... very infected." wanting to see how much it was effecting his health she asked, "Have you been having headaches or fevers over the past few days? Those can be some symptoms if it's gotten this far." she had a few treatment ideas in my mind, but knowing the extent at which the infection had spread would narrow it down.

She didn't need to know this to treat Nikai, but she though it was an approprate question. "So what happened during this hunt to warrent this infection and the other injuries you mention that healed properly."

Nikai grimaced as Pema went to look at his wound, hoping she'd be able to make some sense of it and why it was going bad. Keoni'd always just looked worried and put more herbs on it, but that didn't seem to work, almost like something was bad on the inside of the wound. It was nice to be able to talk to a medic who could actually feedback what she was finding.

As she asked how it'd been affecting his health, Nikai explained, "I have been feeling a little off balance and dizzy, and the past days a little hot, as if I'm getting ill..." He hadn't really connected it to the wound, but the way Pema spoke he was beginning to wonder if the two were connected.

Then as Pema asked about the origin of the wound, Nikai frowned and said: "It was my first time hunting bison. I thought it'd get out the way if I made myself big and dangerous, but, uh, bison are obviously not deer." Nikai grinned sheepishly. "It nicked me with its horn there... I had some wounds on my shoulder too, but those have healed." He had been sore all over for quite some time; and now that the soreness and wounds were gone, it was increasingly frustrating that this leg was still with open wound.

She listened to Nikia's systems, nodding along as it confirmed her suspitions which she shared with Nikia. "That dizzy feeling is more then likely caused from the infection. Most of the time infections don't get this bad to cause illness, but I should be able to get you a few things to help you." she said.

Listening to how she had gotten these injuries, Pema was surprised that her other injuries had healed so well. "Yeah they are definatly not something to mess with. I'm surprised you're doing as well as you are." she said in a light hearted manner.

Thinking of what she should give Nikia for the swelling and that dizzy feeling she thought to one of her common herbs. Poppy seeds, along with some nettle leaves if she could find some. She didn't know the area, but she wasn't going to ask her to lead her to where the herbs might be with that swollen leg. "Do you by chance know where I might find poppys and or nettle leaves?" asking if she could be pointed in the right direction. "I can go grab them and bring some back to you if you stear me in the right direction. Otherwise I can search around."

Nikai was glad that one of the Morningside healers had come over here. Especially in their lack of a healer around these parts it was good to know that there was someone about. He nodded at Pema with a smile as she went on to explain more about what had happened. It seemed to make sense, but the hardest part was that the infection wasn't on the outside, like with a normal wound, but it just seemed to make his skin swell as if something was underneath. He hoped that she had some sort of herb to help fix it.

When she asked if he knew where to find poppies or nettles he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know anything about herbs..." Not even what they were named, most of them. He smiled apologetically and hoped that she'd be able to find some herself soon, while he leaned back against one of the stones again, figuring he might be in for a bit of a wait.

It would have been easier to help the boy if he was able to lead her to the herbs she needed, but Pema wasn't disappointed. Not everyone was skilled with herbs and so she hadn't expected much from the start, just hoped. She shrugged and let him know, "That's alright. I might be a while then, but I'll be back as soon as I can." She smiled and nodded to him before stepping pack him in search of her desired herbs.

She wasn't sure how much time had passes. It didn't seem that long to her who had been looking for something. But for someone waiting on another it may have seemed longer. She came back with frosted nettle leaves and a few poppy flowers. Carful not to inject any of thier properties.

When she returned she still saw Nikai waiting there for her. "Sorry for the wait." she apologized before setting down the herbs down infront of him. "Those should help treat the infection, swelling and thus all the illness. Take alittle a day, and be warry of how much of those poppy seeds you take. You only need alittle and they will make you very sleepy."

Nikai didn't mind the way. He just sat there, accompanied by his sister and feeling at peace, as he stared out across the territory. The weather was crisp but dry and his fur kept him warm enough. Nikai glanced over his shoulder as he heard someone approach and smiled to see that Pema'd returned. He shook his head as she apologised, happy enough that she was helping as is, and his face showed a kind smile to reflect this.

He remembered that Keoni'd given him some of the herbs too, though she had mostly used herbs to put on the wound. At the time, that'd seemed like a good idea, but in time the wound hadn't gotten better and, apparently, gone inside. He nodded and smiled appreciatively. "Thank you for your help, I won't forget it." Hopefully it would mean that he would be able to run, travel and hunt again like before. Getting by on three legs was surprisingly easy these days but he didn't think he'd ever be able to be a good member of the pack without his fourth leg.

"Oh. Thanks. I hope it helps." She was happy to hear that she had been of some help and that he didn't mind the wait. It always made her feel good to help others, especially now that she was subcontiously repaying he failure to Easthollow. Though it was more of a failure to Burr and his family, but Easthollow, his and their home, would be the next best thing. 

She sat down next to the boy against the large stone and looked over at the dirt mound. She assumed it must be a barrial of some sort. Though she thought it was for prey not for a fallen comrad. "What's over there?" she asked gesturing to the mound. 

He nodded, sharing her hope, of course. When she then looked at Keoni's grave and asked what was there, he blinked in surprise. He'd forgotten a moment that she was not from Easthollow and knew nothing about their traditions, and Nikai answered: "My sister passed away not long ago... She's buried there." He smiled, though it looked more like a grimace, torn down by sadness. Keoni had been his world, and being here was painful, though he also wanted to be there for those he loved and, presently, his leg kept him grounded too.

She was taken aback when he told her that it was infact a wolf that had been burried there. She felt alittle back for not thinking of it at first, and because it had been so recent. "Oh" was the first thing that came out of her mouth as she lowered her energy and looked over to the mount with a different expression, understanding now the emotion behind it. "I'm sorry." she said softly. "What's her name?" she asked wanting to know the name of the girl she should soon show her respects to, hoping it was an appropriate question to ask and that it wasn't too soon.

Nikai smiled, though on the inside his heart was bleeding; but he didn't know what else to do but smile, finding it easier to bring forward a façade than try and show his true feelings. "Keoni," he answered and he looked at the grave, finding it hard even as he said her name to truly realise that she was gone forever.

The name sounded familiar, but Pema couldn't remember where from. What she didn't remember was prior to the trio leaving for Easthollow, Sunny had asked Burr to say hello to this girl. Something the didn't click in Pema's mind, and something that may never click for her. She had only over heard the name, never been told it directly.

She stepped away from Nikai for a moment, to bow her head above the burrial mound, and to whisper something sweet to the girl. After paying her respects she didn't see a reason to spend much more time with Nikai. She had helped him with his injuries and now she got him into thinking about his fallen sister. It was probably best to give him some alone time and so she would say goodbye. "Well I'll leave you be. I hope your infection gets better."

Pema said she would leave him to be and he nodded. "Thanks for the help," he repeated and nodded at her. Nikai glanced back at the dirt that covered his sister's body and sighed lightly as he thought again of all the things they were supposed to have done together, but would never get to do now.