Stone Circle The wonderful thing about tiggers

After Keoni's death, Steph had been mostly held up in the den. Since she was still healing, it was probably best, and it kept Valette from worrying about her more. But, as the days drew on, Steph got more and more restless. She had started walking around last week, and each day got a little better. That spurred her on to keep going.

Today, she was looking for @Nikai. She hadn't seen him in a while, and wondered how he was doing with his own injuries. No one had told her that he was worse, so she assumed that meant he was on the mend, too. But, she wanted to see with her own eyes. She walked to his den, lowering her head to peer into the dark hole. She chuffed and then waited to see if he was in there.

Nikai hadn't really seen many others ever since Keoni died. Right after he had got injured he had spent a lot of time with his relatives but he was able to get by on three legs now. Keoni'd tried to look after his bad leg but it seemed only to get worse. Now that she had passed away he had not paid any attention to it, rife with grief and unable to think of many other things than his dead sister and all the things that they were supposed to do together.

When Steph came into view just as he was sitting by the circle of stones talking to Keoni — or to himself, rather, a thing he was aware of but still it was something he needed — Nikai smiled softly at her. "Hey Steph," he said and he forced himself into a standing position. His left back leg he held close to his stomach and he stretched his back while his muscles complained about getting up. "How's your injuries doing? Thanks for avenging me on that bison." Nikai winked at Steph, knowing that it wasn't anything of the sort that'd caused her to get hurt, but considering they were both not fully well, he figured he may as well make the best of the situation.

Her tail wagged more when he greeted her, and she closed the distance to place some licks upon his maw. She looked confused for a moment at his praise, and then grinned, understanding. Oh! Yeah! That's what I was doing, she said with a laugh. 

They seemed to be healing, she told him, regarding her injuries. How are yours? Leg still hurting? she asked. It was obvious he couldn't put weight on it, otherwise he would be. She hated that he was that hurt, and that she had no idea how to help him.

Steph caught on after a moment of confusion to his implied joke. He nosed the top of her head in greeting when the distance between them was fully closed. It was good to hear that Steph's wounds seemed to be healing well; better than he was doing, at least. Nikai frowned when Steph asked how his were doing. It was a subject he'd rather have avoided, because he hated being the bringer of bad news, but it was clear from the way he was holding it and the way the wound on his leg looked that it wasn't doing much better than when he'd got injured. The only upside was that he was able to move around again, albeit on three legs.

"Something seems to be wrong with it, it's as if the wound isn't healing. It still hurts a lot, though the rest of me seems to be doing better, so I get by alright. Keoni..." He trailed off briefly, a few seconds of pause between his words. "She uhm, she didn't seem to know what to do with it either. Kept treating it with herbs." But to no avail, it seemed, almost as if something was wrong on the inside of the wound rather than the surface where the herbs wouldn't get.

She frowned when he admitted that the wound didn't seem to be healing. He mentioned Keoni, and Steph's face saddened. I miss her, she said softly. She had been an inspiring medic, and it seemed cruel of fate to take her when she was needed the most. 

Steph was at a loss as to what to do to help Nikai. Maybe there's a healer in the pack over the mountain, she said, referring to the Bearclaw Valley pack. Maybe they could help him heal. Of course, Steph wasn't really supposed to know about that pack, since she had never, technically, been outside the territory. At least not to anyone's knowledge.

Nikai nodded at Steph and sighed. "Me too.." Though it was needless to say, somehow saying it always felt good. As if Keoni might hear him, wherever she was, and smile a little at how he missed having her near.

Steph suggested there might be a healer in the nearby pack. Though Nikai'd heard of it he had not yet gone over to inspect it or check things out, but maybe... "Maybe," he wondered. "We could ask mom if she wants to check it out." He never really referred to Valette was mom, mother or anything but somehow it felt more appropriate in the presence of his siblings, always. "Or she could send someone." He didn't really want to be more of a bother, but Nikai was beginning to worry a great deal about the use of his leg since it still hurt so much.

She had assumed he missed Keoni, too. After all, he had been closer to her than Steph and her litter siblings. Steph carefully lowered herself to the ground in front of Nikai and settled into a comfortable position. 

She nodded to his thinking. I wonder if she hasn't already thought of that, she mused aloud. Valette was usually one step ahead of the others, which made her a great leader. She could anticipate the needs of the pack and have a plan in place to meet those needs. Still, neither one of them had seen a medic, yet. But, maybe their new neighbors didn't have one, either. Maybe yours will just take a little longer to heal, she hoped. She could not fathom Nikai leaving as Keoni had, and she refused to humor the thought at all.

At Steph's comment, Nikai nodded with a "mm-mm." Valette seemed to always think of everything, so he wouldn't be surprised if she had already thought of this. "Yeah, she always thinks of everything," said Nikai. Valette always made being an adult look so effortless, but Nikai's own experience was that it was confusing and difficult often times not to lose oneself in the midst of caring for everyone else.

"That's probably it," said Nikai after Steph suggested he'd just need a little bit more time to heal. "I'm practising walking around on three legs, at least. I mean, just in case." He smiled reassuringly, though Nikai wasn't really as confident as he tried to let on in his healing abilities. So far it wasn't going too well and he was slowly beginning to lose hope that it'd ever be well again.

"Do you want to play a game? A not-walking-around-game like..." He considered a moment before deciding: "I spy? I'll say like... I spy.. something furry, or round, or long. Then you have to look around and tell me what you think it is." Nikai waited to see if Steph was up for this game or if she had better ideas of her own.

Steph was a little naive when it came to understanding just how bad Nikai's leg injury might be. She didn't know that there was a chance he might never be able to walk on four legs again. That meant he probably wouldn't be able to hunt, fighting would be extremely tough, though not impossible, and others might not take him as seriously. All the teenager thought was the day her older brother would return to normal. Well, I'm sure it will heal and you'll be back to normal in no time!

Her eyes lit up when he mentioned a game, and her head bobbed up and down quickly. Yeah! You go first! she exclaimed. This way, he could teach her how to play and she could follow his lead. It wasn't a game she had ever played, but Steph liked to learn new things.

Nikai smiled at Steph's enthusiasm, hoping that her words would prove to be true. She reacted enthusiastically on his game, too, and his tail wagged softly as she excitedly told him to go first. "I spy... Something fluffy!" Nikai looked 'round at Steph, then at the white clouds that dotted the clear skies and then to the soft snow that blanketed the world. There were a lot of fluffy things around -- maybe even more than just what he was seeing even -- and he was curious which Steph'd pick to guess first.

Nikai gave her the clue "Fluffy", and Steph set to looking around for fluffy things. Her own eyes were kept level, though, as she didn't think to look upwards. Snow blanketed the ground, but Steph didn't use the word "fluffy" first for that, so she quickly moved on. 

Her eyes went back to Nikai, and she grinned. You're fluffy! she announced gleefully. Her tail wagged, moving the snow behind her as she waited to see if she was right.

Nikai chuckled when Steph said that he was fluffy. "I can't really see much of myself, especially the fluffiest bits," Nikai said with a laugh — "Though you are right that I am fluffy. It wasn't my thing though, so you get to guess again!" Nikai's tail waved encouragingly while he waited for Steph to point out another thing; still plenty of fluffy things around them so enough left to guess.

Nikai announced that, though he was fluffy, it wasn't himself he had spied. She giggled, and then immediately went back to work on visibly searching for other fluffy things. She hmmed as she did so, going from one object to the next as she deemed them non-fluffy. 

She started to get a little frustrated when her eyes landed on the white fluffy stuff that littered the ground. Ooh! Snow!! she exclaimed, looking back to her big brother to see if she was right.

Steph continued to look around and it took her a little while to find what he was looking for. Nikai beamed a smile when Steph guessed correctly that he had had snow in mind. "Excellent! Now it's your turn to spy something." Nikai then waited patiently 'til Steph had something in mind, ready to start guessing as he took in his surroundings and pondered the options.

Her face broke out in glee, a wide smile appearing on her face as Nikai announced that she had guessed correctly. Her tail wagged back and forth as she waited to see what the next phase of the game was. She was excited when she learned that it was her turn to pick an object and let him guess it. 

Her eyes immediately started to dart around to find something. Her expression turned into concentration as she took her time. I spy something...Tree, sky, grass, bush, pick something already! And then she spotted it. A tiny bird on a low branch. She looked back to her big brother. Brown! she announced excitedly.

It was hard not to smile when seeing Steph's face so cheerful at her correct guess. They moved on quickly, and after some looking 'round -- through which Nikai looked to the ground as to not accidentally cheat by following her gaze -- Steph had something in mind.

Brown! Nikai frowned thoughtfully as he looked around them. There were many things but not many things that were coloured brown. Ears perked forward attentively as he searched and searched. His eyes landed on a tree -- unbeknownst to him, hosting the bird that he was supposed to spot -- and he guessed: "That tree over there!"

Steph grinned as she watched her brother look around for anything brown. When he looked at the tree, she thought for sure that he had guess it. She giggled when he guessed wrong. Nope! she said playfully. Try again! she encouraged him. Her tail waved back and forth against the ground as she waited to see what he would guess next. The bird, in the meantime, chirped away.

Nikai was sure that he had guessed right judging by the way Steph looked but it seemed he had been wrong. He considered maybe it was a different tree but he doubted that was the case. Nikai frowned thoughtfully as he glanced around. Not many brown things around... Some mud by his paws, perhaps, but it seemed unlikely based on Steph's reactions at his wrong guess. Nikai looked back to the tree and it was then that he noticed the bird that he hadn't seen there before.

"Is it that bird?" he asked just as the bird departed from its branch and flapped its wings, moving off. He followed the bird, hoping he was right and regardless, that Steph knew what bird he was talking about before it was gone.

Steph heard the bird flutter, and Nikai correctly guess that it was her intended answer. Darn bird gave itself away! Still, she smiled at Nikai. Yup! They were tied now, and she waited to see if the game would continue. She was glad it was using her brain for once, as her body and brain had been very bored as her injuries healed. While her body would have to wait a little longer to use up its stored energy, her brain could at least get a little exercise now. 

Your turn, she urged him with a wag of her tail. Her own eyes looked around, too, trying to guess what he might be picking. It was impossible, of course, but maybe she could get some idea for her next pick.

Nikai smiled as he guessed right. As it was his turn again, he looked around for a moment to try and find something new. Nothing sprang to mind right away -- some things were too easy, some things too difficult -- until his eyes fell back to Steph. "Mmm" he murmured thoughtfully while he cast another glance around with a smile on his face an he said: "Alright, got something!

"I spy something... Adorable, smart and fierce." His eyes sparkled as he looked back at Steph, meaning her of course. A rare combination and one, Nikai felt, that would get her a long way in life.

Her tail couldn't seem to stop wagging during this game, and she looked at Nikai, waiting to see what he would come up with next. When Nikai left Easthollow in the future, Steph would look back on moments like these to comfort her when she missed him. And she would miss him.

She giggled at his description, and feigned looking around for what he described. I can't find anything like that! she expressed, still laughing. She knew what he meant, but she wasn't so vain as to call herself out.

i loved this thread! <3 i'm wrapping up Nikai's threads now, so feel free to fade this however you like :)

Nikai could tell by the way Steph giggled that she probably understood what he was going for. He grinned as she said that she couldn't find anything to match the description and with a wag of his tail he leaned forward to gently boop Steph on the forehead. "It's right here!" He smiled broadly and his tail continued to wag. He would definitely look back on these precious moments with Steph later in life and he'd miss her once he would depart from Easthollow.

She giggled and closed her eyes as his paw bopped her on her head. Her smile matched his, and though she didn't think it right then, when he left on his travels, she would remember this moment and look back on it fondly. Steph would spend as much of the day with Nikai as she could, and then head back to the den to rest.