Cricket Creek Bog west coast blues

@Daivya

he prayed that the rest of his scars would heal in due time, but fate had something different in mind. the scars would burn with more ferocity with each passing day. and every day he’d do his best to brush it off. “its ok. i’ll be fine.” that’s what he would say to his concerned companions. but the pain became unbearable at some point. if he didn’t get help soon, he feared something terrible would happen.

issun stumbled across the pools of water. his vision was blurred from the agony. i can’t give up, he thought, they’re counting on me. they were close to their destination, he couldn’t let these wounds get the best of him.

When Wildfire spotted the figure in the distance, her heart skipped a beat. In the very next moment, she felt ridiculous. Peregrine was long dead. Besides, this wolf appeared to be missing a tail. Her chestnut eyes tracked him as he moved south, toward the bog bordering the copse. He disappeared into the distance and Wildfire bit her lower lip. She should resist the foolish impulse to trail her father's ghost, yet something compelled her forward nonetheless.

She tracked the stranger's scent and soon spotted him again, closing the distance and announcing herself with a sharp bark. Wildfire's brow furrowed when she noticed he was stumbling. Was he hurt? She slowed her step, wishing to help—not that she knew much about medicine—but also wary of cornering an injured stranger.

The scent of wolves drew the forest sylph from her thoughts, and eyes of violet blinked to search the horizon - the smells, they whispered to her, the voices of the gods; so she followed, plush tail tucked low with her snout to the ground (various herbs scrounged from the snow that she had intended to give to Grayson lay tucked in her jaws). Soon enough she came upon them, one as orange as flames that flickered and burned -- the other a stormy grey, like smoke to match the fire, but ah! He was wounded. Perhaps it had been fate that led her to him, perhaps it was only chance.

She left distance between them at first, bowing her head and slinking lower to the ground; if they were to tun their attention to her, her rosy cheeks would flush and heat up, unsure how to meet their eyes. It was in a moment of following silence that at last she spoke up, gaze dancing between the two figures before settling on the male. "Forgive me for intruding sir, and... ma'am... I am a healer. You are wounded. May I?"

his head swiveled his head from one wolf to the other as they closed in on him. it was a cause for concern; two strangers surrounding him. if they meant harm, he would surely perish but they looked more concerned then hostile. when the darker one mentioned she was a healer it took some of the edge off him.

he looked at the herbs and back at her. they could’ve been for some else, he would feel bad if that were the case. but then again, he was kinda desperate. there was no healer in their party. “if you’d like,” he muttered, “i’d appreciate it.”

Before either one of them could say a word, a third wolf materialized. Wildfire quickly moved so the three of them formed a sort of rough triangle, then peered between the other two. The new arrival, a very pretty she-wolf, did not appear to know the (possibly) injured male. But she offered to aid him and he accepted. Wildfire observed this without deigning to interrupt.

"Let me know if I can do anything to help," she said during a beat of silence, the words meant for either one of them. "I'm Wildfire, by the way," she thought to introduce, "Wildfire Redhawk."

She drew closer, placing the bundle of herbs onto the blanket of snow before turning her attention back to the red girl, who gave her name - Daivya was uncertain how to present herself in the presence of these wolves: so many different beliefs, mannersisms! So she simply sucked a silent breath through her teeth and nodded her head. "Daivya Meladi," she replied in turn, fruity voice shivering on the breeze as a soft smile graced her features.

Her confidence would grow once she got working.

The medic's focus returned to the task at hand, pale eyes squinting as she examined the severity of the situation - one thing was certain, and she carefully nudged a brown nose through her gathered medicinal plants. Chervile Root. There had been very little Chervile around with winter in full swing, but she'd managed to scrounge some from the warmer areas of the Hinterlands, and it was decent enough at treating infections. The method of extracting the juice, however... "How... how well are you able to move?" She enquired politely, feeling her stomach twist at having to question the wolf - he must be in a lot of pain, and she wanted to move as quickly as possible. If he could bend over enough, he could chew the root himself and spit the juice onto his wound, if not... she'd just have to do it herself, but she was fully aware that spitting on a man was not the most respectful of actions - at least it was for a good purpose, she consoled herself.

redhawk, he’s heard that name before. back when he first came here, he was confronted by one of them. something, of the redhawks, that’s what she said. the name slipped his mind. “you live at the plateau?” he asked. he wondered if they would be a problem. he didn’t want to quarrel with the neighbors that was for sure.

he looked down at the roof placed before him. an awful feeling rose in his throat. after his recovery from the cougar incident he never wanted to see another herb in his life. “barely,” he weakly replied. at this point he was on the ground. his energy was slowly draining.

The she-wolf gave a name in exchange, though their injured counterpart didn't. Wildfire couldn't blame him. He said he could barely move. She wondered at the nature of his injuries. Had someone done this to him? Had he been in a hunting accident? She didn't ask. It wasn't important at the moment and, anyway, it wasn't actually her business.

But he did have the energy to ask a question. Wildfire flashed him a quick smile. "Not anymore. I'm starting a pack in the copse there." She motioned to it, then finally stepped a little closer to both Daivya and her would-be patient. "I wish I could say I had a—" She'd been thinking of Raven, of course, who was an hour's swift gallop from here. But she did have a healer closer at hand, didn't she?

Before Wildfire considered calling for @Corinna, she looked to Daivya. "I have a healer I can call if you'd like some backup. I could help move him but that's all I'm really good for."

While she worked, soft ears shifted, idly listening to the conversation between Wildfire and the wounded man - they spoke of things she didn't know, of a pack and a plateau. Perhaps she ought to learn more about the land in which she lived, but scouting was a man's job, and she was permitted only to complete tasks suitable for women. Such as treating wounds, which she found herself concentrating in, aiming to carry out the job with precision.

She gave a brief nod to the darker wolf as he mentioned his lack of ability to move, and her brows furrowed, picking up the root in her jaws before beginning to chew it, hoping to release the juices into her mouth. The sylph halted the task, however, when the fiery one made mention of another healer. "Oh!" Daivya considered it for a moment before gently nodding again. "I think I have what I need, but perhaps I am forgetting something. If you think it would be worth calling them, please do." With that said, she continued chewing the root, making it into a poultice before turning and awkwardly apologising in advance to Issun - then she removed the mixture from her maw and placed it on the wound, hoping her memory had not failed her.

so the woman had plans on creating a pack here too? that could be problematic for his goal, depending on how close they are to each other. on top of that she was affiliated with the redhawks. best stay on this lady’s good side then.

he watched with baited breath as the healer went to work. he wasn’t looking forward to the sting the root would cause, but it was necessary. he clenched his eyes shut when she applied it onto his snout. the contact caused pain to pulsate through his face.

It certainly couldn't hurt to call for more help, plus it would give Wildfire an opportunity to see her newest recruit's skills in action. Nodding to Daivya, she pointed her smudged snout skyward and called for @Corinna if she was available.

While Daivya worked on the male's wounds, Wildfire stood awkwardly for a moment before deciding to distract him with an attempt at conversation. He probably wasn't in the mood for it but maybe it would take the focus off his pain. "Do you live near here?" Her golden gaze darted to Daiyva to include her in the question.

As she applied the poultice, she almost cringed herself - she was dealing the man more pain, entirely the opposite of what she'd wanted, but at least treating an infection would provide him with good health (hopefully) later. If the wound healed, the pain would dissolve. "There," she murmered, studying her work. A job done badly was barely a job done at all, in her mind - it had to be worth it. "That should help, sir, but you may have to visit another healer in future days to have it treated again, if the infection does not start to clear."

The question seemed to be posed at both herself and the grey wolf, so the sylph hummed quietly in thought; in which direction was the creek in comparison to where they were now? Ah! "...a little south-west from here, yes." Leaving enough room for Issun to reply also - oh how shameful it would be, to block a man from conversing. Daivya would be so embarrased.

he sighed in relief when it was over. there was no healer in their party, so issun would just have to hope the wounds would heal. either that or go looking for a healer. it would be more beneficial for the group.

“thank you. i am in your debt.” he realized he had forgotten to introduce himself during the frenzy of the situation. “name’s issun.” he turned to look at wildfire. “me and my group are looking for a specific place to settle. it’s somewhere around here.”

It seemed Daivya had done all she could. Wildfire frowned thoughtfully, disappointed by Corinna's failure to appear. She automatically gave her the benefit of the doubt though; surely she'd just been out of earshot and hadn't simply ignored Wildfire's summons.

"It's nice to meet you, despite the circumstances," she replied to Issun's introduction. "Sounds like we may end up as neighbors?" Her eyes shifted to Daivya. "Are you with a pack or are you unofficial too?"

They chatted a little longer, though Wildfire eventually decided to leave them to it. "It was nice meeting you both. Take care," she said, giving Issun a lingering glance before departing back toward the copse.

Jan. 24: This has sat a while, so I edited in a conclusion to archive it! :)