Wild Berry Meadow it was a pale white horse with a crooked smile

she put as much distance between herself and the man as possible, but now her three legs burn and the rear one, bent at an angle that has the girl slightly queasy, is aflame with hurt. matted blood streaks her pelt in a few places; but it is the result of superficial wounds. it is the hurt in her chest whenever she takes a breath that has the most impact on her ability to keep going; splintered ribs shifting slightly with every inhale. 

misery and self-pity are kept at bay by the whole-hearted belief that she can fix this. she eases onto her haunches in the relative cover of small group of blackberry bushes, gaze already roving over the most obvious injuries, trying to decide what to tackle first. she has no healing knowledge whatsoever, but that doesn't stop her from zeroing in on the bent hind-hock first. gritting her teeth, she decides that since it's bent, she'll merely have to push it back in place. she'll do it quickly. 

yowl gives away her position not a second later, and with racing heart she decides that she ought to leave that alone, for now.

ooc; set after her arrival to teekon hope you don't mind me!

it was not a long journey. her steps were weary, yes, but she would pursue regardless. rest was usually not known to the ivory woman. she would always move forward. a forever choice of hers if anything. weariness was weakness, and she would fail to address such a thing. the scent of panic and pain would pressure her, however. her ears moved forward, attempting to pick up whoever was making such a statement.

this woodland was not far from her starting point. a blessing, then. perhaps not for the injured being who may wish to be left alone. Heloise would nary start as a cry was heard moments later. her body reacted instinctively, turning to the point of origin and moving quickly toward it. she spies a pale being ahead, laying within the foliage. a leg is awkward, there are signs of conflict. she stops a respectful distance away, though concern seems to be lost on her icy gaze.

"do you need assistance, miss?" she would say.

instead her attention moved to a gash on her chest, seemingly much more managable than whatever's wrong with her hock. she cleaned it dutifully, tugging at the blood that'd dried, engaging fully in the simple task until the approach of a stranger had her start, finding before her the polar opposite of the man who'd punted them both off a cliff. perhaps that's not entirely true - there is an icyness to her and while it is not the void of the man it gives her caution. 

but she could hardly say no to the woman, not when she very obviously needed assistance, and so she nodded her head, drawing herself up a little taller as she did so, to the chagrin of her ribcage. "a man pushed me off a cliff," she offers awkwardly, by way of explaination. her voice is slightly hoarse and the words sound strange coming out of her mouth - there is a disconnect between where she'd been and where she was now, still. 

not at all! thank you for joining <3

"hm" Heloise sounded indifferent to the situation outwardly, though inside her mind was burning with a sealed fury. a man did this? she did not particularly loathe men, though quite a few of them were daresay the bane of existence. the world itself could do without about thirty percent of them. she had also hoped not to find such an evil deed so soon to her entrance. apparently, the fates had other plans for her. if she had ever found this man, she knew she would gift him her fangs.

"where is this man now?" she would ask, though she had an inkling the girl did not know. Heloise wanted to know if he was near or had fled. perhaps he even died - gods will it - from the assault. though she did not stop there. her head would tilt, viewing the injuries and the misshapen leg. the gash, in particular, was worrisome. it looked deep from her vantage, though she was still a bit far away. it could be an assumption. 

the ivory woman was unused to these wilds and did not know if any plant she knew grew here natively. "where are you injured aside from your chest and leg?" it was always important to keep the patient talking. she knew the leg and the gash but the other was in a position that she did not clearly see. let's start with that; the injuries she could speak of and the remedies that Heloise would think to help.

her lips were dry, and despite herself, her forelimb drummed a nervous beat as it shook. she steadied it, reminding herself that this was fine; the stranger would sure fix what was wrong and she could continue on her way, and the emotionless man would stay in his terrible territory and die. "further north of here, and dead, I hope." he looked as if he had no business being alive, and she hoped dearly the universe rectified that soon. she decided that he must be dead, surely, and put it out of her mind as much as she was able. 

"it hurts to breath," she admitted, taking a deep breath for emphasis and wincing, wondering why she'd thought that had needing emphasising. her forelimb was stiff and odd-feeling, but that didn't seem as important as the other two injuries. she peered at the wound on her chest, which, while messy-loooking, didn't seem all that deep. she didn't like the pain in her chest - unlike the rest of her injuries, there appeared to be nothing outwardly wrong, nothing obvious to fix.

luckily for the other, Heloise did not press for details. she could clearly see the event had been traumatizing enough without re-living it again. a flash of concern laced her pale eyes as she approached. especially with the girl's admission with it was not easy to breathe. focusing on her chest, she'd click her tongue. "perhaps a bruised rib or two" due to the fall, most likely. "I cannot help with that." it would heal on its own hopefully.

if it was winter, she could easily pluck some snow from the ground and press it to the girl's wounds. the swelling inside would go down too with the chill. having nothing nearby, Heloise would improvise. she would spot the beginning of some Balsamorhiza flowers blooming among the wildlife. approaching them, she would snap some off and head back to the girl. "this herb will help to clear infection" she would state, feeling utterly useless without a handy stock.

the girl had cleaned her chest best she could, though dirt and grime could have easily wormed their way in during the fall. especially some small pebbles. "I can set the leg if you like" though to her that was the most obvious pain. Heloise would do her best to ease the suffering and allow the girl to move easily again.

the woman was gone for an instant but Vuk felt her absense keenly. being alone and wandering had lost much of its shining appeal, and she shifted in unease. she peered over her shoulder at her leg again, brow furrowing in distaste. she was so focused on managing the pain erupting from so many sources at once that she did not think much about the absense of feeling coming from her tail. in fact, it was broken near the end, in such a way that she was unable to feel the extent of the damage that was the bloody mess a few inches down from the brake. her bulk hid it from sight, and blissfully ignorant, she turned back to the woman as she returned. "do I eat them?" she asked, voice hoarser than she'd have liked. Vuk thought this might be a stupid question. 

if she hadn't known what to do with the herbs, there was no way she knew what 'set it' meant. she had a notion that it might be uncomfortable, but the extended the leg the best she could and nodded quickly. "yes, please."

she would lean forward to knead the root from the flower itself. "no, just this part" she would say, edging the root to the girl. she heard it was an instant relief if swallowed as if one could sense the root clearing any respiratory problems one might have. she had chosen a smaller root for the other in case it hurt to swallow. she did not want the other to choke. 

she wished she had pain relieving herbs to give the girl. the procedure would be painful enough.  Heloise watched as the other extended her leg, frowning. "I have to grasp it" with her teeth, obviously "and pull. are you fine with that?" even though express permission had been granted, she was not going to do anything until it was clear the girl knew what was to be expected.

the woman explains in greater clarity what she wishes to do, and Vuk nods quickly. she doesn't risk speaking, but grits her teeth and shifts slightly once more. her throat feels gritty where she'd swallowed down the root, whole and not entirely without discomfort, and she tries to focus on this small discomfort rather than the greater one she knows will come. the leg, floppy and entirely unusable as it is, can't be made any worst by the woman's actions, certainly.

unless she happens to pull it off entirely. she grits her teeth a little harder and tightens her brow, trying her utmost not to focus on that thought.

the girl would nod, understanding. Heloise's face was grim in response. the pain would be tremendous for one so young. she had to be at least a year or a few months younger than the pale woman. to suffer such an injury at a young age... the recovery would be brutal without a trained healer. "very well" she could worry about that later. moving forward, she'd gently grip the limb with her teeth. careful at first, stretching it to test how bad it was.

for awhile she would do this. trying to be as gentle as possible but also knowing she could not simply fall headfirst into it. she could feel the break, the twist, the deformity. it felt hot upon her tongue. with a sudden jerk, Heloise would pull hard and a snap was heard. the bone was set back into place. removing her jaws from the girl's limb, she'd give the set a critical glance. "you can walk on it now, but try to rest it." there were concerns of the other injuries too.

"do you have a place you can rest safely at?" she did not smell of a pack wolf.

the woman took hold of her limb and began to stretch it, carefully. she was gentle and careful, but each movement burned all the same. tension build between her shoulderblades, and she felt surely that something more was coming. her gritted teath parted a moment, as if to ask the woman to get it over with, when suddenly she pulled back sharply and her jaws snapped closed to stiffle a yelp, snapping her tongue in the process. heat rose to her cheeks and her chest trembled, the sting of her tongue adding injury to injury. 

she didn't reply, overwhelmed by hot angry pain and driven to silence by it. when she asked her question, large part of her shied away from the truth. "yes." it was the nature of wild things to fake strength, security when they lacked it, and the childish part of her wanted to be far from this woman if her help hurt so damned much.

part of her wanted to question the 'yes'. it seemed not at all certain. that she was merely putting on a brave face. her eyes briefly squinted though she did not say anything. the sad part is that she did not know this girl at all aside from helping her out; they had not even exchanged names. finally, her head would nod. giving the other some sense she was going to leave it be. after being attacked by another stranger, Heloise knew her trust was shaken.

and part of her wanted to remain here, where the girl could sleep off the pain with Heloise looming over anyone who dared to try to get close. but she did not want to overstay her welcome. "good" she replied, thinking if the girl had a place to go she'd feel better about leaving her. yet no friends had come to question the pale woman's help. she seemed alone in her suffering. straightening up, she would attempt to depart. "I will leave you to rest. farewell." and good luck.

though as she turned, she would indeed turn back if the other wished it. for now, her steps were slow as she parted ways.