Shadow Mountain Just a conspiracy of cartographers, then?

7°, currently it is snowing and set during the morning. Located in Sunspire Mountain, shadow mountain | ooc notes: a thread for anyone searching for medic threads!

As frost settled over the lands, he was beginning to feel like home again. A feeling he had long lost but perhaps in recent events, and with him aging, had been longing for. Though Rusalka was the pack he currently called "home" it didn't feel like much more than just something to go home to at the end of the day. Something to defend. At his own fault, he had no personal ties within the pack - nor did he know how to create such things. They were random events; and perhaps, he should just accept a life of loneliness. 

Sitting on the side of the mountain, feeling the frost melt under his toes, he watched as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. The light just barely kissing the ground as it illuminated the skies in pastels with a brilliant fire burning in the center. Closing his eye, he felt the breeze as it ran over him and the frozen grass, bristling his fur as he used this moment to center himself. The frustration of being lost, hungry, tired after being stuck in the marsh, not having found any clean water to wash off of the muck yet thanks to all water sources still being muddied from the earthquakes... this, this was his moment to relax and forget all about it for a brief moment. 

Once the sun had fully risen, his time had passed. A dull look proceeded to take over his peaceful facade and soon enough the knight rose to his feet, and once again attempt to find his way back to Rusalka. But things wouldn't be so easy. It seemed that some magical being in the universe chose to test him further. The loose rock along the mountain shifted under his weight, losing his footing and the giant soon came tumbling down. Having no footing to stop himself, every claw he tried to dig in would only immediately slide, sending him cascading down until THUMP!

With a hard hit, he felt the ground on his back, coughing he felt the air viciously stolen from his lungs and soon he couldn't focus on anything other than how heavy he felt.

It was only days earlier that the boy had made his way into a pack, despite the rather peculiar situation that took place before he joined. Maybe it would've been wise for him to stick to that area as a new member. But he had gotten the urge to keep exploring this region a bit. He was sure he could find his way back soon, and besides, he didn't plan on crossing this- a mountain range. After he took a short look around the range, he would return to his new home.

The golden boy had made his way just a little bit up the slope. He could admit that the mountain range had him in awe; he had seen mountains before of course, but these were especially beautiful. He only intended to take a short hike up this little mountain here to see what's what, but a little something- no, a big something- interfered. 

THUMP. 

Only a few yards before him, something pale had landed in it's own mini-avalanche of rocks. Mango skittered a few feet back as the stone hit the ground, momentarily petrified by the unexpected crash. And then- there was coughing? His honey eyes fell upon the figure of a large white wolf. With only a moment of hesitation, he galloped over the few yards that separated them to come stand closer to the injured. As he approached, he couldn't help but notice the rugged handsomeness of the man's face. He scolded himself for even paying attention to the man's looks at a time like this. But as he got even closer, he was momentarily taken aback by the shocking other side of his face. Gruesomely marred by the scar from a burn, with a gaping hole where an eye should be. He gulped, trying not to let his slight disgust show. How unfortunate that such a handsome man would suffer a scar like that.

But finally he stood directly over the older wolf. "Sir, I- C-can you hear me? A-are you alright?" He stumbled nervously over his words. He scolded himself for that second question- of course he wasn't alright! He had just fallen in a slew of rocks on the stone below. But Mango wasn't sure exactly what to say. "Is there anything I can bring y-you, you know, to help you out?" He stuttered awkwardly.

Air. He needed air! Even if it was just for a moment, he felt the world fade around him. His lungs empty of oxygen, his breath caught in his throat and incapable of filling the sacks in his chest. "Sir, I- C-can you hear me? A-are you alright?" the voice was muffled in his ears, and just as suddenly as the new face appeared in front of him, he finally found his breath. With a wheeze he found his lungs filling in a hurry, they hurt... oh how they hurt. 

The boy spoke again, but all Rosencrantz could hear was the loud ringing in his ears, deafening his senses. His head spun, once again he tried to gain his footing on the ground only to stumble over back onto the ground with a thud and skid, paws desperate to find their ground while the confused giant simply flopped around drunkenly in his stupor. His front half would not cooperate with his back, even if he managed to get his chest off the ground, his hind limps would flop back to the ground, dragging the rest of him down with him. 

What did he say? Who is he? What did he want? For a moment he stopped struggling, his ribs rising and falling heavily while his breath struggled to catch up after the fall, and the thrashing just moments ago. With his one good eye, he looked up at the stranger with a confused look, the wounds from his fight with the gargoyle of the ashen woods reopening in the struggles, staining his white fur red once more, painting his face, neck and chest.

Keyni hadn't been far when the terrible accident occurred. She was still adrift, much to her dismay. She felt an underlying sense of urgency, that time was running out. But her mind wasn't on that. It was on the clatter of rocks tumbling from the mountainside and the mighty thump that followed. Curious to investigate, she padded closer. There amidst the rubble was a fallen white form. He wasn't left alone for long, joined by a concerned male of warm colors. He tried in vain to stand, but flailed about drunkenly, his hind end alarmingly limp.

Wide eyed, the tundra mixed rushed over to the pair to try and assist. "Sir please, try not to move! It could make your injury worse." She added in a cautionary tone. Glancing to the other male, she asked. "Did you see him fall...how he landed?" Keyni was no medic, but she knew the bare basics. Her muzzle hovered over the injured ones scarred face, jade eyes peering gently into that single yellow orb. "Try to stay calm. Focus on your breathing." She advised. Stepping back, she gingerly ran her nose over his ribcage, feeling for any broken bones.

The man began to shift, as if attempting to pull himself up to his feet, although awkwardly and stumbling. "Don't- don't!!!" He told the man frantically, although not considering that he may not hear him just as he had not heard the first questions. The man only crumpled again to the ground, giving Mango a perplexed look. Blood began to flow, starting slowly and picking up speed as the man's thick white fur was drenched in the stuff. Mango considered making his way to nearby greenery to find something to stop the bleeding, but then-

The arrival of another soothed his nervousness a bit. He had been trained as a medic at home, and yet, having lived far from mountains and cliffs, he had never dealt with a wolf who had taken a great fall. He had worked largely with wolves injured from fighting and those with basic sicknesses, therefore he worried he would not know how to handle this situation on his own.

The girl seemed to know what she was doing, at least, that is how it appeared to Mango- from her voice that did not stutter frantically, to her swiftness in assessing the situation with the right questions. And- oh! One of those questions was directed at Mango himself. As if awoken from a trance, he blinked at her suddenly, speaking up- "Yeah, he landed right smack on his back. Like THUD. I won't be surprised if he broke something," His tone thick with concern despite his rather direct words.

When she spoke again she seemed to say just the right words, and Mango felt a twinge of jealousy at her ability to know exactly what to do without freaking out. He then directed a question to her- "He's- he's bleeding like hell, should I go find something to stop it? You seem like you know what you're d-doing, honey, how should I help?" It was a rotten feeling, he decided, feeling so useless to the situation at hand when unsure what to do. "I never dealt with something like this," He added, as if to excuse his inexperience.

Current wounds from the previous fight with Revui, gashes along the neck, punctures in the shoulder.

Their voices became a little clearer as time went on, both an injured man's friend and foe as recovering and severity of injuries all counted toward his outcome. The boy's panic in turn only fueled his own, wanting nothing but to get away from the situation and the strange faces that kept popping up. Perhaps it came with age, the dislike for new faces, the comfort in familiarity. 

He could feel the soft touch of the woman checking for wounds along his sides - for a moment it calmed him. Her gentle touch allowing him to find his breathing again, that wide-eyed panic softening as he could barely focus on the tilted horizon, the feeling of the cold ground beneath him barely feeling like anything other than a warm bed. But then —!

With a roar his body curved upward, trying to get away from the touch that was once so comforting for a brief moment, legs flailing as they kicked at the dirt, maw ajar and furious as they aimed a crushing SNAP near enough to the woman but just missing her. With pinkish bubbles foaming at his lips, a furious eye bore into her, that warm honey as sharp as a cornered beast while a silent growl vibrated in his throat. Yep, that hurt. 

In his right mind, such wild antics would possibly not be the case - but fear does incredible things to any man. Not the fear of death, no, something more... something bred deep into him. The fear of dying like a coward.

The wounded man reacted unexpectedly and violently with a roar and a snap of his jaws. Keyni wheeled back, trying to pace herself out of harms way, but found her hock bumping against the leg of the orange male. Jade eyes wide and her chest heaving with the increased rhythms of her breaths, her composed expression hardly wavered. She knew that if this man had truly wanted to harm her, then his jaws would have snapped on flesh rather than empty air. 

She did not blame him for reacting as he did. The wounds that littered his body, both inside and out, were substantial. Each individual handled pain differently. Some masked it, some fought through it. Others outwardly expressed the true and fullest extent of such pain. 

With a sigh, she gave Mango a glance. "Well...aside from the obvious wounds, I would definitely say he has a cracked rib or two." Her eyes left the orange wolf and the white Knight, to survey the immediate area around them for potential medicinal resources. "I am afraid I only have minimal training in the medical field. We will need some cobwebs and Yarrow...I think, if we can find them." She wracked her brain, trying to dig up what information she had learned during her time studying in Asterism Grove. She didn't say it yet, but she knew most important of all, Rosencrantz would need rest.

The man lashed out suddenly, teeth snapping dangerously close to the girl's face. Mango stumbled backward in surprise, despite not being the one in range of his fangs. His actions reminded Mango of a wounded beast, like a bear with a thorn dug into its paw. Reacting fiercely even in the presence of those trying to help. Mango didn't find it disrespectful, though- he knew that he hadn't had that kind of experience and couldn't know what it was like for him. He imagined the pain must be like a raging fire in one's own insides. 

The girl was quick to respond with confidence. He figured that the man had broken some bones along there- the chest or sides but, that had only been based on seeing his fall. Then she recommended the herbs that they gather- cobweb, yarrow. He knew what each was of course. "Okay, cobwebs should be easy to find around here... among the rocks. Yarrow can't be too far either." He murmured thoughtfully. He did not entirely wait for her response, already shuffling over to the stony wall of the mountain, hoping to find an old niche in which a spider had made its home.

Feel free to skip him! I will keep a close eye on this thread and jump in whenever I think it's necessary! You can PP him just laying there, maybe eyeballing them from time to time to make things interesting LOL

With an intense eye, he bore into the two of them, a molten gaze, unrelenting and fierce. His sides throbbed, everything hurt to the point where everything was almost numb - only every now and then he would be reminded of his own existence with a pulsating pain that would come and go as if he could not register such a thing for too long. With quivering lips he reluctantly laid back down, heavily his head hit the ground with a thump as he offered a weighty sigh in an attempt to calm himself down. 

They were here to help - he had to remind himself. The pain was not caused by them and he should be thankful for their gracious offer to aid the wounded knight. Shifting his gaze from behind him, he moved his head in order to stare off into the distance while the other two spoke and planned among themselves on how to help alleviate the man's pain. 

He wouldn't die here. Not like this. He was certain of it. Whether it was by their fantastic healing abilities or his own sheer will for survival for a more beautiful death than this, he would survive long after this ordeal. In an attempt to help calm his frustration, distract him from his pain, his mind wandered onto something that was much more relaxing... how was that woman in white now? Did she find her pack? He had to find his way back to Rusalka soon before she came to find him not there. 

He held onto that to keep himself from snapping at the healers again, only every now and then offering a sideways glance, a huff from time to time, and every so often a low growl to express his pain and displeasure of the situation... but he would try to keep his composure now.

She gave Mango a quick nod, confident in his ability to find the cobwebs they needed. But as she looked around the mountainous terrain surrounding them, she realized that finding the Yarrow would be much more difficult. And especially in these frigid conditions, so close to winter. Sparing the injured man a glance to assure him she would be gone only but a moment, she moved off.

It was only a short ways she went, down to the very base of the mountainside where rocky terrain slowly gave way to flatter, more grassy ground. Her search was in vain. There were none of the white flowered plants to be found. Any that might have been here probably had since died off due to the cold. Sighing, she returned and looked in Mango's direction. Then, back down to Rosencrantz. "You will have to make due with just the cobwebs, to stop the bleeding. But please, when you return to your pack, check with your medic...if you have one and ask for Yarrow from their stores. In the meantime, keep the wounds clean to prevent infection. And rest, above all." She advised with a slightly sterner note in her voice.

The gentle girl agreed, and made her way down the slope to search. Meanwhile, Mango found whatever he could. Digging claw into crack and crevice, he pulls up globs of the stuff, the web clinging to him like glue. As he brings it over to where the man lie, the girl cane back. Unfortunately, empty-handed. He did not blame her- Mango had given her the harder task anyway. 

The girl's words, once again, were each perfectly chosen as they left her mouth. Maybe Mango could've said something along those lines, but not with her tact or elegance. As she spoke, he leans down, and gently as ever places cobweb along some points of impact where the blood seemed to flow the strongest. He was careful to barely touch him; Mango did not want the man to lash out at him once again. He only hoped that the injured man was present enough to heed Keyni's advice.

Keyni could only sit back and watch the fallen knight, wondering if he had heard her at all. She hoped he would heed her advice. She could not force anybody to do anything. Just advise. Seeing that he was not trying to go anywhere soon, she would stay close just a while longer to keep an eye on him. 

She turned back to Mango, a somewhat relieved look on her face. "He seems to be out of immediate danger. He is probably still a little jolted from the fall." A small, easy smile crept to her lips. "Lucky that you were around; you were a great help to me. I'm Keyni."

He nods quietly at her words, having little to add. But then she smiles and thanks him for his help. Had he done that much? His brow furrows slightly, perplexed- Mango felt more as if she had been the one who had helped him immensely. She had known exactly what to do while he'd stumbled, panicking. 

But he wasn't one to refurefuse the compliment. He nods, a cheeky grin creeping onto his face. No problem hun. Thanks for your help too! Nice to meet you Keyni... I'm Mango. he itroduces himself with a wag of the tail. Before tacking on- I'm from a pack forming down there. Called Neverwinter Woods or something. He explains with a glance back and downwards, in the direction of the forest. Curiously he awaited to hear if she was, too, from a pack.

While Keyni had known precisely what to do in this situation, she was far from a well-trained medic. In fact, herbs and plants in the healing art was not her true passion. Rather, it was the study of nature itself and its connectivity to the spirit and the mind.

His name suited him, she thought. A fitting match for both his coat and his bright personality. "Pleased to meet you, Mango." She breathed easily, ears pricking as he mentioned he was from a pack someplace called Neverwinter Woods. As her thoughts fell back to her forced abandonment of Asterism Grove, her eyes fell slightly. "I...had to leave mine. It was a ways to the west, past the distant mountain range." She took a collective sigh and explained. "During the quakes of the earth, a landslide cut off the only entrance inside and out of the heart of the pack's territory. I was on the outside when it happened."

You too, Keyni! He replied with a little wag of his fiery tail. But then he notices her expression change slightly, as she tells him a little of her own pack history. When she mentions the distant mountain range, he furrows his brow as he recalls passing by it on his journey north to Neverwinter. Had he been nearby? 

Her story was a sad one, telling of the split of her pack due to natural disaster. He shakes his head, Oh, honey, how unfortunate... Well... if you're ever nearby, you could always come hang with me! He offers with a bright tone. You seem like a medical queen, and we wouldn't want all that talent going to waste if you're all on your own, hun! 

This will be my last post here, then we can archive.

She didn't linger on the past too long, especially when it came to her former home. "Some things can't be helped. I didn't feel like I really made any connections there anyways." She offered with a lighter expression on her face now. Mango's warm invitation to drop by, if she was in the area, sparked an idea. "I might just come by and check the place out for myself." A small smile crept to her lips at his compliment towards her medical skills displayed thus far. "Oh I wouldn't say that. I just know the bare basics. My true passion is in studying nature itself, and in the harmony of the spirit. Meditation can do wonders, you know." With her work here done, she began to move away, but not before giving him a friendly bump on the shoulder with a wagging tail. "Maybe if I see you again I can teach you." She let her eyes linger a second longer before bidding a nod farewell.