Redhawk Caldera I'll let the waters still

Bein vague on injuries, I just wanted to get at least one post-medic thread out too <3. Also vague on if they are with it or not, feel free to join or I'll assume they are down for the count

She'd managed to track down a few wintertime plants, but her mind was still buzzing over her victory by the lake.  She'd needed it.  Just like her time in the canyon, it was verified proof that she was capable of more than even she imagined, and she couldn't wait to begin training.

But first, she had a job to do.  Fennec frowned, settling in between her two patients (and technically, co-invalids.  But she hadn't exactly asked permission to leave).  She snagged some of the roots and kept them nearby to be eaten when the two felt up to it.

For the moment she wordlessly checked on both... pulse, temperature.  Then she began to carefully clean @Bronco's neck for probably the dozenth time, gentle strokes that would carry upwards over his torn scalp and ear.

His were wider, more open.  @Alyx's were more contained.  She'd get the younger girl's next.  It was almost meditative, detaching the care she had to give from the individuals receiving it.  Yet it was something she occasionally found she had to do, because if she let the reality sink in, she knew it'd leave her frozen.  One step at a time.

Prevent infection.  Clean the wounds.  Keep them fed, hydrated.  Hope that, if they slept... they woke up.  She stopped, for a moment, and rested her chin lightly against the crown of his head.  Then she shifted, fitting her side more gently against the curve of Alyx's spine, and continued gently on the mess that was now his ear.

He had little memory of anything later than the sight of the cougar staggering off into the wilderness. However he'd made it where he was, he wasn't sure, and it took him some time to become aware of his surroundings as well. His eyelids were swollen and heavy, so he relied on his sense of smell to tell him that Fennec was beside him, and that there was the scent of earth- and Alyx. Blood, and perhaps hints of other wolves- Eljay, Niamh, Phox, Towhee...He was at the Caldera, still.

Over and over again, something burned at the side of his head. He tolerated it, not quite registering what it was, but when he realized that it was pain, he shifted his head away with a soft moan, baring his teeth and flicking his tongue over them. The last thing he remembered was fighting the cougar- and he was still in a somewhat delirious state. He pursed his lips and sighed, trying to make sense of it all. He had no fight left in him- and resigned himself to whatever fate he was to suffer. Nothing happened, though- and it finally began to occur to him that he was safe. 

He tried to open his eyes, but the claw wounds that raked across his scalp made his face puffy and swollen, so he could see very little through tiny slits. At least there wasn't blood in his eyes anymore, but he wasn't so sure he could see much better now. He grunted softly; all he could do to beg for some sort of explanation or reassurance.

She had moved on to Alyx by the time Bronco roused next to her and was carefully, gently, taking care of the wounds on the girl's throat.  Likely she wouldn't be talking for a while, and if she tried, Fennec would attempt to stop her.  She needed to let it heal before she went straining the muscles too much - she knew that from experience.

She turned to Bronco as he let out a moan and swallowed, hating it.  There were people she could see in pain and people she couldn't - family fell firmly in the latter.  Strangers?  She'd tell them to suck it up in a heartbeat.  Hey, shhh.  You're alright.  Well, you're gonna be.  She had heard the uptick in his pulse and guessed, incorrectly, it was because of the den.  It didn't occur to her he might not have realized the fight was long done. 

If you can, though, I need you to eat this.  She slid a small piece of the root she'd found in front of him.  It was bitter tasting (she'd had some herself already) but it would help to avoid any deadly side effects.  She asked nicely for the moment, but if he found himself unable to take it for long, she'd have to find a way to force it down.

He heard Fennec's voice and was so distracted by it for a moment that he forgot what was going on- or what had just happened, whenever it had happened. For a moment, he tried to place exactly where he was, but without being able to open his eyes much, he could only reach for conclusions which fluttered away almost as soon as they came into his mind. He was dazed still, and it took him several minutes to realize that what Fennec had spoken to him were the reassurances he had sought. It was also some small blessing that he had no idea they were in a den, yet. 

He felt her nudge something toward his muzzle and it felt like a rock. Why would Fennec give him a rock? "I can't see," He murmured almost dreamily. "Can't play bobstones if I can't see," The words were slurred, thoughtless and toneless. Whatever it was she'd pushed toward his muzzle, he'd assumed it had been a rock. And he'd forgotten already that she'd told him to eat it.

He made a joke that made absolutely zero sense, and the way he made it was completely off.  Fennec felt dread knot in her stomach.  Bron?  Eat it.  She nosed it closer to his muzzle.  Just... chew it up.  She tried to speak slower, all the while with her mind racing.  Slurred speech and nonsense could have been medication, but she hadn't given him anything yet, and certainly nothing like that.  It could've been the blood loss, but not after so much time.  That meant there was probably some amount of head trauma, and that scared her almost more than the risk of infection.

Hey Bronco, who am I?  She asked a moment later, regardless of if he followed her instructions.  Then she began to slowly, gently, run her muzzle over the top of his skull.  She was feeling for any bumps, contusions, or anything that made him flinch.  If he'd taken a blow during the fight then she'd have to figure out what the best way to treat that was, and she wasn't sure there was an answer to that question.  It also meant that the willow bark wasn't an option for now.

Bron. Something about that nickname caught in his mind a funny way. He was directed back to the rock which had been nudged toward his lips again. He caught what she'd said and processed it for a moment before he murmured. "Eat rocks." He pressed his lips against it, and it was only then that he noticed the difference in its texture, smell, and the way it boughed lightly under the pressure of his muzzle. He licked at it, and found the taste disgusting but it ended up in his mouth anyway, and was chewed and swallowed more out of surprise than choice. He spluttered, his sides shaking as he swallowed down the urge to vomit. It wasn't a rock, it was a plant. Wolves didn't eat plants. He was still confused. 

She'd said his name earlier, but now spoke it in its entirety, which made him think back to a few moments ago, when something had triggered in his brain. "Shug?" He asked. Sugar Glider always called him 'Bron,' all the way back to when they could barely speak more than nicknames and burbles. It made sense, though he couldn't figure out why she smelled so much like Fennec. Fennec also called him 'Bron' but he simply wasn't in that corner of his memory. He felt pressure along the top of his head and growled, baring his teeth in a way that was somewhat feral in expression. Of course, he didn't realize she was still assessing his wounds- but the cougar had hooked its claws at the base of his skull and had dragged them all the way down over his brow. While Fennec minded the gouges in his flesh, it still hurt to have the sensitive, swollen parts of his head touched.

Oh good, she thought with relief as she heard him chewing it.  Fennec could have probably managed to get it in his mouth and made him chew it, but it might have been a tussle and she wasn't sure she wanted to risk that with the state he was in.  Especially if he had a head injury... which all of his words were confirming more and more.  Especially that next bit.

Ouch.  That was a name she hadn't heard in a while.  Fennec paused in her checking and her features tightened with concern.  The light bit of hurt was pretty vastly outweighed by the fact that he clearly had no idea what was going on around him.  Fuck.  The curse was about all she had to offer.  She didn't have a clue what to do about head injuries other than watch, wait, and hope they got better.  Normally if there was a headache she'd give him something, but the only stuff she had to give would do more harm than good if there was any amount of bleeding within.

Wrong.  But whatever.  I told you one of these days your brain was gonna melt, Fennec said, but she trailed off to quiet and couldn't bring herself to laugh at the remark.  This... seriously sucked.  And all of the sudden she felt tremendously lonely, lying in a den with two wolves who both needed her help and yet were a little beyond her power to heal completely.  She hated when waiting was the only option.

As soon as she swore, the voice that had spoken gained a new face in his mind and his untattered ear pricked up a bit. She continued but he didn't register the words, fixating instead on the image of the face that had come to him. He forgot within moments how he'd been confounded by the misconception that Sugar Glider smelled like Fennec. This wasn't Sugar Glider at all. 

She laughed and he was puzzled. "Fennec," He said. He remembered, in a flash, seeing the cougar slap her aside and he jerked his head to look over his shoulder, as though to seek out where she'd fallen but the sudden movement hurt both his scalp and his left shoulder. He yelped in surprise and slowly turned his head back around, brushing his muzzle across his shoulder with a soft growl as he investigated the cause of his pain. He drew in a couple deep breaths, and then settled his muzzle back down on the ground. He shuffled it side to side across the den floor, as though to clear a space for him to rest his head. He felt certain there had been bobstone rocks there a moment ago; where had they gone?

He got it right on the second try, though that didn't do much to allay her worries.  Especially when just after he thrashed randomly, the movement obviously causing enough pain to elicit a yelp out of him.  Don't move, idiot.  She said, resting a paw on his side, then sliding down so that she could lie next to him and hopefully discourage any more of that.

We ran the cougar off.  I dunno though, I might have an idea of how to take care of it.  Least, something I want to try.  I met a girl a while back who gave me the idea.  She said, mainly to herself.  Then she fell silent for a moment, resting her chin on her paws.  Y'know, every time we hang out, it feels like you end up fucked up some way.  I'm starting to wonder if maybe I'm bad luck.

It was more of a joke than a confession, but it wasn't something she'd likely have said if she'd thought he was actually listening.  The silence in the den felt weirdly oppressive; filling it helped.

His brow twitched, as though he'd blinked in acknowledgement of her insult, though he said nothing in reply. He'd settled comfortably, as comfortable as he could get with his wounds throbbing still. He could taste the musty aftertaste of the herbs and swallowed a couple of times, hoping to get rid of it but he found that his mouth was dry. His tongue felt sticky and thick and while he frowned as she spoke, it wasn't because he was taking in much of what she'd said. His mouth tasted bad, and he felt an ache in his stomach. 

He needed a drink of water. Fennec said something about bad luck and he scoffed quietly. Was she trying to say he was out of luck? That wasn't fair. There was snow everywhere- and the lake was nearby, and he needed a drink. So he lifted his head and moved one forepaw as though to push himself up but found himself too weak. He uttered a groan, unsatisfied. His thirst motivated him to want to try again, but he didn't have the strength to do so. He licked his lips, which were leathery and dry; his tongue did little to soothe them. He could smell the fresh air, and the crisp scent of snow- but he couldn't reach it, and that was frustrating. "Thirsty, Fennec," He complained, frustrated not with her, but with himself- and at the fact he couldn't simply walk to get what he needed.

She huffed in impatience as he went to move, again.  I said don't move.  She said, this time with a little more intensity to the order.  She frowned as well, thoughtfully.  She'd actually been mulling over this problem.  Just... wait.

She rose stiffly and moved out, pausing at the entrance just to listen and make sure he wasn't about to try and disobey her.  If he did she'd loose a warning growl.  She wasn't above intimidation when he was in this condition since she could't be sure what of her warnings sunk in.  A growl might succeed where words failed.

For not the first time, she pushed her way through the growing snow.  She could have brought some of it inside, but it wouldn't serve as well.  She had an idea about that.  But first she had to find the right tree.  It took a while, but eventually she found a few good sizeable ones... and at length work a nice thick chunk of bark out.  She carved into it with her claws carefully, hollowing out a shape that was reminiscent of the gift Bronco had given her earlier.  One that really would have come in handy right now, but they'd already established it was partially her own damn fault she no longer had it.  So she'd have to make do with this.

It didn't hold nearly as much, but it would be enough for at least a few swallows of water.  She filled it, then began to carefully stagger back towards the den, trying to spill as little as possible.  There was no way to avoid it with the snow and her injuries, but if she moved slowly she at least managed to keep most of it level.

She set it down in front of Bronco, nosing it closer, and then shook snow off of her back with a shiver.

Last post for me <3 hopefully this works. Did a reply on my computer and the site went down and ate me edit, rawr. 

By the time Fennec came back, Bronco had settled his head back down onto the ground, smacking his dry lips together, and had begun to doze off. Not hard to do, with his eyes swollen shut. He relaxed a bit. He wondered what had become of those bobstones- and then he remembered having eaten something that had tasted musty. Oh dear. He'd swallowed the bobstones, hadn't he? What would they be doing now, in his stomach? Little pebbles, just floating in his stomach forever, unless they somehow made it through his system and that didn't seem fun at all. 

But then Fennec came back and nudged something toward him, something that sounded dry. He lifted his head and touched the edge of the thick, curved piece of bark and found his way immediately to lap up the water within it, all the while thinking to himself how amazing it was that the coconut shell had returned to Fennec. He felt relieved that it'd been found, so once he'd finished and had licked up every last drop, he pulled the makeshift dish close to his chest- as though to snuggle it- murmured a soft "Thank." And then settled his head onto the floor to go back to sleep.

She'd been prepared to make a few trips, but apparently the thing had held enough for now because from what she could tell he held onto it as he went to sleep.  Fennec sighed, then sat down and began to groom some of the cold and wet out of her fur.  Once she was done, she could curl up next to them again and maybe snatch a nap before she had to be up and helping again.  Likely Alyx would need a drink as well.  She could weasel it out of his grip then.

She figured she could take a bit of time as well to give a little attention to her own shoulder and underside, sniffing and using taste (ugh) to determine if any infection was setting in.  As she went to sniff, though, she let out a light sneeze.  Ugh.  Y'know what, nevermind... that could wait.  Instead she stepped around and curled up into a tight ball, back against Bronco, head facing Alyx.  Time for a warm-up and a sleep.