Ouroboros Spine I just can't build on something that begins like this

From the coast, Wylla ran.

Sentiment called her home, but she went the opposite direction of Rivenwood. She could not return to her mate empty-handed knowing that he would die without treatment, and she could not continue in the wilds knowing he might die while she was away. This conflict became a whirlwind within Wylla that drove her to cross the Teekon in record time, unable to eat or rest more than the bare minimum to survive.

It was a ragged creature that arrived on Moonglow’s doorstep quite by accident after the last hint of pack smell carried her up a deserted mountain. She cursed having spent so long in these bloody lands without bothering to learn the lay of them; how was she supposed to find packs with skilled healers when she knew of none of them?

But then the bright scents of the village of Moonglow called her into a squat mountain pass, where she raised a hoarse and desperate voice over the ancient forest.

lómion was near when the call cut through moonglow’s silence. the strain within it is what ultimately drew the boy closer. it sparked intrigue.
his pace slowed to a halt when he laid eyes upon the tattered woman. 
hello. he outstretched his neck to sniff in her direction. then he tilted his head. you’re so dirty. why? the observation sounded just as toneless as his greeting.

There was an unfamiliar voice that called from their borders. The warrior heard it and opted to answer immediately, wishing to arrive at the edge of the claim before the lady Kukutux was bothered with such things. Foxfur had grown familiar with the edges of Moonglow in his time there. He had found a sense of peace with the paths that he had carved in the mountain.

The warrior’s lean frame wound its way along the trail he knew until he had arrived at the area where he’d believed the call had come from. Foxfur’s sharp eyes searched the terrain until he sighted a figure whose coat was colored in shades of white and dark grey. The shabby man bowed his head to her, a curt expression of greeting.

Another figure approached – the boy Lómion. Foxfur was familiar with the child, at least. He was pleased to see that the young boy was still finding ways to slip from his mother and into the wilderness.

Hello, this is the border of Moonglow. How might we help? the man spoke in a worn voice, but he drew his head up to meet the woman’s gaze with interest. He moved to step beside Lómion, a protective motion only for the sake of the child.

the woman was one-eyed and dashed with exhaustion. the duck, who had answered shortly after foxfur, stood upon the other side of the boy between them. a grey fur lay draped across her shoulders.

she had been searching for her sister and two of her children, worried. @Sialuk had walked upon these hunts with her. their looking must now go farther.

"i am kukutux, moonwoman of this village," she added softly to the words given by her packmate. her eyes could not keep from their silent, worried appraisal. she stepped forward. "do not have fear in you. moonglow is a place of safety."

Three wolves arrived. The first was a masked man whose coloration reminded her of that loner who propositioned her in the spring, leading to the fight between Mahler and Stag. She found her breath snagging in her throat until she remembered that that man had stark golden eyes, while this one's were soft brown. Their frames were quite different as well, and this one spoke in a drawn voice that sounded very much like how she felt. Little did Wylla know the exact wolf she was thinking of also resided here.

The second was a small and thin boy whose toneless voice was almost as eerie as the atmosphere surrounding him. Wylla couldn't put a finger on it, but there was just something off about Lómion. It was the same kind of feeling one might get in a cemetery, a slinking shiver up the spine that turned skin to gooseflesh. She studied the boy, trying to puzzle it out, and parted her jaws to reply to his rude question, but stopped at the third arrival.

Kukutux's unremarkable appearance was made up for by the scrap of grey fur slung across her shoulders, which stole most of Wylla's attention. She couldn't hide the subtle frown that crossed her tired face. Weirdos, she thought when the woman referred to herself as moonwoman and the pack as village. Together, the trio was pretty unforgettable. But she hadn't come here to judge the residents.

Hello, she said, ears twitching slightly at the crackling quality of her voice. She cleared her throat and did her very best to lower herself before them, even the child. Humble. That was what she had to be here. My name is Wylla. I'm looking for a healer who knows of a killing cough and how to treat it. My mate is very sick. To say it out loud made her stomach feel like it was plummeting over a waterfall. If you know of a healer who could travel to our pack to treat him, or teach me the remedy, I will pay any price.

he’d join one adult and was soon joined by another. foxfur and kukutux respectively. the boy greeted them with little more than a brief glance. his attention remained on the unfamilar woman.
killing… cough? he repeated under his breath. the boy hadn’t a clue what it could mean. he looked to his aunt for an answer.

It did not take long before the lady of Moonglow appeared at the border, as well. A party of three was a large greeting. Foxfur felt as though he should leave, take the boy with him.

When the woman spoke and offered an introduction, the warrior nodded his head to her. She went on to speak of her mate who was suffering from a terrible cough. Foxfur’s ears swiveled back, flattening on his head. He had seen three warriors die of a bleeding cough when he had been an apprentice in the Starsea. The medicine wolves had no way of treating it, not that he could remember. He had run in search of herbs for days for Hawkclaw. Nothing had spared the warriors.

Does your mate bleed when they cough? he inquired gently, looking to Wylla.

Foxfur could not help but to sympathize with the woman. If she would run to save him, would journey for a medicine wolf, did she not deserve an honest answer? Part of him prayed that she would say he only suffered from a difficult cough, that he did not bleed. Guilt gnawed at his edges. Why ask if he could not help her?

kukutux listened.

a sick mate with a killing cough. foxfur's ears flattened and his question was the one that moonwoman would have asked herself. 

she too knew the malady. it did not end. and yet her mind filed through what stores their village might have. she thought of the tea she had showed to lane.

she shifted her attention to the boy for a moment, brushed his head with her muzzle. "i will come."

it was a decision made swiftly yet not lightly. "i know this sickness. and i know many medicines. one to slow the sound of the cough. one to kill its spirit for a time. but i do not know a leaf that will end this badness."

and yet kukutux held the plant-lore of many mothers now.

It was a rare stroke of fortune for Wylla that she stumbled upon Moonglow. There were other accomplished healers to be found out there, but few who might be willing to help her. Most who were would know the same remedies Mahler did. She assumed he had already done everything in his power to slow the progression of his illness. But these wolves spoke differently than others she had met, suggesting they came from somewhere far off, and perhaps had more to offer than the Teekon's brand of cures.

Yes, she said grimly, flicking her gaze over Lómion before turning her eye to Foxfur once more. I don't know how long since the blood started. I think he kept it from me for a while. Plus the rocky nature of their relationship and her own selfishness to not see it until he shared it. It could have been months since the cough started and now it was truly impossible to cure it. She held on to a sliver of optimism, but it was for his sake more than anything.

She expected then to be told what Mahler had suggested, that it was a lost cause and she should spend what remaining time they had together at home with him. She was used to things not working out in her favour, so it made her heart leap when Kukutux said she knew the illness and would come to try to treat it. Thank you, thank you! she said, voice cracking with relief. Seriously, anything I can do to repay you, I will.