Redhawk Caldera thread titles are hard

forward dated a few days. making some assumptions <3 pls pm me if i need to edit!!

in the time since brecheliant had taken him in, castor had managed to exchange some information with @Bridget; he'd learned her name first, and had given his own. he'd learned that @Teya was the name of the other woman who had come to his aid. and he'd shared a few more brief, pained details of the circumstances of his self-exile from his home. he'd told them only that he had lost the challenge, that his packmates had killed the challenger for his unwarranted brutality, and that he had left them of his own volition.
otherwise, castor tried to keep his mind occupied. his waking moments were often so filled with pain that he could focus on little else; he didn't think he could stand to brood over the past, on top of it all. he'd woken early this morning, and had set to gnawing a bone leftover from the last meal he'd been brought.
he wondered if someone would come to see him soon; bridget most likely, but he would have welcomed any company. his gratitude to his saviors ran deep, despite everything. a swell of misery had overtaken him when he realized he had slipped from death's grasp, but how could he deny such kindness? they hadn't even known him, or if he might be dangerous, yet they'd saved his life. as miserable as he was, castor could not bring himself to sink so low as to squander such generosity.

Bridget had discovered a few ready-made spaces for denning in her weeks living within the Caldera. She'd claimed one and started to set up within it, and it was here that she'd settled her patient so that she could keep an eye on him. He was recovering thankfully but Bridget wasn't only worried about his injuries. He was a flight risk as well, and the fact that he'd essentially driven himself towards his own demise was a red flag that the medic couldn't ignore. She wouldn't let him do it again so easily.

She'd needed to gather more willow and came back with a mouth full of the bark. She let it go with a slight face, then smiled. I'm guessing it doesn't taste much better than that when I give it to you, does it? Sorry about that. She laughed a bit beneath that, then focused in a little more seriously. How are you feeling, though? Is anything worse than it was earlier?

She was already circling before he had time to answer and had to be careful in the confined space. She knew, in the back of her mind, that the way she had to hop looked ridiculous. It wasn't something she could change, or prevent, so she was working on ignoring the sensation. The more she pretended, the more she could actually forget at times.

bridget appeared, as anticipated, carrying the willow bark castor had already grown accustomed to; he'd dealt with it often enough during his own time as a medic.
don't worry, i'm used to it, he offered with an easy smile. i was a graceless yearling. i always bounce back, though. nothing but improvement so far, doc. in a few days i should be able to help with anything you need. maybe collecting herbs? the absence of one of her legs had not been lost on castor. his wife's father had suffered an injury of a similar nature, though he had not been half so energetic as this woman in the wake of his loss.
and if he was exaggerating the state of his health a little, it was only because he knew that he could push through it. he had done it before, and he would again.

She gave him a look that showed she clearly knew what was going on here. Bridget was very familiar with pushing through and while she occasionally did it herself, her patients tended to get the spiel.

You can help me by getting plenty of rest so you don't ruin the work I've done already, she replied with a glint of a smile. She wasn't joking, per say, but he wasn't a prisoner. She could only hope he'd at least think about staying put though. If you want the exercise, though, there's a few spots near the lake you could go. In a day or two at least.

She'd been looking more outside the borders than in as an excuse to test her own limits. If he knew herbs, was he a medic at all?