Blacktail Deer Plateau Of bloody dreams and second chances

Ash Paw shimmied from her den, and headed towards the medicinal den. She had been searching further than usual winter time herbs, and as such she was tired at night and slept deeply and darkly. Though, she was grimly surprised when she arrived at the den she had housed the child in and grew agitated immediately. Her first thought was for the child. She shouldn't have left yet. She could very well die. Granted Ash had done her very best with what she was allowed to do, but it wasn't the best.

Next her thoughts ran to @Ingram and she was immediately cowled. What would he think? Would he blame her? Would he be pleased? She wasn't certain, but she was completely expecting some sort of back lash. 

She trotted towards the girl. Body of many colors dipping through the shadows, petite paws tearing up the ground as she went. She followed blood trails, her very soul sinking with each step. She'd be surprised if the girl made it, but perhaps she was stronger than Ash had given her credit for. She frowned, and quit following it. And howled both her fury and irritation to the sky. This was not good, and it put her in a precarious position. Damn that girl.

Ash Paw walked in a slow circle for a moment, her thoughts racing. She wasn't sure what to expect. She didn't want to find the girl dead somewhere, but also there was the simple fact, that she didn't wish to surrender pieces of her own hide for a debt owed. It would have been different had the girl spoke to her, perhaps she wouldn't be so irritated. Or spoken to Ingram. She knew for a fact Ingram ahd spoken to the girl about her debt, perhaps that was why she left. She sighed.

She would need to find something to sacrifice to her gods, because this was a huge quandary.

though the cold kiss of a night spent defiantly among the stars helped to temper ingram's feelings of betrayal and resulting ire, it does not freeze it entirely.

because ingram sought her, not willing to let this fester among his own desires for answers, for clarity, it is not long before his path crosses with her's.

mage, he calls out to her, formal: using her title. a subtle hint that this is business. we need to speak. now.

The mage had just been about ready to hunt down something to appease the guards, when like death itself. Ingram came upon her. She froze as he spoke, and though she wanted to rail against it, because this wasn't her fault. Though she could hear the implication in his tone. She didn't. 

Hopefully, he was in a listening mood, because she had done nothing wrong after the initial treatement of the girl.

Okay.

Then she waited, tiny but stalwart in her stance. She tilted her head and pushed ears forward. Face of attentive listener.

she does not argue. this pleases ingram as he draws to a stop before her; seaglass gaze cutting as it zeroes in on her. the ungracious girl is gone, as you probably have already came to know. a small breath is drawn in, the cold settling into his lungs like tiny icicles. it feels good against the heat of his assumed betrayal and fire of his ire. i am not sad to see her go, he admits, but i have many questions.

none of them good.

i assumed her wounds were dire. too dire for her to be healed enough to make any sort of long trip in just barely two weeks time. ingram's seaglass gaze turns hard, as if he were trying to crack ash paw open and see what she keeps hidden within herself. but i am no mage and i would not know dire from superficial if bloody enough. he admits willingly because it is the truth. he is a killer not a savior.

tell me truthfully, ash paw. did you lie to me about the severity of her wounds?

The leader got straight to the point which was his way. Though she felt there was more to it than that. She tilted her head and gave one nod, in agreement. She was very aware, thank you very much. It was why she was out here in the dark, angry and aggravated. Her eyes narrowed at the ground when he said he had questions. This was going to be unpleasant she could tell by the tone of voice.

She listened. Her wounds were not healed. They were still quite a mess. If the girl did go, she was a fool. Which she supposed walked hand and  hand with her age.

Though his next words drew her taut and her entire body tightened. Blue eyes snapped to his for a moment and in their depths was anger, and disgust. She quickly looked away, because he was obviously angry and deluded enough to attack her.

She drew her head up, tilted her chin with a proud tilt, though her eyes stayed averted. All her ire was pressed into her words. The disgust that he would think such a thing.

I am many things dreadfather, but a LIAR isn't one. The girl's wounds were everywhere. She was covered in bites and claw gouges. She almost went into shock the fist night.

Tiny paws tightened into the dirt and she stamped one. To leave my care and walk towards I assume home was foolish and if she does make it. Her home is either closer than we thought, or she's stronger than she seems and she fooled me well. She could barely move for the pain. And I cut the medicinal herbs i used by a significant amount like you asked, which would mean she had very little buffer from the pain.

I would never lie about healing or herbs or anything. But it is important to know it's not an exact science. They looked, and smelled severe. They were deep and numerous. She acted as if she were in much pain. However, she was a docile patient. She took any herbs I gave her, allowed me to clean and dress the wounds without any complaint other than whines and groans. so what she did get would have helped her, though miraculous cure. That would have been a divine's work and i am no goddess.

she is angry at him; understandably, but he exposes his teeth and lets out a low growl of warning at the lift of her chin: a reminder of her place. he was not in the mood to deal with her defiance. not here and not now. she would temper it, he was determined.

he was giving her a chance to explain herself, to change the fact that he felt a sting of betrayal. perhaps his assumption that she lied to him was unfair, but what else was he to think given the evidence laid out before him?

either ash paw had lied, was not as skilled a healer to bear the rank mage, had made a severe miscalculation or the ungracious cub was not of this world.

if it is unfair of me to jump to this conclusion, tell me, ash paw, what else am i to assume? that the girl is a god? that she can defy reality? even he, daedra prince in fleshly form cannot perform such feats. even i in this fleshbone form, cannot perform such otherworldly feats. he could be injured, he could die ...and when he did his spirit would return to the void, return to the commanders and be recycled.

she is gone and i have no interest in chasing her across the wilds. not yet. not until i am ready to collect the lifedebt. if one could even be claimed now. on this, he would have to consult the threadbones.

a draw of cool air. a release of heated ire.

i ...apologize for my hasty reaction. without answers my rage and the feeling of being thoroughly used by the ungracious cub is directed where it should not be.

She did not appreciate the growl, just as much as she didn't appreciate the implication that she was a liar and couldn't do her job. Because that is basically what he was saying. It rankled. She had earned her spot as mage and healer.

You can assume what you wish. But I didn't lie. I assessed the wounds, and did my best to determine how severe they were. I can only go on what i know of wounds and how the patient acts. She acted as if she was in severe pain and unable to move. Was I fooled perhaps, but there is no doubt that the wounds were not easily healed.

She narrowed her eyes and gave a soft pout of her lips, in thought. Then she nodded. Apology accepted, but please refrain from calling me a liar in the future if you would be so kind. I kept you apprised of everything I knew and all i did.

She tilted her head in thought. She may develop an infection, unless they also have an adept healer. And for the record, it rankles me just as much that she disappeared. Though I should have kept a better eye. I've been ranging farther to build up winter stores, there are some winter herbs to be found that like the cold of Ice and I slept a little to heavily.

i am not kind. he reminds her; a simple state of fact. he has accepted this about himself: embraced it. drank it in as he'd drank in sithis' presence.

as i said, he reiterates. i do not care that she is gone. ingram is relieved by the fact, even. simply, he had not expected basilica to be rid of her so quickly. he had expected her to linger for a month at least, maybe more. but he was not a good judge of how quickly wolves healed from things.

or, if she was even wolf.

so many questions and no apparent answers.

i was hoping she would at least help you restore what she used, medicine wise. but it was a vain thing, that hope. obviously. perhaps ask the seer if she would help with that task. she has decided to stay with us past the winter.

Ash paw tilted her chin as she always did. A small smile graced her face. Oh I'm aware. There was a gentle teasing note in her voice, but it was not a lie. He wasn't very kind. He was respectful she supposed to his underlings and he gave her more slack on many things than he probably should, but she didn't think that it was out of the kindness of his heart. It was more so, either for her to hang herself with it, or so she was indebted later.

Ash Paw had liked the girl here, but shamefully it was not because she liked her company. It was more so she could use her trade and gain more experience. She didn't find that a bad thing, necessarily. After all, she kept the girl alive hadn't she.

Ash Paw gave a very unladylike snort. I could have given that girl poison and she wouldn't have known the difference. So without very clear instructions and my constant observation, she would have possibly had difficulty finding what i need, when I can easily find it. So it actually would have possibly made my gathering more difficult.

ingram offers a low, non-commital noise. what was done was done and now that he has the answers he sought, he puts it behind him for now. for the most part. until he is ready to collect her owed lifedebt, at any rate.

the topic of medicines and poisons and the harvesting of such reminds ingram of something else he'd been meaning to speak with her about: relevant to that particular conversation. i'd like you to come up with a task for the seer to complete so she may rise from druid to mage. a soft command. better you assist in it's design as my knowledge is sorely limited. admitting what he doesn't know has become easier, over the ( short ) span of his life. humble in a very non-humble way.

this task i've given you will count towards your own promotion towards soothsayer.

The calico truly didn't understand how Ingram could so easily put everything behind him. It was as if, once it was over, then he was done with it. Did he even have emotions? She wasn't too certain anymore? Anger certainly, pride and vanity also. He wasn't even sure if he could truly love, or if his mateship was more of an obsession than a love match.

His next command took her off guard and then she nodded. She could already think of a few herbs, she could have her go after. Ginger for pregnant and nursing mothers. Ginger for their upset stomachs. That should be coming into season soon. Cranberries, a small sour fruit near waterways, they were available now, and could help with preterm labor as well as keep femmes healthy in all physical areas for child birth. 

I already have two tasks for her, but it can count as one. Breeding season is coming. I need more ginger which can be found in the forests. It's good for upset stomachs. And I need cranberries. They are a small hard fruit near waterways that help with preterm labor and keeping all reproductive organs healthy.

ingram is surprised to hear that ash paw already has came up with tasks for the seer but he hides it, sweeping it away as quickly as that flame sprung to life within him. good. he rumbles.

give me a day to consult the threadbones and i will call the two of you to assign her the task.

the reminder that the season of seeding was nearly upon them was not necessarily one that brought him joy though he was very much determined to sire heirs to his kingdom. still, he ushers those thoughts away too; much more interested in focusing on the things that demanded his attention in the here and now.

They hadn't been for The Seer originally. These were things she had planned to do. I had planned to get the ginger and the cranberries myself. But I can easily delegate these tasks to help her move further upward, if that is what you wish.

Very well. I will await a call.

Ash Paw didn't know what the next months would mean. She had to check her own stores. To decide if she wished to surpress her heat or not. If she didn't, she just wasn't sure. She shook her head, moving away from the topic.

it will come soon. assures the dreadfather. with everything he wished to speak with her about out of the way, he lets a pause hang in the air to hear if she had anything else to speak to him about or not. if there is nothing else, i will leave you to your tasks.

with that, ingram makes towards the borders.