Heron Lake Plateau What a wonderful world

Tag for reference unless you want to post! Little bit of PP while Rei cares for him, let me know if anything needs changing!

It had been days since @Tybault had found her. 

Long grueling days of round the clock care. Today was no different; it was almost routine at this point. She would check on him in the mornings, making sure he was stable enough for her to leave him unattended while she collected herbs and other items that was required for his care. 

And, again, this morning had been no different. She laid there beside him, watching his chest rise and fall, keeping track of his respiratory status due to the use of poppy teas from the extra seeds she had left over to keep him quiet and to dull the pain of changing his wound coverings. The task of healing required her full and unimpeded attention, and though she also suffered the withdrawals—which were now just a dull echo of longing for the sweet relief—she felt pride in herself for it.

It was a nasty habit, one she could have truly found herself in more trouble than she needed had she continued.

As his caretaker for the time being, she would spend much, if not all, of her time in his company, talking to him and humming to him, even though she knew he probably wouldn’t hear her. It also gave her the time to really look at him. Before this, she would only glance his way, her distaste for the male evident. 

Now, her expression was thoughtful, contemplative. Highly intrigued at how different he was compared to his siblings. At the very least, his two-toned coat was the vastest difference. Where the other siblings were made of gold, he was built from tigerseye, though not as eye catching and flashy, he was no less…beautiful. She snorted at the thought, one she would be ridiculed for thinking if she had ever said it out loud—especially by himself.

She thought back to her mother and how obsessed she had been with gems, rocks, stones, crystals, whatever earthly offering the terrain would give her. With everything she found, she would take Reina aside to teach her of its properties, its importance. Tigerseye promoted clarity, attention to detail, known to be grounding—intensely so. An important stone to surround oneself with if occupying a leadership seat as her family once did. And, Tybault? Well, he sure was intense and attentive.

A laugh escaped her. How would he feel being compared to a gemstone? 

“Maybe you could use a little bit of gemstones in your life…I know I sure do.” A sigh escaped her, then. She missed her mother fiercely in this moment. Her father, too. If they were alive and with her now, she was sure they would sing to her, calming her in ways only parents truly can.

She hummed some notes, but it didn’t take long for it to build and form into words, the melody floating around the area as it caught the wind.

“I see skies of blue 

And clouds of white

The bright blessed day

The dark sacred night

And I think to myself 

What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow 

So pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces 

Of people going by

I see friends shaking hands

Saying, ‘How do you do?’

They're really saying

I love you”

The tears fell, feeling the weight of her world sit on her shoulders. She never pictured herself here, and wished that time would rewind itself to before, where Mother and Father were waiting for her. She could almost hear her siblings calling her name. The red healer wanted nothing more than to call for them in return, to run to them, and hold them tightly to her chest as she used to do. But, she knew, it was not meant to be, and because he could not protest, she laid her head on his shoulder, careful to avoid the problematic areas, as she cried. For herself. For her family.

Even for Tybault, too.