Wild Berry Meadow ludus

whump whump @Kove

Starbuck was growing bolder and bolder in her wanderings. She took unending joy in watching the wonders of the earth unfold, and where once it had been lonely, she found her travels to be centering and peaceful.

In a field of berry bushes, joy took a firm grip of her and she set off, laughing, after a quick little rabbit. Between trees and bushes she chased it, excited by the thought of a meal. So excited, indeed, that she was blind to all else around her, and did not notice the large rock that cropped up before her until it was too late. The rock caught her foot, splitting her back claws to the quick and sending her sprawling. She landed heavily on one leg, but not steadily, and she screamed aloud as pain shot through her shoulder and she crumpled.

An adventurer at heart, though long had it been since his last journey away from home. He’d been grounded, so to speak, kept within the confines of the woods by the need to protect his children. Yet, no matter how great his age became or how many children he needed to watch over, never had his wanderlust died away. Always had it been there, lingering within the back of his mind, nagging at him to see something new. In the past, he had always waved the feeling off, ignored it and filled his time, instead, with his family. Today, however, he’d been unable to resist the urge to travel, and so beyond the woods had he gone.

Kove had ventured through the flatlands, his usual path towards the lake having not been taken. Whilst he had been able to see it in the distance, still, during the first portion of his trek, it had eventually faded from his line of sight. Replacing it was a meadow he could not recall having ever visited before, despite its close proximity to the woods. It was a pleasant sight to behold, and vastly different from the darkness of Blackfeather, but he’d hardly the chance to explore it further before his attention latched on to something entirely different. Knowing not the being that had screamed, nor believing that their identity should determine whether or not he investigated, he’d set off in the direction from which it’d originated.

Pushing through a cluster of bushes, his gaze had been quick to land on a crumpled form, pressed against the earth. It had been easy to mistake her for a coyote at first, but he’d crept closer anyways, hesitantly circling the form. Then, as he’d neared her head, he’d asked, “Are you alive?” There didn’t appear to be a large amount of blood anywhere, and he swore he’d spotted the steady rise and fall of her sides, but, y’know, had to be sure. “How can I help?” would follow directly after, should she give some sort of indication that she was conscious.

Pain encompassed her world, a hearty throb that rattled in her shoulder and throbbed on her foot. Starbuck gave herself a few moments to breathe deeply, to recover from the initial shock. In, out, and she carefully rose her head and readjusted her tangled limbs to look at her paws. She saw the claws were cracked and broken, painful beyond compare. They were a bloodied mess, and so she bent, careful of her shoulder, to lick at them.

And so she was when he came upon her, nursing the wounds. It was his voice that caught her attention, she was too preoccupied to see him coming. Yet she did not startle, though instinct roared for her to flee, to fight. She quelled nature and took on the glassy mask of her nurture, doing her best to hide her pain. I suppose I am, she said quietly, her voice strained. She was surprised to hear him ask, and looked again upon him. He was a fearsome creature, made so not by his size but the dried blood pawprint upon him. You will help? she asked, hopeful. You will have to hurt me. She was not yet sure if the shoulder was fully dislocated or merely subluxed, but quick investigation proved that it had not popped entirely free of the joint.

Alive but clearly injured, and he hadn’t even the slightest of clues as to how he might assist. Never had he dabbled in the art of medicine before, and so he knew not even how to tell what was wrong for sure, let alone fix her. Yet, his services had been offered anyways, expecting for her to have the necessary knowledge to make things better again. And as she spoke, looking upon him then, he’d known that he’d have to honour his offer. Even if it turned out that she was unaware of what to do, he would find someone that could lend their services to the both of them. “I will help,” he’d responded, confirming for her that he wouldn’t just leave. They were far enough from Blackfeather that he felt it unnecessary to perceive her as threat; even if they’d been closer, it still wouldn’t have been much of a big deal, for her size and injury weren’t at all threatening.

As she spoke again, he was taken aback. It was, perhaps, the oddest statement that he’d ever heard. In order to help her, he must first hurt her? It didn’t make any sense to him, but, he had reminded himself, he didn’t know anything about being a medic—perhaps causing more harm was a legitimate method, despite how ludicrous it sounded. “What do you need me to do?” he asked. Curious had he become, both of her and the task that she might have him complete. His confusion and fascination did little to make him hesitant, however, having decided to trust her word. It was assumed, of course, that no one in their right mind would request to be harmed in any way unless if doing so was absolutely necessary, and he didn’t want to believe that an annasiak could be lacking her sanity.

A smile broke like the rising of the sun, brilliant and just as lovely. Her relief was palpable, as was her gratitude. Starbuck had feared that none would come, leaving her to drag herself many miles in search of aid. But here had come her savior! You have my gratitude, kind stranger, she said sweetly, though there was the underlining pain, like a string held taught. Indeed it broke in a soft gasp as she shifted herself.

Were she a healer in her own home, she would have asked for herbs, something to dull the pain. As it was, she was more concerned about fixing her shoulder, which sloped at a ghastly angle. Each time she looked at it, for look at it she must, the pervading sense of wrongness caught her.

Starbuck braced herself, then moved, choking back the agony to a mere whimper. Carefully, carefully, she arranged her leg so that it was at the same angle the healers of Hansa Rise had shown her many months ago. Take this leg and pull it. Be gentle but firm, she instructed. Stop when I tell you to. And thank you. Doing as she had instructed would set the limb right, though it would be terribly painful for her.

To have the gratitude of another was something that he’d grown unfamiliar with over time. Hearing her words had been surprising, leaving him without a clue as to what he should say in return. Silence was opted for, along with a nod of his head and a smile—which had only appeared briefly, her gasp having stripped him of it right away. To help her was necessary, for leaving her there in pain was not at all something he’d ever do. She’d brought harm to no one, he was sure, nor had she crossed into unwelcoming lands. She’d merely stumbled and injured herself, and so he knew he’d feel guilty if he’d just left her there to suffer.

The stranger adjusted herself, which was followed by a whimper that had his ears falling back against his head. It was a rare moment where he had wished that he’d taken the time to learn about herbs in the past, since he wanted to be able to relieve her of her pain right then and there. Never had he, though, and it was too late to receive a crash course now. So he focused on following the directions given, stepping nearer to her, and then pausing. “Sorry about this,” he’d said, right before learning down and grabbing hold of her ankle. Though he was as gentle as he could be, his grip was a sturdy one, and thus he began pulling upon her limb. The moment she said to do so, however, he’d stop immediately.

The pain was great, and would be greater still when he set her shoulder right, but she knew from her lessons that afterwards the pain would diminish. So she felt relief as much as wariness as he stepped closer, and were it a different time, she might have noticed the metallic glint of his eyes or the handsome line of his jaw. Instead she squeezed her eyes shut as his jaws closed around her ankle. 

He pulled, pain sparking white-hot across her vision. This time she did not scream, but gasped in anguish until she felt the alignment correct. Stop! she cried, breathless, tears pricking the corner of her eyes.

Kove had kept his jaws secured around her ankle, pulling and feeling the movement of her limb, until she’d said to stop. As soon as the word was spoken he’d frozen in place, then proceeded to slowly lower her paw back down towards the earth, where he’d released it just as gently as he’d picked it up. Looking towards her face, he could gather from her expression nothing more than pain, which upset him greatly. The girl was a stranger to him, but he’d always had a weakness for a pretty face, and wanted nothing more than to take all of her pain away. Again, he wished that he would have taken the time to learn a bit about herbs, and inwardly cursed himself for not possessing said sort of knowledge.

“Is there anything that I can get for you?” he asked, looking between her eyes and the injured limb. For how long would it take to fully heal, he wondered? Honestly, he couldn’t even begin to try and figure that out. Kove was a reader of expressions and body language, able to use his words to get what he wanted, but he was about as knowledgeable as a newborn when it came to medicine.

Her gaze was watery when she turned it upon him. She felt immediate relief, the roar of pain dulling to a steady ebb and flow which, if not disturbed, she could almost ignore. Yet she knew from her lessons that this, too, would pass, so long as she could rest. There may have still been muscle or ligament damage, which would need time to heal with her off her feet.

Despair struck her, a desolate note that wracked her when she realized that she would, once again, let Deirdre down by being later than she had said. Oh! Would she be able to make it back for Samhain?

Her attention returned to the man, who so selflessly offered yet more help. You are too kind... she murmured. [q]I cannot stay here, do you know of any place that might offer me shelter? I will need time to recover. Days, perhaps weeks.

Too kind.

If only the wolves of Blackfeather could see him now, it would surely come as a shock—or would it? Kove had never been physically ruthless, but verbally. Always were his approaches made with words, promises and lies. Yet, he was not acting in such a manner currently. He had nothing to gain from assisting the girl aside from a clean conscious, which made it a wonder as to why he was helping her. Perhaps he wasn’t all bad, or maybe the appeal of her features drove him to help in any way that he could. Either way, he was there to stay and offer whatever assistance was to be asked of him.

She needed a place to stay so that she could heal, and so he thought over what he could offer. The forest was out of the question entirely, for he knew that leading her there would be a death sentence. He swore he could remember seeing an abandoned den or two in unclaimed lands, though, which seemed like their best bet. “I think I saw a place on my way here,” he answered. “It looked abandoned.” And if it wasn’t, he could easily remove whatever had claimed it—assuming it wasn’t something like a bear, of course. Believing that he had shelter covered, he looked at her limb. “Will you need carried?” How would that even work? Awkwardly, if at all.

She looked to him with mingled joy and relief, and gratitude shone in her every look. There was a fragility, now, to her mood. She was not used to being injured, much less being cared for. A desire to be close, to get some physical comfort from proximity, nearly overruled her common sense. Priorities. Shelter would come first, then if she still needed some soothing presence, she could burn that bridge when she came to it. So distracted was she by her pain and mood that she did not even mind the dubiousness of his statement. The shelter looked abandoned.

Starbuck shook her head. Not carried, though if I could lean on you it would be better for my leg, she said. Bravely, she staggered to her peets and looked to him, waiting for him to step closer.

The actual state of the den was something that he couldn’t quite remember, having only really glanced at it in passing. Whether it was occupied, or could even offer any real shelter, were both questions that he’d not be able to provide an answer for if interrogated. He’d not been seeking any shelter whilst venturing out of the woods, so he hadn’t thought twice about it—until now. Had he been birthed with the ability to foresee the future, he would have looked the den over far more thoroughly than he had, but he hadn’t. Nevertheless, he felt confident, and would gladly rid the place of any occupants should it come to that. It was the word of the apex predator that was most respected, after all; if their word wasn't to be respected, then their teeth certainly would be.

Kove was relieved to hear that she’d not need to be carried, having believed that doing so would have been rather difficult. Though she appeared to be light, the positioning would have been troubling, as would moving. Given that she need only lean against him, the Inuk moved into place at her side as she stood, closing the distance between their bodies whilst offering himself as a living crutch. After letting her adjust—should it be necessary that she do so, of course—he’d said, “If I move too fast for you at any time, let me know.” The ghost wished to help, not cause more problems for her, so he’d allow for her words to guide the both of them. And, once she was ready, he’d begin walking at a slow pace.

There would be many stops along the way, moments to rest and allow her to regain her strength. Kove would keep them removing after each pause, however, allowing a true rest only after they'd located a shelter to settle her into for the night. For as long as he was needed, the man stayed with her, serving as a guard to keep her safe. Once they were in the clear, he'd leave her and return home, but would later return to make sure that everything was alright.