Heron Lake Plateau You want a light saber?

Towhee hadn't really spoken to anyone the past couple of days, other than a passing greeting here or there as she moved about the territory. She wasn't avoiding socializing on purpose, it was mostly a byproduct of recent events. Her relationship with @Finley and @Elwood was still on the rocks, so she didn't seek them out much (if at all), meaning she didn't see @Tywyll or @Cinder much either. @Raven and @Quixote were surely staying busy with leadership and upcoming parenthood. @Tegan was off on his mission and had evidently taken @Niamh with him (and maybe @Lucca too? Towhee hadn't seen him in a while...). She would've loved to catch up with @Clover and @Fiadh but honestly feared their reactions to the recent shakeups. She didn't have the energy for their possible disappointment, nor for trying to converse with the likes of @Eljay or @Nevouku. And it wasn't like she'd seek out @Screech or @Colt on purpose...

That left literally one wolf out of the bunch that Towhee could look up right now: @Orca. She did feel a bit lonely, so after she wrapped up a particularly hot and steamy patrol, the Beta went in search of her sister. As she was climbing back up the plateau, the sun beating down on her shoulder blades, Towhee found herself suddenly dizzy. She slowed, then stopped, waiting for the lightheaded feeling to pass. Instead, a great feeling of weakness overcame her and she sank to the grass, which felt cool and bristly against her overheated fur. I need water, Towhee thought, not just in her mouth but preferably over her whole body. A swim suddenly sounded heavenly, though as she attempted to rise back onto all fours, her head suddenly began pounding, her vision spotting. She swayed and sat down, panting hard and shallow.

A blessedly cool breeze whispered over her and Towhee turned her face toward it, only to discover X had landed by her side. Before she could even mouth the words, "Call for help," she saw the raptor's beak open wide in what was hopefully an earsplitting distress call.

Whoops!

Fiadh wasn't really looking for Towhee when she found her—she was on her way to the lake for a drink when she spotted her dark-coated older sibling in the hazy distance. The heat rising from the plateau's surface blurred the horizon, including Towhee, into an indistinct smudge. She only knew it was her sister because of the scent that carried on the stagnant wind. She thought nothing of it and made no motion to redirect her course, thirsty as she was, until the earsplitting, keening cry of a hawk drew her attention sharply back to the black blob in the distance.

Something's wrong, she knew as she broke into a run, feet pounding the ground heavily. X wouldn't make a sound like that otherwise. She'd long since forgiven Towhee and had thought about possibly catching up with the Beta after slaking her thirst, but now her attention was wholly on her sister; her own fatigue would need to wait. She knew as soon as she was in close range that something wasn't right with Towhee. She'd never seen her sister pant like that, and there was an uncommon shakiness about her that set Fiadh's heart aflutter, and not in a good way.

"Towhee! What's wrong?" she asked, assuming at first it was something psychological. She moved in to lap at her dark face; only then did she realize how hot the Beta felt. She knew nothing at all about heat stroke, but Fiadh knew a hot face and nose wasn't good. "You're so warm," she muttered, casting about for something that might help, but all she had was her tongue. "Can you stand? We need shade or... water... something." Whipping her head around, Fiadh fixed X with a stern expression and said, "find @Raven, quick. I got her for now."

Help arrived before the hawk's echoes even faded into the distance. Towhee squinted at the gray shape hurrying toward her, trying to identify which Blackthorn had come to render her aid. "Fiadh," she gasped the girl's name even as she closed in and began nosing concernedly at the Beta's prostrate form.

As the yearling fussed over her, Towhee's eyes slipped shut for a moment to fend off another wave of dizziness. She knew Fiadh was talking, though she obviously didn't catch any of it. When her eyes reopened, X was lifting into the air with a sweep of his golden wings and her younger sister was turning back to face her.

"Thank you," Towhee muttered weakly through her panting. Her head and heart both pounded. "I think I'm just overheated. Can you help me up? And walk with me to the lake?"

Towhee had been heading in the right direction to find her sister; Orca was making her way down the ridge of the plateau, not far from where Towhee was climbing up. Her gaze was focused on her forepaws as she carefully picked her away along the slope, so she didn't see the Beta at first. She didn't look up until X's cry split the humid air, and then she ground to a halt and glanced around with urgency.

She saw Towhee, sitting and swaying, and beelining towards her was Fiadh. Orca moved quickly towards the duo, watching as X suddenly set off as though on a mission. "What's wrong?" she asked as she neared the two girls, taking in Towhee's unsteadiness and heavy panting with alarm. "What can I do to help?" she rephrased, trying to remain calm despite her growing concern.

Thanks for the invite! I'm so close to my medic mastery that I appreciate every chance I can get to add another thread to the log. :)

Raven wasn't terribly far from where Towhee had succumbed to the heat, having just emerged from a dip in the lake herself. While the medic enjoyed warm weather, her black fur absorbed a great deal more heat than did that of her lighter-colored packmates and, on especially muggy days like today, it could get uncomfortable quickly. She was shaking the excess water from her pelt when she heard X's distress call from some small distance away. Curiosity roused within her, but she wasn't overly concerned at the moment because there could be any number of reasons for X to fuss.

But, moments later, she spotted the raptor circling high above her, sunlight making his golden plumage gleam. When he caught sight of her, he dove straight for her and that was when she began to worry. Something's happened to Towhee, the alpha realized. She was ready to go immediately, and when X drew near, she asked him to show her the way and followed him at a full run.

It only took a few moments to reach Towhee, fortunately, and she was greeted by the sight of Orca and Fiadh when she got there. Already panting in the oppressive heat, she approached just in time to hear Towhee ask the pair to help her up. She appeared to be dazed and a little disoriented, and a quick touch of her own cold nose to Towhee's hot, dry nose made for a quick diagnosis. This being her third summer, Raven was well-acquainted with the symptoms of heatstroke. "She's got heat poisoning," she said, her calm voice tinged with a note of urgency, and then looked at her two companions. "We have to lower her body temperature now. Let's get her to the lake." She gently nudged her weakened sister's shoulder and smiled at her encouragingly, inwardly hoping that Towhee hadn't been in this state for too long. Brain and organ damage could easily occur if heat poisoning wasn't treated promptly.

She spun back around to her sister, flustered and frantic, as the hawk winged away. Her mouth felt dry and her heart thudded uncomfortably. Was this how Raven felt every time she had to help one of their injured pack mates? No, surely not; the healer was proficient and would know exactly what to do. Fiadh, on the other hand, seemed unable to grasp a thought in her mind for more than a few seconds. She was panicking. What if Towhee died?

The deaf Beta had the same idea and her suggestion ground Fiadh, who nodded emphatically and mouthed, "I'll be right here with you." Overheated? That was a thing? Sure, her back sometimes felt hot under the sun's relentless glare... then it hit her that wolves with dark coats like Towhee's must absolutely suffer in the warm weather, and things started clicking into place. Towhee wasn't the kind of wolf to take it easy on any kind of day. She had to have overdone it in the heat.

Before she could do much more than offer her shoulder for her sister to lean on, Orca called out and her vivid gaze lifted to the black-and-white Redhawk. "She needs water," Fiadh explained quickly, bobbing her head in the direction of Towhee's other side. "Can you help support her? We have to get her—"

But then Raven was there and Fiadh nearly drowned under the relief she felt. "Thank god," she murmured. Raven would know exactly how to fix this. Luckily they had already deduced the solution on their own; Raven suggested exactly what they'd been trying to do and Fiadh nodded firmly. "Come on, Towhee," she mouthed for her sister, "let's go swimming."

Some FF/PP, hope that's coo'!

She didn't even realize that she had blacked out until suddenly Orca and Raven were there alongside Fiadh, the three of them towing Towhee toward the lake. The Beta did her best to stay awake and help propel herself, though largely it was their efforts that kept her moving. She went in and out a few more times during the walk, though somehow the quartet reached the shore.

The Beta groaned loudly when her feet touched water, the four of them splashing into the shallows like some crazy octopus with twice too many legs. Speaking of which, her limbs buckled and she immediately felt ninety percent better as the water engulfed her. Towhee bobbed there, still partially supported by her three sisters, until she felt well enough to get her legs beneath her and stand.

The water still lapped at her flanks as she dug her black toes into the silt and blinked from Fiadh to Orca to Raven, offering a weak smile. "Thanks, gals," she murmured, "that feels m—" Before she could get out the words, something else rushed from her mouth. Seconds later, she was staring at her own puddle of sick spreading over the surface in front of her.

"Oh, ugh," she moaned, sloshing away from the floating vomit and bumping into Orca. "Sorry," Towhee said a bit too loudly into her litter mate's ear before creeping toward shore and slumping to her belly where the water was only a few inches deep. "I... I think I'm okay now."

Shortly after Orca arrived, Raven was there, calmly and firmly giving directions. Orca was filled with relief; she and Fiadh would only have been able to provide Towhee with limited assistance, and Orca felt much better when she was being given instructions. She might not have been an expert in any one area, but she was able to take direction quickly and promptly.

The going was slow, but they managed to maneuver Towhee to the lake where she could cool off. Heat poisoning, Raven had said; Towhee seemed to feel better almost as soon as the refreshing water dampened her pelt, but Orca still glanced anxiously at Raven. "Is she going to be o--" she started to ask, only to stop when her sister suddenly vomited. The Beta bumped into her and Orca pushed back gently, so as not to allow her to fall, then watched as she unsteadily made her way to the shallower water.

Looking at Raven again, she rephrased her question: "Will she be alright?"

Under different circumstances, the four wolves hobbling drunkenly together toward the lake might have been a hilarious sight. As it was, it was stressful and hot, and the whole time Raven was terrified that Towhee might drop dead right in front of them, or go into convulsions or shock. Thankfully, no such misfortune befell their sister, and they made it to the lake with Towhee more or less on her own four feet.

The water felt wonderful to Raven, who didn't have a single white hair on her body to provide any relief from the sun's relentless heat. She was relieved when Towhee began to perk up after some time in the water. She was extra watchful in those moments, her senses on high alert for any signs of further complication -- unusual behavior, for example, or slurred speech, that sort of thing -- but luckily, the only side effect she could see was the vomit that had interrupted Towhee mid-sentence. As her weakened sister moved to shallower water, Raven splashed the half-digested goop further out into the lake with one of her forelegs before returning to Towhee's side. "It's looking like she'll be okay," she answered Orca, glad to have had her and Fiadh's help with all of this. "She's very lucky you two found her. Heat poisoning is extremely dangerous, and it can sneak up on you if you aren't careful. Particularly if you have dark fur." She cast a meaningful look at Orca as she said that last bit, hoping that she would learn something from this and remember to keep herself safe in the hot summer days to come. "If you ever start feeling excessively hot, thirsty, and dizzy, find water immediately, okay guys?"

Going to be PPCing Fiadh for a little bit so feel free to just PP her hanging out for the rest of this thread!

Even Fiadh, with her mostly silver fur, appreciated the water's cool embrace as they splashed into the shallows. She dunked her head briefly and emerged dripping just in time for Towhee to blow chunks in the water. Ew. Her reflex was to curve away from the sick floating on the surface and she waded back to her sister's other side, effectively using the exhausted she-wolf as a barricade. Raven was quick to push it away on ripples while Fiadh snuffled at Towhee's face, seeking other indications that she was feeling better.

The heat emanating from her body seemed to be gone, setting the Blackthorn's tail churning slowly through the water. Orca voiced her own thoughts and her eyes sought comfort in Raven's face. A relieved smile split her lips when the healer confirmed that Towhee would be okay. "Don't worry," she assured the Alpha female, "I love swimming so I'll never get that hot." It was true that she hadn't been super thrilled about the constant presence of water on the plateau, but Fiadh did enjoy getting wet when it was intentional. The signs and symptoms of heat poisoning were committed to memory; next time, she would know exactly what to look for and precisely what to do.

Towhee missed much of the conversation due to lowering her head slightly to lap at the water splashing against her chest. She would have to go over what'd happened with Raven later to better understand and prevent another episode. For now, she simply tried to catch her breath and stay cool.

When Fiadh joined her, the Beta returned the nudge and swept her tongue thankfully over the damp corner of the yearling's eye. "Glad you found me," she murmured, finally lifting her head and twisting to include Orca and Raven. "Thank you again."

She took another moment or two to gather herself, then sat up, water running in rivulets down her muscled frame. "I'm going to hang out here a bit longer. Orca, would you mind staying with me a while? I don't want to keep you," she added for Fiadh's and Raven's benefits, "although I certainly won't run you off if you want to hang too."

Deciding that it felt better to lie down after all, Towhee resumed a more horizontal position in the shallows, her jaws parted in a light pant as she literally took some time to just chill.

Y'all are welcome to conclude this with your posts. :)

She was reassured about her sister's recovery by Raven, although the healer's words did cause her to blink with surprise. Orca hadn't even considered that this could happen to her; she, too, was of a dark pelt, but she had been so preoccupied with Towhee's safety that she hadn't realized the implications for herself. She nodded obediently, while Fiadh gave a more flippant response about loving to swim, which earned a smile from Orca.

Towhee asked her to stay for a little longer, to which Orca naturally agreed quickly. "Of course," she replied, and sank onto her belly alongside her littermate. The cool water lapped around her pale tummy as she rested.

Last one from me!

Raven said little, but responded to the various replies she received with grins and nods of approval. She was proud of how Orca and Fiadh had comported themselves in the face of a crisis, handling what had surely been a frightening situation with strength and prompt decision-making. The alpha would remember that when it was time to discuss the ranks with Quixote again. In the meantime, she was content to remain close by. Despite Towhee's gentle dismissal, the healer wanted to keep an eye on her a bit longer just to make sure that she was truly safe, so she moved a few paces away and sank down to lie in the shallow water and relax a while.