Hoshor Plains To the rescue

@Invictus here we go! Backdated to the 23rd!

After yet another fight, this time entirely her own fault she was exhausted and bloodied somewhat badly. She had stayed put in the plains to rest, finding that there was plenty of smaller game plus the occasional rabbit or so to feed her.  After three days of this however, two of her wounds seemed to be growing worse instead of better. One was all oozing and the other swollen and hot to the touch. The majorly shitty thing that that both were on the same shoulder and it made walking difficult.

She was currently laying down and resting, trying to ignore the throbbing when a bunch of snarling and yipping woke her up. She bristled at the  sounds and looked up to see a female being pestered and picked on by two coyotes. She groaned and watched silently, trying to decide whether or not to rescue a damsel in distress or remain still and save herself more pain.

In hindsight, perhaps stealing from them hadn't been the best idea.

Well, technically, she wasn't stealing from them; that carcass had been killed by some other predator long before any of them got there, and they were just scavenging off the remains. Really, what right did they have to claim something they hadn't even felled? Either way, regardless of that being her opinion... the small pack of coyotes did, in fact, believe their newly found meal was their sole property, and after she'd sneakily swooped in and tore off a leg then took off in a different direction, they hadn't left her alone since.

The ebony she-wolf managed to get a good distance between herself and the original carcass, even when awkwardly lugging around a half deer leg in her jaws, but those flea bitten mutts were annoyingly persistent... They were gaining on her now, dogging her every footstep, matching their pace to her's, and gradually beginning to form a circle around her, their plan being to close her in, cut her off, and take back what was "their's". Invictus rumbled, both as a warning and out of annoyance. If they were this damned good at teaming up on something, why didn't they just go hunt their own prey?!

Eventually, when the creatures got to close for comfort, one daring to nip at her flank, she had no choice but to drop the deer leg, turn around, and attempt to fend the creatures off. Ordinarily, being a wolf, and a tall one at that, she ought to not have any trouble fighting off a coyote... er, that is to say, a coyote. But with a whole pack of them, all armed with aggressively snapping jaws of sharp fangs and violently slashing claws, perfectly capable of ripping out eyes and tearing tender flesh... She seemed to have bitten off a bit more than one wolf could chew... and a growing sense of panic was starting to arise each time she swung to bite one coyote and found herself simultaneously being attacked by another.

She watched, eyes taking in the scene. She spotted the deer leg upon the ground and figured what happened out. She groaned and stood up, wandering closer but taking her sweet time at first. It wasn't until the coyotes took it further and started attacking the girl that Minori got pissed and lunged forward, a look of grim determination on her face not to show the pain every time she put her foreleg down. When she reached them she didn't stop, instead barreling right into the coyote that was biting the girl from behind.

Her jaws fastened around it's scruff and she tossed it aside, whirling around just as another coyote went for her hinquarters. She headbutted the nasty canine in the jaw and then snarled, biting it viciously and tearing it's face open. The blood spattered everywhere and with a shrill shrieking yelp it tucked it's tail and ran away. Minori let it and turned to face off with the second coyote, assuming the other woman could handle herself now that there was only two left. As she stared at the coyote she snarled, baring her fangs. The other animal looked uncertain but lunged anyway, it's fangs scoring the top of her head. The bite stung and she growled, tossing her head and dislodging the coyote. She kept the distance close and ducked under it's neck, grabbing the throat and biting hard. There was a crunch that made her ears perk and she released immediately, seeing the coyote's eyes widen and then glaze over as it fell to the ground.

Even through the distracting haze of fending off a pack of snapping coyotes, Invictus could still sense the fast-moving approach of something else behind her, and thought for a brief, terrifying, heart-stopping moment that it might be more mangy mutts rushing for her... However, as she turned to try and block the attack (to the best of her ability anyway), her eyes went wide at discovering another wolf was upon them, savagely attacking and tearing off the tan-pelted canine that assaulted her hindquarters and tossing it aside as if it were nothing more than a feeble pup.

The other was not taller than she, but their muscular frame and powerful movements promised them to be much, much stronger, and far more capable of fighting their attackers off, as shown by their movements. She took a brief moment to just watch the newcomer in action, jaw slightly agape as they mercilessly sliced open the face of one coyote, blood spewing from the wound like a crimson fountain, and effortlessly snapped the neck of another, ending the creature's pitiful existence with a cringe inducing crunch. It wasn't until she felt a set of fangs boldly snapping at her paw (aiming for the deer leg she still stood guard over), that she recalled having a fight of her own to deal with. The stranger was momentarily put aside and the willowy she-wolf whipped her head towards the coyote, peeled her lips back and lunging for its face with an aggressive snarl. The mongrel yelped fearfully and just barely missed having its muzzle bit, instead leaning away and only earning a painful gash on its nose, Invictus's jaws snapping shut with a clump but her teeth having managed to graze flesh all the same.

The final coyote whirled around at this assault and circled back so as to get some distance, then fearfully peered around at his fallen brethren, tucked his tail, and went running for the mountains, all sense of bravery completely drained from his mind when realizing this was a fight he would not be winning.

Invictus, now free from her burden and feeling somewhat triumphant (even if her companion had done most of the defending) spat in the fleeing creature's direction, a smug look on her face, then slowly turned to face the other. Instinctively, since she didn't know the cause for this stranger's act of heroism, she placed a defensive paw on her stolen meal, uncertain as to whether or not they intended to take it from her, now that the scavengers had been dealt with. Then, silver eyes quickly flew across the wolf's features, taking in all the details she needed to know so as to properly size this newcomer up... and that's when she saw all of the injuries.

There was a new one from the recent fight, yes, just atop her head where Invie had observed the other get grazed... but there were plenty of others as well, and quite notably old from what her experienced eyes told her. Noting the pus and inflammation, the irritated red skin just slightly visible through the other's dark fur, she gave a small wince. Just how old were these injuries, she wondered; how long had they gone without treatment?

"Your injuries... they need healing," she bluntly observed, eyes still flitting from wound to wound so as to indicate what she was talking about. Her gaze then seemed to grow distant as she mentally cycled through a list of herbs that might help.

Minori heard the yelp and fleeing of the other coyote and her own opponent followed suit, shooting her a nasty look before tearing off and disappearing. She panted and winced as she moved her infected shoulder, each rotation causing a shooting pain through the limb. "Ah..shit. How am I supposed to hunt with this?" she cursed and shook her head slowly. While she assessed herself she looked up at the other woman briefly and noticed she was also assessing her wounds.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable with being studied she snorted, understanding just enough of the english again. She understood more then she spoke. "I've noticed" came the retort to the bluntness in japanese that she figured wouldn't be understood. Then she reluctantly looked to the other  "You heal?" she asked not pleading, her tone not hopeful, more like a simple request that she couldn't care less if got denied.

bold + italics mean japanese while just bold means english. Sorry for lack of length, I use my phone to post.

In response to her observation, a foreign language fell from the other's lips, causing Invictus to just faintly tilt her head in confusion. It was nothing she'd ever heard before, therefore couldn't even begin to try and translate, though the blunt tone with which it was spoken was understood well enough, causing her to quirk an unamused brow in the other's direction.

She figured her medical evaluation might be a bit more difficult if this wolf preferred to speak in a different tongue... but at least she seemed to understand some English, so it wasn't completely hopeless. The healer would just have to choose her words carefully...

As for the stranger's next words, thankfully in English this time, Invictus only gave a faint nod, analytical eyes narrowing as she continued observing her patient. She was already cycling through a mental list of herbs and began the process of crossing one's out that she knew for a fact wouldn't be in an area like this, which only left a select few, and she'd likely have to travel some distance in search of them... but hopefully they'd be enough.

"Lie down," she insisted monotonously, wanting all weight and muscle tension to be gone from the injured shoulder. "I'll go find some herbs."

Casting a quick glance to her deer leg, she made a mental note to be quick about it, not only because her patient's wounds were already infected, but because she didn't want to come back to another pack of predators, drawn by the scent of her food. With that, she swiftly took leave of Minori and went searching for the needed materials.

--

Chervil leaves and marigold to treat and stave off infection, nettle leaves for swelling, goosegrass for the bleeding, and a poppy seed for pain. Each time she found an herb or pair of herbs, she'd carefully collect what she needed so as not to damage them, then would return to her patient and set off again to go find the rest. All in all, it likely took a good 15-20 minutes, and she found herself getting faster the longer Minori had to wait without treatment. Finally, after gathering all she needed, she returned for good... well, until it was time to finish the treatment off with cobwebs, which couldn't be set down like the other medications.

As she set to work preparing the herbs, she gave her patient the single instruction of, "Clean it," nodding to the woman's shoulder wounds. She'd lick it herself, but in her experience, if they could reach it, most patients preferred doing that on their own, and she certainly had no qualm with letting them.

 

it's cool, i don't mind ^^

The unamused look she was given was returned with a sharp silent look and a subtle  lift of her chin,  a silent way to say "What are you gonna do?" before she resumed her normal expression of bored neutrality as the woman confirmed that she could heal. She needed this woman's help, she could suffer with swallowing her stand offish nature that sometimes flared up. When commanded to lay down she glared again, not liking the orders but gave a long huffy sigh and slid onto her stomach. 

As the other said she was leaving she nodded and remained still, eyeing the area around her as she was left alone. She did study the deer leg, sniffing at it with interest and having an internal war about whether or not to let the woman heal her and then try to snatch the leg and get off with it. She decided against it after a few minutes thought. If she did manage to snatch it, she couldn't run too fast with her shoulder and her jaws would be filled with meat so she'd be unable to fight. It had nothing to do with how it would be totally wrong after saving the woman and getting healed. 

When the other came back she lifted her head and stared at the herbs, giving them a few sniffs and wrinkling her nose but saying nothing about them. Another order came and she grunted, turning her head and licking at her wound in short quick rasps, ignoring the pain the roughness caused. Then she focused on the woman again and angled her neck and body so the wounds were fully exposed and easier to manage.

As her patient set about cleaning her wounds, Invictus busied herself compiling the herbs into two different piles; one that would be applied to the other's shoulder, and one that would be applied to her head. Bits of marigold, chervil leaf, nettle leaf, and goosegrass were contained in the first, which she carefully chewed into a bitter, earthy tasting poultice, her muzzle wrinkling and her lips curling at the taste. Once it had formed into vaguely solid, throughouly chewed mass, she carried it over to the other and gingerly spat it out onto the wounds, then used her nose to rub it in a bit. 

The saliva-ladden substance managed to stick well enough in the sense that it didn't immediately fall apart, but she knew from experience and the position of the wounds with which she'd placed it on that it'd start slipping if she didn't seal it with cobwebs soon. It would be a waste of time to make two trips, however, when she could finish treating both injured areas now, so she just tried to move fast in addressing the remaining wound.

Just a small grazing on the dark woman's head, easy to fix and quite frankly, not that in need of medical care... but it was still best to treat it while she was at it, just on the off chance it might get infected. Invictus spat out the remaining traces of herb in her mouth, yet an uncomfortable look still tugged at her features, pulling her mouth down into a frown. Her patient couldn't reach the cut on account of it being on her head... so it was up to the healer to do it the cleaning... 'Don't even think about biting me,' she silently warned before moving in, disregarding any protest the other had, and cleaning out the cut with a few throrough licks from her own tongue.

With that, she swiftly turned around and chewed up her second herb pile; this one much smaller and only containig two herbs, one to prevent infection and one to slow bleeding. As with the first, once she had her poultice made, she wasted no time in turning back to Midori, placing it on her head, and then turning away once more to go fetch cobwebs, dissapearing from sight with a wave of her ebony tail.

She didn't need to go nearly as far this time, as cobwebs could be found anywhere, and she need only take a few paces into the thicker grass to find some. It wasn't long before she swiftly returned and finished her job by sealing up all three wounds, the webs helping to stop bleeding, protect against dirt and debris, and hold in the poultices she'd so gingerly made and applied.

Of course, those herbs would only treat the surface problems, and would only lessen the she-wolf's pain by a small, barely noticable margin. For that, Invictus stepped back, took the poppy seed in her mouth, and cracked it in half. Poppy seeds were powerful painkillers and narcotics if used in a large amount; for that reason, it was safe to only use one, and even then, preferabbly just half if that would be enough. She rolled one half forward with her nose.

"Eat this for pain, and if it doesn't seem like it's working, eat the other half."

She held patiently still as the medic tended her wounds, the paste she rubbed in stinging ever so slightly but not enough to bother her at all. Then her facial expression changed as without warning the female came in close and began to lick her face. It only took a half second for Minori to tense up and give a low growl of warning but when she realised what was being done the noise was cut short and though her ears flattened back she held still.

She watched with interest at the way the girl worked, so quickly and sure of herself and her knowledge. It was much like how Minori used to work when giving orders in battle and running missions against enemy packs, Just silent, quick work. Then she was offered something she recognised and she licked up a single seed crunching it  between her teeth and swallowing. She would lay here until she was sure whether or not the painkiller was working. "Thank you" she said in english and tried to figure out how to say something else. "Go quick. They come back when...not alert" she said uncertain if that was proper enough to get her meaning across.

Invictus wasn't even remotely fazed by her patient's growling, and only slid the other a narrowed gaze of icy silver while faintly wrinkling her muzzle and flashing a single fang, a silent warning—or promise, rather— of, 'I'm going to do this whether you want me to or not.'

In the realm of healing and aiding the sick and injured, since she only had the intention to help and knew her actions could only benefit the other, she learned long ago to ignore those that growled or otherwise tried to push her away. Some wolves were simply like that when they carried an injury, acting on the wild animal instinct to scare everyone away so they could seclude themselves and lick their wounds in peace, and others just acted defensive like that... in general, which were definitely the vibes radiating off of the female before her. Either way though, it made no difference to her, and she had no issue pushing forward and continuing to do her work anyway, regardless of how the patient themselves felt about it. They'd thank her eventually; maybe not out loud, maybe not to her face, and maybe not for years afterward, but they would. They'd see.

Once all was said and done, she was glad to see the other cooperating with the treatment and eating the medication provided instead of pushing her away and implying she "didn't need it", as some stubborn patients liked to do. It allowed the medic to breathe easy and move on with a clear conscience, knowing she'd done the job right and to the fullest extent possible; Invictus wasn't one for half assing things or leaving them undone.

Then, as the other made herself comfortable, likely to wait until the herbs settled in and took affect so as not to disturb the delicate "bandaging" (to which the healer silently approved of as well), her patient gave a solemn "thank you" and proceeded with a choppy warning about... what Invitcus could only assume to be the coyotes. She tossed a glance over her shoulder at the deer leg, then warily to the distance, eyes wide and alert for the creatures in question, which she had completely forgotten about, having been so entranced in her work. This wolf was right... best to get moving before any more predators showed up to raise hell or undo all of her hard work by creating more injuries to treat. Besides, there was no need for her to stay longer anyway; she'd done her job, and had no care for sit and make "small talk" or "friends".

"Right."

She turned away and lowered her muzzle to pick up the leg, then thought of something and stopped, lifting her head up again and turning back to the other.

"I'm Invictus, by the way, in case you or someone you know needs to seek out a healer."

While true, at the moment, having not spent that much time in Teekon so her name wasn't that well known, she still hoped that as she continued her travels all across the land, it one day would be. Not for fame or fortune, but for the exact reason of being easy to find should someone need medical care.

With that, the ebony lupine turned away one final time, snapped up the deer leg, gave one last wary glance around to make sure no coyotes had returned, then set off at a swift trot away from the dark furred stranger, having provided her own name, but not even bothered to learn the other's.

Hopefully, she'd find a good place to seal herself off and dig into her prize without anymore hassle...

Annnnd she's out. Thank you for the thread! <3

Her warning had partially been to get the woman up and moving onward so she could swallow the second poppy seed. While she did think it was best to keep a sober mind around unexplored territory, she also craved the floaty and loopy feeling of being high. It was a secret of hers, she'd accidentally stumbled upon the ability to feel this type of release when she'd been badly injured and a newbie medic had given her too much poppy seeds. She'd been giggly and loose lipped afterward but it had felt so so good. Ever since she made sure she found time to slip into a few hours of highness every once in a while.

Minori didn't understand anything but the woman's name but politely nodded, knowing the tone meant she was being asked to do something. Better to pretend to know what it was and get her moving then ask what she meant and risk longer confusing conversation. Then Invictus turned and grabbed her stolen meal, running away and leaving Minori to happily lick up her drug.