Lake Rodney Staring death in the face

She was tired; weak from the blood loss and it was only getting worse. She knew that she wasn’t gonna get far so she laid down her neck only slightly getting hit by the lake. It’s water cooled the pain she felt from the wound and she wondered if she was going to die here.

@Kaito

Thanks for starting! <3 Don't worry about matching length, I tend to get carried away haha

He intended to take a break from the midday sun with a stroll by the lake. Instead, Kaito found the air stained with the overwhelming sting of blood and flesh. Holy moly, what kind of barbaric land was this place, anyway? The sylph from the North had not yet left his mind, if she ever would; her wounds had been unlike any he'd seen before, and he began to wonder if they wouldn't be the worst. He turned toward the waters, and steeled himself for what he would find when he arrived.

Sure enough, he found this victim right where he expected - essentially in the same place he had found the sylph. "Hey, miss," Kaito cleared his throat. It helped that the woman looked less like a monster than the one he'd found in the lake. He could see one deep wound spilling blood from her neck, but as he craned forward he wondered what might be concealed on the other side of her body, where he couldn't see. "I'm a medic. Uh, well, mostly," a nervous laugh accentuated his words, "Do you need help? Where else are you injured?"

Either half the wolves here were daredevils who threw their necks into danger for the thrill of it, or they were savages who found the thrill in striking those reckless necks - but Innocent or inflictor, he'd do what he could, and trust the One to handle the rest.

Her vision was a little hazy due to the blood loss but she could of sworn she heard a males voice. As she strained to lift her head to look at the man she nodded. “Just my neck and muzzle.” So he was kinda a medic. Well that made her feel so much better but Berger’s can’t be choosers she supposed. “Can you help me?” If he couldn’t she was probably as good as dead and she didn’t want to die at least not yet anyway.

Pfft. Could he help her. "Of course I can help you," he said, with a puff of his chest and an edge of self-certainty only teens would show. He'd only watched Tieru mend a wound like this once or twice, yeah, but she'd made him recite the process loads of time. How much different could this be?

"I'll just need to take a closer look first," he said, and bounced forward. "When'd you get hurt?" If the woman allowed, he would inspect the wound for any onset of infection - feeling the area for swelling or warmth and any sign of pus - and assess her rate of bleeding. He thought he could remember Tieru saying that was what he was supposed to do first.

The wolf seemed to get offended by her inquiry but Serem let that part go. Best not insult the person helping you. “Okay go ahead.” She showed her neck so that he may look upon it easier. She then focused on his next question. “A few hours ago maybe.”

This stranger was much more open to his help than the hooded woman at the lake had been, which made the whole process so much easier. He examined her wound while she spoke, and her answers were enough to confirm what he observed. "No infection yet, that's good," he mused aloud, "It's real deep, though. Bet you lost a lot of blood. Hold on, I'll be right back," as if she could really go anywhere like this - but Kaito had already sprung away.

There were so many herbs to remember, and so many he could use. Different concoctions for similar ailments, and nailing the right one down was half the trouble. He first fixed a branch between his teeth and began collecting every cobweb he could see (uprooting some spiders in the process). Right now, what was most important was to prevent infection and stop the stranger's bleeding. Marigold, comfrey root, and an abundant supply of cobweb. Marigold, comfrey root, cobweb. Even as he wove his stick with the webbing, his attention scoured the ground. Marigold, comfrey, abundant supply.

He had found two of the three ingredients by the time he returned - no more than ten minutes since he'd left - and he set the marigold and stick of webbing on the surface of a clean and dry river stone. Only comfrey root left - in part, because he had only seen comfrey in its preserved state - and in part, because he simply didn't know where to look. "I've got marigold and cobwebs, but need to find some comfrey. D'you know where to find that? D'you know what that looks like?"

Serem listened as he made his diagnoses and she was glad it hadn’t gotten infected yet. When he left, She was patient as she waited for the male wolf to return to her with the herbs. “Comfrey normally grows near water. So you may find it near a lake or along a river bed. I’ve seen comfrey with a purplish belled flower.”

"Okay. Okay, yeah," he said with a nod, and his tongue flashed across his lips, nervous. "Along the water, purplish-belled flower," he repeated her information to himself, even as he began to turn away. "Got it. I'll be right back!"

He stole away along the waters edge, and began looking. And looking. And prodding, and looking. Only normal grass, and normal flowers. Nothing that matched the description his patient had given him. Nothing even remotely close.

And his nerves built with every minute that passed, and his movements grew less confident, more jerky. He still had the marigold, he still had the cobwebs. He could still do something to help her. But the comfrey, how was he supposed to heal her if he couldn't find that?

How was he supposed to even find that?

His desperation mounted, and like he always did when uncertainty or anything overtook him, he began to pray. "Father, I know You see me," he said underbreath, peering around another rock. Nothing but dirt, and he turned searching eyes to the left, "I know You see her. Please," he moved aside another low-lying branch, "Please, help me." It was then he turned around, in a spontaneous whirl of anxious energy - and it was then he saw the bush. Inconspicuous, but he felt a pull to draw closer. And at first, he hesitated, and turned around.

Paused.

And then turned back, covered the ground with relative ease, and plunged his head straight between the branches of the shrubbery -

and the purple-belled flowers greeted him from within.

No way. he backed out of the bush, and paused, blinking. No. Way. But why did he question this? Hadn't the One always been with him? And this place was no different. The One had seen him, his Father still saw him, and Kaito plunged back into the shrubbery and set to work, digging through the ground around plant, while a soundless song of praise filled his heart. 

--

When he returned to the stranger, he looked a little worse for wear, with bits of plant life and dirt staining his fur, but his pale eyes shone with a strength renewed by the reassurance that the One walked with him still, even through this.

"Comfrey!" he declared with muffled words, through a smile and a mouth full of plants, and with tender care he lay the flowers next to the cobwebs and marigold, and set to work on the poultice to apply to the stranger's wounds.

"I never got your name. I'm Kaito Kalderon, from Chandor - but right now, kind of from no where." His head still reeled with what had happened back there along the lakeside, and though his mouth swarmed with conversation, everything felt otherworldly almost, and not quite real, "Do you have family here? How did you get hurt like this?"

She had waited a bit for the male to return, in the meantime she made a mental note of what he grabbed for future reference in case something like this happened again in the future. The male returned and he seemed to have found the plant where she had said judging by his words. “My name is Serem. It’s a pleasure meeting you Kaito.” She said simply and offered him a genuine smile. “I have no family.” It was a little cold but not directed towards him. “I have a pack near here.”

He didn't find it hard to bounce her smile right on back. Serem. What an interesting name; he would try hard to remember that. "Pleasure's mine," he said in return, and moved in closer to massage the mix of poultice into the woman's wounds.

Kaito didn't miss the cool edge to Serem's words, and he wondered what her family had done to deserve something as harsh as being disowned. Nothing good, no doubt -- and he made mental note, too, that she seemed to avoid his latter question. Putting two and two together, he wondered... if they had something to do with this...

He paused in his application of the medicine, a brief lapse of thought clear upon his face, before he continue his motions and said, "A pack's pretty much family though, isn't it?"

As he applied the herbal concoction onto her open wound it stung and she didn't hesitate to wince in pain. It took a lot however to not snap like she would of if it had been someone else. Instead she kept her composure and listened to what the male had to say. "I guess you can say that." Was all she could say; she didn't think of her pack as a family nor did she think she ever would seeing as though they were cold as her, however she refrained from saying that.

By her wince, he could tell the medicine stung her, and that was good. It meant the herbs were already doing their job. Kaito lapped up the final assortment of herbs and spread them in a final application to the exposed skin around her wound -- for good measure.

Her answer drew the quirk of his brow, and he passed her a skeptical glance. Not quite the answer he was looking for. With the herbs applied, he turned to the balled up cobwebs, but before he grabbed the dressing in his mouth, he said, "It can take a while, sometimes, I'm sure," wow what sage advice! Like he really knew. The only pack he'd been apart had been his literal family. He'd never tried fitting in anywhere else. "Is it hard? Finding your place in a pack full of wolves you don't know?" Kaito asked in honest curiosity, and grabbed the cobwebs then, allowing Serem his silence, another pause for her to speak.

She let him resume what he was doing and watched what he did so she had the knowledge for the next time she got her self into a predicament where she got injured or had to heal another. She listened to his question and tried to answer to the best of her ability. "It can be, it all depends really on who you surround yourself by." She knew if he were in her lack that would be incredibly difficult.

"Yeah, I guess that's kinda what I figured..." he murmured, and grabbed another mouthful of cobwebs as he let her statement ruminate. He hadn't really given much thought to joining a pack, but as the days turned to weeks, he wondered if maybe he had misunderstood the gentle prompt he'd felt to leave Chandor, and the purpose in coming here into the unknown... the One had clearly told him to leave, of course, but he'd expected... well... something else, and he couldn't deny it wasn't a little bit disorienting, to realize he might have been wrong.

He set the next layer of cobwebs on her wound, and began to spread them out. "What d'you actually think about the wolves you surround yourself with, then? In all honesty." Maybe that was probing, but he knew every wolf had a different limit to what they would and would not share. He figured he'd let his curiosity leak this much further, and let Serem decide that limit for herself.

As they spoke Serem seemed to enjoy this wolfs company which was a very rare thing for the dark woman to do. He was curious one that she enjoyed talking to. "I've only just joined and I don't really have a solid opinion of them just yet." She says.

"Fair enough," he offered back with the glint of a smile, and he pressed the final stretch of cobweb into place. "There," The conversation and the procedure came to a natural close, and he stepped back to take a distanced look at his work on her. To see if there were any gaps that needed closing, any areas he'd missed. None that he could see. He sought her eyes with a bright smile.

"Well, you're good to go. It'll definitely take some time to heal, but if your pack's within a day's travel, you'll be able to make it back without needing to change the dressing on the way, no problem. Which is good, 'cause the wound's in a place that'd be hard to reach if you were on your own. Comfrey root and marigold will keep away infection and help speed the healing. The cobwebs are just a dressing to keep the poultice in place. I'd say you'll want to change the dressing a couple times a day, to make sure no dirt or anything gets into the wound. Try and apply more poultice in the morning and at night for a couple days, though if you're low on supplies you can just do one or the other." He paused with a glance to the sky, internally reciting to see if he'd missed anything -- "Oh! Yeah, and if the wound starts to feel hot, or there's swelling, and pus, and really bad smell, that means it's infected. That shouldn't happen, but if it does, get burdock root and marigold, mush those together, and apply real liberal to the area."

It was a lot to remember, and his question naturally flowed, "Oof, do you think you'll remember all that? Y'know, I can also come back with you, to make sure you get to your pack alright. Then we can also recite the treatment along the way." Plus, he wouldn't mind keeping some company for a while. The life alone was a lonely one, and to have someone to talk with was a refreshing change from his now usual stints of silence.

It was almost as if this male was a walking health encyclopedia and she gave a soft smile as she took in all the information that he seemed to relay into her, luckily for her she has a great memory and she would remember this in the days to come. She however shook her head at the mention of him accompanying her back. He had helped her yes but if she let him walk her home so to speak that may put him in danger. "Thank you very much for helping me but I don't think accompanying me home would be the very best idea, they aren't a very friendly bunch and it'd only prove to be a bad idea, best advice I can give you is to stay far away from the haunted woods." She said this as nicely as possible not trying to sound rude.

His smile fell into a thin line when she refused his proposal, and his eyes frowned. A protest of 'why not?' formed on his lips, but never surfaced; his mouth opened, only to click shut in puzzlement when she went on to explain.

"O-Okay," a nervous laugh filtered around his words, but he wasn't okay with silence he offered after. He understood as much as he didn't understand. Serem didn't need to say her pack was dangerous for him to get the point through all she left unspoken.

He wondered, too, if maybe it wasn't her family - if maybe it was them who had given this wound to her.

"You don't have to go back to there, you know," he blurted out, but he totally knew what he was doing, and he totally meant it, "If they're not safe, you can always go somewhere else. You could even stay with me, I could heal you, and we could both find somewhere together."

He was a sweet wolf and she wished him the best in his endeavors which was very rare for the female. "They may not be a nice pack but luckily I can hold my own amongst them. You are a kind wolf whom I hope can avoid them." They were killers after all whom showed little kindness. "That's sweet but  I must, the least enemies I can make the better." She knew she couldn't afford to make any more of those.

Her words brought a certain sadness to Kaito's chest, though he wasn't real sure if "sadness" was the right word to use. Maybe not -- or maybe yes. Quite frankly, he didn't know. What he felt was an indescribable feeling, a vacant yet very present ache that rose just behind his sternum, and crawled into his throat. Kaito desperately wished to help Serem, but he could only help her as much as she let him. He had to accept that, but he didn't have to like it.

He deffered to her with a tip of his head, but kept his gentle gaze on her face, as soft as he was resolute. "You deserve so much more than just a place where you can hold your ground," he said, and kept silent a moment, before he shifted, and began to turn away, "Well, you'd best believe you've made a friend in me today. So, y'know, if you ever change your mind, and decide you need to get out, and you need somewhere safe to stay, you know my name. Just look for me, ask around," he meant that, and he meant this, "You're worthy to be treated with love, and kindness, and great respect. I hope you know that." No, he hoped she believed it, and he smiled -- a bit sadder than before, but no less genuine.  "See you around, Serem. I pray our paths will meet again."

And like that, he was gone, and the path away from the lake concealed the woman from sight. But her memory would linger well into the winter. Serem was not a face, nor a story, he would soon forget -- and he was okay with that.