Ankyra Sound Those bitches inspire me

Perhaps @Erzulie or anyone wanting medic threads <3

His face stung as the scabbing was starting the peel and crack. He scratched at it, trying to relieve the itching but that just made it bleed. Half of his face. He could barely see because of the swelling for the first week but not that has subsided considerably. The skin will still be puckered and ugly though, he knew that.

As far as he knew it wasn't infected. Perhaps keeping it clean had been the key. The saltwater treatment probably stopped that. At least the Mother's were correct on something.
He pulled himself up, leaving the treeline and moving towards the ocean. It was detestable.
The land had quaked and the watered rose and beat the shores. They had to move to higher grounds in the trees, but that was all.
They'd survived.

she had come back to search for scarab. he had not fled with her, and erzulie's soul was torn. charging her brood to stay put in the fields, the harlot ventured toward what was left of rusalka.
the grotto was indeed flooded, and nothing of scarab could be found. she pressed on nevertheless, tears stinging her eyes, as much out of frustration as they were for her grief.
"derg," she called grimly, nearing the shoreline. he wore a cracked mask of healing skin, and she winced. supplies, all of them, lost in the flood. "what happened to you?" she muttered, two-toned eyes appraising his torn face. "dere be not'in for you here. come back wid me. leave dis place."

Seems like the medic woman had ventured back, too. Maybe to see if any of her supplied had survived. Or the child. 
He was somewhat surprised she didn’t know what had happened, but perhaps was too absent in worring to notice. He didn’t mind. 

“Protecting Raleska,” came his simple reply. In fact, he was protecting Vengeance from being attacked from behind, but they were all there for Raleska. 
He nodded grimly at her offer to return. She was right. 

she regarded him sharply. "protection from what?" what had the brash young girl done, and would it affect the harlot's brood. "shiiit," erzulie cursed deeply, annoyed with whatever it was raleska had done. a talk was in order. "let us be gettin' some mud on dat face, derg," she instructed, beginning to circle back toward blackpine and its rich loam.
"have you seen my son, scarab?" she asked after a moment, searching the man's wounded features for any sign of recognition, any hope to which she might cling as her own began to sink.

"Some Dragon-something pack."
It was all he could remember from her hasty explanation when he'd demanded what had just happened and why his face was pissing blood.
The situation clearly was to the distaste of Erizule, and more information would surely sour the taste. But it is what is it. He could change it.

He followed her, trusting whatever technique she had in store to help him would work. Of course, why wouldn't it?
Then he asked about her child. His face softened with a soft shake of the head.
"No." Surely they'd find him soon. He didn't want to think if the child were dea or alive.

"drageda," erzulie hissed grimly. what had gone on? more bad news in the fact that scarab had not been seen. the harlot steeled herself and gave a small shake of her head. "he will be comin' back to me." how could he not? she must not allow her mind to travel to another place, no no — it would help her not.
"we moved inland after de large tremblin'," erzulie explained, beginning to dig in the cold mud. "i do not t'ink de soun' will recover."

His lips pursed, watching the lands in the hopes that some small, brown shape would start moving if only to lighten the mood.
Nothing did.

"We can all but hope," he smiled softly to her. Loss was the deepest level of grief, he didn't know how to sympathize. He felt shit from time to time, but not empathy. He felt self-pity, but not empathy for others.
"If nature wish the Sound to change, it shall change." If the sound were to recover, it would make his and Rusalka's life easier. If not, he supposed they'd need to scout.

"do you t'ink dis was fated, den?" erzulie asked of derg, nosing the wet earth onto his wound, if allowed. there was a bitterness within her voice unavoidable — she did not wish to conceptualize that the loss of her son had been predestined. "i am beginning to worry for de rest of us."

Sorry for the long delay <3

He shrugged, allowing the medic woman help him. Sometimes, he wasn't sure what he believed. He believed in the first Mothers and Fathers that created the world and everything inhabiting it. But surely they could only watch their children grow and die, then repeat again and again until they decided that their life energy should be put to rest. Ther soul. One of the three components of life.
Blood, life energy, and conscience. 
Blood was the body, the life energy was made by the Mothers and Fathers to give the life, and the conscience which is who he is. It is him. 

He sighed softly, blinking slowly.
"No. But there may be a force we can not defeat, and it does things we can not perceive in the great scheme of things why."
He hoped to give the grieving mother peace of mind. But he was a bit shoddy at it, let's all be honest. It's Derg.
"When I am healed and the pack is stable, I will seek him."
He smiled softly, as much as his face would allow. He would start at the caves if the water allowed him. If not, find an exit. He was a hunter, he could track a child. Or at least their body.

no worries! we could wrap and have another?

forces. nature. gods. erzulie scoffed at them all, but now she regarded derg with a deeply riven expression, struck mute at the idea that something beyond her control had taken scarab away. the harlot wanted to rail that it was only her fault that the little boy had been lost, been lost, been lost.
but she was silent, grim-faced. "t'ank you," came her soft murmur, and then erzulie was turning away to hide the bite of visible tears in her wind-scoured countenance.

Sure, I'll start another and wrap up here <3

He smiled grimly, looking off towards the ocean.
His scabbing was soothed by the mud now, and he'd be forever grateful to the medic woman.  He nodded slowly -- more like a dip of the head - and allowed her to hide the emotion.
It didn't matter if he could see her face, the air was thick with her grief.

"Come, we'll go back." 
He touched her shoulder with his nose and turned, leading the way back to the new rendezvous.