Whitefish River Nerdz

| just a quick thread for plot purposes! take your time no rush if you're busy!
| mostly cloudy
| 4:00PM

After his chat with Ira and Orlaith, the topic of the ursine remained on his mind. Ira had gone for a while, and so it was up to him to gather as much as he can in the meantime to prepare them all for what was to come - or at least have something to inform Ira on when it comes to the beast. 

Orlaith had also vanished, there was no sign of that woman anywhere in the pack and he could only hope that she was being evasive and didn't wander off despite her injuries and despite Speedy's instructions. He was beginning to feel that the woman had very little respect for the council and its members... and frankly, it was beginning to irk him. Should she have indeed taken off, he would have to talk to her about all this.

This time he sought out @Speedy, needing her knowledge on medicine on this matter and hoping she knew a little bit about bears and what kind of illnesses they might have. He seriously hoped there was nothing anyone could catch from the beast should they deal with it. It would be the best of news he could hear in days. The last thing they needed was to deal with an angry, ill, and maybe a contagious bear. He dreaded the news.

With Emrik gone, she had left the children with Aliana while she did some of her daily chores. She was lost in her thoughts as she made her way down the river; she was supposed to be searching for plants, but all she had done was worry about whether or not her husband was okay out there on his own. He wasn't a child, she knew that, but there were still many things that could happen. And now there was a bear out there somewhere, which only intensified her concern. All she could do was hope that he would return soon and be unharmed and feel better about things. 

She hadn't even realized she was about to cross paths with the Constable until he was almost right in front of her, even if he had said anything, she would have missed it. She blinked her surprise and came to a stop. Heironymous, I apologize, she said quickly. My mind was somewhere else. How are you?

Ah, just the wolf he was looking for. Though it seemed Speedy wasn't quite aware of his approaching presence as she absentmindedly seemed to meander on by as if something heavy weighed upon her mind. Didn't something weigh them all down at some points? Some days more than others from the looks of it. He couldn't assume as to what was worrying her this time, the possibilities were almost endless, beyond even his realm of knowledge. 

It seems we are both distracted with our own thoughts these days, huh? It was a light question to break the little tension that was brought by surprising her so suddenly, despite him not hiding his initial presence at all. Is something troubling you? Not wanting to bombard Speedy with duties first and pleasantries whenever it fancied him, he may as well see if she wanted to talk about herself and alleviate whatever was on her mind before he delves into more serious matters at hand...

She smiled at him and nodded, wondering what might be distracting him. Like with her, the possibilities were endless; they both held a lot of responsibility here, and with Ira gone, he probably had even more to worry about. 

When he asked about her own troubles, she shrugged a little. She hated to complain or make anyone worry about her; besides, it was her job to listen to his problems, not the other way around. Just worried about Emrik and wish he was home, she answered anyway. She didn't want to lie. It distracts me sometimes, but I'm okay, she assured him.

And what about you? She purposely directed the conversation away from herself. How are you? She would happily listen to anything he wanted to talk about.

Expecting her to brush him off, her shrug indicated as such until, well, by his surprise she actually shared a bit of what was on her mind. Hmm yes, I can see how that could be distracting. He shared his sympathies with the healer. Having a missing loved one could never be easy. I'm sure he'll come by soon to sweep you off your feet as usual. Smoothing it over to try and bring up her mood, he gave the classic Hieronymous grin and wink. Emrik is such a romantic that way, I can see why you love him. The comical man exhaled a dreamy sigh, fluttering his lashes to Speedy to see if she would at least crack a smile at his jests. 

His little antic ended soon enough as the question was turned onto him this time around. Exasperated, he breathed in deeply. What could he share with her? There was just so much, too much, it would only worry her further. Actually, it's why I came looking for you. Well, why not keep to the matters at hand. I'm sure you know of the ursine problem, I come asking to see if you can help. I would like to make sure it is not ill when we go to deal with it, at least.... nothing contagious. Did Orlaith talk to you about it?

She, of course, couldn't help but grin and chuckle a little at his words and the silly batting of his eyes as if he was one of her girlfriends fawning over a new boy in her life. She did love the way he could always lighten the mood. You're silly, she said in return, shaking her head but clearly amused. But yes, he is very easy to love. She missed him quite a bit, but she would try to remain hopeful that he would be home soon. He's more than capable of taking care of himself, but I can't help but worry.

Talk of the bear was sobering, though, and it seemed her fellow council member had been looking to speak specifically to her about it. He mentioned the bear being ill, and a frown formed on her face. The healer shook her head when he asked about Orlaith. No we haven't spoken of the bear since that day on the borders, she told him. Why? What's going on? She was worried now. Why would he worry about the bear having something wolves could catch?

Proudly he stood tall and smiling as Speedy giggled at his little jokes. His tail rotating happily at a job well done in lightening the mood, even if it was only briefly before diving into the more... serious conversation that followed. At least he gave her a moment of reprieve, and preferably, she would think of the previous joy he had brought to the table than the bear and latch onto it. I think he is just fine too. If that helped her at all.

At least they started on a good note and she wasn't too distracted by the bear to let his humor slide off her like water on a duck's back. Maybe it was enough to give some sort of security blanket to cling onto. 

Of course, Orlaith didn't talk to Speedy at all about any of this, even less so before vanishing across the great beyond the borders. She was proving to be a real thorn in his side. Why was he to explain the symptoms that she barely even took notice of enough to describe to him? He sighed, trying to steady himself at the moment. With a calmer tone, he continued. We believe it is a possible threat and wish to deal with it soon. The cat was out of the bag now. Speedy would know of this soon enough anyway.

By her account, the thing chased them for days, and to me, it sounds doesn't sound like normal bear behavior. Neither of them was bitten, she didn't mention any foaming... which would have been pretty obvious and maybe the biggest redflag for her to remember. In her words the ursine was 'off'. That it didn't seem hungry, just angry. What do you think of this?

His news regarding the bear was certainly concerning. It didn't sound so much like rabies, which was a relief, but not much. She was clearly worried as she let her gaze settle on the Constable. She twisted her mouth in though a few moments before speaking. That is definitely strange behavior, she agreed. It doesn't sound like typical rabies symptoms, but it's possible it's just manifesting differently than it normally does. What had her mother always told her? It was more likely to be an atypical presentation of something common than a typical presentation of something uncommon. So it was likely this bear was sick with rabies and just acting differently than others usually did. I don't think we should rule out rabies, she told her friend. It's a good thing they weren't bitten, but I will make sure to keep any eye on them. She was immediately more worried about her husband being out there, and it was difficult not to go out and look for him herself. I hope Emrik doesn't have a run in with this bear, she fretted and sighed. In the mean time, we should make sure no one leaves the territory unnecessarily. It was not ideal, but they couldn't risk another run in with the potentially ill creature.

Unfortunately for him, this talk didn't help to ease his own worries about this whole situation. Exasperated, he huffed a chuckle and fell to the ground in a messy, lopsided sit. That's not at all what I wanted to hear. He cried softly, almost amused by it all as he tried to keep himself from getting too upset. How was he supposed to keep Orlaith and Ira from rushing in with this lingering possibility that a bite could be fatal? If anything, this simply gave him more anxiety to carry. 

Those two will be the death of him. He sighed, trying to ease his breathing to keep a calm exterior as per usual. I'm sure Emrik isn't the type to start poking bears. Unlike Orlaith who seemed like the type to go and piss it off just enough to get it to chase her for days - maybe that is what happened, it would be better than an ill-bear lurking around.

Orlaith has already wandered away. Once Ira comes back I will speak with her about this, maybe you could too to make sure she is cautious whenever we decide to deal with it. It would be nice to come up with a proper plan of attack than to just wing it and rely on the bigger fighters and their abilities. It was reckless, and he hated it. Maybe if Ira spoke to Speedy, she would turn more so to his side of things than listening to Orlaith.

She wished she could have told him something different, something that might have relieved some of the stress he was carrying around. But she couldn't, and she wouldn't lie to spare him the worry. Her expression grew sad and concerned despite how he tried to play it off as though he wasn't upset about it. She took a seat next to him and briefly touched her nose to his shoulder. I'm sorry, she said softly. I know it doesn't make things any easier for you. He carried a lot of responsibility, especially with Ira being gone. But I'm here if you ever need to talk about anything. Sometimes it just helped to have someone to listen. 

As for Emrik, she knew he wouldn't go out seeking trouble, but that didn't mean it wouldn't find him anyway. I know. I still worry, though. I just wish he was home and safe. But she knew he needed his freedom. She was perfectly content staying here and taking care of the pack and her family, but not everyone would be satisfied with that, and Emrik had always had the need to roam. 

Speedy shook her head when Hieronymous informed her that Orlaith had already left again. I wish she had not done that, the healer said, frustration clear in her voice. She was not cleared by me to travel and it's not safe with the bear out there. She sighed. She wished Ira was not out there either, but at least she was in good health. And sure, I'll talk to her, the Chamberlain answered. I'm sure she'll agree that no one should be making unnecessary trips.