Noctisardor Bypass lost reception

Haunt's eyes slowly peeled open and she gingerly raised her head, glad for the dull, overcast sky. Groaning under her breath, she pushed her anterior upward into a seated position, moving carefully as she rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck. She drew in a breath, held it, and then exhaled as she slowly scanned her surroundings, eyes narrowed as a precaution against even the whitewashed glare of daylight.

This was maybe the third or fourth day in a row where she hadn't suffered from headaches so debilitating, they rendered her all but immobile. Haunt knew one might trigger at any moment, though she let herself think, So far, so good. She continued gazing at the sliver of bypass she could see, deciding to focus on being grateful she was alive and finally functioning, rather than dwelling on all the missing time.

She only vaguely remembered that day several weeks back with @Vex, Kigipigak and @Arbiter on the neighboring plain. Haunt couldn't remember when the first migraine had struck, though it must've been shortly after that. Beyond that, everything was mostly just a blur of pain up until the other day. She knew she'd planned to go looking for Kaertok but that entire idea was utterly absurd now, of course. Haunt was lucky she could even walk these days, after spending so much time prone.

Drawing in a breath, she carefully stood. Her head pounded dully, though this was nothing compared to the splitting agony that had afflicted her for so long. Feeling weak but keen to seize the moment, the youth began to slowly walk. She spared only a cursory sideways glance at Artemis, who strode silently alongside her, her crown of antlers standing proud and a smile on her lips.

That hunt had ended almost before it started. She'd taken a chance on a rabbit but not seen the new hole that had opened up in the last few days. Her prey basically fell from sight like some sort of cartoon. She'd taken a minute or two to sniff around these recent excavations for future knowledge, then continued on her way. Morning patrol had finished a while ago, so now she'd check on Haunt. It wasn't like there had been much she could do over the past few days. She was not a healer, and she wasn't sure if there was much a super advanced healer could do anyway. It wasn't like they had one.

And so, she would find ways for them to manage. Destroy her plans to train her children that much more. At least individual lessons could be a thing. She'd do her best to keep @Royal on track without distractions at the very least. Vex and Haunt should have made for excellent sparring partners, but... The world was what it was.

Haunt apparently wasn't where Arbiter had last spotted her. This was quite obvious when she ran into her part way there. Arbiter headed over, looking her daughter over before giving her a light nudge to the shoulder. Feeling better? Of course, Arbiter being Arbiter thought that obviously they should do something then with that opportunity, but one thing at a time. She was still a mother and still had to make sure her daughter was actually well enough to do so.

Artemis remained silent but that didn't surprise Haunt. None of the other wolves she knew seemed to notice the goddess's presence, which meant one of two things: either Haunt alone could see the deity or, more likely, Artemis wasn't there at all and was simply the result of her head trauma, right along with the headaches. She didn't think about it too hard, simply accepting the silent apparition that smilingly followed her wherever she went, gazing at her with maternal care and concern. Haunt found solace in her presence, illusory or otherwise.

When Arbiter appeared, her expression was a little harder than Artemis's, though she questioned her daughter's well-being with a gentle nudge. Any ire the youth had felt toward her mother over the issue of Kaertok had blurred into the hazy, excruciating past with everything else. She managed the tiniest quirk at the corner of her mouth, though it quickly fell back into an expressionless droop.

"For now," she said. "My head still hurts but not as bad." Haunt paused, trying to organize her thoughts in a jumbled brain. "It feels good to get up and walk around." Arbiter was probably glad to hear that, even though the migraines were the only reason Haunt wasn't far away right now, hot on her father's heels. A small sigh escaped her.

If walking helped, then she wasn't going to stop her -- okay, she would stop her if she just kept walking into danger or out of the territory or something but just around was fine. She leaned over to lick her forehead, as if it would somehow fix things -- a purely symbolic gesture. She knew it wouldn't. Things weren't that simple. Do you know if there's anything you need? Something else that helps? She'd do whatever was asked, pretty much. How could she help her daughter? What did she need to do? What did she need to find? Food? 

But there was only so much she knew what to do. Whenever Pheiros returns, I'll see if he knows of herbs or something that would help. She wasn't sure if he did. It wasn't like there was a way for her own fangs to somehow fix things. Sure, Arbiter knew enough field medicine kind of thing to help in a battle, but it didn't help at all for this sort of thing. The damage was done. There wasn't anything bleeding to put pressure on or broken to keep weight off of... So what did that leave?

It wasn't often that Arbiter favored her with such tender affections, so the lick made Haunt feel a little out of place, even if she appreciated it. Her mother wanted to know if there was anything she needed specifically. She pondered a moment.

"Food wouldn't hurt," she replied, even though she rarely felt truly hungry lately. The headaches had nuked her appetite. She knew that fueling her body would not only help her heal but perhaps alleviate some of the pains that plagued her too.

Arbiter mentioned Pheiros and herbs, earning a slight frown from Haunt. She barely knew him and knew even less about medicines. If chewing on some grass might help, she would do it though. Heck, she would try almost anything to escape the agony.

Artemis moved so she stood nearly shoulder to shoulder with Haunt's mother. She didn't say anything out loud but she spoke in some divine way Haunt understood, urging her to eat something. "I will," Haunt assured thoughtlessly, her yellow eyes drifting about a meter sideways to look expectantly at her dam.

Good, something Arbiter could actually find. Food was, after all, not some theoretical thing. But what her daughter said last didn't quite make sense -- at least for the second or two before she realized Haunt probably meant she'd talk to Pheiros if she ran into him too, and that distracted look sort of seemed to match it. Hopefully that boy was going to be back soon from wherever he'd wandered off to. He was a good wolf. She liked having him around. Flick of an ear and she moved on, pointing off to a particular destination, Warlock said he cleared out a nest of voles the other day. I think they're in the closest cache to here. And if not, there should be others. Arbiter hadn't been by herself in a couple of days.

Either way, she'd start walking that direction, making sure Haunt would follow. I want you to be able to hunt and patrol with me. You can just let me know whenever you're feeling well enough. There's still much out there you should learn, should practice... But not while you feel sick. It wouldn't lead to good focus. And more injuries. Of all the times of year, this was not one to go and make things worse than they were.

She nodded vaguely when Arbiter mentioned her brother and a stash of voles. Meat was meat, Haunt didn't feel picky. She fell into step with her mother, glancing sideways as Artemis walked alongside the two of them. The goddess smiled at her and Haunt dipped her head, her gaze cutting away when her mother's words drew her attention back to her.

Haunt felt a flicker of irritation at her mother always pushing her agenda on her, though it was just the errant petulance of the teenaged. She didn't voice it or say anything at all. She had no control over this affliction, nor her recovery. She would join her mother when she was able, which was still a little ways off at present. At least Arbiter acknowledged that in the end.

She didn't comment further, which did make the rest of the trip relatively quiet. But her eyes kept flicking to the girl as they walked. Just in case there was some sign that her headache was returning. Or that she might need some other assistance. At least it wasn't far -- less chance of something going totally awry.

She could smell it as they approached, and she was quick to move to the thinnest patch of snow that covered a recent addition. They should be here. You can rest if you want. Arbiter didn't have a problem with bringing them to Haunt if she didn't feel up to it. With her assistance or not, she started to carefully dig to unearth the voles. She wasn't exactly sure how deep Warlock had buried them, and it wasn't like digging up a whole hare. They were far easier to overlook, and in fact one rock she uncovered she realized was actually a partially-frozen rodent instead. She batted that to the side and looked for a second to give to Haunt.

She felt Arbiter's eyes every now and then, even catching them a time or two. Artemis's own gaze lingered as well as she walked alongside mother and daughter. Haunt felt a small surge of gratitude for both of them, watching over her, a complementary pair of maternal figures. Neither one could really do much for her but it was nice to feel so protected.

They reached their destination and Haunt stopped. It wasn't until Arbiter suggested she rest that Haunt felt just how much the brief walk had taken out of her. She dropped carefully to her haunches, watching her mother dig at the cache. Artemis padded up to sniff at the stockpile, nodding her approval before assuming a patrol of the general area.

"Thanks, mom," Haunt said quietly before her dam had even brought anything over to her.

It took a bit more pawing around to dig up another vole, but first came one and then another. So there were at least three here... Honestly she wasn't sure just how many Warlock had found. This would likely be enough, though, at least as a starter. If Haunt was feeling up for it, they could find something more significant as needed.

Gathering the voles was far easier a time than a dog would have with multiple tennis balls at least. She brought them over and set the trio down at Haunt's paws. It's a start. The rest of what's there isn't as fresh. Arbiter looked back at it a moment, mentally cataloging what else she knew or had scented there. Anyway, back to the subject at hand, And if any pain or anything starts to creep up again, let me know. She wanted to find some logic and reason behind it all. Not that there really was anything that would lead her to an answer that she could act on.

By the time Arbiter brought the voles over to her, Haunt had slipped forward onto her belly. She acknowledged her mother's words with a nod, then began to pick at the food. She was hungry and needed the energy, though her actual appetite flickered like a candle in the wind. So she proceeded carefully, also trying not to tempt fate with any particularly jerky movements of her head and neck.

It took a long time for her to finish a single vole, after which Haunt could hardly keep her eyes open. She let her head drift down onto her outstretched forelegs beside the remaining meat with a quiet, "Mm." Hopefully Arbiter would understand that noise for what it meant: gratitude and satisfaction. She didn't have long to think on it, almost immediately slipping into sleep.

While Haunt worked on eating, Arbiter set about picking through the cache, pulling out a few small bits that were on the edge of still being edible to consume by herself. It had been kept fairly clear of anything particularly awful, which was good, but at the same time it meant they probably should be hunting more to fill it.

Anyhoo, she lay down next to Haunt and worked her way through whatever these sort-of-unidentifiable remnants she'd selected. But by the time she'd finished and disposed of the remnants of her own meal, Haunt seemed to be running out of steam. For now, she'd leave the remaining voles there -- perhaps Haunt would want another after her nap -- and so she settled down next to her daughter, planning to be there when she woke to see how she was doing then. Hopefully better.