Bearclaw Valley I've often seen a cat without a grin

hoping for @Merrick <3

She knew the bruin-witch's toes were healing slowly, and it was solely because he was on them too much. She had told him this more than once, and he chose to ignore it. So now she could only try to control his pain and keep an eye on him. 

She had been busy in mosskeep, gathering some plants she might need for the bear king. When she was ready, she stepped outside and called for Merrick. He was so set on not resting, so he could come to her. It would be easier than trying to predict what she would need and then searching for him. 

She had questions for him, as well. The bruin-heart waited next to her plants for her call to be answered.

for ref, merrick's two middle toes are like stumps of bone/they fell off D: <3

"doctor." merrick's growl was approving and yet annoyed. "will i have a limp?"
he did not care; he would make it into a gait so pronounced that he could be seen arriving.
he slumped down near arielle, first to his haunches, and then to his belly. "how is our bruin-jaw?"
tone flat, the closest to worry that merrick might seem.

She was unsure if his annoyance was with her call or with the possibility of having a limp; she ignored it regardless. 

Her eyes widened a little when she took in the mangled toes. She pursed her lips and sighed. I'd say it's likely, she answered. You have not been resting. When did they fall off? she asked. She was frustrated with the bruin-witch; she might have been able to salvage what was left if he had not been so stubborn. 

She had managed to find some of the beard plant that Stryx had told her about and had it wrapped in feathers and leaves to try and keep it protected from the worst of the cold. She turned from the bear king and brought some over to add to her pile. I need to clean it and apply some things, she explained. She nosed some bark over to him. Eat this; it will help with pain.

She placed wet moss to rest on the angry flesh that had once held toes. While the area soaked, she answered his question. Aves is strong—deserving of the name bearclaw. She couldn't help the smile that briefly curved her lips. He was Ursus through and through. His wounds are healing well. His ribs will take the longest to heal, though. Only time and rest would heal injured ribs; she could only control the pain in that regard.

"well," her saintly father-in-law began, gritty tone wrapped in a winning smile that promised whatever he was about to say was definitely going to be hilarious —
—to him—
"i can't remember. but i do recall they were sort of hanging. and they itched so badly and had a foul smell. and! they looked green. or perhaps a new shade of brown."
he was teasing her.
but now merrick grew solemn. "i took them off myself and threw them into the bottom of the pond. when they turn to nothing i will be absorbed into the very soil of ursus."
he looked at arielle now, attempting to gauge the bruin-heart. aventus. 
"that's the second time his ribs have been put through hell. i ought to call him bear-breast." he laughed.

The bear king had an odd sense of humor, but this wasn't the first time she had experienced it. She knew his first description was a lie because she had seen his paw more than once before this point. She gave him impatient look while he had his fun but said nothing about it.

She wasn't surprised he had removed his own toes, she was only exasperated; it likely showed on her face. If he wasn’t her father in law, and if she didn't care for him as family, she might give up and leave him to his own devices. But she would subject herself to the endless frustration he provided for her if it meant she could keep him from dying from something as senseless as an infection.

As he spoke of Aventus, she removed the moss and replaced it with the beard plant. She placed a new piece of wet moss over the plant and then placed her paw on top to hold it there. This was not the first time her mate's ribs had been broken. She wanted to know more but decided she would ask Aves about it. She had other things she wanted to ask Merrick about. His joke about the bruin-jaw earned him an annoyed look; she found nothing funny about her husband's suffering. Maybe she had a stick up her ass but she had a lot on her mind.

Paw still holding the treatment in place, she asked: What is your plan with the children? she chose not to comment on anything else he said. She was curious what purpose the stolen pups would serve.

tough crowd.
merrick had forgotten for a moment that his son and arielle were not yet committed to pain. perhaps they suffered even as his flesh did not. the bearwolf lived in the mortal and the present.
her face showed her displeasure.
no more attempts at humour. he would leave off it for now.
"i want to remake them. they're my niece and nephew, you know. i need them to — drop laurel."
he licked his jaws. "what do you think, bruin-heart?" she was as much a part of this as anyone else. merrick held still as she washed and covered the stumps where his foot had been mangled. "i had considered, also, killing them both."

The fact that they were his niece and nephew only made them all the more interesting. The bruin-witch wanted them to drop Laurel, as he put it. They were young but old enough that it would not be very easy to make them forget their own mother.

He wanted to know her opinion, adding that he had also considered killing them. Hmm, she said first, clearly thinking over both options. She moved her paw and pulled the moss and beard plant away with her teeth. Then she turned to the plants she had sitting near them. Before grabbing a few in her mouth, she said: Wouldn't it be better revenge to turn them against their own family? When she was done chewing, she carefully formed the poultice around the injured toes. Then she pulled back to meet is gaze. I can speak to them—pretend to be motherly towards them to gain their trust. Arielle shrugged her slender shoulders. Killing them works too, she added. It will not be as satisfying, though.

it was the first time that merrick though he had ever heard arielle say it;
motherly
bad things befell mothers in ursus.
the woman with the cut throat. the blackbird standing in her blood. the raven queen lying in her own;
motherly
merrick was incensed and pleased, each with its own intensity.
"i admire your devotion, bruin-heart. i do not want them dead. not if they can be — remolded. reforged in the spirit of the bear."
merrick's eye held something akin to warmth.

A small smile curved her lips at his praise and she dipped her head once as a silent reply. The bear king's opinion was important to her, almost as important as the bruin-jaw's opinion; Aves mattered more to her than anyone else. 

I can teach them, too. Maybe they will prove themselves. They could show them the way, but only the bear could deem them worthy. 

Arielle looked over her work and nodded. Come back tomorrow and I'll do the same thing. It wasn't a request.

<3

he heard her voice. "i will obey, arielle."
merrick slid to his feet and gave the bruin-heart an appreciative look before he limped ahead, headed for an overhang where he might rest and dream of the blackbird.