Redsand Canyon I wish I was special

It had taken them two days to get home, which meant they were late. He knew @Aquene would be worried, as well as the imperator. Kallik also worried that @Germanicus would think they were deserters, but these thoughts were often overshadowed by the pain of his wounds. The slashes across his chest were red and angry, swollen from the movement of walking, and showing the first signs of infection. 

He had tried to find the yarrow that his healer had described to him, but was unsuccessful. They had to clean each other's wounds on the way, but it was the only care that had been administered. 

Kallik leaned against the other soldier, feeling weaker the closer they got to home. He figured @Glaukos felt about the same, and his wounds were likely in the same condition. 

He finally stopped near the oasis, collapsing down on his haunches but careful to support the other auxillary if needed. Then he released a call for the imperator.

He was tired, the empowerment of their success having faded as the hours wore on. At the edge of the oasis Kallik dropped to the dirt and took a moment to compose himself, then called for aid. Glaukos didn't bother adding his own voice as it would be redundant.

In his head he envisioned the fight. The way the cat moved in, the way it lunged, its massive palms and claws; the way its bones had broken. The blood that spilled across the earth. He watched the fight unfold over and over again.

A light fever had settled within Glaukos.

germanicus found their arrival as swift as they might have been able. he had committed to his assessment of them as dedicated soldiers. glaukos had the chance to leave mereo after his last punishment. and kallik could have chosen to depart during this second.

but both of them had returned. the imperator stepped forward to support kallik, steadying the pale soldier. his gaze moved with approval to glaukos. the wounds had begun to suppurate. he called for @Aquene, assuming she would be close.

they had redeemed themselves. 

the shape of the slashes said claws and not teeth. 

"welcome back," he said gently. this had been a time of harsh training. but now there was not only a physician but attendants as well. he had faith in their strength as mereo. 

when she arrived he would help her bring each soldier into the tablinum.

Germanicus’ nonanswer meant that Aquene was not sure when they would be back… only that they would eventually, or at least that was what she assumed based off what he had told her. She heard Kallik’s voice first, her ears perking as she made her way out of the tablinum. It appeared the Imperator had been closer, or simply faster as she still carried a limp from her own wounds that would hopefully be fading within the coming week.
 
She was not expecting the site that greeted her, concern on her features. She instantly caught the discoloration starting around the wounds on his chest. She could smell the starting creeping edge of infection off of both of them. “We need to get them back to the tablinum now.” She stated with a hint of urgency in her voice as she moved to help support them. The relief she felt in their return was put on a temporary pause until after she could assess and treat.
 
She knew the marks were not from each other, and their initial wounds caused by their initial fight seemed to be okay… but they had gotten into a fight with something much bigger.

The imperator met them first, welcoming them back and moving to help support Kallik as he slowly stood. He hoped the tone of Germanicus' voice meant that they were forgiven and had earned back their promotions. A cougar, he said through gritted teeth. We took care of it. The image of the bloodied beast torn open flashed in his mind, and he felt relief knowing it wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else. 

Then Aquene arrived and stole his focus. His gaze was immediately drawn to her limp, then to her wounds. She mentioned something about getting them to the tablinum but Kallik was too busy trying to control the flash of rage in his chest. What happened? the auxillary asked, pain and anger leaking into his voice. He knew both he and Glaukos only had so much left in them. Once the pain was controlled, Kallik knew he would pass out. But for now, he could only think about whoever had hurt Aquene. 

He would follow where they led, but he still expected his question to be answered.

Germanicus appeared and took over helping Kallik. Aquene came next and both wolves were more interested in the silver bullet of a man; but that was fine.

Glaukos figured he could walk a few more feet without aid. It helped to stroke his ego too -- making him feel strong compared to his fellow soldier even if that wasn't the intent.

He'd been the one to decide to stay and fight the cougar. Kallik had wanted to run and put the others at risk; now Kallik was being carried while Glaukos stalked behind the trio.

As he wasn't keen on being within the confines of the tablinum for treatment, he'd wait his turn and let the others deal with the boy first. As he settled by the entrance Glaukos turned his head slowly, stiffly, as if to catch someone watching him when there was no-one else around.

A part of her had hoped that his own wounds might have distracted him at least temporarily from her own but she truly should have known better. She just sighed softly. “Later, Kallik.” She stated softly, trying to assure him that she was fine and that it was not a pressing matter. For now, their injures were. They both looked like they had been shredded and she worried. Thankfully, it was moments like these that she tried to keep such a detailed stock for. It would put a strain on her stores, but she’d be able to piece them back together in the coming weeks as the weather hopefully started to thaw.
 
Glaukos did not speak, but he did follow along as Germanicus assisted her in getting them both to the tablinum. She helped get Kallik inside, turning to her stores before she noted that the larger boy lingered outside. She resisted an eyeroll. “I can treat you both at the same time. It will be more efficient that way.” She stated, expecting the man to enter the space which was large enough to treat multiple patients. The hides Tamar had assembled lingered near the pool which would make a shorter distance for her need to get more for various treatments. She immediately moved to get leaves to clean out the wound. She moved and grabbed poppy seeds for them. They were already starting to turn, which meant that the pain would not be pleasant and a duller mind would only help them through this.
 
Thankfully, they had gotten back in time where it was not too severe, simply challenging. She started with Kallik’s wound, simply because his appeared more severe though it did not mean much with the state they were both in. She stepped out for a moment, calling for @Malila and @Tamar as the two had helped her with her own treatment, and Malila was her apprentice. It would be good practice. She would need assistance to treat them both efficiently, and she hoped that they would indulge her if she walked them through everything as they were doing it. She did not look to see if Glaukos had listened to what she had said, she only hoped he had the common sense to enter the threshold of her workspace. “Both of you take these poppy seeds for the pain. Swallow them. It will take the edge off and now is not time to be brave or stubborn or muscle through the pain. This is likely going to hurt far worse than anything you’ve experienced so far. I have to make sure any pus that’s formed in your wounds is thoroughly drained and cleaned away.” She’d recalled infected wounds from the warfront. She’d recalled grown men passing out. It would not necessarily help right away, while she was cleaning, but the sting that would exist after would fade as it started to kick in.

Aquene shut down his questioning, albeit gently, but it was made clear that she could not focus on his over-protective shit right then. His jaw tightened, but he let it go. For now. 

Once they were inside, Kallik collapsed down into a sit, the weakness starting to seep into every one of his muscles. Glaukos remained outside, and Kallik was unsure if he would listen to Aquene's request to come in. 

She handed them something different for pain than the needles she had used that last two times he had been here for treatment. She called this new stuff poppy seeds. Kallik trusted her completely and was eager to find some relief from his pain, so he took the seeds in his mouth and swallowed them. From experience, he knew the cleaning part would hurt, but he also knew it needed to be done. He would only watch her quietly as she worked, waiting for the seeds to ease his pain.

Aquene pressured him, trying to draw him in to the confined space where she could tend his wounds, and he looked away from her to pointedly ignore her; after a few moments where Kallik and the woman spoke to one-another, he sighed and looked back over to them.

He had no intention of going inside. His wounds were bad, there was a heat to his skin that had started a few hours ago and would likely be worse if untreated. It was not something that poppies could fix but he made note of what was offered.

I'm fine here, he grumbled.

Germanicus might've given him a look too, or tried to order him about, but Glaukos was not willing to put himself in such a space, not when it reminded him of the months he'd spent captive. Not that any of these wolves knew of that piece of his history.

Let them think him a sullen fool, then. He'd rather be seen as some petulant asshole than a weakling, anyway.

A hint of exasperation appeared as, similar to when she treated him before he left, he refused to enter the space, instead grumbling and not taking her advice for pain treatment. She could not begin to fathom what he was trying to accomplish. Was his pride or ego so fragile as to not make things easier on himself? She did not know, and once again she did not have the time to question it. “Okay then.” She grumbled back as she moved about. Since Kallik had taken the seeds and Glaukos had opted not to, she would start with Glaukos. It would give the medication more time to kick in with Kallik’s system which would hopefully ease the painful process.
 
She made her way over to Glaukos with supplies. She started to clean out the wound on his shoulder, and would mind to his face after. There were higher risks of a blood infection via the shoulder due to the tangling of blood vessels that existed there. It was while cleaning she noted the fever. She made sure to clean it thoroughly, the hints of infection just as she had seen on Kallik’s chest lingering as she scraped them away. She had to apply pressure with the pad of her paw to the wound to ensure no puss lingered underneath the fur or under the surface to make sure she got it all. Debridement was not a pleasant experience, and perhaps after this he might be more open to her helpful suggestion as someone who had treated multiple patients before. It took time, but she stepped back, returning to her stores to find the sweet pineapple-scented weed that grew in arid and resilient climates. It smelled sweet but it tasted much worse; either way, pineapple weed would help with the fever.
 
“Eat this. You’re burning up and it will help control the fever.” She stated, being very careful to explain what she did throughout the process just as she had been trained to do. “Did you clean your wounds while making your way back?” It was a general question to both, in case a host of bacterium from the cat that had done this to them had lingered. It would need to be afforded more protection and care.

a cameo!

the soldiers were home.

tamar grabbed rolls of dried grass soaked in water and two skins. she came as soon as she was able. aquene was with glaukos. kallik lay inside the tablinum.

"here, aquene," she said softly, moving to the side of the massive auxillia. he was flushed with a sickly heat and even she could see the anger to his wounds. "i will stay with glaukos. come here," she said as firmly as she was able, seeking to touch her cooling-mat to his forehead.

behind his ears. between his shoulders. tamar kept close.

Glaukos refused to come inside, and he could tell how much it upset Aquene. He had no idea what the other soldier's hesitation was about, but he didn't have the capacity to think much about it. She had called for help, and Kallik knew they would come. 

So he stayed put, laying awkwardly on the pelts while supported by the stone wall. This way, he could lay sternal without putting much pressure on his chest. He heard Aquene speaking outside; she came in and grabbed something, and then left again. 

As he caught the sound of Tamar's voice, he started to feel a little strange. He couldn't tell if it was bad or good, but he could tell that his pain was much better. He relaxed a little. He was suddenly having trouble caring much about anything that was going on. He almost felt like he could fall asleep.

There was exasperation within Aquene's voice; but there came Tamar, willing to help. Glaukos barely moved when she came to help him and gave a small grimace when something cold touched his face.

When Aquene asked about the wounds - whether they'd been cleaned - he rumbled an affirmative, clearing his throat. We tried when we took breaks. They had been short stops, given their wounds and how important it was to return.

He breathed a low, slow breath as the cold feeling moved around him; as Tamar did, earning a shy few glances - these looks which carried to the dirt or to the overhang of the tablinum, glossy and tired.

Aquene was relieved when the other woman arrived, nodding as she assured her that she could handle Glaukos while Aquene treated Kallik’s injuries. She moved inside and found him relaxed and she knew that the pain medication had taken affect at the very least. “I have to clean everything out now, Kallik. It’s not going to be pleasant, but it should only hurt a little bit thanks to what I gave you for the pain. I need you to tell me if it gets too unbearable.” She told him, expecting him to take her seriously and not try to macho his way through it like the other man seemed to be fond of doing.
 
With that, she started the grueling process just as she had done on the other man. She started with his chest. It was what she was most worried about because an infection there could easily spread to the lungs of heart which she was looking to avoid. The debridement should help, along with the poultice to keep infection out. She was just thanking her lucky stars it wasn’t worse by the time they arrived. “You both did good trying to keep them clean. It might have just saved your lives.” She praised both of them, loud enough for both of them to hear. It would have staved off infection so it was only this bad when they had arrived and for that she was thankful.

Aquene returned and said what she needed to do would be painful. Kallik nodded, but said nothing else. He quietly watched her work, wincing here and there when the cleaning made his wound throb. He had no issue telling her if it became too much, but so far it had been bearable. 

He could see the worry etched into her pretty face. He wanted so bad to reach out and kiss her cheek or pull her against him. But he couldn't do either of those things. She would likely get upset with him because she was trying to clean his wounds and he couldn't behave that openly with others around. 

Her words brought him from his thoughts of her. He shrugged a little and the move made him draw in a sharp breath. He was silent for a few moments, his eyes closed as he waited for the pain to lessen. When opened them again, he spoke. It was not easy with both of us being in bad shape, but we managed. He risked a brush of his nose over her head while she worked. He had missed her. Thank you. Your advice was helpful. His eyes were glassy by now, and he was sagging against the wall a bit, weakened by his exhaustion.

The boy permitted Tamar to tend to him. Of the two healers he trusted the fair-haired one more, as she might have had an understanding towards Glaukos' fears. He did not say anything as he was tended to aside from making a few low sounds, or breathing heavily, while she worked.

He could dimly hear Kallik and the other woman talking. Glaukos didn't focus on anything for a while, and was soon drifting in and out of sleep. Eventually someone might rouse him and lead him back to the soldiers quarters - but it was also possible they might leave him there, to sleep and be watched over.

Thread fade

She smiled at his words, his nose brushing over her head as she worked and prepared the poultice dressing that would need to cover each wound to ensure the infection stayed away. “Absolutely. It is my hope to be able to teach all soldiers in Mereo the basics so that ventures like these are not as precarious.” It was a suggestion meant for the Imperator.
 
Carefully, each individual wound was dressed after it had been cleaned out. Aquene did the final laying of the dressing on both of them due to the steady nature needed. She had not trained Tamar to heal wounds such as this and thus did not ask her to. She requested they both rest, and that they could move to the soldiers’ apartments later on for their rest. Aquene lingered carefully near Kallik, laying down on her own cot as she would be up whenever her patients were up.