Ravensblood Forest Remember that it's all in your head

He hadn't slept yet - but he had moved on to the riverside, which he followed inland with no particular bearing in mind.

The screeching of a woman's voice reverberated in Reyes' head; a memory from a recent encounter, beyond the Wilds.

His trajectory aimed him for a high point. He knew it best to stay on the higher path in case danger came his way - but it was slow going, given his limp and the gradual swelling of one eye till it shut.

The stench of wolves hit him quickly, forcing him to stop and scope out the area with his one open eye, wary.

Vale was on patrol, one of his favorite things to do, when a stranger's scent floated towards him on the breeze. He called at once for his parents, @Violante and @Vagabond, and then made his way towards the border, following the river. He stopped at the edge of the trees, pale eyes searching until they landed on a crimson man. His tail lifted, and he called out boldly, Stranger, stop there! This is Sacrarium's territory.

The man swung his head to where the boy emerged, eyeing him like he might be a good meal for a split-second, then sighed through clenched teeth and lost some luster. His posture slouched.

Aye, I smell ya. The pirates brogue had returned lately and Reyes was too worn out to care.

Lookin' fer some help. Medicine. Think a deal could be struck?

The stranger asked for medicine, and Vale shifted his weight from paw to paw. He hedged, I... I could call for our Mystic. @Lorelai would help him, he thought. Lifting his muzzle to the sky, Vale called for the healer, and then he took a step closer to the stranger. He pointed to the v-shaped scar on his forehead, saying, She fixed up my head after a hunt.

Violante heard her son's calls, but she was far off, and when she found him, he was conversing with a stranger. She was proud of him, and his growth, but still protective, so she paced closer, to greet the stranger. Hail. I am Violante, Vicera of Sacrarium. I expect Lorelai will be here soon. She had not missed his swollen eye. To her son, she murmured, Good job.

It seemed there was a lot of activity tonight, for Lorelai heard Vale call not once, but twice, once for his parents and once for her. She gathered up a bundle of essential herbs — cobwebs for bleeding, different herbs with which to make poultices to help prevent infection and swelling, poppy seeds for pain... It was her "to-go" kit for healing.

Leaving the tunnels, she rushed for the border, for once not feeling nervous. When she was called, it was to help someone, and she was good at that, at least. She arrived to find Vale and the Vicera, as well as a stranger. I'm Lorelai, she told the man quietly. What happened?

The boy called for aid.

It wasn't just the so-called mystic that arrived either; someone, presumably the child's warden or their parent, was soon upon the scene. Reyes squinted to them both before Lorelai arrived and introduced themselves.

Does it matter? The blunted edge of his words resonated a moment and Reyes did not correct himself or his bearing. Ya see my eye? N'check this, he flexed his weight as much as he was able upon his four limbs, wincing as he used his rear right.

I need somethin' fer that wound, above all. Got some distance to travel still. What say you? His attention shifted from the healer woman to the other woman, then quickly the boy, though his opinion was of no importance. Help me out an' I'll be in yer debt. Whatever it costs. I gotta get back home.

The last thing Reyes wanted to do was share his humiliating defeat by the rogues of Tortuga.

Very quickly, his mother arrived, and he smiled at her praise, dipping his head and then coming to stand close by her. Lorelai arrived a few minutes later, and Vale watched her interact with the stranger with interest, though he would say nothing. As a guardian, he knew his place was here, watching over his packmates and the stranger.