Northstar Vale do what you do

@Antigone please? <3

her brother had become healer to the heiros. zosime had not the stomach to see any of what occurred. she thought of leona. a girl who now laid beneath the cold earth. would meadow also —

she felt terribly sick and when it seemed her brother's scent trailed away from the place of healing, she quickly went after him. shuffling through the snow with no care for hiding her arrival.

anti? her voice was a cracking meep of a sound.

Zosime’s voice stopped him.

Antigone turned to look at her with dark blue eyes. She did not look well. He did not feel well. The young wolf felt as though he could not remove their blood from his body. Hours had been spent bathing away the crusted reminder of that day. He could still feel it. The fine hairs upon his skin prickled with discomfort.

Are you okay, Zosime? Antigone asked his sister.

The breath of his words lifted from his mouth and into the vale. It was cold. He hoped that he could convince his father to share the skins he had worked on. Meadow would need them to rest and keep warm. She would need them so she could heal.

at once he asked about her! and she found herself overcome with grand emotion. this had become a seemingly common thing for her lately since seeing her mother cry. since hearing words of such an awful time before.

any reminders that she was cared for and loved often left her teary.

she threw herself at him at once. wrapping forelegs around his neck in a hug. i meant to ask you that! it mattered not if he was still crusted with his work, she buried her face into him.

Antigone cringed at her willingness to embrace him when he was so… filthy. Her arms around his neck were a reminder of her love. He was pulled out of the horrors in his mind and into the present.

The boy buried his nose into the familiar nape of her.

I’m not good enough, Zosime. I don’t know how to make her better.

Damn Meadow! She had been hurt this badly before she had taught him all of her skills. Antigone did not want to feel angry at the woman who lay wounded in the healing den. He wished that his emotions could spark health into her, could heal over the gashes that had bled her body. The boy did not know what to do to get the feeling of that blood off of him.

but you are not alone. she meant to point out this obvious thing to him! we will all tend to her healing. you have done the biggest parts, yes? accept help for the rest.

she meant to kiss his temple. only to find it stained too and she wondered, not for the first time, with ill interest. how harmed was meadow? what would this mean going forward?

i will go to mama and speak to her of healing too. so that i may help when you rest.

Antigone was fortunate to his sisters.

Zosime spoke with rational words. They crept into his mind. He wished to believe that they could collectively heal Meadow back to perfect health. It would have been a comforting thing to know that she was on the cusp of getting better, simply by being in a place of care. The healing woman was important to each member of Epoch. If anything did not go according to plan…

His stomach clenched.

Do you even like it? Antigone asked his sister, after she had spoken of learning some healing arts. Was she stepping forward to be accommodating or was she actually inclined to follow the path of a medic?

i do not know yet, anti! she sought to place a kiss to his forehead. laughed softly, but fixed him with a serious look.

she knew the importance of these things to him. i will learn, i will help. if you do not like this, tell me now. she asked of him for honesty and openness. she loved her brother dearly, but she would not step into things if she was not welcomed.

The boy sighed quietly against her loving touch. His eyes squinted as he fought the cringe, the particular itch of his skin against her kiss. If she had not been loved, if she had not been family, Antigone might have pushed her away from him.

Zosime was a good sister to him. He watched her with a steady stare and wondered why he had not taken the time to know her interests. Had he been so focused on himself that he had forgotten his sisters and their passions?

What do you like to learn Zosime? Antigone asked her gently.