Swiftcurrent Creek Save some face; you know you've only got one

No rush, I know we still have one going, just wanted to get this up before I forget my idea for it <3

Kel headed straight for @Akavir, determined to keep a handle on this situation through swift action. If they worked quickly, they could avoid losing the progress he'd already made. Reverie had agreed to this; she wanted to get better, from what she had said. He couldn't let Lestan stand in the way of that.
When he found the leader, he ducked his head respectfully and wasted no time. Akavir, He only took a moment to consider what he would say. Updates for you. Both need medication. No way around it. Got Reverie started on something, seems to be working, but Lestan is resistant. He sent me away.
Kel took a breath. They need to be separated. Think they could both make real progress that way. I'd like to take Reverie and Blossom to Riverclan. With your permission. And without Lestan, but that went without saying. As long as they were together, Kel felt that nothing would improve.

Akavir glanced up—the trio of pups were reluctantly exploring, though still hungry, and he kept a wary eye on them, herding them closer to the den mouth then perhaps an over protective mother would… He was completely out of his element.

He blinked at Kelsier—a certain alarm drumming in his chest at the mention of medication—and even more so at the man’s suggestion of separating the two. They had only just been returned to one another—if anything, Reverie had become worse away from Lestan.

“You can’t separate them, not if they don’t want to be,” he began, his eyes sweeping over the other man with hidden alarm. Now he wanted to take Reverie to Riverclan at his permission—and he blinked again. “Those decisions are up to Reverie, not me.”

And then, more importantly, given his own most recent discussion with the flighty girl— “You’ve medicated her? On what? We never discussed medication… She did so willingly?”

He was beginning to feel as if he didn't quite have all the facts. Lestan's reaction, and now this; as far as Kel was concerned, this was all very normal, nothing to be questioned. She seemed nervous, but willing, He said, frowning thoughtfully now. Gave her a type of mushroom, has some calming properties and about half a dozen names. I can show you. Pretty harmless.
She'll come with me if I ask, Kel added after a moment. But uh. Starting to feel like I'm missing something. Reverie asked three times if it would hurt, and Lestan acted like I poisoned her. There was a question hanging from the end of his words, unspoken but loud all the same: what haven't you told me?

The man seemed confused—Akavir could relate as he began to feel a certain snowball effect come upon him—except this snowball was a behemoth—waiting to swallow him as it grew upon all sides.

“She’s nervous around healers… Her sister died and she’s resistant to even visiting them,” he began, offering this slowly. Something he felt Lestan or Reverie would have shared with the man—and only realizing now his grave mistake of leaving this information out.

The idea that the girl would go with him if he asked seemed almost naive to Akavir—particularly if the man wanted to separate her and Lestan. He couldn’t imagine either agreeing to it. “I need to go to Riverclan myself—maybe for a week, maybe for more… My pups need milk and their mother is missing… An Ash Paw is going to help supplement them.” He paused, weary to the bone. “Lestan and Reverie have their autonomy… I’m not their keeper. I want to see them better… But it’s ultimately up to them.” Had he realized the man would come to him with treatment plans and requesting permission for things that should have been up to the duo—he didn’t know if he would have so eagerly accepted the assistance.

“Arric is in charge while I’m gone. I understand if you decide to leave, too, for now… But he might be able to assist you better with Reverie, at least. They’re friends.”


And then, though he didn't feel it needed to be said, he could not keep the nagging feeling in his chest: "If Reverie is being agreeable because she's high on mushrooms... That's not her giving consent," he then pointed out, his own tone firming, despite the insult it might bear to the other.

Kel nodded; he'd been willing to commit to this, but he wouldn't put more into it than Akavir himself was willing to. Reverie was uncommunicative and Lestan uncooperative. Neither of these things would have been a barrier at Willowspire or The Evergarden — but those places had been meant for healing, and this was just some pack. Kel had to remember that. He had a few things to say about their autonomy, considering Reverie thought she was a curse and Lestan thought he was hunted by deer, but — not his circus, not his monkeys. Not anymore.
It seemed like Akavir had a lot going on anyway.
And then Kel was insulted. Not high, He corrected, but his voice was still mild. The decision was hers. I respected it, and Lestan's. Neither of them know how sick they are though, and I'm not about to press the issue if you're not. Frankly, he felt Akavir should have been grateful for the effort he was willing to put toward this. It just wasn't worth being annoyed over.
So, best if I take my leave. Reverie knows what to take and how much. Said she knows herbs, And with that, Kel washed his hands of the situation. On to less hopeless things. When are you leaving? I can wait, if you'd like to travel together. As insulted as he felt, he also wanted to test the waters; see if he had insulted Akavir. He didn't feel as if he'd done anything wrong. It seemed to him as if the man didn't realize the severity of what was afflicting his subordinates, or the full extent of what treatment would entail. And that wasn't Kel's fault, in his opinion.

There was an underlying blame from the man with a pointed comment—he would not press the issue if Akavir himself would not. And the Alpha would shoulder that, for now—he would not pressure his pack mates to medicate themselves unless they had arrived to the decision themselves—the consequences of those actions would then be placed upon them. He could not shoulder something that should derive from their own desire of well being.

If Reverie agreed to continue, then so be it—it would seem the man had done what he could, in Akavir’s mind, and at the prospect of a travel companion, the Mayfair gave pause. “Shardik and I leave in a couple of hours. I need to wrap a few things up.”

With that, he began to corral the pups, the sight of Shardik coming to aide a welcome one. He needed to talk quickly with Arric—and in that moment, determined he would drop by to see Lestan, at the very least.

With the pups tucked back into the den and a weary looking Swordfish as their guardian for now, Akavir moved back to the man once more. “If you’re willing to travel with us, it’s welcome. It’s up to you.”

Kel nodded in acknowledgement to Akavir, then in greeting to the wolf who arrived, finally sparing one brief glance for the children. They made him uncomfortable, so it was easier to just ignore them; safer too, to avoid giving insult with unwarranted interest. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had already done so with his interest in helping Lestan and Reverie. Akavir's line of questioning did not sit well with him, nor his use of the word high.
He'd never been formally trained, true, but he'd been watching the practice for quite a long time. Kel knew something, at least. But now he was full of doubts and the beginnings of shame. He let none of it show. Okay. I'll wait for you near the border, He said, figuring he could kill time by inspecting the herb selection. Kel wouldn't take anything, and didn't even want to ask about it after this conversation, but it would be good to know. Maybe Faun would make a better impression on Swiftcurrent Creek than he had.

If the man alluded to misuse of treatment on Reverie or Lestan he revealed nothing—Akavir, stoically watching him as if a casual conversation, revealed nothing as well—for there was nothing. Reverie was an unreliable source… She would say one thing to someone, and turn around and completely adjust the story to another. Her fear was apparent only when convenient—and while he was wary of how she responded to another in her space, he could only surmise and go by what he was told… and the communication, as it were, only came to him from the man solidly before him.

So, with a nod of quiet agreement, Akavir excused himself, sweeping away to prepare his family for a long journey, and bid his farewells in the meantime.