The Sentinels The Bees Knees

@Blue Willow (:

The young Zeta and matured Alpha had never officially met. The two had had no conversations other than the formalities of a pack. She knew her face and her scent, but nothing personal about the woman other than that she was mated with Lasher and they had a litter of puppies of whom Aria was extremely jealous of. So when she set out, the girl wasn't sure what to expect. She respected Lasher and viewed him as a kind of father figure, one whom she'd never had. But even they weren't that close, she'd only spent more time with him than Blue Willow. 

She was not afraid of the black wolf, and was actually quite excited to meet her, but she was unsure of what to say. She knew she needed honey for Dante's throat, and assumed she'd have to explain why Dante himself couldn't come retrieve it. She also hoped to ask what else she could do for him. 

She assumed that the mother was near her den with her pups, so that was where she went. Although she was unsure if the woman would even be there. So, when she was close, she let out a call. Aria didn't believe that the alpha would have gone far, so even if she wasn't in the den she may have been close. Although there really was no telling, she was only making her best guess.

@Eilidh do you think you'd be willing to jump in here? I feel bad I've left Dante hanging for so long! <3

Sure! Can we assume its present day? :)

Though she wasn't the one being called, Eilidh was close-by when Aria's voice rose up for her mother the healer. And being that she was the healer's apprentice (and daughter), Eilidh wondered if she could help with whatever Aria needed. So she left off organizing her own small healer's den near her mother's larger one and followed the trail that led around to the grove that held the den's mouth, and saw Aria standing there looking worried. Eilidh didn't know the girl much more than the rumors and gossip, but she did know that she had made her brother's life quite interesting lately.

"Hi, Aria," she said softly, dipping her head in a respectful greeting. Even if the girl wasn't that much older than her, she knew that she was the beta, and it was only proper to give her respect despite what might be happening in her personal life. "I don't know where my Mamma is, but maybe I can help you with something?" She gave a small smile and waited patiently for an answer.

sounds great! Thanks so much! <3

Blue Willow wasn't answering, and the white girl began to grow a bit weary. She glanced around before she tried to decide what to do now. Dante didn't seem well, she felt awful leaving him so. But soon the voice of the honey-white Mayfair girl alerted her, and Aria turned to see her. Returning the respectful head dip as her tail wagged. "Eilidh!" she exclaimed with relief. She knew that she was training under her mother as a healer, and she was thrilled to see her here. 

"Yes, please, you can," she replied, glancing back to Blue's den. "Dante is sick, he's got a sore throat or... something. I was trained in healing but not so far as to diagnose," she explained, wrinkling her nose for a moment. "I didn't have many herbs, I mixed together lavender and (i forgot the other one ugh) and gave it to him but he needs honey. He probably needs a different medicine too, the one I gave him probably won't do him much help."

Eilidh knew Dante wasn't feeling well, but she didn't know his care was in Aria's paws, too. She narrowed her eyes briefly as Aria spoke of what she gave him, but the herbs she spoke of weren't harmful. In fact, Eilidh was surprised to find that those were some of the herbs she herself would have given him, if she knew his throat bothered him, too. "Mamma may have some honeycombs in her healing den. Let me look." With that, she turned and slipped into the den, leaving Aria to wait outside.

She rooted through the den carefully, knowing that her mother had things carefully arranged in her own way, and finally found the empty beehive in a corner. She broke a piece of the honeycomb off with her paw and carried it out to the beta carefully between her teeth, setting it on a leaf near Aria's feet. "Here's a piece for you. It should be enough to last him a few days. If he's not better, or the cough gets worse, he should find my Mamma. She is more experienced than either of us." She smiled softly, not meaning it as  slight to their skills, but as the truth. They weren't fully trained healers and if Dante's condition worsened, he would need an experienced wolf's touch. "Did you need anything else?" she asked softly as she settled down to lick the stick honey from her paw.

Aria nodded as Eilidh told her that she may have some honeycombs for her, and the white princess' tail wagged with hope. The honey-white girl made her way towards the healing den and disappeared, leaving the January girl to wait patiently outside. Eilidh returned and placed it at her paws, giving her a bit of advice. Aria continued to nod along to the tips and gave a short giggle as she noted their inexperience. "I'm sure you're much better than me," she deemed, "You are her daughter," she added, dipping her head to sniff at the sweet honey. She was almost jealous of Dante, honey had always been a favorite treat of hers as a child.

When she raised her head again, Eilidh had asked her a question, and Aria's tail flicked as she thought of a response. "What would you have given him? If you couldn't diagnose it either, I mean," she asked, genuinely curious. 

Eilidh would have blushed at the compliment if she could have, but instead she bobbed her head in recognition of it, and gave a small smile. "That's kind of you to say, Aria." Eilidh finished cleaning her paw of the honey and lifted her head to listen to Aria's question. How would she treat him? She wondered the same thing, and even now after talking to Dante herself, she wasn't sure what was causing it. "Well, that depends on what's causing the issue." With a shrug of her slim shoulders, she continued, not really sure where she was going with it. "Perhaps honey too soothe his throat, willow bark to help with the pain."

She still wasn't sure about the lung issue though. "I haven't had a chance to ask my mother, but I know he's having issues breathing, too. So there has to be something to help his lungs expand. I'm just not sure what that would be." She was still learning, but at least she knew what his problem was. "I found him on the beach the other day digging for crabs. He was talking funny, you know, like his throat or chest was bothering him. I pressed my ear to his chest and listened to his lungs. They sound terrible." She shook her head, hoping she and her mother could help him get better.

"Willow bark.." Aria repeated as Eilidh informed her of her own intentions. Truthfully she had no idea what that was for, she wasn't even sure how you could use that for healing. She did not ask, however, somehow the want to be a medic had left her intentions. Perhaps it was her past that made the task more of a chore than a hobby or job, and she didn't really want to pursue it anymore. She did however still find it interesting, and enjoyed hearing the apprentice speak about it.

"You placed your ear to his chest?" she asked, her head tilting to the side. So interesting! "I've never thought to do that before... Could you really hear his lungs?" the white princess questioned, her tail thumping lightly against the ground.

"I used some on Pearl's wound a few weeks ago. I chewed it up and put it straight onto the wound, to help dull the pain. For Dante, I'd have him chew it up and swallow the juice, but not the pulp." At least that's what her mother had taught her of pain management. There was also the option of poppy seeds, but in all honesty, Eilidh was afraid of that particular flower. Her mother had warned her of its addictive properties and its ability to kill if given in high enough doses. She didn't feel competent enough to use that without her mother's supervision, not yet and maybe not ever. It seemed like a very dangerous thing to use.

Aria's curiosity made Eilidh smile. She nodded softly and beckoned her forward. "Yeah, you can! Do you want to practice on me? It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. The trick is to make sure the other wolf is quiet and breathes normally." Eilidh stood and offered her side to Aria, nodding her head again. It was perfectly alright for the girl to practice that, if she wanted. But if not, well, Eilidh wouldn't be offended.

Eilidh fired straight into talk about Willow bark, almost as if she could hear the pale girls thoughts. She didn't mind of course, it was always nice to learn. Besides, the Mayfair daughter was so passionate about healing it seemed that it was hard not to feel just as excited- regardless of her own feelings towards medicine now. "It sounds like a very useful herb then, I suppose it's used for many different things then," she smiled, her tail wagging at the information. 

It was then that the other girl offered for Aria to test it out, and the eagerness of the pale girl skyrocketed. "I'd love to!" she yipped, making her way towards her. Once Eilidh had quieted and relaxed, Aria placed her ear against her side, listening as she heard the gentle thumps of her heart beat and perhaps something else that was probably her lungs. It didn't sound gross or uneven, so she assumed everything was fine. Regardless, she asked. "What would it sound like?" 

Eilidh agreed that willow bark was a useful herb, and although she didn't use it often, she could think of many instances where it could be helpful. Then Aria came over to listen to her lungs, and although she placed her ear on her side and listened for a few minutes, she asked what it would sound like. Eilidh smiled. "It kind of sounds like the distant roaring of the waves, but softer. Breathing in is louder than breathing out. Then there is a pause before it repeats. I'll take some deep breaths so you can hear it clearly."

She waited for Aria to be ready before she breathed in deeply through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, controlling her breath so her lungs wouldn't deflate so quickly and Aria might be able to hear her lungs move the air through them. After a few deep breaths, she looked back toward Aria and asked softly, "Was that better?"

The girl was a bit shocked to hear that it did indeed get a lot easier to hear, and that it did sound a bit like the ocean. She removed her head from her side and nodded. "That's wonderful!" she chirped, smiling brightly at Eilidh. "Thank you so much, I'll have to remember that in case I ever come across something like this again," she added, her tail wagging a little bit.

She glanced to the honeycomb and then back to the Mayfair daughter, still smiling. "I'll go get this to Dante, thank you for your help, Eilidh," she then said. The pale girl picked up the honey daintily in her jaws and dipped her head to the other before she padded back towards where she came from.

feel free to respond again, last post from me! Thanks so much for filling in <3

Sure thing! :)

Eilidh smiled at Aria's delight at hearing her lungs. "It's a pretty cool medic trick my Mamma taught me." Now that they had spent some time together, Eilidh realized that Aria wasn't all drama-bound. At least she had a solid head on her shoulders and did care about the wolves of this pack. "Let me know if it doesn't help, okay? I'll check on him in a few days." The medic apprentice smiled softly and watched Aria leave with the honeycomb in tow, hoping it would help ease Dante's pain, even if just for a few days. At least that might give her enough time to find her mother and ask her what else they could do for him.