The Sentinels Did I disappoint you?

@Eilidh 

Usually Osprey was pretty good at coordinating her limbs and body so that she would not trip and fall. Being graceful and flawless, when running fast, had been one of her most praised qualities back in the days and though she was not overly proud wolf, the fact that she had missed and hit a tree, while chasing a small roe deer, was quite upsetting. The collision had been so sudden and painful that she had let out a high-pitched yelp first, followed by series of pitiful whimpers. The right shoulder joing ached badly and she spent several minutes just lying on her side, waiting for the pain to pass. 

Once it seemed that it was not that bad, she got to her feet and tried to put weight on the affected limb - it hurt, yes, but she could move at least. Her first idea was to wait few days and see, whether the injury heals on it's own, after walking a few feet had taken a lot of time and effort, she decided that it would be better to seek out any of the two resident healers of the pack and find out, how badly she had injured herself and what to do about it. Still - it meant walking a long and painful way.

Eilidh had treated Pearl's wound when she'd been bitten by that seal, but in reality she wasn't much of a medic yet. It was one of the specialties she was aiming for within the caregiver trade. She liked pups well enough, but she didn't like the idea of helping a woman birth. That was weird. Perhaps in time she'd become comfortable with it, but for now she focused on tending wounds and helping the sick. That was what she seemed to be good at so far, and with her mother still so busy with the girls and a possible war on the horizon, they'd need all the medics they could get.

The gossamer healer was searching for herbs and roots to take back to her den when Osprey's scent crossed her nose on the wind. She hadn't seen the woman in a while and wondered if she knew how Dante was doing after she'd found those wild onions for him. She hoped he was doing better, but somethings didn't heal very quickly. Rest had been her primary prescription, one she hoped he'd followed as closely as possible. After the attack on the girls, she knew he'd been up and about, but there was no helping that. He was the pack's beta, after all.

Eilidh moved across the land toward Osprey's scent, keeping an eye out for any herbs she might find useful. She kept track of them in her mind to come back for later, because her primary mission was finding her pack-mate and talking. It would be nice to speak with her and get to know her a little more. But when the grey woman finally came into view, there was something clearly wrong. Eilidh barked and ran the rest of the way to her side, whining softly. "What's wrong, Osprey? Are you hurt?"

Either Osprey had a true guardian angel watching over her or she was simply extremely lucky, Eilidh found her first. At first, when she heard the girl's voice, the elder stopped in her tracks and with ears perked up, listened for any sound of approaching footsteps. And, when they were unmistakably there, she sat down, wagging her tail and whimpering like an excited puppy, waiting for the girl to come closer.

"You must have a sixth sense!" Osprey exclaimed instead of beginning with "hey"s and "how are you"s and "it's nothing"s. "I did the most stupid thing - hit a tree while hunting," she went on to explaining. "And this shoulder," she beckoned to the injured one, "hurts like living hell, but I can still move the leg. It does mean that it is not broken, doesn't it?"

Sometimes, Eilidh felt like she had a sixth sense. Usually it was about plants and their properties, or where she might find something for her private stores, but sometimes it would manifest as an urge to check on someone or a feeling that something was wrong. Today, she had smelled Osprey's scent on the wind, and while it was her connection to Dante that spurred her onward, inwardly she wondered if it didn't have something to do with her sixth sense.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, coming closer to examine Osprey's injured shoulder. Whatever she'd done to it, the shoulder wasn't broken. "You're right, its not broken. If you can walk on it, then there's not a break. But it could be badly bruised." Eilidh pressed her nose against the shoulder, feeling the muscles and swelling there, before stepping back. "This is going to hurt, but I want you to lift your leg as high as it can go." Eilidh took another step back to allow her room, and waited.

Hearing that her leg was not broken was an utter relief, but Osprey had to suppress a frustrated growl, when the young healer pressed her muzzle against the most painful spot. She agreed that this had been a neccessary part of the examination, but she would have preferred a less "invasive" method, if such existed, of course. 

"Do I have to?" she looked at the girl, because the idea of lifting a foot she could barely stand on as high as possible seemed... impossible. But not wanting to give an impression of being a wimp, Osprey did as she was told. "Ouch," she yelped, when she had reached the very upper limit - her forepaw was a little below the level of her chest. "So - what is your verdict?" she asked, continuing with a wry joke. "Am I going to survive or my leg is going to dry up and fall off at some point?"

Eilidh smirked, knowing how painful an injury like this was, and yet needing to see how far the injury had spread. Osprey obeyed her request, however, and Eilidh's smirk turned into a frown as the woman yelped. Her paw wasn't quite to the level of her chest, and she should have been able to lift it much higher than that. "Does the muscle feel torn?" she asked softly, prodding gently at the shoulder again. Ever the tender doctor, she was gentle as she inspected the injury, and tried not to cause any unnecessary or excessive pain. 

Osprey then joked, and Eilidh felt better. She laughed softly and shook her head. "Your leg won't shrivel and fall off, I promise you that." Eilidh looked into Osprey's face and saw that although there was pain there, she was still in good enough spirits to joke. That was a good sign. "I recommend rest. If you feel the pain is too much, I can give you something for it. But for now, I want you to rest as much as you can." An idea occurred to her then, and although she'd never done it before, she wondered if it would work. "There's still a little snow left. Do you think Dante will help pack snow on your shoulder a few times a day?"

Eilidh asked a very odd question and Osprey furrowed her brow trying to understand, what the girl had meant by "feeling a torn muscle". Was it any different kind of pain? She looked sideways and down to the shoulder, pretending to examine it for a while, though in reality she stared at it, as if the "pressure" would make the offending joint talk. It did not, therefore the elder didn't get any smarter. She shrugged and winced at the same time. 

"Alright," she nodded, though it was evident that she didn't enjoy the idea too much. Osprey did not want her newly gained independence slip through her fingers again, therefore once the young healer mentioned herbs with painkilling properties, her eyes lit up. "I think I can manage the snow part myself, but what about the herbs you mentioned - can I get some now?"

Eilidh had no doubt that Osprey could take care of herself, but sometimes it was wise to ask a friend for help. But she didn't argue with Osprey about it; that would be counterproductive. Her ears flicked when the woman asked for help with the pain now. Eilidh was sure it was painful, but she wasn't so sure that it merited something heavy-duty. In a silent compromise, she decided certain herbs wouldn't be bad. "Sure, I can get you something to help with the swelling and pain. But you need to promise me you'll rest your shoulder." She eyed the woman for a moment before motioning for her to follow her to the healing den. 

They traveled slowly, the healer purposefully setting the pace slower than usual, so Osprey wouldn't injure herself further. When they arrived, Eilidh slipped into her mother's larger den and rummaged around for willow bark. It was something that, when chewed, would help with the pain. She left the den and set the bark on the ground before slipping into her own den for a bundle of dried lavender. Then she returned once more to Osprey, and motioned to each of the herbs. "This one will help with the pain. You'll chew the willow bark and swallow the juice, but spit out the pulp. It will cause stomach aches." Then she nosed the dried herbs. "And the lavender you'll chew and swallow. It'll help with the swelling." She glanced up into Osprey's eyes, offered a brief smile, and asked, "Any questions for me?"

They did not talk much, while making their way to Blue willow's den, which - fortunately - wasn't too far away. Every step hurt like a living hell and it took a lot for Osprey to keep the swearwords that were building up in her mind about the whole situation in a form of pitiful whimpers. Though Eilidh was past the age, when she could be easily influenced by everything - proper and improper - she had heard, the elder had an image to live up to after all. 

It took a bit for her to memorize, how to use which herb, and she lowered her head to have a sniff at the drugs that would take the pain away. The smell wasn't pleasant, so she averted her muzzle and licked it few times to fend the odour away. "They don't seem to be particularly tasty," she pointed out to the girl. "Especially that tree-thingy - it's awful."

Eilidh smiled, remembering the first time she'd chewed a little of the bark herself. Every good medic needed to try a taste of their own medicine (literally) so they could warn the patients about side-effects. There seemed to be little with the willow bark, but that didn't mean every wolf reacted the same. Eilidh did know, however, that swallowing the actual bark - the pulp once chewed - could cause riotous stomach aches. No, it's definitely not tasty. I think that's part of the good properties of it, so that you can't accidentally eat too much, and cause real harm. Eilidh then slipped back into the den and brought out a tiny chunk of honeycomb. If its especially nasty, take a bite of this afterward. The honey should help the taste.

Her ears flicked forward and her eyes widened. Oh! I almost forgot. She laughed bashfully. Only chew the bark twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. As for the lavender, you can eat that as often as you need. Start with three to four times a day, and see how that goes. Eilidh smiled, happy to finally be using her medic knowledge, even if it meant someone was hurt. If you have any further discomfort after about five days of rest and medicine, come back and I'll need to feel your shoulder more thoroughly. It would be painful, but necessary, if she didn't see any improvement. In any case, please check in with me in three days, so I can know how you're doing.

"It does not make sense," Osprey had her say about the theory of "the worse, the better", but she was not questioning Eilidh's knowledge and, even though eating the whole chunk of the honeycomb seemed like so much of more desirable idea, she wanted to show the girl that she was not coward. Therefore the elder picked up a piece of willow-bark reluctantly and began to chew. Her facial expression spoke volumes of, how horrible that bit was, therefore she was happy to spit it out as soon as possible and wash down the bitter taste with mouthfuls of half-melted snow.

"Once feels like too much already," Osprey murmured under her breath, but nodded. The lavender didn't look or smell much better, but she decided that she had complained enough for one afternoon and besides she did not want to annoy Eilidh, who genuinely wanted to help her. "I will," she promised, although she would forget about it, once the leg began to feel better, and during heat it would be the last thing her mind would be occupied with. "How is Casmir doing?" she asked, recalling that in not too ancient past he had been attacked by pirates and looked quite sullen during the meeting.

Eilidh nodded at Ospreys's assessment; the bark tasted pretty nasty and although she knew it would help heal her injured shoulder, she didn't envy the method. Willow bark wasn't the tastiest of medicines. Their conversation turned toward Eilidh's brother and immediately her countenance darkened. She was still quite angry with him for calling her names. He's alright, I think. I haven't spoken with him since Behati died. He's been staying with Mamma, Pappa, and the girls, so I know he's being cared for. She didn't really want to talk about it, but if Osprey asked for further clarification, she wouldn't deny the woman the knowledge.

For some reason there was some resentment towards the brother in Eilidh's voice - Osprey lifted her eyebrows, appearing a bit surprised and curious about this kind of attitude, but then seemed to change her mind, as she didn't push the subject further and simply shook her head. "Good to know - the last time I saw him, he was pretty beaten up and grumpy," this statement wasn't entirely true, because from the point she had been sitting, it had not been easy to make out enough details in order to draw conclusions. However, rumors spread fast. 

"Would you accompany me back to my den?" she asked, getting up to her feet and wincing, when she tried to put weight on the injured foot. She regarded the girl with a hopeful gaze - surely she was not that bad off to make the journey alone, but she yearned for a person to talk to. For both practical and selfish reasons - she wanted to divert her mind from pain.


ooc: you can fade this out in your next post. Thank you for the thread! 

Thanks for helping me with my trade! <3

While Eilidh knew that her brother was upset and had every right to be, she was still rather bitter about his outburst. She didn't want to vent her frustrations on Osprey, who had her own issues to deal with now. Eilidh wasn't one to vent to anyone, really, preferring to keep her problems to herself. She was a very independent young lady in that regard, and in many other aspects of her life, too. Sure, I'll accompany you, she said with a smile, picking up part of Osprey's medicine to help carry to the den. She enjoyed Osprey's company, even if today wasn't the best example of the delta's personality. After dropping her at her den and reminding her to rest, Eilidh left to enjoy the afternoon in a patch of sunlight.