Bramblepoint the laughter of the stars

it was night, now. 
she girl trembled wildly, saliva mixed with blood dripping from her maw, head hung below her shoulders. her face was a mess of barely clotted wounds, of blood dried and fresh, and faded blue gaze staring from the midst of it all. her maw hung agape, displaying within a mess of flesh, and her limbs quaked with exhaustion. she was in trees, now, though knew not whether she had run north or south, east or west. only that she had run, from the obsidian girl that had taken her tongue. 

it was only when her limbs almost buckled did she slow, and stop, huddling against a boulder which offered the guise of protection. she could not even cleanse her wounds, for the absence of a tongue and the fact that they littered her face stopped her from doing so. but she did not care, not anymore. the pain ought to have been fierce, but it was not. it was numb, as was she.

---

@Rannoch 

Rannoch had been intrigued by the scent that Bramblepoint gave off and he felt drawn to it. He had already speant a good portion of his day within the tangle, exploring it's depths with wide aquamarine eyes. Even after the sun had fallen, Rannoch had lingered amongst the fruit bearing trees and explored to his heart's desire. 

In his exploring, Rannoch suddenly caught a hint of the metallic tang of blood. He froze at this, his ears buckling forward as he glanced around. He could quickly tell that this smell differed from the scent of prey. There was something familiar about the smell, something that lead him to believe that the blood belonged to another wolf. Though he could not distingush just what pack the other reigned from, or if she even blonged to one at all, he was convinced that there was somebody that needed help. With this figured out, Rannoch felt as though he could not ignore it. A whine hissed from his lips as he picked up the trail, following it swiftly from where he had paused. 

Soon enough, Rannoch came across a figure that was draped across a nearby boulder and he froze at a comfortable distance when he realized how serious her injuries looked. His ears flattened as his eyes traled her beaten features and his heart sunk into the depths of his chest, as he wondered how she had ended up in such a state. He glanced around at this thought, wondering if whoever had done this was still lingering. His eyes surveryed the area as he felt himself stiffen as he put up his guard. Even after he deemed the area to be clear, he still held himself in this manner as he returned his gaze to her. 

Though he was concerned about the other, namely from her obvious injuries, Rannoch wasn't quite sure what he could do to help and felt useless to her. "Hey, are you...?" he trailed, cutting himself off as he quickly realizing how ridicilous that question would have sounded. He paused, contemplating his next move, knowing the urgency of the situation. 

His mind raced as he observed her, wondering if there was anybody out there that could help her. Without another thought, Rannoch tipped his head back and called for anybody in the surrounding area with an urgent call, hoping by chance there would be somebody nearby that could help.

she slept, for a time. lapsed into an uneasy sleep, a short affair that took the edge from her exhaustion. it was fitful and uncomfortable, and thus she woke as soon as the became aware of the other's presence. her mind was filled with thoughts of the demon girl, somehow having caught up with her all the way here, and thus when her gaze flittered open, it was filled with frenzied fear. she lurched upward, shrinking away, maw parted to deliver words. go away. yet it was nothing more than sound, shapeless, soft, unformed. she tried again, louder, but still naught but the shapeless sound and pain.

the movement brought burning pain to her face once more, and she immediately stopped her attempts to turn sound to word, though fear and a sickening lurch in her gut. she could not put thought to the fear, not think about the extent of her injuries, not now. for now that her mind had lurched to alertness, she discovered that this was not, in fact, the wraith. it was a male, a stranger. she stared at him, not knowing what else to do, still curled oddly in on herself, leaning away from the male. it was somewhere in the space of staring that her mindless terror simply faded, into an eery calmness one may find themselves in when they can simply no longer be terrified.

Rannoch had been all too concerned about her physical state even to realise that she wasn't awake. He was met with fraught-filled expression, and he backtracked his previous advance on her by a few steps. Also, he could feel a sense of fear wash upon him, gripping his heart tightly as the true horror of her state came to light. It seemed as though she was worse off than he had anticipated. The most prominent aspect of her condition was the way that she attempted to talk and the absence of her voice. 

"I-I..." he tried, keeping himself at a distance as he sought for the right thing to say. Like his counterpart, he came up with nothing.Despite the great lengths he had travelled, he had never seen anything quite like the sight before him. He wanted nothing more than to be able to help her, but with his lack of experience, he just couldn't see how he could do it.

"I-It'll be okay," he promised, not only to convince her but to convince himself. Despite his selfish needs, he could see that this was much more about his fears about her. "Can I... help?" he asked, disregarding the intensity of his beating heart.

he was scared of her.
she knew it by the way his eyes flickered, his words came clipped. she knew not what her face looked like, knew only of the pain. but his response gave her an inkling of just how she looked now. fear threatened to overcome her again, drag her from this stability gained from a numbness and a refusal to think of what had happened, but she ignored it. refused to realise just how deep the damage went. 

his fear, and an odd feeling something like shame, had her duck her head, her blue optics flickering away from him to rest on the earth. her heart beat an accelerated tempo against her ribs, and she wished she could merely disappear into the earth. but she could hardly refuse his offer, and the thought of having to be alone with her terror once more had her nod her head curtly, ignoring the pain stretching through her face at the simple movement.

The thick cover of trees provided the girl security she couldn't find out in the open pastures not far from here. She had come to rest and scavenge for anything to eat but the desperate cry that echoed through the forest took her attention away from the task at hand. It was urgent, pleading for someone's aid and Rose paused only for a moment to consider helping before turning in the direction from where the cry had come. She wasn't sure what to expect when she got there, but as the distance between herself and the duo closed, it became increasingly clear that she might not be able to do as much as she thought. 

Each step further in caused the stench to become thicker and Rose grew uneasy as she turned the final corner. She knew what this was. It was the same smell her brother had when she found him dead, only this time not as pungent. "I can help" came her soft voice, but it was an offer she wasn't entirely sure she could pull off. She took a few shaky steps closer to the pair and carefully leaned it to sniff at the bleeding girl. If she was sick or if her wounds were infected then there was little Rose could do to help, though thankfully neither could be smelt on her. Her eyes flickered to the male for a moment as she swallowed the thump in her throat. "How long has she been like this?" came her words in a rushed whisper, though what she really wanted to know was exactly how much blood the girl had lost. If they couldn't stop the bleeding then there was no point in trying to save her.

Rannoch's psyche was an irratic symphony in that moment, his mind racing as he attempted to figure out what he could do to help. The shifting of her demanour did not go unoticed to the man and he felt himself dip his posture slightly at this, feeling pity for the battered woman. His heart felt sorrow towards her condition and despite his pity he was unaware of just how much pain she was in. 

It was as her teetered on the verge of inching closer that a voice came from behind him and he turned his head quickly, his eyes widening at the sight oh the russet woman. She stepped with a certain grace, her steps shaken by the uncertainty that Rannoch did not catch onto. Instead he watched on, somewhat starstuck as his mind wheeled to comprehend the fact that with Rose's entry there was hope for Keoni. 

"I'm not sure, honestly," he admitted to her question, following in her footsteps timidly. He did not pull himself to stand beside her and instead paused just before Keoni. "I was just exploring and suddenly I came across her," he paused, looking to Keoni with a frown, "she just woke up, too." He wasn't sure which facts would be helpful to the medic, so Rannoch made sure to add any detail that could potientally help.

she longed to speak, to do something. and yet the horror that had come across the male when the shapeless sound had come from her maw was etched in the forefront of her mind, and she was still, jaws clamped shut. there came another, then, a girl of russet, bright in the semi-darkness. she merely blinked at this one, swaying in the slightest in nervousness, blue gaze fixated on the pair. she came near, the russet girl, words soft and walking with grace- though she did not miss the shakiness that came as the girl approached.

The young flame appreciated the male's words despite them not offering much help. In the end she didn't know where the girl had come from or how long she had been like this and it made the situation appear much worse to the young medic. She sucked in a breath while looking the pale girl over with gentle eyes, false composure covering up the nervousness she felt inside. "Can you try to calm her? I need her heartbeat to slow down" it was only a guess but Rose assumed the girl to be frightened, I mean wouldn't anyone be naturally scared in this kind of situation? As for the next step, "I need to find some herbs to heal her, I'll be back in a flash." The real issue was deciding what herbs she needed. She had only a small amount of knowledge on the plants here, but there were a few she was comfortable enough to work with. 

Yarrow was the herb Rose was most familiar with and she found herself naturally looking for it among the thick forest shrubbery. Plantain was another she had experimented with, although she had never actually used it to heal wounds as serious as these. The only other thing that came to mind was to grab a few berries to help with the flavor, though many were not fully in season yet so the girl did not know of helpful they would be. Once she had gathered up what she thought to be enough, Rose returned to the pair as quickly as she could. "I need to clean your wounds" she said to the girl gently, yet there was a hint of seriousness in her tone. Once she received some type of confirmation that the girl understood, Rose wasted little time in cleaning her wounds. She carefully drew her tongue along the pale female's face, doing her best to cleanse her of the blood and dirt that had accumulated there. Now came the hard part...

When Rose's request hit Rannoch, he quickly looked to the injured female as his ears flattened across his skull. He felt uncertainty and a lack of confidence about this, yet, he knew it had to be done. Nodding, Rannoch pushed himself a step forward as his mind raced to find a solution that would work. Pausing as Rose spoke the second half of her plan, he turned to her quickly and nodded, knowing that she would not be able to do much without herbs to aid her. 

"Hey," he greeted, his voice softer as turned back to Keoni, offering a smile. He offered a wag of his tail, not knowing what to say after that. "Y-You're going to be okay," he offered awkwardly, attempting the shield the uncertainty that gripped his fluttering heart. "I know it doesn't seem like it... but it will." He swallowed then, thankful for Rose's return. 

Rannoch sidestepped to allow the russet-furred woman some room; his eyes turned to her as if he were hanging on her every word. "Can I help?" He asked, eager to be useful.

you're going to be okay
hollow words, words said to practically anyone who was, at that moment, definitely not okay. but still, they offered some comfort to the girl, comfort she craved- fear was exhausting, yet it would not leave her completely. would she be okay? questions not worth pursuing at that time, but she could merely place her full faith in that; yes, she would be okay. 

the russet girl returned one more, carrying something in her jaws. she spoke, a question, and after a moment Keoni merely dipped her head, gaze falling back onto the ground a moment later. her ears flicked back with uncertain nervousness as the femme attended her wounds, though she did not move- her gaze flickering briefly to the girl and to Rannoch before falling to the ground once more, attempting to ignore the pain that came with the girl carefully cleansing the still-fresh wounds.

She had asked for the young male to calm the pale female's heart but perhaps it was Rose who was in need of some comfort. She had been hiding behind a shroud of false confidence since the beginning and now her disguise was slowly falling apart. She had only ever done small experiments on herself when it came to herbs and despite not knowing the injured girl before her, Rose felt fearful to try anything that might harm her. She didn't know her, didn't want to care what happened to her and yet the young flame felt a sense of responsibility. Perhaps it was because they were so close in age that Rose felt drawn to help her, but whatever the reason was, she only hoped that the time she put towards preparing for something like this wouldn't go to waste. 

She quickly finished up cleaning the last of the wounds that littered the girl's face and turned to grab some plantain when the grayscale male's question hit her ears. "Can you start chewing up the yarrow?" she asked, turning to point to the herb with her nose. "It won't taste good so use some of the berries to help with the flavor," and with that she flashed him a thankful smile before turning back to her own duty. She chewed the plantain down until it became a thin paste and then gently placed it on the female's face, hoping that it didn't cause her too much discomfort.

He was directed towards what he presumed to be the yarrow that she had mentioned and he turned back briefly and nodded, happy to be of assistance. Heeding the tip she had given, Rannoch went for the berries first and mashed them against his tongue. When the sweetness of the bright, Spring-born fruit was against his pallet, Rannoch turned to the yarrow and observed it briefly, knowing that Keoni needed the yarrow, even though he wasn't entirely sure of what it would do for her. 

Plucking a few of the flowers, and smelling their sharp bite as he leant in, Rannoch began to chew once they were in his mouth, understanding just what Rose had warned him about. Despite the sweetness of the berries, there was a noticeable bitter undertone-- one that was have been much more unpleasant had he not had any of the berries. He grounded the material until it was mushy and without much of a thought, Rannoch then stuck out his tongue to present the material to Rose, unsure what to do with it now that it was ready.

Rannoch did not have to wait for long to be advised what to do next and he did so duitfully, listening to Rose's every instruction dutifully. When they were done applying the paste they worked to guide Keoni to safety, ensure that she was under Rannoch's watch so she could rest. Rannoch would keep watch throughout the night, keeping Rose close to ensure that Keoni was healing properly.