Bearclaw Valley I can give it all to you, will you take it all from me

For the sake of timelines, gonna say @Blondine’s joining thread took place before all the trouble at the moor—which this takes place right after. hEAL US PLS, O MIGHTY DOCTOR

The return home was slow, riddled with stops to rest and clean their wounds. He hated the fact that he’d allowed them to get away—he would regret it always, he knew he would—but he tried to focus elsewhere for the sake of @Reigi. All the while during their return he paid close attention to what was going on around them, fully prepared to fight again should they come under attack. Luckily, though, they hadn’t and were eventually back within the walls of the valley, safe and sound. Only then had he allowed himself to relax—but not without first looking the girl over once more, assessing her wounds to see the full extent of the damage done.

Alexander loosed a howl for his most recently accepted member immediately thereafter, deciding now was as good a time as any to see her at work in action. His call was cut short as he pointed his muzzle downward and nudged Reigi, motioning for her to sit—lay down, roll over, something—so that there would be less weight put on her hind leg.

the pair were making their way slower than she would have cared for.  she wanted to get him to safety. 

two reasons:
one — she felt something for him in that he had offered her family, protection, land.  he had lured her in from the wilds and deemed her bearclaw valley's.  losing him meant losing the closest thing to home she'd ever had, the closest thing to care she might ever experience.

two — they needed to return together; his blood was on her, on the snow, in his pelt though she had cleaned and cleaned it.  if something happened and she returned without him, she feared she would be blamed.

both entirely selfish, for she was a selfish creature.  she remained stoic nearly to the point of recklessness, goaded into stopping to clean and rest by the worried boy.  she was wired, every branch that cracked under the weight of ice caused her hackles to raise, a steel curtain dropping with force to block out the rational part of her brain.

the closer they got to the valley the less she seemed to fear, and working their way into the borders she began to vigorously rub herself against the trees. 

mine.  mine.  mine.

her white-cloaked wolf raised his maw to the air and howled, and at his urging she sat patiently.  this is the part when others come?  she craned her head back and once more began to clean his wounds as they waited.

It was strange to hear someone call her by name again. It had been weeks (maybe months; she'd lost count) since the last call for her had been sent out. It was the last cry she'd heard from Grantville before disappearing. Nonetheless, Blondine was quick to make her way to the border, finding Xan with a dark femme not far off. Neither was in the best condition, though she couldn't be sure of their exact injuries.

It was unfortunate that Blondine hadn't had enough time to start building a cache for herself. If either had an open wound, they would have to improvise, though it looked like she would be able to make it without herbal remedies. What happened? she asked, clearly concerned.

Impatience gnawed at his mind and he found his eyes jumping from one direction to the next as he searched for any signs of movement—where was she? For the most part, he kept still and let Reigi clean his wounds, but shortly before the medic arrived he’d pulled away from her and began pacing back and forth. Thunder boomed beneath his breast as his heart beat rapidly, adrenaline paired with his inability to relax and wait keeping it from slowing back down to a normal pace. The return to the valley had set his mind at ease—if someone tried to attack again, they would be met with several gaping jaws—but not his body, which was still on edge and growing tenser as he waited.

The woman’s approach flooded him with relief and he slowed to a stop next to his friend, encouraging the attention to be put on her and not himself. “Some bastards attacked us,” he growled. As far as he was concerned, the trio was the one at fault. One of theirs had attacked him without reason—his threat was intentionally forgotten, blocked out by his anger—and he’d simply defended himself. “They got her back leg,” he added, swinging his head towards Reigi. “Take care of her first.” Not only was he distrusting, still, of herbs and was ready to avoid them if he could, but he was also genuinely concerned for the girl. She’d rushed in and aided him in battle, she deserved to have her wounds looked after immediately.

messing around with formatting, don't mind me.

the more reigi wound down the more her fight partner seemed to wind up, and it instilled an anxiety in her she could not shake.  when he broke from her to pace she started an almost inaudible whine, ears smoothing down the curves of her head.

when she broke through they began to speak and she cast her eyes to the ground and then back to the pair, back and forth, back and forth.  there was concern in the woman's voice and then the man swung his head back at reigi.  she froze, eyes wide and hackles beginning to raise; more like gooseflesh than aggression.

the whine became more audible.  what had she done?  what had she done?  but what if she hadn't been there and the trio had demolished her protecter, her provider-of-land, her tentative friend?
 

The dark femme's demeanor put Blondine on edge, though she was careful not to make this known. She looked at Xan for a moment, then turned to the woman and asked, Mind if I look? I won't hurt ya. She took a few steps over toward her and began nosing around the wound; it would need immediate treatment, otherwise, infection was likely. Blondine gave a hmph! and thought for a moment about how to handle the situation, exactly.

It was dead winter so most of the plants that came to mind were either dead or dormant. They could clean the wound in the stream, though that might put her at risk for hypothermia. There weren't many options that Blondine could see working for the better, but she knew that she would have to pick one nonetheless. Alright, tell ya what we'll do, Blondine cooed with a grin, Now I'm not sure if y'all grow wild garlic like my family did at home, but if I can find some, it'll help keep that from getting infected.

In the meantime, I'm sure it won't be too hard to find some cobwebs around here somewhere...hm, that'll help with the bleeding, I believe... Toward the end of her sentence, Blondine was speaking mostly to herself, though it would have been helpful if she'd been heard. Maybe in an old log or hollowed tree somewhere. Shouldn't be too much of a search.

A whine pulled his attention from the healer and onto his friend, ears folding back as he looked at her. He didn’t understand her worries and definitely didn’t realise that he had caused them. He was, however, attentive enough to know that something was wrong. Without a second thought, he moved over to and stood at her side, letting their shoulders bump once or twice as he drew his tongue over the bridge of her muzzle—it’ll be okay.

Alexander did not move from his new post alongside her after that, even as Blondine started to speak. “I don’t know what that is or if it grows here,” he told her with a knitted brow. “Just use whatever you have to. Anything that keeps it from getting infected.” He couldn’t help her, not in this type of situation. He was a fighter, not a healer—a beast that took lives, not an angel that saved them. Still, the thought of her wound festering and the possibility of her dying because of it didn’t sit well with him. He wanted her to live and he wanted to be the one to help her do that, because what else were friends for if not to look after one another? “She can’t understand you, she won’t be able to tell you yes or no to any treatments, so I’m telling you now—do whatever needs done to fix her,” was the next thing to leave his mouth, the words being the only way he saw it possible for him to help.

“Cobwebs?” he questioned, staring at her as she seemed to converse with herself. “Are those the same as normal spider webs?” Perhaps he could further assist by fetching that, at least, though he knew not the difference between the two types of webs. Could a regular web be used to stop the bleeding, too? Whatever the case, he waited to see what he might be able to do to help his friend heal; still, his own wound continued to be forgotten, the burning sensation along his neck seeming unimportant compared to the wound on Reigi’s leg—to him, at least.

Blondine nodded her head. It'll work for the time being, 'til I can get something else to help. It was then that she noted the crimson marks on Xan's otherwise flawless pelt, bringing about another wave of worry. He hadn't mentioned it, but Blondine could tell that it mustn't have been comfortable for him one bit. Get as much as you can, alright? It should take care of the both of you. Look somewhere dark, like a rotten log. They'd always been the go-to in times of need.

Instructions and a location were given, though he was hesitant about searching. What if he damaged them somehow and they no longer worked? He tried to tell himself that slight damage wouldn’t make them totally useless, deciding that Blondine would have mentioned being cautious if that were the case. Still, he lingered for a moment longer, only for the sight of his friend’s wound to have him abandoning whatever worries still lurked in his head. After running his tongue over her cheek to reassure her—I’ll be right back—Alexander took off towards the treeline; it pained him to do so, the movements pulling and tugging at his wounds in all the wrong ways. At one point, a yelp even slipped out of his mouth as a branch fit him just right so that it smacked the wound on his neck.

It wasn’t long before Xan was returning, cobwebs clasped softly in his mouth—plus stuck to his muzzle, face, and various other parts of his body. That which he held were dropped at the healer’s feet after a bit of struggling, and then he quickly retreated back to Reigi’s side so that he could reassess her.

Xan's approach was made with perfect timing. Luckily, after closer inspection, Blondine could tell that the wounds were more superficial than she had thought before, though there was still cause for concern. This wasn't a surface scrape by any means, and while it wouldn't kill her, it needed to be tended to just the same. Blondine turned with a, Hm? that quickly became an, Ah! upon seeing the surplus of cobwebs.

With a gentle snatch, she took two thin sheets into her mouth and laid them down against Reigi's leg. Her eyes peered up to meet those of the raven, then, after a reassuring nod, Blondine used her snout to force the webs as close to the flesh as she could manage. This process was repeated until she was confident that the bleeding would be sufficiently slowed, at which point, her attention was placed fully onto Xan.

Now, what happened to you?

Alexander watched as the procedure was done to @Reigi, body tensing. The webs were shoved into the wound and he wondered how that would help, whilst also wondering if the same would be done to him; he did not worry about the pain that was sure to come with it, for that which he’d felt when receiving the wound was likely far worse, but he was still apprehensive. So when the attention was turned to him, he gritted his teeth before tilting his head upwards and to the side, letting her see his injury better. “It’s nothing serious,” he answered, readjusting his head as he spoke. “The other guy looks way worse.” Still, he remained motionless, granting her the chance to approach and fix him up, should she intend to.

Blondine sighed and sucked her teeth, not really trying to hide her concern. She glanced back at Reigi, then refocused on Xan. I'm sure he does, she said with a smile, taking a few steps closer to properly examine the wound, but that doesn't mean that you don't look bad. It wasn't the characteristics of the injury that worried her as much as location; getting an infection anywhere above the shoulders probably wasn't the best idea.

So, assuming he wouldn't fight her on this, Blondine began to patch him up. Another short check on Reigi to make sure that the bleeding had, at the very least, slowed, then she gave out a few instructions: I'm gonna check in on y'all every now and then, but for now, things are lookin' just fine. Try not to do anything to tear the wounds again, alright?