Stone Circle sychid thrum

While he'd only been on bed rest for a little under a week, the male was already feeling much more himself. Being on a strict regiment of herbs - enchinacea and sage, for the most part - and taking long, deep breaths had gone a long way toward clearing the gunk from his lungs, though he was still easily winded and often succumbed to coughing fits. His ribs were healing more slowly, but the swelling had gone down with his rest, and that seemed a promising enough sign.

Today, he was in the meadow around the standing stones, picking through the snow and shrubs in search of more herbs. Since Keoni's passing, he'd been gathering up a small store, not quite sure anyone else had stepped up into the mantle of healer. Whatever the case might be, he'd be keeping his new family (read: himself and Poppy) in good health. And any other sick packmates he could help, of course.

As he wandered, he hoped he'd see @Poppy or @Steph around. Rest might be helpful, but it was dreadfully boring, and lonely to boot. Seeing one of his favorite girls would go a long way toward improving his day.

Steph was at the circle of stones, visiting Keoni. It was weird to Steph that one moment she was here, and the next she wasn't. Steph still snuck out here to talk to her, though. It wasn't much different, since Keoni never talked back anyways, but now Steph couldn't see her, either. 

A motion to her side had her eyes landing on Murdock. She was in a good position to sneak up on him, but with her broken rib still healing, there was no way she had the physical capability to do it. So, instead, she chuffed to get his attention while she slowly stood. She started walking towards him, a smile appearing on her maw. They had made up, and Steph was overly joyed over that fact, even if her body couldn't rightly show it.

Murdock, too, was glad that things had settled down between himself and Steph. He loved her like his own and didn't like the unrest that had come between them for so long. But as much as he adored her, he could not seem to forget the way she had acted toward him, no matter how much he told himself she was only a child, and could not help being childish. Part of him was still hurt by her assertion that he should only be allowed one friend while she basked in all the love of her family.

"Hey Stephie," he said, voice and expression warm as he turned his head to see her approaching. She was getting so big, now, but he had a feeling he'd always think of her as a cute little kid. "You're lookin' better. How're ya feelin?"

He'd heard from Poppy that she was out and about, and had even been kind to his brand-new mate, but Murdock decided not to mention any of that.

Murdock turned towards her, smile and voice warm. Her ears folded softly on her head as she walked towards him, her tail still wagging. Steph was unaware that he still harbored any ill feelings about their spat. She did not, and would not assumed he did unless he spoke up. His actions toward her gave her every indication that all between them was well, and she couldn't be happier.

I'm okay, she responded. Still hurt some, she admitted. But, I feel a little better every day. Even though she still couldn't do a lot, being able to walk around was good enough for her, for now. How are you doing? she asked him. I hung out with Poppy the other day, she added quickly. She's nice, she said sincerely. She wanted to show Murdock that she was accepting of his friend, and that she was Steph's friend now, too.

Murdock's tail wagged at this news; he was glad she was feeling better. If he'd died that day, trying to save her, he would not have regretted it. Even knowing now that good things that had come his way afterward. He loved her, and valued her life above his own.

"I'm great," he replied, and it was not a lie. His own ribs still hurt terribly, and he wasn't sure his lungs would ever be the same - but he'd already made a decision not to tell her these things, and when he stood there with a healing Steph in front of him and his regard for Poppy burning like a hot flame in his chest, he knew that he would have to be in far worse shape before considering himself anything less than great.

He sat down, not wanting her to see the way his legs had begun to quiver after several hours of holding him upright. It's temporary, he told himself. It's temporary and there's no need to worry her. But I do wonder how long I can hide this cough, this limp...

"A little tired," he added. "I stayed up last night to look at the moon. Did you see that it was red?" He wanted to ask more about Poppy, get the whole encounter from her point of view. He was very much interested in what had happened between the two most beloved things in his life - but he didn't want to seem too interested, wary of how the girl would take it. "She is nice," he agreed instead. "Maybe the three of us can do something together some time."

He said that he was great, and Steph smiled, truly happy that he was doing well. She hadn't understood why it was so important that he have more friends, but she got it now. Especially with her injuries, Steph couldn't exactly keep up with him, and playing was out of the question.

She shook her head when he mentioned the moon. No, I was sleeping, she admitted, a little bummed that she had missed it. How red was it? Like... Blood red? she asked in awe. She tried to picture it in her head, the big moon in the sky, dripping with blood.

She nodded quickly when he suggested they all do something together. That would be fun! she said, excited at the thought. But, maybe far, far, away from any bison, she said, grinning. She was careful not to put herself in harm's way, or especially in any way that would upset her mother.

Murdock thought back. "Not like blood. More orangey. But it looked way bigger than usual, too," he replied, sorry to hear that she'd missed it. Hopefully, it would happen again in her lifetime, but Murdock wasn't going to hold his breath. He was getting on in years, and he'd never seen anything like it before.

He laughed weakly at her statement. "I'm not looking forward to seeing them again, either," he admitted, ears slicking back for a moment. "We can do something closer to home, though. Maybe some napping, or hide-and-seek."

She tried to imagine the moon being an orange color. Kinda like the sun? she asked. She wondered if it was as bright. She had tried looking at it one time when she was younger, and found that it hurt her eyes. She had not tried again.

She was glad he agreed they wouldn't be going towards the bison, and looked thoughtful a moment as he suggested they either nap or play hide and seek. She didn't think she could move quite fast enough for hide and seek, and she definitely did not want to nap. She had been napping plenty since her injuries, and her energy was all pent up. Instead, she suggested, How about a walk to the river? It would be away from the bison, and Steph could at least get a little energy out with the walk.

Murdock thought for a moment and then nodded. "Like the sun, yeah. Except you could stare at it all you wanted." That had been nice. It would've sucked to be blinded for looking at such a pretty scene. He didn't want to end up like Grayday one of these days.

"A walk to the river sounds good to me," he agreed, gesturing for her to lead the way. Perhaps if she was in front, he could hide his limp from her more easily.

She tried to imagine what he described, and being able to look at the sun. Steph had tried it once, curious about that ball in the sky, but it had left her vision weird for several minutes after that, and she had never tried again. That sounds really cool, she responded to him. I'm sorry I missed it. Damn sleep! If she had been a night owl, she wouldn't have missed it. 

Her tail wagged when he agreed to a walk, and she turned in the direction of the river. She had no knowledge that Murdock was anything but fine, but she would soon learned that ignorance was bliss. Suddenly, her brain was at a loss of conversation topics, which was weird for her because she didn't usually struggle at that. But, their relationship had been rocky as of late, and she found their day-to-day conversations to be lacking in this instance. So, how have you been? she asked instead, wondering if anything interesting had happened while they hadn't been talking.

"I am, too," said Murdock with a sad little smile. Hopefully, it would happen again in Steph's lifetime. Perhaps they would even be able to watch it together.

He cleared his throat when she asked her question, uncomfortably aware of the wettness in his lungs. "I've been good," he replied, and since there had been some very nice things in his life lately, it wasn't even a lie. Not totally, anyway. The annecdote that followed, however (detailing the odd interaction he'd ostensibly wittness between a chipmunk and a mockingbird) was entirely made up.

But Murdock told the story anyway, hoping it would distract Steph from questions about Poppy (which he feared would incite jealousy) or from realizing he'd spent much of his time asleep, lately (which he feared would incite guilt). And if his voice was a little raspier than usual, lately, well... he had allergies, alright?