Moonspear Band-aids don't fix bullet holes

It had started happening two or three days after the blackfeather incident. Nightmares full of red and cream wolves kidnapping her and no one being able to find her; sometimes it would just be a pair of familiar eyes turned murderous looming above her before she felt teeth in her neck. Occasionally, the dream would just be of her running through an unknown forest with some unknown creature chasing close behind her. Each night, she would wake up with a jolt, sucking in quick breaths of air as she tried to remind herself it had all just been a bad dream. 

Tonight, it was the teeth and eyes that woke her from her troubled sleep. After a few minutes of calming herself and trying to push the dream from her thoughts, she got to her feet and exited her den. The cold mountain air hit her face, making her feel more centered in reality. She knew, like the other nights before this one, that trying to go back to sleep was pointless; she wouldn't be able to, so she had started making good use of that time by exploring the territory. 

Speedy chose the borders tonight, thinking a patrol might keep her mind from drifting to the bad dreams and all the other things that were giving her reasons to worry. She padded quietly through the snow, occasionally stopping to aimlessly sniff something or stare at some sound in the distance. The healer had become familiar with the quiet of the mountain territory late at night, and she found it be a source of much needed peace.

What even are timelines.

He'd been told to sit and rest, and had done so for a few hours at least, but Revui was not capable of sitting still for long. He was eager to get back to normal (whatever that means) and persistent enough to force himself to his feet and climb around on the mountain's sloping paths, even if that was against doctors orders. He couldn't sleep though. What was he supposed to do—lay around until morning? Pfft. He couldn't let anything else happen to his family, and as long as he could keep himself awake and focused, he'd be on the borders doing patrols.

Except by the time he'd gotten started on his usual route, he was already winded. The darkness of an early nightfall had long since crowded the mountain, making travel difficult. As if it wasn't hard enough with all the bloodloss he'd suffered. As he trundled along, the shadows began to spin—he thought, just for a split second, that he saw eyes staring back at him in the canopy—unaware that he'd glimpsed Speedy while losing his balance. He swerved awkwardly in to a snowbank moments later, and was surprised at the chill.

LOL

For a while, Speedy walked in silence, lost in thought.  Her mind sifted through many different things, but mostly it lingered on blackfeather; she wasn't sure what was going to happen, and she still felt incredibly guilty for causing this whole mess. Had she been a little more cautious about approaching strangers, she may have avoided all of this--or maybe not, but she still blamed herself.

She heard the footsteps from behind her and whirled around just in time to see her packmate fall to the ground. Shit. What the hell was he doing out here? She ran to his side, looking him over worriedly before asking, Are you okay? While she waited for his answer, she inspected his wounds a little more closely, hovering her nose over them ever so gently to check for infection, trying carefully not to touch them since they were sure to still be tender. She noticed right away that they seemed a little more red than they should, and she eyed him sternly. You haven't been resting enough, the healer rebuked. Too much motion would irritate the injuries and slow the healing process. It also increased the chances that they might become infected, so the fact that he clearly hadn't been taking it easy concerned her greatly. Did he need someone to be with him at all times to ensure he was doing what was best for his healing? She would make that happen--well, she would try anyway.

Quietly ships Speevui...

Whether it was only moments or a handful of them, he couldn't tell. But soon enough a shape crunched its way across the snow and was looming over him, and he lifted himself up to try and get a look at them. Speedy's voice crept to his ears but brought no response, not until she mentioned rest. He'd had enough of that, there were things to do and places to be and — the world gave a shudder around him and he shut his eyes, squeezing them for a moment before looking at her again.

Feel fine, he grumbled. It was a blatant lie, but Revui wasn't going to let a few bites stop him from doing his duty. He wanted to be on the front lines if that Blackfeather wolf came back — he wanted to prove, once and for all, that he was a real warrior and worthy of the mountain-home his siblings would one day inherit. But he couldn't do that right now, obviously. The ground seemed to flow by him like a lazy stream, but that was just his dizzy brain trying too hard to work properly. He'd taken a few too many blows after all.

:big eyes:

She hovered at his side as he shakily sat up, ready to try and catch him if he fell back over, even if he might take her to the ground with him. When he seemed more or less steady in his spot, she sighed in response to his lie. You are not fine. I literally just watched you collapse, she said a little exasperated, worry in her gaze as she searched his face. He was a terrible patient. She wanted to lock him in her den so she could make him rest and force feed him herbs until she was sure he wouldn't hurt himself further with his ridiculous mulish behavior. 

If you push yourself too hard, you'll just make the healing take longer, the healer explained softly, trying to make him see reason. I know resting all the time is hard, but you'll get back to normal activity much faster if you allow your wounds to heal, she added, reaching over to attempt to gently lick the especially inflamed wound on his shoulder if he allowed. It was in an area of high motion anyway, so the fact that he had been running around doing god knows what had only exacerbated the problem. It looked painful, and she wanted to fix it. Speedy looked up at him. How much pain are you in? she asked first, golden eyes moving down to his wounds before finding his face again. I have stuff that will help with that. She had good stuff that might also make him sleepy, which was exactly what he needed--if he would even take it from her.

He didn't want to stand here and be lectured, and yet he certainly lacked the energy to escape from the inevitable berating of her voice; she was confident in her ability to fix him and refused to let him go anywhere, whether he wanted to or not. Fine. As much as it bothered Revui to be looked after like some kind of weak-ass invalid, he could appreciate her skills. What bothered Revui the most was the fact she was injured herself — that he had caused her harm, and yet she was still willing to aid him with his own damages. It wasn't right.

How much pain are you in? she voiced, but he didn't answer. It was obvious to him that she would help him regardless of what he said, but mostly the boy was being petulant. He didn't want to accept her help — didn't feel as if he deserved it — and wouldn't offer any verbal cues. Truthfully he was still under the effect of some plant or other, the pain to his shoulder having been numbed by herbs as well as the snow. He looked away from her with a huff, but didn't say anything that might be useful.

He said nothing--not even to answer her question. He just huffed and turned away. Speedy watched him quietly for a moment, genuine concern on her face. It was rare that she had so much trouble figuring someone out, but he sure was making it difficult for her. She wasn't quite sure why he didn't want her help or why he felt the need to be so obstinate, but she wouldn't be deterred. She sighed softly--a somewhat capitulated sound. I can't help you if you don't talk to me, she said gently with no chiding to her tone this time. She at the very least wanted to make sure he wasn't in pain. Please? the empath added right after, eyebrows lifting a little and a small, coaxing smile on her face. She would get through to him somehow.