Lost Creek Hollow And the roof is caving

Quick post to start <3 

She'd dragged her way over the mountains, keeping away from everyone. Trailing endlessly, hoping that Aure's help held up.
So, so far.
She wanted to find home. To leave for good, but was now blocked by a pack.
She collapsed in her exhaustion, her ribs and hips pitfully showing as she stared into the trees.

She just wanted quietness. Death even, but she fought too much to die.
So Flicker lay there, waiting and trying to muster the energy to call out for someone to help her. She looked a state, but she knew she could get back quickly.

Arbiter had been out on a quick patrol -- literally quick, she was trotting along at a good clip, just checking on things while searching for something huntable.  She was looking for something she could sort of stun and drag back for the pups to finish off if possible.  Something along those lines, at least.  It wasn't like things were always apt to cooperate with what she wanted.

The scent was the thing that first alerted her, and she slowed slightly as she looked for some sign beyond the borders for the source.  She almost looked past it, in fact.  Looking for someone sitting or standing, not some crumpled form partially hidden by grasses. Arbiter froze for a moment mid-stride, then took a couple of steps towards her.  Are you alive?  Obviously a nonanswer would mean dead.

Her eyes had closed as she half drifted asleep, but she wanted to stay awake. So she was aware, but not wholly concious, up until she heard the footsteps nearing.
"Are you dead?"

Her eyes opened, making out the form peering at her. Pack wolf; the scent wafted to her.
"I feel like it." She mumbled, pushing weight into lifting her head and pushing up her front half. She needed to be stronger.
She looked to the other woman, wondering if she would strike her down for being weak, for being too close, or for messing up the landscape. Or perhaps all the reasons above.

Arbiter, of course, was no softie. No pulling punches, no flailing around tripping over herself to help some poor sap. But the other woman at least seemed to have some spirit left in her as she sat up. So perhaps not an entirely lost cause. Maybe.

The leader's gaze was critical, and the fact that the stranger seemed so weak boosted her feeling that walking a bit closer wasn't much of a risk. It wasn't even a calculated risk -- it was minimal chance of things going awry. Mm. So tell me, are you just paused for a breather or actually seeking refuge or something? She suspected that the former wouldn't exactly last very long in that state. But it was still a bit of a risk for her own pack if so. Many who wanted help seemed to shirk returning the effort paid to restore them...

The world spun around that white and grey face. Her eyes seemed to blur and streak off like light through water. Had she accidentally eaten something? She felt like when she'd eaten that mushroom; like she was near that tree.
Was Blackfeather trying to reclaim her? Prevent her from joining a pack that despised those who resided there?

"Refuge... would be repaid." She blinked, trying to discern the reaction of the face. She swallowed, but there was nothing to swallow. Her mouth was bone dry. She tried to focus. Winter on a mountain was hard and she'd survived one here with losses that she couldn't prevent.

Had it been any other time in the pack's history, Arbiter would have been tempted to let nature take its course.  But could the pack afford it?  Probably not.  Instead, they could gain a wolf that would be in their debt... Perhaps that would make her more reliable than some of the others.

She took another couple of steps forward.  Can you walk, and what do you need? Do you know?  She was not the medic.  Was anyone?  She was pretty sure that everybody probably knew a little -- combine a lot of little bits and they'd probably had enough to keep people alive. Arbiter sniffed at her.  At the very least she hadn't seemed to reek like that one wolf whose tail was rotted... So, otherwise...?

She nodded, pushing up.
Skinny hips and weak legs shook but she stayed up, letting herself become adjusted. 
A pack that didn't have a medic was a bad one. But she needed it and she knew enough to stop herself dying and surely others knew too.

"Chervile Root and moss. Look for a tall, thin plant with many branches of white flowers on top. Dig up the thing underneath." She knew it would help in case she did have an infection, but what the herbalist woman told her would help. 

She took the first few steps, glancing to the woman.
"Name's Flicker." A formality they'd skipped.

Flicker.  Okay then.  Arbiter, she replied, then after giving it some thought, I think there might have been some by one branch of the creek.  Come.  At the very least she could get some water while Arbiter attempted to locate this plant.  Assuming she was even thinking of the right thing.  For the most part she ignored plants as long as they weren't the sort that were going to somehow hurt her just by brushing up against it.  From there it would be easy enough to dredge up something that her pups hadn't devoured like a school of ravenous piranhas which might also take the edge off of what else might be ailing her.  Again, not a doctor, she'd take the simple solutions first.

Arbiter would make sure Flicker was having an okay time following the path at least, but they weren't more than a yard or two before she added, If you think you are getting worse, well-- I can check with the new recruits in case they didn't mention their skills, but worst comes to worst, the pack next to us are our allies.  You let one of us know.  Easthollow surely had someone with medical background -- they weren't exactly short on wolves.

The woman nodded then followed, picking her feet off the ground just enough and keeping Arbiter in view.
She listened in the daze of fever and pain, only managing a "Thank you." 
She'd repay them. That was for certain. 

She huffed, keeping up was a lot of effort.
But shit did it. She made it to the creek. 
She started to take up the moss from the branch the woman had mentioned, keeping it in a clump the best the could before dipping it into the water. She needed the wound to be cleaned for a start, so started to reach to run the water from the moss over it.

It was hard for Arbiter to move slowly unless she was hunting something -- she was a very impatient sort, so her constant looks back to make sure Flicker was still following okay probably hadn't helped. 

But she made it to the river.  The fact that she'd made that struggle and started to tend her own wounds were a few points in her favor.  Overcoming obstacles without too much aid was a show of strength in her eyes.  But that didn't mean entirely alone, it was a pack, after all, I'll look for the plant.  And she turned and headed down the bank.

She found what she was pretty sure was the plant in question, it was certainly green and tall, but the flowers had recently faded so about all she could tell was that the flowers had been some light hue.  If not, there were a few more plants that fit that description, but for all she knew they were the same type -- it wasn't like she picked them up and carried them over to the next to investigate.  She carved it out of the ground with a medium degree of care and hauled the large dirt ball plus rest of the plant back to where Flicker was.  Is this correct?

The woman came back shortly, with the plant.
She observed it and nodded.
"Thank you." She felt stronger. The pain woke her up, reminded her she still was alive and now she had a chance of life. To get back into pack life.

She took the plant and dipped the root attached in the water, the dirt washing from it quickly. 
She pulled it up and began to try and eat it. It was tough and tasted gross, but she had to.

Well, at least she'd picked the right thing then.  Arbiter watched Flicker for a bit as she went about washing it off and whatnot, but her interest was passive at best.  Really, not her thing.

Or was she going to be sent off on other errands? Is that all you need for medical things?  There is a cache not too far.  And plenty of trees for shelter.  Which was obvious.  There were some dens around too, sure, but if she didn't care whether she slept above or below ground, Arbiter wasn't going to fuss too much.  Or if you have other questions.  Something.  The whole thing had been pretty brief thus far because having a corpse on the borders wasn't exactly the way she wanted to go through the day.  There was always time for this stuff once emergencies were sorted.

"I think I'll live." 
She gave the woman a half-hearted grin. She could do with rest and a quick meal. Soon. Soon she'd be able to function again.
She could sniff out a cache easily enough.

"Thank you." 
She would repay her immediately if she were able. But in the moment, all Flicker could think of was food and nap. The foul-tasting root had left her wide awake and desperate to remove the flavour, so she drank water to try and rid herself of it.
She supposed Arbiter may have moved off by now to tend to her duties, so Flicker took it upon herself to find a rabbit in a cache and eat it under a tree before sleeping.