Hushed Willows bird of a feather, hold it together

caregiver
private thread
@Lumiya
for whenever you have the time

 

How long had it been she checked on her queen, her dear friend turned royalty? Was she keeping up with her health, had she been taking care of her little owl well? There were so many questions going on in her mind as she moved through the swaying trees with a purpose, she carried a spotted pelt of ivory and chocolate that had once been a rabbit. Inside was her trusty curved rock and its spherical companion and a few herbs that could be mixed together to help with pain, one to help with sleep, and another to sooth aches and cramps. She wanted to be prepared to help Lumiya in any way possible, and her little white owl. now all she had to do was find her.

But something wasn't quite right. The queen walked with a slight limp, stemming from a thorn in her left paw. She had tried to bite it out, tried to see if it would go away or fall out without her having to do anything about it, but to no avail. The stinging pain was still there whenever she put her weight on that particular limb, slowing her down immensely on hunts and making her job of protecting their sanctuary all the harder. Luckily Loinnir was doing fine; he had gotten over the blues of losing his dear friend, and was enjoying his time with the court again. With the limp still present, Lumi walked through their forest with no clear goal in mind for today.

She had found the beautiful fairy queen, her little owl perched on her back as she walked. No, limped. The little pixie picked up her speed as she moved to intercept her injured mistress, her lips still holding tight to her bundle of fur and herbal mixes. It did not take long for her to be able to cut her off, a gentle bark came muffled from her lips so that she would not startle the duo. When that was safe she would be in front, her eyes first dipping in a soft bow before she eyed the injury. Why had she not come to her, why suffer when she was not alone?

She set down her collection before she spoke. "..Queen lulu, are you hurt?" her voice was soft but held worry and sorrow.

The duo paused in their tracks as soon as they heard the nearby noises of Deidra and the queen patiently awaited the moment the other fae put her gatherings down. Deidra had seen her limping slightly, no doubt - though nothing of great importance had happened, definitely no squabble, she still felt awkward letting their healer see her like this. She'd hoped that, with the minor injury, the problem would take care of itself - she hadn't even thought about bothering Deidra about it.

Just a little - I think there's a thorn in my paw. She answered bashfully, lifting her hurt foot. I thought it might fall out in due time, but it's been in there for two mornings now. Little did the small queen know, the little puncture wound the thorn had caused was infected, mildly.

They had waited patiently , remaining in one spot one she gave her soft calling. This made her smile, the queen of fairies had stopped for her. It made her want to giggle slightly and if her wings were real they would have fluttered with excitment but that fell to worry as she listened to what her mistress had to say. She cataloged the information given to her, a thorn was embedded in her food, it had been there for two days. Her mind worked, free of the fairy dust that seemed to coat the surface, thinking of an infection that could form from the lack of care.

"Oh Lulu, you should have come to me. That sound most unpleasant, amd for two days!" her wings flickered as she motioned for her to bring her paw up a little higher, the healer lowering herself to look at the angry wound that was inflicted in her pad. She gave it a sniff and gave a sound of disapproval, she could smell a slight sour tang. Nothing that she couldn't fix. "It'sa little infected, next time come to me.." she gave a soft scolding before she rummages in her paste. Once she locates what she needed she would start the pulling and mending.

Her ears draped 'ver her finely crafted skull as she got gently scolded for her lack of care for herself. Of course, Lumi had to realize that, if she took little care of her own body, she couldn't possible take care of the court she'd promised her devotion to. Gods, she really had made a poor judgement call on this one. She felt the area where she thought the thorn was throb in beat with her heart - that had been a new symptom that had developed today, and surely it wasn't good.

Sorry, sorry... She said almost child-like, holding up her paw in a weird angle so Deidra could see what was up with it. I tried to get it out myself, but I couldn't grasp tight very well with my teeth to pull it hard enough. She explained. And it just hurt a lot. She hoped the little medicine faerie would be gentle with her - Lumi was very much delicate and couldn't handle much pain - physically, that was.

Her queen acted like a scolded child and it almost made the fairy doctor give her own childish reaction but she fluttered her imaginary wings to quell the need to such giggles. Instead she focused on the task at hand, lightly pressing around the injury with her smaller paws and finding that it was as she thought. A slight infection had set in, she shook her head slightly before warning "I'm sorry but this might hurt a little." before those words could set in she gripped the thorn with her small teeth, good thing she was always a tiny thing, and pulled.

Foul tasting ooze came with and the girl could only spit out the thorn and grimace, oh that was most unpleasant. She gave a soft press on her infected area to make more of the ooze do just that, ooze before blood came. It was only minor, thankfully. She then moved to father the paste she made this morning that helped with pain and infections. "I'm sorry if that hurt.."

Before she could process the possibility of this might hurting, the other fae's teeth were around the bugging thorn and the thing was out before the queen could softly say; ouch. She closed her eyes, always getting kind of dizzy at the sight of blood, and turned her head to the side. She felt something come out of the pin-prick of a wound, but didn't dare see what color this substance might be.

I - I'm sure if we'd let it stay in, it would've hurt even more. She stuttered because of the shock, something that didn't happen all that much. This was her first injury in moons, and it was no secret the girl was kind of a wuss when it came to these kinds of things. It was part of the reason she could probably never become a medic herself, and why the appearance of Memory slightly unsettled her. It was a wonder the girl hadn't fainted. What's that? She asked upon spotting what Deidra was doing.

She had never had a problem with the sign of blood, puss, or even a large gash that showed more things than it should. So she did not understand her queen's reaction, well, not entirely. She had this reaction to the blood of prey animals, woozy and the inability to look at it.

She shook her head mentally and continued on her task, unfolding a large leaf that held a small amount of the combination she needed. Pain, infection, and sooth. Her ear perked at the question and all she could do is smile. "its a paste I made from ginger, rosemary, and lemongrass." she showed the greenish orange paste before she pressed the leaf to her paw, her teeth and paw wrapping it around her paw but because it was a large leaf it went up to her ankle. A small lathering of a lavender paste on the ends kept it together, plus lavender always helped relax her patients.

Once the leaf was pressed to her paw, she dared look at it again. With the paste and greenery covering it, and the pain slowly but surely lessening, perhaps she didn't have to chop her leg off in case the wound might scare her. Of course, she was exaggerating. It looked like nature had infected her, slowly overtaking her - a queen fae becoming one with the earth.

How crafty. She commented, admiring Deidra's work by twisting her paw carefully so she could see all the sides of it. It looked and felt nearly as good as new. How can I thank you? She asked thankfully.

With how small they both were the leaf looked as if her queen was going to become nature herself, a perfect look for a woman that led the fairies already occupying the willows. It looked wonderful with her purple hued wings, the green accenting the transparent imaginary things. She watched as they fluttered in content and appreciation, this made her heart swell. "Thank you my queen." She had done something good for her queen, pleased her.

A smile came her lips as she thought of a joke, her words coming without her thinking much of the consequences of them.  "You could make me the leading healing fairy." Her cheeks colored after the words came, her ears falling, and her wings vibrating with embarrassment.  "I am jesting, of course" she quickly added and looked down at her paws.

Despite her daydreamer-like aura, Deidra truly was a smart girl if she could think of things like this. She was not to be underestimated, even though the small fae would probably not take it to heart if anyone did. Would she even notice someone was doing it in the first place? Well, no matter; Lumi would stand up for her even in cases where it had not offended.

Lumi chuckled. Why jest? Perhaps I have a biased towards you, but I truly do think you're our best. Who else had a knack for healing and wished to become a healer? It seemed Deidra was one of a kind around here, for now at least.

Her jest turned into an actual topic, why would she jest about her wanting to be. She did want to be the best at her job, even help others and teach everyone around how to do minor healing but was it good to want to be a leader in one's trade? Shouldn't her queen be the one with the only title of power, wasn't it selfish to assume anything else?  she could not help but blush at the complement given to her but she had to explain."you are too kind m'lady.. I jest because its selfish to want power when the queen is the ruler, plus I am a simple fairy.. never born from anything of higher purpose." these were just her thoughts..

But Lumiya thought of leadership in a different way. It was a partnership with those that decided to follow her; there was no way the queen or king knew best about all, and Lumiya was always quick to point out in which fields she did lack expertise. She was a lousy and clumsy hunter, knew near-nothing of the art of healing and could only do the basics of weather interpretation. Of course, she wished to improve in trades she did lack, but her assets were nothing to laugh at either. She was a problem-solver, a charismatic leader and an aspiring counselor.

Perhaps you should see it not as a position of power, but more a display of your expertise - an opportunity to share all that you've learned. She mused, clearly deep in thought still. It was fair to disagree on things, no? We're all born of nothing - those who think themselves higher than others made of flesh and bone are delusional. It's no reason for why we cannot do great things, I believe. She argued gently.

The way her queen spoke she could only give a wag of her tail and a flutter of her wings, her eyes finally rejoined the conversion and tried to look less embarrassed for both her jest and explanation. What she had said made a good point, showed the sparkling fairy that there was more to it than she had thought. Not to think of wanting to be the head of any from of trade as a thing of power but the way she was and wanted to be, a helper, a teacher. It was a nice way to look at it and it no longer seemed like a red flag in her mind but a soft green. "That is a nicer way to think about it, I have always wanted to teach others, help them learn.." She gave a slightly nod as she dipped her head in respect as she continued, "again you are right, wise and kind"

Lumi smiled at her friend - relating to her doubts all to much. She, too, thought of leading positions as something she was not fit for not too long ago. It was mostly because she'd grown up with a pair of toxic leaders, but it may have also been because of her beliefs she'd been less than them. Leaders like her parents and Donovan were the ones she despised - they sought power not to make the world better, but to get ahead of a crowd that would think themselves lesser than them. It made her sick to her stomach. Their crowns were nothing more than make belief.

She blushed, but could not disagree with the compliments she was given. Not after the confidence Dante had granted her. I'm sure pixies would love you and your lessons - perhaps you can even teach me, though I am a difficult student no doubt. She chuckled. She'd always drive her brother crazy with all her questions, so hungry for knowledge was she.

She did not know much about her friend's past, about the truly awful leaders they were. She knew they treated her horribly, that she was too softfor them and their way of life but that was about it. She had never liked talking about it and the pixie at the time did not like to pry. Even now she did not ask questions about them, nor did she think she ever would. She smiled as the complements came again, could she blush any harder?

 "i hope they do when we have some Pixies, and I would be honored to teach you what i know." She gave a shallow bow, not sure of what to say

So far, the only one she'd told almost everything was Dante. He'd comforted her after spying in on her while she was performing her secret passion, and somehow she'd broken down. She believed though that every breakdown made her stronger in the end - more aware of the others around her. She'd be able to help others understand themselves if she could understand herself, she was sure of it.

Thank you - Deidra. She curtsied in return. Though I'm afraid I must be going - I've fallen behind on patrols because of, well, what you've just fixed. Is it safe to walk on again?

The fairy doctor nodded at her queen's question, a smile came to her lips as she spoke her affirmation. "Yes, just do not get it wet my queen and if it starts hurting please come back so I can make sure its alright." she them turned away from the woman in silver and ebony, she waa not going to patrol the borders. She had enough of that when they first established their home, no, instead she went to do what she did best. Look after her field of poppies and categorize the herbs she had stocked.