Lion Head Mesa prolixus

whenever/if you have time! <3

when germanicus was not on patrol he was with crowfeather.

@Slate's work was skilled. he brought what the physician wanted, carried meals to ensure she ate, and said little.

the afternoon was cold, ashen rain. germanicus lay his head back against the stone wall and closed his eyes for a moment.

Always got time! Tag for reference

Slate was thorough in every aspect of her life, and her work was definitely no different. She watched over the wounded, whom she had been told was named @Crowfeather. The boy she was supposed to meet at some point. She had wished circumstances were different of their first meeting. Though now she had been able to set his leg in place, she had managed to find every wound on his young body, clean them and cover them with a different set of plants she had chewed into goo and placed upon each wound. She had used spiderweb to keep things in place.

She had to stay by his side, for cleaning and changing the web took a lot of time. So when she finished she was able to rest for a short time, only to wake again and do it all over again. She wasn't sure if the boy ever would walk normally again, if he was lucky he might, but that leg of his had been broken. She had done all in her power to keep it steady. She had made an odd contraption of a stick against the broken leg and wrapped huge leaves around it and kept it together with spiderweb. She had seen broken legs before and knew for them to heal properly it had to be kept steady and in the right position. She was precise and efficient in her work.

It was not lost on her that the male who had carried Crowfeather into Akashingo was bringing her meals. She appreciated it and though they solemnly talked beside "bring me this" or "I need that." She had become fond of him. She found herself liking the Akashingo wolves more and more. Ursus wolves had been elusive, rarely talked to her, something she had hoped for and she wondered if she only had herself to blame for not having any friends beside those within Akashingo.

That afternoon was like all the others. The male had come with a meal for her after he had been out (she didn't know exactly what he did when he was out). She was almost finished cleaning wounds when he came and she smiled and nodded at him and continued her work. She hoped the boy soon would wake, she hoped even more so he would not be in too much pain when he did, but she had brought remedies for that when the time came.

As she finished the dressing up the last wound she looked at the black male. Maybe it was about time she thanked him properly. She stepped away from Crowfeather and walked over to the male who seemed to be relaxing against the cold stone wall. She sat next to him and waited for a moment, awkwardly not sure how to speak. Small talk was not her thing.

"Thank you." She waited a moment and then looked away. She hadn't said those words in a long time. "For the meal." She wished she was better at this. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to ask. She wanted to thank him for being a loyal friend, for looking out for her, for always bringing her supplies even though it seemed like no one had told him to do so. But Slate wasn't cut out for this. She instead tried to make eye contact and made it known that she really meant it.

<333

he sensed slate move against the redrock nearby. he did not open his eyes, but he felt her own upon him. "thank you for tending crowfeather." it seemed that she had brought all of her supplies to this little room. there were many things here that he did not recognize.

and yet with his own eyes the eagle had watched the doctor. she was calm and pragmatic. her care was detailed. germanicus had observed much about the woman and yet he had only been given her name.

he looked at the splinted leg. he watched the sable flank rise and fall. "you are the reason he still lives," the eagle said softly. his words hovered in the grey air between he and slate.

Slate had never felt as appreciated and as home as she did in Akashingo. It was an odd feeling, for the people of Ursus had hardly spoken to her or taken an interest to her, but Akashingo? They were taking an interest in her, they appreciated her on another level, they looked out for her. Like family. She sort of hated and loved it. She hated how they weren't her pack, how they seemed to be thankful for her even though she wasn't even one of their own. She loved it for the obvious reason that she had never been this appreciated before.

"thank you for tending crowfeather." She almost said "it's my job" but chose not to. It wasn't completely true. Tending to the wounded of Akashingo was technically not part of her job description. She just did it because part of her could not leave a wounded behind. Because somewhere deep inside Slate wasn't so bad after all. She looked awkwardly away from the black male. For the first time in forever she felt shy. That was new.

"you are the reason he still lives," If the older woman was able to, she would have blushed at this point. Instead she kept her gaze away from him and felt this sudden urge to leave out of embarrassment. "I do my best." Was all she could say, all she could think of saying. She wanted to point out that the younger male might never walk properly again, that he might be injured for life because of that leg. But she didn't want to damper his mood by stating the obvious.

"Sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake." She looks at him again and begins to expand upon her words. "I joined Ursus to find a home. To be useful. But." She wondered if she could go on, wondered if she could trust this male to not go on and give her away to Merrick. Slate hardly trusted anyone around here, she always put her trust in herself and no one else, but she decided to change that. Akashingo had put their trust in her, it was time to do the same.

"Akashingo feels more like home than any other place I've been to... Ursus offers protection, yes, but it does not feel like home. The way Merrick looks at me... It feels wrong." She obviously had no idea that Merrick at thought of killing her on several occassions, but she didn't like the looks he gave her. It felt wrong, it felt like she was being watched all the time. She never felt like she could be herself around the others from Ursus.

"I should have joined Akashingo." She bites her lip, regrets the moment the words leaves her mouth. She could get in serious trouble for saying these things, or at least it felt like it.

germanicus listened.

he felt that the wolves of akashingo were only knit with intrigue. already it raised its head between the queen and the pharaoh. what would come of the mesa when the playboy egyptian must sire his heirs?

germanicus had been weary of court the day he knew he was born into it.

all his life he had avoided such, and now here he was amidst so very much.

slate spoke of a home and finding it here.

"the pharaoh named crowfeather royal chief physician. he will give you a title and you will want for little here." he had seen how the fellahin hunted for the wolves above them. "but you will exist in a world like no other, where your rank is determined by how much you gratify royal creatures."

he spoke openly and assuredly, though now the eagle turned his eyes upon slate to see her reaction.

"the pharaoh named crowfeather royal chief physician. he will give you a title and you will want for little here.
but you will exist in a world like no other, where your rank is determined by how much you gratify royal creatures." Slate knew it had to be true. She didn't know the pharaoh, nor did she know of the insides of Akashingo, if there was any kind of intrigue between the pharaoh and the queen, this would have been new to Slate. She didn't exactly understand what Germanicus meant with his words but she thought that asking was better than imagining something.

"I haven't been in a pack before. But isn't it like that everywhere? Ursus doesn't strike me as any better in that regard." Was there something Slate was missing? She looked at Crowfeather who was beginning to move around. Slate rose from her position and began finding the plants needed for her remedies and began chewing them to mix them. It was the best she could offer against the pain he was in, but she knew them to be effective, might even be the reason he was constantly asleep.

She looked at Germanicus again as she spit out the mix and then spoke again while she worked. "Merrick. He scares me. I followed him thinking he could protect me, but sometimes I feel like I need protection from him instead." She shrugged lightly at that, not sure how else to explain that eerie feeling she around him. She gently put her mixture toward Crowfeather's mouth for him to eat it and she was very focused on the task at hand but listened to Germanicus if he spoke.

"I've tried joining different packs over the years. Ursus was the first place to accept me. I am not sure I could go anywhere else even if I wanted to." She looked up at Germanicus and then she shook her head. She had broken ties with packs over the years and now she felt lost. Akashingo was maybe the place she belonged, but she had also told Merrick she would follow him. It felt like a promise, even if the man scared her. A promise she didn't like to find herself on the end of breaking.

"there are leaders everywhere. but there is not always a king and queen." it set a different standard for akashingo. there would be conflicts here between those who came to behold power and to demand it for themselves.

"ursus is consumed with thoughts of war. merrick most of all. he is a brutal and driven individual."

he looked at crowfeather, watched how the shadow slumbered. "you will have long jobs with healing if you remain in ursus. but you will not have a godhead. only a feral wolf." it was an attempt at humour that fell flat.

he did not attempt to resurrect it.

"make your choice when you know the outcome of this war."

"there are leaders everywhere. but there is not always a king and queen." She nodded to show she understood what he meant. It would be a forever conflict between the two if they did not get along. She wondered if they did get along, and if they didn't, how would the outcome be for that? Could they find a neutral territory between they unsettled affairs? Or would the pack suffer under it? Would they make the house they had built so carefully, crumble beneath them? She wasn't sure, no one could be sure about it. Slate would either have to stay and see for herself, or leave them behind. She wasn't sure which she preferred.

"ursus is consumed with thoughts of war. merrick most of all. he is a brutal and driven individual." She agreed. She made a low sound with air leaving her mouth to show her agreement. Indeed he was brutal and it seemed consumed by the thoughts of both war and revenge. She didn't know what to make of that. Maybe she had been foolish to assume that things were over now, ended. The war wasn't exactly over yet, the battle for revenge would come again. She sighed at the thought.

"you will have long jobs with healing if you remain in ursus. but you will not have a godhead. only a feral wolf." She looked at Germanicus and then spoke. "You speak as if neither pack suits me." Maybe he was right. She shrugged to show that she had had the same thoughts as him. She wasn't sure if any pack would fit her, she had never been sure of it.

"make your choice when you know the outcome of this war." Yes, this war. For there would be another war surely. She left Crowfeather's side again and looked at Germanicus. "I have to one way or another." The choice was not obvious to Slate. Akashingo felt like home, but not much else had. Maybe the choice was simple enough.

Neither.

"no place suits me, slate."

but he was not her. and he would not know her own struggles.

"go where you think you will be most settled." he could not make the choice for her. neither of these packs seemed to invite those who were unsure. one bore violence. the other intrigue.

the eagle's face relaxed. he watched crowfeather. "as long as i know you, wherever you go, i will be grateful."

the trappings of a pack name did not matter when it came to honor.

"no place suits me, slate."

You and me both.

But that begged the question: "So what are you doing in Akashingo?" She looked at him curiously, not accusation in her tone. She could see multiple reasons why he stayed where he didn't want to, maybe all for protection (like herself), maybe just for Crowfeather or something entirely else. She didn't know, she would likely never know. Not for sure.

"go where you think you will be most settled."

She looked at him with a feeling of emptiness. This all meant she had to leave something behind again, one way or another. She either had to leave behind Crowfeather, Germanicus and everyone else who had been so kind to her, so warm and welcoming. Or she had to leave the safety of Ursus. She didn't feel appreciated there like she here, but neither really suited her too well. She felt so horrid for some reason.

"as long as i know you, wherever you go, i will be grateful." The look of surprise was not hidden and she looked embarrassed away. She had never been addressed like this before and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Initially she hated it, but the more seconds ticked by the more she came to feel warm inside. What an unusual way to feel she thought.

"And I will be forever grateful for you." She didn't smile or look all that happy, but she expected he could see through that by now. Her stoic behavior wasn't there because she felt disinterested in him, but to protect herself. She never really thought about the way she came across toward others, but she hoped he understood she meant it. She then stood up and stretched her limbs. She needed a walk.

"I need to leave for a short while." She looked at Crowfeather and then at Germanicus. "Call for me if you need me. I won't be far." And with those words she swiftly left the den to stretch her legs.

Exit of Slate!

<3

"i am watching over crowfeather."

it was not a truly solid answer. but perhaps slate might understand the trade. his service for a place where the shadow might be treated.

slate soon decamped into her thoughts. germanicus let her alone.

his eyes glowed as she thanked him. "your skill is my saving."

he did not respond as the healer left. his gaze only returned to crowfeather, where it remained until an exhausted sleep at last overtook him.