Bearclaw Valley apertivo

By morning, or maybe the afternoon, the group had returned to the valley. Stryx limped alongside @Val and was her usual surly self; beyond that actually, she was silent and brooding.

There were wounds to the both of them. Somewhere ahead Merrick was calling to his son, his daughter-in-law, others. Stryx was not named among them.

She headed towards the medicine hold, only to stop short and rest herself halfway. Her whole body felt a level of exhaustion she was not unfamiliar with, though it had been a long time since she'd been this weary.

It wasn't wise to put herself in to such situations as a raid at her age, but she'd had to. She knew that much.

And now she held fresh bites and tears to her skin, thanks to the defensive shadow that had set itself upon the boy. It had been necessary, but foolish. She nursed some of the wounds she could reach and with a tired affect, looked around her immediate area for things to pluck and use upon herself.

now that val had gotten his first true taste of bloodshed, he could not say he cared for it.

he was silent as he followed stryx. doubt he even belonged in ursus saddled him. before, he and stryx had been strangers. now, a different kind of kinship budded within them.

they were survivors of an unspeakable trauma.

he wanted so badly to break the silence. to ask a million questions. to prod and probe -- but his nose, god, his nose! tears welled in his eyes any time he drank too deep of the air, or moved his tongue.

an immense gratitude for the healer cocooned in the young boy; she had risked her life to save his. if only he could find a way to thumb past the belligerent pain which ruled his muzzle.

Finding some grasses which might settle her stomach, perhaps purge the blood taste from her tongue, she plucked those and began to masticate. A heavy breath filled her lungs and then ached as it released.

She spat the wad of chewed grass out then reached for more, and saw something else beyond the cluster of green: a nameless herb with only the lightest frost crystalizing its leaves. This she took instead, and chewed thoughtfully.

The boy was nearby. Stryx only noticed him as she moved to lather the mashed herb against her hip, and when she couldn't reach, thought to spit it out too, until she saw him. The long strips of flesh pulled from his face. His crooked nose.

Boy, she called. C'mere. She unfurled herself a bit, and impatiently pat the grass next to her so that the patient would sit. If he did, she'd begin administering the mash to his face instead.

boy, c'mere the crone spat between blades of herbs. val grimaced as he looked, eyes quickly falling to the ground.

he owed her a great debt, ah -- as talkative as he had always been, he was never so good at articulating how he felt. he sat where she indicated, ears splayed and posture broken -- after all, he was a soldier. not a brave one, but one who had seen his odds and chosen to run.

a coward.

stryx began to apply a sluice. it stung. val's eyes watered as he tried to distract himself, fumbling. "that.. that was terrifying."

One of the strikes to his face had bent it. That or it was naturally off-kilter, it wasn't like Stryx had taken the time to study anyone of Ursus prior to the raid.

Your nose is broken. She mentions.

Stryx tended to the more obvious cuts first and then - seemingly out of the blue - knocked the boy upside the snout, to reposition his nose with a sharp click.

While he reeled from that, Stryx grabbed for more plants to chew and prepare with her molars.

val did his best to not be too dramatic - he winced and held his breath as stryx tended to each of his cuts. the sluice stung, but it was nothing compared to the sudden THWACK! of his nose being set straight.

a high yelp followed, with val immediately recoiling as if -- well, as if he'd been struck. tears welled in his eyes and poured down his face, steaming. "wHUDEDUDODHATFOR?" he half-cried, half-howled through a nose so thick with pain the throbbing could be felt at his feet.

Afterward, as he crowed and cried and spasmed with pain, Stryx huffed, giving him a matronly slap to the shoulder.

Oh, nut up kid. As if he could hear her, given all his wailing. It was better that he be surprised by it; the adrenaline of the moment would take some of the pain away.

She gathered more herbs to her teeth and crushed them slowly, making sure not to swallow as the saliva upon her tongue turned bitter.

You'll have a sore face for a bit longer but at least its straight now. Take a breath. Do I need to count for you? Her cheeks were almost full of the paste and made Stryx sound as if she held cotton swabs against the roof of her mouth.

slapped on the shoulder mid-shout, val's nose throbbed with the additional contact. he skulked, wanting to rub his nose and at the same time terrified to touch it.

meanwhile stryx continued to masticate a sluice of herbs and bitters; this time val kept sullen distance. nut up, she said -- a strange term val didn't have time to question. stryx's words were muffled, as if spoken between layers of fur. do i need to count for you? he shook his head slowly. "fghanks." val finally ventured between a gulp of held breath, recognizing her intentions had been good even if painful.

He stopped his complaining pretty quickly. It was impressive actually; he seemed less childish the longer his face throbbed and the longer Stryx tended to him. Maybe he was taking her orders to heart.

As she began to add the chewed plants to his face and other cuts, the bitter flavor didn't dissipate from her lips. Once everything was in place Stryx licked her lips and sought something to cleanse her palate, not that there was anything. She plucked at some dandelion heads from a cluster of weeds and then spit them out.

You should'a run. Thinking of the quick woman with the striped face, and the way they moved between the boy and the doctor during the raid. Seeing them grab at Val; knowing what must be done. What had been taken from Rivenwood. What had been lost in the process by Stryx herself.

each ministration hurt. val kept his lips taut and shut, lest the herbalist rebuke him again. the more time he spent with her, the more timid he became - for she seemed a woman of great experience and knowledge.

his shoulders sagged as she spoke of running. merrick didn’t run. aventus and arielle didn’t run. he born by the sea, they born by the bear — every last interaction keenly brought that to light. but stryx was not like them; she was like him — and that gave the boy great confidence in himself. i’m done running. val remarked petulantly, reminded of the time he’d fled the cliffs. it only ever made things worse. i ran once, from sapphique — and now look at me.

Listening to the boy talk gave Stryx a moment of pause. Her brows raised when she heard him speak of Sapphique but otherwise she didn't comment in any way. There was more work to be done for his wounds and that was a better use for her tongue than idle banter.

Still, she was intrigued. When she finished with the leftover herb mixture she sank back to relax and eyed the boy a few long moments. How old are you? Stryx had a nagging feeling she knew the answer.

val slumped. his nose stung, and the sluice that ran from it tickled his nerves. he wanted to scratch, but he knew how much that would hurt, so he didn’t dare.

instead, he watched stryx as she continued kneading herbs between teeth. being asked his age, val felt his stomach tighten: he had only ever had to justify his age to someone. i’ll be two in may. he answered, a wariness creeping in his gaze. why?

Two years in May.

I know those coastal lands; I was present there for a birth. Her last visit to the region had been brief - approximately that long ago, too. He was not a familiar creature to her; but oh, how the woman studied his face now, eyes widening out of their half-lidded state to gaze upon him.

Something sparks in her vision - a mixture of intrigue and wariness, as if she suspects something but at the same time, doesn't have the words to express it. When she gathers her thoughts in the next second she is quick to ask: How is your mother? What was her name again --?

Stryx did not relent in watching him, wishing she could will the answers in to the air now that she sought them.

val's eyes brightened as stryx spoke of the coast, of witnessing a birth. in his small world view, there was only one pack on the coast -- sapphique.

in a way, he had no idea how big the world truly was, or how erroneous his assumption was. the only question that lingered on his mind was which birth had she witnessed..? he had been gone so long. maybe he had new siblings?

when stryx asked after his mothers, val didn't skip a beat. i have two mamans. as if it was perfectly normal to have two. erzulie and rosalyn. do you know them?

Two mothers? There hadn't been two mothers when Stryx had crossed the sand. There had been one, hidden in the grotto and bleeding out from many complications. Stryx frowned as she listened to the boy and then shook her head.

No, no, that's wrong. She was thinking as she spoke, imagining her last visit to the area. The grotto had been a fortress when she'd found it, and then stank of blood and birthing fluids after. Who had been there? A pale man that she could recall, but not name. And two cubs were born.

There was one birth that year that I attended, at the Sound. There was a dark woman hidden there - and two children born. Stryx now looked upon Val with her full intensity, studying his face. Seeking signs that this tale was familiar - or maybe looking in to his eyes to seek truths there. He looked more like the dark woman from the grotto.

Your mother, with the yellow eyes. She was sure of it.
But maybe she was wrong anyway. I may be old, boy, but I remember my patients.

no, no, that's wrong. your mother with the yellow eyes. val visibly blanched. he knew his mothers eyes -- neither were yellow. moreover, she came to mind: the insatiable, unhappy haint of his dreams.

but, that wasn't true, right..? "but my mamans are erzulie and rosalyn.." val countered, a nagging frown worrying his features. there'd been little clues, here and there, that might have thumbed loose a cascade of doubt if val was the doubtful type: how different his body was from his mamans, how with the exception of chacal, he was the only one that was dark.. and how different reginn had been, too..

but that meant his mamans were lying -- and why would they lie? moreover, who was the wolf with the yellow eyes?

his early memories were filled with images of those who had tended to him. rosalyn. erzulie. but there was one other. raleska.

but raleska was his sister! not his maman. of this, val's faith in his mothers were absolute. he shook his head, feeling a new sensation of pain sting his muzzle. "i.. i'm confused."

Stryx wasn't so old that she was senile. She knew what she had experienced. That didn't mean she was right however - and in the years since tending to Raleska things could have become muddied. The boy certainly didn't take to the information the way Stryx expected; but she gave a shrug of those sharp shoulders as if to say, I don't know what to tell you kid.

I could be wrong, she relented. The last thing Stryx wanted was to alienate the boy. He would need further treatment for his nose and any other lasting ailments, and while Arielle was growing quite capable as a healer, in the elder's mind that treatment came at a price which could be avoided.

If the raid had shown Stryx anything, it was that these people were devoted to some dark ideals.

You're good to go now kid. If you need pain relief I can prescribe something, just come find me at Mosskeep. As she spoke she got to her feet and gave a curt nod, then moved to depart.

val rubbed his throbbing nose.

there was too much to think about. was he wrong? was stryx wrong? a long silence hung suspended between them. unpleasant.

the door of possibilities slammed shut with a thud. val looked up and stryx was leaving. something about mosskeep and being good to go. the boy's head was spinning. :oh.. alright. thank you.:: val murmured, staying behind.

for a while he just stood there, that thousand yard stare gradually climbing to the sky.

thank u for this thread <333