Blacktail Deer Plateau Room Service

@Junior and @Finley, and @Blue Willow if she wants

Koda approached Blue's den, bearing food for the two injured wolves being treated by the healer. He knew nothing about how to heal wounds or illness with herbs and medicine, but he did know that the girls would need to eat to regain their strength. He set the meat down just inside the entrance to the den. "Hey girls," he used a gentle tone, in case they were asleep. "I brought you a little something to eat."

Her fever had not yet broken. If anything, it had gotten worse. Junior slept with eyes half-lidded, twitching and murmuring restlessly as fever dreams afflicted her. She never felt well-rested when she came around, which had yet to happen so far today. She remained in some remote half-asleep, half-awake twilight zone, drifting...

Not even the smell of meat could really rouse her. Although Junior woke, per se, and dimly registered their visitor, she only lifted her head a few inches before letting it drop again. She felt so weak and so hot. Her legs felt like they were on fire or something. She wished someone would carry her to the river and just pitch her into the cold water. In fact, the thought made her moan.

"Hey..." she rasped to the male (his name was Cody, she was pretty sure), "Can you chuck me in the river? I need... to put out the fire..."

Junior's condition was worsening by the day, and it was even starting to make Fin nervous. While she trusted completely Blue's healing abilities, she was beginning to think the problem was something that might be beyond either of their skills. As loathe to question Blue's work as she was, she hadn't said anything yet. She only just kept a watchful eye on her alpha's daughter. She wasn't the kid's biggest fan, but that didn't mean she was keen on letting her die.

So it was that when Koda entered, he pulled away Finley's attentive gaze from the fitfully sleeping child. She gave him a broad smile and a wag of her tail in greeting, parting her mouth to speak only to shut it when Junior roused and muttered at him. She quirked a brow at her fellow patient, then glanced back at Koda with a half-hearted smile. "She's... not well," Fin said gently, the concern apparent in her voice.

Sorry for lateness.

The gray wolf had to step closer to hear Junior's hoarse whisper. As he did, he got his first good look at her injuries. Koda winced as his yellow eyes traced the nasty gashes in her front legs. He had heard rumors that the girl had inflicted the wounds herself. He wondered what kind of emotional trauma could drive a young girl to do that to herself. A fight with her boyfriend, maybe?

"I don't think I can help you with that, missy," he said. He didn't know much about caring for the injured, but he could see Junior wasn't in any condition to leave the den.

His attention shifted to Finley as she spoke. Here was another case he just couldn't wrap his head around. How could anyone in their right mind pick a fight with a bear for shits and giggles? He wondered if the silver she-wolf had a death wish.

Koda retrieved the meat, using his teeth and claws to divide it into two portions. One he placed in front of Junior, the other he tossed to Finley. "Put some food in your bellies," he told them. "It'll help ya feel better."

In her delusional state, Junior didn't think to hide her legs from view. No one knew the nature of her injuries, though it was probably easy for the adults to guess what had happened, then spread the word around the pack. If she had known about this, the youth would have been out of her mind with shame rather than fever.

"Why not?" she demanded in a woozy voice. When he offered her meat like some sort of consolation prize, Junior turned her nose up at it. "No. I am... a watertarian. I only eat water. I eat it through my skin. You should dump some on me..." Yes, surely she could trick him into dousing her and these wretched flames.

Fin leaned forwards to gulp up the meat Koda had tossed to her hungrily. No matter how much she ate, she never seemed to feel full. Blue and the others had been feeding her quite well, and yet something about laying there day after day kept her in a constant state of hunger. Perhaps that was just an effect of being bored, or maybe her belly was just far bigger than she'd ever thought.

Her ears perked as Junior responded, asking again to be dunked into water. She was very obsessed with water lately, leaving Fin to wonder if she was dehydrated or if this was just part of her crazy fever. She was beginning to think that they really should throw her in a lake, if only to shut her up. "Thanks, Koda," Fin said, glancing back to Junior, "You don't happen to have a river up your sleeve by any chance that we could throw her in?"

With a sigh, Koda shook his head. Junior had decided she didn't want to co-operate with him, and he didn't have the patience to argue with a whiny teenager. He glanced at Finley, silently asking the she-wolf for help. He was a typical male, he had no problem facing down a charging elk, but he balked when it came to dealing with children.

He decided he would try offering a compromise. "Tell you what, if you eat that for me, I'll help you find a puddle to splash in," he told the girl.

If she had been in her right mind, Junior might have realized that it was a reasonable trade-off and that, in fact, it was a win-win situation for her. But she was feverish, so her stubborn and irrational sides would win out over reason.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm a watertarian. I don't eat no meat." She turned her nose up at it. In fact, Junior went so far as to shuffle around to face the rear of the den, literally turning her back on Finley, their guest and his offering of meat.

Fin watched Koda determinedly try to get the girl to eat, knowing already that it was a wasted effort. She had no desire to try and stop him though, so she just kept quiet and observed the scene as it unfolded. Koda made his offer, and Junior stubbornly declined even going as far as the turn away from him completely and stare at the wall. She frowned a bit at her, but couldn't bring herself to chide the kid. She was sick after all, and she was young. Stupidity was just in her nature.

The woman heaved a sigh and glanced back at Koda, pursing her lips a bit thoughtfully. After a few seconds, she barked over to Junior, "Don't worry, Ju, I got this," then turned back towards Koda with a smile. "I would be more than happy to man up and eat everything," she said to him with a sagely nod before another jovial smirk danced across her lips.

Junior again rejected Koda's offering. The gray wolf glanced at Finley and shrugged as the stubborn girl shuffled around to face away from them. Thoroughly defeated, he was about to leave when Finley spoke up.

He was about to tell her to leave the meat for the girl to eat later, when he caught her nod and the mischievous smile on her maw. A smirk tugged at his lips as he clued in to Finley's plan. Maybe manipulation would prevail where reasoning had failed.

Thanks for the thread! *bows out* :)

Junior blinked and shifted when Finley called her "Ju." She cast the silver she-wolf a frosty sideways glance, then refocused on the wall and began muttering under her breath. Even Junior herself didn't know what she was saying, although the words burning, fire and water could be heard in the mumbled mix.

With a great, gusty sigh, she eventually stretched out her forelegs and let her chin sink to the ground beside them. She imagined she saw flames licking up them, though she couldn't keep her eyes open for long. With a fluttery groan, Junior's head rolled sideways and she drifted into unconsciousness.

Bye Kat! We can probably start wrapping up too, ya? :)

Fin surpressed the smirk that threatened to appear on her face in reaction to the cold look Junior gave her. The two of them were not the best of friends, and in spite of her full intention of continuing to look out for her, she couldn't say that she minded too much.

She turned back to Koda as the girl plopped her head down and began to doze, giving him a slight shrug. "Can't say we didn't try," Fin said to him comfortingly, "If you want to just go ahead and leave it here, I'll try to coerce her into eating it later. Or I'll just have Blue shove it down her throat when she gets back. The kid seems to be okay with Blue making her do things at least."

it's been fun, guys :) I'm gonna miss Junior

"Good luck with that," he said dryly. Junior must have been the most uncooperative kid he'd ever met. He didn't understand why she'd refused to eat. Didn't she realize he was only trying to help her get better?

Koda nodded to Finley. "Feel better," he told her. He dismissed himself with a flick of his tail. He squeezed his shoulders through the mouth of the den and departed. Perhaps he'd look for a nice spot in the sun to doze off himself.

Koda didn't seem overly comforted by her words, evidenced further by his short good bye and abrupt disappearance. Fin gave a small frown at his retreating figure and sighed, wishing she could have eased his irritation with the feverish girl some before he'd left. It seemed it was not to be, though.

Fin cast another glance over at Junior's sleeping form, her face scrunched slightly in displeasure. "You know, you're probably only sick because you've got your head so far up your own ass," she muttered softly, knowing the girl wouldn't hear her, which was definitely for the best. She couldn't wait for the day that someone finally got it through her thick skull what a petulant, selfish child she was being.

But still, when Fin's head fell against the ground, it was turned so that her soft umber eyes could gaze watchfully upon Junior's gently heaving sides, making sure that they continued to rise and fall with each life-promising breath.