Redhawk Caldera I love the smell of napalm in the morning

Wildfire slept almost constantly. This morning, she woke up with a dry mouth and snarling stomach. Fox brought her some freshly chewed meat, which she ate very slowly. She then stepped outside with her mini-me, leading the way toward a nearby puddle that was brimming following an overnight rain. Fox hovered concernedly as the pup took a painstaking drink. As soon as Wildfire finished and then relieved herself, her mother ushered her back toward the little den. But Wildfire shook her head. She was getting sick of the den. She plopped to her haunches instead, drawing in a long, low breath that rattled slightly in her damaged throat.

She wished she could speak, since she had about a thousand questions about the events of the past few days. But they would still have to wait. The wounds in her neck were clean, dry and mending, but even breathing hurt and she didn't dare speak, as the vibrations were nothing short of agonizing. Wildfire sighed through her nostrils, then cuddled up to her mother's side. Fox gently wrapped a foreleg around her, hugging the pup against her. Wildfire smiled weakly, her yellow eyes staring into the distance, as she sipped in shallow breaths of the humid morning air.

Tiger and Sebastian had been filled in about who the attacker was by none other than her own sister. That's fucked up, she remembered saying. And now it was all she could think. Tiger was by no means a great wolf with kids, but that was because she was afraid of hurting them. Junior had come... to kill them. Tiger realized then she could afford to be seen more by the lot of them, remembering the swimming lesson and that the kids hardly knew her. She knew Wildfire best, and had patched her up as well as her mediocre skills enabled her to. Her work was likely a little sloppy, but it did the job. Wifi wouldn't die and would be able to speak again.

She came toward the den now, head low and tail swinging limply between her legs. Her warm eyes fell onto Fox, first, greeting her with a nod and lingering there until she felt it was alright to come nearer. Then her eyes went toward the alphas doppelganger. In her mouth she carried some herbs that would relieve pain if there was any, but she placed them on the ground first to speak. "Hey, kid," she greets, her tone warm. "You in pain...? You don't need to speak if it hurts, just nod your head if you are," she offers, observant.

Tiger and Sebastian had both been familiar to Wildfire before the incident, though their treatment and care of her during and after it had finally put them firmly in the pup's good books. When Finley's sister appeared, Wildfire smiled and thumped her tail. She pressed her nose against her mother's rib, then stood and padded closer to Tiger. Her black tail wiggled and she kept her head lowered out of deference to her superior. This gave her a good view of the bundle of herbs.

Wildfire's tail stilled at the question. She bobbed her head slowly. She then seated herself and looked up at the adult's face briefly before dropping her amber gaze to the plants by her pale paws. What are those? her expression seemed to ask the question her voice box could not.

Tiger watched as the cub came toward her, head lowered and all, and waved her own tail happily. The last time she'd seen her, Wildfire had obviously been worse for wear and bleeding. With that all cleaned up, the girl looked great. Tiger thought the girls spirit was to thank for that, moreso than her healing abilities... but whatever it was, she was glad. Wildfire nodded, and Tiger glanced to the herbs when the girl did, registering her question.

"I dipped each of these herbs in honey," she begins, walking Wildfire through it. "I'm not sure how the inside of your throat feels, but I know honey soothes the throat and helps make these guys easier to swallow, since honey is so sweet." Honey she had learned about when she was younger; this her own mother had taught her, since it was so basic. She nudged the marigold covered in honey to Wildfire first. "Marigold," she explains, "Helps reduce inflammation and helps your wounds heal. It's also supposed to help soreness." She thinks the last bit is worth mentioning, because she was sure that her throat hurt all around. She then pushed coltsfoot toward her, which had taken a bit longer to find, also covered in honey. "Coltsfoot is good for throat irritation. If your throat is dry and achey, this should do the trick... It helps sore throats, too, and is good for coughs also." Her own tail gave a little wave, and she slid onto her belly. She'd given the girl more than an earful, and would be happy to repeat herself. But first, and most important, Wildfire needed to take them.

Thanks for bearing with me. ^_^

As soon as Tiger said the word honey, Wildfire's face broke into a smile. Forgetting that speaking hurt, she shouted hoarsely, "Bees make honey!" then fell immediately silent as her throat began to throb. She did her best to control her expression and follow along, though there were a few crazy words in there, like marigold, inflammation, coltsfoot and irritation. She swore she'd heard that last one a time or two. Hadn't Fox told her children to stop irritating her before? The child shrugged, letting it go as she continued to gaze at the array of medicinal plants.

Tiger lowered herself and Wildfire looked her full in the face for a moment, then down at the herbs, then back up at Tiger. What were they supposed to do with them? She knew honey was edible (very sticky but quite tasty!) but it didn't occur to her yet that the would-be Healer meant for her to eat all these greens.

<3 no problemo

"Yes!" Tiger eagerly responds, nodding her own head exuberantly. "Someone's taught you about that, huh?" she tilts her head, but doesn't pry anymore than that. No big deal. When Wildfire didn't go for the herbs, she pushed the marigold toward her with her nose. The brightly colored tagetes was pretty, and covered in honey. She'd plucked a smaller one, that would hopefully be better for eating and less painful to swallow. She hadn't chewed it herself because truth be told, Tiger wasn't sure if that'd take any of the medicinal properties away from it. Would the saliva slide that down the gullet, or was it the physical herb itself...? Tiger was inclined to believe it to be both, AKA the entirety of the herb was needed for it to be most effective, so Wildfire would have to do the chewing herself to gain the best results.

"Oh," she says, thoughtful, and then, "You eat it. The both of 'em. Chew it up real good, so it's easier to swallow. But that way, you get all the goodness it has. If it's too much, we can see what happens if I chew the coltsfoot... but, I think what's best would be for you to chew it up a lot, 'til its nothin' but mush, then swallow." Tiger plops her head onto her paws, her nose clad in honey from nudging it. The honey ought to make it easier to swallow, she hoped.

Throat still aching for her mistake, Wildfire merely nodded in reply. Sebastian had taught her all about honey. And now Tiger was teaching her all about... marigold and coltsfoot? The pup tried to commit those words to memory by repeating them in her head. Her lips moved silently. Wildfire pondered once more the meaning of the term inflammation, though she didn't dare ask.

"Oh," Tiger said, pushing the pile of honey-dipped herbs toward her. "You eat it." The child blinked, listening to the medic's instructions. She couldn't help it. She scrunched up her nose and shot Tiger a look as if to ask, Really? Do I have to? But Wildfire was notoriously obedient, so she let out a tiny sigh and then plopped a paw on the nearest plant.

It stuck to her foot, which amused the youngster. She lifted her leg, staring at the spray of green dangling from it. Wildfire smiled, then jammed it in her mouth. She chewed lengthily, not because Tiger had told her to do so but because she had already learned that doing so made swallowing slightly less unpleasant. Finally, the inevitable moment came and she flexed her tongue, pushing the green mush into her gullet. It was sweet but also bitter. It tasted like...

"Farts," Wildfire whispered, her voice so low it was barely audible. She grimaced and glanced up at Tiger, sticking out her tongue which was coated in green paste.

I DIED

Tiger watched her, tail wagging as Wildfire chomped away. So far, so great! Tiger was quite pleased by this, up until the moment where she said, farts. Tiger couldn't help but let out a loud laugh that came straight from her gut, and she'd be damned if she didn't toot a little in the processes... but Wildfire's nose be blessed, it wasn't a horrendous stink bomb.

At the show of the girls tongue, Tiger went in to lap at the girls face some to clean up excess greens around her. If she frenched the girl in the process, whoops, but Tiger was prone to cleaning up excess saliva, and the like, from others... just like any other wolf. And after that, "One more fart to go," she quips, grinning ear to ear. "Coltsfoot fart," she informs, "I dunno if you've ever eaten a dandelion before, a big yellowy flower, but it's kind of like that. Coppery, but not too bitter," and the honey would ideally sweeten the deal.

:D

Tiger gave her a quick spit bath, then encouraged Wildfire to finish the herbal regimen. She looked dubiously at the remaining plant, then sucked in a deep breath and went for it. She didn't know what coppery meant, though the flavor of this particular plant reminded her of meat somehow. Combined with the other flavors lingering on her palate, it all tasted like...

"Bloody honey farts," the child murmured after swallowing. She winced, then gave her head a shake. She was glad it was over, as none of that had tasted pleasant except for the light dollops of honey. Wildfire stuck out her tongue again, scraping it against her teeth and spitting out the excess. Her stomach rolled a little but she didn't vomit, thank goodness. That would have been extraordinarily painful.

Throat aching and stomach queasy, Wildfire rolled abruptly onto her side, amber eyes rolling up to Tiger's face. She smiled weakly. She liked the woman and appreciated her care. But as she gazed up at Tiger, she suddenly found herself missing her Aunt Finley. She hadn't seen the Beta since that day when she and Magpie had slain the rangy coyote (she didn't realize Finley had been involved in the incident).

Wildfire consumed it all, all without vomiting. The thought that she might vomit hadn't occurred to Tiger, who would've likely vomited with her she had such a weak stomach with those things. Blood and gore, fine. Vomit? Hell naw. Tiger smiled back at the girl, and lingered at her side for a while. She wanted to see what effect the plans would take on the fiery girl, and if she'd feel better for them. "So if these plants help you feel better, which they should, you still need to be very, very careful. It's working its magic, but try not to yell even when your throat isn't sore for a week or two. With the stuff I bring, your throat should hopefully feel better by the day." Her tail thumped against the ground.

Tiger turned to her own side and rolled onto her back, satisfying a sudden itch there, before going onto her side, too. She'd be happy to hang out here 'til Wifi felt even remotely better, wanting to keep with her all the while.

Tiger's voice drew her out of her thoughts. The mention of magic made her amber eyes glitter. Was that what was in those plants? Magic? Before Wildfire's mind could wander far down that path, she suddenly inferred that this would not be the last time Tiger asked her to eat these greens. Magic or not, she didn't look forward to repeating the dose. She couldn't speak, so she stuck out her tongue to demonstrate exactly how she felt about that. But then she smiled to make sure Tiger knew she was only joking (mostly).

The adult rolled in the grass with her and the puppy pushed herself to her feet, then flopped back down against Tiger's stomach. "Where's Aunt Flea?" she wondered in a sleepy voice right before a yawn split her jaws wide. She blinked, each eye opening and closing at slightly different paces and causing her to look a little dopey.

Tiger stretched herself, yawning after Wildfire did. Yeah, a nap sounded good. And hell yeah, she'd take a light nap with Wifi. Tiger wanted to hear how her breathing sound when she slept, so, it was good. Wifi's question brought her into an alert state. Finley. She had to check up on her own sister, dang nabbit. "Around... probably with Uncle Elwood," she says, thoughtfully. Her ears remained perked in case Wifi has any other questions, while already mentally scheduling a wake-up plan, post ensuring Wifi was all patched up when she woke.

Tiger mentioned that Finley was most likely somewhere with Uncle Elwood, so there was only one natural question for the youngster. "Where's Uncle El?" Wildfire wanted to know. There was no facetiousness in her voice. She genuinely thought Tiger's reply might contain more information about her godparents' whereabouts.

But whether or not that was true, the child would never know. She sprawled there in her little space beside her caretaker, amber eyes closing as she tumbled immediately into sleep. Her breathing was a bit more labored than a normal pup's, though she slept peacefully enough, nary a movement disturbing her rest.

Tiger knew the question to be a genuine one. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Pr-" the sound of deeply drawn breaths gave her pause. She fell asleep! Tiger smiled, but the sounds of the puppy breathing soon drew Tiger into a light tiger snooze of her own.