The golden wolf paced restlessly. He had been seeking her out for days since Kashi had first bought her state of health to his attention but try as he might, he couldn't track her down. It was a problem that had been weighing more and more heavily on his mind for weeks now. They needed a healer. He knew a little but not enough. From what he had managed to gather from the younger wolf, who he was beginning to see as more of a younger brother with every passing day, she had a bad infection in her neck, though what caused it was yet to be determined. It amazed him that after all this time being in the same pack, the last time he had seen her was when he was a lone wolf and she had snuck off while he slept. He was frustrated at her stubbornness and wondered if it had anything to do with her desire for danger. Or maybe she was just avoiding him...

Snapdragon, houseleek, pine or larch bark, pine gum, prickly saxifrage, dwarf fireweed and blueberry bush. Dried mushroom tops to dry out infections, willow for the pain... he kept running over and over the possibilities in his mind, wondering where he would come across such ingredients at this time of year. He didn't need all of them, even just the mushrooms would be a godsend, but mushrooms were an autumn find, not something one stumbled across in the heart of winter. As it was he gathered what he could, tearing pine bark from the trees he could find. Sap would be better but he had no way to collect it or keep it malleable until he managed to pin the black wolf down.

Snapdragons and saxifrage were only out in spring, Fireweed Rise would be the obvious place for fireweed, if it was in season (which it was not), but that was too long of a journey anyway considering the rate infection moved at, and all he could find of blueberry bush was the spindly leafless branches while the plant tried to conserve its energy for the coming spring. Leaves were better but branches would have to do. Houseleek on the other paw... It was rare, popping up here and there having being cultivated by humans and picked up by birds, distributed where they left their droppings, but it maintained its leaves all year round and had similar fleshy leaves to some plants he had crossed in warmer climates. It would be an amazing stroke of luck for him to stumble across some now...

He shook himself in frustration and spun 180 degrees to stalk in the opposite direction and there it was, tucked under the comfortable overhang of a small boulder. He picked one of the three small plants and carried it gently back to his den to stash with his bark, twigs and willow branches.

He had tried howling for her but she was ignoring his calls, only further adding to his anger. He had decided enough was enough, he was going to track her down and drag her back by the scruff of her neck if he had to. He was not going to lose a pack mate because she was too stubborn to come and find him. He set off on one of her scent trails, tail high in the air and coat puffed up signaling no compromise. If he had to pull rank he would.

He could smell rotting as he approached Rebecca's den and his heart thundered in his chest. What if I'm too late? he thought as a cold wave of fear washed over him. He poked his nose in without invitation and quickly drew back. Surely with that stench he was too late...

He took a moment to gather his resolve and forced his head back into the den, looking to see if his worst fears would be confirmed. They were not, but it wasn't good. Her breath was coming in ragged pants as she shook from fever. She seemed to be in the middle of a fever dream and he knew he didn't have much time.

He returned to his own den at a full sprint, gathering up his small collection hastily, ignoring the bitterness of the plants in his mouth as he returned to the first wolf to help him hunt since he had left his family. He remebered the way they had played and run. He remembered grooming the blood from her fur and curling close to her side during the storm and waking up to find her gone. This couldn't be the end.

He forced his way through the small entrance to her den and looked closer at her wound. Four identical tears ran down her neck and he shuddered. Only a cougar could cause that sort of damage. He tried to think, think back to his grandmother Shadow and all of the wisdom she had imparted on the young wolves. First he had to try and remove some of the infection.

As disgusting as it was, he gently applied pressure to the edges of the open wound and attempted to hold onto the small rabbit he had eaten for breakfast as puss oozed from the wound. She was so sick she barely stirred at the pressure.

He crushed and chewed up the plants into a goopy foul tasting paste and smeared it over the open wounds, tearing off strips of the pine to lay over the top to seal the poultice in and let it do its work. Now all he could do was wait and hope. He left the willow branches inside her den and went to wash out his mouth and drink some cool clean water before returning to sit outside her den and wait. All he could do now was wait, and hope that he had reached her soon enough.

He could hear Rebecca attempting to move about in her den. There was almost a panic to her attempt to get out, but she barely stayed concious for long enough that he could check on her progress. The poultice seemed to be doing its job, but the smell still lingered, perhaps shining some light on her panic. It smelled of approaching death.

He needed to find a way to clear the air. It was a tight squeeze but he forced his way back in and cleared any of the leaves she wasn't laying on, getting rid of those that had the puss and blood on them along with the rest. He then went to the nearest pine tree and began to strip needles from the tree, spreading them in place of the leaves. As he walked over them his paws crushing the green needles they released a tangy sterile scent. He hoped the cleaner air would help her sleep more restfully, resuming his post at the entrance of her den.

The gold wolf started, so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed the alpha aproaching. Too concerned to complete his usual ritual beyond flicking back his ears and lowering his head he could no longer sit still and wait. "Not well." he said, concern thick in his voice.

It was all he could do not to wimper like a lost pup. "It's Rebecca. She had some nasty cougar scratches on her neck that got infected. The scrap told me days ago but I only managed to find her today..." his voice was laced with guilt, he should have tracked her down sooner but it had taken him that long to find the ingredients he needed in this weather anyway.

"I've done what I can, all I could smell was death..." He was begining to shake, concerned with what would happen if his remedy didn't work as well as it should. "My grandmother taught me a little. I drained what I could from the wound and applied a rough poultice, I didn't have access to half of what I needed because of this damn snow!" he growled at the landscape. Rebecca might die and it would he all his fault.

The scent of pine was wafting from the den. He didn't find it to be a comfortable scent but it wasn't nearly as distressing as the scent of rot. He had burried the leaves she was using as a bed. She would probably be annoyed but it was necessary to prevent reinfection. "I don't know enough." he finally admitted in defeat. If he had of done so sooner he could be learning how to heal properly, but if he had, he wouldn't have been here in time to save Rebecca. Maybe the fates had been conspiring to keep him here.

He heard her drifting into and out of conciousness. He wasn't sure if she could hear him but he nosed the willow branches closer to her, so they were laying across her pain marred muzzle. Speaking calmly and quietly. "If you can hear me, there are some branches near your mouth that I need you to chew. Yes they will taste terrible but it'll help to take some of the pain away..." he was relieved when it appeared she acknowleged him and he retreated back to his leader outside the den. "I was convinced she wouldn't make it, but I may have been just in time..."