Thicket of Secrets i am a pheasant plucker's son

Together they were strong enough to shift it, and while it didn't feel like they'd moved it much at all, evidently it was enough; the pale wolf fell back with a soft thud as his paw was freed. They'd done it! Tomen relaxed the pressure he was exerting on the log and turned to beam at Nineva, who returned the sentiment at first - but then her attention swiftly turned to the guy they'd just saved. His lips pursed together in a small pout before he realised his own irrational jealousy and tried to shake it off. He'd wanted to come out here to spend time with Nineva, not have to share her... but from the state of the guy, the sorry-looking wolf did need the support. Tomen listened to his shaky gratitude and it made him even more uneasy, something about how he laid there in a helpless heap with those wide anxious eyes...

"Not gonna bite you," Tomen muttered as Nineva moved towards the boy, empathy in her tone. Not really being any kind of healer, Tomen supposed that he wouldn't be any help unless Nineva could find some job for him. Not that he really knew how to identify plants all that well. It was only when he was looking around the now-quiet area did he wonder - how'd the wolf got himself stuck in the first place? It wasn't like there were any high slopes which the log had rolled down, and judging by the mature indent in the ground and the lack of grass underneath it, the log's normal spot was pretty much where they'd found it. With the unusual addition of some random paw.

Sniffing at the base of the log, Tomen dug out a little of the dirt in little more than idly curiosity, and then saw it; a dead mouse. Seeing a small gap that it could have fallen through, he put the pieces together and, with just a little more digging, was able to reach in the space and hook the tiny body out with his paw.

Well. That hadn't been so hard. Reaching down to grab its tail in his smallteeth, he turned to the other two and said through carefully clenched jaws, "this yours?"

There was still no visible catch. His ears were firmly flattened against his skull as the grey girl approached him, all soft words and sweetness, unable to meet her eyes. She reminded him of his mother and sister both, if only because he didn't yet know where her true nature lay. Tauza had been masterful at the poisoned kindness, but his mother was genuine, and he knew the difference in them intimately. But this girl was a stranger, he didn't know her cues, didn't know the subtle hints which would betray her real intentions.

But it wasn't like he could run away from the both of them, and at least the other boy was pretty much ignoring him. Duck flinched slightly at the snippy comment, but it was still very mild compared to what could have been said. Hesitantly he pushed his hurting paw out to let the girl see it, no longer quite expecting the worst. Superficially, while he was in pain, there was nothing obviously broken. There were faintly bloody scrapes on the upperside of his paw where he had tried and failed to tug it free, but other than that, no wounds. Already the throbbing in his shoulder was fading, though he was a little distracted by this fresh predicament.

This yours? came the question, and Duck glanced up to see the mouse dangling from the dark boy's teeth. He couldn't help the low, possessive whine in his throat, the injustice of it stinging as his efforts to retrieve his (hard-won!) catch were made so trivial by someone half his age.

You know, it was almost worse that they weren't being cruel; now he was just deathly embarrassed. At least he knew how to process being victimised, but only his mother had ever played emotional and physical nurse. How to just tell them thanks, now please go away?

It was starting to make her feel bad, the way that this other kid was acting. She had thought his pitiful state to be a result of his predicament, but now it wasn't only persisting, but seemed to grow worse as she drew near. He looked fearful of her, and that was something the young girl had never before experienced and certainly did not feel good to see. But still, he was hurt, and they could help, so she still couldn't justify just leaving him, even if it was starting to seem that maybe he would prefer that.

A single ear flicked backward to catch Tomen's comment, and her mismatched gaze caught the reaction his utterance caused in the other boy. A small frown momentarily pressed downward upon her mouth, but she made sure to wipe the expression away before either of them could infer that her disappoint lie with them. Her focus narrowed onto the paw outstretched toward her, the damage evident. Perhaps it was sprained, but it didn't seem to be swelling and so she doubted that was the case. Of course, the girl lacked actual experience from which to judge, and could only hope that her diagnosis based on the teachings of @Veho and @Titan was correct.

Had it been Tomen or another packmate that had sustained such an injury, Nineva would not have hesitated to reach her snout forward and lick the abrasions clean. It was highly doubted that such would be acceptable to do to this wolf who, co-savior or not, she was certainly no cater-cousin to. Her jaw slackened as she meant to speak, but then Tomen's voice entered the air once more and this time, the stranger's pitiful whine encouraged her to look over her shoulder and see exactly what her friend was referring to.

A single glance between the carcass hanging from his teeth and the log that had ensnared the other boy allowed her to piece the story together; what an unfortunate happenstance. A nod of her muzzle toward Duckweed silently requested that Tomen hand over the mouse before she turned back to her patient.

Looks like nothin' that can't be fixed up easily, she informed with an encouraging smile. How 'bout you clean it, and me an' Tomen will find you some fir bark for the pain?

The tiny body dangled from his mouth, hardly even what could be called a morsel, surely not warranting the sound which came out of the lanky stranger at the sight of it. Tomen frowned, going cross-eyed as he tried to look at the mouse, like what, this? Really? But clearly Nineva saw something he did not, or perhaps her empathy just stretched chasms Tomen wasn't able to reach across. Silently, he stepped forward and dropped the mouse at the pale wolf's feet where the man lay crumbled and quivering. Maybe he was a little unceremonious about it. The guy was free now, did they really have to stick around? The job was done, right? She didn't have to keep giving him this much attention.

Rolling his eyes behind the girl's back, Tomen began to turn away until the sound of his name twisted his head back to the scene. What, seriously?! This guy was clearly giving off leave-me-alone vibes, Tomen could have heard them from a mile off, so why was she so determined to help when he was free now and could get his stupid pack to help his stupid paw? Why was this so agitating? "Ninevaaa," he begged, but ultimately unable to protest because she would look at him with those eyes and in the end he would do whatever she asked anyway so why bother. He didn't even know where to find stupid fir bark.

Unable to will them away through the power of his mind, Duck had no choice but to accept it. The mouse was dropped in front of him in such a way that made his gaze drop again, deathly embarrassed, but just a growing prickle of underlying resentment. Was it so bad that he wanted his damn mouse back?! If he'd known that catching it would cause all this, though, he'd trade it for the chance to avoid this situation in a heartbeat...

The girl didn't come too close, at least, but he felt her hovering presence like a smothering blanket. He couldn't handle how chirpy she was. He had trained himself to distrust the sickly-sweet, and that ingrained instinct was bitterly at war with what he knew of the world now, of what he understood the average, non-Calor wolf to be like. She was just trying to help. But every niceness made him want to flinch away.

The dark boy protested, and had Duck not been so self-absorbed he may have realised that he wasn't the only one who didn't want to be here. He had to escape this, somehow. "It's o-o-okay-kay-kay," he muttered, pulling his aching paw back and tucking it underneath him, wanting it to stop being any kind of focus. "M-my pack h-h-h-hah, has a hee-hee-healer. Ih-it's fuh-fine."

Nineva hadn't really considered that Tomen might not want to help the stranger. It only (finally) occurred to her when he responded to her offer, dragging out her name like she'd signed him up for something horribly tedious or pointless. Once more her muzzle turned to peer at him over her shoulder, a single brow quirked upward in a what gives? fashion. Okay, maybe she shouldn't be speaking for him, but really what was the problem with helping out a wolf in need? She'd never before known Tomen to be stingy with his time or efforts. Maybe that was all just circumstance, but she had to wonder if there wasn't something else in the mix that she couldn't see.

Again to her surprise (though less so), Duckweed didn't like the idea either. Her head swiveled back around to face the smaller wolf, knitting her brows at him but finally willing to stop torturing the confusing boy with her good intentions. It was going to hurt to walk back on, but that was his choice, wasn't it? It wasn't anything that would harm him further, and so with a sigh she bobbed her head as if to say go on then.

"Maybe we'll see you around sometime," was all she could think to say, throwing him a smile that was only slightly sad as she turned to join Tomen's side. At least she wouldn't have to wait any longer to question her friend about his attitude.