Swift River but you got company

@Leo @Eros @Aquene and @Achille for visibility!
Set 6/8 ^^ if anything needs changed please let me know

The closer they got to the little hiding spot, the more stressed Nori felt. Had they taken too long? Was she bringing them to a corpse? So many what-ifs ran through her mind as they approached the densite. This would be the second wolf she had been unable to bring up the mountain and back to his family and friends. The second wolf to bury. The second total and absolute failure on her part.

Her mind was spiraling by the time it came into view, and she basically bolted the rest of the way.

What she was met with, fortunately, was not at all a corpse. Her breath escaped her in a relieved whoosh.

"Hey, Leo," she greeted, tail waving and shoulders untensing. "Sorry you had to wait so long." It must've felt like forever, being stuck and injured like he was. She was glad to be able to bring him some help, at the very least.

She was quick to move out of the way, then, to give the healers room to work.

(This post was last modified: Jul 04, 2024, 01:40 AM by Nori.)

Aquene felt her panic grow, tightening in her chest the closer they got to Leo’s location. Hearing that yet another wolf had fallen victim to the man who had attacked her daughter? That it was Leo? It felt targeted, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe that anyone would hate them so much to make them suffer more than the mountain had already pulled from them.

She carried everything she could, tucked into strips of moss that she could carry in her mouth. She asked Eros to carry some as well, preparing herself for a wide variety of possibilities of what she might need… hopefully it would be enough, if not hopefully the area would present her something good enough to use in the interim.

She set it all down, the scent of blood dried hitting her maw and she frowned. “Eros. We’re going to need water to help clean the wound.” She offered to him. They were all there for the same reasons, so despite her own feelings on the man she trusted they’d be able to work together to ensure Leo survives.

Aquene Slayer

IF THE WORLD WERE ENDING

Speed was still Eros' dearest friend. He wasn't feeling the strain he was putting his body through, the impact of forgoing rest and constant tension, wouldn't have even stopped for water if it weren't for his more level-headed companions. When Nori broke into a sprint, so did he, unconscious of the way his muscles ached for relief. Altogether, they were about the most rag-tag rescue party ever collected. But they were finally here, and while he could smell the misery of Leo's injuries, the stench of death was blessedly absent. That didn't mean all was well, though. When his eyes at last fell upon that oh so familiar face, there was nothing but an immense concern to be found throughout his own features. It was a considerably softer expression than anything he'd shown in so long, in a way that made him look younger, smaller. He almost forgot to take Aquene's lead. He put his own bundle down, cursed internally again that they hadn't had a turtle shell to bring. At least a water source was blessedly close, though wouldn't it be much more efficient to simply use her tongue and have him preparing other things rather than making trips? He was still too panicked to dissent, just forced himself to take his eyes off Leo to drop his own bundle and pull away the moss from what they'd brought. It hurt, turning his back and walking away, but he moved with great haste. If things turned while he wasn't there... Nori was right there on his way out. Right, there was both her and Achille to help with tasks like this. He put the moss down at her paws, and explained quickly. "Can you take these to water and bring them back soaked? We'll probably need it done multiple times. Thank you." He didn't really expect her to say no, especially with the second Backwater member having been told to guard the area, and so Eros would swiftly twist round and return to the reason they were all here. He would start to work on whatever was helpful and kept him nearby, not wanting to be pulled away until Leo was completely out of the metaphorical woods.

YOU'D COME OVER, RIGHT?

(This post was last modified: Jul 08, 2024, 01:18 AM by Dacian.)

It felt like an eternity, stuck alone in the old den, too scared to even poke his head outside. Nori had given him a glimmer of hope, but it was hard to hold onto once he was on his own. Hunger, pain and anxiety left him ragged, unable to sleep much and generally miserable by the time he heard approaching footfalls. Hackles rising instantly at the noise, he instinctively retreated from the den entrance, yelping at the jolt of pain running through his right shoulder and leg. Blinking tears from his eyes, Leo veered his head from side to side, choking in panic for a moment until he recognized the voice greeting him. “N-Nori,” he coughed in a strangely high pitch, blinking his eyes a few more times before he could finally see the other wolf clearly. After a few more coughs, he was able to breath a sigh of relief, even managing a sheepish smile; “It’s okay.” That was all he had time to say before she was backing out again, another familiar voice sounding outside. “Aquene?” Leo called, a subtle tremble sneaking into his voice, despite his best efforts, as his throat grew suddenly tight; “I’m…” He wanted to reassure her, but caught himself right before saying ‘okay’, knowing what a lie that was. “I’m glad you’re here!” He corrected himself after a deep swallow, fighting to keep control of his emotion or he would completely disintegrate. For the moment, he didn’t have the presence to notice anyone else. Thoughts ”Speech”

Coccineus, annamae22, stock-ashleyrwatts & Dawnthieves.de

She hadn't meant to spook him, and under better circumstances, she might've teased him about it. But not when he was traumatized and injured and in need of help. She offered him a smile instead before getting out of the healers' way, so they could get to work.

Nori was about to lay down to rest, her legs suddenly wobbly with relief and exhaustion - she felt as though she hadn't been able to truly relax in days. Not since she'd taken that nap with Leo anyway, - when Eros popped back out of the den with a request.

Part of her felt like she couldn't. Like if she took another step, her legs would fall off. But more than that, she wanted to help, to somehow contribute, and that outweighed the exhaustion threatening to have her collapse.

Wordlessly, she took the moss and ran down to the water. It wasn't far off, she soothed herself. She could do this a few times, no problem.

Feel free to pp Nori bringing water back and forth as needed c:

Tried to balance between Aquene doing things and allowing Eros the opportunity to get his paws into healing :) Let me know if something doesn't vibe!

She trusted Eros to get the job done, one way or another, and found a sense of relief when he sent Nori to get the water, running it back and forth. More paws with Leo was best. “He’ll need a meal too. Once we get through most of the cleaning we should send Nori out to hunt something small for him.” A meal was going to be equally important with his recovery as well… food to help his body have the energy to recover.

For now, she’d offer Leo a poppy seed from her limited collection, for the pain he must be in. Once they began to clean the wounds, it would force him into nothing short of agony… but it would be better for him in the end. It was upon Nori’s return she would nod to Eros, taking moss and using it to begin cleaning at the wound, which already began to show signs of trying to close on their own.

“His elbow is fractured.” She observed as she worked delicately to clean it, trying to not press harder than was necessary. “We’ll need to stabilize it now otherwise it’ll heal wrong and he’ll have a limp.” Or worse, though she didn’t permit herself to say it aloud. She shifted outside of the den, grabbing a few sticks. “If we can find something to bind these together we could stabilize it enough that he might be able to manage limited movement.” Her instinct was to say vines, and yet she had not seen any of those since she had left her birth pack… and Eros knew this particular region better so she’d leave him to postulate an idea for it.

And then she’d turn back to cleaning the wounds. Some already began to stink of infection, which caused a deep frown, an internal panic that she tried her hardest to push down. She’d shift, grabbing the limited prairie crocus that she’d been able to bring with her. Having been in the birthing den for some time, her stores had taken a hit. She’ rake it, building a poultice she’d attach to the moss ball so he’d get the herb as they cleaned, helping to ward off infection and any muscle and joint pain he might be enduring. “Eros, crush this into your moss… it’ll help with the infection that is starting to set in.” She’d nudge the plant to him when she was done and continue on her work.

Aquene Slayer

IF THE WORLD WERE ENDING

He had been attentive to a reaction at his presence, for a sign that he was not wanted because of... everything since Seph. Leo didn't even look his way, though. Eros swallowed with difficulty and consciously avoided looking to the other man's face again. What mattered was that he hadn't been dismissed, and he could help ensure that Leo survived this. Those wounds were difficult to look at too, though. His voice had sounded so fragile, he had to be in so much pain, his energy so thoroughly depleted, and being alone, vulnerable... Eros blinked. Nothing had happened since she'd slipped him a seed. He looked at Aquene but she was... waiting? Ever a deeply-feeling individual, he could not conceal the fresh sheen of horror passing through his widened eyes. Was this seriously just another instance of him being 'dramatic,' or was he the only one with any urgency here? If it weren't for all the friction between, if it had been a packmate of his own or family, Eros would have began working at the wounds himself. He bit his tongue and began working on a poultice with that was to be used to cover the wounds once they were cleaned, and which would both heal and protect. Nori returned as he was finishing. As inoffensively as he could manage, Eros slid a chunk of moss into reach of Leo's jaws. It was better than nothing for thirst. The remainder he pressed lightly against particularly stubborn-looking clots of dried matter, eyes lingering briefly at the wound that followed the line between stomach and flank. It rung a bell, but the sound was so faint against everything else that it didn't presently register. Aquene began to speak of the injury in their patient's limb, and left briefly to return with broken branches. Bind them? He... had no idea how to manage that. If this weren't an emergency, he would have gotten openly frustrated by now. Was this something Clover didn't know, or a lesson he missed? He couldn't help with it regardless, and so continued with what he did know. At this point, he felt that Leo's most immediate threats were infection, shock and possibly dehydration. He nosed just a few more specially-chosen pieces of flora toward where he'd left the moss, meant to help calm and bring down any fever, before following Aquene's lead with her mixture.

YOU'D COME OVER, RIGHT?

(This post was last modified: Jul 25, 2024, 03:00 AM by Eros.)

He could think of few things that would be more soothing in this moment than Aquene’s emphatic voice and gentle yet confident treatment. She saw to his leg immediately, stopping only to pass him something for the pain before getting to work. Gratefully compliant, Leo bend down to swallow the seed, determined to get it down, despite his horribly dry mouth. Even as he struggled with the medicine, he could feel himself starting to calm down, anxious heart and breath both slowing. It was about that time that he finally realized the dark healer was talking to someone else, someone who wasn’t Nori. Tired eyes blinked at the den entrance, where several silhouettes shuffled around one another, exchanging items he couldn’t identify, and then, as Aquene pulled back briefly, a larger form came into focus, nudging something towards him. Exhausted and slightly feverish as he was, it took several more blinks before Leo finally recognized his agemate, so out of place in this too-tight space, with his head low and movements tentative – not at all the image he held of Eros in his mind. But it was him, here, helping Aquene; Helping… Me? It didn’t make sense, the last time they’d seen on another, Leo had been an incoherent mess, slinging all kinds of accusations; And then…. A brief image of the monster flashed behind his eyes, making his whole body stiffen and the poppy, still in his throat, went awry. Tipping down his muzzle to cough, the guardian was delighted to recognize Eros’ gift, lapping eagerly at the wet moss in between coughs, until his throat was no longer dry. “Thank you,” he whispered hoarsely, glancing back up to meet the other’s peachy eyes. Then Aquene was back, cleaning the crusts of blood and infection off his leg, causing a grimace of pain – poppy or not – as he felt the broken bones shift unnaturally under her touch, as gentle as it was. The world started to spin softly around him, and he was forced to close his eyes, lowering his head to the floor and gritting his teeth against the pain. He had no energy to focus on anything else, but despite the hurt, he felt calm, safe in the paws of the best healers he knew. Thoughts ”Speech”

Coccineus, annamae22, stock-ashleyrwatts & Dawnthieves.de