Mountain of Dire A Lesson to Learn

<blockquote>The agony rolled over him in waves, smothering his senses. It was particularly bad today. Perhaps he was finally going to die? A week ago, the thought would have terrified him, but this, this wasn't life. This was clinging to existence. His body would have to give up eventually... the sooner it did, the sooner he could stop hurting.

He was oblivious to the sudden company, his eyes as empty as before, but by chance the pain happened to soften for just a moment. In that moment, he suddenly registered voices, nearby but out of reach... he could not see anything, why could he not see? His leg twitched again, eliciting another light, pained groan, and he struggled with awareness as the torture hit in again, washing out his senses, but he had heard something - hadn't he? Was he to finally lose his sanity as well, what little of it he clung to?

In small, jerky movements, his head turned, seeking somebody, anybody, but his gaze was as unseeing as ever, and the muscles in his face twitched minutely, rapidly, as inside he burned. A low, long, pitiful whine spilled from his damaged throat, an unconscious embodiment of his torment. He could not bear it much longer. It <i>had</i> to end soon.</blockquote>

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<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

( Ooooh, a trip near the River wolves, you say? Juicy drama~ )

It took a surprising amount of strength to tear her eyes off the mauled figure - for something so grotesque you'd think she would rather look anywhere else, but it was a fascinating train wreck to see up close. But greater than the disturbing interest in his appearance was the knowledge that this was no longer a lesson, but reality, and Naira was no longer a teacher but a commanding officer. Barely did the words come from the lady's jaws before Ava turned on her heel and raced back to the boulder where they had laid their findings. For what she lacked in warrior prowess she made up in being generously fleet-footed, a dark torpedo gaining in three strides before she was off at her full sprint. As delicately as she could she sprung atop the perch, scooping two of the slightly warmed piles of sap into her jaws and then springing back from where she came. Returned to the scene she dropped her head to the ground and let the sap fall from her jaws, worriedly eyeing the male wolf. How could he be expected to chew?

Her heart nearly stopped when the boy's head turned - she truly hadn't been expecting him to manage that. Ava grit her teeth at the pale whine escaped the male. It was a sound much more heartbreaking than the groans and moans of bodily pain. That cry was a pain of his very existance. But this was a wolf - another one of <i>them</i>. They could not put it out of its misery and bring it home to the cache to feed the future with. This wolf was the future. Doubtlessly Naira knew and felt the same, as she had ordered for the sap immediately. The black she-wolf looked over to her leader. The urgency in her soft voice was apparent, but so was a surprising strength in her speech. "<b>His only chance of living is if we leave you here to take care of the immediate needs. Describe it. Whatever it is you need. I'll go and find it.</b>" In that moment she blessed that she never grew quite so big as her brothers and never had the mass to throw around and wrestle with as they had. Wherever it was she needed to get, she'd get there fast if it was the second-to-last thing she ever did. And then, she would get back here with all the healing supplies they needed, if <i>that</i> was the last thing she ever did.

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Sorry for the pp Siki! Just want to get him down the mountain already! :p

<blockquote>It would not be possible for the young man to chew, so she would have to do it for him. Breaking down the first ball, she softened a small portion in her own mouth before pushing it into the young males and holding his jaw closed by pushing her nose upward. When he swallowed she released and repeated the procedure until both balls were gone. She had appreciated Ava’s words but soon enough the sap would take effect and they would need to move quickly.

His groans lessened a little as the sap took its effects. As soon as his rapid panting lessened, the tawny lady grimaced. There was no other way. She would have to haul him up by the scruff. Although he seemed completely out of it, her general experience had been that once moving, an injured wolf would continue to move until those that were supporting it stopped. Thankfully they were close to the base of the mountain, and the footing wasn’t too precarious. <b>”We’ll have to be one on each side. Once I get him up, we will have to pin him between us for the walk down. I don’t imagine he understands what we’re saying right now but this is going to be very painful. We’ll just have to take it if he lashes out. Straight to the lake ok?”</b>

The wounds about his neck and shoulders were particularly nasty and she would need to put her mouth near them to haul him upwards, as she got closer her stomach churned and the pups began to kick in protest, as if they somehow knew what she was about to put in her mouth. Ignoring all protests, jaws clamped gently about the boys scruff and hauled upwards, she flinched as she heard the minute crackle of wounds reopening and the scent of disturbed pus pounded at her nostrils. She fought the gag that she knew was coming and swung her body about to wedge the boy between them. It should all be easier from here...</blockquote>

No problem :) I'll have him pass out when we get there so you don't have to worry about my need to post any more! Would you want another thread in/near PP so that Rhysis/another could meet them, perhaps?

<blockquote>The strange substance in his mouth, the pressure on his jaw, it was all noted but in a distant, dulled way. His body cried out for sustenance, and so he swallowed the chewed-up pieces with relatively little protest. He was not really aware of what was happening, though as time passed, the burn began to slowly subside, providing him with some small relief that he had not enjoyed in days. His groans and whimpers eventually quietened.

With the marginally dulled pain came some kind of situational awareness. Were there... voices? He blinked, and the glaze over his eyes cleared just a fraction, just enough for him to register the fact that there was somebody there. How was that possible? <i>Ruiko...?</i>

Pure agony shot through his neck then, completely wiping his mind of any coherent thoughts. He squealed in pitiful protest, the progress made by the retreating pain obliterated in moments. And this was a more acute torture, so much harder to ignore than the deep, constant throbbing. He was aware of being pulled upright, and suddenly wondered if he was going to be killed. <i>Finally.</i> So keen for it to be over, he did not lash out, and merely cowered obediently, waiting for the end. Legs weak and wobbling - his right hind leg hung limp, not even bothering to take his weight - a stream of chesty whines and whimpers escaped the broken wolf, so close to collapsing once more.</blockquote>

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<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

Ava watched Naira's work, her gaze so vibrant and focused on the emergency medicine she was working but in such a way that it almost felt surreal. She hadn't been this close to carnage in over a year... it killed her a little to think if she had only known anything of healing way back then, perhaps somethings could've turned out differently. Such thoughts had no place in her mind, what with the urgency of the situation, but Ava could not help herself: she was of such little use in the current matter, barring what small favors she could do for Naira, so the only outlet for her nervous energy was her free-wheeling thoughts. So much <i>blood</i>, so much <i>infection</i>, so much <i>filth</i> covering what was somebody's son, somebody's brother, somebody who had a life and deserved to live. Tense as ever on her dark toes she couldn't fathom what the feeling was that was welling in her chest but it was equal parts horrified and desperate.

Naira's next instruction shattered the delicate window her thoughts had put over the reality surrounding her; she swiveled her head to her leader with a fervent stare. Immediately she would flit over to the opposite side of the unfortunate male, giving just enough room that Naira would be able to drag him up with ease but remaining close enough that once he was level enough with them she could relieve the silver and gold female of his weight - or half of it, anyway, since they would need equal amounts of pressure on each side to keep him upright. "<b>Yes,</b>" she responded quickly, realizing she had been watching in a silent shock. Once he was lifted, she swiftly pressed against his side, ears pinning back as she expected to feel teeth against her skin for the first time in a while.

But it didn't come - rather, the wolf they had taken charge of merely whimpered. The limp leg caused an uneven weight, which she tried to remedy as they began the travel toward the lake. Ava could feel scabbing skin poking her in the side in some places, and fresh, hot blood in others, trying her hardest <i>not</i> to feel the infectious sores and pus that were also rubbing into her skin at the moment. Ava replaced her discomforted expression with one of ferocity and ambition. The fate that had befallen the poor guy was of absolute horror - even worse than death. But a new fate had met him now, one where he had ended up in Poison Path care. That had to ignite the light at the end of the tunnel - Ava would be damned if it didn't.

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<blockquote> The unknown wolf’s pained whines did not fall on deaf ears, and so the females picked their way as cautiously as they could down to the lake. Finally the water was in sight and she pushed herself to take the final few steps, the cool clear water lapping about her toes and working its way up her legs. They would need to take him as deep as possible without dropping him. Having height on her side, she positioned herself on the deeper side beckoning her student to follow suit.

With any luck, the coolness of the water would ease a little of his pain, and should help to wash much of the muck and guck from his coat and wounds. Right now, half submerged and pinned between the ladies he looked like some sort of swamp beast. She wouldn’t have something so dirty kept in <i>her</i> clean home.

The water about them ran murky, and she would occasionally shift away and then gently press against him again to keep the water moving about his wounds. Her muzzle brushed gently against his neck trying to clean the infection from his wounds. Once she was convinced his wounds were clean she motioned for Ava to move back towards the bank. He wouldn’t have the strength to shake so they would leave him on the soft grass of the banks to dry in the sun while they worked. Once they reached their destination she allowed her knees to buckle so he would be lowered more gently than the unceremonious haul she had used to get him to his feet. Something about the stranger seemed familiar, but there was no time to dwell on it now.

Her golden eyes sought out those of her students. The basics for now would have to do. <b>”I need blackberry roots and leaves, solomon’s seal, there is also some hellebore, but I will need to send you to get some more once he is stable. It will mean a trip to Swift River.”</b> The last was barely a mutter, she would take the trip herself if she didn’t realise the wolf before her would need constant surveillance. <b>”Also, grab something small from the cache. I’m worried if we can’t make him eat all our efforts will be in vain...”</b> The worry was clear in her eyes, they were by no means out of the woods yet.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The wounds reopened, the close contact with other bodies rubbing his flesh raw, and all the while he was led down the mountain - his barely-functioning legs working without thought to stagger him forwards - he could do little to overcome the hot agony. The whimpers and whines soon died down, for he had no energy to waste on such pursuits; he was moving, though he did not know why (was this dying?) and he wanted nothing more in the world than to be allowed to fall over and never move again.

Suddenly, a strange coolness caught his feet. Faintly, he registered something, something almost pleasant, and the fire inside him raged angrily. But the coolness spread, up his legs, to his chest, and it beat the fire back.

He had to be dying. Only that would bring this much relief.

His body still crawled with flashes of pain as he was poked and handled, his wounds directly tended to, but all he could think about was the <i>cold</i> as it crept past his bedraggled fur and stole the heat from his burning flesh. He could remember seeking this comfort from the rains, back when he had still fought and won over the agony for possession of his consciousness, but never had it been this absolute. He wanted to fall now, fall beneath the blanket of cold, and let it soothe him.

<font style='margin-left:20px;'><i>"What is snowfall like?"

</font><font style='margin-left:20px;'>"Magical. It’s white, and it cloaks the land like a blanket."</i></font>

Gently he was taken from the cold, but it did not matter, for the burn had been quenched. Compliant, and in a near-tranquil daze, he let himself fall to the ground, eyes slipping closed as the coolness clung to his fur, fighting the terrible heat.

His breathing had slowed, and with his eyes closed, he almost appeared asleep. The pain was too great to permit it, though it had greatly reduced, if only temporarily.

Something, somewhere, had taken mercy on him this day.</blockquote>

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<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

It was with absolute care that Ava followed Naira's lead as they began their way down the mountain. Her amber eyes became extremely watchful, flickering between her pawsteps to make sure the path was clear, Naira's face to see if she had any further instructions, and the poor boy to see if their plan of action could rouse any sort of reaction from him. His cries had become silence and had it not been for their definite closeness where she could feel the last bit of life still radiating from his hot wounds, Ava would have thought he had upped and quit at last. But he hadn't, and somehow it sparked the notion that perhaps he might not. And this notion was only furthered when they reached the Lake and, Naira first, took him within its depths. Well, if he had made it down he had better chances, right? Ava used her own cold fur almost like a towel to try and scrub the worst of it away, though she was careful to put only as much pressure as was neccessary to prevent further bleeding. The water around the two Poison Path ladies grew indeed similarly unfortunate to lay eyes upon, but soon enough he was at least in the clear for further infections. At Naira's instruction she backed up, cautiously as ever, to lead the wolf back up the banks and settle him gently on the ground.

Once finished, the dripping wolf looked back upon Naira with a curt nod of her head. <i>Blackberry roots and leaves, solomon's seal, hellebore, and Swift River.</i> And despite the way her leader's tones had died down upon that last instruction, Ava was sure she had caught it right; why else would she say it so quietly? She turned on her heel immediately, catching the last part to grab something from the cache at only one or two steps away, before setting into her pace something fiery and urgent. Solomon's seal was the first she grabbed upon finding the stores, sniffing the scent of blackberries to find the roots (the leaves she was at leat familiar with) and taking enough of that as well. True to what she was told, there was not much of the white-purple hellebore, and what Ava grabbed left almost nothing behind. With her leader way out of sight she allowed a nervous grimace to take her expression. The black-furred girl's experience with Swift River, barring the night they had fled, had been actually excellent - there was a kindness in their pale guardian whose name she did not know, and Triell had saved her from dying though he hadn't known who she was. But their leader's howl that night had been vicious, and there were certainly more wolves in the pack - unknown, loyal wolves who would catch the scent of Rhysis and Naira in her fur and come with a bloodlust like it was the hunt. Ava closed her eyes briefly, shaking away the thoughts. <i>Oh well.</i> She could do it. She just needed confidence, was all.

Among their cache was a stoat, freshly fallen but a day ago that she herself had placed there. Ever carefully she picked it up, sure that no plants would fall from her jaws in doing so, and swiftly took the path back. From afar their discovery on the mountain looked like a heap of mud, laying there in the grass almost motionless. She laid the meat and plants down before the two wolves, noting that at least what had to be ingested would perhaps taste a little like the stoat and maybe make it easier for the male to ingest, or at least make him want for it more than he could want for plants. Now that he was safe and in their care Ava took notice of her heavy breaths - well, it certainly had been a lot of work. Her worried eyes turned on the expecting mother, and though she knew Naira was more than capable of handling herself Ava still had to ask. "<b>Is there anything more I can do, at all? For him or for you.</b>"

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<blockquote> A grimace crossed her face at the potential risk she was about to take until Ava spoke up. Of course. She had a student now. No better way to learn than hands on right? <b>”I need you to chew up the roots and smear them into his wounds. They have the potential to cause miscarriage if induced by... well...”</b> she didn’t need to complete the sentence, they all knew she was knocked up.

<b>”I will go along after you and put the leaves over the wounds. It will help to stop them from bleeding so much and will prevent further infection... I’ll also need you to stop by fireweed rise and collect some shoots. When placed in open wounds they draw out infection and prevent the area from closing until all the pus is drained.”</b> It was a lot to take in but she found it far easier to talk her way through it. It kept her calm. Her voice had taken on a soothing, reassuring tone and she was speaking slowly and clearly. Regardless of how out of it the young wolf was and the fact he didn’t know either of them, he might find the sound of friendly voices comforting.

She took a small piece of hellebore and slightly larger piece of solomons seal, crushing them together into a bitter paste before pushing them into the strange wolfs mouth. Tearing a small strip from the stoat she added it to the mix in the hopes of encouraging him to swallow. <b>”The hellebore will slow his pulse and reduce his fever. It will also take away some of the pain but we must be careful. Too much could be fatal... The solomon seal will help with his broken bones. It will also speed up the healing of bruises and cuts... the berries are poisonous, but most of these herbs in large doses are. Hellebore in large amounts can stop a wolfs heart beating at all.”</b>

She would always make sure to reinforce the danger of what they practiced. <b>”One shouldn’t wander about willy nilly offering treatment to someone for a sniffle or a headache that could be cured by and overdue drink. Nor should any be allowed to rely on pain relief each time they got a boo boo, lest the lesson of the pain endured lose its value.”</b> These were the situations in which their skills were needed most, and the situations in which they were most valuable.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2012, 12:42 PM by Naira.)

Her eyes widened slightly as her sentence trailed off, and almost comically she snatched the roots into her jaws. <i>Hell no</i> there was no way Ava would be in the slightest bit responsible for any potential harm that could come toward Naira. The roots cracked within her jaws for a few moments but soon the shards of root began to mix with her saliva to form a paste as she'd been instructed. It was one small victory to take away from this mess - her first actual application of a healing technique that wasn't washing the wounds out. She was careful to keep the entirity of the paste within her jaws - he would need all of it, as it would appear. Once the texture had been evened out and there were no more rough bits of root she spread it, as instructed, over his wounds. While Naira fed him the mixture of herbs and meat she worked as well; inititally she used minimal amounts for all of his many afflictions but she would add on more wherever the damage was worse.

Ava's ears took in her leader's gentle words; for they were above and beyond wise and teeming with important lessons in every word that she would have to remember. Yet she couldn't help the nagging that had returned to her once commanded to stop by the Fireweed Rise... nearby that were the Willows, and Naira had remarked of their healing qualities as well. She'd likely need it once she gathered the hellebore they required. Ice was her friend in Swift River... Triell had saved her life once, perhaps he would do so again. But she couldn't help the feeling that, despite what feeble connections she had to Swift River, there would be no such <i>kindly</i> greeting coming her way once she approached the borders. It would have to be a quick trip, as quick as she could possibly make it, but it wasnt the fleetness of her own feet that she was in doubt of. Once they got their teeth in her... no. No, <i>if</i> they got their teeth in her it would make her journey take far longer. Swift River wasn't even far from their homeland, but traversing the mountain was difficult with wounds.

While she eased the blackberry leaves over the pasted wounds she let her gaze rest upon Naira. "<b>I should go soon. I can catch something small, drink my fill and be on in an hour. The trip won't take long but by that time night will be falling easy and I may be able to get in and get out unscathed.</b>" Though, from the seriousness within her ambers eyes, Ava figured that she knew as well they'd catch her's and Rhysis' scent and be there in a moment's time. "<b>I'm blessed to be fast. River first, then the Rise, and I'll be back in the Mountains in no time.</b>"

Naira need only say the word, and the dark wolf would turn into a shadow and disappear.

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