Kingsfall things we lost

Kjors eyed the bark again suspiciously, as if that particularly plant had it out for him. It tasted terrible, though he supposed it was a relief he didn't actually have to choke it down. A nibble here and there, he supposed, ears still flat as he engaged the white fir in a staring contest. (He was the master of any plant, he'd not be cowed, not even by the horrid taste!) Only one ear swiveled sideways at the request, and the older wolf was halfway to shifting his leg where the medic had easier access when the sky cracked open above. The one-eyed male visibly jumped, ears pricked as he chanced a brief glance at the sky.

"Ah hate thunder," he mumbled under his breath, ears sweeping backwards as if it might shield him from the next volley. Seeking out Karina, she was met with an anxious gaze as he waited for her to do whatever she'd planned next. As far as he was concerned, he'd lived with the sprain this long already. Heading inside and waiting out the storm under shelter hardly seemed like it would effect much – but she insisted, hadn't she? Already horrified when how much he'd done to his own limb, he decided not to pester the healer to hurry herself up.

That didn't prevent a second grumble from slipping free as lightning flashed a little too close for comfort. "Ye-ah," Kjors mumbled, glancing at his leg for just a moment. It did…feel a little less painful, he decided, but he'd probably sing any song the princess wished for if it meant they could get out of the weather. Watching her trot over with the paste created, he lifted himself, not bothering to shake himself out in the rain as he limped out of the water where she might apply it without the rill immediately carrying her hard work downstream.

The healer within the young princess was satisfied as Kjors made his best attempts to conquer the revolting taste of evergreen resin. She’d had the thought before when feeding white fir to Orren, but she wondered again if there was anything that might be mixed with the resin in order to mask the taste. Blackberries helped with some foul-tasting herbs, but Karina imagined that the bark was too strong for any berry to subdue. Maybe she could smear resin on pieces of animal hide and dry it out in the sun? It might be more palatable than gnawing on a hunk of bark, for wolves who liked animal flesh (as in, for any wolf apart from Karina herself). The young priestess silently thanked the Mother that Kjors had applied his stubbornness to eating the medicine instead of not eating it, knowing that it really could have gone either way.  As the girl finished up the balm, she was acutely aware of her patient’s rising distress level. Her ear flicked up to catch his exclamation about the thunder, and even Karina had to admit that the last clap was alarmingly close. The arnica leaves weren’t quite as processed as she would have liked, but Karina could sense that Kjors was nearing the edge of losing patience with this whole procedure. A mouthful of dirt was added to the pulp to give it a thicker consistency, and after smearing the concoction onto the bridge of her nose for transport Karina went back to her patient. The healer smiled, happy to hear that either the cold water or the white fir resin (or both) had worked to numb her patient’s pain. Her perceptive gaze met Kjor’s single golden eye, and the child knew at once that he’d had it with this weather. “Come on!” the girl conceded, dashing back for the den without waiting for Kjors’s reply. It irked her that she wasn’t able to apply the paste right away, but she knew pandering to Kjors’s wishes would make it more likely that he would play patient for her again in the future. Karina waited until they were in the den and shook off before smearing the ointment from her nose onto Kjors’s affected limb. “Don’t lick at this,” Karina warned as she applied the arnica liberally to his joint,  “..It’s deadly to ingest. Did you bring your bark? ” After a moment Karina spoke again, her tone distinctly less authoritative. “Uhmm.. Kjo?” She paused her efforts and met her tutor’s eye, wondering how exactly to phrase her next question.

   

    
 

If he could read her thoughts, the wolf might argue that it wasn't so much his patience that he was losing, but his serenity as the sky threatened violence above them. It was a childish fear, he was well aware – in fact, even yearlings had mocked him over his general dislike for the crashing sounds and sudden bolts of light. No manner of this sort of event was pleasant, and while he could not stomach the idea of actually voicing just how uneasy the volatile weather made him. Fortunately, his healer was perceptive enough to take heed of the apprehension rolling off the swarthy male in veritable waves of bleak unhappiness.

He said nothing, but something on his face softened as Karina beckoned him back towards the den. Thank th' Mother, his mind whispered softly, the wolf gathering himself to shuffle back towards the safety of his nest. While the earth offered little protection from the storm itself, it kept the pair out of the wind. Foolish as it might be, a thick blanket of sod between him and the sights and sounds comforted the one-eyed male, and once he'd squeezed inside the earthen hole with his princess, he exhaled a sigh of relief. Safety.

Pleased enough with the change of scenery, he made no effort to move away when the female began to dress his old wound. In fact, he barely even turned to eye the much she was slathering against it, her instructions met with a faint nod. "Won' lick it," he agreed solemnly. Mother, he had no desire to even touch the paste. Toxic or not, the real effort would be resisting the urge to wash it off once it caked and dried.

His patch of bark had been abandoned at the stream's bank in his hurry to return to home base, and while the male glanced out guiltily at it, he made no mention. If Karina made him go retrieve, Mother help them both, he thought begrudgingly. The safer option was only certainly to allow the medic to change the direction of the conversation. "Wha' is it, love?" he prompted, finally turning his golden eye to the younger wolf as she mumbled. "Speak up."

Kjors followed her without a word, and Karina scampered quickly for the cover of the den so that her paste would not turn mushy in the rain. Even so, and the pair were reentering their dry haven Karina could feel liquid drops running down the size of her muzzle. The prudent healer kept her lips tightly sealed, knowing that even when diluted arnica could act as a powerful toxin. After she had transferred as much of her creation as she could smear onto Kjors limb, Karina pulled back to inspect her work. Her lumpy spread certainly wasn’t the prettiest a cure ever looked, and the budding healer wondered if she ought to wrap it in leaves, just as a finishing touch. The girl shook her head slightly to dislodge the errant thought, recognizing that she was falling into a trap that was common for new medics. She had been warned that at first it would be hard to feel satisfied with her job, even if it was well done, and she would feel the impulse to continue to apply desultory treatments.  Kjors refrained from answering her question about the bark, and the perceptive girl saw him glance back out toward the rill. She allowed her patient a forgiving half-smile, shaking her head wordlessly to dismiss any worry he might have that she was cross with him. White fir trees were plentiful here, and she had more than enough of the pain-relieving bark stored away right here in their den.  He would not escape quite that easily! One brow quirked toward her chamber, the girl amused to remind Kjors of her plentiful stores right at their pawtips. After a moment Karina smiled and leaned against her friend, marveling at how they could have an entire exchange without even speaking a word. Hadn’t Kjors missed this when he was gone? Her companion prompted her to speak, and Karina realized that she had addressed Kjors and indicated she had something to say before her thought had really even formed. This was unusual for the timid girl, though indicative of her comfort level with her closest confidante. He prompted her again, this time more firmly—it seemed now that the healing was finished, Kjors had returned to giving the orders. “I want to go with you next time,” she requested, I’m not a little kid anymore! The last part she kept to herself, knowing that saying it aloud would likely have the opposite affect she was hoping for. “I.. don’t want to be here without you.” Cloudy gaze shifted to the floor uncertainly. If Kjors ever did disappear, she would not accept the excuse that he was sick of pack life with Hearthwood River. If he left her, it had to be because he wanted to leave her.

 

   

    
 

Thankfully, he was not sent back out into the weather for the wretched piece of bark. It was less the medicine he was concerned about, and more the storm that had finally broke. Rain pounded the earth, turning dirt to mud and growing the babbling brook into something that resembled a proper river. Thunder crashed overhead, volley after volley like constant canon fire among the heavens. The light and deafening noise was disorienting at best, and if Karina should have asked him to retrieve the bark, he'd had pled rest for his leg.

It did not come to that, fortunately, and his ears rolled back in a tender display and tipped up his chin as he hummed. He would be allowed peace, for now, but it was without doubt he realized that his companion fully intended to have him chew on the bark at a later date. The piece abandoned (undoubtedly swept up in the water, by now) would not spare him – but he would enjoy this moment for what it was.

Once the princess spoke back up, chocolate-tipped ears rolled back forward, interest clearly piqued. Whatever he'd been expected from the budding medic, the request wasn't it. A pleased rumble burbled up from his chest and he crooned softly, offering the female a soft nod. "Tha' would be acceptable," Kjors hummed, tail swishing behind him. "Yer practiced enough tha' Ah think y'can take care of yerself, mhm? Seems this'll be alright," he decided, nodding a second time before he reached out to nose Karina. "Y'know, if y'ever wanna explore, that'll be fine. Git out for a day 'er two. See th' world."

Surprise and pleasure lit up the dragon’s golden eye, and Karina knew he would have the answer she desired. A low growl rumbled from Kjors, and Karina knew it to be an expression of deep satisfaction for her mentor. The girl licked his nose in waggish gratitude, pulling back just in case the male intended on returning the gesture; she still had remnants of the arnica paste smeared across the bridge of her muzzle, and it wouldn’t do for Kjors to ingest even the smallest amount. Pride swelled within the yearling when Kjors added his opinion that she could take care of herself, with which Karina wholeheartedly agreed. Berries and bugs were plentiful in this season and had made up the majority of her diet along with fish and carrion in these bountiful summer months. She knew not the first thing about hunting for a meal but had yet to feel the need to do so with the availability of less violently-obtained food sources.  “Okay!” Karina agreed at once, having been brooding for some time on the supply shortage of certain herbs in her store, mainly those that thrived in rocky, dry, or steppe environments. Arnica, goldenrod, and sweet grass all required vast meadows to grow, and Kingsfall was quite remote from this sort of terrain.  And then there was scrub pine, Solomon’s seal, and wormwood, the likes of which Karina had only seen growing out of the thin, scrubby soil in the mountains. It made sense that these plants thrived in such an oppressive environment, as they were instrumental in relieving some of the toughest ailments. “I do need more plants..” she trailed off, laying her head between her paws thoughtfully. The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence, watching through the den opening as the rain pounded the soil and the rill swirled faster and more powerfully. The occasional clap of thunder echoed threateningly overhead, but the girl felt safe and secure curled up with her dearest friend. Every now and then a flash of lightening lit up the den for the briefest moment, but with the return of Karina’s dearest friend the chambers no longer appeared hollow and oppressive.  Zephyr Rill was home once more. Fade