Oak Tree Bend The sickness is rising

Oak Tree Bend, your members seem to be getting ticks! Enter super confused Drift. All Welcome, special tag for @Sahalie
TW: DO NOT CLICK THE LINK IF YOU ARE SCARED OF SPIDERS

Perhaps they had returned with him from the wilderness and simply been to small for anyone to notice? Maybe the Mother was punishing him and this was some vile illness that would cause his body to erupt with bloated, black lumps like the ones that currently adorned his short furred legs. He could feel them elsewhere though, on his ears, in the thick fur around his shoulders and neck. Common sense might have told him to scratch them off but the truth was he was afraid. What if he unleashed the Mothers displeasure on his sister? If one popped little blistery looking thing exploded into a million more that swarmed the pack and wiped Oak Tree Bend off the map... and it was all his fault...

But Drift couldn't keep this to himself, he had to find his sister, to say his goodbyes just like he should have done the time before. How to keep her far enough away that she wouldn't risk illness he hadn't yet figured out but she had to know why she couldn't come looking for him this time. He didn't want to make her sick too.

Picking his way through the misty woods he couldn't help but wonder if maybe this could have been avoided if he was a little less fond of mud.

@Drift, big cousin Serach to the rescue, sort of!

Serach had lost count of how many days it had been since @Drestig and @Jessie had failed in their attempts to uproot the rest of the pack. He had stormed out of the meeting in a blind rage. He had been furious, upset, and betrayed, the scene of the meeting incessantly replaying over and over again in his head. It had been enough to drive him mad - enough to drive him away from the Bend for several days until he had attacked enough sticks and chased enough rabbits and squirrels to get the rage out. Even once he had returned, he had remained aloof from the rest of them as much as was feasibly possible. Nobody had sought him out to chastise him for his outburst during the meeting, but he could not help but feel the weight of their collective judgement upon his shoulders. It would have maybe been better if @Triell had spoken to him, but the newly reinstated pack leader had not done so and Serach had been left to sort through his emotions all on his own.

Having made the decision to remain as separated as he could, at least for the time being, Serach found himself wandering through the wood his path more aimless than determined. Pausing to urinate on a tree, the subordinate was startled midstream by the distinctive crunch and crackle of twigs being stepped on. His nose wrinkling, he finished the task at hand before moving towards the sound. "Drift?" He called, trying and failing to make his voice not sound hoarse from lack of recent use. Perhaps if it had been anyone else, Serach would not have called out, but it had been a long time since the two had spoken and the youth was curious as to what brought Triell's youngest son out into the wood today.

(This post was last modified: Apr 17, 2016, 01:27 AM by Serach.)

The boy startled as a hoarse voice called his name, the skittering of his feet echoing off the trees seemingly loud enough to start an avalanche. Suddenly the trees were closing in on him, vision going dark around the edges. Was this a punishment, or a test? He couldn't be sure. Rapid breathing matched the thundering of his heart as frozen limbs refused to move and time slowed down. Was he dying? Was this what it felt like?

Perhaps a moment had passed, perhaps a year. All concept of time was lost to the young wolf for such a short window it barely would have been noticed were it not for the frantic pitch of his voice when he realised he was yet to respond. "Se-@Serach?" he went to take a step forward then thought better of it. At least Sahalie was okay... for now. "Y-y... Don't come any closer! I-I think I'm sick." If the older wolf could pass on the message then she wouldn't come looking for him and everything would be ok.

From what he had gathered at the meeting the Bend had suffered enough hardship. The last thing they needed was him unleashing a pestilence on them.

He never should have followed @Sahalie home.

(This post was last modified: Apr 25, 2016, 06:17 AM by Drift.)

I suck. But hopefully time should be more forgiving now!

It took a moment too long for @Drift to respond, and that was all Serach needed for his curiosity to turn to suspicion. When it did come, Drift's response was high-pitched and frantic. The guard hairs along his back rising, the older cousin wasted no time in following the sound of Drift's voice. Bounding through the trees, he closed the remaining distance between them in a few short seconds, coming to a sudden stop when he saw that the younger wolf was clearly alone and in no immediate danger - at least, not that Serach could see.

Squinting at him, Serach tilted his head, peering at Drift curiously. "What do you mean your sick?" He wasn't close enough to see the lumps on Drift's legs, covered as they were by fur, and by all other appearances, Drift seemed to look okay. Granted, Serach was miserably untrained when it came to thinks like illness and remedies. He knew he could eat grass or foliage to help an upset stomach, but that was about it. Coming closer, his nose twitched as he tried to sniff Drift. He didn't really smell sick either. What was his little cousin playing at, exactly? There was something wrong - the tone of Drift's voice and his facial expression made that clear enough, but there was nothing that Serach could see.

 

Truthfully the boy was overreacting, possibly three or four ticks on each leg - but much like a senior student who has just been informed of an outbreak of lice, his skin crawled. He could feel them everywhere. Still uncertain just what they might be. If they weren't pus filled buboes come to sweep him away in a plague ridden death, but rather something that could be removed... well perhaps there was hope for him yet. He flinched as Serach moved in to sniff at him, still convinced he was going to bring death to them all.

He dropped his head to drag his tongue along surprisingly clean legs, the fur parting underneath the weight of his saliva to reveal... the thing. "They're everywhere!" he almost sobbed, thrusting his foreleg forward for the other pale wolf to see just what was wrong with him. Deep breaths came quickly as he seemingly gasped for air. It was all too much, he should have never let Sahalie talk him into coming back. He was going to be the ruin of them all. He simply wasn't good enough for the mothers love.

No, at the tender age of 10 months the boy was already convinced his life was meant to be one of suffering. As long as his sister was spared.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Serach is not a healer xD I have no idea if his suggestion would be effective or not.

Serach moved closer, any hesitation overridden by the desire to help his cousin heal from whatever ailment he had that was causing @Drift so much distress. He had seen his packmates grow sick with pains in their stomachs or other minor illnesses, but he had never seen a wolf react as strongly as Drift was reacting right now. He was no healer, and with little luck he tried to guess who he could take Drift to if there really was something seriously wrong. Scrunching up his brow in thought, he peered down at the offered leg. Triell maybe? He would at least know who to go to for help, he thought, his pale eyes scrutinizing every bit of the boy's leg to see what he was being shown.

When he saw the single black dot, he led out an audible sigh of relief. His looks of worry and concerned faded to a smile and he chuckled quietly as he nudged Drift's nose with his own. "You're going to be just fine," he told his younger cousin, doing his best to make his voice more reassuring than laughter. "It looks like it's a flea, or maybe a tick. They come right off if you scratch them though," he explained, lifting his forelimb and rubbing it along his muzzle in a scratching movement to demonstrate. "When I get them, I like to roll around on the ground or up against the trunk of a tree. Or taking a long swim can help too. The little critters can't swim, I think, so they die." He paused, wanting to give Drift the time to let the information sink in and come down from his panicked state.

The relief bloomed plainly on his face the more @Serach spoke. It wasn't a sickness, it was a bug, and one that could be killed with something as simple as a scratch or a... he barely contained the shudder that wanted to overtake his body, a bath. How Sahalie would crow with glee to see him take a bath. "Huh." it was as close to a laugh as the poor boy could muster. He felt incredibly stupid now and his face flushed under his coat. He had been convinced he was going to die, death by bugs. How fitting.

But then he thought again, bugs were something with legs, with the ability to move themselves around (how else had they would up adorning his legs like some disgusting plague?) He could feel his heartrate rising again "So will I give them to everyone else if I hang around then?" he questioned, more than a hint of terror lacing every syllable as he lifted a paw to scrape claws across one of the larger ones. The bug made a small pop, all the blood it had drained from the boy exploding from its ruptured body. A look of horror was clearly painted on the young boys face as his jaw dropped and emitted a high pitched shriek, (the wolves of the Bend would be forgiven for thinking a small girl was being murdered on their borders).

Serach couldn't hide his smile, nor his tail waving freely behind him as he looked on at Drift with playful amusement. He didn't laugh though, even as he could see the gears turning in Drift's head as he tried to understand just what Serach had told him. He knew Drift had an aversion to water (or maybe it was just an affinity for mud), but he made a point of underscoring that there were two options by nosing a small twig on the ground.

"It's all going to be okay," he said reassuringly as Drift asked him if the bugs would spread. With a shrug of his shoulders he continued, "Honestly, we all get them. Especially in the spring and summer time when it gets warm. The best thing to do is just try and get rid of them as quickly as you can once you notice." Serach wasn't honestly sure when he'd learned that, although he was sure he had once had a similar experience as Drift and Fenru, @Kisla or his mother had explained it to him. "Why don't we head to--OH MY GOD, what are you doing?!?"

His question interrupted by Drift's bloodcurling scream, Serach could only stare in horror as the younger wolf scratched on the ticks off of his leg, resulting in a small splatter of blood where it once was. It had clearly spooked Drift, and his resulting scream no doubt scared every other living thing within a 10 mile radius. "DRIFT!" Serach half yelled, half growled. "Calm the fuck down! That's it, let's go. We're going to the creek," he ordered, bowing his head and pushing on Drift's shoulder to get the boy to move. At least in the river, the young man wouldn't see the blood.

Serach's reprimand was met with a visible flinch, but at least it had stopped the screaming. Heavy breathing was interupted with a shove to his shoulder, legs begining to move mechanically towards the river. Eyes stared resolutely forward, lips in a taught line as he refused to look down at the things all over his legs. It was just fine, everyone got them, or so Serach had said. He could only trust that the older wolf wouldn't lie to him. Not when he had clearly been so upset... Or perhaps that was more reason to lie to him? Maybe he was leading him to the river... to... drown him mercifully to save the rest of the pack?!?!

He tried to swallow the lump of doubt in his throat, but his mouth was too dry. At least Serach was doing a damn good job of hiding his intentions if that was what he planned to do, and Drift took some confidence that it wouldn't be the outcome based on that small gesture alone. As they neared the water, the young boy visibly relaxed, a shaky inhale bringing him some small measure of stability. His lip quirked as he toed the river bank. Jus' don't tell 'Hal about this or she'll expect it to be a regular thing..."