Paradise Falls undignified

Nadine, you hit your paw on a tree root hidden by the last of the snow. @Riven

give me your heart

and i'll give you my soul

to just feel a little piece of heaven

Nadine had managed to avoid the sickness that had run through the Falls. She was not certain how, but she found herself not complaining to be caught with the bug. As mild as it seemed, it had appeared horrible to those who had been afflicted. Thankfully, much of the pack was on the rebound. In that time, she had been dedicating time to hunting and patrols, being healthy meaning she could dedicate her time to allowing the others to rest and overcome their illnesses, especially as the last of the snow began to melt. It was nearly all gone now.

Nearly.

It was then her foot would drag across a hidden tree root, causing a yelp of pain followed by a whine as she pulled her paw back. It hurt to place weight on, and looking at it she could see the way her nail marred and blood soaked into the pad, staining the last of that very snow. She let out another whine, slowly beginning to limp her way towards the main den. She was aware of Riven, in passing, and knew the man to be a healer… and she knew he’d be the most qualified to take a look at it.

Luckily, though the symptoms had been rough, Riven was feeling less like he was about to keel over. He still had the weakness, a lingering sense of nausea, and exhaustion, but he wasn't actively throwing up or feverish anymore. And, with the lessening of the illness came a lessening of his anxiety. Ever since the incident at Isla's den, he'd felt nervous and on edge. Fortunately, the initial panic had worn off and he felt safer now.

He'd taken to trying to sleep in the main den. Riven had always enjoyed sleeping around others - and on top of them, or underneath them, smooshed up against them, - but he'd been keeping to himself for the most part since his joining. That, or near @Adelard whenever he had the opportunity, but he'd been trying to give the man some space since the pups had been born.

He had just roused from a nap when the scent of blood hit his nose. At first, he nearly panicked, but snapped himself out of it. It wasn't strong - likely not a lot of blood. A mild injury.

Cautiously, he padded out of the den and came face-to-face with the source. He hadn't met her personally, but she'd been guarding Isla's den as well, and it didn't take a genius to see the blood on her paw.

His brows creased in concern. "What happened?" he asked, eyes darting from the injury to the girl's face.

give me your heart

and i'll give you my soul

to just feel a little piece of heaven

Nadine had known that their own healer had even been afflicted, though she couldn’t say it surprised her. Surely healers were the first line, often treating others and thus exposing themselves to whatever they carried… at least to her, it felt like something of an occupation hazard, and it was one of the reasons she had little interest in training in the matter. She ran from illness, preferring to preserve her own health because what use was she to others if she was ill?

And then he came into sight, a gentle smile on her features in greeting despite the pain she felt. It was miniscule in the grand scheme of things. He asked what happened and she held up her paw, leaning her weight on her other side. “A tree root was hidden under some of the last remaining snow… I got caught in it because I wasn’t paying attention.” With that, her ears flicked down in nothing short of embarrassment.

Whether that embarrassment was for the temporary lack of awareness, the undignified curses she’d made after, or the fact that she was now seeking help for something relatively minor as this was up to anyone’s guess.

In truth, it was a mix of all… because it made her feel week to be so side-stopped by it.

“I just wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be any lasting damage… it’s… not too bad.” Even as she said it, she remained unconvinced of her own words, and no doubt the insightful healer would as well.

Riven's nose wrinkled in sympathy at her explanation. "It happens - don't worry. I've treated many an injured paw before," he assured, hoping to alleviate some of her embarrassment. "They do hurt quite a bit, though, considering they're meant to hold our weight." It was one of the most easily irritated places to be injured, as well, given how often wolves used their paws. If not taken care of properly, they could easily become infected. It was good she'd come to get it checked out.

It's... not too bad.

The healer quirked a brow at her, unimpressed. "You shouldn't downplay injuries. Especially not to healers. Always be honest about how much they hurt, where they hurt, and how much they are affecting your ability to move," he lectured lightly. Receiving medical treatment was not the time or place to be tough, though he imagined this girl would think anywhere was the time or place for that.

"Why don't you go rinse it off in one of the pools down there?" he asked, gesturing. "Try not to lick it, but get it as clean as you can. I'll go see what I have in the stores to help." He offered her a small, reassuring smile, before heading over to one of the little nooks he'd been keeping herbs.

give me your heart

and i'll give you my soul

to just feel a little piece of heaven

He was calm and he was kind. That was perhaps another reason she could never do what he did. She was blunt many-a-time, and direct… it was needed sometimes, when discussing matters and bedside manner (or in her case delicate diplomacy) was perhaps her weakest area. She could manage it, with time, but never with a certain duration of success she had known her mother hoped to see from her. “I… supposed I have never thought of it that way.” She admitted, uncharacteristically shy in her response, not that Riven knew much about it. She remained fairly isolated to Isla, guarding over her and her pups.

Her ears pressed down at his lecture, an apologetic look on her features. “It hurts… not too bad but also not quite too good either.” It was more accurate a statement, and a weakness that she loathed to admit aloud. “It’s a little hard for me to walk on because it’s sensitive. I can do it, it just makes my eyes water.” She clarified further. She knew based on how it presented it was likely not deep, but sometimes surface wounds were the worst pain. They knew how to irritate the senses just right.

At his instruction, she’d offer a nod, limping her way towards the pool as her curiosity got the best of her. “Why can’t I lick it?” She knew very little about such things, and she wasn’t certain she even asked loud enough for him to hear as he went to check his stores.

Pleased that she seemed to be telling the truth this time, Riven offered her a smile and a wag of his tail. There was no use in trying to act brave in front of a medic, after all - it wasn't like he was going to judge her for being in pain. It seemed a silly thing to do, in his opinion, though he knew some wolves really liked being tough.

The blond picked up a couple stems of arnica from his personal store and chewed them, careful not to swallow any. He'd place the poultice on a leaf and gingerly carry it back out to the girl, laying it down on the ground beside her.

"Arnica is good for small wounds like this," he explained. "You can't eat it, so again, if you need to rinse it off then use water. It can make you sick." He leaned in to peer at the injury and winced a little in sympathy. "Did you tear the claw out or is it just a cut?" It would be good to know, to see if he needed to do more for it than apply a poultice and call it a day.

give me your heart

and i'll give you my soul

to just feel a little piece of heaven

It was baffling to think that something that could help her heal could also make her sick… why did that have to be a thing? “Okay… I will, I promise.” She assured him once he reiterated the importance of it. It felt like something he was expecting a verbal response to, and so she found it quite fitting to respond in such a way.

When she posed the second question she looked down, uncertain of the answer as she had not fully been paying attention. “I tore… I tore part of it at least… I don’t know that I pulled all of it out.” She answered finally, a soft whine escaping as she looked at it. It was such a small injury so why did she hurt so much?

“Is it going to affect my ability to hunt or anything? Is there anything I should watch out for?”

It made him feel better that she responded out loud rather than just a nod. It was important for her to know what to do - that was one of the most important things, outside of immediately treating the wound. He smiled in response and went back to work.

"It's good that not all of it came out," he assured. That would take longer to heal for sure, but he didn't doubt how badly the injury hurt as is. These kinds of things tended to be incredibly painful regardless of the severity. "It takes longer to grow a whole claw from the root rather than just part of it."

A small smile crossed his face. "I'd give it at least a few days before you even tried hunting, if not a week or so," he instructed, pulling away from the injury once it was coated fully in arnica. "Just make sure you rest it until it stops causing you pain, and be careful starting up activities like running, hunting, or sparring." He looked up at her, sympathetic. "I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear."

give me your heart

and i'll give you my soul

to just feel a little piece of heaven

A frown formed on her features as he issued restrictions. She couldn’t hunt? And that meant sparring was out as well, at least for a few days. “So I’m just supposed to lie around because I tore my claw?” She didn’t understand, and more importantly she didn’t know how to simply sit down and breathe. She wasn’t certain she ever really had… it made her feel useless or weak to just do so, and to rely on others to pull weight that she, as it implied, could not pull.

“I just… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do in the meantime? How am I supposed to help the pack?” How was she supposed to earn her keep? She understood the economics of it all, and why packs worked more than simply cutting it out on one’s own… it had just never occurred to her that it might be okay to not move all the time… especially not at such a point as she was at now.

She felt as though she had just talked to Chan about this… about going for two roles and seeing which one stuck, and now it felt as though she could do neither.

Riven's eyes softened a bit. It was clear that she was struggling, desperate to prove herself in some way, and a setback like this could definitely be frustrating. Riven knew that better than most. It made him want to be more lenient, but it would do no good to have her exacerbate this injury.

"Sometimes you have to help yourself before you can help others," he replied gently. "Injuries happen from time to time. Would you judge Chan if he sprained his ankle and couldn't hunt for a while?" He tipped his head to the side, studying her for a reaction. "A pack should help one another - it isn't on just one wolf to carry the entire group."