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To Do no Harm — Turtleback Lake 
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Played by Nuru who has 76 posts.
Inactive III. Subordinate
Neko Inali
Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of man or woman, bond or free. Neko had never finished her training to become a healer and had never formally taken the oath to do no harm, but to her that didn’t matter. The oath had been a way of life for her mother, and she had adopted it as well. But in her mind, she had failed to uphold it. She had harmed an innocent wolf, and the fact that it was entirely by accident meant nothing to her.

Even worse, her attempts to make it right had fallen short. With her limited knowledge and lack of experience, she had struggled to treat the other’s wound. Then, her patient had run off without having fully recovered. Neko had tried to track her runaway patient, but a heavy rain washed away the scent, and she lost the trail. Unable to find her patient, Neko had lost any chance to right the wrong.

Unable to come to terms with the fact that she had harmed another, she blamed the mountain. It didn’t matter that she had chosen to climb the mountain, or that she had tried to hunt on the treacherous slope. Not knowing what else to do, she ran. She ran far, far away- far from that mountain, never to return.

She knew she couldn’t run forever and that she would have to move on with her life, and she was still determined to honor her mother’s legacy. She made up her mind to look for a pack to join and to find a healer to teach her. She would learn how to help others instead of hurting them.

She found herself traveling around a huge lake dotted with islands. In her condition, she didn’t want to risk trying to swim from one island to the next, and she wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere, so she walked around the lake. She had spent the night near the east end of the lake and was now traveling westward along the north shore.

She stopped on the shore and sat on her haunches, facing the lake. She gazed out onto the water, looking first at some nearby islands, then at the sunlight glistening in the waves. She thought about trying to catch some fish. In spite of her hunger, she didn’t really feel like eating, but she knew she needed to eat if she was going to keep up her strength.
(This post was last modified: May 29, 2017, 04:00 PM by Neko.)
Played by Ace who has 510 posts.
Inactive No Rank
Reyes

Reyes wasn’t entirely sure what kept him moving these days. His mate was recovering – even if he wasn’t back to his old self, he was no longer at any serious risk, nor did he seem to be taking part in the extreme self-punishment he’d been exhibiting a few weeks past. The pups were still in Jessie’s den, though he was certain it wouldn’t be long until they were out and about and all peace would be a thing of the past. And maybe that was it, he thought, maybe it was the impending loss of freedom – even if that freedom was only an illusion. He’d already given that up. Willingly, even!

And he was happy!

And maybe that was what Reyes was running from, the growing notion that he was changing as a person, and not in a way he’d ever imagined. To stop that train from rattling any further, he plunged his face into the water, exhaling several bubbles from his scarred nose before resurfacing with a loud gasp. It worked – the thoughts settled, and the gamma was able to take a drink in peace, planning his run back to Wild Rye Fields when he realized he wasn’t alone. Shaking himself out, the large male chuffed, his tail held at half-mast as he studied the wolf. What was she doing?

“…what’re you lookin’ at?”

[Image: se_sig_by_becuffin-dbuushz.png]
Played by Nuru who has 76 posts.
Inactive III. Subordinate
Neko Inali
Neko’s thoughts were interrupted by the splashing of another wolf nearby. Without moving her feet, she turned her head to face the larger male just as he seemed to notice her. She mentally scolded herself for not having noticed him sooner. She figured fatigue and hunger had dulled her senses. She knew she needed to rest, but it’s hard to rest when plagued with nightmares.


She was about to offer a greeting when he spoke to her. It was a good question. What was she looking at? Still sitting, she slightly lowered her head and ears and gave a half-hearted wag of her tail. "Nothing in particular," she answered, "The islands. The water, I guess."

She stood up on all four feet and sighed, forcing herself back into reality. "I was thinking about trying to catch some fish. I’m kind of hungry." Her voice now was a bit less subdued and more energetic. She didn’t want to admit it, but she had never tried to fish before. Before losing her birth-pack, she hadn’t had to worry about finding food, and afterwards, she had sustained herself on small mammals and birds. Still, she didn’t think it could be that difficult to catch a fish.

She saw a silver shape move in the water near her, and she lunged at it. All she got was a mouthful of cold water. She pulled her head from the water and spotted the fish again, or perhaps a different one, and lunged at it. Again, she only got a mouthful of water. She pulled her head from the water, then looked sheepishly at the other wolf and said, "I guess the key word is try."
Played by Ace who has 510 posts.
Inactive No Rank
Reyes

“Oh.”

That was dull. Reyes licked the excess water from his lips as he bowed down in a slow stretch. His breathing had almost returned to normal, and if nothing interesting was going on, he might has well turn tail and start the return trip home. But before he could, the loner spoke back up, and the swarthy wolf found himself intrigued if nothing else. “Fishing, huh?”

That was a form of hunting he’d never tried. It was so dry where he’d grown up, there was no point in considering it. The few fish that lived in the pathetic streams were tiny, not worth eating. Wild Rye Fields wasn’t exactly flush with water sources either, and it really hadn’t crossed his mind until the loner had brought it up. Reyes gave the shoreline a considering look, watching the small flashes of silver a little further into the lake. Before he could ask, the other wolf went splashing in, presumably after one of her fish. When all she got was a mouthful of lake, the Rye wolf couldn’t help his snort as he waded in, keen on trying his own luck. Surely, it couldn’t be that hard. They were like…fast, swimmy squirrels, or something like that. Instead of lunging, he waited, allowing the fish to nibble at the rocks around his toes as he watched. “You ever do this before?” he asked, not looking up from his prize.

[Image: se_sig_by_becuffin-dbuushz.png]
Played by Nuru who has 76 posts.
Inactive III. Subordinate
Neko Inali
Neko watched the male wade into into the water instead of lunging at the fish as she had done. “Have I ever fished before?” she retorted. “Of course I have. Many times.” Seeing that the fish did not seem to be swimming away from him, she decided to try doing the same thing. She was already in the water, so she just moved a few steps away from the spot she had disturbed and waited. “Well, maybe once or twice," she said, looking down into the water. There were some small fish swimming around, seemingly undisturbed by her presence. “Or never," she finally admitted.


“I just thought if a big, lumbering bear could catch a fish, then why not a smaller, more agile wolf?” She noticed that the fish had swam away when she talked. She stopped talking and waited quietly for the fish to come back. Alert eyes watched the water around her feet, hoping for a fish big enough to be worth catching. She also watched the male thinking she might be able to learn something by observing him. She guessed if she failed completely, she could always go back to chasing rabbits and squirrels as she had been doing.
Played by Ace who has 510 posts.
Inactive No Rank
Reyes

“Huh.”

Reyes wasn’t exactly sure he bought the girl’s confident retort, but he was in no place to argue. Seeing has how he hadn’t fished, nor had he ever watched any other wolf hunt for fish, he couldn’t actually say that the stranger was doing it wrong. So he continued to stand as the water lapped at his upper legs, watching the small fish nibble at the stones and his toes, only tilting his head when the yearling finally came clean. His mouth kicked up at the corners. He liked bravado.

Couldn’t argue with her logic, either. “Like the way you think, chica,” he rumbled softly, eyes never leaving the rather large rock bass as it too began to swim over to where the smaller fish gathered. He had no idea if it would try to eat his small school of friends – he wasn’t terribly concerned, though. The shiners were too small to make a good meal. The bass, however, looked like something he could wrap his teeth around, but he’d only have one chance. Taking in a full breath, Reyes lunged forward. The first bite closed around the fish’s tail – but he’d injured it enough (even if he hadn’t meant to) that it could not swim quickly, and the second bite found the fish’s body. Reyes reared up with the bass in his mouth, stumbling backwards before depositing the body on the shoreline.

His tail began to wag. “So, chica – what’s your name? Where you from?”

[Image: se_sig_by_becuffin-dbuushz.png]
Played by Nuru who has 76 posts.
Inactive III. Subordinate
Neko Inali
Neko watched intently as small fish swam around her feet, but she didn’t see anything larger before her attention turned to the male when he splashed in the water a couple times and emerged with a fish. She felt more hopeful, thinking perhaps she too could catch some fish the same way if she were patient enough. She turned back to the water around her feet, hoping to see something, but so far, there was still nothing new.

She forgot about being in the middle of a hunt when he asked who she was and where she was from. She answered his question, not being mindful of the likelihood of scaring fish away. “My name’s Neko. I was born into a pack of wanderers. I’ve always traveled ever since I was old enough to walk, but I lost my whole pack in a grass fire a few months ago.” Her voice cracked, but she held the tears back. “My brother saved me from the fire, but he went back for the others and never came back to me. I’ve been alone ever since. I’ve mostly wandered around on my own, though I don’t think I’ve ever been this far north before.” She didn’t want to talk about how she had accidentally hurt someone or how she had struggled to treat her wounds afterwards, so she left that part out of her answer.
Played by Ace who has 510 posts.
Inactive No Rank
Reyes

“Oh.”

Reyes looked up from his fresh kill, tipping his head as the girl blurted her entire circumstance. All he’d asked for was a name – had assumed that ‘where are you from’ would come with an equally simple answer like ‘from the south’ or ‘two days north of here, by the lake’ if she was feeling particularly talkative. That other wolves were so much more trusting than he was (than they should be) always came as a surprise for the gamma, and he wasn’t totally able to hide the confused frown before shaking it off.

“You’re lucky y’missed the winter. S’fuckin’ cold. And snowy.” The wolf snorted. “I was from far south. Farther than the grass.” Where were was lots of sand unless you went up the hillsides, then you could find the trees and shrubs. He’d passed through vast seas of grasses on his way north – and not for the first time in recent days, he found himself wondering how his sisters were. How his mother was, if she was still alive. But that wasn’t here nor there. “So – you were a hunter in the old pack?” Clearly not a fisher. But they didn’t really need hunters, did they? They could all hunt. And this kid was young.

“‘m Reyes, by the way.”

[Image: se_sig_by_becuffin-dbuushz.png]
Played by Nuru who has 76 posts.
Inactive III. Subordinate
Neko Inali
“I think I would’ve preferred the snow over the desert,” Neko said when Reyes described where he was from. “I guess I just never liked hot, dry weather.” Not to mention that hot and dry meant more danger from fire.

She couldn’t help but giggle slightly when he asked her if she was a hunter in her old pack. She was definitely not a hunter. She continued talking, still standing in the water, oblivious to the fact that most of the fish had swam away. “No. I wasn’t really involved that much with the hunting in my old pack, but I guess I hunt well enough to stay alive. I could certainly help a more experienced hunter bring down larger prey, though.”

She looked down in the water and suddenly realized she had scared most of the fish away, but she hadn’t talked to anyone for some time, and she figured she look for food on her own at any time. She looked at the scars on her flank. The more recent one still had a scab and itched a little, but she left it alone, not wanting to let any lake water into the wound. She returned to the shore and shook the water out of her fur. “I usually stayed with Momma,” she said, “She was a healer, and I watched her work since I was a pup. She started to train me in the healing arts, but then I lost her. I hoped maybe I could find another healer to continue my training.” She wasn’t sure what she would offer in return, but she could figure that out when the time came.
Played by Ace who has 510 posts.
Inactive No Rank
Reyes

She didn’t like hot, but he did. Reyes might have argued the benefits of the warmth and sun, but the building contention was quickly sidelined when the young loner announced that she was a healer. Or a healer in training. But shit, it was more healer than they had right now! His tail wagging behind him, the dark wolf sat on the shoreline, the fish beside him temporarily forgotten as he rolled the ideas around in his mind. Was this how Askan did it? Maybe it wasn’t so hard, after all. Drestig would probably be happy if he could bring a healer back to Wild Rye Fields – and it would mean they actually had someone nearby if tragedy struck the pack again.

“You lookin’ for a new pack?” he asked casually – except it didn’t feel the least bit conversational. To him, it felt like jumping from Point C to Point 14, in no uncertain terms – but maybe normal wolves expected that. Or wanted it? Heck, he only had to hope she didn’t want to be alone anymore. Or something like that. “‘cos we got somethin’ back in the lowlands. No healer – so the post would be all yours. Recently became apparent just how important healers are…”

[Image: se_sig_by_becuffin-dbuushz.png]