28/01/2006
Rainbow Lake
It is midmorning, and the lupus-formed Elder of the Wendigo is curled up in the lee of the Maqii. Tail covering her nose against the chill, the few snowflakes that reach her stick lightly to the ends of her fur. She doesn't seem bothered, or perhaps even aware. All along her back, however, across her shoulders and down her spine, huge gouges have been ripped into her flesh. It appears mostly scabbed over, but there is still some seeping from the deeper, wider cuts, and the fur of her back is pink and brown from the stains of her blood.
Veronica emerges from the longhouse with an overexaggerated yawn, arching and stretching as she works out the kinks of sleep. Her hair is partially braided, having worked out of its binding in her sleep. When her morning 'announcement' is done, she bounces away from the longhouse and starts towards the lake. That bouncy progression quickly stops as she spots the bloodied and battered elder. For a moment, the cub just stares in disbelief. Then she manages to squeak, "Elder?"
It is a long moment before Pierces the Ice lifts her nose from under her tail, and the movement causes cracking along some of the scabs, fresh blood seeping to the surface. Her ears perk forward when she spots the cub and she whuffs a soft greeting.
Veronica gasps, tears springing up at the corners of her eyes. She shuffles from foot to foot, then whips off her pullover and runs over to the wolf. "It's okay, it's okay...don't move. Just...it's okay. You'll be okay, right? You'll...you'll be okay. It's okay." She tosses her jacket over the body of the elder, dropping to her knees next to Jacinta. Her hands move nervously, trying to smooth the cloth and stop the bleeding she sees. "What happened?"
Pierces Ice tries to shake off the covering, but it's more effort than it's worth and she settles for a small chuff before slowly backing away. She shifts into homid, though she clearly is attempting to avoid moving more than necessary. "Shhh, Cub. Shhh. Assirtua."
Veronica stops trying to force the elder to lie still when Jacinta shifts. Somehow seeing the elder change helps, and the cub wipes her nose hard on her forearm, rubbing at her eyes with the other hand. She looks like a little child when she does these things, and even moreso when she tries to look brave for the elder. "You're not going to die, are you? Please?"
"Not today," Jacinta replies easily. "Assirtua. I am fine. Or, I will be when I have healed." She makes an abortive attempt at looking at her own back, but stops with a wince before she can do too much damage to herself. "One of Grandmother's gifts. Give me your hand," she says, taking her knife from her belt."
Veronica's eyes go wide, but she holds out her hand, palm up. "I can do the same thing, right?" There's only a hint of dubiousness in her expression. Her hand shakes with fine tremors-she's certainly afraid of getting hurt, but she trusts the elder. "Heal like that? What did that to you? Horned Serpent stuff?"
With the knife, Jacinta nicks the skin on the girl's palm. Not a great wound, but enough to bleed. The knife is exceptionally sharp, so the pain itself is not felt until after the blood begins to well. "Yes, Ingtaq. Take Glabro and watch Grandmother's gift to you."
Veronica sniffles again, making a little squeak as the pain comes. "Okay," she says, her voice trembling as she concentrates and brings the shift. In glabro, she stares fixedly at her hand, breathless as the healing takes its course.
Jacinta nods, satisfied, and sinks down onto her knees. "Grandmother speeds our healing in any form not of our birth. Simple injuries, like that caused by my knife, heal quickly. More complicated wounds, fire, claws, things of the Wyrm, take longer. If I rest, I will heal in days from injuries like these. I have been hurt far worse, and will be again. I am a Warrior, and I am Grandmother's protector."
Veronica rubs at her eyes again. "So...you're going to be okay. Okay...okay. Um...so...so...um...how is the pack? You're all okay, right?" She swallows as the wound seals, then flexes her hand. "Nobody died?"
Jacinta nods slowly. "Manitou's Ridgeline is well. Walks the Middle is cleansed and well, and I will heal." She frowns, gaze wandering southward for a moment. "We will need to hunt the Wyrm that attacked us, when I am healed."
"What was it?" the cub asks, looking south as though she expects the creature to arrive at any moment. "Do you need any help with healing? What can I do? I can bring you food." Veronica offers these things in rapid succession. "Anything."
Jacinta wrinkles her nose at the first question. "I am not certain what it was. I could not sense it at all until it was upon us." Her eyes grow cold, "I do not like invisible foes." Then she relaxes, forcibly, and slowly settles back into lupus. Catch me a rabbit, she requests, then buries her nose under her tail.
Veronica licks her lips, then gets to her feet. "Okay," she says, trying to sound confident. "I'll be back as soon as I've got one." Then she makes a run for the woods, slowing to shift as she reaches the trees.
You paged Jacinta with 'Just so you know, that rabbit's small, a long time coming, and not a pretty sight when it arrives, due to being chewed en-route. But she does get one.'.
From afar, Jacinta giggles. S'okay. She mostly sent Veronica to get it so she'd have practice.
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