The snow fell steadily but slowly as Lydia continued to march southward. She'd picked a fair haul in the Orchard but Fern Gulley was her ultimate destination. She knew she'd have the best luck there. In the meantime she'd get her exercise. Lydia had found solid ice over a slower part of the river and with a little luck she'd managed to get across. It had been a risk though, the ice cracked the whole way which was going to make heading back to Kesali a bit more difficult. She'd have to find another place to cross. With the temperature just dipping below freezing she wasn't keen on getting herself fully wet. That was the last thing she needed. Lydia stopped and winced. Her pack had been digging into her neck the whole trip. Carefully adjusting the pack she double checked her work then started moving again. She knew why it was bothering her, she'd gotten a bit too carried away gathering this and that and she still had so much more she wanted to collect! There was always so much to do. It was a wonder she could ever keep her head above her workload. Lydia trailed along the river when she suddenly caught the smell of blood, wolf blood. Her head jerked up, senses alert. Was someone in trouble? "Talk" "You" Think

The wintry sun is the brightness of the day, taking centre stage as the blooms of the summertime become a part of the soil. The sunshine and cold, the sparkle and the ice, somehow warm even when the north wind bites. The river she was accustomed with appears still, yet she flows under the thinnest of ice, awaiting the gentle touch of the sun. Though the air bares only the coldness and the ground is frozen once more, they glitter with the gift of each nascent ray. It is as if the Gods above ensured there would be hope even on the deepest and most wintry of days, asking them to see the sparks that remain even when the world is frozen.

It is one days like this the autumn Goddess clenches her jaws tighter, and along with her servant, Alphonse, offer all their strenght while they drag the unfamiliar male by the vines. They found him with a massive and, from what the babe could tell, serious wound around his throat area and, though the bleeding has stopped considerably, the leaves she tied around his throat, along with the ointment, where still drenched in the vital, crimson liquid. Your Excellency.came to rough, baritones of the caracal. To say he was not accoustomed with such harsh weather was an understatement. He loathed it. We are carrying a corpse. he continued, taking another glance at the male before he stopped in his tracks.

The babe halted as the veins were pulled from her jaws due to the man sudden motion. What do you suggest? We cannot leave him here. her vocals were as melodious as ever but they contained a dark undetone to them, edgy and exhaustation leaked within a few syllables as she panted; chest raising and falling with each life giving breath, they came a long way.

"Speech"

Oh, how wonderful it was to be dragged, however it was the only way they could move him since Seker certainly couldn't move on his own in the condition he was in. The fear that he was a burden yet again to someone continued to dwell within his mind. Surely there would be time to repay the duo for their help, but, that was if he lived to tell the tale. Despite almost bleeding out, the herbs did help with the bleeding slightly which was decent. But, he couldn't talk and or really move, weakness was getting to him more and more and if it continued he would fall asleep on them and Seker was unsure if that would be a good or bad decision right now. On one side he could regain a little of his strength, but the downside would be he might not wake up if none of them could find a healer. There had to be someone around, perhaps even a traveler that could aid them? He flinched slightly to show he still had some form of life in him after he heard the feline's remark that they were carrying around a corpse. "I'm not a corpse yet, feline...And belive me I wouldn't want to be travelling like this just as much as you" he thought before he soon closed his eyes for a bit, flicking his ears as he heard the words of the feline and the dame, and perhaps even a healer if there was one that way if he was awake when they found help he could follow some form of instructions if they were brought to his attention. Thoughts

Lydia adjusted her pack on her shoulders deciding that she should at least find out if someone was in trouble. It would haunt her if she turned and left without knowing for sure. Of course she was aware that this could get her into danger. If there'd been a battle she could very well run into an angry wolf or even a murderer. She'd have to rely on her agility and hope she could assess the situation quickly enough to avoid becoming a victim herself. She moved swiftly along the river as the wind nipped and pulled at her fur. It wasn't long before she heard voices, faint in the distance and as she pushed past the reeds she saw a bear of wolves up ahead as well as a beautiful cat the likes of which she'd never seen. Her nostrils flared and caught the coppery tang of blood. This was definitely the source. "Excuse me!" She called out, not wanting to startle them if they were on guard. As she got closer she saw the large amount of blood staining the man's pelt from a throat wound. Her stomach sank. Oh, no, that was not good. She caught the earthy scent of herbs and wondered if he was already being tending to by the woman. Even so, it wouldn't help to offer her services. She had a pack full of various herbs, some that did not grow in this area. "My name is Lydia. I'm a healer from Kesali and I smelt the blood and wanted to know if I could be of some help." "Talk" "You" Think

What in the world was she thinking when she decided to aid this male? Good question, she was not. If she were she would have registered the wound properly and asset the damages fore this man might not even survive a night with the proper care or a Medic. A pause. A sigh, barely audible, a whisper which would easily be mistaken for a slight breeze of the wind around them if not attentive enough as she moved mechanically, tail twisting and turning around her frame creating the illusion of floating against earth though with motions so rigid, considerably similar to those of a machine, purely void of simple characteristics of a soul.

A sound broke the silence however it did not belong to any of them. It was someone new, another stranger that called out to them. Within moment she turned on her heel, gracefully, giery orange lenses roamed over the approaching femme as she took in her appearances.Yes? her eyebrow arched in question as her regalia tilted just a notch towards her right. The obsidian caracal was swift to release the vines and step in front of his mistress in smooth motions. He was on guard with everu single unfamiliar face that made a contact with his mistress fore he knew better than anyone what these beings nature was like, they all returned to their basic instincts one way or another.  

The cinnamon babe ears would flicker in response, auditory system catching each and every word. A Medic. Gods are smiling upon us, Alphonse. her gaze returned to the caracal cat, his irritation was visible due to his tail lashing behind him. I found this man not long from here. I tried to patch him to the best of my abilities but he is in need of proper help.

"Speech"

The brute could barely hear any coherent words. Despite the dame's 'best' efforts in assisting him he was pretty much losing a lot of strength and a lot of blood. His optics barely stayed open as the brute tried to fight the urge to sleep as best as he could, knowing he might have to be awake considering another dame happened to appear out of nowhere with a bunch of herbs. Seker prayed to the high heavens that the new woman would be willing to assist him, even if it is to put him out of his misery. Every fiber of his beating was trying it's best to keep him strong and well despite the large quantity of blood he was losing that was supposed to sustain life not cause the form to become weaker and lifeless in some cases. His eyes locked into the female, almost in a way of pleading. He would be sure to give her anything she wanted or needed if the woman could keep him alive, that was a definite. Even though Seker was not one to keep his promises, if someone helped him like in a situation such as this, he would have no qualms about assisting someone who's helped him. But, despite his best efforts to keep his eyes open, it was becoming much harder to do so as his vision was starting to become blurred as he tried to catch his breath and breathe as best he could.

Lydia listened as the woman stated that she'd found the man and had attempted to patch him back up. The smell of blood was strong and her stomach flipped a little. She was hoping it wasn't as bad as she feared but she wouldn't know until she'd take a good look at the man. She locked eyes with the man, saw him struggling to hang on. She needed to get to work fast. "Ok, let me take a look and I'll see what I can do." She moved toward the man and began to examine the wound. It was a nasty neck wound and parts of it looked to be deep. Lydia resisted the urge to swear. This was not going to be fun to patch up but thankfully the air was cold and the inflammation wasn't as bad as it could have been. She'd need to move quickly though. Lydia noticed that the woman had packed the wound in with horsetail and she nodded approvingly. "Good thinking with the horsetail to stem the bleeding. He'd have bled out if you hadn't found him. The wound is serious though, I think we'll need to stitch it closed. Can you remove the horsetail and clean out the wound while I do some prepping?" Lydia eased her pack off her back and then flipped open the top. As soon as she did a long, ringed tail flopped out and a murmuring could be heard from inside. "Come on, Bolla. We have work to do." The lemur yawned and rolled out of the back, scratching at herself then stared at the two strange wolves with her large amber eyes. "Lydia, you said I deserved a rest all the way back to Kesali. If this is Kesali, I am not impressed." Lydia ignored the lemur. She'd been free-loading long enough and she wasn't overly thrilled with letting the creature curl up in her pack with her precious herbs, wrapped and stored though they may be. However, Bolla was proving a wealth of information and her dextrous little hands were opening up whole new worlds of healing, so she couldn't be too perturbed. "Sew up this wound and I will make good on my promise." The lemur carefully approached the man, her tail twitching and she whistled as she examined it. "Wow, someone got you good. Just a minute. I have a needle and sinew somewhere in that pack." Lydia had pulled out a number of herbs and was going through them as the lemur pulled out a thin, bone needle and some dried sinew to use as thread. It would have to do. She didn't have anything thinner. "Talk" "Bolla" Think

When our words fail us, when we see so much more than can ever be explained, that sense of love that hits us in a nanosecond... that's when our emotional intelligence leaps far beyond that which speech can ever accomplish. That's when we feel safe with anotherand that is how the autumn mistress felt past the icy exterior she so often choose to display. She was grateful for the encounter and grateful for the opportunity that the Gods above bestow upon them. The both of them quickly realeased the veins from their jaws and took a few steps backwards in order to allow the Medic woman to perform her miracles upon the male. "I do not know enough to further help him." she offered her sultry purrs towards Lydia, "I shall leave it in your capable paws however I do wish to aid in any way possible." fiery orbs took a glance towards the suffering man and she recognized the pain that must crash within his very bones.

She eyed the woman companions as they went to her duties and it did not take long for Alphonse to approach one of them, questioning gaze meant to aid them in any way the caracal could. How surprising it was to see the feline in such disposition. Perhaps it was his wounded pride or just a sense of futy towards the man, she could not know.

"Speech"

He was starting to go in and out between consciousness. Every time he even tried to speak or breathe, the gurgling of blood and the occasional inability to catch his breath made things much serious for the young male. He was relieved however to see some form of help, though his thoughts were everywhere at this point. Seker began to wonder if the help he was going to receive would be too late, or something would go wrong. But, he was going to trust the woman and her companion. She seemed to have a ton of herbs that she had used before, at least was what he had thought as his eyes focused on the animal that was eyeing his injury. Yes, someone did get him fairly good, and he was knocking on death's door if the process of getting him patched up took longer than he thought. He eye'd the woman that helped him before, unsure as to what the other healer wished for her to do, but, all he knew was that the process was going to be rather uncomfortable and unbearable. However, he was sure the pain from the injury he sustained was the only most painful thing he had to endure, but, stitching...he was unsure if the pain would be worse. But, again, he kept telling himself he had to stay awake and fight and let the healer do her job. Speech

The sultry woman finished cleaning out the man's wounds. Lydia nodded as she left the healer to work. Lydia pawed through her pack until she had an assortment she felt would work well. In the meantime Bolla got to work on stitching the wound closed. "Hang on, kid. This is gonna suck." The lemur glanced at Lydia her expression clear. Not going to give him anything for the pain? Lydia lightly shook her head, such a slight movement it might be mistaken for a twitch. There was no time to wait for pain medicine that could be ingested to kick in and anything topical would get sealed in with the wound. Besides he was already struggling to keep conscious and she didn't want to risk him choking. He'd just have to bear the pain for now. Bolla worked swiftly and nimbly, her little fingers working to sew the wound closed. Lydia mixed a set of of herbs in with some healing clay which she spread across a strap of deer hide. It was a cocktail of trillium to help with pain and infection as well as some yarrow to help with the bleeding and crushed lambs ear to help with the swelling. When Bolla was done she maneuvered the strip of deer hide up to the man's neck with her teeth and her right forepaw while Bolla seized the other end and tied it snuggly around his neck. Licking the herbs from her teeth she moved back to her back and scooted some of the extra clay mixture into one of the glass jars they'd found at an abandoned human dwelling. "Ok, we've done what we can to stop the bleeding. The herbs I've used should help with the pain and prevent infection but there's not much I can do about the large amount of blood he's lost. You'll just need to care for him until he's able to recover." She set the jar down next to the woman. "Here is some extra ointment and a few spare strips of hide you can use to change the dressing." Bolla hopped a bit closer, her usually clownish face grave. "The wounds were quite severe and there appears to be some damage to his voice. I can't say for sure if he'll recover in time but it is possible this injury could render him mute. My deepest sympathies miss…?" The lemure realized that she hadn't caught the woman's name nor the name of their patient. "Talk" "Bolla" Think

Call her a skeptic but the cinammon vixen eyes the two of them like a hawk; something deep within her called for it and it was a while before she realized it was the call of blood. Blood callin blood, as if their own DNA was screaming for each other. She looked at them like she was unsure, uncertain, her fiery gaze optics was locked on their every move, registering their actions and making small mental notes of their situation, analysing everything that was being thrown at her. In the back of her mind she knew it was a blessing to have met a Healer in such a secluded place. The doubt radiating from her every fiber like heat off a radiator and yet she decided to chose silence as her weapon and keep her lips shut, after all, she could not handle this on her own and they will have to take the chance of poisoning if it meant this will save the male life even if she was too questioning to easily persuade.

Will he survive? her brow rose in question towards the two of them. Perhaps it ws too soon to tell but if there was a chance of him moving closer to the oblivion she had to mentally prepare herself for the worst case scenario. It was only after the woman applied the hide that her auditory system flickered at the companion voice and her gaze ruptured from the male towards the source of it. Ah, yes. she came to her senses, even though she hold manners dear to her the situation at hand made her completely forget the obvious. Ithuriel. Nephthys Ithuriel. she offered her name to them, nodding her regalia in formal greetings to all of them. As soon as the woman presented the glass jar to her her optics widened slightly in surprise. What is this? she had never seen such construction nor was she familiarized with its material. It was like it was made of clear, fresh water; transparent, invisible so one can gaze inside to its containts.

"Speech"