Find your own way
Guilt and anger rattled the massive brute, but mostly he was just tired. Beyond anything, he was frustrated, but he couldn't even pinpoint what he was frustrated with. He wanted one, tangible thing to point his paw at and be able to say, "Yes, that's what's causing this," so that he could take care of it. In reality, it was a whole list of things that had piled one upon the other over years of unprocessed pain that had brought him to this point. Every time he had let himself think that one thing had let him down, but he at least had this other thing to keep pride in, that ended up failing him as well. Everything he had told himself felt like a lie now and he wasn't sure where to turn now. The only real guilt he had was how confronting his sister had gone and the fact that he had left his mother there without telling her where he was going. Eventually he would get the strength to face his family again, but he wasn't sure when that would be.
Somehow he had made it to the Weeping Woods before his body finally gave out. The bite Philly had given him stretched across his left cheek and curved around the edge of his jaw, causing blood to spill down along his neck. He couldn’t really feel the pain from it any more. It had been long enough that his nerves had been overwhelmed to the point of going numb. He knew someone that knew what they were doing would need to look at his injury sooner rather than later, but he was so utterly exhausted that he couldn’t get himself to his paws, much less think about finding a healer. So instead he stayed there, laying at the edge of the water that wound its way around the willow trees while he simply hoped his body would eventually gather the energy to move again on its own. He didn't realize just how close he had gotten to the border of the pack where he had met Resin and Odette and instead of getting up to see if he could get help from them again he continued to lay there and stare blankly across the water.
"Speech" Thought
During the loose patrol that she had been doing around the edge of the Armada's territory, she had caught the metallic scent of blood on the breeze and it had made her stop with curiosity. She didn't necessarily feel confident enough in her own skills to do a real patrol on her own, but the circuit around the pack's land was enough to give her a bit of a workout and warm up her muscles so she had gotten into the habit of making the loop without really checking the scent markers or paying much attention to what was laying outside of the borders. However, the familiar, distinct scent had been more than enough to make her pause and wonder if she should investigate. Even though she was slowly getting more and more practiced with the training she had been doing, she still felt like it was better to be safe than sorry. She had turned and ran back into the Armada's territory to find someone who could investigate with her and had managed to find Banshee first. Since she had already seen her fellow Reaper contestant in a spar, she knew that the woman could fight so it seemed like as good of a candidate to help her as any. Tamsyn led the way back toward the willow trees that laid just outside of the pack's claimed lands and easily found the scent trail she had noticed before. She cautiously followed it till her mint gaze landed on a large, injured male that didn't seem to notice them even though they were easily within his view. She gave Banshee a concerned glance, but took a few steps closer to him none of the less. "Sir?" she asked, hoping to get his attention without having to get much closer. "Sir, are you okay? Do you need help?" |
Banshee had been organizing her weapon collection as the other reaper competitor came by. Concern was written across the other's face and Banshee did not hesitate to act. The yearling gathered up a large leaf full of herbs and cob webs. A potentially injured Wolf outside of their borders would require a bit of tending to but she would be hesitant to help if it was some sort of ploy. Banshee was a naturally cautious being after her experiences with untrustworthy Wolves. The world was a cruel place and she had no time for getting caught in some sort of trap. Ban was glad Tamsyn had retrieved her for that reason. With the bundle between her jaws she approached the situation with slightly narrowed eyes. Banshee put the bundle down beneath some brush before moving slightly closer. She exchanged the glance with her new comrade before offering her own tones, "Who are you and do you need medical assistance?" Banshee would waste no time getting to the bottom of the situation. "Speech"
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A pair of voices made the tired man lift his silvery gaze till it could actually focus on the women who had addressed him. He looked at them with confusion for a moment until his mind finally caught up and registered what had been said to him. He didn't think he had lost that much blood, but perhaps that in combination of the physical and mental exhaustion he felt from the last day and a half had finally caught up to him. He could tell from their scents that they were from the same pack that Resin had been from and that helped him calm down just a bit. His focus was still pretty far away with his mind reeling over everything that had gone on in such a short amount of time, but he gave the pair a grateful look all the same.
He pulled himself onto his haunches with a bit of effort so that he would sit up and greet them properly. Even in his rattled, injured state he couldn't let himself be impolite. "Yes... Yes, I do think I'll need a bit of help," he replied with a small nod. "I'm Ulric. I got into a... disagreement with my sister and she got a good bite in on me." His explanation made his ears flick and a sigh pass his lips. It was an overly simplified explanation of what had happened, but there was no need to give these strangers every dark detail of his current situation with his family. "I would certainly appreciate the help if you two don't mind."
"Speech" Thought
Once she got a better look at the injured man they found she was glad that Banshee had decided to bring some herbs with her. She could tell the bite across his cheek was pretty deep and if his dazed expression said anything she was sure he needed some help from a healer. She was still cautious though as he sat up and began to introduce himself. She tended to be more wary of males anyway, but him being a stranger didn't help his case. A thought passed though the back of her mind though, a reminder that Sirius had instructed them to look for more warriors. He was certainly built like what she imagined a fighter to be and the injury was evidence enough that he had experience of some sort. She gave Banshee another look with a small nod and took a step or two closer, putting herself in a place where she could easily jump in to defend her pack mate if he tried to do anything while she was treating him. "What were you fighting about?" she pressed. She felt like knowing what they had fought about would tell her a lot about his morals or what he felt was worth putting himself on the line for. Even though she had gotten much more into learning how to fight lately, she still couldn't agree to injuring others without just cause. |
Banshee watched with a curious gaze. As the stranger moved to raised himself into a seated position she couldn't help but to feel her hackles raise slightly. But, it was soon evident he was not moving in a threatening manner. She was still rather rigid but no longer felt the need to curl into a defensive stance. Her ears flicked gently as the male spoke and she offered a few glanced between the two Wolves. Banshee couldn't say she could pinpoint the smell on his fur to any family she new directly so there was no tracing his lineage or this proposed sibling. For all the Fatalis knew he could be fibbing. Due to this Ban was glad to hear her comrade inquire about his story and Banshee took that moment to suss out the wounds. The fanged gal moved to grab the bundle of supplies before padding closer to the stranger. It was clear as she leaned over him that the primary wound was on his face. A hefty set of gashes along his left cheek and trailing down to the jaw. Her eyes studied the wound as her nose twitched slightly. Banshee sniffed for any sort of early infection and smelt none. That was good at least. But, the bleeding would need to be stopped. Thus, Banshee moved to grip some of the cobwebs she had brought and gently press them to the wound. It was a very old way of stopping bleeding. Later she would need to remove them to clean the wound but it would work for a few hours at the least. "The wound needs to be washed but that should stop the bleeding for the time being." "Speech"
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He could tell the pair of women were still quite wary of him, but he could understand why. A brute of his stature showing up near their pack's borders bloody and fresh out of a fight... he wasn't sure he would trust him either. He watched as the smaller, darker colored woman moved a bit closer while the fanged, interestingly marked one picked up the supplies she had brought with her that he hadn't noticed before. He dipped his head a bit to make it easier for her to work as she set about treating the wound Philomena had given him. He kept his head still, but his gaze flicked toward the other woman when she questioned what he and his sister had been fighting about. A soft sigh passed his lips and he looked down at the ground in front of him. He knew that would be a question that would eventually be asked of him where ever he ended up going, but it wasn't one he wanted to answer.
"I felt that she had been putting her children in danger by not getting help for them soon enough. I've been away for a year and a half or so with our mother and when we got back she told us that one of her daughters had died from an illness. I didn't question her on it too much at the time, but then when I got back to them today her youngest was injured and she was just... sitting there with her, more focused on getting revenge on the wolf that hurt her than she was making sure her wounds got tended to." Even just recounting what had happened made his ears flick with irritation. "I voiced my concerns and we got into an argument over it that turned into a fight. I don't like that it came to that, but she attacked first." He still felt guilty for the entire situation even though as he thought through it he still couldn't find himself in the wrong. He still worried for his nieces and hated that he had to leave them there. Honestly, he hated everything about the entire situation, but that was one thing he couldn't get himself to be okay with. There was nothing he could do about it right now so he tired to at least not dwell on it too much.
When the healer of the pair stated that the bleeding had at least been stopped, but it still needed to be cleaned out, he nodded with understanding. "Thank you for your help," he replied with a small smile. He was still extremely tired, but he wasn't as worried about the injury he had since someone had at least tended to it a bit. He realized that he still didn't know who they were and added, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your names. You're from the pack near here, right? I met Resin not too long ago when I helped her fight a lion and I've been meaning to stop by to make sure she's still doing okay."
"Speech" Thought
Tamsyn let Banshee do her work and listened quietly while Ulric described the situation he found himself in. Admittedly, hearing about how he stood up for his nieces touched a soft spot in her heart. She couldn't say how many countless times she had wished for someone to help her like that back when she was trapped in the hell that was her family's pack. There was no real way to tell if the danger he perceived was actually real without knowing the family personally, but the simple fact that he had been willing to stand up for something he believed in when he felt that someone was in danger made her like him much more. Even though the bleeding had been taken care of, his wound still looked pretty rough. There was certainly more that could be done and Banshee confirmed that when she mentioned that the bite would still need to be washed out. Her ears perked and her gaze sifted to meet Ulric's again when he asked for their names and mentioned that he had fought along side Resin previously. Surprise colored her face and she couldn't believe that this was the same wolf that had helped the woman she cared about. Boreas really was much smaller than it seemed. Between the reason behind the injury on his cheek to the fact that he had helped Resin, Tamsyn quickly made up her mind on what she wanted to do before she even began to speak. "I'm Tamsyn, this is Banshee," she replied, with a small smile. "Yes, you're right about that... You know, I'm not sure if you're wanting a place to stay, but if we could take you to meet our Warlord if you'd like to see about living with the Armada. It'd probably be good to stay somewhere a healer could keep an eye on that injury for a while if nothing else." |
Banshee listened to his explanation with her head raised gently. She didn't want to be all up in his personal space but there was more work to be done. The cobwebs were good to stop the bleeding but she could easily apply a poultice over top. Her ears flicked as he spoke. Banshee leaned down towards her makeshift pouch that was made of sturdy leaves. She nosed it gently and revealed a poultice made of yarrow and white willow bark. Banshee made it just the other day and kept it in dry place for storage. The bark had been crushed and added to the moist yarrow that had also been mushed gently. It was a thick clumpy paste that was made to be easily applied to a wound. As she was introduced Banshee offered the large male a firm nod. After Tam finished her speech Banshee flicked her tail approvingly. "That way I can see to your wounds and you have a place to recover for some time." She then moved to scoop up some of the earthy poultice with her paw before gently pressing it to the wound. The pressure may sting the male but other then that the herb and bark mixture was not very abrasive. The most that could go wrong would be some sort of allergy to either of the ingredients. "That will also help keep the bleeding and infection at bay until we get you to some water." "Speech"
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He winced a little when the healer that he now knew was named Banshee went on to press a poultice into his wound, but he held still all the same. He was always still and patient when he was receiving help from a healer. He knew how difficult it was to build up those skills so he never wanted to make their job harder than it already was. He appreciated that she gave him a bit of explanation as she went so he at least knew what was going on. It was a bit different from the other injures he had gotten since he couldn't actually see this one without looking into a reflection of some sort.
He was quiet for a moment as he pondered their offer. Joining a pack hadn't been something he had seriously considered since his father's pack was taken from them. Ever since then he had been so focused on taking care of his mother and family that he really hadn't put much thought into what he would want for himself. At the very least he knew that she was right that with a wound like this it would be better to have a healer to keep an eye on it so even just staying here for a short time would be a wise choice. But... maybe he wanted to stay for a longer time than that. Maybe now was his chance to just be himself for a moment and enjoy the structure of a pack that he's missed for so long.
""I would at least like to talk to your alpha if you don't mind introducing me," he replied with a freshly renewed resolve. This would be his turning point and he felt like he couldn't deny the opportunity fate had led him to. He wouldn't make a final decision until he talked to the alpha of their pack and learned more about what this pack fully entailed, but he was at least hopeful and optimistic about this path he was turning towards.
"Speech" Thought
She smiled and her tail wagged gently when Banshee added in that him staying with them would allow her to keep an eye on how his injury was healing. The idea of recruiting someone into the pack had felt like such a large task, but life had somehow placed Ulric at their border and she felt grateful that she and Banshee could make the best of it. She knew looks couldn't tell her everything, but he seemed like he would be a good asset to have as a fighter and she got a good feeling from his personality. There would still be plenty to learn about him, but she was happy all the same that he was going to get the help he needed while maybe adding to their number of warriors. When he agreed to meet with Sirius she smiled a little wider and nodded. "Absolutely. Once Banshee is done we'll take you to the border to meet him." She waited patiently until Banshee was done with tending to his wound, certainly not wanting to rush her. Once her pack mate confirmed that she was done, Tamsyn turned back toward the border that lead into the grassy plain. They weren't far from where the pack's lands began so it didn't take very long at all to get to where the pack's scent markers began. She paused there and looked to Banshee. "Would you like to go find Sirius? I can wait here with Ulric. Or should we call for him?" |