With each step a twinge of pain soared through his hind leg. In a tussle with Coyote's Incubus had managed to leave with a small yet nasty bite to the back left leg. Honestly, the disappointment he felt with himself due to allowing the creature to land a bite on him stung more then the wound. Nevertheless, he knew he needed to get it cleaned otherwise infection would soon follow.

Moving through the forest surrounding the lake Incubus seemed to be on the hunt for something. He took a rather indirect path to the Apothecary with his eyes scanning the ground before him. That is until those pale orbs landed upon that of a small bushel of marigold. The vibrant golden-orange flower brought a small smile to the Klein's lips as he limped in their direction. Inc leaned down and wrapped his jaws around the stems before tugging them from their resting place. Root and all he made his way to the Apothecary.

Blood trickled from the bite wound as he approached his new den. Their work was coming along nicely. Day by day they chipped away at their list of repairs. Assuming Riva was inside working on something Incubus decided to limp his way inside. Eyes searched for the small Healer as he laid the flowers on one of her work surfaces. Incubus offered a cheesy smile, "These are for you." He flicked his nose towards the flowers.

"Speech"

Riva was placing new hanging hooks near the back of the apothecary. She would be using them to dry her herbs before storing them. She was just looping the last hook over, and standing precariously balanced when the sound of paws announced the arrival of a wolf. Because she was becoming familiar with the sound of these paws, she knew it was Inc. she turned to offer him a smile, and frowned as she saw his final step towards her - and the limp. First, he placed flowers on the workbench before her. She glanced at the flowers in surprise. “Merigold. Good for the immune system.” She said. It had a strong sort of aroma, but she liked it. She touched a gentle paw to their steps. They would be the first to go on her drying hooks. But first… she lifted her paw from the flowers,and came around the bench and eyed inc with a professional scrutiny. “You're limping. Fess up.” She said. Giving him her hard healer stare. "Speech"

Pale eyes tracked Riva as she assessed the Marigold. A proper healer's reaction to receiving a bundle of herbs. Her words contained the name of the herb as well as a little fact about their use. Incubus nodded gently, glad that they could be of use. Honestly, he only grabbed them because he thought they were pretty. But, that was besides the point.

It seemed she was much more interested in his wounded leg. Incubus rolled his eyes as she demanded answers. The male limped closer before plopping down on the ground with an 'oof.' He laid down in a way that the injured leg would be in full display for her. "Blasted Coyotes ambushed this lass down in Auster so of course Aki and I intervened." Incubus was still slightly embarrassed to have allowed the creature to land a bite in the first place. But, he knew she was likely not interested in excuses to cover up the blow to his ego. "Thankfully we were the victors but not without some scars to remember the day." His voice grew low towards the end of his speech, displaying his self directed disappointment.

Incubus offered Riva a rather innocent look, "Would you be so kind as to patch me up?" Knowing full well she would already have a remedy in the works.

"Speech"

He made his way a little closer, which gave her another chance to examine the limp. Then, he lay down before him, propping out the leg. With the eye roll, she wasn’t sure if he was going to be an easy patient or not. But the compliance gave her an answer. She settled down on the ground in front of him, and placed a gentle paw on the wounded leg. As she did so, he spoke. Explaining how he and a wolf whose name she did not recognise had helped to save a stranger. “So that’s how you spend most of your free time, is it? Saving strange lass’s?” Her voice was lightly teasing. After all, she was one of them. “I would.” She agreed, knowing they would have been in for a fight if he had expected anything else. “I’m going to clean it first, I don’t know what bacteria was in its mouth. It will sting.” she warned him as she got back to her paws and grabbed an ointment from her bag. She might have lost the bulk of her supplies in the poach due to neglect, but she always carries a certain range of supplies on her. The wound was of her own making, a mixture of salt water infused with trillium. Trillium was rare, so she was very careful to spread out the use of it. She had found infusing it with water was the best to turn one use into many, and still provide effective cleaning. She poured a small dash of it across the wound, and sponged it lightly. "Speech"

Incubus was a decent patient. The only wound he'd needed tending to as of late was a sprained tail last season. Seere prescribed a mixture of herbs and taught him how to make a tea out of them. At first he was rather reluctant to comply with her orders but after a while he became rather fond of the tea. Perhaps that was due to cannabis being one of the primary ingredients, but that's not important. Thus, as Riva pressed at his leg he remained still and listened to her speak. Amusement spread across his face as dark lips formed a smirk, "It seems to be a running theme." A playful wink was sent her way as his attention was guided back to his leg.

Incubus' eyes were nearly unblinking as he watched her work. As good of a patient as he was the words 'It will sting' will cause even the bravest of Wolves to worry some. He knew what a bite or scratch felt like, even the impact of slamming into another Wolf at high speeds. But not some sort of stinging concoction being poured onto an open wound, that was already stringing. Thus, as she moved to spread the mx onto the bite wound he immediately flinched with lips curling upward to flash teeth. An involuntary response of warning from his body. - Guilt swam through him as his lips moved into a line and ears flicked back, "Sorry." He moved the leg back towards her to carry on. The mixture did sting but not nearly enough for such a reaction. He was just being a big man baby about it all.

Trying to distract himself from the whole situation Inc offered a question that'd been on his mind for a while, "How long have you been a healer?" Not everyone selected a profession early on and stuck with it. He was curious if she'd worn other hats in her time.

"Speech"

Riva as a person could be a jumpy creature, and a little uncertain. As a healer, she had a backbone of steel. She would jump into a burning building to save another person, but cringe from a growl of a wolf who was angry with her. She knew what was important, and helping another was at the top of her list. So, when Incubus gowled, she used her spare paw to give whatever part of him she could reach a comforting pat. “It’s okay, it’s almost over.” She promised him. As she dabbed the last splash onto his leg, and inspected the wound to ensure there were no foreign objects in it. “Since I was old enough to hold a bandage.” She said, with a small smile. “I was raised by a healer, and she believed in hands-on learning.” Confident that the wound was clean, she grabbed for her bag again and grabbed out small strips of softened skin, cleaned and disinfected. “I’m not going to stitch it, but if you overdo it and reopen it, I'll reconsider.” She warned him as she wrapped it. “I’ll need to check it in two days to see if there's any sign of infection. In the meanwhile, let me know if you feel any discomfort.” She said as she tied the knot. She stood back then, and grabbed the merigold he had left on the bench. “Did you know I use merigold in my sunburn lotions?” She asked with a warm smile. "Speech"

The small pat received from the healer was comforting but it did make him feel dramatic. Like a big baby. But, he felt comfortable with Riva and allowed himself to let those little insecure thoughts roll away. To the best of his abilities, of course. She reassured him it'd be over soon and the male merely turned his head away while squeezing his eyes shut. At first he wanted to watch the process but now he just wanted to do anything else but this. After the last few splashed Incubus let out that breath he hadn't remembering holding and let his eyes slowly open.

Riva revealed that she had in fact been a healer since an early age. The thought of puppy Riva eagerly holding a bandage entered his mind and brought a small smile to formerly strained lips. But, he couldn't help but to think over her words again. Raised by a healer. This seemed to imply a lake of parentage or maybe he was reading too far into it. Nevertheless, he dug further. "Was this healer your Mother?" Incubus looked to her and raised a brow out of curiosity. He hoped the prying would not agitate the already fragile lady.

As she worked Riva further explained the healing process. He'd once again need to be careful and likely refrain from a lot of strenuous activity. He'd only just gotten off bedrest at the beginning of Winter and now he found himself back in the same ordeal. Incubus sighed and nodded, "As you order." He gave her a pathetic look before she brought up an interesting factoid to sweep away the self pity. Marigold was an ingredient in the sunburn lotion. The lotion she had used on his Father such a long time ago, likely before he was even born. - Incubus felt that charming smile return, "I'm glad I chose it then so we can start making samples for some of my relatives." The majority of those in the pack that had the pink skin were of relation to Incubus.

"Speech"

"From what I understand, the woman who birthed me wouldn't know how to heal so much as a scratch" she said. Voice frank, and without the pain that had plagued her for much of her younger life. The jagged edges of that hurt had worn smooth with time. She had - probably - a mother out there somewhere who she had never met. And a brother, whom she had but wanted nothing to do with her. She had learned to live with it.

"Don't worry, it'll only be for a few days." She promised him. He'd gotten off lucky with this bite. It warmed her that he had come straight to her with the wound. It spoke of a level of trust between them. He hadn't seen her heal, but he had believed in her anyway. It helped a little to sooth something inside of her that had been in unrest since she had failed her daughter. He trusted her, and that meant something.

"We?" She said, a smile on her lips as she took the marigold and hooked it up to dry. If he wanted to learn how to make the salve, she would be more then happy to teach him.

So the Healer in question was not her Mother. Incubus understood how she felt, as a male who hadn't grown up with parental figures either. He couldn't put all of the blame on them as he had made the choice to leave at an early age. But, now that he was back it was as if his parents were gone for good. Hannibal was likely dead and his Mother was but a ghost unwilling to accept his help to rejoin the living. The thought made him a touch sad but he didn't let that show.

Riva offered reassurance that he'd only have to rest for a few days. He couldn't help but to nod and say, "Very well, I suppose a small break from training won't do much harm." Incubus was hard at work perfecting his fighting skills. He had eyes set on the Samurai rank and would soon challenge for it. He knew win or loss he'd likely be granted the rank but he still wanted to display the best of is abilities. "Thank you for your aid."

Incubus watched as she hung up the Marigold and spoke. Another nod could be seen, "I'd like to learn how to make it. One day I may have little pink skinned pups of my own and I'd like to know how to prevent their suffering early on."

"Speech"

She would have told him anything about her past, if he asked. She realised she wouldn't keep anything from him, wouldn't lie or deflect. She trusted him with her stories, for all the kindness and patience he had shown her. "Of course, any time" she promised as he thanked her for her help. She finished hanging the marigold - a difficult feat for the small wolf - and padded back to him again.

At his next words, she paused. Surprised at the unexpected turn in conversation. She imagined little Inc kids running around, and was surprised by a small flash of pain she felt. It must be sorrow, she decided. For her own children. Once little creatures that had stuck by her side and learned at her paws. Now, one was vanished into the world and another was beneath it. She pushed aside the sadness and offered him a small smile. "Of course, I'd be happy to show you." She promised him. "We will be churning out batches of it in no time." As soon as spring was upon them, ans things were growing to good heights.

As a loner Incubus had rarely considered being a Father. But, now as he settled down in the pack with so many other younglings running around it was hard not to imagine kids of his own. He felt as though it was his duty to provide more Kleins to fill their ranks but he also wanted a family to call his own. Without a Mother or Father around and his littermates being m.i.a. he felt rather alone. There was small family units all around him. Incubus was merely the single Uncle with nothing but his fighting skills to worry about. That is until Riva came into his life. She was surely someone he cared for. She was filling a void.

Riva expressed she'd be happy to show him how to make the sun lotion and Incubus offered a smile, "Thank you... Again." He let forth a little chuckle, "I never thought I'd have any interest in such a thing and then you come along..." Incubus sprawled out on the floor, resting the side of his head flat against the cool ground. "You've change me, little healer." Pale eyes seemed to take her in then, with a bit more intensity then usual.

"Speech"

She had already packed up her healer bag, but she liked to keep busy. So she pulled out a small jar and set it on the bench beside her. Pulling a small motor and pestle that rested her closer. She poured some of the leaves into it, and set to work grinding them into flakes. "Well I'd never deny someone's interest in healing. Especially a warrior whos likely to find themselves in trouble." She tipped her head towards him. From what she understood of him, he seemed to dive head first into trouble. Especially if there was someone on the other side that needed a little rescuing

She gave a soft laugh at his words of change. Looked into his eyes, and was startled with what she found there. She cleared her throat, and worked the pestle some more. "Well. I don't have to tell you how you've changed me, Incubus." She said softly. Surprised that he had felt changed by their time together as well.