**Set before the Valta pack challenge**

The wet, chilly change in the weather has meant that more bugs have been hatching lately and that means that Strix has had his paws full trying to keep fleas, ticks, and every odd parasite from invading the wolves of Valta. However, the down side of treating so many wolves with varying forms of external vermin is that the small man was bound to catch something eventually. Sitting outside, on a warm autumn day, the Klein man carefully stokes a small fire that has a metal grate set up over it as he prepares some treatment for himself.

Strix’s ears have bothering him immensely and he has a bad feeling that he might have picked up some ear mites along the way. Sighing as he tries to ignore the deep urge to scratch… no, not scratch, to bury his paw in his ear and dig until the uncomfortable feeling stops, the man tries to busy himself in the simple tasks at hand. A small, metal pot, filled with water, is placed on top of metal grate and he turns to the herbs beside him as he waits for it to boil.

Unable to ignore the deep itch, Strix violently shakes his head as his ears flatten against his skull and he growls out in annoyance. The space that the black and cloudy gray man has chosen to set up shop is wide open and he swears that he hears the pitter-patter of puppy paws close by. Turning his mismatched gaze out to the grass filled area, he tries to figure out if he has company by calling out, “Hello? Anyone there?”

Sure, his predicament is more than a little embarrassing but, if it offers someone else the opportunity to learn, then Strix figures he might as well share his misery with company. Waiting to see if someone will come forward to join him, the man’s ears remain flattened to his skull as they continue to be a constant source of irritation.




WC: 331
Total WC: 331/1500


"Strix Klein"

Nervous as Bancha was, he wasn't entirely scared to not go wandering. At least throughout Valta lands. Those were safe. With the scent of the pack and his fathers to help keep him safe, Bancha spent most of his days wandering. Collecting herbs, discovering plants, observing others from the sidelines. He's a happy-go-lucky sort of pup, but being social isn't in his repertoire yet. That fear of what if they're mean to me coming to lash at his thoughts though he has no reason to feel that way. Maybe it's because he's from a bigger litter and wasn't always the first one to get anything. Some excuse created in his mind that isn't entirely rational.

So he sits in the shadow of a bush, nibbling on a leaf, watching Strix do something. Bancha's brow would scrunch every so often wondering what the older male is doing. He hasn't seen anyone do anything with herbs like that before so it is a curious thing, but he can't find the bravery to ask. No, that's not safe enough. He'd rather wait and ask his dads later. It isn't until he pulls at his next leaf does the brittle twig snap, alerting Strix to his presence. Bancha's eyes go wide as the other man asks if anyone is there and he can't help but swallow hard.

With a shaky step, the pup ducks out from his hiding spot, body lowered to the ground. "H-hi," he mumbles, eyes averted to the ground where he can see his paws. "I-I'm sorry, I was just watching what you were doing," Bancha scoots close enough so Strix can hear him, but not too close that he could be grabbed surprisingly. "Are you okay? S-something seems to be bothering you?" Finally Bancha turns his aqua eyes upward toward Strix, head tilting lightly out of curiosity and sympathy toward the man's condition.

BANCHA

wc: 313
total: 644

While Strix’s ears are flattened out to the sides, it is not from any signs of anger but the simple fact that he has some really bothersome pests that decided to take up residence in his ears. Mismatched eyes blink in surprise as the pup shakily steps out into the open and mumbles a hello, scooting close enough that their voice can heard but out of range of any kind of touch. Confusion pulls his at features but he keeps his voice light and welcoming, offering them a small smile as he says, “Well, hello little one. Yes, I do have something bothering me. Tell me, have you ever heard of some tiny bugs called mites?”

Humor colors his eyes as gently pats the area beside him, offering the pup a lesson if they wished to join him. Making sure to keep his movements slow so as not to startle the flightily pup, Strix pulls a small bowl toward him as he begins to explain, “During the rainy season, there are certain small bugs, called pests, that like to try and hitch a ride on our bodies. The mites that bother me are in my ears so I need to get rid of them.” Words are kept warm for the pup because it is obvious that they are nervous and the man does not wish to stress them unnecessarily.

Slowly lifting a paw to point at the metal pot with the water that is heating up, Strix describes what he is doing, “I am heating up this water to pour over some green tea leaves.” Paw shifts to grab some of the leaves from a piece of cloth, offering them up for the pup to sniff, if they wanted to before placing them into the bowl while he continues to talk, “I am going to use the water that the leaves are soaked in to flush out my ears. Basically, I am going to pour some of water into my ears and shake my head a lot to help get these bugs out.”

The water is slowly heating up but has not yet reached the boiling point so looks to the youngster and asks, “Would be like to help me?” A smile, friendly and inviting is on his lips as he waits to see if the pup wishes to learn more. There is another step, after the flush, that he will share when the time comes but right now, he doesn’t want to overload the pup with too much information too quickly.




WC: 422
Total WC: 1066 / 1500


"Strix Klein"

Strix gives him a smile and Bancha can't help but smile back. His tail wags against the dirt and grass on the ground as his head tilts to the side. Mites? Bancha blinks a few times, shaking his head to say no, he hadn't. "Papa has mentioned fleas, but not mites," the pup responds, his brow furrowing slightly. What were mites? Is that what was bothering him?

Bancha notices then that Strix pats the ground beside him with a paw, he knows what that means. Obedient and willing to appease those older than him, Bancha scoots over close to Strix so that he can really see what the man was doing. Looking down at the bowl presented to him, he turns a floppy ear toward Strix to listen closely. He watches the water ripple from the bowl being moved until Strix says that the mites were in his ears. A gasp leaves him as he turns his face upward with wide eyes. "In your ears?" He whispers incredulously, worried suddenly for his packmate that clearly was in some sort of pain.

He watches though as Strix points at the heavy metal pot that is being heated by the fire. Listening carefully, Bancha stays quiet as the Strix explains what he is going to do with the water. It sounded interesting and Bancha was more than eager to help anyone who needed it. "Oh of course, I would love to help!" Bancha's tail goes waving again as he looks up from the warming pot toward Strix who smiles down at him. "Are you sure the water won't hurt you?" He asks, care and empathy alight in his aqua eyes as he looks from Strix to the pot and then back again.

BANCHA

wc: 290
total: 1356/1500

Mismatched gaze watches the small pup as the older man talks about mites and the way the boy blinks several times before shaking his head in the negative tells Strix everything he needs to know. The black and cloudy gray male goes on to explain exactly what the little critters are to the pup that sits beside him and he offers a gentle chuckle as the boy gasps and looks up at him with wide eyes, the whispered question earning a nod from the impromptu teacher.

As the boy agrees to help him, Strix peeks at the water in the pot and notices that it has begun to bubble. Nodding to himself, the man prepares to pull pot off of the heat by the thickly wrapped leather that was placed over the handle but pauses at the question and looks to the pup while offering him a grin. With a small shake of his head the man says, “Once it is cool enough, it won’t hurt. It will be extremely uncomfortable but it will not hurt me. Better to be uncomfortable for a few minutes than to continue with these little bugs in my ears.”

With that, he makes sure that there are enough green tea leaves in the bowl that has been specially made to have a funnel at one end then quickly and carefully grabs the handle of the pot and pours the boiling water over the leaves. Placing the pot aside to cool away from the pup, he looks to the young boy and says, “Now, mites are very tiny and, like fleas, you need to clear them out before you can treat the effected areas. That is why I am going to pour the green tea into my ears, to get rid of as many of them as I can.”

Looking to a tall, clear jar that rests beside him, Strix points to it and says, “After we pour the tea in my ears, I will shake out the excess fluid and, once that is done, we will then put this into my ears. It is an oil, pressed from olives and it will help suffocate any remaining pests. Plus, it will help float any debris that may be in there so I can get them up and out.” Eyes move to the rapidly cooling water and he gently dips a paw pad into, noting that is now warm but no longer hot. Nodding to himself, he looks to the young boy and says, “Ready?”

A smile curls his lips as he lows himself onto his belly, head resting against the ground so that the pups can easily access his ears. Making sure to keep them perked, he instructs the boy to pour some into his right ear first. As the warm liquid slowly trickles into his ears, Strix resists the urge to immediately begin shaking his head because he knows that he needs to get as much of the tea into his ear. Finally, his head shoots up and he viciously shakes his head back and forth, spraying tea water debris every which way as he rids the excess liquid from his ear canals.

Once he is done, he looks to the boy and says, “Good job. Now let’s get the other one!” With that, they repeat the process and Strix can already start to feel relief from the constant itch. Next, they put in the oil in his ears, one at a time and he carefully massages the outside of his ears to help coat everything in his inner ears. Once the pair are done, a relieved sigh leaves his lips and the man’s tail sweeps across the ground. With a grin, he says, “Great job! I couldn’t have done this without you. Thanks for all your help!” And, with everything done, they pair clean and go their separate ways.




WC: 646
Total WC: 2002 / 1500



"Strix Klein"