A few companions had been sent ahead to alert the Raiders that the party that had gone to investigate the happenings at Hell's River were returning with injured among them. Calliope had gone, along with her sisters. Somewhere along the way they'd discovered a handful of mischievous pups had tagged along as well. Finch had no idea what to expect for her Calliope's return, but she'd brought a satchel with the healing kit she'd been building since she'd arrived to the border to greet her.

She'd never been to that place, but she knew magma and fire breached the surface of the earth there. Amongst her supplies were a few burn poultices and dampened, thin cloth, as well as some run of the mill remedies to alleviate pain and patch simple injuries. If there was something worse coming... she wasn't sure she'd be prepared. Sucking in a deep breath, Finch continued to tread the same path she'd been tracing for hours. In fact, she'd worn the grasses down by pacing back and forth, trampled them straight into the ground. Her restless eyes searched the plains, ears swiveling in kind to catch any trace of movement or distant rustling of grasses.

"speech"

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There was something about pain that Calliope both detested and loved. The surge of adrenaline and how her body reacted during the fight had been exhilarating. Taking down a giant, other-worldly monster had been glorious. A sort of retribution for the scar that had since healed across her chest from the last time worms had emerged. That worm though had supposedly only been in her dreams, even if the scar begged to differ.

The part of pain that she hated was the aftermath. Once the adrenaline sagged, leaving her exhausted and broken, she wondered how she would make it back home. Half-blind, blood encrusted around her right eye, she also wondered if she had been flayed open. Blood practically poured down her face and neck, making her woozy. Everything spun as she stumbled with the group, splitting off near the end so that they could head straight for Sakana. Calliope chose to seek her own healer.

Clearly, Calliope wasn't going to make it to the den or even to the edges of the estuary, but luck would be on her side. Approaching the border, her strides short and stumbling, she sees a familiar pale form pacing back and forth. A sloppy smile breaks out across her pale lips, one side malformed from the burns and cuts that lacerated the right side of her face. Why was her heart fluttering at the sight of Finch? Definitely from the injuries.

"Miss me, Little Bird?" Calliope crooned, eyelids fluttering before she collapsed, finally feeling safe enough to land on the group in a heap of agony and destruction.

Calliope Fallen

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The grasses parted to reveal the Queen herself. Finch's eyes glazed over as they scanned Calliope's wounds, cataloguing each one and the best course of treatment she had available in her perilously small borrowed satchel.

Calliope's wounds were dreadful. Open, red weeping skin. Scrapes and cuts and bruises. It was ghoulish.

She was still the most compelling thing Finch had ever seen.

A twisted smile spread across Calliope's face before she collapsed in front of her. Finch gulped. She'd eased Theory and Thalia through their births, but Jay had been there. This would be her first time tending to a patient truly alone and she needed to be up to the task. This was an alpha. This was Calliope. Her Calliope. The mutual claim still felt fraught and tenuous, but Finch clung to it. Calliope trusted her with this and she would see it through. "Missed you? Of course, but I kept busy," she said, her tones low and soothing. Finch manipulated her carefully to expose the worst of the burns so that she could treat them first.

"What great adventure did you have, Callie?" The nickname slipped easily. It felt too small for Calliope, but Finch liked it. The name made her smaller and softer all at once. Finch could care for Callie without the fear of permanently marring Calliope, the Raiders' Insidious Queen. This would keep her steady, her actions sure and swift. Wordlessly, she emptied the bag and laid out a jar of aloe gel and the wad of bandages she'd dipped in cool water. They were more ambient air temperature now, but Finch thought anything would feel like relief compared to Callie's blistered skin. Another wax-sealed vessel held some strong-brewed poppy tea to relieve some of her pain. Finch broke the seal and pressed it close to her lips. "Drink this," she murmured, hoping to keep her mostly lucid through this process. Not blinded by pain, but not so drugged she'd fall asleep. Once the tea took effect she would begin her work.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma