There was so much to still be done at the festival. She hadn't gotten much of her fishing done yet; she had been so preoccupied with her sister's coming litter and overseeing the slave girl that she had only a precious few moments to herself. Luce set about making the most of her time by wading into the water to watch the shadows carefully. It was a deceptively tricky little task. Fish weren't very smart, but they were damned quick and reactive in their element. Most things came easily to her, so it was frustrating to have to slow down and really focus on the task at hand. So often she was in her element when she was treating patients, and while she always preferred to catch her own food, she had never been much of a fisher. Ah! Was that it? Lucretia dipped her jaws into the water and snapped them closed. Attempt #2 Attempt #1 is here

His other fishing spot was becoming less active, and more and more wolves were going there. As a result, Aiden sort of drifted away, wandering the festivals and the bright sights, the odd creatures and odd smells. There was just about everything here, and he didn't quite know what to make of it. It was certainly interesting for sure - and so much to do. He'd only caught a few fish, and he was... well, still hungry, and wanted tickets.

He spotted a small little fishing spot only occupied by one other wof, so he headed towards it, slipping into the water with very little sound. He smiled gently and nodded in the other wolf's direction, though when he did so, he paused, breathing in the faint scent of herbs that were clinging to her. Skinny, tear-stained, and herb-scented was certainly an odd combination. Was she sick? But, the herbs didn't smell like injuries or sickness, and her scent was normal otherwise; he wasn't sure she was sick. Healer, maybe? Realizing he was staring, he shook his head roughly. "I'm sorry. I'm Aiden, a healer of Abaven. Are you a healer too? I smell herbs on you." He might as well take the plunge - both figuratively and literally as a fish swam by and he tried to lunge for it.

3/10
2/10
1/10
"Speech" "You"

art by risketch

She was so focused on fishing that she didn't notice Aiden until he opened his mouth. Lucretia turned, her eyes widened just a bit in surprise. He wasn't familiar, but he smelled strongly of pack. She had heard of the name he gave quite a bit - it seemed that Abaven was the largest pack in these lands, and plenty of wolves from it were attending the festival. Luce had smelled as much. Chuckling softly, she nodded. With how engrossed she was in monitoring Deathbelle's pregnancy, creating poultices and tonics, she supposed that she would stink of the stuff - especially to anyone with a nose for herbs. "Yes, I am Ashen's only Shamyn," she replied, offering the male a reserved smile. It was always good to be chummy with other healers; knowledge was its own currency that could be traded or offered freely. "Well met, Aiden. My name is Lucretia Klein. I have been tending to my Empress closely as she navigates her first pregnancy, and so I've been mired in herbs for months now." Not to mention regular check-ups for the rest of the pack, vetting new members, and managing her own allergies. When she was in the thick of it, the work didn't seem overwhelming, but truthfully Luce had quite a bit on her plate. Spotting another fish out of the corner of her eye, she tried to snap it up. Attempt #3

He nodded to her answer, though he had no idea what a Shamyn was; he guessed it was their version of healer, much like how Abaven called their ranks after flowers. He didn't quite understand why, but it was what gave each pack their uniqueness. Every pack was structured differently, and therefore was each unique. He listened closely to the woman's words, albeit unable to help a flinch at the word pregnancy. Pregnancy was something that over the seasons was something to dread. It was a nightmare, a death sentence sometimes, and something that was caused in pain, continued in pain, and finished in pain. He sometimes forgot that there were women who wanted pregnancies; that pregnancy could voluntarily happen. That not every wolf was one crying and screaming and pleading with him for some way to terminate it, which was something he always had to refuse to do because inevetibly one of the overseers had noticed by that point, and to kill the pups was a death sentence for him. Sometimes it was a death sentence for the wolf who asked, too, for she could be put to the death, after her pups were born.

Once again realizing he went silent, thinking of those vivid times, he gave her a somewhat shaky smile. "It is a pleasure, Lucretia," he murmured quietly. "I hope the pregnancy is going as wanted?" he inquired just as quietly. It seemed from her dedication it was a wanted litter, and because it was the Empress's - even more important, but still. "I must admit, I am not too skilled with pregnancies. I have tended to a few before, but mostly checkups and being there during the birth," he admitted. He was better at terminating them and preventing them than actually helping them.

Squeezing his eyes shut momentarily, he breathed in deeply and let it out slowly, bringing calm back into him. He studied the water; the blue-greenness of it, the sandy undertone caused by their paws. The flashes of fish too stupid to realize that their deaths wee going to come soon. And ever so slowly, he lifted up a paw and tried to slam it down on a fish.

This post 4/10
3/10
2/10
1/10

"Speech" "You"

art by risketch

He seemed lost in his own thoughts once she mentioned the pregnancy. Fair enough. She had enough experience as a healer during the fall of the Klein Empire to know that they were not always a blessed thing. Labor was still one of the most intense pains a female might endure in her lifetime under ideal circumstances. She had tended to many a diseased birth in her youth, before coming to Boreas and before Ashen was formed. Visions of limp puppies and their hemorrhaging mothers would haunt her to her grave. Luce allowed Aiden his quiet, focusing instead on fishing. She made a few more attempts as he gathered his thoughts. "I have tended to a few pregnancies throughout the duration; it can be a difficult thing," she said simply, not wanting to pry. Luce would allow him the same respect she hoped a stranger would allow her. "And yes, things are going smoothly! She's always been a vain thing, so it's pleased us all to see her waddle a little," Lucretia added, a sparkle of mirth in her eyes. It felt good to vent to a stranger about the pregnancy, especially a fellow healer. The litter was all she had thought about these past few months, and she was glad that they were entering the home stretch. Soon they could welcome the puppies. "Do you have any times for care after the labor? I'm always keen to learn from others, especially if you've had especially tending to births." He was quiet and reserved in a way that she particularly liked. There was nothing worse than a wolf who yammered on needlessly. Attempt #4

He was beyond grateful for her accepting silence; he was uncertain and rather nervous over the fact that he had fallen into... that odd, weird memory flashback. To return to the present, and to see no judgement for his spacing out was extremely appreciative. "I remember. I -" he paused here, growing quietly for a brief second. "I mostly tried to help them lose the pregnancy. Or prevent it in the first place. The very few that did not desire either were healthy, as healthy as... they could be in their situation. Truly, my specialty is in battlefield injuries and wound treatment." The more he talked, the more he stabalized - to the point that when Lucretia made her sly comment, Aiden chuckled. "Well then, I hope she is blessed with five large pups," he snorted. "And that you get the pleasure of seeing her frazzled and ungroomed from them running around and being hellions."

The smile faded as she questioned him, and he tilted his head to the side in contemplation. "They'll be born soon, I'm guessing... so no risk of too cold. The biggest Iv'e seen then are fading puppies. These puppies just ... fade. They start dying. There's no logic behind it. Keeping one alive is very hard - you have to typically force-feed them because they won't feed themselves. But at the same time, a puppy can aspirate and die with that, because they breathe air and milk at the same time... Herbs can't really be used on puppies that young, either, which makes it even harder. I always tried to feed with milk soaked moss. Trying to shock the puppy's system sometimes work, such as dipping the puppy in warm water and vigorously rubbing.I said those out of order, though - I normally try to shock the puppy and then go to force-feeding. I will alternate however, if that makes sense. keep trying to shock the puppy, because we need the puppy to feed itself, but with force feeding in between attempts so it can try to stay alive. I've seen it happen on 3 week old puppies, but haven't seen it on puppies really any older than that. They... usually don't survive," the last part was said quietly and with a pause, sorrow gleaming in the healer's eyes as he counted the few times such a thing had happened. One mother, she lost nearly her entire litter. All but one died. He couldn't save any of them. The other mother it happened with, he managed to save the puppy.

Sighing, he started talking again after only a brief pause, "Other than that, care is pretty easy. Mostly just keeping mom and puppies happy and sated. Removing any bully puppies if need be, so small pups can nurse without disturbance. I found that my patients were usually completely exhausted by the time it was over, so I just took over with severing the umbilical cord and doing newborn stimulation. There was one time that a mother bit too close, and accidentally killed her puppy. She was acting on instinct - tired, in pain, but her brain telling her she had to bite the cord, and she just... bit too close. It wasn't pretty, and it was awful." He fell silent at that point, humming quietly to himself in thought. Was there anything else he could think of? After another few seconds, he shook his head. "That's about it that I can recall." After that, he dropped his gaze back to the water, scanning it for any disturbance. There was one near his paw, and after a second of studying it, he lunged for it in the water.

This post 5/10
4/10
3/10
2/10
1/10

"Speech" "You"

art by risketch

Aiden's advice was thoroughly considered and Lucretia considered it invaluable. She considered it prudent for healers of all walks of life to trade their skills as frequently as possible, and this festival was proving one such excellent occasion. Luce made a mental note to seek out some other healers present and hear their counsel. It was rare to be turned away, but she had seen some wolves prefer to dabble in darker arts. Deathbelle herself liked poisons more than health tinctures; it was something Luce had never quite understood. Health was her priority. "Thank you, Aiden of Abaven," she said earnestly. "I can tell that you have learned much from your experiences and have encountered quite a few challenges. Take comfort, at least, that the knowledge you've gained can be used to help others." Knowledge was an invaluable currency - it took a shrewd wolf to know when to offer it freely. Lucretia cracked a smile as he spoke of frazzled mothers. For some he might be right, but she doubted Deathbelle would put a hair out of place once she had Zee's assistance after the labor. They were fortunate to have the help of the slave. Though Lucretia was still uncertain where her true loyalties laid, it was obvious she wouldn't harm a sliver of a hair on the Klein puppies' heads. Even Sirius would slit her throat for that (or so she hoped). "We have acquired the services of a suitable nanny, so I doubt the Empress will appear disheveled for a moment longer than necessary after labor. Their grooming routine is... laborious," she laughed. While grooming was an important part of a healthy routine, Luce sometimes worried Zee's attentive nature might lead to bald spots. Wouldn't that just tickle Deathbelle? "I am hopeful for an easy labor. She's very capable, though I know keeping your wits about you can be a fickle thing when you're bringing forth new life." Lucretia trained her eyes on the water, spying a flash of light that may be a fish. Ever eager, she dove for it. "How has Abaven been faring? You have been so helpful, perhaps there is some advice I may offer in return." It would be helpful to learn more about the other packs. Brokering alliances was an important part of leadership. Once the puppies were born, Hannibal and Deathbelle would have to focus their attentions elsewhere if Ashen was to thrive. Attempt #5

He smiled at her words when she finished thinking of what he had said, and he nodded gratefully. "That's one thing I will always be grateful for. The ability to help others is everything to me." And it truly was; it was what helped him survive the slaver camp. He couldn't try to run, he wouldn't, not when so many depended on him for survival. While wolves didn't have the same dependency on him as before - for which he was seriously grateful - knowing he had the ability to save lives, share information, and learn more to save even more was something that was absolutely invaluable to him.

"Aww, that's disappointing," he grumbled lightly as she dashed his hopes that she would appear fragile. Empress as she was, she had a nanny. It was not something that surprised Aiden at all. It just made sense, especially for the vain wolf that Lucretia had described. He nodded once more when he described her hopes. "I hope so as well. And... yeah. Though, I was the one freaking out my first time. Many of the mother's just start... acting on instinct. It works out really well, usually. They do almost everything that needs to be done with little to no guidance."

His head tilted as he considered her question regarding Abaven, and a hum was his only response for a second as he lunged for another fish he thought he spotted. "I've been mostly recovering lately to know much, but for the most part, we've not had any issues. A fire happened a while back, but wolves are recovering nicely. I honestly can't think of anything happening right now," he answered, completely truthfully. He really couldn't imagine.

Attempt 7