Zee tossed and turned in the night, the pain in her neck making it impossible for her to forget what had happened between her and Sirius. Nightmares haunted her sleep, and when she finally awoke she felt as if she'd not gotten any rest at all. Blue eyes opened to greet the day, then squeezed back shut when the sun decided to try to burn her iris'. "What time is it?" She grumbled, turning over as if to seek the comfort of her friends fur. Her side fell against the stone - Sirius was gone. Pulling herself to her feet slowly - the drugs had wore off but she still didn't have perfect clarity - she surveyed the den. There, not too far off was Luce. Zee took a moment to be startled, did she fall asleep in the wrong den? And then it flooded back to her. Luce sent Sirius away after the attack. Had she been here all night? She tried her hardest to recall what Luce might have said, but the memories were dulled by the fog of sedation Luce had administered. Her chest heaved as anxiety began to build, and her ears flattened gently against her skull as she eyed the healer. "Where is he?" "Speech"

"Gone, for the time being," Luce responded coolly. She had observed Zee through the night as she slept. Lucretia was used to foregoing rest, tonight was hardly different from the hours she spent awake reorganizing her stores. "It's best for you to spend time apart while I work on your treatment. I don't want to risk you being re-injured." It was only half a lie. Luce wanted to suss out what was going on between the pair, and it would be easier to do that by dividing and conquering. She also needed to figure out how to go about treating Sirius' mental health issues. That would be a complicated enough affair on its own. "The kind of healing you require will take a long time, and it's best that you try to relax. The wounds are deep, and they need to heal from the inside out." She had prepared a variety of poultices and moss to pack the wounds with, but she would wait to clean and redress it for later. "How did you sleep?" Luce asked, standing and stretching her stiff muscles.

Zee's head flopped back onto her paws as Luce spoke, gaze drifting to stare out the door as if she'd see her friend departing. This wasn't fair - it's not like Sirius was a true danger to her. She just couldn't sleep beside him. The healer's words didn't make sense - if she truly worried that Zee would be re-injured by the titan intentionally, then why allow him to roam the pack lands? Especially with the pups on the way. Though alternatively if Luce agreed that it was an issue with his sleep, then the solution didn't need to be keeping them from each other during waking hours. Why couldn't Luce merely command Zee to go to her den, at night only? She grumbled, annoyed. There was something else going on here. "Luce, it was an accident." She said softly, hoping to talk some sense into the Klein. "There's no need to keep us separated, we did not have an argument or anything... he just had a bad dream." She slid her head along her paws to regard the other woman, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "He's my best friend, please don't keep him away. I have Sirius and the Empress... I don't have anyone else." Her ears flattened and she did her best to let the emotions within her show so that if this healer Klein might have a heart at all that maybe she'd sympathize with the slave. A heavy sigh, and she buried her head back under her paws. "I slept like shit." She admitted. "My neck hurts." "Speech"

"Ah well, it won't get better any time soon," she replied. Zee's sleep would be uncomfortable for months to come, but it was necessary to make sure the wounds healed thoroughly. "You're just lucky that he missed your major arteries, or we'd all be digging your grave this morning." Luce gave the slave a long, weighty stare. Perhaps it was cruel to separate them, but it was in the pack's best interest. Did she not stop to think of the consequences? Any stolen moment between the pair was a stolen moment from Deathbelle herself - at least, that's how she knew her sister would see it. "Accident or not, I need to help Sirius suss out his own trauma so we can treat it at the source. Just as your wounds need to heal from the inside out. You can understand, yes? I know you're not stupid." She considered Zee carefully, then motioned for her to stand. "It seems you went from being pinned under his paws to being best of friends very quickly. Is there some part of you that likes being pushed around, Zeitgeist? No matter, you must stay hydrated," Lucretia segued, leaving Zee to think on her words. She retreated to a corner where she had brought along what she had deemed necessary for the first few days of treatment, including moss balls soaked with water and gingseng. "Suck of these. It will give you some energy and much needed liquids. Forget about Sirius for now - with all the time we'll be spending together over the next few weeks, soon we'll be completely chummy."

Zee's sullen expression deepened as Luce spoke on and on, eventually coming to rest as a very particularly grumpy frown. She nodded her head halfheartedly as the healer spoke on correcting Sirius' underlying issues, and while she was still facing away from the Klein she took the opportunity to roll her eyes. Sirius was fine. If he wasn't fine, he'd sure as hell not be serving Deathbelle, right? Her ear flicked suddenly on Luce's words, and she turned to face her with her head lifting from her paws. "Zee." She corrected, voice firm. Gods did she hate the name she was born with. "And no, I don't enjoy being pushed around." The small slave flopped her head back down hard, wincing at the pain in her neck at the movement. There was more she wanted to say however, and her discomfort and lack of sleep did little to help her contain her attitude. "Sirius is a good man, he hurts me because he's loyal and people he thinks are his betters command him to." She eyed the moss balls, leaning forward to carefully grab one as directed and suck the liquid from it's soft clutches. It tasted vile, and after a moment she spit the thing out. "You know, as long as we're both aiming towards the same thing I don't understand why you must be cruel to me. You want to keep the pack healthy and happy, I want Empress Deathbelle happy and healthy. So why does it matter if I'm lacking a little in the respect department as long as I do my job and obey?" "Speech"

"Because when you lack respect, it begins to breed resentment. On both sides. I care deeply for the well-being of our Empress, but I also bear the burden of the entire pack's well-being. It irks me to know that there are those among our ranks who are dissatisfied." She was absolutely vexed by Zee's attitude. Lucretia's bedside manner was lacking, but she had never quite encountered a patient as difficult as this. She had hoped that the injury had dulled the female's attitude, but it had only served to sharpen it to a point. Lucretia tried and failed to stop herself from rolling her eyes at Zee's perspective on Sirius' position within the pack. "He has lived his entire life beneath Deathbelle's paw, whether either of them are aware of it. Chains like that are not simply broken. He will feel the weight of that relationship for the rest of his life." Luce fixed Zee with a cold, meaningful stare. "I would hate to see you get hurt. Physically or otherwise." It was a dangerous game that the two of them were playing. They were lucky that Belle was occupied with Archon's affections, but she was flighty by nature. As much as she professed her love for the priestly man, Luce doubted that Belle's love for her childhood friend had faded at all. "Just... be careful," she begged, a note of pleading honesty entering her voice. It wasn't a threat, it wasn't an insult. Lucretia was truly concerned.

Zee gave a quiet scoff, lifting her head once more to look at the Klein woman as she spoke. For once it seemed like Lucretia was speaking at her as a wolf to a wolf, and not a Klein to a slave. That much, Zee appreciated. She sighed softly at the mention of Sirius' bonds, eyes flitting down to her paws as she worried her toes into the dirt. It was true, the titan would likely never escape his chains. No matter how high he might rise, he would always be the Empress' vessel. "I think I love him." The admittance came out of nowhere, and a tight grasping feeling seemed to seize her heart then and there. It was silly to admit it to a higher up, but Luce was one of the few women Zee knew in Ashen. Although she felt the frustration from the healer, she was also the Klein who'd seemed to hate her the least - aside from Deathbelle, and Zee knew she couldn't have this discussion with her mistress. "Have you ever been in love? What would you do, Luce?" Soft blue eyes lifted to touch upon the other woman's face, her gaze desperate and sad. "Speech"

They had seemed to come to an understanding. Lucretia relaxed a hair, letting out a breath. It felt good to come to a mutual understanding. They had been at odds for so long. All Luce had ever wanted Zee to understand was that, no matter what, her work came first; sometimes that meant the emotional health of the pack as well. She was a practiced healer with many talents. Wounds didn't exist only as superficial cuts and bruises. Internal, mental strife was just as important to tend to in order to ensure a full, complete holistic approach to the pack's overall health. "Well..." she thought on the matter. Would Zee think it was funny that she had once had a childhood crush on Sirius? Unrequited, of course, but those feelings were light years away now. Luce decided not to mention it. "No, I don't think I've ever been in love. Not for real." What would she do? Well, even if she'd never been in love, Lucretia found her answer easily. "I would tread carefully and protect my heart," she answered honestly, creeping forward to touch the tips of her paws to Zee's. Luce wanted to offer her some comfort, but she wasn't quite sure how.

Zee's expression softened considerably at the healer's words, her eyes drifting down to look upon Lucretia's paws touching her own. She gave her a small smile, appreciating the woman's compassionate touch. "I suppose you are right." She relented, knowing that Lucretia was right and protecting her heart was smarter then letting it lead her around blindly. She couldn't begin to try to entertain the idea of staying away from the titan however, so Zee might as well have been stuck. She took her gaze off their paws to met the Klein woman's own. "I hope you do find love." She told her softly. "You always put the pack's health first... you deserve someone who puts you first for a change." Zee's eyes strayed off Lucretia's face, almost ashamed. She wanted to be friends with the woman desperately, but was all too aware of her place in the pack and the things she could and could not say to her Klein masters. "Speech"