Yes, it was a good idea to have a practice raid in case someone actually raided in the future. Did they have to really hurt each other though? It was exasperating. Bunch of blood thirsty meat heads... While they were away beating each other up, Iolaire had prepared a sort of trauma station. She brought out all of her supplies and organized them on large, flat stones. Now she simply needed to wait for the influx of injured warriors. No doubt Sirius would be one of them. He always had a knack for getting himself hurt. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that he liked it and did it just to give her a hard time. The dark woman couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head. "These people..." She was ready for them though. Seating herself upon the furs outside of her cottage, she waited. "Speech"

Deathbelle made her way to Iolaire’s cottage so she might be able to watch while also being nearby in case her own talents were needed. She smiled in surprise and pride as her dainty paws brought her to her destination and she gazed upon the well organized supplies. If anyone was prepared it was her dearest Io. With a smile on her features Belle didn’t hesitate to offer her once lover an affectionate nuzzle before finding a good vantage point. She could mostly see the action from here. Enough to tell what was going on. Thank goodness the moon was nearly full.

”You know they’re having fun though.” She offered amusedly, lilac eyes stealing a glance at the dainty healer before her attention returned to the battle below. ”I’ve never been more proud of my children.” Her words were heart felt and emotional, this could be the last time the five of them were in one place together.

Mortis bounced along towards the cottage, where the healers were supposed to gather in preparation for the wounds that would be likely to follow with the raid. He had wanted so badly to be hiding in the grass with his father. He had paused on his way to the cottage, just to be on the outskirts, and hear his father's warcry, before dashing on to the cottage. He knew if he was caught anywhere near the battlefield he would be in huge trouble.

When he arrived he looked first to Io, wagging his tail. “Hi Auntie - Aunties” he corrected when he recognised the dark and light wolf beside Io. he bounded forward, stretching up to give Deathbelle a kiss on her cheek, before turning to give Io the same treatment. “Can I help, I promise not to get in the way” he said, looking imploringly at both authorities.

When Deathbelle arrived, Iolaire smiled and returned the nuzzle of affection. They were best friends, after all. Belle pointed out how much fun they were having and the small healer snorted. "They're going to show off, get hurt, and come to me to clean up the aftermath." Green gold eyes looked out over the battlefield. "They do look like they're enjoying themselves though." That much she could admit. There had never been the tiniest bit of desire to engage in brutal combat. Or any sort of combat outside of the bedroom.

A sneaking form made its way between the two women. Mort wanted a bird's eye view of the battle, no doubt. He politely kissed each of their cheeks, but Io wasn't satisfied. She grabbed her nephew and pulled him into a hug, ruffling his feathers gently and kissing the top of his head. "Of course you can help. Or at least you can stay and watch. We'll tell you'r parents that you're the bandage holder." Io couldn't deny her niece and nephews much. Her childhood had been stolen and she wanted them to enjoy theirs.

All prepped and ready to go, the trio had only to wait for their first patient.

While they weren’t allowed to participate Indy was hoping to get a good look from Io’s cabin with a side order of learning about all the different wounds that would come in. His massive paws carried his gangly form to the familiar place that was once Iolaire’s garden. Indy was not the first to arrive either. His tail wagged at his hips sheepishly as he offered a quick nod to his brother and the Empress. His big form would stay close to Iolaire and he’d remain relatively silent. He had been unusually reserved since Sirius had scolded him with Aslatiel that day. None of that meant he wasn’t ready to help and learn however. Indigo was always eager to glean information from his aunt Iolaire.

The short trek back to Iolaire's cottage was even worse than she'd imagined. The adrenaline had worn off, and she was beginning to feel the full effects of her match against the Ashen yearling. She really wasn't that hurt. A sore bruise on her right shoulder, and a single bite to her upper foreleg. Honestly, the feeling of having lost her first real fight was probably worse than her injuries. Slowly realizing that she was the first and only Armada wolf to have been sent back (so far) wasn't helpful, either. It wasn't often that the she-wolf was embarrassed -- but, well, she wasn't used to losing.

Io wouldn't be the only one to behold her shame, however, and the yearling counted three other wolves situated at the cottage. I wonder if I can heal myself... And she probably could have, with what she knew and her brief lesson with Io. But they had already spotted her when the idea came along. Fuck.

She wanted to leave. Head off and train some more. But Mala only gave a rueful little half-smile as she neared the band, a twist of her tail in greeting, and a little nod at Mortis in particular before her gaze slid over to Iolaire. "Hey, so, looks like I'm out," she chuffed good-naturedly. "Patch me up, pleassssse....?" As she trailed off, her eyes settled curiously on the other woman, who smelled of Ashen but was otherwise unknown to the yearling.

"Speech"

Mortis saw the other wolf first, and wiggled with excitement. His wings fluttered at his sides slightly, as he leaped forward to meet her part way there, and hound her on the last moment of her walk to the cottage. “What’s it like, was it noisy down there? Was Dad kicking ass? Did you bite your opponent? I bet you gave them something to remember you by” His stream was steady, and his tail was wagging a mile a minute. He didn’t even think that she might be injured, he folded down his wing closest to her, and pressed against her side, as though some of the glory of fighting in a raid might rub off on him. “Think i’ll get to fight in a raid when i’m older? Who’s winning? Was Ashen surprised when the Armada came out of the tall grass?” and so on, and so on. Malalia was his first victim, to return from the raid, and she wasn’t going to get a moment's peace. Even when she asked Io for healing, Mortis pressed against her, getting every last drop of information he could before his Auntie chased him away. "Mortis"

Venom couldn’t slow down, adrenaline continued to race in her veins as her contact with Sirius Ached. She managed to stay out of his way during their battle, she was more agile but in the end it hadn’t helped her any. She’d gotten too excited in the end and the Warlord had grabbed hold of her and ended the battle swiftly. Venom kicked herself hard for losing. She tried to keep her head high, Sirius was an intense warrior, her chances of winning had been slim to begin with. Venom knew she would have to train harder, she couldn’t allow herself to lose like this.

She limped slightly on her front left leg from where Sirius had grabbed her, she wasn’t bleeding anywhere and her biggest wound was to her ego. Venom sighed softly to relieve the stress in her libs as she made her way to the healer’s den. A couple of the kids were hanging out and her mother was also there to greet her. Even though she’d lost she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen such an expression on Deathbelle’s features, and it was all pride.

”I’m not bleeding.” She said easy enough, but where Seer had grabbed her throat she felt a bit of bruising. ”Just bruised.” She thought at least, the last thing Venom was, was a healer.

Mortis was much more interested in the woman that had returned and her activity during the raid. His questions were endless, but Indi was more concerned with getting her to feeling better. The young vibrant violet boy looked to his unofficial mentor for her cues before making his way to the Armada girl. The Ashen Princess seemed a good target for his learning as well. Still he remained much more silent than his brother, he was more of an observer but was just as eager to hear the answers as his brother was. His tail wagged excitedly at his hips, the only evidence of his excitement as he stuck to Iolaire’s side.

"It was pretty noisy," she admitted. The heir had jogged up to her with a flurry of questions, but Mal was happy to keep up, bumping his shoulder amicably. She could never stay too sad around the cheerful pup. "But... it almost doesn't even matter, y'know? Your heart's pounding in your ears. All your energy, all your focus... you're putting everything into your own battle. You're constantly in motion and, and when you clash together, or score a hit, it's... it's really intense. It's great." And even though she lost, it truly had been. The weight of Plague against her, even as she pushed back. It wasn't just the desire to win that fueled her; it was pure adrenaline in that moment. "And I did bite him, here.... and here!" Mal snuck under Mortis to playfully press a wet, cold nose to his armpit, then the nape of his neck. "Trust me, he didn't get away with nothin'."

Indigo pressed a little closer, and the yearling took a moment to sit down before her audience of two, her tail swishing out over the grass behind her. "Sirius was amazing. He yelled out this battle cry, and then we were running out of the long grass. I only saw him fight a little before my own match, but he was badass," she confirmed. She'd never seen the Warlord fight before, and wished she could've seen the full spar. The man was a force to be reckoned with, charging across the plain with the force of a buffalo as he came for his own opponent... who appeared to be approaching now, it seemed. Mal was quietly grateful that she wasn't the only one here anymore, Armada or not.

"We all were. When I left, actually... the Armada was kicking ass." She puffed out her chest and gave Mort a fangy grin. "And of course you will. You're a warrior, aren't you? You might even be leading the charge one day, who knows." The young woman made a playful jab at his shoulder before hopping away, and oof, she'd landed a bit too hard on her foreleg. She winced, lifting up the injured limb, but for all that her tail kept swishing. Her words had been genuine. Mal had no doubt Mortis would make a phenomenal fighter one day. Hopefully leader, too.

"Speech"

Those that lost their matches began to pour in. It seemed that she would be patching up both sides, though she didn't mind. Malalia drew close first, looking rather embarrassed. Mort glued himself to her side, not thinking about whether or not the girl was wounded. He asked a million questions. Indigo had more self control, which she appreciated. Moving forward, she scooted Mort away from the injured girl. "You two can watch, but you can't touch. Save your questions for later. After a battle, you're likely to be injured and you're definitely going to be exhausted. There will be time for conversation after." Iolaire pointed to a place behind her supplies where they were to sit an observe.

Motioning for Malalia to come close, Iolaire inspected her wounds. Gently, she held the girls injured leg in one paw and manipulated it with the other, testing for breaks. "You'll be fine. A little sore for a while, but you'll heal well." With a clean square of deerskin, Io cleaned the bite wounds. She offered some willow bark to the girl for the pain. "If you'd like to sit and watch to see what you can learn, you're welcome. Otherwise you're free to go rest." She would leave it up to Malalia.

Venom came forward and she looked a little worse for wear. Like Malalia, she could see the defeat on the girl's face, but she did her best to hide it. Iolaire offered her a smile and, even though she said that she wasn't bleeding, the healer inspected her anyway. Just like her former patient, she offered Venom some willow bark for the pain. "If the bruising gets too bad on your neck, I have some salve that will help. I can send it home with you. Other than that, just get rest. I've set up furs for those wishing to do so." She motioned off to the side where there were thick piles of skins spaced out at the bottom of the garden. Each wolf would have a bit of privacy and wouldn't be sleeping on top of one another.

Malalia was quick to answer his questions, and his eyes got big as he told her of the adrenaline, the intensity. He wished he could see the bite marks on the wolf she had fought. He knew Malalia was a better fighter then he was, she had knocked him over on their spar together, and he wished he could have seen her match against the Ashen wolf. He giggled freely as she used him to demonstrate her attacks. “I bet!” he agreed easily. Mort wiggled at the mention of their father, who seemed to live and breathe battle, and knew it must be so. What had it been like, to charge into battle beside him? He needed to grow up faster, so he could be a part of these things! “We should play out the fight later… when you're free!” he said as Io came towards them. There was a touch of hero-warship in the young boy's eyes, for the warrior taking a moment to demonstrate for him, and include him in her heroics. He didn’t fight Io as she scooted him away, only grinned at his Aunt, and kissed the very leg that she pushed him with, and pranced out of the way. He did wiggle a little, and waited to see if Io needed him to fetch anything. He grinned at Venom when she appeared, but didn’t say anything to the Ashen Princess, knowing he would be putting at risk his right to stay here if he went against the lead healer's wishes for putting questions aside. When the two wolves were given the option to stay, or go, he looked imploingly at the both of them, but continued to say nothing. His eyes seemed to say stay with meeeee to mal especially, since she seemed amiable to answering every question. "Mortis"

"Definitely," she agreed, giving a huff of laughter as Io ushered Mortis away. Sore and tired as she was, she really didn't mind the questions. She probably would've done the same a year ago, as untested and battle-hungry as she had been then.

Iolaire was quick with her inspection, and Mal gave a quick thanks. Not that resting sounded bad, but she felt like sticking around for a bit. She shook her head at the offer of willow bark, but would silently accept the invitation to stay and watch. With a practice raid, she doubted there would be any serious injuries, but it was always helpful to watch, see if there was something she could pick up. Mal caught the look Mort had given her, and she wiggled her brows before moving to settle down on the deerskins, content to watch the battle from afar.

Dunkan Sarcova "SATISFACTION IS RESERVED FOR THE NONCONFORMIST." Dunkan approached the healer's group, limping and with a big bloodstain on his scruff where the enemy took him. His nose felt sore too due to the snake's bite and his chest and part of his haunches hurt due to the blows he received. His eyes though remained calm despite the pain he was feeling, he eyed the pups but said nothing as he did not want to talk for now. He sat down and waited for the aid, blood creeping down her neck. There as he waited he wondered what could he have done better? What tactics should he have used? The good thing was that he learned a lot, and he surely would request more training. He needed guidance. "Hello" | 'Thoughts' | 'Your speech'

Hela walked with serene expression but something inside her wasnt right, she felt anger and the desire to kill, well yes she lost and she didn't feel a loser. She just felt angry with herself, she could have been even more brutal, why was she so soft? That made her lose, but the next time she won't be as clean. As she approached the group she didn't say anything, and would just sit by her sister the empress. There she watched the pups, pups she didn't know until now. Many things from the Armada were unknown to her, her duties kept her locked in Ashen. She noted the other there giving a quick glare but still quiet. Did they lose too? It was good not to bee the only one but not like she was proud of losing. "I feel my chest sore, and one of my legs hurts." She rose the left front paw. "Speech"

Malalia decided to watch the goings on and Io nodded in approval. Mort could barely contain his giddiness, but as long as he was out of the way and he wasn't harrying those that were injured, he could be as excited as he wished. The next batch of patients came forward. One, a young boy and the next, an older woman. The boy came first and so he would be treated first.

Iolaire frowned as he came closer. The wounds were a little severe for a mock raid and she let her disapproval show. She knew the boy in passing and knew that he was her mother's charge. "Come with me, Dunkan," she said softly. Taking up her supplies of skins and clean water, she gently cleaned the boy's wounds, dabbing lightly at the bite to his nose. Once the wounds on his neck were cleaned as well, she took up a pot of homemade salve and began placing a coat lightly over the wounds. It would keep them sealed away from dirt and would help to ease the pain. Lastly, she offered him some willow bark for the pain. "There are furs there to rest upon if you wish." And then she was moving on to the next.

This woman, she didn't know. As the woman sat beside Deathbelle, Io came forward to inspect her wounds, which were few. "Your opponent seems to have taken more mercy on you than theirs did on that boy," she said conversationally, though her displeasure showed through. The woman's chest would be bruised. The leg would be fine as well. Io gently manipulated it, feeling for any breaks. She offered some bark for the pain and offered her use of the furs as well.

The boy was supposed to stay out of the way, but he couldn’t help but follow his aunt around and watch as she worked her magic. There was less of an exchange of plants than he expected, but his red marked ears perked and he took in her eyes word. He made sure to stay out of her way, as well as hanging off her eyes word he watched her movements and refused to get under paw. Or become a wall, as was more typical with his growing frame. He was a lot of leg, but his thick nature gave him heft as well. Of the three boys he appeared the most filled out but his gangliness was impossible to escape. ”Aunt Io, may I ask you questions?” He piped up softly, feeling the need for clarity in some of her actions.

While she waited for whomever else might roll in with injuries, Iolaire organized her supplies. Mort did his best to sit still and stay out of the way. Indigo did too, though he couldn't help but ask if he could ask her questions rather than her patients. Io shot him a grin. "You may." He had a healing mind and a healers disposition. She wouldn't deny him knowledge if he truly wished to learn. "That goes for any of you," she motioned to Mort and Malalia. "You may ask me questions if you'd like, but leave the injured be until later."

Indigo watched his aunty work with obvious interest as she cleaned wounds and applied salves. She smiled as she gave him permission to ask her questions, he just had to leave the injured wolves alone. That would be easy enough, he doubted that any of them would teach him about the healing process. ”How do you properly clean a wound?” He asked softly, having seen the process but he had to guess at the intricacies. ”What are you putting on them after?” He went on, staying close by her side. Besides his questions he was quiet so he didn’t disturb her, and close enough not to hinder her movement but he wouldn’t miss anything she was doing either.