Sunburnt moments

Tonights the night

Elizabeth had tugged on a rosebush too hard some days ago. The young wolf had left her right shoulder exposed to the elements. At first she didn’t think anything of it really - bare skin wasn’t so bad and her fur would surely just grow back in a couple days. The only problem was with the oncoming of summer and how active she was during the day, especially in the plains, it meant that the sun was going to cause damage to her. Liz was aware sunburns were a problem. Many wolves with thin or missing hair in her homeland came home with them. They had simply plastered some aloe on them and sent them on their way. She never imagined it would hurt this much! In a place like Boreas too where she was still learning the ins and outs of all the herbs she could.

With that being said Elizabeth tried not to move her right shoulder all too much. The burning sensation shot through her body making her wince in pain as she outstretched her limb. Giving it a few licks it stung but the cooling sensation of her saliva meant it was a bit of relief. Ben sitting between her shoulder blades looked at the red irritated skin worriedly. “Are you sure licking it won’t make it worse?” He asked her as Liz frowned.

“Well it makes it feel better that is for certain.” she scoffed a bit at the bird then sighed regretting such harshness. Ben tweeted a bit but then Liz sat up causing the cockatiel to switch positions sitting on the top of her head as she tried to think for a moment. She was a healer! Surely there was a way to make this easier. Liz took a long look at the painful area it was just within her line of vision and if she needed she could put some sort of paste on it.

Whenever she moved it was like a million tiny fire needles were being shot into her arm. Now that she knew what it felt like all those patients complaining at home made a lot more sense. Elizabeth wasn’t aware that she had sensitive skin either, but looking at the deep red skin made her realize how much her clean white fur protected her from the sun and the heat. She ran through a list of herbs in her head for a moment. Rosemary was good…. It would ease onset infection as far as she knew. There was also Basil… and Oregano. If she could find some Aloe it would also ease the burning. That was it!

“Ben help me find a few herbs, I need some Basil, Rosemary and Oregano.” She told the bird as she shifted trying to ignore the pain in her right limb. As the bird flew off, knowing what these herbs were as Liz had worked with them before she was sure she had stashed a few fresh ones somewhere. Regardless she wandered over to a small pond where she had set up a small bowl with a thick stick she had rubbed down. She had found it excellent for mashing herbs and she had gotten the idea from the many wolves that she found influencing her in this fascinating new land. All her pastes had thus far been only experimental with nothing to store them in at this very time.

After a few minutes past her feathery companion carried a small bundle of plants in his beak. Dropping the fresh Basil Rosemary and Oregano directly into the bowl as he landed next to the soaked ground next to the pond that sat in the tall grass. Liz smiled, “Thank you, I should be able to mash these into a paste and use it on my sunburn. I don’t know if it’ll help but I figured I’d give it a try. Basil might help ease the pain.” It helped to explain what she was doing to a friend. It set her thoughts straight as she tentatively took the stick in her teeth scooting closer and beginning to mash the plants together.

Every movement made her shoulder burn, but it didn’t stop her as she watched the green ooze from each plant mix together. Bits of rosemary broke apart and each and every crush with her jaw made the paste look more promising. Within a few minutes it was looking fresh, but she added a bit of water to mix in and make sure. While she would have preferred to prepare a salve it took far too long for that and a paste would be quickly effective with the plants used. Elizabeth dropped the stick and took a short break, taking a deep breath while Ben watched her intently.

Now was the time to apply, taking her left paw she scooped some of it onto her pads sniffing it she grimaced a bit at the bitter intensity of it. While she was never shy of herbs it was a strong scent and she was suddenly glad that the paste was not going into her mouth. Liz carefully took her paw and smeared it over the sunburn wincing at the tender sensation. When she was sure that the paste had been distributed and pushed in properly she settled her paw down and waited. The air cooled the paste as the pain slowly ebbed a bit away.

Liz was surprised at the effectiveness actually. Her throbbing was still there but her shoulder was nice and cool. It nearly felt like when aloe had been placed on the fur, even if she smelt like freshly clipped grass it felt great not to be in agonizing pain. “Dare I say it worked out rather well! Only time will tell if it’ll help me heal though.” She might even have to put it on daily. This was something that she would enjoy however, any experience she can gain in healing was necessary for her to serve her pack. Not to mention with Cure in her sights she needed to work hard and get involved. Liz wondered if anyone in the pack would need this paste, did Aurielle already know of it? Surely she must.

Word count: 1035

MADE BY MINNIE of BTN