The achey feeling in his bones had gotten worse. It started with a dull ache, similar to what he imagined growing pains felt like, but with each passing day the sensation moved deeper into his bones. Like they were changing. Now Hattori was no medic nor did he know much about healing but he was fairly certain once bones were fully grown that was that. But something was clearly amiss and rather than talk to one of the Ashen medics he decided to air his concerns a little further afield. Passing over the Ashen Armada border, Hattori pressed his way into the territory till he came across what he assumed to be a healer workshop. Scents of herbs and medicines filled the air, pungent, along with the scent of some sort of rodent perhaps? He wrinkled his nose.

He could hear a clamour of activity coming from within the den, someone was home it seemed. Raising his paw, he clicked his talons against a nearby stone in a wolfish approximation of knocking on the front door. Shogun or not he wasn't the sort to just barge his way in.

It was almost winter, and everything would need to be stored correctly in order to make it through the cold months. She had been gathering, drying, digging out new shelves in the storage den and trying to source a door to keep the damp out. She was working on a low shelf, digging it further back to make more room when the knock came. She stepped backwards and almost right onto Otis, starting up in an attempt to keep pressure off her foot without falling over, she smacked her head on the hard earth above. "Fucksake!" she muttered, hoping the sound didn’t quite make it past the den entrance.

With her opossum out from under her feet, he scrambled up onto her back as she attempted to shake some of the dust from her head. A smudge still remained in the center of her forehead but she had no way to see or rectify it. Eyes squinting in annoyance at the edges, brow drawn down and mouth scowling she all but stomped towards the person that had knocked. Couldn’t he see she was busy? All healers were busy at this time of year. "Wha’der’yer’want n’?!" Her exasperated holler cut off when she spotted the knocker. She had been expecting to see Naiche with another tear or someone missing an eye. A questioning look was given to the giant of a man, all vivid colours and small antlers sticking out of his face... But it didn’t look like an injury, they were obviously meant to be there. Outwardly he looked fine.

The scent of Ashen put her on edge, but she tried not to let her nervousness show. "Sorry, I thought yer might be a regular pain in the ass." His markings kinda reminder her of Hanako, was this guy some sort of relative of hers? But then, wouldn’t Hana have bought him to her if he was? "I’m Sedna, what’s yer problem?" She wasn’t always great with patients, especially if the injuries were self-inflicted by stupidity, and it wasn’t until the words left her mouth that she realised they could have two meanings. Well, she wasn’t going to babble now just because he could probably crush her under his ass if he wanted to. People should have genuine need to come to her, the least they could deal with her attitude.

"speech".

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Hattori arched a pale brow but said nothing in regards to the clamour and chaos. It was not his place to comment and thus he did not, though that did not stop him from casting judgement. And nor would it ever. He waited and soon enough a face emerged from the den, quick to apologise for her brash words and blatant lack of manners. Even though her manners weren't quite to his taste he didn't care enough to kick up a fuss nor was that the purpose behind this visit, he'd sooner cut right to the chase than lecture her. He dipped his head in a typical greeting, simply going for the motions rather than showing true reverence and then spoke. Unblinking as ever.

"I am Hattori, Shogun of Ashen. There is an ache in my bones and I want to know the cause behind it." He paused, wondering how to best describe it. He rolled his shoulders absently, noting that even now the ache was flaring up. A throbbing from deep within. " If I had to compare it to anything I would say it is similar to growing pains. And it hurts the most when I am at rest."

And that was all he knew. It had come up suddenly and the pain did not linger where he though it would, near his old injuries that had long since healed. There was no logical explanation he could think of and thus to him it was a complete and utter mystery. One he wished to be solved sooner rather than later.

The rank was foreign to her, but she supposed it was probably something high ranking if he felt the need to throw it around, but she reserved her eye rolling for interest in his complaints. Her brows furrowed, sure he was big, but so was Seer. "Yer don’t seem old enough for oldie aches, is it in the joints or the actual length of the bones?" Wolves here seemed prone to late growth spurts so she wouldn’t be entirely surprised, but she also wasn’t quite sure how much more room his skin would have to grow into. She didn’t suppose it really mattered though, bone pain was bone pain and there wasn’t much more for it than taking the edge off, but any easing would be a welcome one she was sure.

She watched as Otis moved forward and cautiously sniffed at the koi mans toes, reaching out to try and lift it, before turning to retreat back into her storage den. She didn’t have the fancy pots and kettles some healers had, but she did have a few different sized turtle shells. Taking a small one, she dipped it into a larger that had been set to capture rain water and motioned for Chips to go fetch a fire stick from the bonfire. Setting her shell down easily she began to carefully stack firewood inside a small stone circle, she should really make an effort to keep it going more often than not. "Do yer have a way ter make tea, or would yer prefer ter come here an’ get it? We can make up enough ter get yer through a few days at a time, an deliver more when it’s needed. It’d save yer the trip."

Her ibis returned and lit the fire, and all she could do was wait for it to warm up enough to make some coals. It was never a quick process whenever anything required brewing.

"speech".

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Hattori was younger than his demeanour would have you believe, but the healer was right in saying that he was not old enough to be feeling such discomforts just yet. There was no history of early onset arthritis in his family, so he did not think that was the case but it brought a slight frown to his face all the same. He would make a poor shinobi and Shogun, effectively making him useless in his own eyes. Ignoring the little possum by his paws, Hattori focused his attention on the healer. Though she seemed to know what she was doing she had a sort of chaotic air about her, as did her stores from the look of it, but as long as she got the job done Hattori had no reason or desire to complain.

"The length." He told her, resitting the urge to try and shrug the discomfort away. "Moving is not difficult nor does it give me pain."

As for her questions about tea he blinked, it was something he drank quite often actually. Nostalgia often got the better of him and so he nodded. Though it wasn't something he had done since arriving in Boreas he found himself missing the ceremony of it all, the peace and sense of fulfilment he used to feel when sipping a warm cup of tea on a cold wintry morning.

"I can make tea, what will it do?" He asked, eying the bird as it began to stoke the fire. It was not a species he was familiar with but it vaguely reminded him of a crane, just not half as large or as majestic.