The sun was starting to dip down and shadows were just starting to lengthen across the land.  Rudy had been patrolling but it was about time to switch from patrolling to hunting.  The world in shades of greys worked so well for him on remaining unseen to his prey.  The scent of rain was heavy in the air and clouds farther off seemed to be heading their way.  He’d find whatever was available and let that be it tonight.  A rushed meal and run home.  Rudy could have skipped it but a day not hunting was a day not improving his skills.  Still, tonight's game would be relatively easy.  

Rudy had stopped the patrol near the section of the plains next to the wildberry grove and could scent that one of them had foolishly left the safer dense woods to where the tree line was thinner as it flowed out into the plains.  Making his way forward to the edges he spotted the little dik-dik and slowly made his way towards it, fully focused on his future meal.  Rudy got in position and ran towards the dik-dik but it was only a few strides later he halted as a new scent registered.  Bear!  Rudy forgot his prey as the scent registered and a moment later a giant monster of a bear came into sight charging at him.

The bear had numerous faded scars on his muzzle and patches of fur missing on his body that spoke of more scars within.  The grey to his face suggested those scars had given him a long life of experience.  Well, that experienced bear didn’t want Rudy into what it had decided was its current turf.  They were on the line between pack land and grove and Rudy had no plans to let it come closer.
He snarled at the bear and ran towards it hoping to give it pause.  This beat didn’t doubt itself nor think much of one wolf running at him.  It roared showing off its fangs and swung a muscular paw at the wolf.  Rudy jumped to one side, howled for assistance, then lunged in to aim a bite towards its back leg.

A game of in-and-out ensued.  Rudy darted in, the bear swiped or lunged and Rudy darted out.  Rudy finally got a bite in on a back leg at one point but as he dashed away felt the bear's claws graze against his upper hind leg.  They weren’t too deep from what he could tell and were thus ignored.  Chasing this bear off by himself wasn’t working and taking the monster down alone seemed to be impossible.  All he had to do was keep it from getting in too close while waiting for someone to team up on it with.

Minutes seemed hours as the two danced and Rudy felt himself slowing down.  Had he bled more than he thought?  The bear charged in the last time and Rudy aimed to get another bite in but this times things didn’t go so well.  His teeth sank into flesh but as he turned to flee the injured leg refused to let him spin as fast.  Rudy glanced back as the bear paw came out.  How many times had Rudy successfully managed to dodge those paw slaps by a fur’s edge?  Always slightly fast enough and now he knew how important that hair was.  The massive paw stopped all thought and the young wolf didn’t even feel it as the other side of his head slammed into a tree that had been directly behind him.  

As if the brain had to catch up to what had happened Rudy dumbly looked at the bear before crashing to the ground.  Blood dribbled out from the injury to the back leg as well as the blood that was staining and sliding out around his head.  Awareness was gone, Rudy was out cold and the bear was ready to finish off the wolf that had dared to bite him.

Rudyard Carpathius

Tamsyn walked through the plains as she and Kane began to make their way back toward the castle after a day spent scouring the lands and gardens around this portion of Auster for the plants her lover needed for the poisons he was crafting. She was hopeless when it came to identifying plants of any kind really, but she was good at tracking and navigating so she could at least keep him company while she acted as his guide around Auster and leading him to places that were similar conditions to what these plans would grow him. "I'm glad we were able to find some of the plants you were looking for," she said as she looked up at him with a smile. "Winter in Auster is more mild, but it's still probably-"

Her words cut off as a call for assistance on the other side of the plains caught her ears, dread washing over her when she realized it was her son's voice. "Rudyard?" Large predators were at their borders all the time, but if he was alone it still wasn't a good situation. She gave Kane a quick, worried glance before she took off across the open field toward where Rudy had called from, leaping over the stream that cut through the plains as she raced toward the edge that bordered the wild berry grove. As she heard the roar from a bear she pushed herself faster only skidding to a stop as she stumbled upon the bloody scene with Rudy laying on the ground by a tree with blood slowly pooling around him and the bear looming over him. "Rudy!" she yelled in a panic, feeling like her heart skipped and stopped at the sight.

That at least pulled the scarred bear's attention away from her son and she snarled, bristling as she stalked forward and began to pull the bear away so it was facing away from Rudyard. "Kane! Take care of Rudyard!" she demanded holding the bear's attention as they shuffled and danced. Occasionally she'd snap or swipe at it just to keep it focused on her and away from Kane and Rudy but it wasn't until it swung a huge paw at her that she actually got an attack in herself. She leapt to the side to dodge its swing, but instead of backing off she leapt in, rearing up to sink her teeth hard into the bear's throat. She bit deep into upper portion of its throat by its jaw where there was less thick fur to fight through and immediately began to thrash and and rip apart what she had bitten into, tearing open arteries and biting into its windpipe. She probably could have just chased it off, but after what it had done to her son she had to make sure that the obviously battle worn bear couldn't do this to anyone else.

The bear hit her shoulder, grazing the skin as she kept her hold and did as much damage as she could before she finally released it and stumbled back. The bear staggered for a moment, its roars and cries choked and gurgling before it finally toppled over with a thud. She didn't wait for it to finish dying before she rushed back over to Rudyard's side, panic and worry written across her face. The cuts across her shoulder were fairly shallow and barely even made her limp, looking far worse than they were as blood trickled down her leg. "Is he okay? Is he going to be okay?" she asked in a breathless panic, looking up at Kane to see what she could do to help.

Tamsyn Carpathius

As winter drew nearer and nearer, Kane had become much more gung-ho about going out to gather several very specific herbs and plants he needed to mix his poisons. Once the winter frost came and the chill chased away all of the greenery, it would be too late. Plus the concoction he was intent on making took a little bit of time to steep to gain potency. He smiled down at Tamsyn as the two wolves walked back towards Hallowed lands with a bag full of the plants he'd needed, finally able to gather them up after his previous failed harvest in which a saber cat had nearly taken his life. Had that really been two seasons ago? Damn, did time fly... But thanks to Tamsyn's familiarity with the terrain of Auster, they had made quick work of his shopping list, and now his work could begin in earnest.

She had begun to say something, but a ruckus nearby interrupted whatever thoughts she'd had. Kane's eyes lifted from his lover to follow her gaze in the direction of the sounds. Then came the howl for aid. Tamsyn recognized the voice, and when she said the name of one of her sons, Kane was already hauling ass in the direction of the howl. Massive paws thundered across the ground, plowing through the stream as it if were a puddle, eyes steeled and focused ahead as he and Tam ran as fast as they could. They arrived on the scene in time to hear the roar of the bear, smell the blood, and see the dappled gray wolf lay sprawled and injured across the ground with a massive grizzly bear towering over him going for the kill. Tamsyn screamed, and Kane was already going for Rudyard before Tam had given the order. "Don't you get hurt, Tamsyn!" he shouted back to her as he came upon the fallen yearling.

Rudyard was a mess. The boy had sustained a fairly nasty laceration to his hind leg and his head was bleeding profusely from a gash across his crown. The chips of bark in the boy's fur told him everything he needed to know. The bear had smashed Rudy's head into a tree with enough force to knock him out. "By the Moon and Stars, boy, are you nuts...?!" he muttered under his breath while reaching into his bag of herbs to pull out the single roll of bandages he always kept on him. While he listened to Tamsyn fight with the bear, Kane began to wind the bandages around Rudy's leg. He got the slashes wrapped up and tied them securely so they wouldn't come undone, then he focused on Rudy's head. Muttering in his tribe's language, Kane glanced around to try and find something to press against the wound that would help absorb the blood. He found some moss, ironically on the tree that had spatters of Rudy's blood on it, and gathered it to press to his head while he started wrapping the bandages around to hold it in place.

Kane heard the thud of the bear hitting the ground, then looked up to see Tamsyn rushing over, positively covered in blood. Mostly the bear's, but he did also see the slashes on her shoulder. His heart lurched in his chest while he gazed at her injury and wound his paws around Rudy's head with smooth, practiced motions. She asked if her son was going to be okay, and Kane looked up at her with uncertain hazel eyes. "I don't know. His wounds aren't grave, they'll just need time to heal." He looked back to Rudy's head. "But a head injury is far more severe, and there's not a lot you can do for them or to diagnose them."

Once he had tied the bandages in place, Kane gently patted Rudy's cheek and gave him a soft shake. "Rudy? Rudy, can you hear me?" he called in a raised voice to try and wake the unconscious wolf. When he didn't respond, Kane carefully lifted one of Rudy's eyelids, waving a paw in front of his face. Rudy gave no reaction, but Kane did see his pupil contract and dilate as it adjusted to the light. "He's unresponsive, but he's breathing and his pupil's responding, so he's not braindead. We need to get him back to the castle to get his leg stitched and his head closed properly though," he said, turning to lie his massive body alongside Rudy's. He draped the unconscious wolf's legs around his neck, then looked up to Tamsyn. "Roll him onto my back. I'll carry him home."

"Kaneonuskatew"

As his mate, Tamsyn may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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She looked to Kane for reassurance that everything was going to be alright, but what she got instead was uncertainty in his eyes as he explained how the wounds themselves would just need time to heal, but the injury to his head injury was another story. Her heart lurched into her stomach as she sat by with her paws gripping the grass under them while Kane attempted to wake Rudy and failed, her jaw tensing as tears collected in her eyes. If they had just been a little closer or a little faster maybe they could have prevented this... but then again if they hadn't gotten here when they did there would be no chance of saving him after the bear had ripped him apart. She gave a shaky sigh and nodded when he told her that Rudyard was still breathing and decided he wasn't braindead. Her fool hardy, head strong boy... He'd gotten himself into trouble so many times, but this was by far the worst he had been in and it was hard to breathe past the fear that she might lose him.

When Kane got into position to carry Rudyard on his back, she nodded again and got to her paws, lifting and rolling Rudyard the rest of the way onto Kane's back with a bit of effort so they could at least get him to the castle. Her mind was so far away that she had completely forgotten about the lacerations on her own shoulder, the minor wounds so incredibly insignificant when it felt like her son's life was in the balance. Once Rudy was securely on Kane's back she followed alongside him up the slope toward the castle and she let loose a howl once they were within the castle walls to warn Gwynevere that they were on their way to the infirmary so she could begin to prepare.

Tamsyn Carpathius

Kane wanted so desperately to tell Tamsyn that everything was all right, that Rudyard was going to be fine, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her like that. He'd seen wolves pull through worse injuries, but he'd also seen minor wounds turn into something more significant. Head injuries in particular were so hard to work with, since they were nearly impossible to determine the extent of any damage inside the skull or to the brain. Rudy could be anywhere from fine to comatose to amnesiac. He could only pray to the Moon and Stars that he was all right, that they hadn't been too late to rescue the boy. Tamsyn wasted no time in helping roll Rudyard onto his back, and Kane hoisted him the rest of the way until the young wolf's limp body was draped across his back. He was heavy, but the dire wolf had more than enough strength to carry him back with ease.

Together they made short work of the trip back home, Kane cantering as fast as he could without jostling Rudy's unconscious form too much or letting him slip from his back. As they neared the castle and Tamsyn howled for Gwynevere, he turned to glance at the worried mother by his side. "We're going to make sure he's okay, Tam," he tried to reassure her. "Gwyn is the most talented young healer I've ever seen. Your son's going to be all right." He didn't delay to rush Rudyard past the castle walls and into the safety of the infirmary, depositing him gently onto the nearest cot before rushing to gather the supplies he needed from the pharmacy.

He returned shortly with some horsetail and a needle to stitch up the wounds on Rudy's leg and a damp cloth to rest over his head before applying new bandages. While he and Gwyn worked, Kane glanced up at Tamsyn. "Tam, can you hold his paw and talk to him?" he instructed her. "See if he responds to anything. A squeeze of his paw, a flicker of eyelids, anything." Was he mostly doing this to give Tamsyn something to focus on and keep her mind occupied, but it would also be a good test to see if Rudy's brain was responsive or if he was entirely comatose.

"Kaneonuskatew"

As his mate, Tamsyn may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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Tamsyn turned her gaze up toward Kane as he spoke to reassure her and she nodded quietly, hoping desperately that he was right. She couldn't bare to see anything happen to her sweet, goodhearted boy. All the times he had gotten hurt in his adventures were bad enough, but this... Him not responding scared her to her core and now all she could do was put Rudyard's life in their paws and hope he came out okay on the other side. She trusted Kane and Gwynevere whole heartedly, it just didn't matter who it was caring for her son, she was still going to be terrified. They quickly made their way into the castle and into the infirmary, Gwynevere already there waiting for them and was in the middle of laying out bandages and herbs when Kane placed Rudyard on the cot.

She found a spot mostly out of the way near Rudy's head while Kane and Gwyn broke out into a flurry of activity around her, settling onto her haunches as she watched Rudyard's perfectly still face with her ears pinned back against her head. She made a quick glance up at Kane as he instructed her to try talking to him to see if she could get any kind of reaction and she gave a small nod as her mint gaze settled back on Rudy's face again, watching him closely for any kind of twitch or sign that he might come to like Kane said. Her paw wrapped around Rudy's larger one, squeezing it gently as she spoke. "Rudyard... Rudy, if you can hear me, you need to wake up, okay? Gwynevere is here working on you with Kane and we need you to wake up. You know Artorias will be so upset if he finds you like this when he gets home... You've got to help him with the pack, right? Just like you promised Resin so you can't go yet," she said, squeezing his paw tighter.

Tamsyn Carpathius

With careful and practiced paws, Kane managed to stitch Rudy's wound closed on his leg, snipping the thread with sharp saber teeth, then applying a topical astringent to keep the wound clean. Gwynevere had already begun to clean and tend to his head wound, and Kane moved to assist her. Together, the two healers alternated holding a cloth to stem the flow of blood while the other stitched up the gash in his head. Kane didn't notice any signs of bone fragments in the wound, so as bad as it looked, it didn't seem like he'd fractured his skull. The world was tedious given the thin nature of the skin on the skull, but together they managed to seal all of Rudy's wounds. All the while, Kane had been watching Tamsyn hold her son's paw and plead for him to wake up. Unfortunately, the boy remained unresponsive.

Rudy's head was stitched and Kane helped Gwyn wrap fresh gauze around his head to keep the wound clean. Once they were done, Gwyn began to clean up while Kane shifted over to sit beside Tam and watch. Despite her begging and coaxing and sweet words, Rudy's eyes didn't even flutter. His breathing was stable, and when he checked his pupil again it was still responsive, but the young wolf was out cold. The blow to his head must have rattled his brain enough to render him unconscious—but for how long remained to be seen.

"I don't think he's coming around yet, Tam," said Kane, resting a supportive paw on her shoulder. "We just need to let him rest. He'll come back once his body is ready." He glanced to her still bleeding shoulder then, his concerned expression deepening. "Let me look at your shoulder." It wasn't a question or a request. Large paws turned Tam to face him while he inspected the wounds on her shoulder. They weren't deep, but they certainly weren't minor scratches. "He's going to be okay, Tamsyn," he spoke softly once more, trying to reassure her while he began to wipe away the blood from her wound and fur with a damp cloth.

"Kaneonuskatew"

As his mate, Tamsyn may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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