It felt like a snake, lucky it wasn’t?
Nao, mo, shochu + any family
At first, it hadn’t been a cause for concern. Outou-san’s macaque had agreed to watch her when she’d said she wanted to explore the plains. It was unlikely the snakes would be out of hibernation just yet. The tiny pup had been playing in the grass under the birds watchful eye. She was close to the borders, not brave enough yet to wander out of the reach of her pack lands. So when the unfortunate event of her scraping her paw on a stone happened the bird had told her not to worry and had been quick to fetch her dads.
That was the thing. At first shed kept it in with the hurt but something seemed very wrong. Was blood supposed to keep oozing out like this? It hadn’t seemed to want to stop… not in the littlest bit. So panic had begun clutching her. She sat in the grass… shivering while her lifted paw dripped and dripped and dripped. She whined shutting her eyes tightly silently hoping it wouldn’t be long until help came. |
It wasn't exactly easy keeping tabs on seven children who were now up and about, doing who knows what! Mojito was doing his best to spend time with each of his children when he could but one of his daughters had wished to go exploring, taking Nao's companion with her. That much at least he knew, it wouldn't stop him from worrying but Saru wasn't about to let anything bad happen to her, or at least wasn't about to keep her parents in the dark if something did happen. So it wasn't exactly a reassuring sight to see the macaque bounding towards him. No that did not bode well at all. Mojito loped to meet the simian already feeling dread rising in his throat. Hana had cut her paw... Mojito couldn't help the sigh of relief. Even a small cut could feel like the end of the word for a young child but luckily it was easily fixed. He told the monkey to let Nao know as well and Mojito hustled his way back to the den to grab some quick supplies. Before heading out and hoping the rest of his children wouldn't have their own crises while he was out helping their sister. And it was safe to say he hadn't quite expected the scene he walked upon. He'd expected a scraped paw, maybe some blood but not... This much. Not a good sign. And there was that dread again. Mojito rushed forward, dropping his supplies at his paws as he leaned down to speak to his daughter. "You're okay." He said softly, reaching out to lick at Hanataro's head to try and calm her. "Let's get you patched up huh?" He was doing a much better job at hiding his own mounting anxiety than his daughter but he was fully in doctor mode, keeping her calm would help him too. Lower blood pressure for one. And she was less likely to be squirmy. On the bright side she didn't seem to be bleeding at an accelerated rate, just that it hadn't stopped when it should have already. It looked terrifying but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. Hopefully no one else would stumble upon this though. "Speech" |
Art by Honrin |
Mo's daughter Satira is free to cash his threads as she sees fit.
The day was in full motion, and he was preparing to take some of the pups on a little excursion. Until Saru came barrelling into view with a decidedly harried expression, babbling in a mixture of languages about Hanataro and blood. With a raised paw and a hard stare, the dark male silenced his companion. There was no need to panic the other children, it would only make things worse. "Saru, mind the children." he instructed, and turned his attention to the worst of the troublemakers in sight. "Chuhai, be on your best behaviour with Saru." he chided the girl, before pressing a small kiss to the pups' heads and taking off at a steady trot towards the plains.
By the time he found the girl, Mojito was already there. Busy wrapping up a tiny little paw. Without much thought, the dark male circled behind his daughter and settled himself so he could cage her hindquarters between his forelegs. Still leaving room for his lover to work, but nonetheless shielding the child. "What happened, little flower?" he cooed in his native tongue, dipping his head so that he could gently press a kiss upon her brow. He opted to stay quiet about the elephant in the room for the moment. The shade was well versed in bloodletting, he had spent his fair share of time opening arteries. So he was well aware that a little pup like this should not be producing this much blood from a tiny cut that happened many minutes prior.
Quietly, he watched his beloved toil away at fixing up the wound. They would have to discuss this later, no doubt. Privately, where they wouldn't stress Hanataro with the details of what could be the matter.
it’s likely Nao would only notice him when he waddles beneath the man’s underbelly and peers out from between his forelegs, taking in the scene with big eyes. his sister Hana is in distress, the scent of iron filling the air with a metallic tang. a morbid curiosity prods him to step out from Nao and round the whimpering girl, planting himself on her other side so that he can properly inspect her wound. it’s bleeding rather swiftly, the colour so damningly red it seems crass against Hana’s cream and black coat. how strange. “what’s going on?” he asks Mo, genuinely interested. there’s no fear or concern there, just a desire to understand, to fully grasp the situation. his gaze falls to the instruments Mo has brought, watching as he works. “what are you doing?” whatever it is, it looks interesting; he has to curb a desire to reach out and touch them.
She was glad that her parents showed up so quickly. Although it only distracted her for a moment because she couldn’t wrap her head around why such a cut freaked her out. Sure it was the first time she’d hurt herself but it had just kept coming. Hanataro tried to stop her shivering, had to stay still to fix this right? She whimpered softly, "I tripped over a rock an.and it’s been dripping ever since. I don’t understand are owies supposed to do this?" confusion clouded her and she felt like she simply wanted to just disappear. Outou-Chan had come too and she felt cold despite it but she soaked up the comforting words. When her brothers showed up too it felt a little better for a situation that could otherwise be harmful for her.
Hanataro nodded at Shochu then, "O-okay… I’m sorry Otou-Chan and papa." she was causing trouble and she didn’t want to cause trouble for them. Carefully she lifted her paw to Mo so he could take a better look. "How a-are we going to make it stop?" her face was still puzzled. Yet her anxiety was at least being kept to a minimum level. Surely she had to know how to take care of these things. She tried to stop shivering but that was something she couldn’t help for the moment. |
It was probably foolish to assume any of their children wouldn't follow but Mojito's focus was on his daughter. As Nao approached he gave the man a quick glance and smiled slightly as he helped to hem Hana in and offered their daughter his own words of comfort. Mojito was still trying to wrap his mind around his lover's native tongue, finding its grammar and syllable clusters confusing, but the children seemed to have taken to it quickly. Speaking of. Two of his sons had arrived on the scene. Ume coming to ask him questions and Shochu going to comfort his sister. Still it did seem to help Hana and Mojito figured if they were here anyways he might as well make the best of the situation. He gently pressed one of his spare rags onto his daughter's paw. "I'm going to lift your paw above your head alright?" He explained softly before he gently did so, and mentally catalogued the position of the shadows around them. "When you lift a limb like this it makes it harder for the blood to make it to that limb." He explained to both Ume and his daughter. "And yes, little flower, something like this isn't unheard of." He cast a glance up at Nao hoping he at least caught the underlying meaning. He knew what this likely was but it wasn't typical. "So what we're going to do is hold your paw up like this for a few minutes and check to see if that helps it stop bleeding. If not then I've got yarrow right here which will help but we want to see if you can do it on your own first." Mojito offered his daughter a loving smile. "Sometimes our bodies don't do what we want them to do, so there's no shame in helping them by other means." If Mojito was correct then Hana would likely have to keep an eye on her own body more than others might, make sure she kept the proper herbs on herself at all times and know to explain her condition to any healers she might see but luckily it wouldn't affect the majority of her life, even if she'd have to be more careful about not hurting herself than the other kids. "Speech" |
Art by Honrin |
Mo's daughter Satira is free to cash his threads as she sees fit.
The two boys that tagged along were not.. unwelcome. However, he was a little concerned that they might disrupt the process of getting the bleeding staunched quickly and easily, or that they might be upset by the sight of blood. Thus far, Ume seemed to be more interested in the process of Mojito's treatment than anything else, and Sho was acting as an anchor for his sister. He smiled softly, approving of their responses to the distressing situation. The petite frame of his little daughter leaning against his chest was an anchor for him as well, reminding him of the task at hand. The little one apologized meekly, and before he could pipe up to assure her that she was not in the wrong, his beloved soothed her with a few kind words.
The lovers shared a pointed look as Mo worked, and Nao wished he knew how to convey his confusion in a way that wouldn't be misconstrued. This kind of bleeding was unusual in his book, and that was about all he knew. There was a growing sensation of anxiety in his chest as time went on and the flow of crimson did not falter, he was not used to seeing that in someone he hadn't explicitly cut open to ensure they couldn't stop bleeding. Trusting the pallid man to ensure things went smoothly, he instead focused on consoling Hana.
One dark forelimb moved closer to Hana's tiny form, caging her trembling body close to his own to try and impart some of his own warmth. "Your papa is very skilled, there is no need to fear." he murmured gently, lowering his dainty skull to place a gentle kiss upon her brow. "We all have accidents, little flower." he continued just as softly. Rotating the foreleg that he'd just moved closer to her, he turned the outside portion of the limb where she could see it. He blew out a breath over the thin fur partway up his lower leg, revealing a streak of scar tissue. "You see, I have many scars from my own mistakes. Here, I misjudged my words when I was only a few months older than you are now, and I was punished. But now, so much time has passed and I am still okay, so it is merely a lesson learned." he explained with the even, measured tone of someone who had recounted many a tale of this type over the years.
It didn't occur to the man that this might be a grim story, it was just one of his scars that happened to be easily accessible, and a simple enough tale to recount to the little ones. At the very least, it would distract them while Mojito worked on treating their child. "I needed it wrapped in herbs for some time to heal nicely, just as your papa does for you now. Sometimes it is better than trying to let the body fix it alone, because that is a lot of work for a little body like yours, Hana. Takes time away from playing with your siblings, and we can't have that, now can we?" he teased the child lightly, a wry grin on his face as he dipped his head down to give her another little kiss upon her brow. Sea foam eyes flicked up to his beloved, checking his progress and his prognosis based on whatever face he happened to be making at the moment.
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1. | It felt like a snake, lucky it wasn’t? | Serpent Plains | 09:42 PM, 12-02-2023 | 04:18 AM, 05-01-2024 |