Pain pounded against her skull. Blood matted the fur on her face. Her steps were slow and painful, her left forelimb never touching the ground. The bite to her upper leg throbbed, blood seeping from her wounds. Bruised flared across her ribs as exhaustion dragged her down. It was the longest walk of her life back home. By the time she crossed the border, she was exhausted, pain making her dizzy. She would make it to the heart of the plains before slumping to the ground. Artemis had released her without warning, jaws snapping at her face, fangs sinking into her eye. The pain had been unlike anything she ever felt, her vision turned red and then everything went black. Blood flowed from her eye socket, dripping down her cheek and onto the grass around her. Eyes would flutter shut as she attempted to block out the pain, but it was impossible. There was no blocking out the pain that radiated from her eye. A low whine left her jaws as she remained utterly still hidden within the grass. She longed for Cru, for his comfort and his presence. At the back of her mind she hoped Orchid found her, she knew the woman would have something for the pain. Her tongue would sweep across her lips, tasting her own blood. Her skull would lower until it rested against the earth. She wanted to curl up in a fall and slip away into nothing. The pain tugged at her mind, threatening to pull her under the surface of consciousness. She had no energy left to announce her presence, no energy to plead with Cru for his presence, she could only hope that someone found her. At the back of her mind her temper would flare. That white bitch had once again bested her, and this time she had taken part of her vision. Anger flooded her veins, thought at the moment she was helpless to do anything. There was no forgetting her words. Vi had brought this down upon her? How? Pain and anger made for a heady combination that plunged her into darkness, the world slipping away around her. Speech,

By stroke of luck it would be Orchid who tasted the scent of blood upon the air and moved to investigate its source. It would be she who found the damaged girl hidden in the grasses, silent and without the strength to call for air. Orchids heart went out to her immediately as she knelt in the grass before her and first going over the girl with her nose, sniffing for sources of blood along the girls body. It was easy to see the majority of the source was from her face. There where other cuts and scraps that told Orchid of the battle this woman had fought. Gently, she would nudge her nose against the other girls face to bring it up to where she could reach it, then she would start to clean the wound with her tongue. A wolfs tongue had healing qualities and Orchid hadn't brought any of her herbs with her. She had been going to to bathe, not expecting to find her injured monarch buried in the grasses. Once she had the worst of it cleaned up she would raise her head and call for Crucifix, the Alpha of the pack knowing he would not forgive her if she did not tell him immediately. She waited until he arrived, pulled him aside and told him the bad news, with that she left him and trotted off to her den ? she was going to need herbs for this. She grabbed her leaf bag in her maw, not bothering to knot it into her chest fur, she pulled herbs into it and gripping it in her mouth would trot back to the scene. She would find the distraught Crucifix at her side, and with only a slight nod to him would get to work. She had always had a no-nonsense view of healing but even she had a hard time finding smart-ass remarks to make to her queen who had very likely lost the sight in one eye permanently. First she would do the work of cleaning out the injury with a paste of crushed Trillium before applying a White willow bark Poultice and binding the wound with Horse tail. She would put Wintergreen against the girls lips in the hope she would consume it. Wintergreen was the strong she had as a pain relief and could only give it to her in small amounts, but that eye looked bad, very bad, and Orchid had the feeling she would need it not just for the pain but the high effect it would also give her, she couldn't imagine losing an eye would be a fun experience. With that done she would slip away to allow the couple some time together ? they where not officially so, but Orchid wasn't blind. She would wait and look over the wound again later, she decided. Walk "Talk" Think

Crucifix could not even remember what he was doing when the howl rung out, summoning him. It was rare that Orchid would call to him and he could hear the urgency, the command in her tone that told her he could not delay this for a second. His trot would start out light, moving quickly through the territory until the scent of her blood reached him. From that point he would become frantic, bursting through the trees until he found Orchid. He would have gone immediately to Sibelle?s side but Orchid blocked his way and took him to the side. It would be here that she would tell him she had lost an eye, that she would be blinded from it forever. On shaky legs he would make his way to Sibelle?s side, collapsing beside her, curling up against her to offer his warmth and support. Orchid had vanished, but he barely even noticed as he pulled her close and began to wash the cuts along her body. He did not know who had done this, but he needed to know. Who would do this to his mate, his love? He did not know, but he would find out and when he did..



His breathing was quick in his throat and he forced it to calm. He would out who did this later, and he would get his revenge, later. Right now all that mattered was Sibelle, making sure that she was okay. He would see when Orchid came back, watching her as she gently but practically applied her herbs and sorted out the damaged eye. A part of him still hoped.. Orchid was good, right? Really good? If anything could be done for the eye.. but, no, Orchid herself had told him it was lost. He shuddered, slowly, painfully, as he thought of what life might be like for Sibelle now. Would a simple maim be enough for revenge? Or, when he saw the one responsible, will he cry out for their blood, their life? Orchid vanished again and Crucifix nudged her side softly. ?Lets get you to my den? he told her softly.

It would not be Cru that found her first but Orchid. The woman's familiar perfume would fill her nostrils, causing her remaining eye to flutter open. A low whine would leave her lips as she flinched away from the woman's touch when she began cleaning. Ears fell back against her skull as she forced herself to remain still, her body going rigid though she would lift her head. She would leave just as Crus scent washed over her. Relief washed over her, but Orchid stood between them. Anxiety blurred her vision but Cru would rush to her side, his body trembling as he curled around her. Orchid would approach, herbs in hand and began to administrations. As soon as the paste touched her flesh a cry would leave her lips, her entirely body going rigid, her skull recoiling immediately. A whole new wave of pain washed over her as the herbs stung her wound. Orchid would push herbs towards her and she would immediately gobble them up, desperately hoping it was for pain. She tried to remain as still as possible while Orchid worked but she still flinched, lips twitching in a snarl of pain. Slumping to the ground, Orchid would leave them, disappearing silently. Cru's voice would fill her ears, though he rested on her now blinded side. It would take her a moment, but she would pull her limbs beneath her before pushing herself up. Legs trembled and she leaned heavily against her partner. Ears constantly flipped back and forth between attention and being pinned to her skull. The entire left side of her world was gone, blackened with no hope of returning, she already knew that. Her steps were clumsy as she tried to desperately regain some equilibrium. Her left paw remained off the ground, refusing to bear any of her weight, only making her journey that much harder. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, the pain medicine washing over her, warming her body, numbing her. Glued to Cru's side, she would following him, her movements painstakingly slow. Speech,

He was consumed with worry for her, and still didn't know what happened, who had done it or why. He refrained from asking, knowing she would tell him when she was ready ? perhaps she didn't want to relive the memories right now. He had told her they where going back to his den and with effort she would bring herself to her paws. He would murmur encouragingly as she leaned her weight against him. It would quickly becoming apparent that she had a leg wound also and he gladly took as much weight from her as he was able. In this slow, painful way the two would slowly make there way to Crucifix?s den. It was painful to him to hear her labored breathing, scent the injuries upon her and know the pain she must be in. It shocked him to see her so, when she was the strongest of them and his heart was in his throat. They would make it to then, eventually and with a relieved sigh he would help her onto the softest part of the floor. He would lay down beside her then, determined not to leave her side, and knowing Twig was more then capable to look after the pack if he holed himself in his cave with Sibelle for a day or two. He wanted to do anything he could for her, he still found it shocking to see her so weak and injured. He buried his face into her neck, ready to stay beside her and help however she wanted him to. "Speech"

The journey was painstakingly slow. Cru took as much of her weight as he could, supporting her constantly, not once straying from her side. It felt like an eternity had passed before the finally made it to the den. Cru would guide her, helping her get comfortable before curling up around her. She would bury herself in his side, allowing his warmth to wash over her and pull her into the beginnings of sleep. Her eye would flutter shut, labored breathing finally slowly as his face pressed against her neck. "She did it." Words left her jaws on a breath, barely audible and she wasn't even sure if she really said them. At the back of her mind she knew that he would want to know who did this. But sleep claimed her before she could say anything else. Her body would finally relax, going limp, her breathes slowing with sleep. Darkness claimed her as she fell into a restless sleep. The pain had ebbed, allowing her find some comfort, but she knew it would not last forever. Clips of her fight assaulted her as she slept, causing low growls to rumble from her throat. Her legs would twitch occasionally. She didn't know how long she would sleep for, or how long Cru would stay beside her. But sleep felt so good, she didn't want to wake up just yet. -exit via sleep- Speech,

Still furious enough to kill the brute settled down beside Sibelle and started to groom her coat with her tongue in an effort to help her relax. He knew it was a life changing event that had happened to her, and something they would both have to learn how to live with. He sighed softly into her coat, holding her close and wishing he had been there to protect her. He could hear by her soft breaths that she was relaxing and through mumbled tone she would tell him ? she did it? his blood would run cold, and only one name slithered into his mind. Cataleya. She had done this, who else could Sibelle have meant by ?she?? She had spoken to that twisted bitch, had hoped to form an alliance with her and meanwhile that white demon had done this to his beloved behind her black. His blood wasn't cold now, it was boiling hot and the ability to stay and sit there was unbelievably painful. He wanted to go now, race off into the forest and find the woman he now hated with all his heart, and bring her down as she had done to his Sibelle.



He trembled softly as he placed his head down against her and forced his breathing to slow. He tasted blood in his mouth, and all he could think of was how furious he was, how he needed to teach others they could not harm what was his, could not take away what he loved. When he left Cat?s intestines trailing along the borders of Solstice the world would know he meant it, when he said warned them not to touch what was his.