Need a Little Ray of Sunshine

The emerald-eyed girl was ever-observant, her curious gaze flicking over his face and catching the way his smile grew, warmth flooding his multi-colored gaze when she agreed to come back in the Spring to see the way the Irises bloomed. It seemed to cause him delight, and Sterling was glad to play just a small part in that. Tail waving slightly, she tilted her head as he began to describe the things that one might begin learning as a student of the healing craft. Normally one to jump around from one topic to another, Sterling could easily be distracted but she found everything he said fascinating and it was easy for her to focus on him. It seems the Nomads had a very intricate system for training their students, and it took years to truly master this skill. It seemed a daunting task to take on, yet interesting all the same.

She took several steps toward him as he moved to the lake's shore, clearing away the snow so he could dig his nails into the mud. Listening intently, she watched as Paladin traced lines through the damp earth as he described each mark that a Nomad healer would acquire as their skills progressed. She blinked, cringing slightly as she imagined the pain of the lines that would be carved into flesh. She wondered why anyone would want to cut into their own skin, but she supposed the markings came with great recognition, and one could easily tell who had earned respect by simply viewing the markings. As she glanced over Paladin's red marking, she would have to admit it that it looked pretty neat. She supposed the pain would only be temporary for a marking that would always indicate the wolf's talents, and besides, they were healers and could surely keep the wound from hurting too much.

As he went on to say that the first thing healers learned about was to stop bleeding, her brows lifted, interested and somewhat surprised. She'd never been to a healing lesson nor seen a Healer for cuts, so it had never occurred to her that they could make bleeding stop. From what she'd seen, a cut was a cut and it stopped bleeding whenever it decided it was done. The bigger the cut, the longer it took to stop. As she'd seen from hunting prey, not all cuts stopped, and certain areas bled more heavily. She wondered how a Healer got the bleeding to stop. "Is there a herb to make bleeding stop?" she asked, oblivious to even the basics of healing, but certainly curious.

When the boy mentioned that it was also a Healer's job to encourage their patients to stay still, to accept treatment and take their medicine, Sterling couldn't help but to chuckle. As a pup, she'd been quite I'll for a long time, and after taking so much medication she had certainly become a difficult patient. Even with her mother beside her taking the same herbs, Sterling had resisted the bitter treatments. "I don't think I was ever given Honey with my medicine as a pup," she mused, not remembering having anything to make the herbs easier to ingest, "Maybe I would've been an easier patient if they'd used Honey." She chuckled again slightly. Hearing it from Paladin's point of view made her realize some of the challenges a Healer could face. How was one to heal their patients if those patients wouldn't cooperate? She wished now that she'd been a little easier for her caretakers, but she'd only been a pup. She couldn't really feel too badly about it, in fact she found it somewhat comical looking back on now. Those days were long behind her, and she was sure she enjoyed exploring and learning new things so much now because of how long she'd spent cooped up in a den.

Following him again as they moved down the shore line, she glanced around the water's edge, trying to spy some of the Iris on her own. But with the cold season and poor growth this time of year, she wasn't sure she saw anything other than withered reeds and dead plants floating near the water's edge.