Darkened Skies

Paladin sounded so sure of himself, with a plan in mind and already in motion, and Sterling was so lost as to what she should do, that she could find no way to argue against his suggestions. His certainty soothed her further, although it couldn't fully take away her insecurities. "That sounds good," she murmured, emerald orbs scanning his face, "But, um.. won't your pack be mad?" She couldn't see why the wolves of Celestial would want a Talis wolf amongst them - even if she hadn't been with the pack for several seasons now - to be kept and healed, wasting their resources on a wolf that should be their enemy. Was it really a good idea for her to go there? Maybe she'd be able to walk, and she could just find somewhere to stay on her own.

Then his voice came to answer her other questions, urging her not to move until he had the travois set up, clarifying that he intended to pull her on it. As he padded past her to work on the saplings he needed, her anxiety swelled inside once more. She hated knowing she was going to burden him in such a way, even if he seemed to deem it necessary. He didn't seem to have any complaints. But certainly he had not had this in his plans for today, and she felt awful for throwing him off. After all, his duties were important to his pack, and now she would be returning with him as an extra wolf to be cared for, dead-weight for the pack.

As she watched him work, the gnawing feeling of her uselessness grew into a whirling hurricane within her mind until she was on the verge of panic. She needed to run, to get away. She couldn't burden Paladin and his pack like this, and it made her unable to reason with herself. Carefully, she moved herself, trying to get her paws under her body without agitating her injuries. She should have known she wouldn't be able to stand with ease, and as a sharp pain shot through her side, she stopped. What was she doing? Her eyes darted back and forth, like a feral creature looking to escape. She looked to Paladin again. He was working hard to put this all together, to help her stupid, careless self. Gritting her teeth, she tried to calm down, to give up on her impulse to get away. It's not like she would have gotten far anyways.

Her gaze focused on the ground in front of her as her ears occasionally twitched at the sounds the healer made as he strapped together the device he intended to carry her with. She didn't look up again until he approached her, urging her to get in to the travois where he would lay a hide over her to prevent her getting further drenched by the rain. She nodded meekly. "Thank you," she said softly with the smallest of smiles, then asked, "Why are you doing this for me? Shouldn't you have just left me here?" She appreciated everything he'd done so far, and was grateful to his willingness to help, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling so undeserving of any kindness from him. She knew healers were well-known for treating patients of all kinds, but enemies? Her mind could only reason that he should have left her to deal with her own struggles, yet Paladin had offered her more than she could have expected.