Autumnal Bounty [Valhalla Pack Hunt]

Paladin felt like utter…. Manure. He couldn’t seem to stop coughing, but he was pretty sure he was getting a handle on how to stop it. The mask Ime and Kyo had made him had a rabbit fur lining, stitched lovingly into place by nimble fingers with sinews. They had made a salve that could be inhaled, which soothed the irritation in his lungs.

In fact, they had made several, from different materials, all experimental. They all made him look a bit odd, but they all had their uses.

A howl lifted his head away from the sorting he was doing of dried packets of herbs, roots, and various medicinal plants. A hunt? A smile flitted onto his face. They needed the meat, certainly. He wondered what she’d singled out. Quickly, he rose to start packing his supplies into his various packs and satchels. He was surprised when he popped out of his alcove, jaws carrying bags of healing supplies, and saw Regulus up and about, and clearly gearing up for the hunt.

He understood the need to get away from the den. Solveiga wasn’t faring well. And it was eating Regulus alive to see her as she faded. This hunt was good for the old man. Maybe it’d be good for Paladin, too. Perhaps Aramis would be among the hunting party—he was proud of the boy for beating back the illness, but he knew that he wouldn’t find a cure. Paladin had already spoken to the Nomads and tried everything he could. There was no cure.

Paladin smiled at Regulus’ words, nodding. He’d been out for a walk, in hopes of clearing his lungs, and the weather had been decent. “May this hunt fill our larder but well.”

Several minutes of companionable preparation later, he turned at the scrabble of claws on the stone floor, grinning as he saw Cairo nose to nose with an equally surprised Regulus. As the other two sorted themselves out, Paladin smiled at the boy, then had to shield his muzzle against his leg as a fresh round of coughing struck. When it finally passed, he wheezed for a few breaths, then announced to the boy, clearly surprising him, “I’ll come with for this. Kyode and Ime made me this mask. It won’t work for long stretches of time, but I’ll be hanging back to care for anyone injured. If we’re lucky, this won’t turn into a healing lesson on how to stop arterial bleeding or suture gut wounds shut.”

He gestured to the mask where it lay on the stone floor, and Ime grabbed it up, tossing it to Kyodele, who disappeared into Paladin’s alcove, reapplying the vapor salve they’d made. It would quiet the cough and provide a barrier to keep less of his cough from reaching other wolves.

Paladin slipped his muzzle into the mask, breathing in deeply as Ime fastened it behind his ears.

Once the supplies were all gathered, the three wolves set out, slowly making their way to the call. When they arrived, his eyes shifted to find Viviane and Geoff, giving away the smile on his features with a sparkle—the mask hid the rest of his face. He gave his sister a wag of his tail and a brief brush of his side to hers before he slipped away.

He moved to Aurielle and said, slightly muffled by the mask, “I’ll be setting up a camp at the edge of the hunt – as it seems we have enough hunters – for the healers, and anyone who gets wounded by whatever we’re hunting today. If Viviane and Geoffrey wish to stay back with me, I welcome their help. It’ll be a chance for them to learn a bit about what I we might end up using.”

He stood off to the side, stifling a cough as he studied the rest of the wolves. Almost the whole pack. Only two remained absent, and he hoped they were coming soon.