the dog days of summer

Theory staggered to her feet in the shallow water, splashing around as she sprinted towards Sen. Her mind immediately went to panic mode before she scaled hard back to actually triage the damage. He was still young, she wasn't sure when it was appropriate to over or under react. This whole raising kids thing was beyond her. "Okay, okay, let's take a look," she murmured, sitting down before him and tipping his nose up towards her with her front paw. Theo got a good look at his burn face and whistled a bit through her teeth. "No wonder that really stings! It's just a sunburn, Sen. I think I have something for it - I stopped over in the desert on the way back from Valhalla's festival this spring. They've got a fun plant there called aloe that'll fix you right up. Why don't you follow me?" Being an older sister was weird, but she thought that she was getting the hang of it. With an encouraging nuzzle, Theo led the way to her secondary den that she'd dug just before the soil turned to rocks and then sand. It overlooked the shore and had a lovely ocean view, but more importantly, she kept some herbs there for easy access.

It had been dug just big enough for herself and a small area for storage. Theo slipped inside and fetched the plant before reappearing in front of him. "Alright, sit still now," she instructed as she began to extract the cool liquid from inside the plant by splitting carefully with her sharp canines. Theory peered back at Sen and assessed his face again. "So, the white fur here," she gave him a sisterly kiss just beneath his eyes, "will be more prone to letting your skin get burnt if you stay out too long in the sun. You can try covering it with ash or wet mud if you think you'll be out in the sun all day, okay? Otherwise, be careful and stick to the shade."

wc: 341
twc: 674