Is it the end?

As winter drew nearer and nearer, Kane had become much more gung-ho about going out to gather several very specific herbs and plants he needed to mix his poisons. Once the winter frost came and the chill chased away all of the greenery, it would be too late. Plus the concoction he was intent on making took a little bit of time to steep to gain potency. He smiled down at Tamsyn as the two wolves walked back towards Hallowed lands with a bag full of the plants he'd needed, finally able to gather them up after his previous failed harvest in which a saber cat had nearly taken his life. Had that really been two seasons ago? Damn, did time fly... But thanks to Tamsyn's familiarity with the terrain of Auster, they had made quick work of his shopping list, and now his work could begin in earnest.

She had begun to say something, but a ruckus nearby interrupted whatever thoughts she'd had. Kane's eyes lifted from his lover to follow her gaze in the direction of the sounds. Then came the howl for aid. Tamsyn recognized the voice, and when she said the name of one of her sons, Kane was already hauling ass in the direction of the howl. Massive paws thundered across the ground, plowing through the stream as it if were a puddle, eyes steeled and focused ahead as he and Tam ran as fast as they could. They arrived on the scene in time to hear the roar of the bear, smell the blood, and see the dappled gray wolf lay sprawled and injured across the ground with a massive grizzly bear towering over him going for the kill. Tamsyn screamed, and Kane was already going for Rudyard before Tam had given the order. "Don't you get hurt, Tamsyn!" he shouted back to her as he came upon the fallen yearling.

Rudyard was a mess. The boy had sustained a fairly nasty laceration to his hind leg and his head was bleeding profusely from a gash across his crown. The chips of bark in the boy's fur told him everything he needed to know. The bear had smashed Rudy's head into a tree with enough force to knock him out. "By the Moon and Stars, boy, are you nuts...?!" he muttered under his breath while reaching into his bag of herbs to pull out the single roll of bandages he always kept on him. While he listened to Tamsyn fight with the bear, Kane began to wind the bandages around Rudy's leg. He got the slashes wrapped up and tied them securely so they wouldn't come undone, then he focused on Rudy's head. Muttering in his tribe's language, Kane glanced around to try and find something to press against the wound that would help absorb the blood. He found some moss, ironically on the tree that had spatters of Rudy's blood on it, and gathered it to press to his head while he started wrapping the bandages around to hold it in place.

Kane heard the thud of the bear hitting the ground, then looked up to see Tamsyn rushing over, positively covered in blood. Mostly the bear's, but he did also see the slashes on her shoulder. His heart lurched in his chest while he gazed at her injury and wound his paws around Rudy's head with smooth, practiced motions. She asked if her son was going to be okay, and Kane looked up at her with uncertain hazel eyes. "I don't know. His wounds aren't grave, they'll just need time to heal." He looked back to Rudy's head. "But a head injury is far more severe, and there's not a lot you can do for them or to diagnose them."

Once he had tied the bandages in place, Kane gently patted Rudy's cheek and gave him a soft shake. "Rudy? Rudy, can you hear me?" he called in a raised voice to try and wake the unconscious wolf. When he didn't respond, Kane carefully lifted one of Rudy's eyelids, waving a paw in front of his face. Rudy gave no reaction, but Kane did see his pupil contract and dilate as it adjusted to the light. "He's unresponsive, but he's breathing and his pupil's responding, so he's not braindead. We need to get him back to the castle to get his leg stitched and his head closed properly though," he said, turning to lie his massive body alongside Rudy's. He draped the unconscious wolf's legs around his neck, then looked up to Tamsyn. "Roll him onto my back. I'll carry him home."

"Kaneonuskatew"