sitting in silence

While Syanna began to prepare the medicines she had brought, she would occasionally let her eyes drift back to the broken form in front of her. She'd been trained and self-taught in the field of medicine, sure, but she'd never before had to implement her studies so frequently or rigorously as she had since she'd come to the Hallows. It was as if everything that could ever go wrong to a wolf happened here. At least they were well prepared to handle it—or as well prepared as they could be in the face of the apocalypse, she supposed. She gave Laeta a friendly smile when the sickly wolf greeted her. Her bedside manner was something she had been working hard on, trying to make her patients feel comfortable and safe despite what was going on in the world around them.

When Laeta made no effort to pick up the cloths and clean herself up, that was when Syanna noticed the look of bitter frustration and pain in the other woman's eyes. She turned her concerned gaze to her patient and was about to ask if she was all right when the badger started to speak again. There was something else happening with Laeta. The ailing wolf explained how she couldn't move her legs at all, that all she could feel was pain. That alarmed Syanna more than the brightly glowing ooze dripping from her face did. "Mel, was it?" she shifted her eyes to the badger, handing him some of the cloths. "Could you help me clean Laeta up?" Syanna grabbed a swatch of cloth and proceeded to gently wipe away some of the ooze around Laeta's eyes and mouth, setting the dirty cloths aside when she finished with each.

While Mel did his work cleaning up her patient, Syanna slid off the bed to light a candle in one of the sconces, filling the room with a faint, warm orange light. Now that she could see better, Syanna moved over to add a fresh log to the dying fire, stoking it until it had roared back to life. Now illuminated better and Syanna could see Laeta easier, she returned to the bed, sorting through the vials and bottles she'd brought. She lifted a small vial containing a pale green liquid and popped the stopper from the end. "Boneset and juniper, for the fever and the muscle pains," she explained, then carefully brought the bottle to Laeta's lips. If she complied, Syanna helped pour the contents into the other woman's mouth for her to swallow. She put the now empty bottle away, then pulled a sprig of fresh elderberries from her satchel and handed them to Melis. "Make sure she eats five of these with every meal. They'll help strengthen her immune system to fight off the fever and other infections. Keep a bowl nearby so she can spit out as much of that gunk as she can."

With the treatments applied to the easier symptoms, Syanna now turned her attention to the major issue: Laeta's paralysis. The younger wolf's lips pursed into a fine line while she looked over the seemingly whole and fit wolf, her mind already working to try and figure out what was happening to her. Was this a byproduct of the ooze? Were all of the wolves in the Hallows about to become paralyzed? "I'm going to need to do a full physical to try and find out what's happening with your legs. Would it be okay for me to touch you, Lae?" She waited for Laeta to give her consent before she proceeded. Having come from a background of physical and sexual assault herself, Syanna knew how unwanted touches could trigger reactions. She'd proceed only when Laeta had given her permission to examine her.

"Syanna Alluráin"