tiny hands, no shame

*Halo* · 12-19-2021, 06:31 AM

Halo’s first contact with the ooze had come on the day she’d arrived. It was strange… so strange. Curious. The panther that had stalked her was a threat, one that Sirius had (gratefully) neutralized. The beast had crystals growing from his flesh, and the healer couldn’t figure out… couldn’t figure out why or how. It was so strange, so incredibly strange. The Warlord had spoken of the ooze, and the way that it impacted life as a whole. Calypso had spoken about the sun having gone away. Were those things connected? It seemed likely. The impacts of the Armada, and on the rest of Boreas (and Auster) would be lasting.

That, and Halo found herself looking over her shoulder for more of those predators. It was something she couldn’t understand. She simply didn’t get it. Maybe she’d come to it too late to really know… but she’d still see the aftershocks. If it was connected, the lack of sun had to be one of the sources… but couldn’t be the only one. If predators and prey alike had the disease, then it had to come from the plant life. The plants got their energy from the sun, the prey got their energy from the plants, the predators got their energy from the prey… up through the food chain, the ooze had spread. Halo’s mind had been filled with thoughts of the ooze, and she spent many of her free moments thinking of it.

Halo had crossed the river not far from her den, looking carefully from tree to tree. In her mouth she carried a borrowed bucket. She’d put the time and effort into fixing the bee boxes, with Mortis’ help, and now it was time to go looking for bees. Spring had come, and in spring it wasn’t unusual for bees to swarm as they sought out a new home. As it happened, Halo had one to offer them. The bucket with the lid swung slightly in her mouth, and her gaze was trained carefully on the trees surrounding the riverside, and on the way to the hot springs. That seemed like a reasonable direction.

Spring was still warm, maybe warmer than the densely coated girl would have preferred. That was okay, though. She’d keep to the shade. As her gaze rested carefully on the world around, she wasn’t really… she wasn’t really certain what was out here. This was the direction that she and Sirius had come on her very first day, but she hadn’t returned since. The hot springs were an inviting prospect, and maybe she’d have to come out here on a day when she wasn’t on a particular mission. How nice they’d be this winter, as well. As her mind wanders, Halo catches a glimmer of something out of the corner of her eye, seeming to catch the light.

Her heart dropped as she saw the gleam of crystals. Halo’s hackles rose on her back, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. When it comes to fight or flight, it’s easy to forget that there’s a third reaction that sometimes your body will toss in just to spice things up. Halo froze. She felt as if she was grounded to the spot, staring forward in horror… abject terror. Was it a predator? As she focused her gaze, the girl’s fear turned to something else. Pity was likely the right word. A medium sized raccoon kit laying on its side, struggling with the weight of a crystal that grew from its shoulder.

Always a bleeding heart, Halo moved to scoop it into her bucket. Could she do something to save it? Could she at least help it? Someone with more sense would have likely put the creature out of its misery, but she just wanted to help. Always wanted to help. Her heart ached for the creatures that were still out here suffering, and it was hard to know just what to do or how to help. The kit tried, weakly, to fight back– it was enough to tell Halo that this one really did want to live.

After securing the lid back on her bucket, Halo made her way as quickly as possible back to her den. She could hear the angry noises that the kit made, and it gave her hope. She’d seen some purple ooze dripping from around the site of the crystal, leading Halo to believe that this was something infectious in nature. Trying her best not to rattle the creature around too much, she returned to her den. From the effort and the heat, she panted.

In the grass beside her den, she set the bucket down. Within, the creature was still making angry noises of protest, though they had grown quieter with time. Halo popped the lid open, peering at the raccoon kit within. “Easy, easy, I’m trying to help you,” she murmured to herself, carefully setting about dousing the creature in some of the antiseptic water she kept on hand. It hadn’t been hard to make, simply boiled river water with witch hazel, and she’d be able to make more just as easily. As Halo moved the kit with gentle paws, she could see another purple crystal growing from its ear. “You really are a mess,” she mused softly. With the crystal came the leakage of more fluids, the same bright purple in color.

Carefully taking the kit by its scruff, she tipped the bucket to empty it of the dirty water. At least the visible wounds were clean now. Softly, she set the creature back inside, moving a bit more into the sun. Halo worried about the kit getting too cold, and the water would only make things worse. Raccoons ate plants, right? She had to think so. The healer picked a bit of valerian root from the garden and set it inside the bucket, watching the creature gobble it down with gusto. While not necessarily sustenance, it would hopefully help bring down some of the aches that must come with the crystal growth.

“Are you hungry? You might be hungry…” Halo thought carefully to herself, moving to her den for just a moment and then back to the bucket with a few small fish. Carefully, she broke one into pieces with her teeth, dropping them down into the bucket as well. This seemed to perk the kit up to a degree. He took the pieces eagerly, and seemed to be swallowing them whole. Concerning, but it was what Halo could do for now. She fully removed the lid from the bucket, allowing more sun to shine down into it. Maybe the kit would start to come around now that he’d been fed… she could hope. Halo was too tenderhearted for the sadness of losing a patient yet.

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tiny hands, no shame

seasonal prompt/open if you want it

Halo