Trouble on the Way

It amused her that he didn’t follow her into her den right away- choosing to linger outside as he took in the peculiar sight of what might have appeared to be a smoldering log. However, when he did finally enter, his much larger frame blocked a lot of the natural light that filtered in through the entrance. His coughing brought a quiet chuckle to escape through her nose, though she didn’t turn to face him. Though divided, she racked her mind for anything else she wanted to add as she made her preparations. After a few moments of stillness, she pressed on with what she had. If she thought of something else to add, she would simply go and retrieve it. Though, just as she turned to face him, he settled a bit abruptly against the ground.

Aurelia didn’t wait to see if he would comply to her instructions or not. Instead, she set to work. Leaning in, she took a long and intense look at the slashes over the boy’s ribcage. He leaned away- against the wall rather. Which incidentally opened it up for more light. With a single claw, she gently stretched his skin downward so she could get a better look at the damage- which wasn’t so bad after all. However, there was definitely quite a bit of foreign matter lodged in each divet that clearly didn’t belong. It would have been better if she had thought to have him wash it out in the running water of the creek. However, she wasn’t going to suggest that they go all the way back now. She would simply have to work with what she had at her disposal in the log. Without thinking, she ran her tongue over the wound, taking a couple swipes before casting an amused look through her eyelashes.

Once satisfied that the open gashes were relatively clear of obstruction, she moved to collect samples of the various herbs she had brought to be readily used. The bitter earthy tastes of the combination of plants spread over her tongue- however, compared to other things, it wasn’t so bad. Once the consistency felt right in her mouth, she leaned in once more to pack the salve into the deepest parts of the injury site.

"Aurelia Veratti"