I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr was enjoying himself at the festival. There always seemed to be so much going on and he was glad he was old enough to go but it was a shame he still had to be escorted. Valdís was some where nearby but he'd had a moment to settle down and get a bit of quiet time before it was time for the tournament to start. He pulled some lamb's ear out of his pack and laid it out on a scrap of deer hide. It was soft and lovely and made for wonderful bandages but it would only keep for so long. He supposed there might be some other uses for it as well if he opted to try drying it. He sat there mulling it over, listening to the sounds of celebration nearby.

she didn't see the boy until she was almost on top of him. she saw the deer hide and the contents before her, having stepped awkwardly off the hide with a pale paw. a silent gasp left her muzzle as she stepped back rapidly, afraid she had hurt the child in some way but in reality had not even touched him. was he a child though? she could not see his youthful features. his face was frustratingly unknown to her. "...!" Niamh wordlessly mouthed useless things, staring openly at the boy as if she could see him properly. there was a vacant hole where his skull should be. she shut her eyes to press out the image before opening them. this time, she focused on his body. white, fluffy with sooty markings on his limbs. she breathed a sigh. okay, she could do this. Niamh smelt he was a male but his age was not known to her. if he spoke, she could better gauge his youth. she wasn't that old either but she was probably older than him. dropping her eyes to the ground, she'd pat the dirt in front of her with a paw to gain his focus. 'hello' she wrote before the boy in the ground with a nail. there. simple, wasn't it? she started small and gained nothing.

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr divided the leaves into separate portions. One he'd keep fresh and the other he would lay out to dry. Come to think of it, he had some dried that he could start breaking up into something like a tisane though he wouldn't use it as a tea. He hoped maybe that he could make it into a paste to help control infections in wounds. He reached into his bag and pulled out a small jar of dried Lamb's Ear. Afi was curled up next to his pack, deciding the boy couldn't get into too much trouble. His raven, Brynhildr helped him pull the cork out of the jar. He was about to get back to work when he suddenly felt he was being watched.

He looked up to see a very pale woman staring at him. She walked right over to him, causing him to frizz up a bit. "Umm.. hi?" She mouthed something like she was trying to speak but couldn't. "Oh! You're mute! Umm… can you hear at all?" She patted at the ground with her paw and started scribbling symbols in the dirt but he wasn't sure what any of it was. "I'm sorry, I don't know what that is… it just looks like shapes." Afi, alerted to the conversation yawned and stretched before padding over to the boy. "She's saying hello."

she felt a familiar pang of loneliness combined with frustation as the boy spoke. though he knew enough to call her what she was - at least partially - the term was foreign to her. was that what it was, when she didn't speak? mute. mu-oh-te... if she could speak it she would. but she had only felt herself comfortable enough to say a few words to another person once in this land. he did ask if she could hear, causing her to nod her head gently. some hope flashed in her pink eyes; she felt like bouncing on the spot. so he knew what the no-speak was and she could hear him... that was something, right? the sudden new voice caused her to flinch badly, having not spotted the cat there. it approached and spoke, causing her to focus on it. she gave another nod, this time more vigorously. the cat could read; something she always assumed other wolves could do. Mother had taught her to communicate but she wasn't here anymore. the woman had been her rock and without her, Niamh felt defenseless. but she had Jupiter to help her. speaking of Jupiter... this boy smelt like him. she had no concept of packs and pack scents yet, so she pushed it out of her mind. she tried to think of what else to say before digging her nails into the earth again. she wrote her name. "am Niamh" she scribbled "who you both?"

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr looked between Afi and the scribbles in the dirt. The cat reached out a paw and patted his forearm lightly. "Don't worry. You were never taught to read. Some creatures make shapes to mean different words. Where I grew up the monkeys often used these systems and I learned from a friend of mine. I'm surprised her symbols are so close to theirs." Afi had a hard time processing all this but he supposed it made sense if the girl was mute. She had to try and find another way to communicate but Álarr had never met a wolf that could 'read' before. It sounded like a lot of work.

"She says her name is Niamh. My name is Afi." The cat glanced up at him and Álarr took the cue. "Hi, my name is Álarr." He wasn't quite sure what else to say and suddenly feeling self-conscious he turned back to the dried lamb's ear, carefully reaching out with his paws to crush it into smaller pieces so that he would have a ready made amount of leaves to turn into pastes in the winter when he needed them. Afi glanced between the boy and the girl. "He's shy."

"I am not!"

"is okay" she scribbled back to the cat's proclaimation that the boy was shy. at least he could talk to other people. Niamh had watched the exchange a bit with curiosity, wondering what it was like to have a little animal friend that helped you out. she wanted a friend too. she only had Jupiter and he was less a friend and more of a master. suddenly feeling a bit sad, she'd add in; "Afi smart. Alarr lucky to have." because if he wasn't lucky to have her, the albino felt sad for the cat. her head tilted a bit curious as he worked more on the herb. she had no knowledge of plants - maybe that'd be better management of her allowed time than hunting - and did not recognize the one he was shredding. it looked like little wooly ears. "can I help?" she added into the dirt, quickly wiping the other words a way to start fresh. Niamh wanted to do something to make the boy talk to her. maybe if she helped him a bit, he'd be more open to her. she didn't know how capable he was though. he could very well say no.

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Afi preened at the woman's words and leaned over to nudge Álarr. "She says I'm smart and you're lucky to have me." Álarr raised an eye brow then looked at the girl. "Careful, you praise him too much and he's gonna get a swelled head!"

Afi watched as the woman wrote some more. Álarr was getting skilled enough and grinding up dried herbs for teas and tisanes that he didn't feel the need to be looking over the boy's shoulder. He reached out a paw to tap at the boy's paw. "She want's to know if she can help."

Álarr paused for a moment and then nodded. "Sure." He moved the process lamb's ear that he had finished into a jar that Brynhildr corked and added back to his bag before pulling out a second bottle. "If you want to finish the lamb's ear I'll get started on something else. What you want to do is lay it out on the deer hide on this stone and use your paws to try and mash up the dried herbs to a smaller size like you saw me do. Do you want to be a healer to?"

Álarr started rooting around for more to do. He liked to be busy and there was always more to do than there was time to do it in. Aha! He pulled out some dried balm that he also wanted to make into a tisane. It would be a useful herb to make teas out of for fever and for flu.

Niamh tilted her head curiously but said nothing. surely pride was a good thing to have? especially when Afi was smart; there was no use hiding it. she wished she was that smart. all she could do was read and write. she didn't know anything else and had no one to teach her like Alarr did. she felt the boy was very lucky to have someone who cared. she had no one who cared about her. but the boy did say she could help, and gave instructions on how. she moved a bit closer, staring down at the plant that was named lamb's ear. she tried to do what Alarr had done, work the plant into smaller pieces. her paws felt heavy, scared she'd mess up his progress and only succeeded in breaking them into mismatched pieces. if she was a healer, she'd be more useful to Jupiter, surely? maybe she should focus away from hunting... she was a stark white coat against a green landscape. "mm..." she felt herself opening up to the boy's kindness, giving a nod of her head. even a simple wordless answer. a healer, huh... she liked the sound of that. ooc; 1/3 healing thread

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr giggled as he laid out the dried balm. "A lot of healing is mashing up dried herbs." He wasn't quite sure how much he'd need or if he wanted to add in another herb but either way he'd have to mash this one up first. He laid it out and began to mash at the plant with his paws. It had already busted up into smaller pieces thanks to some rough travel in his pack. He'd really need to clean his pack out this winter. There was bound to be little broken up bits of various herbs collecting at the bottom.

The girl nodded and that didn't need to be translated. She wanted to be a healer to. He smiled. "It's a lot of work but I think its good to be able to help wolves that aren't feeling to well." Namely his family and his pack. He wasn't really the sort to go around healing anyone and everyone. A sound emerged from the girls mouth and he looked up for a moment but didn't say much. He knew there were different kinds of muteness. Afi told him about a monkey who lost his tongue and he could make sounds but not really talk so he just didn't.

"I've been learning a lot. Is there anything you'd like to know about?"

help wolves... maybe she could help Jupiter when he wasn't feeling well then. maybe she could be of use to a pack. Niamh didn't do well alone. she had developed her muteness from her mother's passing, living alone in the wilderness with no one for company for a whole year. she learned to whistle and sing to the birds, and listen to the ground creatures but it wasn't a lot of talking. constant exposure would have to be given for her to speak, but she had spoken so well to Fracture. she wondered why the dark man was different than this boy or her master. Niamh continued to try and ground the herbs with the rock, trying to break into smaller pieces to make Alarr pleased. she'd look up every so often, hoping for a compliment or a 'good job'. he asked if she wanted to learn anything and she tilted her head. the woman would write again on the ground for Afi to translate. "want help little animals when they hurt" she thought more on it before adding; "focus on healing friends like Afi." she didn't know the word for companion or familiar. ooc; 2/3 healing thread

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr bent his head to examine the dried balm that he'd crushed, trying to decide if it was going to be fine enough or if he should mash it a bit more. He opted to go ahead and continue crushing it up just a little bit more. Too fine and the particles wouldn't settle to the bottom and a patient could choke. He glanced over at Niamh's progress. "Looking good! Maybe a wee bit smaller. Then to carrying it you can wrap it up in hide. Just a minute." Álarr reached into his back and pulled out two small pieces of rabbit skin and then very, very carefully scooped the herb onto one piece of rabbit skin and wrapped it up. He was running out of jars and containers. He'd either need to find some or find a better way of making them. He knew how to make ceramic ones but they tended to break in his pack and he didn't know how to make sealable containers with them. Besides it didn't look like Niamh had any jars or anything anyway. He set the other piece of rabbit hide down next to her.

The girl began to write in the dirt again and Álarr look to Afi for the translation. "She's asking about healing little animals and non-wolf companions." Álarr glanced at the girl. The question was quite vague and of course she would ask the one thing he didn't know as much about having focused primarily on wolves. He felt a bit of guilt at her question. Afi and Brynhildr had taught him so much about healing wolves but he didn't know that much about how to heal them. Though some things did transfer over. "It's similar. Like the same thing you might do for a cut on a wolf you'd do for them. If you give them anything to take internally though, like to drink, it'll have to be a much smaller dose. In the case of a cat like Afi… maybe a similar dose as you would for a pup. Is there a particular kind of hurt, like wounds or something you want to know about?"

the young woman hadn't given much thought on being a healer until now. she didn't know it was time consuming, didn't know you had to dedicate a lot of time studying and practicing. she only wanted to help someone else and be useful to them. if she could, she'd feel less uncertain of the world. Alarr would give her a rabbit hide to place her herbs in, and he suggested cutting even smaller herbal dosages. she tried her best with the stone, awkwardly holding it and mashing the lamb's ear even smaller. then, she scooped it up and added it to the hide. her answer had been vague at best, and she didn't fault the boy for trying to pry more out of her. hanging her head, she closed her pink gaze and tried to think. she scribbled more down; "cuts. bruises. scratches." for she was a novice and would like to start with basic knowledge. Niamh didn't expect someone as advanced as Alarr to teach her, but a little advice would be good for her. she'd hate to give someone the wrong dosage or prescribe something that'd be harmful to them. little animals included. but he had said you could do the same with wolves as with animals. she also added in something specific for herself though; "burns." ooc; 3/3 healing thread 1/3 being taught lesson 3/3 met new wolf

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr watched attentively as the woman continued to scratch in the dirt, even though he couldn't read it. Afi quickly translated, saying that she was interested in learning about cuts, bruises and scratches. She later added burns. Oh, boy, that was a lot. Ok, where to start? "Well, for minor cuts, bruises and scrapes you can use this lamb's ear here to make a poultice to place on the wound. It will help stop the bleeding and ease swelling. Do you know much about poultices?" It occurred to him she might not know what those were and they were pretty important for healers.

"For minor burns, if you rub marigold flowers on the burn it can help with the pain and swelling. You can also make a poultice out of the dried flowers if you don't have any fresh." His mind was focused on finding new ways to use dried herbs with winter coming. He knew he'd have a terrible time finding anything fresh.

Alarr was a kind, wise boy. Niamh wagged her tail as he talked to her, feeling herself get closer emotionally to him. she had no idea Jupiter was in the same pack as him, but the thought would have made her happy. She would get to pick his brain any time if the blue man took her back to Legion. As he gestured to the lamb’s ear, the young woman would give a thoughtful nod. So it was good for cuts and bleeding and plenty of stuff. You could make something called a ‘poultice’. Was that a bandage? He did ask her, so she scribbled it down. ”Bandage?” she wrote, lifting her head to look at him with a frown. The boy went on to explain an important detail that she had to deal with. Burns. Specifically, ones from the sun and direct light. Niamh nodded more, trying to fit all the information in her head at once. It was a lot to take in, but she could use it to help people. Marigold, lamb’s ear… you can also make a poultice out of dried flowers. Did that make them keep longer? Mother had often told her not to pick plants; they couldn’t survive for long after being picked. But a healer could pick plants and store them away for further use. They had that knowledge. She wanted to be like that. She wanted to be certain of something. She scribbled down; ”where Marigold found?” ooc; 3/3 healing thread 2/3 being taught lesson 3/3 met new wolf

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

There was something to be said for sharing what he'd learned. It was one thing being a student but it was another being a teacher and he felt a swell of confidence as he spoke. He was really passionate about healing an it was fun to share what he'd learned after so much hard work. Álarr just hoped he wouldn't get asked anything to hard. Afi was always reminding him about how far he had to go.

He looked down at the ground as Afi translated again and shook his head then stopped half way. "Um… well a poultice is kind of like a bandage but not really. A poultice is when you mash up herbs into a paste and apply that to a wound, but it's helpful to put it on a bandage like a strip of hide or mix it up with some moss to get it to stick to a would better. Though really if you wait til it dries it sticks to fur ok."

Niamh asked about marigold and Álarr responded swiftly. "It grows in sunny places with moist soil but you can find it in a number of terrains. There's some in the Fern Gulley in the south I know." A howl rang out and Álarr jerked his head in its direction. "Oh, that's Vadlís. I think she's looking for me. I better go but it was nice to meet you Niamh!" He quickly gathered his things, sorry the lesson was over but he knew better than to keep Valdís waiting. He hoped the tournament wasn't starting already. He was no where near prepared enough!

-exit-

all good things came to their end eventually. just as Niamh was beginning to get comfortable with Alarr and opened her mouth slowly to speak to him, a call would sound that caused her to snap her mouth shut. maybe it was best that it ended here, because the young woman was getting overwhelmed with all the terms and locations she had been given. so a piece of hide could be slathered in poultice to make a bandage... and marigold was found in a place called Fern Gully... she gave a startled little nod as he went off, mouthing 'thank you' to the boy. Jupiter may be looking for her now. she had talked with Alarr for a bit and he may be wondering where she had gone off to. picking up her bundle of herbs, she walked away with it rather proudly to show her master. / EXIT & END ooc; 3/3 healing thread 3/3 being taught lesson 3/3 met new wolf