Walk | Talk | Think The gentle warmth of spring, having fully pushed back the chill of winter in favor of calm showers and plenty of growth, had given that morning a sense of serenity and peace that combined with the sun's soothing rays had lulled the russet and black she-wolf into a doze, sending her off to take an early morning nap. It was quiet there beside the red barn, her back to the structure where she lay while the sun continued to drift lazily across its path through the sky and continually shine down upon her in her cleared place of rest. For an hour or so she was lost in slumber, and it was nearing on noon when she finally stirred. Naps were such wonderful things, and she was grateful their little band was small enough and strong enough that she could get away with them occasionally. But, as she often reminded herself, there was always plenty to do for the pack. And somewhat priding herself on her hunting skills, despite the fact they could have used some work, she did what she could to help in that way. With a wide yawn, the wolf picked herself up off the warm ground, shook her thinning coat of anything that may have wheedled its way between the bits of fur while she napped, and stretched languidly in place. Only when she felt her muscles had fully woken up did she set off, padding forward at a brisk trot into the nearby woods and through them, her destination being her most favored of places inside the whole of Seracia. The twinkling surface of the lake rippled in little tiny waves as she stepped out of the treeline, as if greeting their friend and fellow resident of the territory. Tahlia smiled when she saw it, grateful at last to have such fine weather as this so that she could be allowed within it and not risk her health like she otherwise might have during winter. A swim today perhaps then, but after an attempt at fishing. No sense scaring off the fish before she tried to catch one. Her pace slowed as she neared the edge of the water, an ear perking as out within the deeper middle section of the lake a fish leaped upward, scales flashing, before disappearing back below the surface. A good sign, she thought; there were fish to be caught here. Stopping there upon the shoreline, the she-wolf's deep golden eyes flickered across the shallow surface, peering within as well as she could despite the heavy noon lighting, and then carefully, slowly, began to walk into the waters. Each step was made with deliberate calculation, every gesture made with enough patience not to startle completely the scaly residents of the water. Once she stood there within the shallows, water lapping at her undersides, Tahlia stopped and peered downward, relaxing her body as she settled in to the time consuming part of her task: waiting for a fish to be bold enough to swim by. Sincerest Regards, Tahlia Carlier

Bane was laying splayed out along the shoreside not more than a few feet away from where he'd left his deer carcass the day before. A paw twitched as he slept, dreaming about nothing and subconsciously thinking about everything. He saw colors that weren't colors and shapes that weren't shapes. The deepest depths in the oceans and the highest peaks on Alacritis. Alarice and a black she-wolf. Rancor and Gerhardt being the same wolf that gripped its jaws around his throat that promptly swirled into a hazy fog that showed the unmistakeable yet tattered one-of-a-kind pelt of Valkis laying amidst bones next to his real father's own decayed pelt-wrapped skeleton. Both splotched parts of the wolves pelts touching in a fusion of decaying fur that swirled to show Loccain and Bane eating a deer. Bane shifted and squeezed his eyes at what was happening to his dream. Dlo, Ula and Soi, this was becoming to much, too surreal, too different. Not normal. The Banished needed to wake up. Wake up...wake up...wake up.

Wake up.

Bane inhaled a gasp of air as his sapphire eyes snapped open at his attempt to rise only to stop partially when he realized it was all just a dream. The wolf blinked away tears that had been flowing down the sides of his muzzle during the vision-dream, Bane shuddering as his tensed muscle's lowered himself back down to relax agains the loose earth of the shoreside. The last image was burned into his mind, Bane having been leaping over flames towards a wolf and latching to jaws around its neck before breaking it with a twist.

The wolf had been his freshly burned self.

Bane began to pant suddenly and jerkily stood on his paws before stumbling into the lake as he threw up in the water, having remembered the once forgotten the taste of burnt flesh in his maw, the weeping sores and the runny blood tainted his throat bringing back memories of his life as a yearling in Talutah. The aging Talutah-Banished, Ex-Tortugan-Raeker, Seracian-whatever strafed himself along the shoreline and stumbled into the water, thrashing about for a moment to get himself up onto his paws before running up the beach. Into the shoreside woods he went, needing to get the suffocating layer of water off of him as he scraped the left side of his fur against the rough bark of shoreline trees and switched to another group of sapling off to his right that were next to some bushes.

Bane cornered the sapling beautifully but was stopped suddenly.

A sudden dull aching sensation was along his leg and side as felt the sharp pain in his shoulder rapidly begin to grow.

Oh yes he did. But he didn't act upon the pain as he looked down to his right, a look of horror crossing his features.

A jagged branch had ripped right across his Talutah mark as it deflected into his side and through his pelt. The splintered tip of the mimosa sapling's branch punched a neat hole into him as it bounced off of his front ribs?only to be stopped by the cartilage covering the fourth rib in it's path as it lodged under his pelt.

Bane's howl of agony tore over the calm of the shoreline as his anxiety attack finally ended.

Walk | Talk | Think Everything was so still beside the lake that she missed the other presence who shared the shoreline with her, concentration so fixated upon the fish that she hoped would venture close that she had no spare thoughts to anyone else. They were swimming nearer now, the fish, mistaking her stillness for security. Obliviously they wandered closer, closer, causing the faintest of smiles to curve up the outer edges of Tahlia's lips while her golden eyes continued to stare into the water and watch their slow progress. She could practically taste their delicate meat, their unique flavor, before she had even caught one, but it would do her no good to get ahead of herself. Patience was key. The she-wolf's unwavering concentration fractured slightly when she heard the gasp upon the shore. It fractured further when she chanced a look toward its source, spotting the darkly colored wolf as he hastily got to his feet with a disheveled, confused sort of daze from the corner of her eye. The start she had taken at the sound had only caused her muscles to tense reflexively, but that was enough for the fish. With a whir of tails slaps, those that were nearest pushed themselves further away in a mild panic, causing the others to put a little distance between themselves and the wolf as well. As her gaze shifted hurriedly back to the fish, spotting their little shadows drifting away, a furrow started upon her brow. Well, there went her chance at fishing. Which left her with no reason not to turn the full of her attention back upon the wolf who had startled her and therefore her prey. Very pointedly she turned her head and relaxed her tail so that its tip could slide into the water, a not completely happy expression about her face as she took in the state of the other though she supposed it wasn't entirely his fault for ruining her fishing trip. But this was no quick start from a nap; this was something more than that. Rather than recover, as Tahlia would have expected, he lumbered uneasily to his paws and made straight for the water, retching into the lake and thrashing about in the shallows. The furrow that had settled onto her brow deepened with confusion and concern. What was the meaning of this? Was he sick? Was he even safe to be around? Not entirely sure what to make of him, the russet and black she-wolf quietly and calmly turned to walk the short distance out of the lake, pausing again as she watched him only when she was fully out of the water and standing upon the shore. By now, he was off again, disappearing into the treeline. Assuming him to be one of her own - a member of Seracia - she thought for a second to follow and inquire about his state of being but was leery. Still, she peered at the place he had left her view, puzzling over whatever might have left him in his current state, when a voice - his voice she figured - called forth in a pain-filled howl. Being so close, and having already witnessed his distress from a moment before, Tahlia only hesitated a little before she hurried off after him, catching his scent and following it to where he had stopped. A little gasp of her own slipped from her muzzle as she stared at him, his side effectively struck through by the tender little sapling tree he apparently had been brushing past while its broken branch pressed awkwardly against his front. Golden eyes rather wide, ears perked forward, she shifted her gaze to take in the side of the wolf's face that she could see and knew that help was necessary. And suddenly thoughts of her siblings returned from the dusty recesses of her mind, their spars, her refusals to participate, and her subsequent play at being healer to their wounds. It was minimal, what she knew, and she somewhat doubted it would be enough, but she had to at least try to help in any way she could. She couldn't possibly turn away from an injured member of Seracia. "Is-is there anything I can do?" Tahlia asked, forgoing her typical etiquette and propriety and introductions because of the severity of the situation. Did he even know what he needed, how he could be safely removed and only sustain the most minimal of injuries? "Should I go for someone?" she asked then, feeling quite inadequate to help as she caught a better look of the wolf's punctured side. A little wince slipped over her expression as she trained her eyes instead upon his scarred face, seeking guidance and wishing anyone else had been around that would have been better prepared to help him. Sincerest Regards, Tahlia Carlier

Bane whined and hiked up his bleeding right foreleg in discomfort. The shoulder had been fine but his Talutah mark had been bisected with jagged gash. And that was all right. It was just pain. Bane could deal with that. Its all it was, just a bit of pain. Pain was manageable.

But what was really the problem was that the branch sticking out the from of his pelt and across his bleeding shoulder, the one with the Talutah mark. That one. That was the injury was what he was most concerned about. Bane heard a gasp and almost thought that it was he who made it, but no, it was she-wolf. Surprise along with a grimace of pain creased his face, fangs gritting in sharp agony as each breath he took caused the branch embedded in is side to shift with his expanding sides. How'd she even hear him, let alone find him. These lands, a howl seemed to only go for a mile or so before being swallowed up buy the air.

Now Bane knew what being impaled by a buck felt like. "No! Don't go!" Bane snarled and squeezed his eyes shut. By the three gods it hurt! Apologize's would come later but right now he needed this females help. "And yes, the ahhhh, break this fucking branch, and make sure you pull it out straight." Bane adjusted his stance with a minuscule hop and snarled in discomfort. "I, I think it's smooth bark, just, just pull it out after breaking it. Then, if I don't die from shock, keep me awake, I don't want to pass out and not wake up. Just talk to me."

Bane braced himself and leaned back a few degrees and eyed his side. He was bleeding at a steady flow, which was good. No spurting. Now he needed to tell this she-wolf what to do after the branch came out.?"When this comes out use your paws to push the wound together, like pinching a fish between them and... ahhh, and nose some dry dirt onto it to help clot the surface it up, but make sure I bleed some before you do that. The more foreign debris that gets out of me the better."

Walk | Talk | Think Tahlia winced at the desperate response the wolf gave to her offer of finding help, worried a little by his answer. Damn. She was hoping to get out of it completely, for someone else with more skill to come in and fix what she could not. Truthfully, she didn't know what she would be doing, had never come upon an injury of this severity amongst the spars she had been witness to. It was out of her realm of expertise and she was afraid of causing more harm than good. But the injured male was conscious enough to answer her, and after a pause and another good wince he began giving direction. This was better. If he could keep it up, walk her through what she needed to do, she thought she might be able to. Her bedside manner had never been up to par, but considering the circumstances she felt that was a trivial matter at the moment. Best he just found out himself if he pressed the wrong sort of button. Break the branch, pull it out, keep him awake. It all sounded simple enough when stated like that, but she knew it was going to be immensely more complicated. There was, potentially, a life at stake here dependent upon her actions, and the seriousness of it did not sit well with her in the least. Her jaws parted, a nervous breath drawing in, almost ready to leave her lips with admissions of doubt. She couldn't do this; she shouldn't be doing this. But if she didn't act now, likely the poor wolf would be at an even greater risk. Letting her jaws click resolutely, she released the same breath in a rush, stepping closer toward the side of his that was punctured by the sapling. Goodness, it did look worse up close. It was enough to make her own side ache with a phantom pain though she knew herself to be in perfectly good health. Break the branch, she repeated, her thoughts falling silent as he once again began giving her further direction on what to do after this first task of removal was complete. "Okay," she muttered at a whisper, the word meant mostly for herself. Inspecting the branch, she thought she had a way to go about it, a plan already formulated, but no matter which way she went about it she was still sure to cause him further pain. Deciding merely to ignore any complaints that he made, and praying that he might not snap reflexively, she fixed her golden eyes upon his face and murmured a low and quick apology. "I'm sorry." She wasted no time. Without giving either of them a moment more to think of it, the shapely wolf reached forward and carefully latched her teeth around the sapling's branch near were it had impaled the wolf, biting against it with enough force to both stabilize what sat in Bane's side but hopefully also splinter as much of it as she could while she leaned somewhat against it. It bent, pulled, but ultimately snapped, a messier break certainly than the one the wolf had caused on his own. Carefully Tahlia released her grip for the briefest of moments, merely to get a better hold on the branch, and then began to ease it out, mindful not to let it shift and bend inside of him. Only when its splintered tip fell from his side, and blood flowed more freely from his wound, did she relinquish her hold on the branch entirely to breathe a heavy sigh of relief. "Well, that's done," she stated somewhat breathlessly, surprised that she had even been able to do this most complicated part. Setting her golden eyes upon the wound, her gaze flickering to the wolf's face, she quickly added, "How are we fairing?" just to see if he was conscious enough to respond. If he dropped to the ground unconscious, she only hoped it would be with the injured side up; the faster she got his open wound pinched and set, the better. OOC: Seriously hoping the branch breaking part works. Failed to think of an easier, less painful way. Let me know if it should be edited at all. Sincerest Regards, Tahlia Carlier

There was minimal hesitation by the dark female at his side, and that was all Bane could have hoped for. The male twisted his head to look at her and gave a pleading look, his own eyes trying to meet hers to reflect the gravity of the situation as she mumbled an acknowledgment at his command. His vision was pain blurred and a flash of white blinded his as she did as he asked and broke the branch, Bane falling onto his side with a pain-laced yelp as the shock of the breaking wood quaked his wound.?

Pinned ears heard the she-wolf's apology, the male gritting his fangs together and was about to thank her and head off to find Loccian, his wound-closing instructions forgotten for a moment due to the waves of agony wracking his frame. Then she pulled the branch out of him.

A flash of light, and he passed out for a naught but a second, enough of a time for him to hit his head against the cool earth. But that woke him back up, and Bane lifted his head back up to peer at the wound, ears taking in the she-wolf's words. The blood was starting to turn a dark crimson which was good. It was clotting faster than he would have thought.

"Like I just had a branch removed from my side." Bane gave a coughing laugh as he lay on his side and wondered how he must have looked. Pelt soaked and blood covering his right foreleg with his rapidly expanding chest heaving from the trauma of the precious situation, Bane could only say the obvious. "Thank you packmate."

Walk | Talk | Think Oh good. He had fallen onto the right side to allow her to tend to his wound just as he had ordered. That alone was a huge relief to the woman; at least now she wouldn't have to bother trying to get him to roll over without upsetting his wound and causing him unwanted pain and blood loss in the process. For a second he seemed to go unconscious, but he was rousing again now, lifting his head with a visible fatigue as he tried his best to peer at that gaping wound he now sported, clearly visible with the absence of the wooden piece. And boy did it look nasty. A part of Tahlia cringed from it, wishing always to show herself in the best light and best looks, but for the moment ignoring the blood and gore was the "best light." She would not be viewed a coward or squeamish; she would hold her ground and help as she needed to. Tahlia managed a somewhat nervous sort of chuckle to follow the wolf's statement regarding his feelings, impressed that even in this sort of distress he should still keep his wit let alone consciousness. Not wanting to waste any more time - the wound seemed to have bled enough already - she began to follow his next set of instructions. It was just a shame, she thought, that everything she needed to do was so very likely to cause him further pain and discomfort. Trying to be as gentle as she could think to be, the russet and black she-wolf stepped to the side and settled herself close to him, again forgoing what might have bee considered proper etiquette in order to do what was necessary. She lifted her front half up and carefully rested her weight against his lower, uninjured side as she lay beside him, maneuvering her paws so that they could rest on either side of his puncture wound and pinch the skin together like he had told her to. She hoped, with this position, to place as little of her weight upon him as possible and yet still be able to assist him with his injury. A quick thanks was muttered from the wolf's lips, and the shapely she-wolf managed to smile just a little at his choice of address. Not as she would have expected, but it was still better than some. "Tahlia," she corrected, "Tahlia Carlier." Her golden eyes shifted from the wound still carefully pinched between her paws to glance upward toward the other's face, studying him none too covertly though likely it would have been mistaken as a quick check to determine how he was fairing. He certainly was a piece of work, this wolf. Well sized, presumably strong, though with so many scars set upon him that she was left to wonder how he could have endured so much to earn them. She knew from her siblings that each scar had its own story behind it, and as far as she could tell this male was full of them. Not young but not yet aged beyond hope, the darkly coated, light eyed wolf was curious to her. "And you? What is your name?" Tahlia asked, still attempting to keep him talking and therefore awake. Sincerest Regards, Tahlia Carlier

Bane heard the female chuckle above him, an exhausted huff being given as he ground the side of his head against the shoreside earth. So comfy, he wished he could just go to sleep, but he knew he couldn't, the Seracian male unwilling to risk not waking up from that luxury. Fur was felt wisping against his uninjured side as the female put her weight against his lower stomach and away from the would on the leg and the side of his chest.as she finally lay down against him Bane couldn't help but glance up at her muzzle, the way her eyes glimmered in concentration as she pinched the punctured skin close. Bane was used to this kind of pain, only shifting uncomfortably every once and a while as her elbows dug into the side of his chest.

His question was answered, the she-wolfs name was Tahlia Carlier, Bane noticing the glance she gave him to see how well he was doing. "My name is Bane, mam, and I'd express my gratitude with a lowering of the tail or bowing but I'm already lowered past those points of courtesy." He shifted uncomfortably as the slash across his Taluth's mark began to burn up. His wounds began to have blood harden over them, Bane taking to lifting his head and looking back up at Tahlia with gleaming thankfulness shimmering in his eyes. "Thank you for being where you were at the time o this accident, where were at the time my howl broke the heavens."

Walk | Talk | Think He was watching her, as she knew he had a right to do. After all, depending on how well she assisted him with his injury could very well determine whether he might live to see the next day. There was certainly a lot of pressure with the task but Tahlia hardly felt any of it, comfortable and confident that she had been following his instructions well enough to pass his current scrutiny and, by the fact he still retained consciousness at the moment, that his directions had been sound. It was a good feeling, knowing she had played a hand in all of this, and it showed in the form of a little smile that curled at the corners of her mouth, partially present but not fully expressed due to her concentration. Tahlia met his curious gaze without flinching, ears perked and listening as he introduced himself. Bane. An interesting name, she thought, somewhat heavy and yet uncommon to her knowledge. And so simple. Nothing else accompanied it, no tag of lineage, no title, no rank. And yet he bore all of these scars... Perhaps they had not all been acquired in the service of this pack, if any of them had been acquired here at all. Maybe there truly was more to their stories than she could gather simply from what she had thus far learned. But it was far too rude and forward for her to even think of mentioning them, and so all those curiosities were left to flutter about her mind. The unexpectedly humorous remark that followed quirked up the edges of her complacent smile into something more noticeable, something more recognizable, as what it was. As if she honestly expected him to take to his paws and properly show her his gratitude with a bow! It was blessing enough that he was even still awake let alone raising his head to stare back at her. The nerve she would have had to expect anything more. But more did come. He shifted - a movement she supposed either to be because of her weight or her consistent pressing against his injury which she countered by gently shifting her position to place less of a burden on him - and met her gaze with open gratitude. Thanks rolled off of his lips in eloquent phrases, his manner of expressing himself quite rivaling that of his gruff appearance. How strange, and yet how delightful a surprise that was. "Luck favored you on this day," she answered, "I very well could have been here tomorrow rather than today. It just so happened that I decided to take advantage of this good weather to fish and swim." Unfortunately - at least for her - she had never gotten to the second half of those plans, her fishing attempt spoiled when Bane had risen from his resting place on the banks to barrel into the waters, startling Tahlia and, in turn, startling the fish. But with a hole still visibly pooling blood on his side, she hardly felt it appropriate to point out that he had been the reason for her failed attempt at fishing. "But there will be time enough for that later," Tahlia finished, her attention returning to the pinched wound between her paws. The dark blood was already collecting and hardening over it, a good sign that soon, she hoped, it would close off on its own and Bane would be free of her. And though he didn't outright hint that her presence against his side irritated his injuries, she couldn't help herself from asking matter-of-factly, "I am not causing you any discomfort?" Sincerest Regards, Tahlia Carlier

Tahlia was giving a smile down at him. Bane liked that. He liked the female even more that she sensed his discomfort and readjusted her weight accordingly. Bane gave a pleased rumble in his chest and adjusted his head against the ground to get comfortable as his wound clotted. "I suppose I'm lucky you where you had been, I wouldn't know what I would've done...Bane leaned up press his nose to her own and closed his eyes. "... without a brave she-wolf such as yourself, and I thank you for that. It could have been a lot worse if I'd tried to remove it alone." Bane shifted uncomfortably at the dark thought. "Most likely would have killed myself by bleeding to death after breaking the branch, even if I could've broken the branch..."

"Fishing and swimming... good skills to have around here with the trout and bass." Bane acknowledged with a nod as he lowered his head back down, thoughts going to his wound as his eyes remained closed to concentrate on feeling for a moment if blood was pooling under his skin. Bane didn't sense any, but that didn't mean that it wasn't happening. "Do you see any lumping along my side Tahlia? Abnormal bulges? Cyst-like bulges?" Bane stopped his oxymoron's at her question. Was she causing him discomfort? No, it wasn't her. It was the pain of his wound, not her pinching or pressing. It most certainly and definitely wasn't her. Bane opened his eyes finally to stare at her own. "The wound is Tahlia, not you."

Walk | Talk | Think The quiet rumble from the wolf below her was nothing like the gruff, disquieted noises that she had been anticipating, indicating to her that what she was doing was indeed having a positive effect. Progress already, she wondered with mild surprise. It was good, though she was leery of him getting too comfortable as he stretched his neck out to rest fully upon the ground while she continued to lay half on his side, pinching the torn flesh together while the wound slowly covered itself up. Though the blood flow was lessening, sleep was still the enemy. He needed to remain conscious as long as he could, to give her direction if nothing else. With her limited knowledge regarding injuries such as this, she would be no use to him if he should fall unconscious. Thankfully he was willing to converse, and Tahlia was glad of it. At least in this way his mind was engaged enough to keep sleepy thoughts away. And, as before, they turned to thanks. She rather liked his repeated gratitude despite it being unnecessary, though as was expected she said nothing on it, choosing to feign modesty instead. When he reached upward toward her, the smiling expression about her face became momentarily serious - if he wasn't careful he could undo all the work he had instructed her to do while pinching and holding his wound together - but it was only to bring his nose to hers. She felt the cool, gentle contact as she watched his eyes close, unsuspecting of his gentleness, and smiled perhaps a little more brightly as he drew away again. Brave. Hm. Maybe she had been brave in acting as she had. A lesser individual could easily have left him to die, she supposed, or taken too long to act. The scenarios he brought to mind were none too pleasant, and the russet and black she-wolf was happy to have played the savior. Dark golden eyes fell back to the wound carefully held together by her paws, watching and noticing that with each passing moment that the blood was continuing to harden and build the barrier that would keep the wound together and prevent further bleeding. As her gaze shifted to take in the state of her paws, she realized belatedly that she would also need another dip in the lake afterward to clean up. It wouldn't do at all to walk around in this state, and she wondered briefly what could be done about Bane himself. He was a bloody mess, covered all along his side and shoulder with the sticky substance. The smell of it was rather strong. But would the wound hold up to a stroll into the lake? Could the wolf even handle that at this point? And then another thought hit her, one that had not bothered to rear its head until now, when she had a moment to consider the circumstances: how would Bane find a new place to rest and recoup with his side as bad as it was? Her ears perked as he addressed her, golden eyes moving upward to meet his and lose their distance as she focused upon him. Bulges? Cysts? Brow furrowing gently, she lowered her gaze to Bane's side and peered just beneath her paws before craning her neck and head to either side, attempting to look for any bulging, slight or otherwise. "Not that I can see," she answered though with less certainty than might have been helpful. She was no medic and so she honestly held doubts about her own observations, and though she wasn't entirely sure what a bulge of any sort might have meant after what the darkly colored wolf had been through any sense of false security seemed mean. "Is there anything more I can do?" she asked. The list at the moment was likely nonexistent since she was being kept in place by holding his wound, but it felt right to ask regardless. Sincerest Regards, Tahlia Carlier

Not internal bleeding, that was good. Bane remembered the way she had smiled at his nose touch to her's, a momentary grin curling at the corners of his maw as he adjusted his head against the ground. It was clotted for the most part, the Seracian male taking in all of the sounds and smells around him. The wind in the trees was like a mothers lullaby to him and Bane felt his eyes grow heavy. He looked back up at the she-wolf who was helping him. Tahlia. Such a fine female, a good spirit amidst this lands and it's mostly lupine inhabitants. Bane head bobbed drowsily as he lifted it again to look up at the she-wolf, eyes blinking slowly to register her blurry face.

"I think the wound is clotted enough Tahlia, ya can let go now." Her question reached his dropping ears right before he was about to ask his own. No. She didn't really have to do anything else, Bane however getting a wry grin on his muzzle as he thought of what more she could do for him. "If it's all the same to you, can you watch over me as I pass out? That would be nice." Bane spoke in an exhausted huff and gave this female a nose rub in thank and rubbed his cheek against hers before giving a lick along the corner of her maw. "And if I am to die while I sleep, take me if you can to my den and bury me there." Bane had every confidence that she would do it should he pass on. But he didn't plan to. His world rapidly swirled into fog, and he knew no more.

-Bane is unconscious-

Walk | Talk | Think Given the all clear, Tahlia glanced away from Bane and to the wound carefully pinched together between her paws. It did look much sturdier now, solid more or less and as she tested it, gently shifting her paws as if to release it entirely, it seemed to hold well enough to do. She truly didn't want it to open again so easily as she feared, but with her minimal test done there was really nothing left to do about it but simply let it go. And so she did, scooting her paw along his side and closer to his back as she ceased the pressure there, allowing the skin to shift back where it would naturally lay. To her great relief and pleasure, it held. Blood still leaked from the small gaps where it had yet to completely solidify over, but that was a small concern. With the majority of the wound closed, Bane's and Tahlia's fear of him losing more blood than he already had would be put to rest and there would be less to fear overall. But her work was not quite done. Just because the wound had closed up did not necessarily mean that the injured Bane was clear of danger yet. Plenty of blood had been lost, some of it even covering Tahlia as she was bothered to realize, and there was still the matter of unconsciousness turning permanent. She shied from the thought, still displeased enough to have had one male die on her so soon after their meeting and unwilling to have another, differing circumstances aside. Still situated upon his side, the russet and black wolf listened to his request with a growing smile. That seemed reasonable enough. After all, she had taken it upon herself to help this male out when she had thought to answer his call and remain there once she had seen the extent of his injury. And besides, it was the first time she had felt as if she was doing anything important for a pack member since her joining; she liked that feeling too much to abandon it so quickly. "Of course," she answered with an understanding nod of her head, readily complying. He shifted yet again - the movement causing less worry in her now about whether he might open up his wound again after seeing it hold so well on its own - and this time brought his muzzle to hers yet again. As before she smiled, accepting his thanks as she closed her eyes to receive his nose rub and nuzzle. When she thought he might draw away, he placed a lick against her muzzle, causing her eyes to blink with surprise. Improper, she thought, for someone he had only just met, her beliefs still heavily dictated by the strict conduct she had been raised with...but considering all he had been through she could forgive it. If she was being at all honest with herself, she would have admitted to feeling flattered, happy even, by the gesture, at last feeling as if she held a sense of specialty in someone's eyes. One more request drifted tiredly from Bane's lips, and Tahlia's smiling expression sobered gently. It had been the same scenario she had been considering, fearing, but it was best to address the remote possibility despite the discomfort it brought to her. She gave no audible answer, only a nod of her head, but that seemed enough. The dark grey wolf promptly set his head upon the ground and swiftly fell into unconsciousness, leaving Tahlia alone and still resting half atop his side while he slept. In the stillness, she openly studied him, finding herself inexplicably drawn to him though she never would have expected to enjoy the look of scars on any individual. The whole thing was rather curious to her, but there was no point getting stuck on the matter just yet. There was still much to learn. Carefully setting one paw upon the ground at Bane's side, Tahlia shifted her weight onto it and slowly lowered herself to curl up there beside him in the curve of his stomach, glancing at him to watch his sleeping face with occasional assessments of his wound. Determining that he rested well enough, and more or less confident that she would wake if any changes came over him, she extended a still bloodied foreleg and set her chin upon it to close her and rest as he did. -Exit Tahlia through a nap- Sincerest Regards, Tahlia Carlier