Even though there was a dusting of snow on the ground and most of the plants had quietly agreed to lay low until springtime, there was still work that could be done to prepare the land for the next season. Parts of the thicket were so dense they kept most of the snow off of the soil; Theory was working diligently beneath the twisted branches of one such spot, clearing out the fine snow and scratching until there was fresh earth. She'd brought some strips of heavy peat moss that she'd managed to score and dig up from nearby the mangroves some ways away down the coast. With any luck, this place could be a fertile garden by the time spring rolled around. Herbs would have to wait to be planted, of course, but if she could find some hardy varieties, perhaps they'd have a year-round garden.

It seemed as though luck wasn't entirely on his side today. The young man had gone hunting as usual, hoping to help fill the stores for winter. He'd been on the trail of a fat doe. While attacking her, a buck had valiantly come to her rescue. Beat had been kicked pretty hard in the ribs and one prong of the bucks antler had stabbed into Beats shoulder. Tail tucked, the dual toned man ran away as fast as his paws would carry him.

The closer he came to home, the more his ribs hurt. Blood dribbled from the puncture in his shoulder. What a mess. If he didn't find a healer, he'd be sorry for it later. Lake ears perked as the dark form of Theory came into view. She was a healer, right?

Beat approached, his tail swishing back and forth in a friendly manner. "Hey, Theory. Do you think you could help me out?" A slightly bashful expression crossed his dark face. "I had a run in with an angry deer."

Lyric walked through the Thicket with his mind kinda off his skull, being a bit too focused in what he has been doing for the past few days. Learning and memorizing so many plants could be tedious and all he could do was to try repeating their names in his mind everyday. Lola his lemur rested atop of his back she just contemplating the surroundings in silence. He almost missed the image of his brother and Coising but as Lola swagged her hand in front of his eyes he woke up from his day-time sleep if that could used to name that. He stopped and upon Lola's motion, he saw both in the distance under the dense trees. He approached managing to hear Beat's speech. "What happened? Is okay if I assist too? I am just someone starting to learn but perhaps I can do whatever Theory tells me to do. I wish to both help you and learn from this experience if you'll let me." He asked, hoping they would let him help. ""

"Oh no, not an angry deer," Theory turned, chuckling a bit until she saw the severity of Beat's wound. "Oh! That's a very angry deer indeed," she finished with a slight frown. Lyric approached from the side and Theory dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Yes! No time better to learn than the present, no better way to learn than doing!" She settled in to examine Beat's wound. While she wouldn't consider herself an expert, her father had taught her what rudimentary knowledge he had and Samara had also helped along the way. Most of the rest she'd put together by herself, and with plenty of trial and error. There had been plenty of days she'd dealt with an upset stomach while testing out different concoctions. "Let me take a look... it's not quite superficial. It actually looks like he may have prodded some muscle tissue there. Is it sore around the rest of the area as well?" Luckily she already had the peat nearby to sop up the blood, but she'd need to get a better idea of his situation to further diagnose. "Lyric, you see here how it has penetrated deeper than just the skin? Does it look like any major muscles or veins have been hit?" Theory didn't see any grave danger, but it would be a good test for the novice healer to give his input.

Theory commented and chuckled. Beat chuckled too. He was a good natured man and could see the humor in the situation. These days, he didn't take anything terribly seriously. He'd been too serious for most of his life. Now was the time to sit back and enjoy the man that he'd blossomed into. Her humor turned serious though as she saw the puncture in his shoulder. "Yeah... he didn't like the fact that I was trying to eat his woman, I think."

Lyric showed a moment later and Beat shot his brother a grin. As the other man asked to observe and learn, Theory gladly welcomed him. Beat himself stayed quiet, letting the pair work. He did answer questions when they were posed to him though. When asked if it was sore, the black and white brute rolled his shoulder gently. "A bit. I expected it to hurt worse. Probably tomorrow, right?" Just his luck he would be stiff and sore after his body began to heal.

Looking at Beat's wound he was glad he wast in the path of hunting, healing was safer for Lyric's sake. Himself had a very bad wound, a broken tail from being to dumb to sneak his nose where he wasnt called to. And who knew when it would be totally healed. He always used to think deer were harmless or not capable of making such wounds. This one would need extensive treatment or at least under Lyric's novice eye. "Yes! No time better to learn than the present, no better way to learn than doing!" He smiled at her, glad to know he was allowed to stay and learn from a real-life experience instead of just a lesson with just theory and no practical learning. Nodding he focused on what Theory was doing, the way she described the wound that for someone just starting to learn could seem simple or without an indeep explanation. "Lyric, you see here how it has penetrated deeper than just the skin? Does it look like any major muscles or veins have been hit?" He took a closer look, narrowing his eyes. He could see the region of the wound sore and reddish, blood? That was the first thing that came out to his mind. Good or wrong he still wanted to know. "Blood? Perhaps some small veins were punctured?" He looked at Beat. He hopped he wasnt ging to get himself into worse wounds than this one. "Speech"

Probably tomorrow, right? Spoken like an experienced hunter. Theory laughed softly, nodding in agreement. Superficial wounds like this often didn't rear their ugly head until the next day or two. Luckily it seemed to be a clear hole where the tip of the antlers had bored into his shoulder - no jagged edges, no hidden pockets where infection might brew. Easy enough to clean and pack. Theory sent out a short call to Alouette, her raven companion. The sprightly bird took to the skies and soared out of sight to grab the alpha's small medicine kit. She was no longer a novice, but her on-the-go bag still wasn't as well equipped as a master healer. Hopefully by the springtime that would change.

As Lyric spoke, Theo nodded in agreement. "Yes! Exactly. We're going to pack the wound with combination of moss and wool after thoroughly cleaning it. The bruising around the area - " she gestured to his shoulder which was a bit swollen and tender, " - will get worse over the next few days before it gets better." Theory sat back and addressed the both of them: "It's important to keep it clean over the coming days, but it should start closing on its own within a week." Alouette returned, kit in hand. The raven alighted between them and dropped a simple hide that was rolled up to contain moss, some pain relieving herbs, and bits of wool and soft plant fiber. "Lyric, would you demonstrate how to clean the wound - if you wouldn't mind letting him, Beat."

Beat sat still and let the two healers do what needed to be done. Theory questioned Lyric and gave instruction while his brother simply stayed quiet and listened. Wait, moss and wool? Shoved in a hole in his shoulder? Wouldn't that be... itchy? But really, what did he know? Beat knew how to get hurt, apparently. And he knew to go to healers afterwards. If Theory wanted to stuff him full of things, then she could go ahead and do so.

Beat blinked at Theory as she explained the healing process. A whole week? He'd have to sit still for a whole week? Well... he wasn't sure if he could do that. Beat was an active kind of guy. He always wanted to be on the move. A week would be very difficult.

Soon Theory's bird returned and she asked Lyric to clean the wound. Beat continued to sit still, letting the healers do whatever. He just hoped that Lyric wouldn't have to go poking around in his shoulder hole.

"Yes! Exactly. We're going to pack the wound with a combination of moss and wool after thoroughly cleaning it. The bruising around the area - " His tail wagged a bit in response to Theory's reaction. He was glad his input was correct, and he was slowly feeling he was getting it, slowly but still getting it. He was learning and gaining experience for what someday should be his path, being Abven's healer. From time to time, he checked on Beat to see if he was fine if he wasnt too uncomfortable with both healer's verdict and later on they would put paws in action. All he knew was that he would be extremely careful and gentle, to avoid causing pain to his brother in the process they were about to start. " - will get worse over the next few days before it gets better. It's important to keep it clean over the coming days, but it should start closing on its own within a week." He nodded looking at the wound once more, being quite focused on the alphess' procedures and tips. A raven then dropped a kit, with several herbs and items he barely knew what those were. "Lyric, would you demonstrate how to clean the wound - if you wouldn't mind letting him, Beat." An ear pinned in concern, this was too soon but he nodded. He was nervous, afraid of working the wound should he made the wrong move. Shallowing dry he took a moment to consider what to do, perhaps the moss? Moss could retain water yes? And the water was perfect for cleaning? Calmly he took the moss that was dripping wet of the liquid and being very careful, extremely gentle he pressed it slightly against Beat's wound, barely touching it. And like that he took it away and close to start cleaning the blood. ""