Though Usagi's ankle hadn't been fully healed when he'd set off for a normal hunting trip, he was comfortable enough loping on it for a few catches to bring back to the pack. Besides, he was tired of sitting around, stretching his injury so it wouldn't be stiff, and basically unable to do anything for the past month, if not longer. That damn pirate was dead meat if Usagi ever laid his eyes upon him again. For that man's sake, he sure hoped not. He'd set out that morning, letting Kuroo know he wouldn't be very long. His brother would always worry for him, he realized, but he knew his strength and he knew not to push himself more than necessary.

Alas, such uneventful trips always seem to morph into something completely unexpected. Something that brought the two hobbling men, now at the outside of the maze, together again for the first time since their childhood. Usagi had encountered Kunai completely on accident during his tracking. A complete shock, a once in a lifetime moment - two best friends, perhaps more at this point - reunited on a home away from their native home. Why did fate have such a strange way of turning up when he least expected it? Not that he was upset about it, no - just a mere shock of seeing somebody he believed he left behind now threw him into an adventure he now had to process. As well as the flutter in his chest he concealed with averted gazes and awkward silence. They id have feelings for each other, neither of them admitted it. For now, he was more concerned about his old friend's impending pneumonia from the seawater he'd certainly swallowed into his lungs. Kunai needed a healer, and fast. Usagi would vouch for him, whatever Hattori required - as long as the man leaning limply against him received medical care.

The flop-eared warrior arrived a decent distance from the maze, careful not to bring his friend in an further. It was a hard and fast rule in Tojo-kai; no outsiders were allowed in. But perhaps an exception could be made considering Kunai's weakening condition. Kunai's weight leaned against his side, the Hohei's frow furrowed in concern as Kunai's silence and ragged breathing. He'd barely spoken a word on their journey back here, and the heat he'd provided and blankets to cover him had done little for his physical condition. His own ankle began to protest with the weight he'd put on it helping support his friend, but he didn't care at the moment. Tenshi could scold him later - Kunai's life was more important. Usagi tilted his head back, gently helping Kunai sit and lean against him as he called for Hattori as well as a healer. Just somebody, anybody to help him.

Speech

wishing there was something left to lose

this could be the day i die for you—

She recognized Usagi's call. It was mainly for their leader, but there was an urgency to it that also called for a healer. Sayuri righted herself from having laid down previously, gathering her satchel of healing herbs and approaching. And with the koi-blood man was one she did not know, looking a bit worse for wear. She set to work if allowed; waiting for Hanzo Hattori to give her the okay. She glanced around for the man.

Not seeing him right away... "Hello, Usagi" she chirped to her pack mate, giving him a kind smile before her attention went to the stranger. With a concerned but warm grin, she mentally checked his fur for leeches. A sign of drowning at times, and an annoyance! He was covered in blankets so she could not really check him for truth unless Hanzo Hattori gave her permission. "what happened?" It was important to keep both talking.

Else they'd succumb to shock, and or anger over the situation.

"Speech"

A familiar howl echoed over the maze. He had been on his way back from fishing when his whole body froze. That voice could be none other than his brother's. Kuroo had known Usagi had gone off on a hunting trip without him this time. Which had been fine since he had been tending to the fish out at the bay. As he thought about it, it had felt as if his brother had been gone a bit longer than he normally would have. With a furrowed brow, concern began to buzz and make his insides anxious. Was his brother okay?

Dropping his bushel of fish, Kuroo hurried at a near run toward the call. Breaking through the bamboo, his pale gaze skipped over Sayuri and went straight for the obsidian and maroon flop-eared brother of his. The boy looked worse for wear and Kuroo could see he was favoring his still-healing ankle. "Usagi! Are you okay?" There was no realization of the other boy who was neatly bundled up in blankets beside him. Rushing over to his brother, he was about to embrace him in a worried hug when he did finally see the other two. Kuroo's breath caught as he froze once more and looked from Sayuri to... Kunai?

Brow furrowed again while Kuroo took a few steps back. "Kunai? How..." Confused as his gaze switched back and forth between the two males, his ears folded back. Pursing his lips, his haunches sat down in the dirt with a loud thump. When he finally looked over to Sayuri, his cheeks felt warm but chose to ignore the feeling. "Can you help them? Should I get Tenshi or Sedna?" His worried tone was strained as he tried to fight for his heart rate to go back to normal.


SPEECH

Deep in the depths of the bamboo, Hattori sharpened his weapons. Insisted on keeping them in perfect condition, each scratch and mark inspected and tended to till it was no longer in sight. Angling it, so the sunlight glinted off the edges, sharp and dazzling, ready to cut. And yet as a howl reached his ears it was clear he would have to put his work aside for the moment, this was far more pressing. Nearing urgent as Hattori rose to his feet and began to move, swift and steady, confident he was going the right way.

Arriving on scene it was apparent others had beaten him to it, the murmur of voices drew him in. Questions and concerns lingered in the air, mounting like tension as Hattori pressed his way to the front. He was swift to insert himself in the middle, smooth out the drama with a low but calming rumble, the sort that implied he'd been through and seen worse. Nothing he couldn't handle, nothing that would bring ruin to Tojo's borders. Close but not stepping over the line just yet, wise Usagi.

"Sayuri see to him." He started, seeing no reason to move him just yet before they gauged the severity of the stranger's injuries. He turned to Kuroo and Usagi next, wondering just exactly was going on here. "You know this one? What happened to him. Start at the beginning".

Usagi was trying to kill him. Every other step would illicit a rib-cracking cough and he'd nearly collapse from the energy put forth and the oxygen leaving his tired body. He leaned onto Usagi more than he wanted, using the smaller man to take most of his weight. If he even felt the slightest bit better he'd force himself to carry his own weight, but Kunai couldn't even have a clear thought. His blood was nearly boiling with fever and his brain wasn't too far behind. If he could sweat it'd be pouring as his body uncontrollably shivered under the blankets.

Briefly Usagi's call brought him back to this world and mismatched groggy eyes searched for the other man''s gaze as he softly whined. They weren't stopped for another moment before his exhausted body sought the ground, mostly against his will but he didn't have much of that left anyway. He landed with a thud! at Usagi's side as his legs gave out underneath him, his shallow breathing  and weakening coughs the only signs of life left as the woman approached. He faintly heard her voice and thought he might have heard Kuroo's but by the time Hattori had arrived, he was nearly unconscious as his body shivered through what would hopefully be the worst of his fever.

"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2022

Before Usagi could even blink, several figures had approached him, one after another. The first to arrive upon hearing his call was the delicate healer Sayuri, who greeted him and then glanced in concern towards a sweating, wheezing Kunai. She'd asked him what happened, though he could barely open his maw until Kuroo and Hattori approached. Kuroo, true to his nature, nearly swept him up in an embrace - he realized he'd worried the piebald man terribly, having been gone longer than usual. It seemed his brother recognized Kunai as well - not a surprise there, since the three of them had played together a few times as children. Though that was a few years ago already. Usagi glanced over to Sayuri and Kuroo, simply uttering, "Yes, it's Kunai. He nearly drowned, I believe he swallowed a lot of seawater into his lungs. I believe Sayuri could help, but some assistance wouldn't hurt, either." He, too, was a bit out of breath, mostly from having to brace Kunai's larger frame across several miles on his still-healing ankle. Still, none of it mattered. The pain from his foot meant nothing. Kunai was everything he was focused on, in the moment. Once Hattori arrived, he offered a brief but polite dip of his head to his superior. When prompted to explain, he gently aimed to peel off the blankets on Kunai's weak form - so that Sayuri could examine him and so he could show Hattori who he had brought near their borders. "Yes, I know him from when we were very young, back in Iga. His name is Kunai - I found him upon the shores not too far from here. His boat had been destroyed and he nearly drowned. I don't know why he left home besides that he and his parents didn't get along. Once he is recovered, he can explain more to you, I'm sure - I can vouch for him if he is allowed to join Tojo-kai." His main priority was for Kunai to receive medical treatment, and once he was able to, he could speak to Hattori so as to assuade any more suspicions about why he ended up on this continent. He did the best he could to vouch for him entering the maze, at least for now. Even he didn't know the full story about Kunai leaving, besides that his parents weren't very accepting of him. It wasn't long before Kunai slumped down o the ground completely, and Usagi's eyes widened, fearing the worst. Upon hearing his friend cough and gargle weakly, his stoic demeanor shifted as he gently patted Kunai's limp shoulder with his forepaw. "Kunai..Kunai! Wake up, please.." His monotonous tone gave way to a slightly higher pitch in concern. He nearly feared Kunai to be dead were it not for the coughing.

Speech

wishing there was something left to lose

this could be the day i die for you—

"Give him room!"

Sayuri went to work immediately at their leader's request. She barked an order to back up, else they'd suffocate him by taking in what ragged breaths he could manage. Usagi was distraught over his friend's condition but she ignored this in favor of assisting Kunai. She began to part the man's fur with a slender paw, attempting to see if there indeed were leeches. Finding none, she attempted to roll him over onto his side.

"Kuroo, assist, please..." she requested if the pale man would. She spoke gently, with urgency to back it up. If they righted Kunai, she would press rapidly on his lower abdomen. He could begin to expel extra water by vomiting - if any was left. Sayuri did not want to give him herbs, or else the potential seawater would be pushed down and refuse to come out... "he has a fever - ah, pneumonia ." Not surprising.

Sayuri looked up at the wolves gathered. "He will live. Yet I am uncertain if he can be moved right away. Allow me to work on him a bit more; then he may be moved to a den, if allowed."

"Speech"
2/3 - treat patient

Everything felt as if it were happening at one time. Before he could even manage to embrace his brother in a worried hug, their Kaicho was arriving. And right before his eyes, he watched as Kunai slumped to the ground, seemingly near death. Kuroo's own eyes widened as his heart raced. Thankfully, the dire man who shifted between them was able to take control and direct them. Even with Usagi speaking and explaining, Kuroo stood there, basically in shock. Was he supposed to be doing something?

Oh, yes, he could hear the muddled voice of Sayuri calling to him. Requesting that he help shift Kunai. A gruff agreeing noise left him as he stepped forward. Eyes barely able to leave his sore and injured brother as he turned to assist Sayuri. Gently as he could manage, he helped the healer move the drowned wolf into a better position. As soon as she confirmed he was in a good position, Kuroo stepped back once more and moved his attention back to their Kaicho. Usagi had said his peace, but Kuroo thought maybe if he mentioned something, it would help.

"He and Usagi used to play together all the time back home. He's a good wolf as far as we know," there is a quiver in his voice as he shifts his pale gaze back to his brother. There was a myriad of words he wanted to shout at the other boy. How stupid could he have been traveling on a still injured ankle? How had this all transpired? Questions, concerns, so many thoughts fired off in his head, but he stayed silent. Every muscle taut against his skin as his jaw clenched. As long as Kunai made it out of this sickness safely, he would be happy for his brother.


SPEECH

Hattori listened, patient enough with unblinking eyes. Unyielding in his aloofness, but not outright unkind or judgemental. He nodded once, thinking it all over in relative silence. He'd arrived in Boreas in a poor state too, the journey was long and arduous, not the sort he'd like to make again. But there was something familiar about this one, a line of thought that brought a frown to Hattori's features as he looked at the chimera koi for a moment longer, clearly too weak to speak for himself as he was tended to.

No matter, they could talk later. For now there was much to be done, quarters to be assigned and paths to be swept away.

He thought for a moment that he ought to be tended to at the Bay but...the majority of their stores were in the depths of the maze. Their accommodations more luxurious, homely and organised, whilst the Bay was comparably more sparse. Mostly used for fishing with the occasional shack littering the dry land.

"If you vouch for him then he can stay." Hattori decided, flicking his tail to gesture for the others to help him inside. To bring him into the shadows, where the bamboo stood tall and concealed all.

"Thank you, Kuroo."

Sayuri says this to the pale koi wolf, bending down to check Kunai's breathing now. She is distracted by duty, and not one to be fickle about the potentially life-saving procedure. Seeing that the new young man was breathing more steadily now, she gave her blessing as a healer to move him. She looks to Hanzo Hattori and then back to Kuroo, knowing Usagi would want his 'friend' to be placed in safety soon.

Kunai is breathing steadily, yes, but unevenly. Sayuri noticed he is warm to the touch and drags a blanket off him so his skin could breathe. With no injuries, it was a tricky situation. Beyond Sayuri's training, she relished the challenge all the same. She would make sure to visit Usagi later and give him instructions about tending to Kunai in her potential absence.

"I can assist moving him as well" she said to all in attendance, rising from her position. Someone larger than her could crop Kunai up, she was not making the effort and failing pathetically in the presence of the Tojo-Kai "and I shall prepare den close to Usagi-sama's to treat him." Sayuri smiled kindly at Usagi before they all did their thing. Moving, treating, helping... It mattered not in the end.

Kunai was safe. /fade exit

"Speech"
3/3 - treat patient