let's stick together just a little bit longer Kiriko returns to Hattori's den the next afternoon. She's armed with several sachets of the anti-inflammatory tea, each carefully and neatly bundled together. She's also got something else in hand. It's a bit of an awkward thing to carry, but she's rather proud of her contraption. A decently sized slice of a tree that had been cut for firewood. She'd rounded it out well, making sure it's smooth on both sides. There would be no splintering, she was sure of it. Among the assortment of things Kiriko brought along was also the shell of a turtle, also carefully smoothed and rounded. At the moment it held a small jar with a lid, containing tea-temperature water and a handful of smooth basalt stones, but that wouldn't be its final purpose. "Hattori, is now a good time?" Her voice was soft as she stood near the entrance to his hollow within the maze. It was a dreary day, and she hoped he was staying indoors for it. There was a decent amount of work to do, between his shoulder and paw, and Hattori catching a chill would only delay their program. She sets the round, awkward board down while she waits, shifting the rest of the parcels within her grasp. Kiriko had a job to do, and she'd arrived darn well prepared to do it.

Though the worst of the weather rarely got through the bamboos defences, it was indeed a rather greyish day. Hattori did not often receive company in or around his private quarters, but it wasn't hard to guess why Kiriko was here. He shifted upon the tatami mat, moving to glance over his shoulder at the entry point of his den. It was neat and orderly, things stacked right where they ought to be. He got to his paws then, using his paw to cover the blade he had been sharpening with a cloth. Not because it needed hiding, but more so he could pick up where he left it off later.

Was it a good time? Well, he had nothing overly pressing to do right now and he had agreed to let her tend to him.  He rose to his feet then, stepping from the depths to the entryway of his den, where the bamboo had been bent to form an arch.

"My schedule is clear enough."

let's stick together just a little bit longer His schedule was clear, and she'd take that as consent enough. The woman carefully moved in and set the turtle shell down first, carefully unpacking it. She set the jar full of water and stones aside, as well as the tea sachets. "I brought more of the tea mixture that you tried yesterday, with the herbs for inflammation." The healer explained, taking a moment to set the now empty turtle shell flat side up. She ducked once more from Hattori's quarters, carrying in the large, round board. She laid it across the shell, tentatively taking a step up to ensure it wouldn't slip. Pleased with the result, Kiriko turned to the man. "This is to help strengthen your muscles through balance." She explained, stepping down and indicating to Hattori that he should step up. "Carefully, you're going to step up onto it, and then shift your weight until no edge touches the ground." The words were careful, measured. She stands beside the board, offering her shoulder just in case. "You can hold my shoulder at first, while you find your footing." Patiently, she watches the alpha, curious as to how he'll react to the contraption.

It seemed as though she intended him to perform some sort of balancing act. His knee-jerk reaction was to think it was ridiculous, hardly becoming, but he had agreed to this and he thought it more poor taste to refuse to out of pride. With pale furrowed brows, he stepped forward, giving Kiriko a side glance as he approached the shell and the board atop of it. As any sure-footed warrior he liked to think his sense of balance was better than most, but as with most things in life it wasn't quite as easy as it would first appear. Stepping onto the board it immediately slanted one way, taking a bit of effort to right itself as he adjusted his stance, barely biting back the urge to grumble beneath his breath. He did not want to lean on Kirko for support, out of pride honestly, but the whole affair was far more awkward than he would like and not what he had in mind at all.

Kiriko stands relatively close to the board, ready to spot for Hattori if the need arises. Her observation is careful, watching the way he stands and the brief fight to regain his balance once atop the board. While it may have looked and felt silly, she watches as the board begins to do its work. "Which muscle groups do you feel working while you're up there?" Kiriko asks, taking a step back to assess the alpha where he stands. It's careful, and she's ready to step back to his side at any given moment. The question is gentle, but intentional-- she needs to know if he has the right muscles engaged. "Once you have your footing and control over the board, we're going to make the exercise more difficult." The woman primes, making sure that he knows what's to come. For now, it's important to scale the exercise, to make sure that they're not taking things too fast. Her intent is to heal him, not harm him further by pushing him farther. She watches every movement, every jiggle, every wobble carefully. Intently. "How does it feel?" "Speech"

Hattori's expression was stuck in a grimace, firm with muscles tensing all across his features. He did not like this, made no secret of it, but since he'd agreed to go along with her treatments he saw no reason to kick up a fuss now. At least she kept her questions short and to the point, he could at least appreciate that.

"My legs."He said, tone of voice dry, quite displeased. "Thighs and my shoulders, tail as well." It wasn't an uncomfortable strain, his muscles were well-used to being put to use, but it wasn't the sort of effort he was used to. What little balance wolves did, it tended to be on a steady surface, perhaps the edge of something. Not a shell that seemingly had a mind of its own.

Kiriko studies the man carefully as he works to maintain his balance. Carefully, slowly walking around him in a circle, and taking note of what she sees. Where he's working, and where it seems he's overcompensating for muscle weakness too. "Engage your shoulder muscles more, these ones here." The healer ever so gently touches the muscle groups she'd like to see doing more of the work. Things that would have all been impacted by the break, so long ago. "I want you to hold for a count of thirty, and then step down." Kiriko stepped back to watch the man's form as he did his exercises. She'd show him and prescribe them, but it was important that he keep up with them. He wouldn't be able to keep up with them if he didn't understand them, after all. "This is something I'd like you to do on your own this week, along with going for a short, slow swim every day. While you're swimming, I want you to focus on bringing the joint through its full range of motion." She watched Hattori's face for some sort of reaction, hoping that he'd be willing to commit to a program like that. Kiriko wouldn't be prescribing it, if she didn't think it would help. "Speech"

She touched his shoulder and Hattori let out a quiet hmph. In complaint or acknowledgement? Who knows. He tensed his shoulder, allowing it to take on more of the weight, the tension caused by the little balancing act. It wasn't comfortable at all, frankly, pulling on old wounds and discomforts that had him grimacing. But he did as he was told, holding the position till 30 seconds had passed before he stepped down, rolling his shoulders as his tail hung limp, not even twitching despite his displeasure. But he wasn't a child and a lot of adulthood consisted of doing things he didn't like, he'd get over it, as he always did.

Swimming was another thing he did not like to do. If he didn't know any better he would think Kiriko had it out for him.

"Mmm, if you think that is best I can manage."