Regardless of the outcome of the fight that Seiko had engaged in, their fight with that big feline had left them feeling a bit worse for wear. Not in a dramatic way - the yearling just hadn't had a lot of fights that ended with anything more than some slight bruising. They hadn't fought a feline before now though, either, so maybe it wasn't a big surprise that her claws had done more damage. They were far sharper than a wolf's claws or teeth, by far. They'd learned just how sharp those little needles could be after getting to know Herajika, but their tabby cat companion was a whole different story than the giant cat they'd fought.

Their wounds weren't all that bad, just a series of fresh scraps along their left shoulder. Wasn't exactly easy to clean, though, and Seiko was struggling to make sure the injury wasn't about to get infected. The last thing they wanted was to be out of commission from fighting a cat, of all things. They groaned a little as they tried to twist their head around, trying to see what they could of their shoulder, but to no avail. Where was Herajika now, anyway? Surely the tabby could help tend to Seiko's wounds, but suddenly they were nowhere in sight.

How convenient, they thought to themselves, heaving a sigh as they leaned against a tight cluster of bamboo.

table coding by bunni ♥

Asahi was looking through the storage of herbs. She was about to start making tea when a trilling meow caught her attention. Not an uncommon sound among the bamboo and near the isle but the little tabby with antlers was a particular and familiar kitty. Golden eyes danced about in search of little Herajika's wolf, Seiko. As soon as Asahi expressed interest in looking for Seiko the little cat started bounding off and looking back to make sure the little golden wolf was following.

Curious! A quick bounce to her step and she was following the little cat through the bamboo. Upon finding her sibling it became obvious why the kitty had pulled Asahi's attention and led her here! Seiko was hurt! And they weren't the type to really complain either.

Asahi stepped toward Seiko, ducking her head and looking up at her sibling in a pleading manner. Offering her silent assistance to take a look at the wound she could inevitably smell.

Speech // thought // Nihongo

Seiko could only angle their head around sharply and try to clean their shoulder off so long before they felt like giving up. Maybe their body would heal just fine, maybe it wasn't a big deal at all. Maybe a dip in the ocean would clean off whatever gunk was accumulating there... the thought of that salty water stinging a series of cuts though sounded terrible. They knew just how much it stung a much smaller wound.

They weren't left sitting and brainstorming what to do for long though. The sound of a cat's familiar mewling broke the silence of the bamboo forest, followed by distinct pawsteps as their sister emerged right after. Seiko gave a nod of greeting, noting the way she had immediately pinpointed her injury. Not that it was easy to hide - blood caked the grey fur around their shoulder, the dark crimson stain obvious against the lighter fur.

"Decided to spar against a..." What had that creature been, anyway? "Looked like a mix between a lion and a tiger. Either way. Her claws hurt a lot worse than I thought they would." Seiko wasn't the type to accept help unless they absolutely needed it, but resisting Asahi's pleading face felt difficult. It was no use being stubborn anyway, not if she wanted to help. Gingerly Seiko lowered themselves onto their stomach, inviting Asahi to take a peek if she wanted to.

table coding by bunni ♥

Her lips parted in awe of Seiko! They had battled a big tiger-lion? Wow! They were lucky to be alive! Her tail rose to wag back and forth in delight as Seiko lowered their larger body for Asahi to take a closer look. Gingerly she stepped forward and looked at the wound, they all knew well how to manage cat scratches, and these were massive!

Her dark golden brow furrowed as she examined it. A small dainty paw lifted up to carefully hold some of Seiko's gray fur out of the wound. It needed cleaning and pasting! Good thing there were plenty of supplies!

She nodded to Seiko, determined to help over her reticent features and she bounded quickly away for only a half moment before she was bounding back with the healing kit in her pale maw.

She took out a bottle of tinctures and a clean rag, wetting it and carefully applying it to Seiko's wound to clean it out.

She was silent for a few beats until she opened her mouth to speak, "How big was the tiger lion, what did it look like?" She asked carefully in her sweet whisper soft voice.

Speech // thought // Nihongo

Being so willing to accept help didn't come easily to Seiko, but if they trusted anyone it was their own flesh and blood. Sometimes the huge lot of them had to lean on one another to get through and stay strong, that was just a simple fact of life.

Seiko was still as Asahi examined the wound, carefully enough but still they flinched slightly when the fur parted and the fresh cut met air once again.

"How bad is it?" They asked their sister once she returned, healing supplies at the ready. As still as they could be, they tilted their head to the side to keep out of her way while she worked, nose resting against the dirt below.

The question earned a soft laugh. Hopefully Seiko hadn't been wrong in their classification of the female. "She was huge. At least a few heads taller than even me. Bigger than I've ever heard of lions or tigers being. Looked like a mix between them both. Only with ghostly white fur," Seiko explained. Maybe someone older than either of them had some idea what the beast was, but they weren't entirely sure.

table coding by bunni ♥

The partial mute gave a confident smile to her sibling as they asked how bad the scratch was.
"Not bad, maybe stitches," Asahi replied confidently, her voice breaking mid-whisper from disuse.

The great cat had scratched Seiko fairly deep, Asahi didn't think it was too bad at the get-go but as she cleaned the blood away she could see the skin had been slashed through several layers. She used the tinctures a bit more liberally and started to pull out a sharpened porcupine needle and fine sinew thread to stitch the wound up.

She listened to the tale of Saiko's tussle with the big cat and widened her eyes in expressed awe while she focused on each careful stitch. She was swift with her stitching. She pulled the thread taught and knotted it off with ease. She then slathered some herbal paste over the whole wound to provide more protection and wrapped it gingerly with some cobwebs and a clean linen bandage.

She packed up the remaining supplies and nodded her head to signify she was done.

"Were you scared?" She asked softly, tilting her head, urging them to continue the story.

Speech // thought // Nihongo

The older they got, the more they were realizing just how much they didn't know. How many creatures were there in the world that they couldn't even begin to comprehend the existence of it all? The stark reality seemed to settle in when they explained to their sister the sort of creature they'd fought. There was so much to learn still. That thought felt particularly heavy these days, but it emboldened them if anything.

Asahi admitted it might require stitches, but nothing more serous. Seiko nodded, trying to relax their shoulders as their sister worked, wincing slightly at the sting of the tincture and then the pressure of the stitches. All bearable though, and nothing worth complaining about.

Were they scared? Seiko considered the question for a moment, watching Asahi packing up her supplies. "Not really," they admitted, not trying to sound brave, but merely being honest. "She wasn't all that different from wolves I've met. Just had sharper claws," they answered. Surely eventually they'd meet someone who wasn't quite so friendly, who Seiko ought to be a little scared of, but it just hadn't happened yet.

table coding by bunni ♥