Esti had just awoken in her den. The ground was loftily covered by one of the first solid snowfalls of the season. Even Esti could appreciate its beauty. She had told Ashmedai all about it, and he had been so excited. Every time it started to snow, he would run out and nip at the falling flurried. He would be stoked. Esti wouldn't be surprised if he was already out in the snow playing. A small smile crossed her face thinking about it. That was until she heard a small groan at her side. Confused, she turned to see Ash huddled in the back of the den, shivering. Did he already go play and get too cold? That was odd since he had fluffed out well during the fall. Maybe he got wet somehow- that could be dangerous. Esti crawled over to her son and nudged him. He barely moved and simply groaned her name (her name being "momma", of course). Esti began to worry. She pressed her nose to his and felt how warm and dry his nose felt. She sniffed at his breath and the scent of sickness lingered. A shiver ran down the mother's spine. Was this the plague, returning for her son? Could she have given it to him, somehow? "Ashmedai? Ash baby, how do you feel?" she asked hurriedly. The stormy boy mumbled, "Not so good Momma," in reply, "I know baby, I know. You're gonna be okay, alright? Ashmedai, alright?" She prodded for a response and the boy finally nodded weakly. Oh gods or goddesses, what was she going to do? Esti burst out of the den and called to the healers, marking out Cascade and Rhythm for good measure. If they didn't show up in her time of need, they would pay later. Ashmedai was going to be okay. Cascade and Rhythm were going to show up and heal him. Everything was going to be fine, just fine. ""

The sound of a panicked voice calling out for healers - and herself, and Rhythm, particularly - immediately dragged her attention. Esti? Ash's mom? Her ears flicked back, not in annoyance as she dragged herself out of her den into the snow, but in concern. Was something wrong with the boy? She sounded really worried... On the other hand Cascade had been a young mother, too, and though her kids were nearly yearlings now she could well remember the fear whenever one fell sick. And when Phim had gotten bitten by that snake and she'd been terrified he would die... She glanced at her stockpile of herbs, but the majority of them were for emergency wound care, not illness, and she didn't know from Esti's howl whether he was hurt or sick. After a moment of indecision she abandoned her den without any herbs at all, and sprinted for Esti's den. She could always go back for any herbs she needed after she found out what was wrong. "Esti?" she called out, flicking snow from her ears as she skidded to a stop. She kept her voice calm, though her gaze was already traveling past Esti to the den. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Rhythm was healing well from the last spar she'd participated in, Rainbow had given her a run for her money. She couldn't deny how good victory felt, and every time she stepped into battle the adrenaline rush was even better. It was a high like she'd never experienced. At the moment she was taking things easy, lounging on the boulder that covered her den. At least that's what she was doing when she heard Esti's call for her. That was something she'd never have expected. Though the summons for Cascade was heard as well. There was obvious worry in her voice, and without thinking much Rhythm wouldn't hesitate to jump from her perch. There was an urgency she could not deny, and even through the pain her wounds brought her the girl would run to Esti's den. Was something wrong with Valentine's youngest son? Even with her rushing Cascade beat her there, uttering the question that tried to leap from her own lips. What was wrong? The chocolate girl stopped next to Cascade, concern obvious on her features as she looked to Esti.
""

Luckily for the new mother, Cascade was quick to the call. Esti let out a small sigh of relief as the woman approached, but couldn't bring herself to actually relax or feel any better just yet. The raven-like woman skidded to a halt after calling Esti's name. She asked what was wrong and as Esti tried to form the words, she found her breath catching and tears welling in her eyes, "I- uhm- It's- It's Ashmedai," her voice trembled out. As she spoke, the chocolate healer woman had appeared. Esti sniffled once, trying to collect herself and daring not to actually cry in front of these two, or at least not in front of Rhythm. Cas had proven herself in their spars that she was more than worthy of seeing Esti weak. Rhythm simply hadn't earned that respect yet. Esti did, however, respect Rhythm's healing abilities, which was why she was called, "Ash is sick. It might be the plague. Oh gods, what if it's the plague like I had? Do you think it's the plague?" Esti looked between the two, her ribs jolting as it held back panicked sobs. Esti gritted her teeth behind her closed lips, trying to cut off her visible emotions. She didn't worry about much, but the one thing she would always worry about was Ashmedai. ""

Feel free to go poke at Ashmedai XD

The tumble of words as Rhythm arrived was heartbreaking, and Cascade moved swiftly forward to press her shoulder comfortingly to Esti's, all the while her brain kicked into overdrive. She hadn't been here when the plague swept through, but Neios had it hadn't he? And she'd heard stories about it, about the terror it induced in the packs here. "Hey, Esti, hey," she said soothingly, "It's going to be ok. If it's the plague, we have a cure for it now, remember? And if it's not, Rhythm and I will figure it out." Well, Rhythm would figure it out - Cascade wasn't a proper healer after all, she dealt with trauma not disease. But she had raised up a bunch of young pups, and young pups seemed to all get the same sort of bugs, so it was likely Ash had the same sort of thing. She sought to bump against Esti again. "Ash will be up and running around again in no time. He's a tough kid. Is it all right if we take a look at him? Was he able to tell you what felt sick?"

Esti seemed like she was about to get a little hysteric, though Rhythm couldn't blame her. She imagined she might have been in the same kind of mindset if their roles had been reversed. She would really have to focus if she knew that Shaye could potentially be deathly ill, the pressure that would bring to her would be incredible. Rhythm would shake her head slightly to get rid of those thoughts as Esti answered the question that Cascade had asked. "It might be the plague." Rhythm hadn't been in Alacritia when the plague had run rampant. She almost panicked herself when Cascade calmed her fears, they had the cure for that. Rhythm wished to offer her comfort to the mother as well, but she didn't know Esti very well and thought it would be inappropriate. When she got the okay to go and check the small pup she wouldn't hesitate in going to his side. "Hey, Ash. How are you feeling?" She'd ask softly as she nudged his fur, he was warm that was for sure.
""

It was hot then it was cold. Ashmedai couldn't get comfortable, but he was so tired. He didn't even remember his momma asking him how he felt. Everything seemed to hurt and everything was too spinny and Ashmedai just wanted it to stop so he could sleep. He felt so bad. He curled up tighter into himself for a bit, but then lost the energy to keep it up and ended up splaying out some in the back of the den. Vaguely, he heard voices outside. The indistinct voices murmured outside the den. One of the voices came closer and asked him how he was doing. In response, he would just groan a small, weak, "Bad...", but then she nudged him and he groaned more, "Stahp pleees..." He would move to roll over, or maybe it was a move to scoot away, but either way, he managed little more than a wiggle before huffing and falling back to somewhat of a sleep state. ""

Cascade ventured to comfort the new mother, telling her that Ashmedai would be okay and that they had a cure for the plague. Esti's head still reeled, barely noticing the comforting nudges from the purple woman. She didn't remember the treatment for the plague. Did these wolves, by chance? Did anyone in the pack know? It was Winter, so what if they didn't have the right herbs? Could Ash last until spring when the herbs grew again? Cascade nudged Esti again, breaking into her spinning thoughts. She mentioned that Ash was tough, and Esti nodded, sniffling some. She asked if they could see him and Esti nodded again, feeling at a loss for what to do. She turned as Rhythm went into the den and began speaking to the boy. She checked his temperature and he asked her to stop. Esti took a step forward, fur bristling slightly at the thought that Rhythm might be making him uncomfortable. She was a healer, Esti had to remind herself, just let her do her job. ""

Esti was really freaked out, barely responsive to them except that she bristled as though she were going to attack Rhythm when Ash cried out. Well, she wasn't going to climb into the den and crowd the poor sick boy while Rhythm was in there already, so Cascade's best use was going to be with Esti anyway, and she pressed against the larger woman. "Esti," she said firmly to draw her attention. "When did you first notice Ash wasn't feeling well? Did you maybe notice any particular symptoms? Was he vomiting or coughing or anything?" Peering into the dark den she observed quietly. "There aren't any blood tears - I don't think it's the plague." That was a symptom everyone could remember and always linked to the disease, even moreso than the madness.

Slight PP ok'd by Iko

The boy was very much warm, she could tell that before she even touched him. As well his breathing was less than stable, it was rapid and that worried her. Was he having difficulty breathing? He didn't seem to have an appetite and his lethargy was very much obvious. She hadn't heard him cough or sneeze but there was a gross looking mucus dripping from his poor little nose. He tried to scoot away from her as she looked him over and she'd do her best to not touch him again, he was going to need his rest. As a last piece to the puzzle she had been trying to put together she would hear Cascade talk about crying bloody tears, and this boy did not have that symptom. She'd silently wish the little baby luck as she started to think about what herbs she might give him for relief. Rhythm would turn from him and return from the entrance of the den to reunite with the other women outside. "It looks like it's just the flu." Though even that sickness could potentially be dangerous it was certainly not the plague. "It's rather contagious, so we should all take some immune-boosting herbs, as well you should try and keep him away from the rest of the pack until his symptoms are gone." She would bring some herbs for Esti and the boy, "He's going to need a lot of fluids and rest, I'll bring some watercress for his cough, it might help with his weakness as well. I'd also recommend some elderberries, for both of you." She'd look back to Esti. "He should be perfectly back to normal in a couple of weeks."
""

Ash can be skipped

From outside, Cascade tried to calm Esti, asking when she first noticed symptoms, if he had thrown up and other things. Esti shook her head. She didn't know, she really didn't know. He seemed fine yesterday, maybe a little runny nose, but that was normal this time of year. Cascade mentioned that there were no bloody tears, and Esti agreed, nodding at first, but then remembering the plague all at once. She remembered the female that had pinned her down, frothing and dripping blood on Esti in her rage. Esti had been so little. She was so scared. Her parents were gone, so she ran to Erani who, of course, couldn't heal it in the end. It was always the wolves that thought they were really something that turned out to be nothing but shit. In the end, it wasn't Erani that found the cure, but the fiery woman that later challenged and beat Erani. Esti felt like that defeat was good and just and she never saw the white "healer" again. She had good memories of Valhalla as a pup, but she would never have been a full member there, and she wasn't really sad to see it go. It was a place for food, and a place she thought she could go when she was afraid, but after suffering in the den with countless others, she lost all faith in the place and all its members and moved on. Rhythm was the next to speak, saying it was the flu and rattled off things they would need and why. Esti stared blankly. She wasn't a healer, so why was Rhythm explaining this to her and not actually going and getting the things? Esti glanced at Cascade, maybe she knew of these herbs. The healer also suggested keeping him away from the pack and that he would be better in- "A FEW WEEKS?" she repeated in surprise, "Don't you mean days, Rhythm? Weeks sounds like kind of a long time and all." Esti challenged the healer, but even she knew she wasn't actually looking for a fight. She was just indignant because her son was sick, "If you think it's gonna be weeks, you're gonna have to stock me up on these herbs, you know." ""