The russet colored wolf leaned forward, front paws extending in front of her for a stretch. Her ear - still bleeding, damnit - flicked to the side. Since that damn spar when Motif nicked her ear it had been bleeding, much to her frustration. Off and on. It was very annoying as well, and she couldn't understand how it bled that much without even hurting. The Bjundi snorted. Nothing could be done. Now hopefully someone would come along so she could socialize and distract her self from that damnable wound. ?speech?

A sigh passed through inky lips, black-tipped ears swiveling down, pressing lightly against his skull. Working in such close proximity to Harmony was beginning to wear him out, though he supposed the knowledge he was gaining from it outweighed the uncomfortable, confusing feelings that arose just from the scent of her, or the way his heart thudded against his rib cage a thousand times a minute when her soft, lyrical chords reached his waiting ears. Taking a break from healer training, Xae found himself wandering one of Abaven's lands. Sometimes, being restricted to two lands felt compressing to the once-free male, but when he considered his other option - being alone - he found that he didn't mind so much. And it wasn't precisely as if he was restricted to only Abaven's lands. Pack wolves could still roam, were still free in a sense. The rules of keeping out of another pack's territory had not changed, for it was even more dangerous for a loner to tread into a pack's territory. The dark russet male was pulled from his inner thoughts by the scent of another creature, a wolf. In the next second, as he inhaled deeper, he realized she was an Abaven wolf, and felt relieved. He was not comfortable defending a land alone, though he would have, if necessary. Xae drew closer, not bothering with silent steps, as he didn't really want to sneak up on his pack member. Catching sight of her, Xae recognized her instantly as Mirabelle. She had called the pack hunt. The male gave a nod to the russet female when he thought she was watching him. "Mirabelle, correct?" His tone was quiet, low. It had smoothed out quite a bit, considering it had initially been rough from lack of use during his days alone. But now that he often spoke multiple times a day, his tone had gentled. "I don't believe I ever introduced myself. I was named Xae. I am a Kruni, a healer-in-training." On that note, Xae's nose caught the scent of blood. His head cocked only the slightest to the left. "Are you injured?" "Speech" Thought

A sound filled her ears and the wolf finished her stretch, binding up to catch sight of.... She didn't know his name, really. But luckily, that was quickly answered. After reaffirming that yes, she was Mira, he revealed his own name. "Hello Xae," she greeted, nodding to the wolf. "So one of Harmony's many apprentices. Welcome to Abaven. It's a bit late, but I felt it should be said." Her ear flicked to the question, and a drop off blood splattered. "Yeah, I am. This east wound I got from sparring with Motif won't stop bleeding. It's frustrating." The spar had been worth it, though. ?speech?

The russet male was conscious of his facial muscles, keeping his face void of any emotion, anything... "off" about his appearance. Mirabelle had mentioned Harmony, and Xae still wasn't quite sure what he thought of her. She distracted him. He... forgot things around her, or when he thought about her. The dark female was speaking again, responding to a question that Xae had asked her. His eyes roamed over the ear. He took a few steps forward, leaning closer to gently nose her ear as he sniffed. Any wolf would be able to smell infection in the blood, but Xae sensed none. He took a few paces back, looking around. "If I recall correctly, yarrow should help stop the bleeding and stimulate fresh skin growth." Xae searched for the herb, knowing that it liked dry places like the plains, and that it was a relatively common herb. When he found the white flowers, he hurried to it, sniffing to confirm it was the herb he sought. Xae snapped a small branch off, grinding the herb down between his jaws. The juices filled his mouth, and the russet, leggy male reminded himself not to swallow. Reaching Mirabelle, he, still being careful and somewhat hesitant, as he and Mirabelle weren't exactly close, applied the poultice from the plant, spitting some onto the fae's wound and licking it to ensure the wound had sufficient coverage. "Speech" Thought

Mira nearly tilted her head, curious, at Xae's complete stoicism at the mention of Harmony. That was... unusual. Most wolves liked the cheerful and playful healer. Eh. Not her business. If it caused any conflict, though, she would definitely be having a talk with him and Harmony that they would need to work together. Well, at the very least Xae would have to respect Harmony. Hopefully, no problems will arise. The female held completely still when the male padded up, sniffing at her ear. Resisting the urge to flick it because Xae sniffing tickled it, she glanced at the healer in training. Ina voice that bespoke of a shrug, she murmured, "I wouldn't know either way." She continued to hold still as Xae wandered off in search of the herbs, blinking in surprise when he returned so quickly. Once again holding her body stiff, she watched him in the corner of her eye, noticing his slight hesitation before applying the herbs to her. She herself wasn't hesitant, mainly because it was just herbs. But some got uncomfortable with such a thing. Dancing back as Xae finished, she grinned at him. "Thanks. Hopefully it'll work right." Her tail wagged cheerfully. "So how often does the poultice need to be reapplied?" ?speech?

The dark-furred female spoke in reference to Xae's murmuring, but the male hardly paid the words any attention. Not that he was intentionally trying to disregard her thoughts, but if she didn't know, then he didn't feel it was entirely necessary to pay attention to her stating that she didn't know. Besides, he knew, and she didn't seem bothered by not knowing. She seemed confident that the healer-in-training knew what he was doing. And he certainly ought to! Healing minor wounds should be a breeze for him. Mirabelle stayed perfectly still, and Xae absently hoped that all his future patients would be just as still, just as comfortably silent while he worked. When he finished and backed up, she asked him a question. Xae thought about that, and he knew that Harmony had told him at some point, but he could only recall the musical notes of her voice, the way their fur accidentally brushed. Xae felt his body grow hot and he quickly shook himself, mentally chasing away his thoughts. "You should reapply as needed, Mirabelle." His tone was formal. If he had remembered her position, he would have placed that in front of her name. "As a precaution, I recommend applying it tonight before you sleep. I do not believe you will need it more than that." His dark, narrow skull nodded affirmatively once before the russet male sat down. His head cocked as he looked at Mirabelle. "You said Namag Motif sparred with you?" "Speech" Thought

The Bjundi nodded to his response to her question. She wasn't entirely sure what was 'as needed' included. It falling off? Or becoming super grimy? Besides, it was on her ear - how would she reach that? Her ear - the non-injured one - flicked in acknowledgement to his words. So... she wouldn't need to reapply it, after tonight. Or so the apprentice thought. She nodded slowly. "How will I apply it, though? It's on my ear, which is not the easiest of places to reach - at all." Her head then tipped to the side, wondering why he asked his next question. "I did. She bested me. but it was a fairly close match. Why do you ask?"

"Speech"
'thoughts'

He could have slapped himself. Had he really been that stupid? Had he seriously told her to apply it to her ear? By herself? What was going on with him? Why am I behaving like such a fool? Of course, the instant he asked himself that question, Harmony's pretty face popped into his mind, with her mocha topline and mismatched gaze. Xae shook his head, irked at himself, but he forced out a laugh for Mirabelle's sake. "Apologies, Bjuni Mirabelle. I have not been myself as of late. I suppose it is possible for you to use a paw to apply the poultice, but I will be glad to reapply it for you tonight, and in the future should you need it further." He bowed his head a little, a natural thing to Xae. He was neither particularly dominant, nor particularly submissive. He was simply content to just be. He was respectful to everyone, and didn't allow himself to be anyone's doormat. He was content enough with that. At Mirabelle's question, the russet male shrugged his slender shoulders. "I was considering sparring with her, myself. I would like to learn the ways of battle, should the need ever come for it." "Speech" Thought

Mira's head tilted a fraction of an inch. The laugh sounded... forced. Well, not her place to question. Well. It was, but she wasn't going to question. "You are forgiven, of course," Mira replied smoothly with a short wag of her tail as a reassurance. "And I will gladly accept that offer. I don't think I could do it on my own." She shook her head, a smile on her maw as she let out a soft laugh. "I'd probably tear my ear up more than it already is." Her eyes remained sharp on Xae. Interesting... sparring with Motif? "Sorry, Xae, but you'd get your little butt kicked if you were to fight Motif. You don't look like you've done much fighting before. My ear was only nicked in my spar with her - she'd probably end up tearing yours off. If you want, though, I could spar with you and show you the basics. Then once the basics are mastered you could spar with Motif. Because there wouldn't be much training in fighting her now." Blunt, but hey, it was true - at least it was how she saw it. ?speech?

He was happy to know that he was forgiven, and happy when Mirabelle seemed to let his strange mannerisms go unnoticed. Xae wasn't sure if she truly was or wasn't noticing how "off" he was, but whatever the case, he was glad that she wasn't addressing it. He wasn't certain how he'd explain. The dark female caused a slight breath of laughter to pass his dark lips. This laugh was much more real than his first, but it wasn't a true laughter. He just found her comment about tearing her ear further amusing. At any rate, Xae shook his head. "Why do you say such a thing? You do not seem so clumsy nor ignorant." He hoped that didn't sound rude to or. He'd meant the statement as a compliment. Of course, Mirabelle's next words made him almost want her to take his previous statement as an insult. But, he told himself, she was being honest, as he was. And in a way, he was thankful. She wasn't sugarcoating it. And she wasn't... horribly rude about it. And she wasn't wrong; Xae had done no true fighting in his entire life. Sure, he had used trickery and deceit to defeat those who wished him harm during his loner days, but it wasn't like he'd ever faced anyone the way he had wanted to face Motif. He glanced away from Mirabelle, mulling over her offer. Then, looking back at her, he nodded decisively. "I accept your offer, Bjuni Mirabelle. Your honesty is much appreciated." "Speech" Thought