[Sanctuary] The Wounded Return (Open)

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 15th of Fall, 511 AV
Location: Sanctuary’s Courtyard
Purpose: Trying to save Silk, Ghost, and Cugacon.

The Akalak looked dead. He was draped over Ghosts’ withers like an deer she’d just nailed with her crossbow and was dragging home for dinner. Limp, arms dangling down one of the great horse’ shoulders, legs down the other, Kavala bent over him holding him in place as she guided the stallion home with her knees. Another stallion followed her, Silk, though he was no longer his creamy sunlight palomino coloring. Blood ran from everywhere – his nose, his chest, covering his belly and legs.

Ghost was in better shape, which was why both riders were on him rather than the Palomino that was showing definite signs of shock. As soon as she rode through the gates, Kavala was screaming at the top of her lungs for Aweston and anyone else that was around. When the big Drykas came running she carefully put Cugacon into his hands and asked him to take the Akalak upstairs – gently – and cover him with as many blankets as Aweston could. Then, and only then did she slide off Ghost, lean against him for a few minutes, and free him from his yvas and packs. She moved to Silk to do the same thing for the palomino stallion. She leaned against the horse for a moment, then turned to bark orders at whomever appeared.

“He’s in shock. Get him in a stall, cover him with a blanket, and see to his cuts. I’ve got the rest of his wounds healed up, but less than twenty minutes go his intestines were hanging out of his belly. He’s going to need some herbs to stimulate him and keep him from sleeping. I don’t want him asleep for at least two hours until we’re sure all his wounds have been seen too. Then we don’t want him sleeping on the ground for at least twelve hours. I want him bathed as best you can, getting all the blood off. It’s the only way we’re going to see anything we missed. In two hours if hes not asleep I want him to have all the lukewarm water he can drink and all the bran mash you can make for him. If he’ll eat some apples and carrots feed him all he’ll eat.” She said furiously, desperate.

“I have to get up to work on Cugacon. We aren’t to be disturbed. He’s going to be tough so only interrupt if its absolutely necessary. I’ll most likely sleep after that, but stay with these horses… don’t leave them alone. Ghost is better off than Silk, but treat him with the same treatment after… AFTER… you get silk looked at. Ghost can have water and mash right away if you can get him some. Throw him hay to start him out. He needs all his wounds tended too as well. We have enough healers here, you guys should be able to take turns and not strain yourself. Keep careful watch on Silks’ nose. If he swells and his airway gets cut off, that’s the end. I took care of infection, but we need to get him safe from shock. Shock could kill either one of these horses. They just fought of five glassbeaks and survived. I think they have more than proven themselves as foundation stallions for my Rysna breed. We just have to keep them alive long enough to get them to reproduce. Don’t let me down, staff… please…”

Kavala said, urgently, as she stripped off her gear, her packs, and even added Cugacon’s Lakan to the pile where she’d picked it up on the bloody grass.

She left then, following in Aweston’s wake up the stairs to begin working on Cugacon. She knew he still had broken bones and was in a great deal of pain or would be when he woke up.

Injury InfoSilk is by far the worst. He was disemboweled (kavala healed), his nose grabbed by a glassbeak (kav healed), numerous deep cuts and bruising. He's in shock and weakening from exhaustion. Ghost is just bruised and bloodied typical of a stallion that has been in action with another big predator.. lots of cuts, bruises, scrapes... etc.

[Kadrath Onktaka]

Kadrath didn't waste time on too many unnecessary words, simply nodding acknowledgment to Kavala's instructions.

"You can count on me."

He took the leads from her quickly, giving both horses a quick look over. There was too much blood to give an accurate inspection so he'd definitely see to the clean up first. With his right hand, Rath led Ghost into his comfortably bedded stall with a half filled hay net. There wasn't much in there, but it was enough to distract the horse while he worked on Silk.

Despite his strongly muscled, enormous seven foot frame, his large left hand carefully led the injured horse into a roomy box stall and cross tied him. This would help to remind the hurting animal that he had no choice but to stay standing.

His eyes rapidly changed to an exact mix of blue and green, denoting Rath and Uruk working together in tandem. Rath repressed Uruk's impatience, making them focus. Meanwhile, Uruk opened up his senses to the fullest, sending out a silent prayer to Wysar for discipline.

Tendrils of ugly maroon fingers lingered over Silk's stomach and a dark purplish hue marred the horse's delicate nose. Rath and Uruk broke apart, breathing heavily. The auristic colors faded almost as soon as they appeared, a burning blue flame gave off a raging heat on the back on their neck. A headache throbbed at his temples and he wiped a small trickle of blood away.

'No green color of infection to be seen yet, so let's keep it that way.'

'Yea. Marvelous work professor. Shall we take care of the horse instead of you wasting our time lecturing in your head?'

Uruk placed a clean blanket over the horse while Rath murmured reassuring words to keep the horse alert and responsive. With swift, confident movements, he'd retrieved a bucket of warm water, sponges and clean rags. While they didn't have any deep healing marks, they did know basic care. This combined with tenaciousness and thorough efficiency would hopefully make the difference between life and death.

Icy green eyes raced over Silk's eyes and face as his hands gently lifted the uninjured lip. He pressed a finger into the far too pale gums, pulled back and counted the time it took the color to refill. It was almost five breaths until the color returned and Rath sternly repressed the rising panic.

Uruk reached under the jawbone to check the digital pulse while Rath murmured quietly to Silk. It was nearly fifty beats a chime!

Moving downward, he placed a wrist against the inside of the stallion's thigh and found it cooler than his own. That was yet another sign of deep shock, considering the horse's temperature should be just a breath higher than his own.

He used both hands to quickly dunk one of the sponges in the warm water and squeezed out the excess.

Silk threw up his head in surprise the moment the water touched the delicate whiskers on his muzzle. Kadrath patted the horse's neck methodically and made sussing sounds to soothe the stallion's nerves. He brought the sponge to the horse's whiskers and let him smell it better so his panic would hopefully ease up.

It was a tricky spot to get things done quick enough, but not so fast as to upset the horse that was already deeply in shock.

The five chimes of sweet talking seemed an eternity, but eventually he'd worked the sponge along the horse's cheek and poll. Methodically, he kept it in small firm circles, making the motions steady, soothing and relaxing as possible. With enough skill, the stallion would hopefully feel the clean up as nothing but a soothing massage. He quartered Silk carefully, not wanting to remove the entire blanket.

Like a giant, soothing, mother's tongue, Kadrath worked the warm damp sponge over the horse from nose to tail, keeping up the calming, circular rhythm. When he finally reached the stallion's legs, he again checked the pulse and breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't prominent.

There was a gash under his chin that needed a thick dab of honey and a long but superficial scratch just above on of his chestnuts. He put his hand just above the nose wound, feeling for heat and searching for swelling. So far, so good, but he wouldn't breathe easy just yet.

After another solid hour of cut cleaning and patient grooming, he rechecked the horse's gums. On visual inspection, there was no telltale dark ring around the teeth. It would've meant that infection was well on it's way. He pressed his finger to the gums again, released and counted.

"Four breaths, which means not great but getting better. You're on your way Silk, you just keep fighting any nasty thing that tries to get in."

Rath spoke quietly and switched to a clean dry rag to rub down the horse. The heat of steady massaging of the horse's coat and skin brought up healthy circulation and psychologically, it comforted the horse on a deep level.

Ghost poked his head over the side and gave a curious nicker at Silk. He'd long since emptied the half filled hay net and started a search for more. With one ear forward and the other back, he raised his upper lip at the indigo man.

"Soon boy, soon. Let's get your friend settled in, and I'll get you both some water okay? Five glassbeaks between the both of you; you should get your rite of manhood." He said quietly, watching the horses and checking how alert and responsive they were to the sound of his voice.

Optimistically, he tested his wrist against the horse's inner thigh and found the temperature much closer to normal. He exhaled in relief at the few signs of improvement. It was too soon to tell of course, but even a little hope was a good thing.

For all their weight, height and sheer size, horses were notoriously delicate creatures with tender insides and fragile legs. Prone to colic, leg fractures and a host of internal problems, most people didn't realize just how much horses needed people.

Kadrath left the stall and came back with two large water buckets in each hand. He filled up two for Silk and then the other two for Ghost, re checking that the water was warm. He'd set the bran to soak in hot water and sliced in some carrots and apples. While it soaked and cooled, he went to Ghost's stall and check him over.

A quick inspection of gums, temperature and pulse made it clear that Ghost was in a much milder state of shock than his counterpart. The few scratches he displayed were just deep enough to merit a dab of honey against infection after a thorough cleaning. Grooming was a great way to get to know a horse and Uruk quickly discovered the heat coming from the horse's off shoulder, denoting a bad bruise.

His herbal knowledge was limited to ginger and honey and thankfully this was applicable. Until a gnosis marked healer could check his work, it would have to do. Rath left the stall again to mix some honey, hot water and a small bit of sliced ginger to the mix. While he waited on the concoction for Ghost, he check the mash temperature.

Cooled to perfection he knew the soothing comfort food would please the brave stallions very much. Silk's head strained at the cross ties as the large man poured in some warm delicious bran mash. He nickered low and deep in appreciation and buried his muzzle in it. The man smiled at the good sign. A horse might refuse food or only nibble after shock, but Silk dove in heartily.

He went back to Ghost's stall and gave the other stallion his half of the yummy treat. For just a moment, Kadrath paused to listen to the sound of the horses munching contentedly.

Now that the honey and ginger were nicely coagulated, he applied it to Ghost's bruised shoulder. Fully happy with his snack, he didn't even notice the application, as he merrily ate his way through the treat. Uruk readjusted the horse rug a little higher over Ghost's withers and headed back to Silk's stall.

The treat was great internally, but he'd want to make sure to clean up Silk's nose afterward. He would take every precaution to ensure this fine horse's survival. He leaned quietly against the side of the stall, watching Silk.

(When Rath speaks and when Uruk speaks.)

[Raiha]

Raiha had been babysitting Tasival, the door to the mews open as usual. Uzima and Chuki were quiet in their flights, Oanu and Kefi looking after their chicks. The lights were low, and Raiha just rested against the wall, her long legs dangling over the wooden steps. Diallo was nuzzling Dara, absently licking at her muzzle and neck, and below her, even in the dark, she recognized the auras of Dynm and Delilah down below, the male chewing on a thick piece of driftwood while Delilah looked on, waiting for her opportunity to snatch it. Diasra was cuddled up along Raiha’s other side. Diva was sleeping at the base of the stairs. The slumbering infant was resting in her lap, the sling for the child on her back, but unused. It hadn’t been necessary tonight, not with him positioned where he was. She’d told him stories about the things she saw in the stars, stories that she enjoyed making up, stories that may have been based on as little fact or fiction as she pleased. And through it all, Raiha watched and listened to the shadows, watching the auras of the creatures below, identifying them one by one as a barn cat, or a hurrying mouse that was trying to hide. She even saw a little bat overhead, in search, no doubt, of its colony and food to eat. They were useful creatures in the summer, even if Raiha didn’t like them roosting anywhere near Sanctuary. Their feces were disgusting.

But at least it wasn’t a Zith. There was some comfort in that, after all. She really, really needed to work on archery. We do, yes, Kanikra agreed. Among other things. Practice.

What do you think I’m doing? she replied to her sister. I am practicing. I am reading auras. Tasival and Shayru are sleeping. There’s no point in practicing the maces yet until later. The thuds would just wake them up.

True enough. Let them sleep, she was magnanimous. Because eventually, they’ll be up at all hours like we are now.

And were. Don’t think I don’t know what you did while I was sleeping back in Mura.

Lies. Slander.

Raiha chuckled a little, though the soft sounds of mirth died in her throat as around her, the dogs in various stages of slumber woke up, their states of alertness amplified. The hair on Diallo’s neck went up, and Raiha climbed to her feet before perching on the railing, one hand on the roof of the mews, balancing easily, looking in all directions for the source, one arm clutching the little one to her. She glanced back down at the dogs. Diallo’s limbs were as stretched as taut as a razor wire, mouth open, but his tongue wasn’t lolling as he scented the air. Danger. Blood. She spotted the auras coming from the distance as shadows swept over the grasses and dirt of Sanctuary, zooming in on their Shadowplayer like a moth to the flame.

Shadowplayer! Kavala comes.

Blood!

Death!

Breathing!

"One at a time," Raiha tapped Diallo’s flank with her booted toes, and the dog launched himself down the stairs, followed by Dara. Diasra and Diva made signs of following. “Stay,” she warned the two younger bitches. She didn’t see anything following them - no auras trailed beyond those of Kavala, the Akalak, and the two horses. Well, shyke.

Kavala comes!

Dira, the Dead Queen, rides tonight!

Raiha jumped lightly from the bannister to the landing, her knees bending to absorb the shock of the movement as she moved the sleeping Akontak boy to his sling. The steps she took two at a time, appearing like a wraith, silently carrying two buckets of warm water, cloaked in the shadows to take in the disheveled states as Kavala barked orders. Those buckets were set down and Raiha slipped away to get two more. When Kavala slipped up the stairs, the two Akontak went to work on the horses. The infant was awake by now and unhappy by all of this, but Raiha just squeezed him close, tucked in against her as he was. She hummed at the boy. Shayru, this one was, and touched his hair. with her wrist, smoothing it back once the second load of buckets of water were set down. While Kadrath worked on one side, Raiha settled in on the other, her long white hair pinned in a rough knot with a pair of wooden spikes as she dunked a sponge in the warm water, wringing it out, and beginning to sponge him down, checking over the neck first, and then the chest and belly, looking for any missed injuries there. Her hums hushed the infant, who looked up at her with wide eyes from the sling, like he sensed something was wrong with this, and for once, the best thing to do was to be quiet about it. Good child.

Words were not needed in a situation like this. Animal people, be they horse people, or dog people, or cat people, or bird people, simply understood what to do in this situation if they were calm enough to focus on it. This, to Raiha and Kanikra, was an old routine. Any upset she felt was always communicated to the animal. This called for complete and utter calmness, and a level head. If anything, that was where Kanikra, and her emotions, or lackthereof, were very useful. Raiha was used to it. Where Kanikra allowed herself to taste Raiha’s emotions from time to time when she invoked or provoked them, Raiha rarely adopted that surreal feeling of being completely divorced from the situation, but it was useful. They worked together, as Kanikra pointed out a cut on the horse’s neck as Raiha wrung the sponge out. She checked for infection in the wound, making sure it had been cleaned out before placing a hand on it, just over the torn skin, and let Rak’keli’s gift flow, burning out whatever bacteria remained, and closing the skin. Minor cuts, bruising, infection, all of that she could deal with. It was just a matter of being focused enough to do so.

When Rath and Uruk seemed to have Silk’s injuries under control, and she couldn’t heal the animal any more, Raiha and Shayru left the other worked on the grooming. She would go start preparing food for the critter. She dumped the buckets first, though, as Diallo and Dara watched and waited for her outside the stables, sniffing at the contents while she brought fresh water to the other and headed for the kitchen. “You’re a good boy,” she told Shayru as he looked around at the change of temperature and scenery and sound. “Cool under fire. Anger is good, but fire needs water. All in balance,” she smiled down at him as she vaulted up the steps to the kitchen, restoking the fire in the hearth to get it high and moving the heavy iron cookpot into place as she added water to get it hot, and left that to go while she grabbed carrots and apples. She washed and scrubbed her hands before weighing out rice by the pound, and putting them in separate, somewhat dented mixing bowls. She gathered molasses and ginger, setting them aside for now and taking a knife to the carrots on a cutting board. She didn’t need light to know what she was doing, after all.

She left the carrots and apples bobbing in the sink of water as she scrubbed a carrot with a coarse burlap pad to free it of all the last dirt before taking a knife and beginning to quickly peel it down, the skins flying into the bucket that would become compost, ending the ritual with chopping off the ends. One carrot, three carrots, five carrots, seven carrots, ten carrots all got the same treatment, forming a neat little pyramid on the counter top. She heard the sigh of complaint from the child. While he had been a remarkably good boy over all of this, his patience was running thin. He wanted entertainment, and he wanted it now. So Raiha obliged with a song she had heard a long time ago. It may have come from Kanikra, and it may not have. At this stage, she couldn’t even remember where she had first heard it. “Great big globs of juicy, grimy gopher guts,” she began, her voice low and intense, her eyes bright as she took in the child’s aura, watching to see how he reacted. “Chopped up monkey feet, porky little birdy feet,” she set the cutting knife down to check on the water, which was beginning to boil. She used the hook to pull the pot from over the fire, and grabbed a thick cloth pad to lift it from the hook. Both hands were needed to carry it over to the table, where she set it down on more cloth. She grabbed the long-handled dipper, then, and began to measure water out between the two bowls. “Eyeballs, deep-fried, stirring in a pool of blood...” She had to check with Kanikra for the last of the lyrics. “Oops! I forgot my spoon, but I got my straw...” she made a slurping sound, bugging her eyes out at the boy, “Oooooohh, ahh.” She laughed at the look on his face, bewildered and amused and unimpressed all at once. “You’ll understand when you’re older,” she told him.

Done with the pot, Raiha moved it aside so that she wouldn’t accidentally knock it over, and she began to stir the bowls, starting with one and then the other. She could get back to the fruit while it was cooking and cooling down. She knew that rice mashes needed less water than a wheat mash did, if only because the grains only held so much. The Akontak stirred until she had a fairly uniform consistency, switching hands from time to time to give both arms a workout. She did her best not to favour one side over the other. “Balance, in all things,” she told the child again, setting the wooden spoon down. The mixture could cool while she went back to the apples, having taste-tested it, blowing on the rice to cool it down. It was a good consistency, and the water had been absorbed nicely. She’d let it cool down a bit, and then she’d let the boy try it. She returned to the counter, and peeled the apples, one by one, helping herself to the peel. Hard work cooked up an appetite, after all... She put the pot of water back over the fire to heat up again, and got out the nasty-looking box grater, and began to shave the apple against it until she was near the core, before turning it a quarter-turn and continuing once again. Each of the neatly-peeled apples got the same treatment, and the cores went into the bucket. She shook out the grater, setting it aside, and divvied up the spoils between two piles. The apple was scraped into each of the mixing bowls, and then Raiha went back to work on the carrots, crunching the stumps, singing quietly as she worked. Cooking didn’t really require one’s full thought process. It helped, too, that the shadows came back and forth to tell the Shadowplayer how the proceedings were going.

“There’s a great big frog, sitting on a log,” she sang to Shayru, “and he’s fast asleep,” she grated carrots, one by one. “There’s a little brown bug on the water clock, and he’s fast asleep...” The carrots were added to the mash, and she added a good glop of molasses to it and dried, crumbled ginger, beginning to stir once again to thoroughly mix everything together and to help speed up the cooling process. It would be good warm - it needn’t be so hot as to burn the horses’ mouths and tongues. She rotated her shoulders and stretched, as she tasted the mash. Not bad at all! Still too hot, though, for the horses and for Shayru, so she left that be and went to grab some potatoes, dunking them in the water to peel them and chopped them up, the skins going into the compost bucket, singing all the while, getting quieter and quieter now that the infant was beginning to go back to sleep, the steady chopping motions helping to rock him back to sleep. Her own body warmth helped immensely as she transferred potatoes to a bowl, diced into as uniform pieces as she could get them, and added them to the pot along with a good handful of butter. She was licking her fingers as she grabbed an onion and neatly removed its ends before removing the papery skins, and began to slice it to an almost paper-thin consistency. The onion went into the pot, and she added a splash of milk before peeling, and mashing some bear garlic and tossing it in as well. A good dose of salt and pepper followed, and she began to grate cheese for after. She would add the cheese at the last minute, like when everyone was done and looked after, before they ate. Because Raiha was already hungry, and if she was, she imagined that the Akalak working in the stables would be, too.

With the mound of cheese covered under yet another bowl, she checked the soup, giving it a quick stir, and added another few pieces of wood to the fire, just enough to keep it going, before sticking the knives in the sink and gathering up the two heavy bowls of mash, one in each arm, and returned to the stable. “How do they look?” she greeted Kanrath, setting the bowls down and grabbing the feeding buckets and the spatula, dividing them up and putting one into each stall, Kavala’s son sound asleep in his sling once again. Diallo and Dara had followed her into the stable this time, seeing as there was nothing lurking out there now that had followed the scent of blood. She checked over his handiwork, noting the bruise on Ghost’s shoulder. She hadn’t even looked at the other stallion before going to make the mash, and now she gave him a going over with gentle fingers, studying the horse’s aura for the treated injuries as her hands glowed white, sealing skin as she went over cut after cut after cut before straightening and facing him over the horse’s back, a serious, solemn look on her face. When it came to these creatures, she was all business.

[Riki Stormheart]

OOCSorry that is seems like Riki is not doing much. I was trying to fit him into what both Raiha and Kadrath were doing. Pain and injury were inevitable finds at the Sanctuary. The place existed to help those who were sick and hurt. It never made it easier to see such as sight as the one before them but Riki took the sight in with learned ease, or some form of it. He was happy to see Kadrath and Raiha had appeared as well. It was always helpful to be working with others. Although the Drykas was tall, he felt unfamiliarly short at the side of the pair. Both were much taller than him, although this was to be expected. Anyone with Akalak blood running in their veins would be without a doubt taller than any Drykas could hope to be. Kavala's instruction was taken in word or word, as always. Riki was very glad to be working under the woman. He had learned so much in the time he had been employed by her. Between Kadrath, Raiha, and himself, it seemed he and Raiha were the healers of the group. Of course he knew Kadrath could use medicine just as well as he could but he was happy to be able to give the extra help from Rak'keli since Kavala, a much more experienced and favored healer was otherwise occupied with Cugacon. "I'll help in any way I can." Riki followed Kadrath and Raiha to the stables with the horses. He was surprised to see how quickly the man worked at the horses and how skilled he was. He hoped he would be able to work with the man again, although under less dire terms. It seemed there was some that could be learned from him. Riki did what he could at the man's side, using his Gnosis where the medicine did not seem to be enough. For the most part, the man had done an amazing job on his own. "You are really good at this. I'm glad to be working at your side." He kept his words short and simple. Handshakes and conversation, if they were going to happen, could be exchanged when the situation was over. Leaving Kadrath's side, Riki walked to find Raiha. "Can I help you Raiha?" She was making food and of course, taking care of a child. It seemed like a lot for one person to do, although if it needed to be done, the amount of work really was not dwelled upon. If she excepted his help, he would move in beside her, helping with the cooking where she needed an extra hand. When the Akontak was finished with the cooking, Riki accompanied her back to where Kadrath was. He felt a bit like a forth wheel. The two seemed to have everything down and he sort of was helping along the edges. Perhaps it was because he had run a bit late. He hoped that now with everything somewhat stabilizing, he could help a bit more. "Really great work Kadrath. I couldn't have done it better myself." He spoke with total honesty and a sincere smile. "Is there anything else you needed help with?"

[Kadrath Onktaka]

Kadrath wasn't used to having help in anything he attempted, so this teamwork concept took some getting used to. On one hand, he felt like he was always being watched with a severe lack of the solitude he'd grown used to. On the other side of the coin, it was good to know that there were always a couple others who had his back in serious situations like this one.

Raiha and Riki's healing skills were incredibly important, and the lovely Akontak had a good intuition when it came to necessities he forgot. And after a couple bells of intense work, it was a great relief to have Riki there to step in and tag team on the work load as well. The more time he spent at Sanctuary, the more he liked it.

"Yea definitely. Now that he's been looked over medically by Raiha, and cleaned, fed and watered, Silk needs further work. He can rest standing up for now until we're totally sure he's out of shock. In about eight bells, we can take off the cross ties and let him sleep laying down."

'You're literally eating out of her hands now, you big dumb cradle robber.'

'Yea like you're not drooling on the Konti, Kavala every time she speaks a syllable!'

'At least the one I chose isn't a child like Raiha!'

'We don't even know how old she is! At least the one I chose is Akontak like us, so she understands us better than anyone else in Riverfall. We have horses to see to, so just eat and give it a rest.'

Although he spoke with Riki, his ice blue eyes never left the pretty Akontak. He took the proffered food bowl and thanked her.

"Thank you Riki, I'm glad to have you to work with as well. Silk needs a strong, hot ginger mash vigorously rubbed into his legs to keep the circulation going. We can't let fluid build up in his legs from standing too long while simultaneously dealing with shock. You have a good gentle hand with horses, so I think you'd do better at that than I could."

He paused and took a few huge mouthfuls of the tasty meal, only just remembering he hadn't yet eaten his evening meal. The tall man watched her with the child, and more importantly, how -natural- she looked with the boy.
A thought flew through his mind before he could censor it from Uruk.

'Raiha would be a great mother!'

'Yea, I think it's the breeding part you'd like most. Can we get back to the horse talk now?'

'Yea and by the way Uruk, you're an ass.'

Rath and Uruk's mental exchange took less than a chime and could only be noticed by a slightly vacant look to his eyes and the color changing between blue and green.

"Ghost is doing better but we need to keep checking that his gums don't go pale, he's kept warm and gets plenty of water too. I think between the..." he paused and winked at the little boy,

"Four of us, we'll manage the horses just fine."

(When Rath speaks and when Uruk speaks.)

[Raiha]

She was glad of the help when the offer came - there was plenty of work to be done, and the more hands to help carry things, the better. “The seven of us,” Raiha corrected offhandedly, making sure that the soup was covered to stay warm, and that the extra bowls and spoons would be there for Kavala when she wanted them for her and for Cugacon. They’d need food, at any rate, to replenish what had been lost, and it wasn’t anything offensive that would have a harder time staying down. She listened to the men as they discussed the horses, feeding Shayru little bits of the soup now that the boy was awake again. He would be like her, she was sure, up at all hours of the day and night, resting when it was necessary to rest. A good night’s sleep was never guaranteed, and they would do well to not be reliant on one, Kanikra had told her not long after they had come to Sanctuary. Still, he was little. He napped because that was what babies did. When Raiha finally settled in for the night, he would, too.

“I can go and get a mash started... but would walking him up and down the stable help? I know it’s not the colic, but same basic principle, no?” she put her bowl and spoon down, having cleared out her meal. Raiha wasn’t a horsewoman, and she wasn’t trying to argue, as ginger had plenty of medicinal properties - she was simply asking a question to clarify her own understanding and to sate some curiosity. If she learned a new trick, so much the better. She understood based on simple medical and anatomical knowledge that if you didn’t exercise, you just made it harder on your limbs, and for a horse, which carried so much weight... standing still for protracted lengths of time was not good for them. And while no expense should have been spared to look after patients, Kanikra was particular about the finality of supplies, especially with the changing weather. If they could save supplies by utilising another method that might work just as well, then why not? She was more than content to let Riki work on the horse’s legs, though. He, like Kavala, just had that touch when it came to them that she considered to be part of the Drykas spirit. She didn’t have it and certainly didn’t begrudge it - everyone had their own strengths and limitations.

But a common theme with Raiha was question everything. While she largely kept her own counsel until asked for, and sometimes even then, she would question the methods of others. Why did they do something with what in those circumstances? She wanted to know why something worked a specific way, and never accepted 'because it did' for an answer.

What everyone said was true couldn't possibly be, after all.

[Kavala]

Kavala didn't know how much longer it had been since she'd been last downstairs. It felt like her that bells had passed, but truthfully very little time was needed for her to treat Cugacon, fall asleep, and have Eowe wake her. It could have been a whole day or even a simple few chimes. She couldn't have said and wouldn't have cared.

She was badly beaten.

Kavala fled the clinic, if one could call it that, shuffling on battered limbs. Her white skin was black and blue, etched with scratches, teeth marks, and whole hand prints on her arms. Her face had a dull listless look of someone who was decidedly in shock. Kavala was wrapped in a robe, barefoot, and her hair tinted red with her own blood. She hadn't looked like this when she'd come back with the wounded horses, though she had been wounded.

This looked fresh.

The Konti looked towards the first person she came across and whispered softly in a voice that was damaged from throat wounds... "I'm a little cold. I think I need some... help." She said softly, her right eye already swollen shut. Her left one well on its way to being closed as well. Her nose was obviously broken, and her shoulder where it had struck the wall was black and swollen.

She stopped, right in the middle of everything and didn't even try to step out of anyone's way. She dimly observed what was going on, but other than whispering Raiha's name twice, said nothing else.

[Kadrath Onktaka]

OOC :

I'm taking a little liberty with you all and that naturally you'd also jump in to help; I hope you don't mind.

"That's a better idea to walk the horse for a while instead. Riki you've got a way with horses so I think Raiha made a good suggestion. So rather than ginger..."

His voice trailed off as he saw the battered Konti woman enter the stables, severely beaten and barely recognizable as humanoid.

"Miss Kavala, what Cerulest did this to you?" Uruk asked, his green eyes as sharp as ice. He glanced at Raiha to confirm his own quick opinion.

"You'd best keep that ginger handy and maybe get some honey too? One thing I know for sure is if it has webbed digits, then they must like water. Let's get her in a warm bath to soothe her while we clean her up, yes? She looks like warmed over jakri."

The tall Akontak placed a large hand on the small of her back to guide her out of the stables and herded her toward the nearest bath. He knew next to nothing of people healing but he figured, or at least hoped, that it wasn't too different from animals. She looked to be in complete shock as the horses had earlier.

Uruk utterly took over in thought and body, giving Rath no room to squeak.

'Get and keep them warm, check the circulation, evaluate injuries, stop excess bleeding or bruising, and continue talking to give them something to try to focus on.'

It wasn't much to work with, but if it worked for animals, it should work for a Konti, right? She'd find water a comforting thing so they could at least accommodate that pretty easily.

"Girl-child do you know how to heal Kontis? I can diagnose animals, but I've never tried to heal a person before. The closest thing to that was a couple of Kelvics."

The baths weren't far away and the small group got one heated up and gently urged Kavala toward it. They removed her robe carefully, talking in a calm voice as they did so.

Uruk guessed that once they got her in some relaxing warm water, the Konti would be a little more at ease and maybe they could evaluate her health better.

He couldn't abide weakness and would always be first in line to repair it when and if he could. It was his assumption that if he were found in weakness, that he'd want it remedied as rapidly as possible, so all others -must- feel the same way.

Once they had her coaxed in and settled up to her neck in the bath, he felt the red surge run through him in a blaze as Uruk concentrated fiercely. Dark purple swirled around several places on the Konti showing severe injuries inside and out. While Rath normally used it for balance of martial disciplines when sparring, Uruk tapped in solely for medical purposes. A bright red glow appeared over freshly healing ribs and he thought it must be her own doing. The magic suffused the air with a thick miasma that made it seem hard to breathe. For the briefest of chimes he could almost feel Kavala's injuries on himself. This was the point when he knew it was becoming too strong for him to control much longer and he'd used it a little too much. Forcefully he shoved aside the haze on the verge of over giving, nearly losing himself as the gnosis flame on the back of his neck burned.

"Her injuries are inside and out." He said with a significant look to Raiha, implying more than a beating. Uruk's look changed to one of infinite patience as when he'd earlier cared for the horses. The large indigo skinned man turned to her and spoke gently,

"You're just going to take a relaxing bath Miss Kavala and we're going to all have a nice, calm chat, alright? You don't have to do anything you don't want to. We're just going to see if we can ease some of the pain and get you back in one piece again. Just concentrate on the soothing water between your webbed fingers. You're safe and among friends now.."

Uruk let his voice trail off and he watched the youthful Akontak beside him. Hopefully this little girl-child would know a decent bit of healing to help out Sanctuary's boss.

(When Rath speaks and when Uruk speaks.)

[Raiha]

Shadowplayer! The shrieks came in the night. Shadowplayer! Rage and blood and tears and sweat… Raiha looked up, her eyes on the door before it opened, already climbing to her feet and wrapping one arm protectively around Shayru. She would shift him to her back if need be. She wasn’t sure what it was, but so help her, she was going to find out...

Death rides!

“What happened?” Raiha breathed the Makath, reaching for Kavala as she whispered, releasing her protective hold on little Shayru, making sure he was settled in his sling. It was a half-sung mumble that made no sense to the ears of others, almost like she was talking to herself. And to them, perhaps, she was. Strong, soft hands helped support Kavala to the bath, making soothing sounds. And on the inside, Raiha raged as her friends told her what had happened. That Kavala had looked after Cugacon, and dressed him and fell asleep after looking after her own wounds, only for him to awaken and assault her before forcefully coupling with her. Raiha rarely raged. In fact, the only person who had ever seen Raiha lose her temper had been Kavala, and even still, it hadn’t lasted. But Raiha did not make friends easily, and she was protective and concerned for those few that she trusted and cared for. But for the first time in her life, without Kanikra’s encouragement, Raiha wanted to kill someone. And if it hadn’t been for Kavala’s need of care, she might have crept up there with everything she had while the Akalak slept, and did her damnedest to take his life. Oh, it was honorless to attack someone when they slept, but honor could get you killed, as Kanikra would have been quick to point out.

She had to remain calm. Kavala needed her. But she wanted to go up there and leave Kavala alone for just a little longer with the men, and... no, no, no. Kanikra was almost bored by all of this, as she quietly reached out and smacked Raiha in the back of her head to refocus her. At her yelp of protest, her sister soul just took her in. What? She brought it on herself. It was bound to happen eventually. Except some people are genuinely idiots who have no self control whatever, Kani scoffed at this. Only the stupid ones get caught, and mark my words, before the end of the season, he will be wearing tattoos for this.

They submerged Kavala in the tub, and Raiha settled down beside her, going over her injuries. She breathed, forcing that anger down, and put her thumb on Kavala’s wrist, beginning to count her pulse. “Just breathe,” she told Kavala gently in Kontinese. “Just breathe. You’re safe.” She focused on clearing her mind out, in order to see how badly the internal injuries were. There were doubtless many, and she laid her other palm on Kavala’s forehead, stroking at her cheek with her thumb, as a white glow surrounded her hands. Rak’keli’s magic was pulled from her without thinking, pushed and driven by a sheer need to heal what wounds she could. With the water swirling around the white skin of the Konti, Raiha cleansed and closed the bite marks and smaller cuts, knitting the little tears in the torn muscles and removing the swelling from bruises, returning her skin from ugly reds and blacks and purples to white. Her concentration went uninterrupted at Uruk’s words, and she opened her eyes at them, even as she breathed, though her focus was on Kavala, the faint pulsing rhythm helping to give her something to focus on. She lifted her eyes from her friend to look at Rath’s brother.

“I will tell you this once, and only once,” her voice was like sweetly-poisoned ice, but it was definitely Raiha - this was not Kanikra, though she would have been proud of her sister if she knew the words that were going to come out of her mouth - who spoke with a very calm, discomforting intensity. “If you ever call me a girl-child again, one day, you will wake up in the morning missing your testicles. It’s a very simple operation, did you know that? It would be so easy to drug your food with herbs one night, wait until you are completely out of it, and cut your petching balls off.” Her eyes were blazing as gold met green. “My name is Raiha. You would do well to remember it.” If Uruk had wanted to size Raiha up to see if she had any fire in her, he had found it. There was a core of steel that ran up her spine that had been slowly developing since she had come to Riverfall, as soft as she may have seemed to others; an invisible suit of armor that she wore against the looks and stares that came her way from the night she had met Akajia, and the two souls of the Akontak had agreed to work together, to look after and supplement and complement the other, a support that had been working against her almost her whole life. And where she would have lost it over the events of the night, Kanikra’s steadying lack of emotion kept her on an even keel.

Very nice, Kanikra remarked, amused. Now, will you back it up if he does it?

Father always said that if your name is in the mouth of others, then to make sure it has bite. Raiha told her as she studied the shifting, changing Aura of the Konti, her face still and calm as she took stock of the broken bones. Those she could not mend. Nose. Rib. But Kavala could heal those. And she would, she could see the spurs of the bone knitting together before letting go of Auristics once again, not wanting to push it too much. She made sure that the Konti’s gills were in the water to ensure that she was breathing properly, as Raiha reached with her hands and reset her nose back in its proper position. Kanikra had broken that nose before, and clearly, Cugacon’s brother had as well. There must have been something that made it such a tempting target, though she knew from seeing how Kavala had reacted when it had been broken under the sea that it worked to momentarily stun the victim. “Ginger and honey tea,” she told them. “There are fresh ginger bulbs in the kitchen. Slice it as thin as you can so that you are almost shaving it to get the most surface area possible. Six slices. Put it in two cups of water. Heat water to boiling over the hearth. Remove it. Add a big spoonful of honey and bring it here, along with a smaller cup and spoon. The ginger will help.”

She noticed something out of the corner of her eye, though, a wavering around Uruk’s body and in his eyes that reminded her of what she used to see and feel when she was doing too much with her Auristics. She dipped her hand in the warm water to clean it and to ensure a decent sting, shook it gently to clear off the water, and suddenly, without any warning, smacked him resoundingly hard in the back of his shaved head to break his focus and bring him back from the brink of overgiving. The sudden blow was hard enough to make his ears ring. Perhaps a bit harder than she needed to. But it wouldn't hurt him terribly, and it was better than the alternative. Going to the edge of Auristics had happened to her before, and she knew the consequences of it. She knew what she was looking for. “And watch yourself with that.” The look on her face just dared him to strike her back as she went back to stroking Kavala's hair.

Don't worry, Kanikra chuckled to herself, that's probably the only part of him you can hit and it won't damage anything important.

[Kavala]

Kavala didn't protest as Rath and Uruk ushered her into a bath. In fact, she barely registered what he was doing because she was so intent on focusing on his words. They didn't make sense to her, not at first, but she liked the soothing quality to them and carefully and unconsciously followed his instructions even though they didn't make sense to her conscious form. This had happened before, this darkness and violence and she'd fled to a place inside that only a warm voice had been able to draw her from. It soothed her, calmed her, and she stopped trembling as warm water slowly enveloped her.

When Raiha wrenched her nose back in place, Kavala snapped from that warm safe soothing place abruptly back to the present. She half screamed and started to fully fight again, as if the gesture had been an attack rather than an act the healer needed to do. Legs flailed, and Kavala balled up her already bloody fists and got a few swings off. "No!" She spit, turning from being half in shock to automatically trying to defend herself again.

She didn't stop fighting until she felt strong but gentle arms restrain her and heard Raiha or Kani's voice calling orders about tea. Ginger in tea. She started listening again with her thinking brain instead of her animalistic reactive brain and shook her head.

"Gods... Don't tell Cuga... It was Eowe. I gave him something from the Charoda... Cuga vanished. Eowe appeared. Demavru.. supposed to speed healing and kill off pain. I couldn't heal him all at once. Too tired. Its a Charoda plant harvested in the ocean. Never used on Akalaks before now. Suppressed the dominant. Need to find balanced Akalaks... maybe Rath will help... to test it on to see how it actually works in safety. Healed him up well though... well enough to do this. Gods it hurts. Broke my rib throwing me against... far wall. Pierced a lung. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. Never thought I'd feel that way again. Not after.... slavers. He took from me. Multiple times. I'm under contract. I can't say no. All he had to do was ask and I have to say yes. We all do. But he didn't even ask..." She gasped, shifting, seemingly confused by this.

"Did he break my skull? It hurts... hurts so badly... I fixed my lung and ran, to have breath... so selfish, so cowardly...." She said, closing her eyes and blinking back tears. "He wanted to make a child that was all his... but is he stupid? Cuga's contracted baby will be his... just as much as it is Cugas." She added. "Gods, don't let there be a child from this.... not this way. I won't be able to look at it. Not ever.... " She said, beginning to thrash again in the water. It was clear the trauma had affected her deeply and she still wasn't making sense, rasping in a voice that was so un-Kavala like.