[Bronze Wood] The Trouble with Bears (Aiken)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam blinked at the transformation, never thinking until then that the goddess-given wolf ally might have been a kelvic. It made more sense, perhaps, that such a one would come to the aid of an embattled young man in the wilderness, but he was quick to remind himself that a kelvic was human enough to have ulterior motives. There was no telling; he might be bonded to some highwayman or evil wizard. But he had helped and was still helping... Benefit of the doubt. He smiled crookedly at the naked man. His hand found a rent in his pants; apparently the bear had gotten closer to him than he thought. But no bleeding. That was a miracle. Horse calmed down a bit now that he perceived two humans rather than Sam and a wolf. "You don't look so good yourself. Want to show us this river and we can watch each other's backs for a while?"

[Aiken]

Aiken smiled and began walking. "I think you're lucky I came along when I did. That bear was nasty. Tastes horrible too."

He spat, trying to get the greasy taste out of his mouth. The blood around his gash was starting to coagulate, giving him pains and a burning itch. It was going to scar, he knew, marking him for life. But all that mattered was getting to the river now, so he could avoid infecting it. A little bit of protection was always welcome, especially mutually.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"You think the meat's no good?" he asked, a little disappointed. "Might go back and see if I can't take the skin after I look after Horse here. Unless you want it. You did help us out of a tight spot, after all. Thanks for that." He walked along, splitting his attention between the kelvic and his wounded horse, who was limping a bit, but seemed like he would survive. It would be good to clean out the cut and perhaps apply a poultice to it until he could get him back to the wider array of medicines at the Stables. He whispered a few soothing things in Pavi to Horse, who was keeping rather calm now. Perhaps all the fear of the battle had left him a little numb now. "I'm Sam. This is Horse."

[Aiken]

Aiken laughed sarcastically. "Bear meat is bad meat. If it's bad enough that they think they're on top, they taste disgusting. Its greasy and fatty, and the actual meat is too tough to enjoy properly. It's like having jerky coated in day old bacon grease. You can have that kill."

Aiken slowed his pace to match Sam's, not much liking being too far ahead. Humans were sly too, and many would try to slip a dagger between his now vulnerable ribs while he was distracted. The matter of names came up again, and again Aiken was confused by their true meaning.

"I'm not one for names, personally. Actions and smells are easier to remember. I would just as soon call you Curved-Sword-Bear-Stabber as you would call yourself Sam. But, for the sake of making things simple, the last human-name I had was Aiken. I do have a question though.. what sort of name is horse? He is a horse. It wouldn't make him different from any other horse in his herd to call him Horse."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam had gone hungry too many times in his life to disdain bear meat just because it might be greasy. In any case, he couldn't eat a whole one, so much of it would be sold in town. A city always had people hungry enough to eat anything, and bear meat was preferable to old shoe leather. But he nodded his thanks anyway. He would have the meat and the pelt if no other animals got to it first. "I'll try to remember to answer to curved-sword-bear-stabber if I hear it," he said, grinning. "Pleased to meet you, Aiken. Feel free to save me from marauding predators whenever the mood strikes you. And Horse... well, I didn't know his name when I got him, and by the time it looked like we'd be together for a while, Horse had sort of stuck. He doesn't seem to mind it, and he's usually very vocal about displeasure." As if to underline that point, Horse made a pathetic noise. Sam stroked his neck tenderly. "I know, brother," he said in Pavi, which all horses, not just striders, seemed to understand better than most human languages. "You fought well. We will take care of your pain as soon as we can."

[Aiken]

Aiken was starting to smell the river as they got close; a light, pleasant scent that distinguished the area as a place of peace. It was terribly hypocritical, as there were plenty of predators lurking in wait for the vulnerable to fall into the trap.

"And I'll try to remember Sam and Horse. We're getting close, so keep your eyes open." Aiken's own eyes, yellow and piercing, twitched around as he looked for changes in the trees and movement among the bushes. All seemed to be clear, and his nose confirmed this for now.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Horse too seemed relatively calm but for his injury, so while Sam kept his scimitar out and had his hunting knife within easy reach, he figured that Horse or Aiken could be relied upon to warn him of something's approach before he would sense it. That is, assuming a kelvic's animal sense translated into their human form. "I'll take a look at those cuts if you want," he offered diffidently. "I'm no chirurgeon or healer, but I've got a couple of herbs and could maybe help. If you want." If Sam relied on Horse, he was sure that Aiken relied even more upon his own body's health to survive out in the wild. "If it's terrible bad, you can borrow some of my clothes to go into Syliras for some proper healing." It was the least he could do.

[Aiken]

"That would be great. I'll see how it looks after it gets washed off." As they got closer, the forest itself seemed to get livelier. Trees were taller, leaves greener, and the birds chirped louder. The aura among everything was becoming more vibrant as they neared the blue-flowing-life-giver. Water was more important than anything in the wild, and it can be unforgiving to even make the trek.

However, as Sam, Horse, and Aiken reached the gently curving bank containing the clear waters, Aiken could feel no danger. He heard no sounds of predation, nor smelled any dogs or bears. Prey for him was everywhere nearby, and most predators stayed away from larger groups. They would be safe, at least while it was light out.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam looked about, but mostly looked to Horse and Aiken. Since both of them were calm, he went about refilling his waterskins before they went and got any blood and such in the river water. Of course, it would dilute and wash away, but some things were drilled into him early and now were second nature. The water was clear and cool, though not so cold as it had been before, the majority of the snow melt already passed down into the Suvan Sea by this time of year, he supposed. A clean rag was soaked so he could wipe away the worst of the caked blood. "Not to worry, Horse-my-boy," he murmured in Pavi. "You'll be right as rain in no time." Luckily, the bear had been too distracted by Aiken to more than glance Horse. Sam wished he had some wine to clean it out, but he had some herbs that should work near as well, and when he got him back to the Stables, he would have the best care possible. "If you want to wash off," he said to Aiken in common, "I'll just make two poultices. After that, if you keep yours clean, they should heal all right." He started mixing things with the little mortar and pestle he kept: a spot of rooibosch he pulled from a plant and dried, some water from the river, a bit of propolis stolen from a beehive, and other odds and ends. How much of it was actually helpful for the healing process was anyone's guess. He hadn't been schooled, but merely remembered things the women of his pavilion had put together, or tidbits that he had learned for the care of horses that seemed also to work for humans.

[Aiken]

"Alright. I'll up in a few minutes," he said, already half running towards the deep end of the river. He jumped in, letting the soothing water wash away the drying blood and clean his wound. Aiken let the water drag him downstream for awhile, holding his breath in a state of calm. The water had taken even his anxiety away as he gently floated away

But it wouldn't last long, as his breath had been used up. He stood, against the current, and turned around towards where he had left Sam. Slow, powerful strokes took him up the river at a snail's rate, but Aiken hadn't gone far enough for that to matter. The cool water felt too good anyway, and he was in no hurry to get out.

As he arrived back where he began, true to his word, he stood up and climbed up the bank. His ribs and should felt much better, only a slight tingle where the wound was. Good news, he thought, as to how bad it really was. He looked back to see the shallow gash in his shoulder, already wet with a fresh coat of coagulating blood yet again.