[ P ] healing paws

It was a usual day in the barracks, tending to the sick and injured. They had gotten over a nasty flu that had spread through the barracks. It was hard to get rid of, and Calla had gone through lots of her supplies to see to the betterment of everyone. Luckily, her immune system was very strong and did not succumb to the sickness. In her time with Declan, she was able to collect a lot of plants and medicine ingredients. She was prepping her supplies, making poultices and slaves from her collection. The soldiers were always training, always ready for the worst. Because of that, she always had to have a good supply at a moment's notice. “Alright, that should be good.” There was a knock on the door of the medical bay, and she turned around to see the grey and white wolf. Calla immediately started her assessment of the damages she had sustained. “My word... what happened to you?” she asked as she immediately rushed to have Lenora have a seat. “Right before your eyes...” @Lenora

Anger bubbled beneath her skin, but to an outsiders eye, Lenora walked with a grace she didn't feel. Anxiety and self-deprecation ate away at her heart at the simple fact she had let a criminal go. What kind of soldier was she? A poor one, for sure. Couldn't even handle one altercation by herself. Her superiors will be pissed... Unless...

Her steps slowed, head raising as she thought a sinister, dark thought.

They didn't need to know. There was no report, no real evidence that it had even happened, save for the marks on her body. Resolve hardened her face as she decided it was her best course of action before she changed her path - instead of going back to report to her captain, now instead she made a beeline for the medical wards.

Her knuckles rapped against the wooden door softly, and shortly after she opened the door to enter. Her massive form felt even bigger in the confines of the medical bay. Purple eyes blinked as they adjusted to the difference in brightness before they found the monochromatic form of Calla, one of the medics in the army. Though Lenora didn't know her personally, she knew she was exceptional at her care.

With a smile, she approached her and was about to speak when Calla beat her to it.

“My word... what happened to you?” Lenora laughed softly as Calla jumped into action, directing her to a seat to be assessed.

"Just a small tousle with a badger at the borders - it's just a few scratches, I'm okay." the lie rolled easily from her lips, and she smiled warmly. After taking a seat, the soldier hoped her wounds would just be disinfected and she would be on her way again. But there was a part of her, a quiet voice in the back of her head, that debated telling her about the fainting episode as well...

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The girl seemed to be in rather chipper spirits, but if she had tussled with a "badger" and ended up like that - Calla did not think it would be something to be "fine" with. “A.... badger?” she said as she stopped looking over Lenora, looking to her purple eyes. Calla's look was soft, but filled with disbelief. Was she tied down when the badger attacked her? Saw she drugged and forced to sit still while she was mauled? “I probably would avoid that area...” she said softly as she returned to her duties in trying to fix the cuts and scrapes up. The last thing the girl would need would be ugly scars to remind herself that she allowed a badger to rough her up so terribly. She applied various poultices to the girl's exposed flesh. “Take a deep breath, this might sting.” She applied the medicine gently, working to make sure she didn't miss a single issue. “Is there anything else you need assistance with? Have you been drinking enough water?” she asked as she stopped for a second to look at Lenora's eyes. She was not good at judging if others were lying to her, but these wounds did not look like they were inflicted by a badger. She was not going to push the issue, as she wanted her patients to tell the truth on their own, but she knew something in this was not right. “Right before your eyes...” @Lenora

It was obvious, right off the bat, that Calla didn't believe her badger story. Lenora remained quiet as she questioned hesitantly, only nodding when she asked for clarification. The muscle in her jaw ticked with strain as she avoided looking at Calla's eyes, as lying wasn't her strong suit but she was doubling down now so might as well run with it as long as she could.

"I probably would avoid that area..." Calla surmised thoughtfully before focusing on disinfecting the wounds. She warned of a sting, so Lenora braced herself before the medicine was applied - a quiet hiss of an inhale her only visible inclination that she felt any pain at all. She wanted to avoid deepening the lie, so she avoided the topic entirely simply by not speaking, and then Calla gave her something to grasp onto as a distraction for them both.

“Is there anything else you need assistance with? Have you been drinking enough water?” she lowered her sights, thick lashes dimming the bright purple of her eyes as she was obviously mulling something over. Calla was so nice... and a sinister part of her wanted to ensure that the medic stayed off of her back on where she got these injuries. Debating, she decided that she could balance out this interaction with a truth to counteract the lie.

"I may have fainted," she spoke slowly, quietly, because this wasn't a fact she wanted to accept herself. Worry etched into her features as she was scared the army would discharge her if she wasn't capable or carrying out her duties. "Don't tell anyone though, okay? It's only happened once... I'm sure I'm fine." she tried to put strength into her words, and she could only hope it worked.

table by ferus, image by ashon, bg from unsplash

She was doing as needed, checking her over, applying aid to her wounds, and listening to Lenora speak. “You may have fainter? What does that mean? What were you doing at the time of the fainting? How many times did you eat that day?” These were serious questions she was asking, as she needed to now about how to go forward. If she had fainted, did she hit her head on the way down? Calla looked at her eyes now, trying to tell if she had suffered a concussion. “Look at my eyes please, dear?” Calla waited for her to look up. “Your service to the crown is not something I worry about, but I will not speak to anyone about this. I need to know more. For your own health.” She took a step back, looking over the girl. “Have you ever done it before, or felt like you were going to? When you woke did you have a lapse in memory from what happened before you fainted?” Calla was very concerned about this, and wanted to make sure that it was not going to become something the child went through regularly. “Right before your eyes...” @Lenora

And just like that, a thousand questions were fired at her, one after the other and so quickly she hardly had enough time to process one before another one came. With each one Calla asked, the pressure weighed heavier and heavier upon her shoulders, threatening to collapse her knees right out from underneath her if she wasn't too careful.

"Your service to the crown is not something I worry about, but I will not speak to anyone about this. I need to know more--" Lenora swallowed, and sweat would be beading upon her brow if wolves were capable of sweating. "For your own health." Calla added, and the intensity of her expression finally caused Lenora to buckle.

"Okay, okay, okay," she stammered, a hot blush colouring her cheeks as she took a few moments to consider what she was going to say. The way Calla was so concerned about her, on if she was okay... she wondered if her mother would have been the same if she were here. "I--" Lenora bit her tongue, obviously struggling with how she was going to answer it all.

Sucking on her bottom lip, she decided she didn't have to give the whole truth, just enough to placate the medic that was clearly stressing about this new symptom. It wasn't like she believed the badger attack anyway.

"It was a stupid boy," the soldier finally gave, leaving out the fact it was a criminal as well. "We had a spar-- I thought I could win, but... I didn't. I'm not used to failing." that was plausible, right? Fainting from embarrassment? Slowly, she looked at Calla, purple eyes scanning her face to see if her story was more believable to her now. "And it's the first time I've fainted. I guess I was just overwhelmed?"

table by ferus, image by ashon, bg from unsplash