Hmm... I've been meaning to get Orick into herbal and/or ritualistic type healing practices and other things. This could potentially prove to be the kind of opportunity I've been trying to think up for him.

If you're interested that is.
(Bio link in sig)

Poor little fellow though, wonder what happened to him.

Sounds good then. Just a quick note though, my activity has been a bit sporadic lately, life and all that. I should be able to make time to check this at least once a day. Just letting you know ahead of time...
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A soft breeze carried the news to him. It wasn't often that Orick put his sense of smell to any use but the scent of blood in the air, blood other than his own, was something new and troubling. He wasn't exactly sure where he was, having let himself wander aimlessly since rising that morning. He paused mid-stride, a look of worry slowly etching itself across his face. "What to do...?"

With a sense of anxiety that grew with every step he took he walked slowly in the direction of the smell, he strained to hear both with his ears and his mind, wondering just what kind of trouble he might find. After a few paces he thought he heard something, perhaps a shallow breath? Or was that only the wind? With another step he could feel a presence, his searching revealed an empty spot, a thoughtless void on the forest floor somewhere not far ahead. Whoever was there was either in a deep dreamless sleep or unconscious. Either way, they seemed to be alone.

"Hello?" he asked with a searching concern, his pace quickening now that he was fairly certain that it was safe. His ears still searched restlessly, just in case. For all the attention he was giving his surroundings it wasn't until his outstretched hoof came in contact with a headstone did he realize where he was. His pace faltered only for a moment, pushing aside any thought of turning back he picked his way carefully through the stones to the small wall on the other side.

Being closer did little to help though, still unable as he was to gain any context from whoever lay before him. All he knew for sure was that someone was definitely there and they needed some kind of help
"Where doth the pain reside...?" he asked in a anxious whisper, feeling completely useless and terribly vulnerable in his ignorance. He searched the silent mind before him, searching for the slightest whisper of a thought to help him know what he should do.

Orick froze as the stranger slowly came to their senses. "A child?" he wondered, "But who would harm...?" He didn't have to finish the thought, he knew well that even children were not exempt from the cruelty of others.

He was about to speak again when a he was suddenly assailed by flashes of bright daylight. The little one's eyes fluttered against the glare, or rather, one of them did. The other seemed to be causing him a lot of pain. "A head injury...?"

There was a sliding noise, the little stranger's mind was in a strongly defensive state. Orick took a step back at the hiss and the shouting that followed. That was a good sign though wasn't it? Movement, speech, coherency... But this failed to reassure him at that moment.

"Head wounds... head wounds bleed the most..." Something Orick was quite familiar with, "You have to stop the bleeding first..." His own mental voice took on the tones of a memory, his friend and neighbor from so many years ago. Silas had tried to impart some of his knowledge to him as a boy, back when he never took those lessons seriously. "Damn me..."

"I mean no harm..." Orick finally spoke aloud, not realizing until after he'd responded that in the confusion he couldn't be sure whether the little one had spoken those words or only thought them. He decided then to remove himself from the stranger's mind, he could hardly think straight with two minds worth of confusion in his head.

"I... Perhaps I can help in some way?" Without waiting for a response he tugged at the handkerchief around his neck until the fraying knot pulled loose. "Here," he took a single cautious step towards him and flicking the handkerchief to him, "Hold this against the worst of the wounds and keep it elevated..." he hoped he was giving the right advice.

"I... I will return shortly... wait here." With that he took off back in the direction he'd come from, trying to distract himself from the feeling of having left a piece of his soul with a perfect stranger who may or may not be there when he returned. But his sister had given it to him when he needed help, who was he to deny someone else the same kindness? It had served him well as a makeshift bandage all these years.

With only one futile glance over his shoulder, he moved as fast as he dared, begging the memory of his woodsman neighbor to remind his old pupil of all those forgotten lessons on medicinal plants.

That's okay, i figured they were probably thoughts. Sorry for taking so long myself, but hopefully I should have a bit more free time here as well. Last week sucked...
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Orick made his way through the forest at a brisk canter not quite running. Even still his concentration on where he was going demanded that he slow down as he racked his brain for something, anything that would help.

Despite his intentions, he'd lost track of just where he was. Thankfully, the gentle embrace of a willow tree alerted him to his proximity to the pond before walking into it headlong. He paused a moment in thought, letting the thin leaves brush against his face. He remembered a moment from his so very distant childhood. Fishing at the stream, not too far upstream from the gristmill his father owned. He remembered the warm summer breeze, the birdsong, the sight of the glistening stream... through his own eyes.

He'd caught a large fish that day, a bass Silas had informed him with obvious pride. Then of course he'd had the misfortune to get himself cut on the sharp scales while attempting to hold the fish by its gills as he was shown. Silas had only laughed, taken out his hunting knife and cut a piece of bark from the willow they sat under and offered it to him to eat. He'd looked at his mentor with a large amount of skepticism, which only caused him to laugh again before biting the piece of bark in half with just a bit of difficulty. He'd assured Orick that willow bark was one of the best pain relievers you'd find...

As he returned to the present he jumped into action. Running his curved antlers up and down the length of the willow's trunk dislodging several pieces of bark. He picked up the first one he could find and set off in a new direction, trying to be mindful of where the ruins where in relation to where he was.

He seriously doubted the child would be willing to eat a piece of bark plain, much as he'd been unwilling to do. Maybe there was something he could add to it to make it more palatable...? Rosemary, his mind offered up willingly, rosemary was also good for pain and... and something else... What was it again? Ah yes, swelling, it would also reduce any swelling.

He was able to smell out a small patch of the tiny purple flowers at the base of a tree not too far away. Having found this he started to hesitantly make his was the ruins, not entirely convinced he'd found enough. What about those... things? Those tiny things they discovered a few years ago that supposedly caused illnesses? They'd never known about such things when he was young.

It was only when he'd stumbled across a short shrub with waxy needles and little blue berries did he recall something, something his old mentor hadn't been the one to teach him, rather it was something he'd learned while eavesdropping on hikers during his time in the mountians . These were juniper berries and they made a good... anti... antiseptic, that was it. Which meant they'd kill those one things... who's actual named still eluded him.

Deciding he'd asked enough of his panic addled mind he gathered a few berries to add to his odd mixture. He mashed the berries and rosemary together onto the bark. They didn't mix quite as well as he'd thought, the berries had a dry texture. They did have enough of an oiliness to them to hold the mixture together though, that would how to be good enough. Thinking the bark already smelled much more appetizing he made the rest of the journey back as quickly as he dared.

He was relieved to sense the little one right where he'd left him, still conscious even. "Here, eat this... It should help..." he offered the sticky, sweet smelling piece of bark to the child with care. Standing back and tentatively pushing it towards him with an outstretched hoof.

if you want to join do you start over or have to jump in to the interaction that is already going?
id love to join, if i may.

That would be perfectly fine with me. I think this would be a good spot for someone else to wander in too, as it feels like a bit of a transition.

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Orick's ears fell a bit feeling the wariness radiating from the child in waves. Realizing he couldn't make the little one take his hastily improvised medicine he shivered a bit, conflicted. The urgency of the situation seemed to call for action, but what more could he do at this moment?

Saying nothing he nudged the piece of bark a tiny bit closer and backed away. He decided the best course of action now was inaction. He strode a couple paces away and sat down amid the gravestones, still silently fretting.

"Who knows the last time they have eaten anything...?" He reasoned with himself, "It would be best to wait and see, I suppose." Ever the passive one.

"And what if he dies even still...?" his thoughts becoming grim in his anxiety. Gritting his teeth against his preemptive guilt, he rubbed at his empty eye sockets in turn. He was grateful for the sting of pain it caused, it helped clear his mind.

"...wait and see, I suppose..." He turned his head off to the side, letting the rivulets of blood he'd re-awoken fall from his chin. His ears were held high and alert as ever, scanning the silent forest. In the back of his mind he kept track of the child by way of the emotions flitting across the surface of his mind. All he could think to do now was wait.

Would it be okay if I tossed a character into this situation? The only reason I didn't throw him here sooner is because he doesn't know how to heal.

( Perhaps could I bring in my Mai? o: )

/throws character/ I'll toss his intro in since I think I understand what's happening right now. Not that he does or anything.



Blood. There was no mistaking it. It held its own scent unmatched by any. He was as disgusted by it as he was attracted to it. Who was it? Surely not anyone he knew, right? At the thought, Ranore charged forward, forgetting in his panic that he could just as easily fly and get wherever he was going faster. The small owl deer weaved his way through the trees, avoiding most of the roots and taller shrubbery without much of a problem. Within minutes he found himself leaping away from the last stretch of forest, landing heavily on the clear, flat ground of the area around the Ruins. He blinked back his mild surprise, the black older fledgling twisting his head around to catch a glimpse of whoever was there. Who was hurt? The scent helped nothing. All he smelled was blood, but no other distinguishable scent. He briefly considered calling out to find them, but the silence of the Ruins made him reconsider.

Orick flinched at the sudden change in the little ones mood. He threw an anxious glance over his shoulder purely out of force of habit. He saw himself from the little one's low vantage point, inching towards him slowly. Orick stood, and turned towards the child hoping that his attention would encourage him to stop moving around, potentially doing himself more harm.

"Are you alright? Is there anything more I can do to help?" He could feel the concern in the child's mind but couldn't be sure what it's purpose was. Had Orick missed something? Was the child still in pain? Perhaps there was a broken bone or something he might have missed? He was sure he could maybe splint a break if needed... maybe.

Seeing no other option he peered just a little deeper into the little one's mind, his own face contorting into a grimace against the idea. He briefly wondered how it was that he'd started this trend of stumbling across all the mute children of the forest, if twice now could be considered a trend...

His thoughts were derailed by the child's true concerns, not for himself but for Orick... He felt a pang of disgust shoot through him. Here was a child holding onto life by who knows how few threads and he'd managed to upset it...

"No no no..." he shook his head vehemently, "I beg of you, do not concern yourself for me... You are the one we need to take care of now..." He took few steps to the side and pawed at the bark still sitting untouched on the ground.

"I brought you... medicine." He hesitated to use the word, but that's what he'd attempted to make wasn't it? He wasn't sure what difference it would make, but he did know that he was getting sicker with worry the longer it went untouched, as is the child would drop dead any moment.

The little one still studied him closely, "I assure you, it is nothing..." It didn't feel like a lie, but as he took in the sight of his own blood streaked face it certainly looked like one. He took a step back and reached up to clean himself off a bit.

"I wonder, can you even understand a word I..." His muttering was cut short by the feeling that they were being watched. He caught a glimpse of the ruins through an unfamiliar mind some distance off, one eye seemed to be a bit clouded.

His first irrational thought was that whoever had hurt the child had returned to finish the job. He lowered his leg slowly, not sure what to make of this stranger in the distance. Without moving any other muscle, his ears turned towards that unknown distance listening intently.

@din - Eh, sorry about that. I've noticed that I sometimes get a bit long winded in some of these things... Usually means i'm enjoying them though. XD

I was sort of waiting for Jinx, but I can respond later today just to keep this going.

Continuing.

Ranore stood there, feeling awkward and uncertain. On top of that he felt vulnerable standing out in the open like that. He didn't like it, not in the least.. He didn't know where the others were, just that he could catch glimpses of their scent over the overwhelming smell of iron. He started to crawl forward, his belly pressed to the flat ground as he creeped toward where he thought others were.
"H-hello?" he squeaked, ears disappearing as they flattened to his skull.

I don't want to sound rude or anything, but could maybe we get this thing move forward again? oTL
Jinxyness, if you don't mind we could skip you if you are too busy..?

*hides in a dark corner*

Watching

After finally waking up, the grey doe had looked around and spotted the deer making the noise. Dina had listened for a while, trying to pick up what the conversation between a few behind her was about. Not being able to understand, she got up and moved a bit closer, but still lurking a bit of ways away, trying not to interfere. There seemed to be enough people interested anyways, why go there and add the stress of having to deal with another? The matter seemed to be serious, too.

So she hung back for a bit longer, listening to the conversation and trying to decide if she would step forward or stay back.

Pfft, now this is embarrassing, I totally forgot it was my turn. 8'''D Had some visitors yesterday so I just read the replies but couldn't reply myself, eheheh.
_ _ _

The creature stared at the new stranger. This one was much smaller and darker colored. They were even smaller than he was. Cautiously he lifted his round head again a bit, trying to get some details out of a dark blurry blob. Squinting he could see that the smaller one was most likely quite different looking than the first stranger. Maybe they are different species?

He chuffed quietly, measuring the small dark's dangerousness. Soonish the creature was quite positive that the newcomer wasn't too threatening but he wasn't ready to move his eye from them just yet. He could always be wrong.

( it's okay, I was too busy. and still am tbh, I'll just watch this instead. c: )

Ranore glanced between them, but nodded toward the one who spoke. That made...well some sense anyway. He stared at the ground for a few moments, thinking.
"Is there anything I could do to help?" he asked, bringing his gaze back up to look between them.

i need to drop out, sorry guys.
she never got involved and im getting far too busy.

bump?