Winter was floating in warmth and comfort. She was surrounded by milky white and soothing pink, the scent so calming, so sweet. She had never felt like this before, light and free and loved. She let herself get lost in that feeling, for she feared she would never feel it again. However, it did not last long as a throbbing began to start in her back. Feeling was coming back to her and she could feel the stones beneath her body. She tried desperately to stop the return of the waking world, but it was no use, so she gave up and allowed sight to cloud back into her eyes.

She was faced with the inside of Kielo's wing. Next to her, the canine's breaths were long and peaceful. She must have still been sleeping. Winter didn't want to wake her up, not after yesterday and all she had done. However, the more feeling that came back, the more her wound hurt. She looked back to look at it. The moss was caked with blood and withering, barely covering the wound anymore. However, it was fine as the wound seemed to have closed enough to stop the bleeding itself. The area around it, though, was red and swollen. Winter, wondering what was wrong, moved her head closer, her tongue flicking instinctively. She got too close and her tiny pink tongue brushed the side of the wound and she squeaked as a streak of pain shot through her body.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Kielo

Kielo was on the verge of wakefulness when Winter's small squeak brought them back to consciousness. they shook their head to shake off sleep and quickly staggered to their paws, wondering what was going on as groggy memories of their earlier exploits resurfaced. They shook their head, sniffing at the air until they caught the scent they were looking for, and then approached winter carefully, folding their wings to their sides.

"...Winter?" Kielo asked softly, carefully, lowering their nose to the ground and sniffing along Winter's length. "What's wrong? are you okay? what do you need?" the little one shrugged off the last of their grogginess with a stretch that arched their spine. then they lowered themselves down and placed their chin on the ground next to Winter, blind eyes round with concern.


_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Winter
notes: here

Winter flinched when Kielo staggered away. No, wait... She didn't want to lose the warmth so easily. However, she reminded herself that she couldn't have stayed there forever. It was time to come back to reality. She looked into Kielo's sightless eyes, feeling a little bad that she had woken her like this. She had no idea if the inflammation was bad or not. Perhaps it was a normal part of the healing process? "Oh, it's nothing,
I just accidentally brushed the wound is all. It's gotten all red and puffy."

Now that she was saying it out loud, it really did sound like something kind of bad. Slightly worried, she looked back at it. "I don't know if I should be concerned or not."

When I speak.

When I think.

@Kielo

Kielo paused, tilting their head slightly. they were unable to picture exactly how the wound would look, but they felt sure puffy-redness wasn't a good thing. The sound of pain still ringing in their ears only confirmed that. Kielo wasn't a healer; their glow dulled slightly in clear concern, feathers ruffling at their back. Their brows furrowed in thought. They were quiet for a moment longer, warm breaths falling on Winter's scales, wondering what they could do to help. "Maybe we should get new moss? Or you could go in the river to clean it. The water might make it cold, too. do you think that would help?" Kielo stretched out their limited healing knowledge to its fullest, and cocked an ear towards where they could hear the crystal river burbling away on its endless journey.

The hybrid rose onto all fours and stepped back to give the serpent some room, sniffing at the air as they did so. They could smell little more than cold stone and blood, and although they could tell that the wound was festering less than it had been previously, they still hated the thought of Winter being hurt. They sniffed some more, looking for some signs of plant life or small creatures. Perhaps food would help make Winter better?

Kielo lowered their head again, pawing bashfully at the rocky ground they'd slept on. "...I-if there's anything else you want me to do, I'll be here,"


_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Winter
notes: here

Winter nodded. She didn't want to give Kielo orders, but it would probably be good if they divided to get it done. "I'll go try and wash it off, see what I can do.
Could you, maybe, get some new moss?" She shifted awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed to be asking her for things to help her.

After a moment, she turned towards the water and slid off. She noticed that the wound was considerably less painful then it had been yesterday. That was good, at least, that taking the stone out had been a good idea. When she reached the edge of the water, she didn't hesitate to slide into the shallows. She cringed as the cold water stung, but then sighed as relief came soon after. The red, puffy scales quickly became numb and she sat there, enjoying the sensation.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Kielo

Kielo's ears flickered as they listened, and then the youngster's head bobbed into an avian nod. "good idea!" they chimed excitedly, raising their nose and sniffing. They remained where they were even as they heard Winter slithering off. The hybrid strained to remember the patch of moss they'd found before their nap, but they'd been in such a panic that all sense of direction escaped them.

Kielo shook their head slowly to clear their nose, and began to pad, knowing that sooner or later, they'd find moss. It might take a while, but surely if they made wide circles and pushed their senses to their limits, they'd figure it out. Right?

They'd been moving for quite some time, the ground becoming stony beneath their avian paws, before the sought-after scent reached their nostrils. The hybrid perked up, twisting their head until they were able to follow it. Soon after, they were tugging a wad of it free from its rocky purchase, and trotting carefully back the way they had come, victory in their sure step. They let go of the moss for a moment as they arrived back at the now-familiar area where Kielo and Winter had shared naptime. The youngster dropped the moss then, just long enough to know which way Winter had gone, and then they padded in the way of the river, feeling its melody grow louder in their ears with every step.


_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Winter
notes: here

It seemed like forever that Winter was sitting in the river. Each moment stretched out into an eternity. But that was okay, because each moment was as wonderful as the next. She hadn't realized how nice the water felt and it was even better against the wound. Eventually, though, she heard she soft steps and a flick of the tongue confirmed that it was Kielo.

"Over here," she called, directing her friend to her.

She noticed the moss in their mouth and, with a fleeting regret, slid out of the water to meet her. "Thanks, Kielo, I really appreciate it." She turned her wound close so that it was directly beneath the wolf.

She hated having to do this, to have to be babied and taken care of. She had always done well on her own, but this was different. She had no arms to place the moss on her, nor could she really collect it on her own as easily as Kielo could. She would have to deal with this for now.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Kielo

At their friend's familiar call, Kielo changed course slightly and padded close to the water's edge to meet her. Once, they nearly tripped on a rock, but with a flutter of wings they regained their balance. The odd ripple of water told them that Winter was approaching, and Kielo lowered their head to sniff. They soon found Winter taking position, and snuffled along her scaly length. With moss in their mouth, they couldn't respond, but their eyes lit up and cheeks prickled bashfully.

When they found Winter's wound, they dropped the moss and gave it a sniff, ensuring that the water had swept away any traces of the old moss that might interfere somehow. Kielo had a feeling that any dried up remnants might end up prickly and uncomfortable, and they didn't want that. When they were sure the wound was clean, the hybrid took the moss ball into their paw, adjusting until it was soft-side down, and gently but firmly pushed in the moss, trying to ensure that the moss wouldn't fall out until they removed it themselves.

Then Kielo sat back, anxiously sniffing for a sign of pain. "How does that feel? Are you okay?" they paused for a few moments, and then smiled a small smile. "And you don't need to thank me! I'm just glad you're okay!" they said finally, tension slowly leaving their seated form and tightly folded wings drooping slightly.


_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Winter
notes: here

When Kielo pressed the moss down on her back, there was a small throbbing pain, but she made sure not to show it. She didn't want her friend to worry any more about her. She didn't think it would be fair, especially with such a minor thing.

When the wound had left the water, it had only taken a few moments for the numbness to begin to wear off. With the moss pressing down on it, however, it hurt but it was a lot more bearable. She was starting to get annoyed. If only she'd been able to heal it sooner then she wouldn't be having so many problems.

But that wasn't something she could change now. What's done was done. Perhaps if she hadn't been goaded into a fight she could have been okay. However, as she thought about it more and more, she realized that she was okay with this. If the fight hadn't happened, she would never have met Kielo again. The night before wouldn't have happened. She felt herself grow hot as she thought about it. She couldn't help but enjoy being around Kielo, even if it was like this.

As she thought, she suddenly became very aware of the emptiness in her stomach. Before she could stop herself, there came a rumbling sound from her belly. Hot with embarrassment, she looked away, sure that Kielo would hear it.

"Um,
I might be a bit hungry."

When I speak.

When I think.

@Kielo

Kielo listened for Winter's reaction, dreading the smallest squeak of pain or the feel of her flinching away, but, gladly, there was none. only the sound of a small and harmless growl, which made Kielo tilted their head at first in confusion, until they recognized the sound as one of hunger and not of pain. Their jaw opened in a look of understanding, slowly blinking until their eyes closed in a look of thoughtfulness.

"Oh! I see... Well... maybe I can help again!" They hopped to their paws, seemingly excited as they raised their nose to sniff the air. "So... uh... what do you eat?" Kielo had never considered the question before but they knew different Gembounds had different preferences. It was just a matter of which one Winter preferred... though it didn't cross Kielo's mind in that moment that the answer might be beyond Kielo's ability to provide.

"I know where all the juiciest flowers and mosses and mushrooms are in Polaris, now. I can take you to them, if you like?"


_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Winter
notes: here