3v1 Mass Healing Thread - Page 5

**redshiftreign** · #41 July 2nd, 2024, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myling

〚~Willow'Paw~〛
| 9 Moons | ShadowClan Apprentice | Female, She/Her | Purrks:
Kitty Soft Paws, Heightened Perception [smell]
[a small, fluffy tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes and an atrociously fluffy tail, a small bleeding tick in her right ear]

Right now, half of the world was the pain in her ear and the side of her face. The other half of the world was her having an imaginary showdown with her nose. She lunged for nose, attempting to brawl it down to the floor. To be fair, nose had tried to kill her first! Nose blasted scents right into her face. She roared with pain. OWCHIEEEE. She kept on fighting her one of her own senses in her mind. 'You'll never kill me alive! You'll have to kill me before i die!' Her brain stated the obvious. 'you need to mouth shut' She retorted at herself. She was so immersed in trying to stop herself from fighting her nose in her mind and focus on the real world ('OK. Stop fighting a gosh darn enemy that isn't even there. No but i need to bring justice to us! There is no us. There is really just me being a huge weirdo. How about you do mouth shut then?') that when Grousepaw seemingly materialized out of pure air, her already on-edge self jumped like a mouse. "AAAAAAAAABODIBIDIBABAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMbambamBAMBAM BAM- OWWWWWWWWW" The "BAM BAM BAM-" of her very gracious cry of alert accidentally sounded like the outro song to Seinfeld and soon the credits began rolling, but they stopped as her head bonked right into the roof. Some film director made a confused call in the distance, and small dust particles floated down in protest to the cat who just slammed her head right into the ceiling as you do.

Willowpaw is in pain.

'Willowpaw. Willowpaw does the Medicine Cat apprentice really look like someone who would try to murder you? Well, yea- YOUR MOUTH YOU NEED SHUTS BECAUSE NOW WILLOWPAW I DO NOT HEAR YOU LALALALALALALALA BLAH BLAH LALALALA-'. She put up a strained smile. Yep she was totally fine. Her head definitely didn't feel like it was whapped with a semi truck. Yep yep yep. Mhm uhuh yes yes. "Salutation, uh, Gr-Grousepaw! Th-Thank you for such much obliged, ge-generous assis-assistance when I-I am in s-such rem-remarkably prodi-prodigious affliction." She said in a small voice. Did she sound all stuck up? Did she seem like an absolute idiot? The idiot one maybe wasn't much of a question. A headache manifested with a drum-roll increasing in pitch as it appeared with the smile of that one jerma meme. Her wounds were all going to the local pain-choir because they wanted to "chase their dreams". She was normally fine with someone doing what they wanted to, but right now, NOT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-. She felt a little faint, but she willed the faint feeling away with her oh so shiny and sparkly unbreakable will that she definitely had that only compared to William Afton's. She flinched approximately 8 times while the redish-orange-yellowish flower was applied to her wounds. She felt ready to reincarnate into Simba and flee the savanna because that seemed better than her current situation. She was about to morph into the definition of

when poppy seeds were presented to her. The stars had mercy on her! Thank you StarClan! How about you, like, fix all the moral problems in the forest next! What? N-No? Why? Willowpaw gratefully took the poppy seeds. It took a very annoying amount of time for the pain to die down, but she felt blessed when it did. There was still a weird shaky feeling in her muscles, and a she felt sore around her limbs EVEN THOUGH THEY WEREN'T EVEN HURT?? Hello sore-system explain yourself now please. "Th-Thank you a-again." 'Now, Willowpaw who do we blame for you hitting yourself on the head? Grousepa- Nope. Wrong, You failed. Your a failure, Get out loser. Its your own fault. Go eat a rotten mouse. No you. I no you your no you. Oh no what ever will i do? OoOOhHhhh nooooOOoOO! Ok please be quiet. Oh now your gonna do this? LALAALALALALAL BLAH BLAH CAN'T HEAR YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOU. Wow i really am insane. Maybe i should slam my head in the roof again. I mean, sure, if you want.'

Plan A: If too embarrassed about slamming head in ceiling, slam head in ceiling again and pass out. Plan B: Slam head in ceiling again again to double pass out. Plan C: Don't do anything but use your William Afton will to pass out. Plan D: There is no plan D sorry man. Plan E: If Plan D doesn't work, make a plan.

What a masterminded genius she was.

[ @redshiftreign - Grousepaw! ]

amusement laced grousepaw's expression as his patient looked like she went through all seven stages of grief in the span of several seconds. a bemused, slightly concerned grin rested on his dogish features, tail flicking idly as he paused in his stride to observe her. after a long moment, his head canted to the side and a soft chuckle escaped him. he. . . knew the feeling. and while, perhaps his anxiety was channeled into something far more bold (like a dog, like a dog he bites when he's nervous. all teeth and bark, snarling and defensive. even if its rare, it's how he is. its his nature.), he still knew the feeling. claws in your stomach, sinking in a little too deep, heavy and crushing. stealing the air from your lungs. maybe he didn't know. not the way it was for her, in her head, because he wasn't her. but he could sympathize.

"willow," he mused, voice cool and stable. "you're doin' great, mate. you're doin' great." he assured, a genuine smile gracing his muzzle.

a pause. he had half a mind to move onto the next patient, but a moment elapsed and he added;

"you're real jittery, y'know," he mused, an eyebrow ridge raised. "got a lotta thoughts, i figure. if you ever need to ramble about anythin', my ears are always open." he offered casually, then, after flashing a quick smile, he slunk off to tend to another patient.

"'ello, darkcloud, innit?" he asked as he appraised her few scratches. "not too bad. all-right, give me just onnnnneeeeee second an' i'll get to ya."

the mottled apprentice, though a good inch or so taller than his mentor, trotted over to the herb stores to collect up what he figured would be useful.

with only cobwebs and marigold, he regrouped with the she-cat, humming as he chewed the marigold and applied it carefully to her muzzle to stifle any brewing bacteria, then pulled a nice layer of cobweb over it to secure everything in place.

"all-right, darkcloud. if you aren't in too much pain, i reckon you're good to go. try not to re-open any wounds."

yellowtwist padded into the medicine den, a shoulder wound dripping. grousepaw raised an amused eyebrow and scooped up his usual assortment of herbs before trotting over to the two toned tom.

he pushed a poppy seed forwards. "for the pain," he hummed, chewing the marigold into a nice paste to apply to the wound. as he smoothed the lukewarm paste over the scratches and tugged a bundle of cobwebs over it, he sat back to appraise his work. he was getting quicker, he found, and more efficient as he went through the motions.

"well," he began, jaws parting into a wide yawn. "that's that. you're good to go, i imagine. don't do anything too crazy and open your wounds again."

grousepaw had his small act of defiance in saving doeflame for last- that was currently in the den, anyway. though very early he heard doeflame's dry and humorous demand, he passed over the medicine den one more time before finally collecting what he supposed he'd need and trotting over leisurely to her.

"at at, you aren't dying just yet." he hummed amusedly. he grinned, amber eyes flickering like fire with the rare sunbeam that passed through the overhead window of roots, providing excellent circulation for the den. he appraised doeflame's wounds, humming, then turned to collect up what he would need. pressing a small black seed towards her, a poppy seed, and nodding for her to crush it between her teeth and eat it, he got to work chewing the marigold.

carefully, he applied the poultice to the scrapes and scratches along her belly and chest, stifling the bleeding an any brewing infection. then, he sealed everything in with cobweb and made sure that it wasn't loose. stepping back to give another once-over to his work, he grinned.

"looks good, just don't go jumping around or anything. give it a few days to really set in before you do anything strenuous. otherwise, you're free to head out."

he nodded, before noticing mistlewhisker enter. a sharp feeling hit his chest, akin to dread, and he ducked off to tend to the deputy.

"hey mistle." grouse said, dropping the formalities like second nature. his tone was. . . impassable, perhaps. skeptical, though not specifically disdainful. just cautious. his feelings for the deputy were complicated at best. maybe he still felt the pang of betrayal at her rise to power, at her unchosen abandonment of him, and her disregard for his words. but, he couldn't lie, every word he spoke came from a place of not wanting to see her hurt.

because no one in a position of power is ever happy. and no one in a position of power is ever good. that was exactly why grouse wasn't playing that game- this wasn't power, he decided. he wouldn't let it be. he couldn't let it be, because he'd be just as bad as the rest of them. he didn't want that. for his sake and everyone elses. he'd carve a canyon through the world far sooner than he'd let himself think he could control anyone. he could control himself, and that was enough. enough to make change.

he spared a glance at the heiress's wounds before turning to scoop up some herbs and return to her. he chewed the marigold into a fine paste, smoothing it down over her shoulder and flank scratches.

"i see you're settling into deputyship well," he mused, though his tone was slightly more critical than he had intended. he was happy for her, he really was, at least superficially. he knew this had been what she wanted for a while- it would take a blind person to think that mistlewhisker didn't yearn to serve her clan until her dying breath, blindly. she may have still had one eye, but that was not enough to see through the veil of false control pulled over her face. the tyrant and her executioner. grouse almost scoffed.

but mistlewhisker was reaching for a glass sky. and one day, she'd hit the top and she'd feel empty. because the top is not an accomplishment, it is a prison wherein you are stuck defending a temporary title. it is just another hard set method of control, people in power assuming they are untouchable, trapped in their own design like a spider tangled in her own web. heh. web.

he tugged the cobweb over the wounds before sitting back to appraise his work. it was okay, he supposed. it could be better. how? he wasn't sure. but he thought it could be better. certainly.

"you want a poppy seed?" he asked, glancing at mistle with scrutinizing fire in his gaze, and an equal softness. almost pity. "how was the battle, anyway?"

[GROUSEPAW USED, IN TOTAL: 4 marigold, 4 cobweb, 2 poppy seeds]

**kittycatburmise** · #42 July 3rd, 2024, 11:03 PM

Doeflame

Grousepaw heard her, she could tell. But the medicine cat apprentice did another round through the den before coming to her, making Doeflame's tail lash in annoyance. So when the tom finally walked over to her (taking his time), she huffed in exasperation. "Took you long enough," she grumbled.

Grousepaw's next remark broke the scowl that marred her features, the corners of her lips tugging upwards in a returning grin. She found herself liking the tom; Dawnstar, Mistlewhisker and Mossfreckle were all too serious. Just because you had the responsibility of healing your clanmates didn't mean you had to become a killjoy.

Doeflame took the poppy seed when it was presented to her, then watched as Grousepaw chewed some golden flower and smeared the paste on her wounds, before applying cobwebs to the area. It felt weird, the poultice cool and foreign, the cobwebs pulling slightly at her belly fur. She half wanted to get rid of it, but she knew that was probably a bad idea. One, she wouldn't heal; two, she didn't think Grousepaw would be happy about it.

Oh well, at least she could head out. Doeflame was pretty sure she'd go stir-crazy if she had to stay in here, with the strong scent of herbs clogging the air. She couldn't do any strenuous activities, which was fine by her. The only thing that the order would really stop her from doing was stuff for the clan, which she didn't do anyway. Hard work was overrated.

"Cool, thanks," Doeflame told Grousepaw before she began the hard task of trying to get up without brushing her stomach on the nest.

@redshiftreign

***Mica*** · #43 July 11th, 2024, 10:43 AM

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Deputy
she/her | 41 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Grousepaw - @redshiftreign ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Mistlewhisker eyed Grousepaw as he began his work, moving in and out of storage and around the herbs like he had been doing it all his life. The Deputy was impressed. She hoped having a purpose would help curb his… rule-bending tendencies.

The comment about her settling into deputyship was pointed, but the feline didn’t react negatively. She knew just what he thought about her role, about the clan’s high ranks. And yet here he was, one of the very ranks he despised. He might have thought there was a difference between them—medicine cats heal, deputies kill.

But they both had say over who lives and who dies. That changes someone. Whether they like it or not.

Once Grousepaw was done, Mistlewhisker flexed her shoulder experimentally before putting her full weight on it. “Good work.” She murmured. She declined the poppyseed, instead scanning the now emptying den. “I never congratulated you on your promotion.” She meowed, gaze piercing. “Mossfreckle chose well. Do you like it?” After a large battle like this, anyone would get stressed out. Was Grousepaw questioning his abilities? Or was she confident in where she stood?

***alec*** · #44 July 19th, 2024, 03:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ellie

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡
ﾟ。 Mossfreckle (ShC)
　ﾟ･｡･ﾟ they/he ~ medicine cat

❀⊱ { - 0.2 poppy seeds // -1 moss // - 4 cobwebs // - 3 marigold // - 1 oak leaf // - 1 comfrey // - 1 stick } ⊰❀

❦ Angular star marked head dipped as soft mossy hues met the fires amber of his former mentor with a filial fondness that quickly faded as they settled on the true reason that the lithe grey molly was within his den in the first place, Rookpaw slipped from her muscular body and slumped gently to the floor, their dark rosetted pelt was made darker by the crimson welling from the multitude of gashes and claw marks that were raked bitterly into the apprentice’s pelt as if the depths of her new loyalty’s and past betrayals were materialised in each deeply carved mark, ”Thank you, Lostspark,” the freckles oriental tom purred before he quickly scuttled off to the crevice cracked rocks that held the slowly growing herb storage to gather the multitude of herbs needed to deal with the battering that Rookpaw had taken. Leaping the rivulet twice, Mossfreckle returned with haste to the dark pelted apprentice’s side, cool medical gaze roving across their mangled pelt with medical ease: deep claw marks that tickled like crimson rivers adorned her lanky sides and scratches peppered her body, one of their shoulders hung at an odd jutting and broken angle, one ear hung in bloody clumps of mangled flesh… they were a mess to say the least, dedicated and loyalty proven, but a mess nonetheless. Petite white tipped paw shuffled the vermillion and deep bluish black flower and pushed the two lose black bead seeds towards Rookpaw, ”Take these, please,” he didn’t say they were Poppy seeds, the apprentice already knew what they were and what they did, while he waited for the seeds to ease the pain the lanky toms head dipped to nuzzled the untattered side of the molly’s face in a friendly gesture so similar to their hidden friendship a few moons ago, ”You did good Minky, I am proud of you for staying true to Shadowclan even as the past was shoved starkly in front of you, you had the opportunity to betray us as you did them big you didn’t, and for that I am proud,” he had used his old nickname for the feline, had told them how he felt - calm demenoured tones slightly raw with emotion - Mossfreckle was not sure how his words would come off to the apprentice but he hoped Rookpaw would see them as they were, an bridge to what they had once shared… albeit a furthered version now that she resided alongside him in Shadowclan… the molly had proven themselves and part of him selfishly hoped that he had partially been the reason for her current state, as much as it pained him to see them battered and broken before his own coolly disconnected and slowly softening gaze.

❦ Mossfreckle’s words had been the briefest of moments, nothing more than a whisper of the wind but he hoped they meant as much to the apprentice as they had to him, held the same weight as he had intended them to carry - but this wasn’t about mending the aforementioned figuratively broken past, it was about mending the current physically broken present - angular, freckled head shook to clear his start mind, lanky neck stretched to grab a wad of moss and the medicine cat got to work gingerly washing away the crushing and clotting crimson that clinged to the white flecked darkly pelted molly and filled Mossfrekcle’s senses with the tangy, bitterly sweet, metallic scent of blood that sent the tom’s freckled nose twitching in neutral distaste. White tipped, feathery tail flicked idly as his diligent paws worked the cobwebs into wispy bandages while his maw worked to chew the ruffled, hesperidium coloured buds into a fine paste which was mixed with powdered five pointed leaves to help clot the welling blood that seeped from the apprentices pelt, once the poultice was made the freckled tom dabbed the golden liquid gingerly onto the felines wounds staring from her mangled ears to the tip of their bitten tail. With the wounds coasted in the sweetly scented poultice, Mossfreckle took the wisp of silken threads and banged the injury with practiced ease, the bleeding has slowed with the addition of the oak leaves… a good sign… none of the gashes and scratched seemed too bad, her ear was shredded but it seemed her hearing would be intact - the biggest annoyance would be the webs that now held the marigold goop to her nubbed ear.

❦ At last mossy hues settled in the oddly jutting limb that hung mangled but remained attached to the apprentices body - luckily amputation was not needed, only a splint and some much needed rest - which he was sure the apprentice would follow with a somewhat begrudging adherence… they always wanted to go, go, go… part of it was just who Rookpaw was and he couldn’t help but feel a twang of guilt at the words he had bluntly put forth, but he wouldn’t lie to them, they deserved the truth even if it hurt… they could take it… they were bold and strong and dedicated, just needed some refining and Mossfrekcle needed trust in them. A single paw braced beside Rookpaw and the other gently applied pressure to the broken shoulder before pressing down with a sharply controlled motion to pressed the broken bones into their aligned positions… he was ever so thankful for the skeleton remains of a long dead cat that had been left in the den by Elmshadow… before he wrapped the limb with a comfrey leave before bracing it with a firm stick and binding the splint with the remaining cobwebs to keep the muscles and healing bones in place, ”you will have to stay in the medicine den for the time being, Rookpaw, you can take any of the nest you like, let me know if you need anything minky,” the old nickname slipped out easily again… he hoped they didn’t mind… his task was finished and the spotted tabby oriental turned to heed Dawnstar’s beckon as she slipped through the lichen shrouding and into the sunlight dappled den beyond.

{ @Rose ~ Lostspark // mention } { @alec ~ Rookpaw // enjoy the bonding (?) }

❀⊱ - - - ♡ - - - ♡ - - - ♡ - - - ♡ - - - ♡ - - - ⊰❀

❀⊱ { - 1 cobweb // - 1 marigolds } ⊰❀

Moving with ease to the colossal mollies side Mossfreckle spoke respectfully but absentmindedly as his focus remained on seeking out the new bite, scratches, and claw marked that peppered his leaders already scarred body, “Fogwatcher is resting in a nest as is Rookpaw. Fogwatcher’s throat was slit and was treated on the battlefield but he will pull through, I barrelled Mistyshard out of the way before she could do anymore damage, I was less than thrilled to have my guard attacked when he was clearly caring herbs, but it was handled and he will be fine. As for Rookpaw, they too will be fine, also on nestrest as their shoulder was broken but they should be back in commission in a few weeks - they proved themselves well,” report given in his usually calm tones the medicine cat picked up ruffled sunset coloured bud and began to chew it into a fine paste - the lanky oriental had forgone his usual poppy seed step as per Dawnstar’s wishes, she was scared from muzzle to tail, Mossfreckle doubted that the dark pelted tabby felt much of anything at this point. With a gentle white tipped paw the medicine cat dapped into the golden paste, gingerly applying it to Dawnstar’s raised paw before branching out to coat the speckled, lesser wounds with a small blot of the infection preventing ointment. Finishing with his current task the herbalist pulled the cobwebs into bandages as his mossy hues rested respectively with Dawnstar’s amber orbs, the molly was bandaged with easy as the medic’s diligent paws bound the silken threads over the few ailments the large tabby molly had acquired, ”Let me know if anything is wrong or your wounds seem to not be healing, they aren’t too bad so I doubt they will have a problem,” as and after thought Mossfreckle added, ”how is your shoulder feeling,” she hadn’t come in and it had been a decent while since its dislocation but he wanted to do a final check up the old wound in case it had settled to an achy in between of healed and partially off kilter.

{ @Undertaker ~ Dawnstar }

[ wowzers bet ya didnt think id reply to this anymore. definitely not my best work lol ]

ROOKPAW

rookpaw watched mossfreckle shuffle back and forth twice, hardly catching more than his light pelt in the corner of her eye from how she was laying, before stepping closer to her again, limp and frankly pathetic. the apprentice hadnt found herself on his side of shadowclans medicine den before (she hadnt exactly been on the other side either but whatever) but somehow they got the feeling that the way mossfreckles eyes had softened, mossy green hues growing warmer, had nothing to do with the fact that she was injured and bleeding onto the ground of his den. mind wandered briefly after a half hearted attempt to chew the seeds, two of them, stars was she forgetting herbal knowledge? no, no, two seeds were perfectly fine for a warrior sized cat, she..just happened to forget that was what fit her description.. hadnt she been smaller just a few moons ago? thoughts drifted off into nothingness briefly, biting through pain whilst awaiting the medicine cat continuing.
rookpaw had been pretty sure she had left the battle grounds alive and conscious, but when mossfreckles angular head dipped down to gently push against the uninjured side of her face, she had to supress the urge to look around for the tell tale sign of fog, or maybe the silhouettes of starry pelts. would blazingstar welcome her to starclan when it was time? would her father be there?
mossfreckles words derailed that train of thought as quickly as it had gotten rolling, praise, an old nickname, making mossfreckle proud? the herbalists voice was quiet, yet scratchy in a way rookpaw couldnt help but note as attractive before VERY quickly pushing that thought aside. too busy with their emotional reaction she had to class as frankly confusing, probably for everyone involved, but mostly rookpaw herself, unsure what exactly she was feeling beyond warm fog and white pride. why mossfreckle of all cats caused that reaction in the first place? she almost wished she couldnt answer, but deep down it was clear that she had been alone in a clan full of cats filled with hate for what she represented, mossfreckle a cat she knew longer than anyone else around, and yet being the one that most openly voiced their displeasure in having her around. she was pathetic and attached, she couldnt exist without being needed, so mossfreckles simple words meant more than just frivolous acceptance. unsure how to put into words what she was wanted to tell him and still minorly unwilling to do so, both afraid this was actually just a dream or hallucination or whatever and known for hiding any feelings that could come back to hurt, rookpaw simply pressed closer. it was uncoordinated and shaky, effort of keeping her head held up too much between the pain and foggy edges of her field of vision. still, she tucked these words close to her heart, revelling in the warm feeling they spread through her body, starting from the ribcage.
the next part was far less pleasant, even as poppy seeds began to kick in, making rookpaw feel a bit floaty and disconnected for a moment, as if taking away the pain meant taking away the sharp focus that had felt edged into her very being. moss scraping against open and dirtied wounds with medical ease rookpaw had expected from the young herbalist, made her huff and supress a pained noice once in a while, leaning into the floaty feeling and how heavy and limp she felt without moving, instead of risking any weird jerking against the touch. careful touch, calming paste and the memory of a battle won, she was pretty happy to endure the dulled pain as long as necessary, and perhaps a bit longer.
however, rookpaw knew what was to come the moment mossfreckles paws neared the shoulder that she was sure had been the sole reason she had hung heavy between conscious and absolutely knocked out atop lostsparks back, pain still a distracting intensity. the chocked off whimper and painfilled gasping that came with mossfreckle pushing the bones back to where they belonged drowned beneath pain, momentarily blacked out sight and the rustle of her tail lashing against the ground she could focus on, rather than what other noise were leaving her maw. it was pretty silly to be ashamed of being in pain, but the sickly feeling didnt leave rookpaw until long after her heavy breathing had calmed and the apprentice had dragged herself into a nest.

**Estelle** · #45 July 23rd, 2024, 07:02 PM

Proud. There was that word again, so foreign, so strange. An element earned through the atrocities she took part in, her mind still processing the questions of how her victims died at her paws. She had done good, they all told her. But her senses were dulled and weak yet overwhelmed in a way she had never experienced before. Even as Mossfreckle’s head lay atop of her she could not react, her body a rigid statue beneath the soft touch of her adotped uncle, unable to process the act of affection that had just taken place. Proud. The word burned her ears and graced her heart, and endless pressure to do better. To be better. To come out on top.

Before she knew it, Mossfreckle was presenting her with two foreign black seeds. On edge, always cautious, she eyed the seeds with perplexed curiosity, a gentle tone falling from her maw.
“What…. are they?”
Silent droplets of words filled the world around her, grey and washed out even through her normally monotone tone, and yet the need to learn reigning supreme. Sleepypaw took not much time before she finally, carefully, swallowed the seeds in front of her despite the alarm bells ringing in her mind as a result of the battle she emerged from victorious, her sense growing all the more weary and weak as Mossfreckle worked about to get her healed.

Only with weary eyes and a blurry sight could she watch as Mossfreckle worked to create the golden paste that came in contact with her wounds, mind too tired even to ask what it was, how it worked – what it’s use was. Mossfreckle’s work was diligent, fast, careful. Gentle. Her eyes slowly traced the intricacies of his duty to the clan, only lifting her vibrant gaze when something uncommon touched her bloodied fur – a wet clump of moss, much more effectively washing off the crimson hues upon her fur. Sleepypaw grew rigid, unmoving, but too tired to react or complain she let the medic continue. And finally, his gentle voice reached her ears again – once more with one of the affectionate nicknames, one her mama used to call her. One she hadn’t heard in moons. Her heart ached all the same, a tired the only acknowledgement of his words she could master; but she ought to do just that, wash off the rest. Be clean. Sleep.

[ @ellie ]