Time to Heal

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya continues to look to the ground with his eyes closed.

"I can not rest... when I rest it either brings out Giga or I have a nightmare, defeating the purpose of resting."

Wahya opens his eyes slightly as he looks to his paws.

"I do not have a beta... nor delta... it is only me then the pack."

[hitobannofokkusu]

Dawn couldn't hold in her scoff at Wahya's confession. What kind of an Alpha doesn't have a Beta, or even a Delta? What about that Nasgi kid you wanted to hand your pack over to so willingly a while ago? If you're willing to hand over your pack to him, you have to trust him, right? So make him your Beta, go up in the mountains, and fight your inner demon where it can't hurt anyone. Then when you vanquish him-that when, not if-you can come back and be an Alpha again. Doesn't that sound like a good idea?

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya looks to the mountain as she mentions, "I only handed over my role to Nasgi because he was the only on nearby that was in pack. I do not know who I would make my beta..."

Wahya closes his eyes, "And there is no point of me going up there, I can not fight him physically, only mentally. Even if I do control then, it will only help for a little while because he is always trying harder each day to take my body completely over."

[Tsukikage]

Perhaps it was just his concern for Wahya, or perhaps he sensed Wahya from an echo of Tsuki's power, but either way, Kage was awake and very much concerned for his friend. Shimo and Mar had also come to, and Mar was slowly speaking again.
"It's... not... y-y... yoo-ur... fault..." Mar managed to force out. It was strange, as if his brain went through some kind of soft reset, and he was relearning how to do things. He moved his left paw several times, rather awkwardly, as if he was unsure of how it was supposed to work.
Shimo smiled sadly, "Yes it is... if I hadn't --"
"Shh..." Mar cut him off. "No you is sad... um..." He cringed slightly. He fully realized that what he had meant did not make it from his brain to his muzzle correctly, but couldn't understand why not. "You... not be... angry at... mmm..." He knitted his eyebrows, trying to get the word through, "shelf? Grr! Ssss-eh-phuh..." Man, this is hard. Okay, one more time. Don't be mad at... "Seeel-fuh" Gah! Well, I got closer that time.
Shimo nodded, "I know, but I have no more power to help you, so I kinda feel like I messed everything up and there's nothing I can do to fix it."
Mar shook his head, "Do... diss... talk... hell-pah-sss." Mar noticed Kage leaving the cave, "Ka-ge... you... un-good?"

Kage turned to face them, and his face filled with anger, "You... what the hell happened to you?!?" He dashed over, snarling at Shimo, "You sayin' YOU did this?!? Why, I oughta --" He lunged at Shimo, but was blocked when Mar finally figured out how to move his paw. Mar sent Kage flying into the wall of the cave. "No..." He said, "I... sss-sa-ri, Ka-ge... not his fault." Mar looked Kage in the eyes sternly, "I... ok... is better... more... long time. Shimo help talk me right. You... no be mad... at... heem."
Kage got to his feet shakily, winded by the blow, "A-alright, Dad. I'm sorry, I had... other things on my mind..." He limped slowly back towards the waterfall.
"Saari, Ka-ge-son. I not mean... hurt... to you." Mar said.
Kage smiled, "I heal fast. Don't you worry about me." His smiled disappeared, and he limped out of the cave in search of Wahya.

[hitobannofokkusu]

Hitoban was awakened by the shouting and banging and watched Kage leave. She got up slowly so as not to wake Tsuki and padded over to Mar and Shimo. She sat down beside them and smiled. "How you doing guys? Mar? You need anything?" She was worried about Dawn and Kage. She saw when she'd woken that Dawn wasn't here and now Kage had left. And Tsuki is still here...that can't be good unless he's just going right outside.

Dawn sighed and lay down, frustrated and slightly angry. What kind of an alpha is this irresponsible? Every good alpha goes into alpha-ship with a beta in tow. They don't even have to have a mate, just a beta and the pack will succeed. Without a beta one needs to have a mate. Wahya has neither. She looked at him, trying to get through to him.

Wahya I'm not talking about physical fighting. Do you think Hitoban got Katashi how she is today by just going with the flow like you are? Hell no-she fought her. She restrained her, sapped all of her energy doing it, and eventually got her well enough under control that we hardly ever hear from her now. She even taught her to love. Do you fully understand what I'm saying here? Whoever Hitoban loves, Kazumi and Katashi love them too. Her evil side is no longer fully evil because of her fighting her. You know what would happen if her evil side were no longer evil, but good like Kazumi? She would be a saint. A saint for God's sake! You know what the problem with that would be? She wouldn't fight. She wouldn't kill anything, she wouldn't say a bad word about anyone.

Let me tell you a story. One day I was walking along in the woods when I came upon a two year old pup named Hitoban. She was looking for somewhere to go-somewhere she could be alpha. I thought 'sure, I'll help her for a while but then I gotta go.' So I did and you know what happened? I discovered the hard way one day that there was evil in her. I knew I had to help her so I went with her where there was no one else and I ensured that no harm came to her while she fought Katashi. Then when she had restrained her we soon found a city. She became Alphess and I became her Beta.

You know what happened because of that? She met Tsuki. I met Kage. Now we have a pack out here in the land of her mother and father. I'm sure you want to know how this pertains to you. I'm saying before you can have a pack you need a Beta. You need to take your Beta and you need to fight Giga. Then when that's done you will be ready to have a pack and get on with your life, but not until that's done. Do you understand? I'm using logic here as a last resort.

[Tsukikage]

"Before a beta... comes trust." Kage said, joining the two in the clearing. He was obviously pushing himself past his limit; his body kept fading in and out, and he had a pained expression on his face. "You... have to... let somebody in, man. That whole 'strength in numbers' thing isn't just rhetoric. You need the strength of... ngh!" He fell to the ground, almost spontaneously, but was resolved to finish. "You'll need the strength of others to overcome him; I don't know if you remember, but it's always taken more than one of us to bring him down... even with Dad around. Isolating yourself... just... makes you weaker... gah!" He yelped out in pain, as if something had bit into his ribs. All of a sudden, injuries from past battles began to reappear, eating him away with bruises and gashes. He smiled pathetically at Dawn, "I'm sorry babe... I didn't mean to... I'm too far away from Tsuki... Just... had... to..." He passed out, but was still breathing.

Back in the cave, Mar was pleasantly surprised to be addressed by the alphess herself. "I fine is... Litter... Li-ttul... Miss... Li-tul Miss good is to sleeping?" Even with the frustration of not being able to speak correctly, he was confident that he'd return to normal, and smiled widely, trying to let people know not to worry. "I can has talk-speak words now, gutting... GEH-tuNG... ge-ti-nguh... gett-ing butter long time. Grr! Butter! BA-tur... bee-teer... humph!" He plopped back down, aiming one paw carefully to rest over the other. He missed several times, but eventually got the generally easy resting position. He began to make various mouth motions to himself, associating them with words he knew. He looked up with a frustrated smile, "I is get hung on it long time, no to be cong-ceerd... Mmm! Cong-surrrr... cong-surng-ded..." Close enough... oi vey... He chuckled slightly, mostly out of embarrassment, the red of his fur hiding the red of his cheeks.
Meanwhile, Tsuki's sleep became troubled. He whimpered loudly and scratched at the are, howling intermittently. His crest glowed blue, then began to slowly fade. The light was so dim now that it was difficult to see through his fur. He broke out in a cold sweat, becoming louder and louder, but he did not -- or could not -- wake up.
Mar looked over at Tsuki's flailing body, then solemnly met Shimo's gaze. Go find Kage, Shimo. "Sumpting, not... raieet... Ka-ge-son in... purple... grr! Troopul... Trumble... gah! Know what say-speak I are?!?"
Shimo nodded and dashed out of the cave. He had to shake his wings dry, but was quickly airborne, scanning the ground for Kage.

[hitobannofokkusu]

Hitoban smiled and chuckled, nuzzling Mar on a huge shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll get it soon enough." She noticed the light in the cave begin to fade and looked over at Tsuki. She ran to him when he yelped and tried to calm his flailing. She nuzzled him and nudged him and licked him trying to wake him up but nothing worked. Finally she lay down behind him to notice Shimo was gone. She continued to nuzzle him and whisper his name.

Meanwhile, down in the grotto, Hina heard a yelp and a howl. It was faint but she knew someone was in pain. She ran outside and swam out of the pool, climbing into the cave she'd seen before she went into the grotto. She soon saw who it was that was in trouble and the fever that ailed him. She dove back into the pool and went to tell her sister.

Maname listened to Hina's description of Tsuki and nodded. She went into the back room where they'd all stored half of their supplies earlier and found the herb they eat in the summer. It cools wolves down from the inside out and is perfect for fevers. She clasped it in her mouth but did not eat it. She put it in her bag because it couldn't get wet and swam up to the cave her sister had described. She looked around, but couldn't see Hitoban or Tsuki. Then she saw a fluffy re tail behind the large wolf Mar and she dashed over to it. She pulled out the blue herb and dropped it in front of Hitoban.

Eat it My Lady and then I will show you what to do with it.

Hitoban looked from the herb and back to Maname. She pulled away from Tsuki long enough to eat the herb, then went back to laying behind him. "What do I do?"

Place your muzzle just below his ear and blow there. Keep blowing there until his fever breaks. You might get a little cold yourself because it cools from the inside out and since you ate it it's twice as cold. The same thing goes for the warming herb. That's why the healer's den has to be climate controllable. There needs to be a room where fires could be set up or snow could be brought in. That's normally where they sleep. This one has it too, but it has beds in it as well.

"But if it cools you from the inside out why didn't you just give it to Tsuki?"

It takes about a week before those herbs ware off and if his fever breaks and he's still cold that might not be good. Something like shock would probably overtake him. This way you can control how hot or cold he is without endangering him.

Hitoban nodded, already feeling colder, and did what she was told. Maname turned and left to go back to her room.

Dawn rushed over to Kage as he fell and she lay down with him. Kage...going this far away from Tsuki... She looked at all of the scars and gashes. He would have been dead five times over already if it weren't for...Suddenly she caught Shimo's scent on the air and she began barking for him. Shimo! Shimo!

[Tsukikage]

Shimo's ear twitched, picking up a distinct bark. It was Lady Dawn. He adjusted his heading, and quickly came upon them. Now the trick was landing... Okay, so... how'd Tsubasa do it? He circled several times, slowly gliding down. He flapped wildly as he reached ground level, but he'd timed it too poorly, and ended up stumbling and rolling across the clearing into a tree with a loud thud. He got up, dazed, but otherwise unharmed. "Woah!" Shimo shouted. He ran up to Kage and assessed the situation. Kage's body was re accumulating injuries from past battles. "Remarkable... this isn't supposed to be able to even happen; his will is holding him here, but the seal between him and Lord Tsuki has a limited range, and cannot support him from this far. This must be what's wrong with Tsuki as well. My guess is..." He stared in wonderment as the right side of Kage's face began to collapse -- it had been smashed in at some point -- So that's what happened to his eye. "Um... if I had to guess, I'd say he's being pulled apart, by his will and by his curse. He's probably trying to exchange his healed wounds for some more time -- a futile attempt, but still. Anyway, we have to get him back to the cave. Now. Even when we do, I don't know for sure if he'll heal. Ok, enough talk." He tried to pick Kage's body up, but it periodically vanished, falling straight through his own. After several frustrated attempts, he found a piece that stayed solid -- one of Kage's now-exposed ribs -- and bit into it. One more injury won't matter if he doesn't make it back. He thought, though he did his best to be careful, because the rib was already cracked. As he dragged Kage through the woods, he had flash-backs of where many of the injuries had come from, and they were all... Giga.

Meanwhile, Mar was attempting to object to Hitoban's use of such an herb, but by the time he'd strung a sentence together, it was too late. "Leetul Mish! No use to you herb-chill to cold Tusoo-kee!" Dam.n! Too late! "You what happen sick go to cold-freeze inside? To get sick you goring mo... er... GO-ing too! Can't to have long time, he nid Ka-ge-son, chill-plant no good for you, Haitobun... Heeeee-to..." Gah! Well, it's too late now, but what if she freezes? She's taking an awful risk doing this. I've heard of such things damaging internal systems permanently, but even if I knew how to say it, she wouldn't understand from my gibberish. He sat and watched helplessly as Tsuki tossed and turned, making Hitoban's job that much harder. Mar crawled slowly and methodically over to Tsuki and held him in place, so that Hitoban could blow under his ear. Tsuki's ear twitched wildly, but Mar could feel his body begin to relax, little by little. This herb, He thought, it'll probably only subdue the symptoms until Hitoban runs out of breath. We need to get Kage here...

[hitobannofokkusu]

It's winter, I'm cold, and Tsuki won't stop moving. Where are Dawn and Kage? God how do those three deal with this cold? It must be a sauna in their room when they eat this thing. Maybe they're just immune to it. I don't know, but I have to keep Tsuki under control until Kage gets back. I wonder what's happening... She saw Mar come over and hold Tsuki for her and she continued blowing under his ear, getting thwacked in the nose with it.

Dawn followed Shimo, cringing at the quickly disintegrating Kage. She wanted to say something when Shimo grabbed his rib but kept her mouth shut, knowing that was probably the only place he could hold onto. They'd better get there soon...

[Tsukikage]

By the time Shimo reached the waterfall, Kage had a collapsed skull, eight broken ribs, a shattered shoulder blade, and a dislocated hip, along with cuts and bruises all along his body and three fractures along his tail -- and the injuries weren't stopping there. Shimo began pulling Kage up to the waterfall, but the rib he was gripping finally broke, sending Kage tumbling down the wall. He hit the ground with an uncomfortable gush of blood, and were it anyone but Kage, there'd be no doubt that the carcass was dead. Kage kept breathing, though, and a rib kept moving in and out of his skin whenever he took a breath. His eye was half open, but he was completely blind, and everything hurt so much, he couldn't even think of speaking. Shimo tried desperately to find another spot to grab onto, but with little success.

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya watches as they run off, he continues to look that way with a blank stare. Kage.... he needs help...

Wahya looks to his paws to see them slightly shaking.

He sighs and starts to trot after where Dawn, Kage and Shimo went.

[Tsukikage]

Shimo's eyes darted back and forth, scanning Kage for something solid enough to grab -- it was all either half broken ribs, flaps of skin, or a piece of his disjointed tail; all of which would most likely snap off with too much weight. He panicked, flying into the cave as fast as he could. Once again, he tumbled across the floor into a wall. He was completely winded, and his vision blurred immensely, even his sound-sight wouldn't work because of the ringing in his ears. He could tell that his leg and part of his neck were bleeding, due probably to some jagged rock in the wall, one of which was still stuck in his hind leg. His shoulders were also in great pain, probably from a sprain or fracture in his wings. Unfortunately, he was upside down, which added to the disorientation. "Ka...ge" He gasped, "Down there. Hurry!"

Mar nodded, but as little control as he had, he'd only put Tsuki in more danger if he tried to move him. He looked to Hitoban, "I left-right paw can't has the way yet long time. Move to Tusooki down wet-wall from Ka-ge-son, I smash-hurt Tusooki bad on not by purple... purrrrr... pur-pass." Gah! Not everything is purple! Grr, this is getting to be a hassle... I just hope she gets it.

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya continues to trot until he sees Kage laying on the ground a distance away. Wahya stops as his eyes tense and widen, he saws his mangled body and something clicked in Wahya's mind that reminded him of the night he lost his pack. A quick flash of flames come across the lands, Wahya blinks and they disappear.

"Kage!" Wahya quickly sprints over toward him and slides to a stop, he looks him over to see that the wounds were worse than he thought. "Kage! Hold on!"

Wahya looks up to the entrance of the waterfall then back to Kage, Moving him will only damage something more, but if he does not get treatment quick... he surely die.

[Tsukikage]

Kage winces as his eye opens. Wahya? That voice... it's so far away... I can't see him... is that you, Wahya? His body was in such pain that he became desensitized to it; his senses overwhelmed and eventually shut down all-together.

Thankfully, Tsuki began to wake at the same time. Kage? Where are you? Tsuki lay there in a great amount of pain as well, as if his heart was trying to pump molasses through his veins. He felt a tickle at his ear, but did not have the strength to move anymore, he just lay there, looking as though he were in a comma.

Tsuki! Hiya, Tsuki! Kage giggled deliriously in the mind-space.
Dear God! What happened to you?
Kage stopped to think about it a moment. Hmm... well, I went off to find Wahya, but I pushed it too far, and my body got all of my injuries back. He started pointing out where each wound had come from in a very matter-of-fact kind of way.
Kage! This isn't show-and-tell! I have to get down to you, now! But I can't move or even speak for some reason. Is there anybody you can talk to?
Kage tried looking around, but his neck was broken, and he remembered that he couldn't see anyway. His disjointed tail began to wag, spurting blood out of its base. Hmm... that isn't supposed to happen...
Kage! Focus!
Oh right, Wahya's here.
Can you speak to him?
Sure, I like talking to Wahya! "Hiya, Wahya!" He giggled. He coughed up blood every time he spoke, but he still couldn't feel anything. "Um... Tsuki says I either need to get up there, or he needs to come down here. Think you can handle that buddy?" He smiled and wagged his bloodied tail as if nothing was wrong at all. "I mean, Hitoban may have it covered, but you can go see how it's going up there, right?"
What lay before Wahya was now a pool of blood, surrounding an island of bones, misplaced limbs, and pulsating organs, draped with blood-drenched flesh. There wasn't much time left if he was going to walk away from this. I should be dead... shouldn't I?

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

"KAGE! Stop talking, you need to conserve your energy!" Wahya's eyes widen as he mentions Tsuki. Wahya starts to pick up Kage at his spine, but stops before picking him up, I can not pick him up.... moving him will cause more damage. I need to get Tsuki!

He stands back up straight, "Stop moving and conserve your energy! I am going to bring Tsuki down here! DON'T DIE ON ME!"

Wahya lowers then leaps up to the entrance of the cave through the waterfall. Wahya stands drenched as he looks to Tsuki, "TSUKI! I need to bring you down to Kage, he can not be moved or he will die!"