Doxa had settled in for the day not long after the winds first picked up and the first fat raindrops had begun to fall. At the time she was prepared to stay holed up for the duration of the storm. She knew Kalos had gone out hunting, and that he was a big boy and could take care of himself in a storm, hunting or no. So she'd opted this time for a hole in a rather substantial tree that grew in their sheltered valley. The winds weren't as bad in the valley, but the tree still swayed and rocked. As long as she was safe and warm, she found the motion soothing and comforting, and soon had dozed off, despite the thunder's rumble and the brilliant lightning searing the sky. As tall as this tree was, the rock formations around the valley were a good deal taller, so she should be safe even from lightning strike. All was well and content.

That is, until she was awakened by a different sound than sheeting rain, howling wind, and deep thunder. It was barely audible over the storm's racket, but her subconscious had picked up on it and jolted her awake. She paused, breath held, listening. There! There it was again! That was... her eyes widened as she realized she was hearing Kalos roaring her name with urgency laced thickly in his voice. She dove out of the tree, as he couldn't know where she was, and attempted to arrow to his voice. The wind prevented a direct approach, but she finally landed with a wet plop, gripping desperately with her talons to his mane.

She had listened as he'd explained in brief what was wrong, and what she needed to do. Her heart slowed as she realized he himself was not in danger, but her resolve firmed as she heard what the true problem was. A wild dog delirious with snake bite was a serious matter, so what he had to ask of her made perfect sense.

This is what led her to be winging her way through the wind and wet, trying to hold her course along the lake shore. She and Kalos had a passing relationship with a rather reclusive witch doctor that had chosen to live in the swamps along the edge of the lake. It kept her close to the herbs and plants she used in her concoctions. Not all of them were medicinal either, but that was beside the point right now.

She was resistant enough to interaction, they tended to only call on her in the direst of emergencies. In return, she'd been faithful to come when needed, bringing lifesaving measures with her. So far, her methods had never failed to revive and restore the patients, given time and rest. She was a valuable asset, and they strove to protect her privacy and solace. Whether she knew it or not, they weren't sure, but both Kalos and Doxa had guided strangers away from her swampy home, or outright driven them away. A happy witch doctor meant an effective one.

The raven practically blew right into the witch doctor's dwelling, buffeted by the wind. It was an odd lean-to sort of arrangement, with branches propped against a supporting arch of a errant root, covered with moss and other growing swamp plants. She tumbled in the narrow entrance and came to a stop at the paws of the strange looking wild dog female. The grass and feather headdress rustled and tipped between big ears as Neera peered down at her. "Doxa here?" she asked, leaning closer to examine the sodden bird. "Kalos calls, Neera takes it?"

She gently scooped the raven towards her and deeper into her shelter. Herbs hung from the ceiling, spreading their myriad frangrances in the humid air as they were brushed past. It was notably quieter and infinitely drier in here, and Doxa wasted no time shaking off the loose moisture and beginning to preen her feathers into their proper places. "Yes, he does. We have an emergency that cannot wait, I'm afraid." She paused to give the wild dog an apologetic look. "We'd have waited until the storm passed if we could."

Neera bobbed her head, sending her headdress swishing and wavering wildly. "Neera knows. We will come." She began to move busily around the space, the beads and bones that decorated her body clicking softly, easily audible over the howl of the storm outside. Doxa couldn't help admiring what a safe and solid home the witch doctor had built for herself. Kalos couldn't have fit in here, of course, but for a wild dog and her snake assistant, it was plenty of room.

Knowing that the witch doctor would need to know what exactly had happened, Doxa finished smoothing her feathers into place and found and out of the way perch that would keep her out of the way while Neera assembled whatever it was she deemed necessary. "It is a wild dog with a snake bite," she began, getting the most important info out first. The species told the doc amounts that might be needed, and of course she needed to know the ailment. "We haven't learned what kind of snake, to my knowledge," she added with regret. Sometimes that helped, but Kalos hadn't given her that information. He would have, if he'd had it. "The bite is on his forepaw, and it happened earlier today. The paw has swollen very large, and the wild dog is delirious now. He's very hot to the touch, and his nose is very dry."

Neera bobbed her head and worked swiftly, pulling down dried herb clusters, assembling several sealed gourds, and laying out several rather alarming looking implements. She also nudged a roughly plaited basket with a paw as she passed, regretful for the necessity but knowing it was only wise. A mumbled response was followed by stirring within the basket before a sleepy-eyed serpent emerged, head wavering lazily in an unintentionally hypnotic way. "What'sssss thisss about now?" her assistant asked before yawning widely in a loose-jawed way, flexing her fangs one at a time. Undaunted by the rather intimidating display, knowing the snake was merely waking up as any other creature might, Neera kept on about her packing.

"Dog bit by snake," she answered, finding one of her carry-alls and beginning to sort things into it. "Needed we are." She glanced at the entryway, where the storm still clearly howled like a pack of her own kind. No, like ten packs of her own kind. This wasn't going to be pleasant for Skrissa at all. "Come, then under pelt." She nosed her head into a loop for her sack, then waited for the snake to find a comfortable way to wrap herself about the wild dog's neck, loosely of course. She then swiped a pelt off a hook near the door and tossed it over her back and head, wrapping it down around under her chen, completely enveloping her cold-blooded assistant. "We go now," she told Doxa before plunging directly out into the raging storm, leaving Doxa to take to wing and follow as she could. A patient needed her, and she wasn't about to wait on the bird's presence to get herself there to help.

Skrissa couldn't say she was thrilled. Rainstorms were when she was at her most vulnerable, as the cold and the damp tended to make her torpid. Her arrangement with Neera though was equable, in truth, and from the moment her basket nest had been jostled, she'd known her help was required. Normally her job was to help nudge things about, restrain patients, hold things in place, that sort of thing. Some things required her help more, some less. But during such weather, Neera generally handled things on her own, as she had before the serpent had arrived and become her helper. A sleepy snake was less helpful than a relaxed, alert one. For this reason, it had to be important for the wild dog to bestir her assistant from a proper storm nap.

The wild dog witch doctor had been correct to drag her out into the land of the wakened as well. It wasn't so much that Skrissa could provide vital physical assistance. Truth be told, as they were going, she assumed upon seeing the bird, to Kalos' home, the lion likely would be of more help in that area than she herself. However, snake bite could be a tricky thing to treat, and having a snake there to help identify the results of the bite and direct the probably treatments to best heal the patient. So she hadn't grumbled like she wanted to when told to wrap herself around Neera for the trip. She at least knew she'd be kept as warm and dry as possible, which helped her resignation to having to go out int he storm. She didn't budge a muscle or peek her head out for the entire trip, but attempted to keep as close to the wild dog's warmth as possible. She only hoped their patient was high and dry, rather than outside and wet. That... well, it just didn't bear considering!