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 Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 7:23 am
It had been hard to tell if any life was left in the stallion. But then he spoke and Aquitaine felt a great surge of hope. His body was battered but he was still alive, they had gotten to him at time. Yet along with that hope, she felt a sense of dread, and Ipswich had picked up on the dire situation as well. "No," She whispered back to her daughter, "he was deliberately run off that cliff." Such a horrible thing to go through, she could only guess that those who were responsible were Kalona, based upon the hoof prints they had seen above and the fact that no one else was down here. They had chased him here, forced him to fall and left him for dead - or simply assumed he died at the bottom. It had been a pleasure kill, otherwise they would have come to eat his flesh.
"We will move slowly. He has been through enough, we do not want him to stress his injuries." Turning her attention back to the stallion ahead, Aquitaine moved forward. "It's alright." She said in a soft, calming voice, not wanting to unnecessarily startle him. "We are here to help. I know you have been through a terrible fright, but know that I will do everything in my power to get you better." She continued to move forward slowly, giving him time to accept her presence before she could apply any aid. "Can you tell me how long you have been here?"
They had stopped. Oh they were going to make him wait for the death blow. He couldn't help but groan slightly at that. He could hear them talking a short distance away, but their words were too soft for him to pick up exactly what they were saying. After a short time he heard them moving again. When one of them spoke, saying they were hear to help, Prism couldn't help but snort at that, but the pain even that caused him made him wince.
Cracking his eye open once more Prism forced his vision to focus enough to make the two out. By the colors alone they were not the Kalona that had chased him here, but that didn't mean they wouldn't eat him. Maybe they were just saying they were here to help him to lull him into a state of comfort and then they would pounce. As his blurry gaze swept over the pair he noticed something very odd about the closer of them mare - he knew they were mares based upon their voices. There was two heads on that one mare... unless there was s third Soquili behind her, but he didn't think that was the case. "Two heads..." He said in his hoarse voice. "...monster. Eat me and....get it over with." He gaze ticked to the other mare, and while he couldn't see anything strange on her, like two heads, he was certain that she must be a monster as well.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:39 am
Ipswich snorted slightly at the stallion's remarks, while she was not as often the victim of such things she was sensitive to it for the sake of her family. "Don't be foolish." She told the stallion a touch crossly, maybe she should have a bit more compassion for the stallions condition but being hurt didn't give you the right to be a jerk either.
"If we wanted to eat you why would we talk to you? Who wants to have a conversation with their dinner!" She stated in exasperation. Maybe the stallion was driven off the cliff for being a nasty old stallion she told herself although she instantly felt bad for the thought. In an effort to semi apologize she said "We really are here to help..."
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:54 am
Aquitaine was a bit surprised by her daughters reaction to the stallions words. But Ipswich had not been exposed to the sheer amount of mutant badmouthing that Aquitaine had been through growing up. "It's alright." She told her daughter. It wasn't okay to be called a monster, but under the circumstances she understood why the stallion was doing it. He had been through a horrible situation and now he was faced with odd looking Soquili.
"I may not look normal," she began telling the stallion, "but I assure you, that my daughter and I are here to help you." She lowered her head and shrugged off the bag of herbs she always cared with her now. "I am a healer. If you let me, I can tend to your wound and get you out of this place." Aquitaine nosed open the pouch to show the stallion that it contained a variety of herbs. "I will need to assess your injuries. Will you let me help you?"
Prism could have argued with the one mare that he was sure that certain predators would talk to their dinner before eating them. But he had little knowledge in that area, and he was too tired and riddled with pain to muster the energy for that. He listened to the other mare. Be damned if she didn't sound like she truly wanted to help him. But how could someone nice and helpful look like that?
Well, at this point what was the worse that could happen? He had already accepted his death, so maybe a second chance at living wouldn't be so bad to accept either. His gaze moved to the bag the one mare dropped. He had very little knowledge of herbs, so he had to trust that she knew what she was doing and wasn't simply trying to poison her. Closing his eyes for a moment Prism thought it over. If he lived...he could get out of here and....that's what he remembered about he basket. Could he trust these two mares with that knowledge? He wasn't sure yet. But if they could truly heal him then he would tell them about the basket. With a small sigh he opened his eyes once more. "You can help me." And with those four words he handed his life over to the mare with two heads and her daughter.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 10:38 am
Ipswich was still glowering silently as her mother tried to placate her, No! It wasn't alright..here they had risked their own lives climbing down that deathtrap of a pathway to reach help this stranger and he was being an ungrateful brute! Why if he was't injured already Ipswich had half a mind to tear into him herself and Ebony coiled about her back anxiously hissing as he picked up on her anger an tension.
Shaking her head slightly and nuzzling the snake to quiet him Ipswich tried to calm herself down before she said something terrible, unlike the stallion on the ground she had been raised better then that. "Maybe I should go an look for some water." She offered stiffly, watching as her mother began to pull out her herbs, she might need to mix some of them for the stallion to swallow and most of them went down a bit better with some water she had learned growing up..besides the stallions raspy voice spoke of his thirst and it would give her time to cool off a bit. "I think I saw some water at the bottom of the ravine down that way when I was looking for a path." She told her mother with a slight motion of her head down the ravine.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 10:55 am
Aquitaine waited for the stallions consent. As much as she wanted to help him, she needed him to agree to it. It took several moments but finally he permitted her to look at him. Before she did though she turned to her daughter. "That is a good idea, he will need water." Lowering her head she rummaged through the bag and pulled out a small turtle shell. She set it down in front of her daughter. "Take this with you, it will not hold much water, but it will allow you to bring some back. Keep an eye out for a suitable path for us to use later." Before she turned her attention back to the stallion she added one more thing. "Be careful."
With that Aquitaine turned her attention back to the stallion. "Now, let me have a look at you." Slowly she stepped forward. She needed to assess the extent of his injuries and then begin applying herbs as needed. "My name is Aquitaine." She said as she stopped beside him. "My daughters name is Ipswich." She wanted to keep up a steady conversation as she looked him over. "Now, I'm going to check over your injuries. Tell me if anything hurts too much when I touch it. I need to tend to the worst of them first." Gently Aquitaine began to nose him, putting pressure on this spot and that, looking for any sign of major injury, be it a broken bone or a deep cut that would need tending first.
Water. How long had it been since he had last drank? Prism hadn't really thought about that until the younger mare mentioned looking for water. Now that he was thinking about it, he realized how parched he truly was. Prism closed his eyes and listened to the older mares words. She was going to check him for injuries. He was certain he had many injuries but he couldn't tell where one ended and the next began due to the overall pain in his body. "Prism.." He said softly as she began. "My name is Prism."
It hurt when she touched him, but he could tell she was trying to be gentle. When she touched his leg he let out a cry of pain. "Too...much." He said in a strained voice. The pain nearly caused him to black out, but somehow he managed to keep himself awake. As the extreme pain began to fade back to the more solid consistent pain that he had been feeling he spoke once more. "Why....why are you helping...me?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 11:03 am
No the turtle shell wouldn't hold much water..but it would have to do since Ipswich doubted the stallion would be walking to a stream anytime soon. Ducking her head she picked up the shell and then turned, giving a small chirp to Ebony. The snake obviously knew what she wanted and reaching out with his tail out to coil it about the shell and pull it back,cradling it in his coils on her back in a much more stable and comfortable position then carrying it in her muzzle would have been. "Good boy." She told the snake, proud that he had remembered the trick she had taught him quite some time ago. As always spending time with the snake helped her mood a bit and when she turned back to her mother she was far less riled up then she had been a moment before.
"I will." She promised before stepping around the stallion and trotting down the ravine bottom. If she remembered correctly she had seen a small pool only about a half mile away - it should take her long to bring some water back and while it was a bit of a walk it was close enough that she could even make several trips if needed. Provided of course that the water was any good - it could be stagnant and undrinkable but she wouldn't know until she got there.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 11:28 am
A smile crossed her lips as the stallion shared his name with her. Prism. It seemed like a suitable name based upon the part of his hide that she could see that wasn't covered with blood. Before she could say anything he cried out as she applied some pressure to his leg. It was hard to tell exactly what was wrong with it, but if she could guess, it was likely a broken bone. With the distance that he had fallen she wouldn't be surprised if he had several broken bones. "I'm sorry." She said. "Well, Prism, I believe you might have broken your leg." She told him as she returned to checking his other injuries, careful not to push too hard on any one spot, but applying enough pressure to see his pain reactions. "It will take plenty of time, but it should heal up. " With luck he would be able to walk again, he might have a limp, but at least he would walk.
Aquitaine continued her exam of the stallion. She noted several large gashes that would need a salve applied to them to prevent infect and speed up the healing process. His ribs also seemed very sensitive but it didn't appeal they were fully broken. "I am helping you because that is what I do. I am a healer, I help those with injuries. I have dedicated my life to helping others, both as a healer and as one who wants to show the world that those who are different on the outside can be good on the inside." She stepped towards her satchel pulling out a few berries. "Here," She said setting them in front of him. "Eat these, they will help with the pain. I am going to mix up a salve for your cuts, it will sting when I apply it but will help with healing and keeping infection at bay." Turning back to her satchel Aquitaine gathered a few herbs together, then began to crush them together using a small rock.
A broken leg. It sounded bad, but if what she was saying was the true he would walk again. If he could walk then he could return to his basket. While his trust in Aquitaine was growing, he didn't quite trust her enough to tell her about the basket yet. He listened to her as she explained why she was helping him. Of course healers helped the injured, but he couldn't understand why she had climbed down into this ravine to help someone that could haven already been dead. "Thank you." He said in a ragged voice.
Prism sniffed at the berries. They didn't smell like poison, nor did they smell bad, so he grabbed them with his lips and chewed them. They were an odd flavor. Once they were swallowed down he relaxed a bit, watching Aquitaine out of the corner of his eye as she mixed several herbs together. His gaze moved to the head that rested on her back. Just what was that thing? How and why was it there? She looked so different. He had called her a monster earlier, but she had ignored his insult and offered to help him. It made him feel horrible. "I'm sorry....that I called you a monster."
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 11:44 am
Ipswich was pleased to see that she had estimated the distance to the pond fairly well and after sniffing and cautionsly tasting the water she was even more pleased to find that it wasn't stagnant at all - it seemed to be fed by some sort of underground stream which came out of the ravines wall and then flowed back into a cave further on. The cave looked pretty dark an uninviting so she decided not to explore it and see if it led to another way out while she was all alone - who knew what could be lurking in those dark depths?
Instead the young mare turned her attention back to the water, retrieving the turtle shell from Ebony and carefully filling it. She was a cautious as possible when she lifted it back and Ebony was gentle as he coiled about it to hold it steady. They spilled a little bit..but there was still enough she thought to do the stallion some good.
"we'll have to go slower going back." She told the snake "It will be a good time to look for another way out." She murmured mostly to herself before turning and walking cautiously back the way she had come.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 12:19 pm
Not only had he accepted her help, but now he was thanking her for it. Aquitaine knew this meant he had not given up, while he might have before, he now was willing to let her heal him and he was willing to fight for his life. She focused on grinding the herbs up, added a few more leaves as she went along. When they were of a good consistent size, she added a few berries and crushed them under the rock. The berries would add a numbing effect to the area, but also provide the moisture needed to turn the herbs into a paste. She worked for a few more moments mixing everything thoroughly together. Pulling a few large leaves from the satchel, Aquitaine carefully spread the mixture onto them. "This will sting, but then it will turn to a more soothing feeling." She told him before she laid the first leaf down on a large gasp on his rump. She could see him tense up a bit, but otherwise remained still. Repeating this process a few more times, Aquitaine covered all of his major cuts. Then she used her nose to spread what was left of the paste on his smaller cuts.
Her next concern would be truly assessing the leg. Hopefully the berries would have kicked in by now so it would not cause him the extreme pain that it did before. But first she paused at his words. "It's alright. Considering your circumstances I understand that you would see me as a monster. Many have, but as you can see I am not a monster on the inside." Moving again she placed herself near his leg. Last she would need to check his other legs, but the way he was laying made it impossible right now. "I need to move your leg, see how bad the break is. It will hurt, but the berries will have had time to get into your system, so it shouldn't be too much for you to handle." Lowering her head she began to put pressure on his leg, attempting to straighten it, to judge the extent of the damage.
She was right about one thing, that salve did sting. Prism couldn't help but flinch as she placed it on his cuts. But shortly after there was that soothing feeling that she mentioned. He couldn't help but sigh. It was the first time he felt anything remotely close to good since he had been chased off by those Kalona. He was still in pain, but at least there was improvement.
"You aren't a monster." He confirmed after she had spoken. But in that moment when he had first seen her, he had indeed thought her to be one. "Not everyone has two heads." He said and a slight chuckle escaped him. Hearing that she was going to move his leg Prism tenses slightly, but then forced himself to relax. It won't hurt as much as last time, he told himself as he closed his eyes. As she began to move his leg Prism clenched his jaw, true it hurt less, but damn it still hurt a lot.
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Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 9:17 am
The trip back took a good bit longer then it had going out..but then she hadn't been worried about spilling water the first time. On the plus side she thought she had spotted a place they might be able to use to get out the ravine, it looked like part of the ravine wall had fallen inwards and the result was a rough but scale-able looking spot..certainly it looked better at first glance then the deathtrap they had used before..but it was across the ravine and she couldn't really get close enough to check it out at the moment. She would mention it to her mother when she got back and maybe return for a closer inspection.
After what seemed like a fairly long time Ipswich finally saw her mother and the wounded Soquili, she had to fight with herself to keep from trying to get back to them faster. Slow and steady the mare reminded herself - you'll get there. "I've got the water." She called out as she got closer.
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Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 9:32 am
Aquitaine finished with moving Prism's leg. She always felt bad whenever she was dealing with a patient in pain, but sometimes she had to cause extra pain in order to treat them. In Prism's case, moving his leg caused him great pain, even after taking the berries to reduce it, but it allowed her to see just how badly the leg was broken. Luckily, the bones had not broken through his skin, so which the break was painful, it was easier to heal. "I know it hurts," she told him in a soothing voice, "but I have good news. From what I can tell the break is not all that bad. It will take time to heal, of course, but I can speed that process up for you."
It had been a long time since she had used her natural unicorn healing power. In truth, she rarely used it because it took so much out of her. But in a situation such as this, Aquitaine thought it was important to hurry the healing process along. It would not fully heal his broken leg, but it would certainly cut recovery time by a lot.
Hearing Ipswich's voice Aquitaine lifted her head. Ah good, Prism needed to drink. She wasn't sure how long he had gone without water, but certainly too long. She waited for her daughter to get closer before speaking. "Good. Set it down close to him, he needs to drink." Then she turned her attention to Prism. "I know you will be thirsty, but you must drink only a little bit right now. Take small sips, rest for a moment and then take another sip. Taking in too much water now will only make you worse."
Once the pulse of pain from Aquitaine moving his leg died down Prism opened his eyes again. A broken leg could be devastating, especially if a healer wasn't able to fix it, but Prism had been lucky, and a healer had come to him. The more Aquitaine worked on him the more grateful he was that she had risked her own life in getting down to him to help. He could have been dead already for all she had know and yet she had done it. Somehow he would have to repay her...but that would come later, right now he had a long road to recovery ahead of him.
His gaze turned as the younger mare approached. He was so thirsty, but he listened to Aquitaine's words, he would not gulp all the water down once it arrived, he would just sip it. "Thank you." He told Ipswich as she came closer.
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Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 10:03 am
Nodding to her mother Ipswich encouraged Ebony to hand her the turtle shell which she carefully placed in front of the wounded Soquili. It seemed that whatever hang-ups he had been having with her mother and her were over with and she managed to offer him a small smile when he thanked her.
"your welcome." She responded, eyeing the leaves and herbal smears that dotted his hide. Her mother had certainly been busy while she was away though the fact that he was still laying down said something, there must be something more serious wrong with him if they hadn't managed to get him on his feet quite yet. Well..whatever it was her mother would take care of it.
"I think I might have found a way out but I'll need to inspect it closer to be sure." She told her mother.
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Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 10:32 am
The water called to him. The second his lips he almost forgot about what Aquitiane had told him. At first he took a big gulp, desperate to sooth the dry ache in his throat. But then as he swallowed it he remembered what she had said. So he waited a short bit and then took only a small sip. It was just as refreshing as the big gulp he had first took.
Aquitaine watched Prism drink. At first he ignored what she had said about drinking too fast, but before she could say anything he seemed to remember and went to sipping the water. Good. He needed water but taking too much in at once would do more harm than good at this point. Turning her attention to Ipswich the mare nodded. "Good. You can go check it out in a bit." Much as she would like to have Ipswich check on it now, there was something that needed to be done first.
"Prism's leg is broken." She told her daughter. "I will need to heal it if he is to walk out of here anytime soon." It would be an extremely taxing thing to do, but it had to be done, and that is why she wanted Ipswich around for the next little while. "The sooner I do that the better." Returning her gaze to Prism she noted that he had slowly drank the water and nearly all of it was gone. He would need more soon but right now tending to his leg was the most important thing. "Alright Prism. I will use my power to do as much healing to that leg of yours as I can manage. I do want to warn you of one thing before I start. My natural healing is weak compared to most unicorns, so it takes a lot out of me. If you see me collapse after I am done do not be alarmed, I will recover quickly enough, and while I am down Ipswich will be here."
Lowering her head Aquitaine pressed her three small curved horns to Prism's leg where the break was. Closing her eyes she concentrated on sending the healing power into his leg and repairing as much of the damage as possible. The more she channeled her power into his leg the weaker she felt. Already her legs were starting to shake, but she held steady, wanting to heal him as much as possible. This would drain her for days and she needed to ensure the leg was as healed as possible before giving up, as she might not be able to do this again for him.
Feeling herself weaken even more Aquitaine slowly began to lower herself down, but before she could do that her legs gave out from under her and she fell to a heap on the ground beside Prism. With her eyes closed Aquitaine could do nothing but lay here and rest for a bit. In time she would be strong enough to get up and move again.
With the water nearly gone Prism felt better. His throat was still dry but now a lot of the scratchy feeling was gone, and it didn't hurt to swallow or talk any more. Turning his head Prism listened to what Aquitaine was telling him. It was a strange sensation as she healed him. Oddly warm and soothing. He had no idea if his leg was truly healed fully or not, but it felt better.
Of course being warned that she might collapse and actually seeing it happen were two different things. When Aquitaine fell to the ground he was so worried. Looking over at Ipswich he spoke. "Will...she be okay?" He had never seen a healer pass out like that after pouring themselves into their work.
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Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 11:55 am
A broken leg? That was indeed serious, a soquili with a broken leg was all but dead without a unicorn around to help and repair it, they were vulnerable to pretty much anything when they couldn't run away. Thankfully for Prism her mother happened to be such a healer...sort of, she could help but Ipswich was well aware that her healing magic was lessened greatly by her mutations.
"Okay." She told her mom trying to keep the worry out of her voice, she had seen her mother heal like this before, she and her siblings had required it a couple of times as foals, although seeing the way it wiped her out they had quickly learned to be a lot more careful while playing. Pacing out of the way Ipswich watched her mother close her eyes and focus on healing - she could tell her mother was getting weaker and as she fell Ipswich felt powerless to help her.
"Eventually." She answered Prism "Although she is a unicorn her healing was..changed by the mutations we have." Broken might have been a better word, but Ipswich was loathe to say anything about her mother was broken..changed worked just as well. "She just needs to rest...you both do, I'll keep watch while you do and when she wakes up she can check on your leg and see how much her healing helped."
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Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 12:13 pm
Prism nodded. He supposed that made sense. He had little knowledge of how unicorn healing worked, except that it was the special thing that unicorns could do. Aquitaine was obviously not a full blooded unicorn - or if she was she was mutated, as her daughter had pointed out and he had noticed that right away about her as well. Though he was feeling a bit better, thanks to Aquitaine's sacrifice and the water that Ipswich had brought, Prism was indeed tired. Confident that Ipswich would keep him and her mother safe, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
For quite some time Aquitaine lay beside Prism. The mare slept soundly as her body recovered from the use of her powers. Though her body would recover first, it would likely be a few days before Aquitaine could use her healer powers again, especially on a scale like she had just done for Prism. Eventually she had gotten enough sleep. Opening her eyes Aquitaine slowly lifted her head. Beside her Prism seemed to be sleeping as well, he needed plenty of rest to recover from all his injuries. Slowly she pushed herself to her hooves, her legs were still a big unstable but they would get their full strength back quickly enough. Turning her gaze fell upon her daughter. She was glad that Ipswich had come along with her, as having two prone Soquili laying here with no one to watch over them could have been disastrous.
"Has he been sleeping long?" She asked as she stepped over to her bag of herbs. She would not wake Prism, as he needed all the rest that he could get. Nosing the bag open Aquitaine selected a few herbs that would help her regain the rest of her strength back quickly and eat them. Lifting her gaze Aquitaine tried to judge the time, but it was hard with the walls of the ravine blocking out a lot of the light. "We will need more water soon." She said as her gaze returned to her daughter. "And that can give you a chance to check out that path you spotted earlier if the light holds long enough." She did not want Ipswich trying to climb up the path to check it's stability and usefulness in the dark.
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