Brasa grimaced as she tried to walk again, but her hind leg wasn't having it. She laid down on the hard ground once more, a little whimper of defeat leaving her. She'd been out looking for new watering holes and had ventured a bit further than she had anticipated going. Tired, she had decided to spend the night in the rogue lands. It wasn't something new for her, and she loved to explore, but the night had taken a turn for the worse. A huge storm had come out of nowhere, sending her running for shelter. The rain was so heavy she had been running blind and didn't see the deep crevasse in the ground that a river had cut. She had fallen a good ten feet onto rocky, hard dirt and couldn't stand on her back right paw anymore. She wasn't sure if she had broken it or just twisted it, but it hurt too much to even look at. Thankfully she had managed to get out of the small ravine before the storm flooded it, and had found some shelter in an empty cave nearby.

Now, though, she was far from home and hurt and hungry and tired and afraid. She tried to hobble a few steps every few minutes, but it was painful and hard going. Mostly she was worried about a rogue coming and finding her and doing something to her. "Oh please...someone help," she said weakly to the ground as she flopped down again after attempting to walk.

Little did Brasa know help was on the way and had been for the better part of the day. Soleil was off on a hunt to find the missing Water-Seeker, pointed in the proper direction by one of the lions that had seen Brasa heading off. She hoped the younger female hadn't strayed from the path she had taken, otherwise the search would be hopeless. It was easy to see a big storm had rolled through here thanks to the little sprouts popping up in the dirt, so any tracks would have been washed away. That didn't get Soleil's spirits down, though. If she couldn't find her by nightfall she'd start to worry.

It was about mid afternoon when Soleil spotted a lioness in the distance. She bore the size and the colors of the Firekin and her spirits soared. Jogging in the direction of the lioness, she called out. "Brasa? Brasa is that you?"

Brasa had struggled forward a fair distance by the time she heard someone call out to her. She lifted her head so fast she almost fell over, but she didn't care. A black and red lioness was coming towards her and she just about sobbed in relief. "Yes! Yes, I'm Brasa!"

As the female confirmed that she was the missing Water-Seeker, Soleil broke into a run to get to her faster. It was clear to see she was in pain, favoring her hind leg. Hopefully it wouldn't be anything too major and they'd make it home safely. "Thank goodness I've found you," she said as she approached the younger female. "Oh dear...what happened to your paw?"

"I fell into a ditch," Brasa said, feeling much better now that someone was here. "Oh, it hurts so bad! I don't think I broke anything, though."

"I'll be the judge of that," Soleil said as she motioned for Brasa to lay down. The younger lioness did and stretched out her leg for Soleil to inspect. The medic leaned in and looked for any obvious trauma. Nothing looked too bad, but it was obviously swollen in some areas. "Can you wiggle your toes for me?"

Brasa did as asked, and Soleil gave a little hum. "I'm going to apply some pressure. Let me know when it hurts."

After some poking and prodding, Soleil came to the conclusion that her paw was simply badly sprained. "Thankfully you'll heal, but it will take a while and our journey home is going to be painful," Soleil said with a frown as she reached into her pack to grab a few things to splint the paw.

"Oh, I'm just glad I'm not alone anymore," Brasa said with a sigh of relief. She was also glad it wasn't broken, of course, but even if it was, the fact that Soleil was here made everything better. "Thank you so much for coming to find me. I'm not sure I would have made it home alone!"

"Oh, I'm sure if I hadn't come, someone else would have," Soleil said with a gentle smile as she got to work. About twenty minutes later Brasa was up on her paws, gingerly trying out her hind leg. It still hurt but she could walk slowly on it now, favoring it heavily.

"I think this will work," she said as she limped in a small circle. "Oh, thank you so much again!" She stopped beside Soleil to rub her head affectionately on the older female's neck. Soleil chuckled and returned the favor.

"You're very welcome," she said as she pulled back. "I don't usually do rogue lands runs, but I'm very glad I did. Now, let's see if we can make some headway. There was a nice grove of trees not too far from here that we can sleep under for a bit and then continue once the sun sets."

The two lionesses made their way slowly to the trees and they both napped without issue. Once the sun set they were off again, making their slow way back to their home. They chatted as they walked and Soleil made sure to check Brasa's splint every so often to assure it was still doing its job. It was, thankfully, and they had a rather enjoyable, if slow, walk.

Once the dunes of the Firekins desert were within their sights they knew they were home. Brasa thanked Soleil over and over again and the medic simply smiled and gave her instructions on how to care for her injured paw. With the promise of meeting up in a few days to see how it was progressing, the two females went their separate ways and returned to their respective dens.

FIN
WC: 1030