Exploration - Healing Hands

Tokotas: Karenina 3236, Lolita 5015 & Artemis 5213
Handlers: Ahnah & Juno
Wordcount: 1570

Instead of heading straight back to camp she decided to give it a wide berth. She didn’t like her tribemates seeing her at her most vulnerable. Hell, she didn’t even like it when Cricket was around. She always went out of her way to make a point of using her right arm sometimes in excess to make sure people didn’t get the idea that she was crippled in anyway. That was probably the biggest reason she had these flare-ups more and more frequently.

A sharp pain ran from her collarbone all the way to her fingertips. Her left hand hovered over her right shoulder only to be forced back down. Touching it wouldn’t do her any good.  She wove her fingers into Art’s bristly mane to keep her from being tempted.

The tundra halfmane was doing most of the steering. He moved as smoothly as he could but there was only so much a tokota could do while moving up steep slopes. He took extra care to avoid brushing Juno’s right side into trees of any sort. Little things triggered the painful spasms.

At this altitude the mist was rolling in off the crest of the mountain adding another level of difficulty to the task of getting to their destination. Juno rarely came this far south but this was the only place she knew of that would have teaberry still growing. Juno was just about to call for a break when she spotted the shape of a familiar leaf. She stopped Art and dismounted. Sure enough it was the right plant. No berries. She came in closer and found there was a good reason for that. They had been picked. Not by an animal either. She found tokota tracks and the occasional human one to match. She wasn’t alone on the mountain.

She reached for her hunting knife. One could never be too careful. Art followed close behind as Juno followed the path cut through the foliage.  

=AHNAH=

Ahnah was first alerted to another’s presence by Karenina’s shift in posture. As a new mother, her senses were heightened, and though she was generally a very unaggressive animal, her instincts to protect her young, which extended to her owner, caused her body to tense up.  Lolita, Karenina’s pup, made a high pitched bark in response, and Ahnah called her over to them. Karenina’s chuff was more effective, and the small half-mane bounded toward her mother, unaware of whatever was nearby.

Ahnah carefully wrapped up the berries she’d been collecting in her satchel, and placed them on the ground, reaching for her firearm. Her thick jacket, shed on the ground beside her, held the extra ammunition, but she didn’t want to miss whatever was coming their way while looking for it. Ahnah rarely had use for weapons, but was worried about certain animals out in the wild though, especially after hearing Eska’s story about the enormous bear. He’d practically insisted she got a gun, since they both knew how inept her skills with a bow were.

The sounds of the approaching party was different than Ahnah was expecting, and as they neared, she lowered her weapon, and gave Karenina a signal to release some tension, not wanting her tokota to attack a human.

“My tokota just welped not long ago… approach carefully!” She shouted into the bushes, hoping her voice would be heard and not sound too fearful.

Karenina’s low growl, a territorial claim, rumbled as an undercurrent to Ahnah’s warning. Ahnah ordered Lolita to stay behind her, and sidled up beside Karenina. “Shhhh, Nina…” She whispered, trying to help her charge calm down, as she waited to greet them, hoping that the interaction would go somewhat smoothly.

=JUNO=

Juno paused. Art’s ears picked up at the sound of a human voice. A familiar one at that. His posture didn’t relax much. Juno was gripping his mane harder and her jaw was rigid. She had recognized the voice too and somehow she felt a stranger would have been better.

She wondered if it was too late to slip back into the mist and retreat. She tucked her bottom lip under her upper teeth. No. She wouldn’t run from a midwife. She cleared her throat and replied, “A little far from Issorartuyok aren’t you?” She gave Art a pat and the male relaxed as much as he was going to. Females with cubs were worth being alert around.

Juno took a chance and started moving in closer. The mist let up enough that she could see her fellow tribemate. Ah a gun. That could have gotten messy quick. Juno’s eyes flicked back to the woman before her. They had little traffic with one another within day to day tribe life. She knew Ahnah had medical training. It explained why she was here.

Juno’s eyes moved to the two greying tokotas. The pup was younger than anticipated. Must have been quite a journey, Juno mused.  Artemis eyed them both but less fondly. Females with pups. Worse than bears.

“Came up here for those did you?” Juno nodded to the berries, “I did too.”  

=AHNAH=

Karenina stayed on guard as the two approached, but the familiarity was such that she ceased her growling, instead just eyeing the rider and mount warily, protective of her pup. Lolita was nearly to Ahnah’s waist, about the size the pup she’d adopted from Tuaq not long ago had been, but still young enough that Karenina was not keen on letting the pup out of her sight, and held onto her maternal instincts quite strongly. Ahnah’s defensive stance instantly changed, though she could sense the displeasure in Juno’s voice and posture. Lolita wagged her stubby tail, and seemed eager to run up to the new tokota, though her mother prevented her  from doing so, giving her a little nip to send her back to perceived safety.

“I tend to do a lot of traveling still. Eska keep trying to get me to stay at Issora more permanently, but I have many other patients who I still work with. Besides, I was running low on supplies, and figured I could refuel for my own stash, and Nikki’s.” Ahnah voice held a little hint of humor, as she was pleased that those at Issora had quickly gotten to know her, due to her visits becoming more and more regular. Several members of Issora had needed her services, and her cousin’s more continuous presence always meant that she felt welcome somewhere among them. Ahnah wasn’t as familiar with Juno though, having only met her in passing. “Is there something ailing you? I’d be happy to see if I can help at all.”

As she offered she realized that perhaps Juno wasn’t really the time that liked to be offered help, but the deal had been laid out now, so there was no turning back. Ahnah surveyed Karenina again, and decided to reprimand her intensity, giving her a sharp jab with her fingers. “Tsss. Knock if off, Nina. They’re not going to hurt Lola.”

Karenina huffed, and retreated further from them, sitting down heavily next to the packs, as Lola followed, and tried to nurse, though she had clearly outgrown the activity, and was held back from doing so. They greying female kept a wary eye on the male, though she let down her hackles.

=JUNO=

It was like a nightmare come to life. The corner of Juno’s mouth twitched as she held back sharp words for the woman, but it was unwarranted. She decided to stick with her original plan.

She placed a hand on Art’s shoulder. “They’re for Artemis. It was a while back but his front right during a mountain expedition. Then after it healed up it got strained unexpectedly. He’s mostly fine now but I catch him licking it from time to time. I thought a bit of nature’s medicine might help.” It just so happened Juno had remembered to wrap Art’s legs that day. The green fleece fabric stood out against his tundra pelt. Peeking out from under the right wrap was the faint traces of an old scar. The hair had never grown back.

Art was back to watching the puppy. Juno tugged at his mane till he switched his attention to something else. Juno knew better than to let the male near younger tokotas. He had a short fuse and liked to send pups packing with a bite.

She stood awkwardly for a moment. A twinge ran down her arm and she winced again. “I’d be a fool not to take advantage of your talents. What dosage would you recommend?” Whatever she recommended for Art, Juno might just take for herself. She needed a tokota sized portion to squelch the pain in her right shoulder. She missed the days where she still had a supply of potent painkillers on hand

She didn’t want the midwife making a fuss of her spasm so Juno let go of Art and moved in to inspect the berries that Ahnah had been gathering.