Tending an Injured Wolf

14 December 2015

22:19 Ruzeth wanders near the edge of the forest as he does every couple of days. THe little zebra had to take some time off now and again, and nothing was more relaxing than going for a stroll and collecting some of the herbs that grew just beyond the treeline. Ruzeth humms to himself as he moves towards a patch of glowing mushrooms, looking to examine and see if they were ready for harvesting yet.

22:20 < Ebb> ( remember, at night! )

22:20 < Ruzeth> (Thats why they're glowing mushrooms~!)

22:32 < Ruzeth> (not feeling it Ebb?)

22:33 < Ebb> ( I am typing a thing )

22:33 < Ebb> ( had to actually get 'set up' for it )

22:33 < Ruzeth> (Ahh alright~)

22:40 Ebb stumbles through the woods, limping. He had a set of nasty gashes on his left hindleg, where a feisty bramble patch had latched onto him. The magical plant had needed some aggressive negotiations to let him go, and the hengstwolf bore some gashes in his mouth to show for it. Blood slowly oozed from both, dripping down his leg and dribbling over his jaw. He pads through patches of pale light where the full moon peeked through the trees, looking for a spot to rest for a bit. There was always enough light to see on his 'excursions', especially near the edge of the woods where shafts of moonlight dappled the forest floor. Ebb spots a nice looking hollow in the roots of a tree, and settles himself down in it, looking lazily out at the scenery with gleaming eyes. Oh, look -- some of those glowing mushrooms that sprouted up here and there, only a few feet away, past a bush. He stares at them, pondering, while he waits for his wounds to stop smarting so much.

22:44 < Ebb> ( I've started listening to ambient music when RPing stuff now )

22:44 < Ebb> ( at least, this kind of stuff )

22:46 Ruzeth steps forward through the brush, crunching leaves and cracking twigs underneath his hooves as he approaches the patch. His approach is signaled by the gentle chiming of the golding rings he used to accent his mane and tail . THe metalic objects glint in the dim light, providing enough contrast to make the otherwise camaflauged form of the zebra more noticable. Reaching the center of the patch he sits down on his haunches and then leans forward to inspect a nearby mushroom casting a dim green glow that hilights his white stripes. He takes a deep breath and breathes in there scent and then plucks it, turning it around in his hooves. His head tilts as he catches something odd on one of the edges. A wet red spot seems to be obstructing teh glow, and from teh look of it it was fresh.

22:55 Ebb perks up his ears at the sounds of movement, his bloody lips pulling back back to bare his teeth. Whatever it was didn't sound very big, though; not even the size of an adult pony. He could probably take it if he had to. And more importantly, this was comfortable, and he didn't feel like moving. Ebb stays put, watching quietly from the side as Ruzeth steps into view. A pony, out at this time of night? That was rare. And not just a pony, a zebra? Well, actually, maybe that made it more likely. They did do odd stuff like that, Ebb thought. As Ruzeth picks and twirls his mushroom, he stays put. A thick shrub had hidden him from view before, but now that Ruzeth was up close, he was lying there in plain view if the zebra turned his head. A bit of moonlight spilled over his haunches, the matted fur glistening black in the moonlight.

23:03 Ruzeth frowns and puts a hoof on the damp patch just to make sure, and then looks at the small red spot it makes on his hooves. SUre enough, something out here had been freshly injured. Still, it didnt look like whatever left this parished here, no there was not enough blood for that. And for an hurt creature in the everfree, that could certainly spell trouble, he thinks as a small shiver runs down his spine. He lowers the mushroom back to where he'd plucked it and catches sight of a couple more drops of blood, a trail actually, and his eyes move across the grass until...He finds himself staring into the amber eyes of a wolf. He gives a small startled instinctual yelp as he realizes hes being watched by a predatory creature and tenses his body ready to spring. His eyes look over the creatures bloody snarling lips and he sucks in a deep breath. Ruzeth sticks out a hoof and holds it in front of him as if to keep Ebb and an arms length while he assess the situation.4

23:14 Ebb stares at Ruzeth, watching his reaction. Good, that seemed like he wouldn't be bothered... which was really all he wanted. He lets a low growl rumble through his throat, then almost seems to roll his eyes and settle down. The message was fairly clear: don't bother me, and I don't bother you. And that would have been that, but when Ebb adjusts himself, it sends another wave of pain through him from his torn up leg and a whimper escapes him, unbidden.

23:19 Ruzeth takes a slow deep breath as he watches the wolf's reaction, trying to assess the situation. As he hears the low growl he bites his lip and hears his fur stand on end and gives a slow nod. Seems the beast was content to lie there fore the moemnt. He slowly begins to back away keeping his eyes on the creature when he hears the more pathetic noise. It was hurt, and he couldnt leave it out here to the dangers of the forest like that. It was his duty as a healer. Against his better judgement the zebra begins to stalk towards him, crouching down to make himself seem smaller and less threatening, and folding his ears flat for good measure. "There there little one. Let me take a look at you..." He coos softly, edging closer, but carefully so. He wasnt about to get himself hurt and scare ebb over this.

23:27 Ebb pondered for a few moments whether to scare the pony away. He certainly could, if he wanted. He'd seen how Ruzeth bit his lip and nodded when he growled the first time, and that was just a baby warm up growl. A real snarl would send him packing, Ebb thought. Yet... Eh. He did seem to mean well, and he seemed young and earnest enough. What was a colt like this doing out in the forest, anyway...? Ah, he should probably do something. Ebb lifts his head and bares his neck to the zebra, but only for a few moments before he goes back to staring at him from those yellow eyes. You can come closer, but remember who's in charge, he seemed to say. Up close Ebb looked a bit worse for wear, his coat scruffy and nicked all over from his thorny fight. A white eight-pointed star stood out against the mixed gray fur of his forehead, an oddly regular shape. Some thorns still jutted from his leg, the ones Ebb hadn't been able to pull out without fearing biting off a chunk of himself.

23:37 Ruzeth pauses when the the creature begins to figet, worried that he might be coming on a little to strong and he didnt want to scare him, lest he sustain some inuries of his own. But then Ebb does something incredibly odd. THe wolf shows him his injured neck as if inviting him to come take a look and as their eyes meet once more he thinks he sees a spark of intelligence in it. No matter, these woods seemed to always have strange creatures and magic in them. If anything, this would make this venture all the more dangerous on the chance that Ebb was just trying to lure him in. Finally Ruzeth works up the nerve to close the last of the distance and kneels down in front of Ebb. "There we go. GOod boy. Now just hold still. Let me get a good look at you," He says in a soft soothing voice. His hooves reach forward as he moves to contact Ebb's flesh to turn his head and get a good look at the injuries the beast had sustained. "Just stay calm. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to fix you up and it will be all better..." he syas, continuing to talk in a soothing and nonthreatening manner.

23:47 Ebb does his best to pretend to be a normal animal as Ruzeth comes up next to him and kneels down. He starts to fidget nervously, and that part wasn't even all acting; Ebb didn't like being too close to ponies when he was like this, especially strange new ones. And the whine of pain when Ruzeth touches his wounds was completely authentic. As a wolf, his expressions were hard to read, something that came in handy when Ebb wanted to pretend he was nothing special. So he hoped that it wasn't obvious he could understand Ruzeth's words; animals could understand tone, and that conveyed most of what he was saying, right?

23:56 Ruzeth coos and shushes the wolf as he hears teh whines of pain, internally growing nervous and fearing that Ebb might snap at him in he didnt let up. Nothing here in and of itself appeared to be particularly troublesome, but there was more he couldnt see with ebb wedged where he was and he was worried that the injuries susteained might be worse. The Zebra pulls his hooves away and fishes a jar out of his bag, opening it to produce an extremly foul smelling paste that would offend the senses of any creature. Wrinkling his nose, he dabs his hoof in the jar and spreads it over the red gash on the back of Ebbs neck. He'd feel a sharp pain for a second that then slowly dulls to minor ache, taking with it the pain of the gashes. "There that should help and keep things from getting infected. I sure wish you'd come out for me so that I can look at the rest of you..." He didnt really expect the creature to comply, at least not without some incentive...but he wasnt sure he had anything propper on him to coax the wolf out.

00:01 Ebb mostly ignores the cooing and shushing, but he does get used to the pain. When Ruzeth produces the foul ointment from his bag, Ebb lets out a little growl of uncertainty, but it's mostly for show. He knew it was medicinal, and wanted to put some a bit of resistance so that he didn't seem too complying. Ah, that stung, but the soothing relief afterwards was worth it. Now the colt wanted him to get up, and move more into the light? Well... he could, but that'd be revealing too much. Ebb had gotten into the swing of pretending not to understand now, and cocks his head, unmoving.

00:10 Ruzeth looks down at the wolf as all he recieves is a confused look instead of motion. "Ya...I thought not. I guess it was too much to ask for you to cooperate..." He muses alloud, keeping his cheerful demeanour despite the irritation his words convey. This was certainly an intelligent animal though. It didnt nearly put up enough of a fight to him tending to it, and it didnt snap or growl as he did the nessesary actions that would cause a bit of pain. With that the zebra takes off his pack and begins to look through it. Hmmm what did he have here. Well...he could smoke the wolf out...but that certainly didnt seem to be the proper way to stay on its good side. Even if intelligent it didnt seem to understand his words anyways. Hmm...Oh...Ruzeth finds a small jar of honey he'd forgotten about. Perhaps he could offer ebb something sweet for his trouble. He takes a twig and dips it in the jar before twirling it around. Stepping back he puts the sweet end of the stick right to teh creature's muzzle so that he coudl smell the sweet scent and give it a lick if he so chose.

00:18 Ebb thought he was doing a pretty good job pretending to be a wolf, unaware of Ruzeth's experience with animals. It takes a bit of willpower to keep from smiling when Ruzeth complains to himself about his stubbornness. Hm, now what was the colt doing...? Ebb's nose picks up that scent right away: honey! He bites back a chuckle and sniffs at the twig. Glancing back and forth between Ruzeth and the honey-stick, Ebb gives it a tentative lick.

00:23 Ruzeth nods as Ebb as he leans forward to lick the twig. "Yes, good wolf, do you like the twig?" he ask almost like he's talking to a baby. He lets Ebb get a couple licks, long enough for him to associate it with teh sweet flavor and then takes a couple steps backward, dropping it down in the center of the glowing mushroom patch. There, now if he wanted more of that tasty treat he'd have to make his way out into the moonlight proper where the rest of him could be treated.

00:27 Ebb snorts at the baby talk, bristling a little bit. That always did rankle with him. But he plays along, getting to his paws and limping out into the glowing patch. He doesn't let Ruzeth drop the twig though; wolf though he was, he didn't fancy the idea of licking off dirt-covered honey. Ebb lunges forwards and licks the stick right out of Ruzeth's hoof. He seems quite pleased with himself, and settles down in the mushroom patch, wincing at all the movement of his sore leg.

00:36 Ruzeth gives a squeal of fright and hops backwards as Ebb lunches and grabs the stick from his hoof, releasing it so that the woulf could have his treat. THere actually wasnt much honey left on it but enough still for him to taste it. While Ebb is tending to his snack, Ruzeth retreives his bag and comes out to examine the injured leg. Ahh yes...this seems to be the root cause of the issue. All these thorns...Well best to get it over with while his patient is distracted. He gives one quick tug and pulls the tendril free, extracting them, but also letting the blood flow and causing a fair amount of pain.

00:39 < Ebb> ( brb )

00:47 Ebb lightly suckles at the stick, his mouth still smarting from when he'd bitten away the thorns. The honey helped a little, actually. He's focused on getting the last little bit of honey off the twig when Ruzeth yanks out the thorny tendril from his leg. Ebb's eyes widen and he grunts, with an accompanying snap as he crunches the twig between his teeth. The snarl afterwards is almost instinctual, his wolf form snarling where he as a pony would have sworn and cursed.

00:51 < Ruzeth> (Hmm important question does Ebb turn and snarl at Ruzeth or just in general?)

00:52 < Ebb> ( hmmmm )

00:53 < Ebb> ( I think at Ruzeth )

00:57 Ruzeth winces as he hears the creatures's snarl and shuffles as he sees the wolfs teeth. He takes a deep breath, keeping an eye on Ebb to make sure he didnt suddenly take a disliking to him after that. "Its alright, its alright. That just needed to happen and then wall will be fine," he soothes. He waits for Ebb to seem to calm down before putting the salve down on the injured leg as well. "Hmm even if you cant understand me, you're certainly beyond any 'wild animal' I've met. And yo've been really good for your treatmetn too..." he muses alloud, "I guess you're just one of the strange creatures of the forest."

00:58 < Ebb> ( though, to be fair, most "wild animals" in ponies seem to be quite smart :p )

01:00 < Ruzeth> (THis is true I suppose :P)

01:01 < Ruzeth> (Though...I like to attribute that to 'cartoon xP)

01:05 Ebb glares reproachfully at Ruzeth, and paws at the ground. He rumbles, but lets the colt close back in and spread salve over his leg. It stung like fire, but wasn't any worse than how it'd felt to get the wound the first place. A little snapping at the air later, and Ebb felt much better. His ears swivel back to Ruzeth when he starts talking again, and the hengstwolf starts to nod at the last statement without thinking. Yes, he was just a creature of the forest. Wait, no, don't nod! Ebb quickly turns the motion into leaning down and snuffling at the ground, as though picking up some kind of scent. He looks away into the forest with feigned purpose.

01:12 Ruzeth closes up the salve and watches the wolf to make sure that he hadnt missed anythign that was bothering the guy. As he does so he catches a queer motion out of the wolf, but its not quite enough to make any thing of it. He frowns though as Ebb starts to get a little more active and shakes his head. "No you really should go back to your little hole. You might feel better now but its not going to help with the healing process..." Ruzeth follows Ebbs gaze out into the woods and takes a step in that direction. "What do you smell then?" He asks, sniffing the air himself and swiveling his ears.

01:12 < Ruzeth> (Hmm so...either Ruzeth can pretty much leave him at this point or he can get into trouble I think...unless you have some other direction?)

01:13 < Ebb> ( Ebb was gonna run off! )

01:13 < Ebb> ( and then show up at Ruzeth's potion stand alter, as a horse )

01:13 < Ruzeth> (Sounds good to me~)

01:17 Ebb rolls his furry shoulders in a dismissive shrug. He turns back to Ruzeth and barks something, maybe a thanks? Ruzeth couldn't smell anything, but canines were known for their impressive noses... He doesn't have long to ponder, because Ebb bounds off into the woods, eager to be out of the zebra's sight. The hengstwolf appreciated his help, but he couldn't really thank him without opening a can of worms. More like a bucket, really.

01:22 Ruzeth watches ebbs motions and feels something in his bark. I guess thats all I'm going to get, he thinks to himself. Still, having a creature out here who had good feelings towards him was always useful. That dragon had saved his skin at least once as far as he was aware. He groans as Ebb bounds off, hoping that his new aquaintance wouldnt hurt himself too much now that everything was feeling better, since it certainly wasnt actually better. As Ebb dispears out of his sight he sighs once more and turns back to that mushroom patch. Oh yes, he'd been meaning to pick those before that little distraction. With that, Ruzeth begins his duty, picking them, and putting them into his satchel.