Sorry for the wait
Word Count → 446
Saul's paws were soft and cool but even so as they brushed over the agitated skin on her arm it sent a twitch of pain through the recently healed wound, though Neela fought to control her expressions and not show any of this pain to Saul. When he commented on the fight she let out a noncommittal grunt, "That's one way to put it." The fight had been stranger; on one hand it had been gratifying, seeing the person who had hurt Kiara in pain and driven off but on the other hand it had been horrifying; painful, against everything Ichika stood for and it had brought up some emotions that Neela thought she had succeeded in burying deep within her mind. "Eh. Not glad it happened but I don’t regret it." She offered vaguely.
Neela's ears flicked a minute fraction as Saul mentioned he would have been able to help her with the pain and bleeding. Neela wasn't exactly sure where she had picked up her distaste for receiving medical attention from anyone, possibly from being forced to look after herself during her earlier years, but herself but nonetheless it stood; her method of throwing some alcohol on the wound and bandaging it was painful and inefficient but as long as it worked and kept her healthy she wouldn’t be seeking help from anybody else with her wounds any time soon.
Neela relaxed a tension she hadn’t even noticed building when Saul moved on from the subject and started relaying what he knew of the happenings at Ichika, though it seemed that he was nearly as out of the loop as she was. Still Neela sat politely, soaking up all the news of her home that was offered until Saul stopped and enquired about her trip, "Not bad, not bad. Weather was nice on the trip down, found myself some useful stuff in Halifax an met some interesting people." Neela's thoughts skipped unbidden to a tall brown wolf, sword over his back. She was glad of her fur hiding the inexplicable blush spreading over her face, pity nothing could be done about the uncontrollable twitch her ears made or the other little physical signs, though she couldn't but her finger on why they emerged.
Denial, Denial, Denial, a quiet part of her mind whispered, and she ignored it, instead focusing on Saul. "Festival's good isn’t it? Never seen so many people in one place before. Done a bit of trading as well," Neela's thoughts shot to the scent-marked barrel hidden in a bush by the nearby lake and filled with tools, whiskey and furs, but mostly whiskey, "What about you? Done any trading yet?"
