OOC: Resident healer has arrived :3 Miyu, I assume this thread takes place after our one, so Alaine actually knows whom Jac is XD
The cold weather left no room for idle hands, and as bitter as was winter's fangs, the young healer hardly minded the extra work. It had become harder to hunt, harder to function, but the land adorned in a shroud of white was a spectacular sight to see. Footpaws crunched softly on the unbroken surface as the collie-woman headed back towards her 'home', emerald eyes bright and cheeks flushed with the winds bite beneath their soft creamy fur. Her thick red cloak swirled softly about her feminine figure, but bunched as her step lifted in haste. She was expecting Ayita to stop by soon - the woman had need of some more herb poultices, to heal bites of some sort - and she'd merely needed to dig up some more of the bulbous sweet-roots to replenish her stock.
As far as she was aware, Alaine's two children remained asleep in their rooms, most likely huddled into one another for warmth. That was how she'd left them, and that was how she'd expect them to be upon return. But, alas, such expectations never came to - At the entrance to the Chien Hotel, the pristine blanket of ivory was marred by the marks of many paws. For a moment, her heart lurched, jade eyes darting up to the window of the room in which her son still slumbered. Then, with the roots tucked into her small leather pouch, the young lady bounded quickly up the steps and burst into the hall.
The hotel, usually dormant at this time of year, was bustling with warm bodies. Among them, Alaine recognized the majority; Ayita was present, and near to her the Lady Ruri whom Alaine had met briefly before. At her feet was, as should have been guessed, Sylvie - Her guardian made note to chide the girl for being up after her bed time, but continued to scan the room. There was a stranger, and Mr Strel (whom she'd helped patch up only a short time ago)... And their King. At the sight of him, Alaine stiffened, and beat down the flush that crept up her face, for he mortified her still.
As if she were walking on broken eggshells, the healer slipped gingerly through the growing crowd, completely unaware of the thoughts that boiled within minds. She knew nothing of the war that haunted their horizons, but also knew, perhaps better than most, how to heal the wounded bodies and souls it would produce. She slipped through the throng, towards the fireplace at the back of the hotel. With the aid of the two pups for whom she'd cared, some sticks and logs had been carted inside before the latest snowfall to cry out. She shifted them now, and fumbled with some contraptions until the sparks of a fire began to glow.
With that chore completed, the young woman finally turned around and squared her shoulders. She seemed to be the youngest of the adults in presence, and was daunted by her vulnerability. Brushing her dirty palms on the front of her soft green dress to clean them, Alaine cleared her throat to inform others of her presence, but said nothing. The questions were already flying around her, and the young healer felt no need to echo her own. Giving young Sylvie a sharp look, she settled with fidgeting anxiously, hoping that the voices would not raise enough to wake her sleeping son.
Speak think walk
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