The day was cold, holding a winter wind that could not be tamed and cut through any coat, fur and human made as well. It trapped the Church girl indoors, behind the door with the hung sunflower painting. With the brisk wind came a bright sun, and she sat at her table with pencil in hand using the clear light. Her inspiration had been drained by the grand mural she had been working on for the Miracles male Strel, but the light was too perfect not to use. It was a simple sketch, only lines to make the figure that stood within the doorway she imagined and then formed on the white paper. She was faceless, created from the deeper reaches of her mind and memories that she had pushed into those realms. Mati used the task to forget the memories that confused her, and yet as she drew they grew from simple thoughts to concrete evidence.

        
But, the young woman saw it as beauty that could be hidden behind the label of art. Harmless. Before working on the face of the nameless female the Dreamer rose, rustling through piles of canvas and papers until she found the matte board that she desired. With the knife she kept among her pencils the earthen hued woman cut along the strait edge. She angled the knife, piecing the soft thick paper and drew the sharp edge across the ruler her eyes drifting to the picture she wished to call complete and matte before actually completing it. There was something about the rough edges that made her proud of it. The knife hit the table, and her eyes looked down to the white board turned red.

        
The artist looked slowly as her hand, finding the pain coming to her only as she saw the wound across the base of her thumb. Idly she had drawn the knife right over her soft hand, eyes and mind focused on a woman that had no face. It stung, and she could not help by cry out softly at the pain. Quickly she went to the door, panic not yet over whelming her and yet her hands had begun to shake at the sight of her own blood. Through the hall and into the kitchen the tall woman walk briskly, looking in the cabinets for a clean rag. Why she had not just looked in the basket where she kept her new unused rags she did not know, but as she searched the pain and panic was setting in. She closed the empty cabinets without reserve, drops of blood dabbling the floor and counter. She needed water as well, but it seemed that she couldn’t find anything. Lost among useless kitchenware Mati felt the urge to cry wash over her, and yet she stifled the tears.

        Cambria was once again sitting morosely in her room, her hands gently stroking the back of Enzo's head. His flying was almost fully restored, though she would continue to keep him only indoors until the weather warmed up. He probably could go out and survive on his own if he wanted to, but she wasn't going to take any chances with his well being. The girl often conversed quietly with him, asking if he were happy here and if he would stay with her and not leave. Sometimes his head would bob and his dark little eyes would look at her, but she wasn't sure if he understood a word she said. The mourning dove was currently one of the only things that she could take pleasure in, after finding out about what her uncle had done. It made her want to scream in fury and cry from pain all at the same time and she could never decide which urge to give in to. Often she cried in here, alone, with an angered expression upon her face as she shoved it into her pillow. Of all the things for him to do, she never expected him to be so callous and cruel. He had been out with that woman when he should have been here concerned over her well being. She could think of nothing worse that he could have done.

        Someone banging around downstairs in the kitchen caught her attention and she looked curiously at her closed door. Just the other night her aunt Ghita had been hurt while she had been on a hunt and she had bandaged her up. It had been the first real test of her abilities as a healer and she thought that she had passed. She was just lucky that her aunt hadn't been sick and needed to be attended with herbs for that part of her instruction had yet to begin. Right now all she knew was stopping bleeding and bandaging, treating physical wounds and little about setting bones. For some reason, she had a feeling that she should check in on whatever was going on in the kitchen. Standing up she returned Enzo to his box and walked out of her room and down the stairs, her ears pricked forward to the frantic shutting of doors.

        As she entered the kitchen, as with the night Ghita had been hurt, the strong metallic scent of blood hit her nose and her ears flicked back in concerns. It wasn't her aunt looking in a panic around the kitchen though, but Mati. The older wolfess was moving around too rapidly for Cambria to spot the wound, but she could see the crimson drops on the counters and floor. "Mati, what is it? Where are you hurt?" The Marino hoped that this injury, too, would be of a fairly superficial nature and be one that she could easily handle herself. There was still much she didn't know and she was always afraid of her skills being inadequate to help.

        
How foolish, how careless she had been. A soft growl came to her throat as she pushed things in the cabinet around with her uninjured hand. Nothing, she thought as she looked for what she needed, she found nothing useful. What were all these thing needed for? A potato peeler sat in her hand for a prolonged moment, and the female wondered what it was for before throwing it to the back of the cupboard. Such useless things in place of rags and maybe some a bucket of water. Her pain and thoughts of tears had turned to anger and frustration. The blood was pooling in her palm, dripping on the floor and Mati silently cursed the fact that she would need to clean that to, all because of the careless daydreaming. Dreaming of what? She hastily questioned herself, her frustration rising as she found no answer. Another door slammed shut, and a soft voice broke her tirade. Violet eyes looked to find Cambria looking at her with a concerned gaze, a question on her tongue.

        
The wolfess held up her hands slightly, one holding the other in hopes of stopping the bleeding. She felt a heat rise to her cheeks as she explained,
“I cut myself.” The surprise of seeing the other wolfess, having likely been caught in her small hissy-fit and frantic search made the words of how she had cut herself get stuck in her throat. The anger had certainly been lost at the appearance of the other Dreamer, but Mati didn’t know what she could do about it. She hadn’t been able to find a thing that could be placed over it, and as Mati stood still the pain of the cut could not go unnoticed. The cringe came back to her face and she took her good hand away from the cut palm slowly, eyes fighting the command to look down at the gash.

        It was shocking, to see the Nanny in such a fury. She had never seen Mati so upset, or even ever lose her temper at all. She had always been so kind and patient with everyone, especially herself and her siblings. She recalled fondly the day she had taken them all to the beach and they had explored and swam in the ocean and found the crab. Seeing her now she almost didn't recognize her and she couldn't help but wonder who or what had put her in such a foul mood. Immediately though she knew that she didn't like the fact of Mati being so upset. The earthen wolfess was too nice and caring to have anyone be rude or mean to her. It didn't occur to Cambria at all that the anger could be directed towards the Church girl herself. Mati didn't have any flaws in her eyes.

        When her voice broke the air the frenzy in the kitchen stopped and the older Dreamer turned to look at her, clearly surprised to see her. Cambria's gaze turned to the folded hands and as she saw no injuries elsewhere on Mati's body she figured it must be something on at least one of her hands or fingers. She had cut herself? Oh dear, that must have hurt a lot. No wonder she had been in such a state. Almost as soon as the Sergeant thought this she saw the pain display itself on Mati's face and she wished that she knew about the herbs that could take away her pain. Sadly she did not, and would not until spring came and Dawali could show her the plants and their uses. One hand moved to reveal the injured one. There was quite a lot of blood, but immediately she knew what do to. "Hold your hand over your head, it'll help to slow the bleeding." If a limb was placed higher than the level of the heart than the blood had a harder and slower time pumping it up to that limb. "Follow me upstairs, I have bandages and other supplies in my room. I can't do anything for the pain, but I can clean it and wrap it up." Cambi motioned with her hand for Mati to come with her as she turned to walk out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

        
The older Dreamer was not normally so quick to anger. No she did not hold the poise that her adoptive mother did, but Mati did not believe herself to be angry often. The sight of her own blood made her queasy, a weakness that was embarrassing and not so easily hidden. Perhaps Cambria wouldn’t notice, or hold it against her if she became light headed while looking at the deep crimson against the dirt colored fur of her hand. A predator wasn’t supposed to be so upset at the sight, adding to the embarrassment that bloomed behind her furred faced. Mati tried to smile, attempting to convince Cambria (but mostly herself) that she was indeed fine and not on the edge of tears from the stinging pain and the adrenaline that seeped into her blood stream.

        
There was hardly a pause, Cambria moved into a fast paced and yet calm action that Mati could not help but follow without question. When the wolfess spoke to raise her arm the Church girl did so, her good hand keeping the pressure, following suit and moving skyward. It felt awkward, silly almost as she trailed Cambi up the stairs and down the hall to her room. Even through the slight panic, that was decreasing now that there was direction being given, violet eyes scanned the room as she walked into it. It was first time Mati had been inside, besides the one she had kept with her family as a pup. Before she could reach the cage that held the pet bird Mati followed Cambria’s direction and sat on the bed. Lowering her arms she presented her packmate with the wound that was growing from a sting to a dull pulsing ache.

        
Her panic was lessoning and Mati found that she could attempt to explain the frantic episode that Cambria had been a witness to.
“I was looking for a rag or something, and couldn’t find anything.” Her voice was soft and she fought to keep it steady.
“The pains not too bad.” She lied, now knowing that there was nothing that could be done for it. Bandaging it was kind enough, and far more then Mati could do herself. Purple eyes remained lowered to the planks of the wooden floor; even if the panic was fading, her embarrassment was still alive and well.

        The pair quickly reached her room and she instructed Mati to sit down on the bed, which she did without protest. Cambria gathered up her bandages, clean cloths, and bottle of rubbing alcohol and walked over to Mati, setting the supplies down on the floor. There was also a shallow basin of water nearby which she pulled closer to her. Taking one of the clean cloths she dampened it in the water and gently took Mati's injured hand. The blood made it hard to see where exactly the cut was and how extensive it was and so she needed to wipe it a bit to be able to see more clearly. Carefully she dabbed the wet cloth against her hand, helping to remove some of the blood and exposing the wound to her searching eyes. "It doesn't look too bad. It should heal fairly quickly," she said reassuringly. "If you cut yourself again just come find me. I've been taking healing lessons with the healer in AniWaya. I still have a lot to learn, but I can take care of cuts like these." She couldn't blame Mati for becoming a little panicked after getting cut like that and not being able to find anything to help.

        With the cut now easily seen Cambria took the bottle of alcohol and placed the cloth underneath the other's hand. "This is going to sting, but it'll clean the cut and keep it from getting infected." She wondered if there was a herb that would do the same job as the alcohol and would be a little less harsh, but for now she had to make due with the pungent liquid. Slowly she poured the alcohol over and into the cut, letting it wash away any unwanted matter or bacteria. The girl took up another cloth and then pressed it again the cut. "Here, hold that there while I get the bandage ready." As the Marino measured out the cloth bandage her eyes darted back up to Mati's face for a moment. "How'd did it happen?" She supposed she didn't really need to know, but she was curious as to how the injury had occurred. If the older fey would prefer not to talk about it though she wouldn't press the matter.

        The bandage was ready and she took the cloth that was covering the wound away. Slender fingers securely but gently wrapped the bandage around the wound, covering it up and ensuring that it would stay clean and heal without issue. Chances were that she would need to change the covering later today after the cut started to scab over, but that wouldn't be an issue, she had plenty of bandages. She tied the cloth up to keep it in place. "There, that should do it. I might have to re-wrap it later, but this should do for now." Now that Mati was taken care of her gaze was not narrowed to just take in the current injury and her eyes traced up the other girl's arms to see scars etched into her forearms. Cambria's brows knit together in worry; she had never seen those before. Her fingers brushed lightly over the old, angry lines. "What happened here?" she asked, her eyes moving up to meet the violets of the Major.

        
In the corner of her eye Mati watched as the other female rummaged through a few things and found each of the things that she had been looking for in the kitchen. Quickly, calmly it all came together and her hand reached out to take Mati’s injured paw. Mati gave it without hesitation, her good hand moving to hold her arm to keep herself steady. The pain increased slightly, as Cambria began to clean away the blood from the cut. But it with such a gentle touch, that Mati felt it dull with the chill of the cold water. Her violet gaze could not be forced to look at it, and without realizing it Mati began watching the face of the armature healer instead. Cambria's soft voice came forward, Mati's unease calmed by her reassurance. She felt better just knowing that she was not alone and without bandages, and now understanding that the other girl actually knew what to do, and had a mentor started the melting of the tension written in her tall form.
“Good, ‘cuz I really didn’t know what to do. Even if I had found something to wrap it with.” Mati admitted, a smile even coming to her face for a brief moment.

        
At the notion of more pain Mati’s gaze widened, but she did not pull away from Cambria’s gentle hands. She squeezed her eyes shut, inhaling sharply as she felt the alcohol burn the open wound. It did sting, and not just a little. But, if it was needed then she could take it.
“I’m kind of a big baby.” She added as she took the clean cloth and pressed it against the cut, feeling foolish for showing the pain on her face so plainly. Her voice was slightly uneven, still feeling the aftermath of the astringent liquid. Still she did not look down, not wanting to see the blood that might still be on her fur. Cambria took a longer piece of fabric, cutting it to fit her hand.
“I was drawing,” She spoke, awaking from the slight daze.
“and wanted to matte the picture. I ended up cutting myself instead of the matte board. I’m sure I ruined the picture.” She ended with a lower tone, though the picture was oddly captivating Mati would be better off with it out of her room, or tucked away in a folder. It was too suggestive.

        
Again, Mati followed Cambi’s movements until she returned to her and wrapped the cloth around her hand. Eyes danced over her face, but in a moment’s passing Mati forced her eyes to the room, finding that she had been rudely staring. Feeling the tug of the knot the Church woman looked down to see her brown paw covered with the light hued cloth. She could still feel the sting, but it was dulled by the comforting pressure of the bandage.
“Thank you.” she spoke, her smile returning a bit brighter then before. It was tight on her hand, but she figured that it needed to be. It was also neat, clean cut and would not slip off. Mati saw the change in Cambi’s gaze, her smile fading and her heart began to quicken. She could hardly remember the last time anyone had seen those marks, but oddly she did not move to cover them as she had in the past.

        
“I was in the city.” She began, her eyes now looking at the healed scars instead of Cambria’s face. Her sea foam eyes needed to be avoided, for there was shame in her own lavender gaze that would not go unnoticed.
“And a male approached me.” the words were paired with the rise of her face and she looked at Cambria with a lessening sense of shame.
“I had the chance to run, I didn’t, and he came attacked me. If it hadn’t been for a coyote, named Onus. I think it would be a lot worse.”, likely dead. Eyes looked away once more, feeling as if she shouldn’t have spoken about it, not sure that Cambria would understand or simply feel pity over her.

        Cambria was completely focused on getting Mati's cut taken care of and so she was oblivious to the fact that the older wolf's gaze was trained on her face. This kind of focus would help her greatly in emergency situations and she was glad that it was already becoming an unconscious habit of her's in these situations. It had been the same way with her aunt earlier. Quietly she was excited to be able to tell Dawali about how she had bandaged two of her packmate's up now and hoped that the Kalona would be proud of his young protege. She was almost certain that he would be, he was quite good at giving praise when he thought it deserved. This made the girl even more anxious for spring to come to revive the lands so that her tutelage could progress onto the uses and property of medicinal plants. She had found that one book about it in the city and brought it home, but she wouldn't ever apply the knowledge in the book without making sure from Dawali that it was correct. She trusted him far more than some old human tome. As Mati spoke Cambria looked up at her and smiled, glad to see that she had calmed down and glad that she was able to help her.

        The reaction to the cleaning of the astringent liquid was expected. Cambria hadn't ever felt the sting herself, but she had heard that that's what it felt like and had solid evidence of it from her aunt Ghita's reaction to the application of it. Still smiling the girl shook her head. "No, my aunt was a much bigger baby than you. You would have thought I was torturing her from the way she complained." The Church femme's reaction was quite tamed compared to the way Ghita had carried on and exclaimed. Still, she loved her aunt and knew it was just the way she was to react in such a way. She hadn't really wanted Cambria to mess with the wound at all, but she had insisted. The Marino had been aware that Mati was a fairly good artist, but she had never seen any of her paintings or drawings. She did remember the painting that Mati had helped her sister make though. "That's too bad, that the picture got ruined. Maybe it won't be as bad as you think?" It was better to try and be positive in such a situation where emotions were already running high. "I'd like to see some of your drawings sometime, I never have." It was odd that she had known Mati for so long and never really seen her art.

        The bandage complete Cambi only nodded, her ears folding back slightly. "You're welcome, it's the least I could do. I'm sorry I can't help with the pain right now. Dawali's going to teach me about the herbs and plants that can help with illnesses and pain, but it has to wait until the spring." If only she could do more, but sadly she had exhausted her knowledge. "If you have any questions or concerns or need a knew bandage just come find me. It shouldn't have any problem healing up though." The whole feeling in the room changed when she asked about the scars and she could tell that it was not a good memory. Though clearly not, how could it be when she had such gruesome reminders of it? When Mati said she had been in the city the Marino's stomach twisted into an uncomfortable knot and her jaw clenched. At the mention of a male approaching her the knot only twisted more and she almost shuddered in recognition. Their eyes met as she continued and her heart went out to the Dreamer that had been less fortunate than she had.

        Silence stretched on for a few moments after Mati finished and looked away, the younger girl searching for the right words to say. "I'm sorry...that that happened to you," she said, her voice filled with empathy. "Something similar happened to me, not that long ago. I got away though, before he could hurt me..." Her fingers ran gently over the scars as her hands came to rest in her lap, feeling guilty that she had been spared when Mati had not been, not completely. At least that coyote had been there to save her.

        
Mati thought of Ghita when Cambria spoke of her, imagining that older wolfess squirm under the application of the wound cleaner. When Cambi smiled at the thought, Mati did as well. It did seem like she had experience, just by the way her fingers worked along side the fabric, how she knew where to place the most pressure and how to tie it so that it would not slip. Her mentor would be proud, Mati imagined. She thought of her own teacher, always wishing that she could find him once more to show how she had progressed.
“Maybe.” Mati responded to the notion that her picture might not be too far-gone beyond recovery. Part of her wanted it to be as perfect as she had found it earlier this day, while the other would be happy to be rid of it.
“Almost everything is in my room, “ She explained, her tone softer then before and the pain far from her mind at the moment.
“I’ll show you the good stuff.” Another smile crossed her face, feeling better by the passing second. A healer Cambria was certainly becoming.

        
She spoke of the male that was teaching her the healing art, and Mati shook her head lightly.
“No, its not that bad.” She said speaking of the pain. It wasn’t that bad any more, her panic had made it worse. Knowing that she was being taken care of brought a new calm, to replace the bright sting.
“Thanks,” She said again.
“I’ll try to keep it clean, but I’m not exactly known for it.” As she spoke the words she imagined paint splattered all over the clean white fabric. She figured that it needed to stay as clean as possible, and wondered if she should stay away from the brushes and canvas for a few days. It was nice to know that Cambria was simply upstairs if she ever had a problem with this injury or another.

        
There was a hollow quiet after she finished telling the story about her scars. Purple eyes moved to the girl’s face when she told of her own experience. Mati knew that they were not the same assailant, knowing that her monster was dead as the hands of her savior. She wondered who had almost hurt her, and how the brown and cream hued fey had recovered after getting away. The shock was something Mati would never forget. Cambria’s touch stopped all questions, keeping her mouth closed. It was soft, featherweight and hardly even there. Yet Mati felt them grace the living skin between each scar. Rarely was anyone so close that they saw them, and even more rare was a time when someone was close enough to touch them. Her hand was still presented, her arm still exposed and Mati retreated her arms closer to her midsection. Turning them so that the scars faced downwards, she felt an instant relief when they were hidden.
“Its dangerous, out there.” they were the only words that could be formed on her tongue, though they were not how she felt. She wanted to say how lucky they had both been, how she would understand if she had nightmares, and how she might not look at anything involved in that experience the same. The location, the smells of that night, the heavy breath and the musky scent of him…

        
Her eyes moved from the female’s face, abruptly leaning away from Cambria as a loud fluttering and a soft cooing broke the silence that Mati had induced. The bird sat on her chocolate colored shoulder, dark eyes looking at Mati in the same amount of wonderment as she looked on with.

        Cambria was far from experienced in even such simple healer duties as the one she was performing now. Dawali had taught her what to do and how to tie the bandages in the best way, but this was only the second time she had had to do it on a real injury. Still, the girl couldn't help but feel a certain level of confidence and strength rise up in her when she was working on healing someone. When she was doing this she felt like she wasn't a complete failure or useless member of the pack. She was helping someone and at least not making a total botch of it. With more learning and practice hopefully she could become quite competent and her sense or worth would grow even more. The younger girl looked brightly up at Mati as she offered to show her her best work, her smile growing larger. "I would like that a lot. I'm sure you have lots of good stuff. I know my sister had fun painting with you." After Amata had shown her what she had made with Mati's help and talked about it painting had seemed like a lot of fun, but for some reason Cambria had never gotten around to searching the Church wolf out to try her own hand at it. Now her focus was on healing, but she could still appreciate what Mati could and had created.

        She was glad to hear that her cut wasn't that painful. The Marino was lucky enough to never have had much if any kind of physical injury, though she had plenty of experience with other kinds of hurts. "Okay, good. If it gets worse for some reason though you can wrap some ice in a cloth and put it on it, that will numb it and provide some relief." That was what she had done with her aunt. Ghita had needed it for more than just the pain though, for she had been kicked by a deer and the ice was needed to reduce the swelling. "Yeah, keeping it clean will probably be the best for it. Maybe avoid painting anything, at least for a couple days." She could imagine Mati's hobby wasn't exactly clean and she didn't want to keep her away from it for long, but a brief hiatus would be the best to make sure the cut healed swiftly.

        There was a certain energy permeating the room with the sharing of harrowing experiences they had both endured. It caused an odd stirring in the girl's chest that she wasn't entirely sure what to make of. It was like talking about what they had both been through, such similar experiences, had connected them closer than they had been before. That wasn't much of a surprise, but it seemed different somehow than other such connections she had felt before. She wished she could do more for Mati, that she could do something to make those scars and painful memories go away. There was nothing she could do for either, of course, but that didn't stop her from wishing she could. Mati pulled her arms back, hiding the marks and a shyness filtered through Cambria's form, her cream-tipped ears folding back slightly. Her head nodded at the words; yes, it was dangerous out there. Still, she had been luckier that she hadn't gotten hurt and that day had ended much better than it had started. Those thoughts jumped up unbidden and Cambria did her best to push them away before she became flustered by them.

        It was surprising that Enzo decided to show himself so suddenly. Most of the time he stayed in his box nest when others were in the room. The first few times he had flown to her it had startled her, but Cambria had become used to the fluttering of his wings. Her gaze moved sideways to take in the mourning dove. "Oh, hello Enzo." When she looked back to Mati she saw that she was surprised and a soft smile came back to her lips. "This is Enzo, I found him a few months ago with a broken wing. I've been taking care of him." A couple slender fingers moved to gently stroke the dove's chest. Then a memory came to her that she hadn't thought of in a long time. "Oh! How is Ambrose?" Cambria had still been a very young pup when the two of them had found the hedgehog in the flower filled valley.

        Mati remembered when he had painted with Amata, it had been the day she had gained her co-rank. Being able to pass along her passion for art had brought a new found sense of accomplishment, and had led her to want to care for the pups of their pack. “I still have her paw prints on my floor.” Mati spoke with a light tone. It had been a fun day, and sharing her pictures with Cambria would be fun as well. Having another excited about her art, or art in general as Strel was, made Mati’s heart flutter. “Once this is healed though.” She remarked, knowing that she needed to keep it clean. But if there was any more pain, or if she could not leave her art supplies alone Mati would simply visit Cambi for a new bandage of some ice.

        
With the presence of the bird Mati felt the remembrance that lingered melt away. She looked at Cambria, a smile cracking the unhappiness that had been placed there thinking back to that night. It was like the scars disappeared, and she returned to how it felt to think of her art, to think of Ghita complaining about the alcohol, to know that Cambi was here to take care of her when the bandage got loose or tattered. There had never been any true discomfort felt in Cambira’s presence, it was just like it was happening all over again when Mati thought of that night. But it was gone now, and Mati even touched the inside of her arm lightly, feeling the scars that had not actually disappeared. Eyes remained on the female’s face, keeping her expression still and hoping not to draw attention back to the marks. The memory did not return as vividly as it had moments ago, nothing more then a shadow in her mind. It lingered to be brought forth again, but not twice this day.

        
Violet eyes looked at the bird, finding that he was striking. He was not the stark white like the doves in the books she read. He was not the bird that stood out before a bright blue sky holding a stand of grass, as was depicted in the human’s paintings. But he was subtle, his hue almost the cream of Cambria’s ears and foot-paws. Mati glanced down at them as she thought of it, but quickly returned her gaze to Enzo. The Church female could not believe that Cambi had fixed his broken wing, for something like that was normally the end of a bird, but the kind wolfess had saved him, gave him another chance at life. “He’s beautiful.”. She spoke, soft in tone and yet her words held a powerful truth. “We’re all lucky to have you around.” She said with a less fragile voice, lifting her hand for a second to indicate that she had saved more then just Enzo. Mati figured that she could have still been in the kitchen bleeding out on the floor, or perhaps some less dramatic variation.

        
Mati smiled, “Ambrose is good. He has yet to venture away from home, I though he would have by now.” She said with a laugh. “He sleeps in my bad during the day, and wanders the halls at night.” She explained with a smile on her face. Mati looked at the bird, his cooing had quieted with the contented attention his caretaker was giving him. Dark eyes looked at her, and Mati reached up slowly to see if she could touch the soft feathers of his chest as Cambria had. Unsure how the bird would react she retreated her had back to her lap and spoke, “Your quite a picture.” she glanced at Cambria’s face, and then added to explain her intention. “The two of you,” Mati paused, unsure what her friend would think of the idea. “would make a good painting.” There were moments in her life that stuck her, things that brought a surge of inspiration that might just refuse to leave her. The wolfess in her drawing had been one, banging against her mind’s door every time she had an idle moment. Mati had that feeling, and knew that she would not be able to loose the picture of Cambria holding the dove. The colors, the expression of compassion, attachment and comfort that was written on the wolfess’s face, they would not leave her.

        The idea that Amata's painted pawprints were still intact on Mati's floor made her smile grow. Mati really must have enjoyed that, and that day, to have left them there instead of cleaning them up. It would be fun to see them there on the wooden floorboards and strange too. That had been a good while ago and now she and her sister were nearly a year old. They could shift now and were beginning to pursue more adult interests, or at least Cambria was. She was curious to see what kinds of paths her brother sister would travel down. Easily her brother could be seen as a strong protector, for she had always seen him as such. Though he also had the capacity to be scholarly like their father as well. She and Amata were so similar that perhaps she would grow interesting in the healing arts as well. Only time would tell, but she was certain her siblings would be great at whatever they chose to do. The girl nodded her head at Mati's words. "Yes, of course." That would be best, if they waited for her cut to heal. Surely the older wolf would be in a better mood after everything was back to normal.

        The interruption caused by the mourning dove appeared to have scared away the shadowy presence that had descended upon the two, brought up by their unpleasant experiences. Cambria often thought it odd that they were called mourning doves, for Enzo's presence only ever brought her joy and she found beauty in his unique call. The humans must have not been able to understand the creatures to have so wrongfully miscategorized them. Even though the circumstances were less than great, she was glad to have gotten the opportunity to sit down and reconnect with the Church female. It also provided a welcome distraction from the troubling truth of her uncle which had been plaguing her and darkening her mood as of late. She had talked about it with her aunt and that had done some to help, but the hurt was too deep to go away anytime soon, if ever. He had been with the one person she truly hated and she didn't think she could ever fully forgive him for that.

        Enzo's head bobbed in curiosity as he overlooked the new wolf just as she was looking over him. He was becoming used to the presence of the large canines, though Cambria was still the only one he wanted near to him. Old habits died hard, and he was hard wired to see the large predators as a threat. The longer he spent in their presence unharmed however, the more he would begin to realize he was safe here. "Yes, he is," she concurred, looking sideways at his puffed up form again. He was a sweet little creature, and she was glad to have him around. At the compliment the girl's eyes fell demurely to the ground and she could feel a blush color her cheeks. "It's nothing, really. I just want to be able to help the pack, like everyone else." Everyone else seemed so much more useful than she did. Undertaking this profession was the least she could do after all that had bee done for her. Still, she couldn't help but feel a subdued flutter in her heart at the kind words.

        "Good, I'm glad to hear he's doing well. I'll have to come by and see him too, sometime. Maybe he and Enzo can be friends," she suggested with a smile, looking at the bird. His small head tilted to one side as he eyed her. The picture of the hedgehog and the dove being friends was comical, but weirder things had happened. She saw Mati's hand reach forward as if to try and touch Enzo before laying back into her lap. The avian probably would have fled from the contact, but the fact that he was even showing himself was a good sign. "Once he's around you more he might let you touch him. I'm surprised he even came out of the box. He usually stays hidden when others are around." It was a compliment to her that he had deemed it safe enough to make an appearance. The next statement seemed odd and her head cocked curiously to the side as Mati began to explain. Once again Cambria felt her face flush, yet she was excited by the idea. "Really? You'd want to paint us?" It seemed like an amazingly grand compliment to her, especially coming from Mati. She didn't seem the type to paint something unless she really wanted to, nor the type to hand out empty compliments.

        

She flexed her hand slightly, testing the bandage and the pain that had almost fully disappeared. It began to return and Mati stopped, flattening her wounded hand out so that it sat nicely in her lap. Her eyes moved from Cambria’s face to Enzo softly, watching and finding their interaction fascinating. She and her hedgepig were close, but there were times where she felt as if he merely found her as a comforting place to sit and a bed-warmer. But there was a connection that could be seen between the dove and his mistress. Perhaps another looking on at Mati and Ambrose would see it, but the violet eyes female didn’t notice it herself. Here, she found it easily. A trust built over time, and for a bird to not react in the presence of two predators spoke of how comfortable he was beside the chocolate and cream woman.

        

Mati thought it was more then just nothing, much more actually. Her corank, as well as her hobby, were things that were not necessary. Parents could care for pups, and life would go one without art (though it would be dull). But, and as she thought of it she looked down at Cambria’s hands for the briefest of moments, anyone could get hurt and then would need someone with the knowledge that Cambi was gaining. They were healing hands, gentle and soft and yet at the same moment focused and steady. Eyes moved back to her face, her small smile still on her face. “You will help a lot, as a healer.” Mati knew this, as her mother had been the healer at one time. Though she doubted that Cambria would hurt her with the same intensity Naniko had.

        

The older wolfess smiled widely at the idea of the hedgehog and the morning dove being friends. It was a bit of an unlikely pairing, and of course they were both boys and completely different species. It was a silly thought, but thinking so deeply into the idea was far more ridiculous. Mati hoped that Cambi would venture downstairs, visit she and Ambrose under different circumstances. Mati nodded, “I’m sure they would be.” Why not? She asked herself, odd things happened all the time. Mati watched the dove sweetly at the thought that he might hide her presence comforting enough to venture out of his nest and join to the two in their conversation, and possibly save it. Things had gotten dark as their conversation turned towards unhappy memories, yet the two girls spoke brightly now and it seemed neither even thought back on them.

        

She didn’t understand the sudden nervousness that ran through her. It felt like an odd chill, cold water running through her veins and yet her face was warm as Cambria spoke. Fingers fiddled with one another, “Yeah.” Mati responded, her voice weaker then it had been. Her mind moved from one thing to another and she added, “I mean, if you would be comfortable with that.” her tone hurried and with a stronger push behind it. She didn’t want to put her in an uncomfortable position, Mati herself would feel awkward sitting as a model. But it was there, the idea and the inspiration heated the chill that threatened to run down her spine. Mati looked away, for her eyes began to pick up the various hues that were sewed in each shadow and highlight that ran over the other female. It was more then anyone else would see, more then just the deep brown and the light milky tan. She would stare, lost in them and perhaps that idea was awkward enough. Mati curled the fingers into the palm and tested it for the pain once again, cringing slightly as she felt it.

        It was really quite amazing at how far Enzo had come from being the terrified bird that she had only been able to pick up because he couldn't get away. She had been worried that he was so afraid that he might die, especially when Dawali came by and examined him as she held him. Of course she had understood his fear and had done all she could to calm it, though it was hard when he could not understand her words. Still, he had survived that shocking day and had been on the mend ever since, both physically and in his trust of his canine caretaker. Cambi was always gentle with him, knowing how fragile his hollow bones were, and as her behavior never changed the dove realized that she was no threat to him. He would now ride around on her shoulder without a second thought. It warmed the girl's heart to know that he had grown to trust her and like her. It gave her hope that he wouldn't want to leave her once the weather warmed.

        She hadn't known if she would have any skill as a healer, but seeing as the pack was without one she had gone and sought to find that knowledge and see if she could wield it. Dawali believed in her, had from the very start, and that was perhaps one of the biggest things that lead to her success. If she had not had such a kind, understanding, and encouraging tutor then she no doubt would be doubting her abilities as she often did in every other area of her life. The girl smiled shyly at Mati's words, her fingers fidgeting in her lap. "I hope so. I hope I can keep everyone healthy and well." That was her goal: to keep the pack healthy and to be able to help any and all who needed it. She would never be strong or brave, but hopefully her contribution to the pack could be just as important.

        It was impossible to say how Enzo would react to Ambrose, but it would be interesting to see for sure. Perhaps the two would just ignore one another, but Cambria held out hope that they would get along. It was doubtful they would ever really be "friends" but maybe they could find some enjoyment in each other's company. If the two creatures found comfort in the company of wolves then surely they could find some in something closer to their size. It was nice to hear that Mati held the same hope, or at least the idea of it. Maybe the older fey was just good at entertaining silly, childish ideas, but Cambi thought that she was being wholly sincere and that made the notion seem more possible. If Mati thought it could happen too them maybe it really could.

        The idea that anyone would find her worthy of painting had never occurred to her, and as it stared her in the face now she wasn't sure what to say. She was flattered, incredibly flattered really, though she attributed Mati's desire to do so more to Enzo than to herself. Surely if not for the dove the Church femme would have no interest in painting her. Still, the idea tickled her pink and the girl nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, I think I would," she said brightly. "Do you want to just...let me know? When you want to?" It wouldn't be anytime soon, clearly, not with Mati's cut. Cambria found herself hoping that it wouldn't be too long though. As big of a surprise as it had been she found herself giddy with the idea of it.

        
The pack would be safer with a healer, safer if they all knew a bit about basic wound care. But, as Mati was a perfect example, there were some whose brain worked better in different avenues. She would not do well if another member were bleeding, it was embarrassing but the female was secretly frightened that she would faint. The brown female had been worried that she was going to pass out at the sight of her own blood, and her cut was not too large and had not bled as much as it might have. Cambria was suited for this work, caring, compassionate and focused in a time where others were frantic.

        
She had not thought of how she would have felt if Cambi had said no. Her embarrassment would of certainly killed her. At first it sounded like a foolish offer, especially for one that had yet to see the paintings and drawings that Mati had done recently. For all the other girl knew Mati was horrible, with no training and no real experience. But Mati was certain that there was a lack of care in Cambria's decision, it was obvious that she held a fair amount of reason. Unknowingly Mati wanted it to be trust, and felt a bit of pressure sink into her chest. Anything that she did for another needed to be the best she ever produced, and she hoped that she could capture the true character of the other fey and her companion.

        

"Okay." Mati responded, her smile widening. She wanted to show her everything, though the picture she had been working on today would likely be hidden away. The brown female rose from the bed, though she remained looking at Cambria. She wanted to say now, the muse tickling at her creative nerves and the itch to feel the brush in her hand overwhelming. Mati knew better though, and the bandage needed to be clean until the cut healed and the paint would need to stay put away and the canvas blank.
"I can just come and find you." Her voice was laced with excitement, and Mati moved away and towards the door. She smiled, giving the pair one more glance,
"Thanks again." She added soft and slowly, before leaving the room.

        
Mati closed the door behind her, standing still in the hallway for a brief moment. Why had she been so rushed to leave? She could have stayed, she was almost certain of it. They would have found another topic to talk about, and Mati had questions concerning Cambi's parents, her uncle, Enzo, her healing mentor, all on her tongue. She leaned against the door, feeling slight foolish for not being more calm in her exit and realized that just as it had when she found the blood on her hand her heart was racing.