Colibri had stubbornly refused to alter her daily routine, although it was becoming more difficult as the summer wore on. She spent her days tending to the flowers around her Jordheim home, then the communal herb garden, and lastly the apple seedlings she planted near the vineyard. All of the walking around, carrying water from the lake, and stooping down to pull weeds was exhausting her. Logic told her that she should not be so fatigued from such passive exertion, but she was anyway. Shifting was out of the question -- she knew instinctively that she would pass out if she attempted it, since she had already collapsed on several occasions merely from standing too quickly, or being on her feet for too long. She was barely eating, which was surely part of her problem, but it wasn't exactly easy to capture lemmings and rabbits with her bare hands... Logic again reminded her that she could ask for help from her packmates, or at least learn how to set snares and traps, but admitting there was something wrong with her would make her the object of their pity. And somehow, instead of losing weight, she was getting heavier, much to the protest of her sore ankles and feet. She was becoming reclusive again, avoiding contact with those who might notice how ill she really was. She was scared.
Today she slept in, aching limbs adamantly refusing to rise with the sun as they normally did. When Coli finally woke, she did not feel well rested; if anything, she felt openly queasy and ill. She rose stiffly from her pallet and stumbled out the door, leaning heavily against the wall of her house. The sunlight was warm against her fur, reminding her that morning had already come and gone. She coughed and retched, stomach forcibly heaving, though nothing came out. It took several moments before she could breathe again, panting shallowly as she tried to regain her balance. What was wrong with her?! Her mind raced, trying to determine what all these symptoms had to do with each other, but came up blank. She hadn't slept soundly since the afternoon by the lake when she was attacked, and it seemed the prolonged fatigue was making her emotionally unstable. Even now she was frustrated at her weakness, frightened for the future, depressed that her packmates had seen her at her worst, and paranoid that everyone already knew what the black dog had done. Coli snarled aloud, shaking her mane vigorously. She needed a break from her own thoughts, something to calm her. The garden, that always worked; it was the only place where she could silence the clamoring voices in her head. She would take care of her own flowers later, when she could bear to look at her empty house again.
She set off at a brisk pace, forcing her stiff joints to comply. She did not have her wineskin with her this time, so the watering would have to wait. It did not take long for the frail Optime to feel dizzy and faint, panting in the heat in an attempt to catch her breath. She pressed onward, though, knowing she would feel better once she could kneel in the soil and feel the gentle leaves against her fingertips. A light breeze teased the strands of her long mane, carrying to her a familiar scent. Saul? The Stormbringer's scent traced all throughout Vinátta, marking their borders, escorting newcomers to Jordheim, organizing the construction of the new hall. But she had not expected to stumble into him at the herb garden, not now with all of his duties in full swing.
Coli faltered, pressing her fingers against her chest to feel the racing of her heartbeat as she slowed. It was as though she had been at a dead run, though her pace was barely a quick walk. She needed to rest already, and she did want to see Saul, even if she feared he would see right through her, his skill as a healer picking out every little imperfection in her body. Setting her ears back, she cautiously approached the garden, smiling at the sight of the tall Virding bent over by the myriad plants. He must had noticed all of the new cuttings she had cultivated, the plants she had traded with Amy Sunders to receive, or otherwise relocated from the forests and fields of their pack territory. She had carried water to the garden nearly every day to keep the flowers from wilting under the summer sun. This small duty was hardly as important as border patrol, hunting, construction, or any of the other duties Saul had assigned them, but... she meekly hoped that he would appreciate the amount of effort she was putting in, even now that her body seemed to be failing her. She cleared her throat, a small sound to alert him to her quiet presence.