Ten Gallon Headache {AW}
#1
[html]OOC:// Hi there! Big Grin This takes place before the hurricane. Kenna's gonna need some help...

BIC://

For someone who was supposed to have a "certain way with animals", sometimes nature's critters really knew how to get under her skin. It was all Kenna could do not to throw something in her frustration. Today, the source of her annoyance was yet again her stallion, Dust. Ever since becoming a part of Cercatori d'arte, the stud had taken to acting like a complete ass. Of course no one could ever say he looked like one, but his behavior as of late sure was akin to one of the braying cousins. The quarter horse would constantly misbehave through the entire process of her trying to groom or saddle him up. He'd kick the tack box over, or chew on his lead rope or paw at the ground when she tried to pick his hooves clean. And most irritating (and painful) of all was how whenever she walked by his stall, he would stick his head out and nip at her sleeve, her hat or sometimes her hair. Day after day these little things were starting to add up and after being nipped on the paw, Kenna was about to lose her temper.

Scowling as she rearranged the hay bedding in Dust's stall while he was tied out in the walkway of the stables, Kenna didn't see when the stallion at last chewed through his lead rope and began to trot off towards another stall where his favorite mare was penned. When at last she looked up, she startled when she saw the buckskin missing from where he left him, standing up straight suddenly and bcracking her head hard on the bars of the stall gate with a loud, deep clang. "SON OFA--" She shouted, stumbling backwards and giving a low growl, clutching her head and stomping a footpaw in the hay, hissing through her teeth. With her eyes smarting and vision blurring she glared after the menace of a stallion who was busy pestering the mare. Tenderly rubbing the lump forming on her brow and trying to rid her nose of the sudden metallic tang of blood, she growled again feeling a massive headache throbbing to life. After taking another moment to recover, Kenna exited the stall, snatched up the stallion's lead rope (it was the third time he'd chewed through it and it was full of knots and needing replacing badly) and headed over to Dust with angry, heavy footfalls and a deep growl in her throat. "Dust..." She spoke in a sharp tone, eyes flashing, ignoring the pain in her head. It was rare that she got this flustered. "That is. The last straw, mister!" She said loudly and swiftly snapped the end of the rope against his lower rear leg. Dust simply flinched and splayed his ears, hanging his head and looked upon his companion with large brown eyes. Kenna wasn't gonna fall for his shenanigans. She pulled back her ears and bore her teeth at his would be apology. "Oh no you don't. You're in trouble this time boy, and you know it!" She huffed and roughly grabbed onto the horse's halter and pulled him back around and over to the hitching post.

Blinking through the pounding in her head, feeling slightly dizzy she worked quickly to make yet another temporary knot in the lead rope and tied the quarter horse back up. Stepping back, paws on her hips she sighed exasperatedly, looking her mount over with annoyance. Dust continued to give her a sheepish look. But suddenly, Kenna didn't feel so great. Closing her eyes and bringing a paw back up to her head she was surprised to feel just how big the bump had gotten. Applying slight pressure to the raised injury she winced and gave a soft cry of pain. "Damnit...Must've hit harder than I thought..." she mumbled, and swayed a little on her paws. She was just about to take a step to head out of the stables and see if she couldn't find someone to take a look at the bruise when suddenly her vision pitched and the ground rushed up to meet her as she fainted out cold, collapsing into the dirt unceremoniously.

Dead to the world as she was, Kenna didn't know it, but as her body fell to the floor, Dust began to whinny and neigh loudly and frantically, pulling on his rope to try and reach his companion, concerned for her. When he found he couldn't get loose easily his eyes widened and he began to rear up and kick at the side of a stall, trying to attract the attention of someone, anyone, so that they may help his fallen rider...
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#2
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Heya! Tal's the pack healer. <3

Tal was on the roof of his house, nailing boards over his windows. The subtle shift in weather had him on edge. Thomas had mentioned in passing that he'd been through weather like this before, through a hurricane, and the male trusted his packmate. He was running down a mental checklist when a racket from the area of the stable caught his attention. He glanced over, unable to see the stables from his roof.

It didn't take long for the male to swing down from his roof, his feet perched precariously on the porch railing, then he took off at a jog in the direction the racket was coming from. The screaming horse sounded... frightened, maybe worried. As he arrived in the stable, his eyes darted around. He could see the horse tugging at it's rope. At the horse's feet was an Optime wolf. Tal's ears swivelled back as he moved forward, speaking softly to the horse. "Easy, there, fellow. I'm just coming to help. Just relax."

The stranger smelled faintly of Skye, of the borders, and mostly of the horse that was standing nearby. Tal licked his lips nervously as he knelt. Unsure of the circumstances of the stranger's injury, he carefully moved her away, but only after making certain there weren't any broken bones. He built up some of the hay into a makeshift pillow, then went swiftly to the supply closet, pulling out a clean cloth. He dipped it in the watering trough, then returned to the stranger, gently bathing her face. A large bump had formed on the back of her head, and he glanced at the tied up horse, then returned his gaze to her.

He patted her cheek gently, hoping to wake her without having to resort to his smelling salts. "Miss, wake up..."



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#3
[html]OOC:// Sorry for the wait, was out of town and had a rough night, heh. ^_^; Kenna's a little out of it.

BIC://

Dust continued to make as much noise as he could, his concern for Kenna was immense. He could sense something was wrong, she didn't just decide to go to sleep in the middle of the floor like this. He knew that. If she was going to sleep in the stables, it would have been with him in his stall in the hay. He tugged and tugged at his rope, desperate to be at her side, but the more he pulled the tighter the knot became. Kenna only used that specific knot when he was in trouble or she didn't want him to run off. Eyes wild with urgent panic, Dust at last spied an upright, white figure hurrying towards him. Stomping the ground, tossing his head in Kenna's direction where she lay unconscious a few feet from him, Dust beckoned the unfamiliar male over so that he'd help.

"Easy, there, fellow. I'm just coming to help. Just relax." The soothing tone the stranger used only frustrated the stallion more and he gave a loud, neigh in response, bobbing his head towards Kenna as if saying 'Not me you idiot! Help her!' The white male then moved over and crouched next to Kenna. Dust calmed down just enough to stand at the very end of his rope, ears pricked alertly and legs stiff, standing as close as he could to his rider to watch the stranger, ready to intervene if he dared hurt her. He gave a soft worried whine-like nicker and snorted, not liking when the white stranger moved her even further from him, his big brown eyes never leaving Kenna's face even as he watched the white wolf move to prop her against some hay and retrieved some supplies from a cabinet and wet a rag to wipe her face with.

A firm patting on her face and something wet and cool upon her brow caused the collie-wolf girl to stir. "Miss, wake up..." With a soft groan, her blue eyes slowly fluttered open. She was greeted with blinding whiteness and winced, turning her head away and giving a soft growl. "Wha...what happened...?" She asked thickly through the fog and pounding in her head a little disoriented. Her paw lifted then to the bump on her head as she tried to sit up, blinking her vision into focus. The white she came to realize was the fur of another optime wolf. Likely a pack mate. Instantly what must have happened hit her. "Damn..." She looked up at the unknown male and pulled her ears back in embarrassment realizing he had apparently set her up against the hay. She only knew his face in passing, his name however she couldn't quite place. She'd not done a whole lot of socializing since her arrival to the pack and now she was paying for it. As her paw brushed over the injury she gasped softly with the sudden pain. She'd really hit her head harder than she'd thought. Dropping her gaze she cleared her throat to speak. "I passed out didn't I?" She asked the obvious question, her southern accent clear, feeling really stupid for not going to have the bump looked at quicker, as soon as it had happened. She glanced over at Dust who gave a soft neigh, glad to see his partner okay. He flicked his tail, still intently watching what went on. She turned back and smiled weakly at her "rescuer". She was at a loss of what to say to him so she said the only thing that made since. "Thanks for uh...helping me." She said awkwardly before pausing a moment then starting to rise to her paws. But as she did another wave of dizziness struck her and she swayed back into the hay again. She cursed under her breath, supposing she'd best just lay there and regain her senses. She didn't realize the male was a healer. Closing her eyes and sighing she tried to make small talk to cover up her embarrassment. "My apologies sir...but...I don't recall your name... I...I'm Kenna, Kenna Foxleigh." She started lamely, not daring to open her eyes.
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#4
He would have reached up to stop her from touching her bump, but she had already pressed her fingers to it. His eyes were watching her, noting the dizziness evident when she attempted to rise. He took her by the shoulders and guided her back to a sitting position. "You did pass out, but your stallion here raised the roof." He cast an approving glance at the horse, then returned his attention to the woman.

She thanked him for the help, and a smile touched his lips. "It wasn't a problem, Miss Foxleigh. I'm Taliesin Dir Rhiannon, but everyone calls me Tal. I'm the pack's overseer of the council, but more importantly, I'm also our healer." It said a lot of the scholar that he placed more importance on his position as a healer than on his position as basically second in command. "Now sit still while I look you over. Feeling any nausea? Any pain...besides the pain of the bump?"

He was concerned she might have a concussion. There wasn't much he could do except treat the symptoms. He needed to hear what she had to say before making a decision. If she said she was nauseated, he'd give her a sliver of ginger root to chew on. If she was hurting... what could he use? Would it be safe to use willow, or would he need to use poppy seed oil? Was she bleeding? He lifted his fingers, drawing them away to peer at them.

(( Sorry about the wait! D: ))
#5
OOC: No worries! <3

IC: Kenna hated showing weakness in front of anyone. She was stubborn when it came to injuries and often would not admit she was in pain or would try to be stronger than she really was and bully through a recovery process. As Taliesin had her sit back against the hay again the woman sighed, relenting without complaint. At least, she didn't object out loud. Her head still throbbed just enough to bother her so she supposed it was better she not be stupid and listen to the white male. Hearing about Dust's reaction to her collapse, Kenna also looked towards the stallion and smiled softly. 'Good boy...' She thought before looking back up at the wolf before her. She noticed his bi-colored eyes then and found herself admiring them as he smiled and introduced himself. She felt a slight bit of heat creep into her cheeks beneath her fur and her ear twitched a little embarrassed as he revealed his position in the pack. It was lucky for her that she happened to be a healer...but Overseer of the pack's council? ...Damn, she probably looked like a completely helpless fool to him. She hadn't realized he was of such a high rank. Realizing she was staring at him a little too long she quickly and respectfully dropped her gaze and cleared her throat. "Nice to meet you Taliesin..."

She didn't miss how he had put more emphasis on his title as a healer, and she found that fact admirable, but she still couldn't unhear the fact that he was practically as important in the pack as Skye herself was. She felt stupid for not trying to get to know her pack mates better. She was literally kicking herself mentally for her sudden awkward streak. She was too used to living alone. She really needed to get back into the habit of socializing. Her current demeanor was nothing like her normal self. "Now sit still while I look you over. Feeling any nausea? Any pain...besides the pain of the bump?" Taliesin's voice brought her out of her head and back to the matter at hand. She scrunched her nose a bit, mentally going down a checklist of her body and finding she did not really feel too bad other than the goose egg on her skull. "Nope, I think I'm alright for the most part... Just a little dizzy though maybe. My head's just throbbin' like crazy is all." She replied, glad for the conversational distraction from her internal struggle. With her pack mate's paw upon the injury, the throbbing wasn't as intense, but as soon as he lifted it away to check for blood, it returned full force caused her to suddenly groan a little and shut her eyes. She wasn't bleeding except for under the skin and fur. A nasty bruise was already forming. "Ah...now I'm feeling a little queasy..." She admitted softly. Focusing on the pounding of her head made her stomach turn. Accompanied by the spinning dizziness that seemed to come and go in small waves, her stomach was starting to protest. A concussion seemed very likely at this point.
#6
He looked down as she winced. The subtle heat told him there would be major bruising, but that she wasn't bleeding physically. Still, best to avoid willow as a painkiller. He hummed softly to himself, a wordless monotone sound as he weighed options. Making her walk to his house wouldn't help her any. But he could carry her. His decision made, he judged her weight. He wasn't the strongest male. He was, in the end, a scholar and not a warrior. But his work in the stables, helping build both the caravan and the ship, had toughened him, building muscles where there hadn't been any before.

"Alright, Kenna. I've got the herbs I need at my house, but you aren't walking there and I'm not leaving you alone. I'm going to carry you to my house. Your horse will be okay for a bit, I think." He found himself throwing an apologetic look at the horse. He just wanted her consent to him lifting her before he did it. Some wolves didn't like to be touched, and he knew it. He didn't want to offend a packmate.
#7
OOC: My apologies for keeping you waiting! DX ...And for the shortness of this post.

IC: Usually Kenna would be appalled to have to be carried someplace due to an injury. She was tougher than that. But with the throbbing, the nausea and dizziness threatening to incapacitate her once again, Kenna really had no choice but to allow the healer to assist her. Sighing softly, the cowgirl closed her eyes with a frown before giving a small incline of her head. She didn't want to make any drastic movements for they only seemed to make everything worse.

"I guess I've got no choice really..." She agreed with the white male and looked to Dust who still watched on anxiously. Speaking reassuringly to her companion, she gave a soft smile seeing the stallion so worried. "Don't you worry Dust, I'll be alright. Taliesin'll take care of me." Dust simply gave a soft whimper-like neigh but otherwise seemed to relax. Kenna then turned back to her pack mate. "Alright...I'm ready." She then waited for Taliesin's assistance in rising to her paws. She didn't trust her balance at the moment. Giving the healer a serious look, but speaking with a light hearted tone, she gave him a teasing warning. "Just don't drop me okay?" She chuckled softly, but quickly stopped for it made her head throb more. Then sooner she got fixed up, the better. She didn't want to have to deal with being so helpless for too much longer.


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