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In the next few hours a harsh blizzard blew in.
The white moon was heading down toward the dark indigo horizon, beginning to set on that fateful night.
It had witnessed a great battle and would return the next night to shine upon the wolves’ victory over Aerulis.
The wolves made it within the borders of the kingdom of Aerulis, soaring through the blizzard. Akemi could be seen holding awkwardly onto Sky Wing’s neck, as if she would fall at any given moment.
Her gray and dark gray speckled fur was frozen with snow and ice and her ice were closed to the smallest slits to protect her fragile aqua blue eyes from the stinging wind and white crystallized snowflakes that blew in her face.
To keep herself busy in the white nothingness up in the air she thought of likable things, like how no snowflake would ever be the same as another and how a snowy valley looked when the weather was clear and sunny.
It was the wolves’ favorite weather, especially for hunting. Up in the blizzard she could not hear Titus’ whines of fear anymore, which was a relief to her. He was starting to get on her nerves.
Sascha was still riding the black dragon Kuro, the first to turn against Harloc and attack him. He had somehow managed to not get wounded by the huge sinister Ituic and that was a great benefit to both the dragon and the snow-white wolf dog.
Wolf-dog… ever since the captain knight of Aerulis had mentioned it Sascha had started to think about her heritage more and more along the way in the lonely blizzard sky.
She knew that she was part dog, of which breed she was uncertain, but Zachery had once said that she looked like a cross between a wolf and a white German shepherd dog.
Unfortunately she had taken on the anatomy of the German shepherd.
“We should land!” Sascha yelled through the blizzard clouds. “The storm is harsh and we’ve been flying for hours!”
And so the group descended downward, landing in a forest. Despite the cold Sascha began to warm up a little when she recognized the burnt remains.
The druids should have been there then but instead King Xanthus de Taske had taken them away from their rightful land. This was the place that she had called home, and would continue to call home once this was all over.
Akemi approached the white she-wolf. “So what are we going to do now?” She asked, speaking over the high wind and snow that blew recklessly through the air. “The patrol is very tired and wounded, just as you are.”
Sascha knew that they could not go into battle in these conditions, especially with untreated wounds and more to come in the following battle. “We should rest here until twilight tonight,” she answered, turning her head to glare into her friend’s aqua blue eyes. “Maybe by then this blizzard will pass through, and we will be rested up.”
“Is everyone feeling okay?” Sascha asked her gray speckled friend who sat just outside the remains of Tairek’s old Medicine Shed, dashing across the snowy druid clearing.
After the wolves and dragons had trudged through the snow in search of the druid camp, Sascha had asked Akemi to look after the wounded wolves in the patrol.
Ever since the fire that had destroyed the forest the druid camp had been completely burnt down, and that angered her very much.
“Strawberry’s wounds are hurting her badly,” Akemi answered, standing up from her sitting position beside the burnt shed and glaring worriedly into Sascha’s deep green eyes. “Everyone in the patrol is complaining of sudden stinging in their cuts, bites and scrapes. Riza has the worst wounds, and I have been worried about her from the beginning. She should never have come due to them.”
That was not a good thing. Sascha knew that they would have to find warmth somewhere in the camp before frostbite set in, and at the same time they had to worry about horrible wounds and infections.
However, it was a good thing that the wolves and dragons had rested up a bit since trudging through the snow trying to find the camp.
“We will need herbs for them,” she said, blinking away the slow falling snowflakes. That was another good thing; the blizzard had cleared up since they’d first arrived. “The only one here that knows about herbs I think is Zachery, and we need to ask him.” Before Akemi could respond to her words Sascha added, “Go fetch Sky Wing.”
Then Sascha sped off through the clearing in search of Zachery while Akemi went off to find Sky Wing. She found him at the edge of the clearing on top of the King’s Rock where Avyrus used to make his announcement.
A fallen burnt leafless tree was all that was left of the majestic great oak tree that jutted out of the ground beside the large rock.
It was splayed across the rock face, broken and full of black soot even with the snow on top of the bark. Xanthus had done this... all of it, and he would pay for what he’d done.
Sascha barked to get his attention and saw the physician apprentice lift his head to acknowledge her. He looked troubled, and she assumed that he was just mourning his father now that he was home. She could definitely say the same, being back in the druid camp brought back many good memories.
She would continue to mourn Tairek’s death for years to come, perhaps even for the rest of her life. Sky Wing and Akemi arrived just behind Sascha a few moments later and the white she-wolf said to the blue dragon, “Tell Zachery that we need his help with herbs.” And Sky Wing did as she was told.
“What herbs wolf need?” The dragon inquired after telling the human what they needed.
“We need something to prevent infection,” Akemi answered.
“Wolves need prevent infection,” Sky Wing added to Zachery.
Sascha waited patiently for her friend to answer. She knew he knew the right herb by heart, but after all this chaos it must have been hard to transition from a warrior to a physician in a matter of seconds.
“I believe Tairek told me that the right herb to prevent infection is the Calendula Flower,” he finally said. “It is rare and only grows near Silver Lake at the other end of Rosewood Forest, unfortunately a long travel from here.
Shouldn’t take you more than a few hours to fetch it and come back,” he paused, probably trying to remember its appearance so that the wolves would recognize it much easier. “It is a very beautiful flower. Its petals are bright orange and long like that of a sunflower. It is almost... fluffy. You’ll know when you find it!”
“Thank you,” Sky Wing dipped her head appreciatively. “I go find flower and bring back.” She spread out her wings and flew up swiftly into the sky.
Sascha was grateful for the dragon’s help, and also amazed at how quickly Sky Wing returned with the orange Calendula Flower. It had only taken her about forty minutes to find it and return back to the druid camp.
Sky Wing handed Sascha the precious flower and Akemi showed Sascha to where Riza was lying on the ground in the shelter of the Medicine Shed. There was not much space in here now that it was half caved in from the fire but at least it was generally warm and safe from frostbite.
Only the wolves that needed the most attention were resting in the Medicine Shed; Strawberry being one of the five wolves in there aside from Riza. The wounded she-wolf was ginger with lighter underfur, and she reminded Sascha of Thor. Was it possible that Riza could be Thor’s daughter? She also had blue eyes like the former pack leader which sparkled like the brightest night. It was obvious where the wound was; a long bloodied streak ran across her right side.
With the Calendula Flower held between her teeth lightly, Sascha sat down beside Riza and placed the flower down beside her. “Do we chew and apply it as a poultice or does she have to eat it?” Sascha asked her gray friend.
“In the Twilight Pack we usually apply herbs as poultices to wounds,” Akemi replied confidently.
Sascha sniffed at Riza’s gaping wound. It would have to be cleaned before she applied the poultice. What was the point of applying an herb to bloody fur? “Does it hurt you?” She asked.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Yes, very much,” was all Riza could choke out.
“I wish I could give you poppy seeds after this, but it’s snowed too hard by now to find poppies and the supply Tairek had has burned up,” Sascha flattened her ears apologetically.
“I’m sure I’ll manage,” Riza said quietly, wincing in pain as the wound throbbed on her side. As gently as she possibly could the green eyed white she-wolf placed her long pink tongue on Riza’s still bleeding wound and started to lick slowly. After a few seconds the ginger she-wolf started whining, but then stopped.
Sascha assumed that she had remembered to try and maintain her pride for she was a warrior of the Twilight Pack.
“Do I chew the stem or the flower?” Sascha asked after she had fully cleaned Riza’s pelt.
“I’ll bring Zachery in,” Akemi said and returned with the physician apprentice a few minutes later.
“What do you need me to do?” He queried, crouching down on his knees to be on the same eye level of the wolves.
Sascha pressed her nose to the Calendula Flower and then moved the tip of her black nose just above Riza’s wound, as if trying to tell him that they needed to apply the flower as a poultice.
“Ah,” Zachery observed and then picked up the flower in his left hand, careful not to harm it. “You take the stem and crush it, and then add it as a poultice on the wound. Then you take the flower and have the patient eat it.”
Still holding the flower, the physician apprentice went around the big shed and found a wooden cup that Tairek used to crunch herbs for their juices in.
Sascha took the flower from Zachery and once the cup was placed under her mouth she immediately started to chew the green stem. The taste was foul on her tongue but she knew she had to do it… so she bore it for the sake of Riza.
They needed all the healthy warriors they could get right now. It was a patrol of twenty two, and she didn’t want it to decrease to twenty one just yet.
When every inch of the Calendula stem was chewed up, nothing was left but the flower’s juices in the wooden cup.
Then Zachery took it away, shaking it gently and careful not to spill a drop. “It is winter so some of the juices have dried up from the cold,” he said with a neutral face. “But this amount should still be enough.”
As he slowly poured the juices over Riza’s wound, the ginger she-wolf quietly howled in pain. “It’s okay, girl,” Zachery said soothingly to the wounded wolf. “It may hurt now, but give it a few minutes... the pain will go away and you’ll feel much better.”
Sascha was surprised; she had never seen Zachery treat a wolf before. He did it so well, so carefully... as if Riza were human. Tairek had probably taught him to respect all animals, even the fierce and dangerous wolf.
Wolves were only dangerous because most of them did not trust humans, but the wolves that had been told by Sascha would never look at humans the same way again.
“Are you sure you can trust this man?” Akemi growled into her ear with a serious tone. “What if he’s actually killing Riza?”
“If you trust me, you should be able to trust Zachery,” the white she-wolf replied to her gray furred friend. “He raised me, and he’s a trained physician.”
“A physician…?” Akemi tilted her head and raised a brow in confusion.
“It’s the human equivalent of a healer,” Sascha explained.
“What are you two chatting about?” Zachery chuckled, smiling at Sascha and Akemi.
“He’s baring his teeth at us!” Akemi flattened her ears, lashing her tail angrily.
“Calm down. That’s just the way humans smile, baring their teeth,” Sascha responded. “It’s strange, but he doesn’t mean it in a harmful way.”
Zachery detached the round orange flower from the chewed up stem and placed it beside Riza’s muzzle. “Eat this,” he said quietly.
Riza sighed miserably, obviously not wanting to get the herb taste all over her tongue. Wolves would never naturally eat plants so it was incredibly disgusting for them, more horrid than it was for humans.
“Come on, it will prevent the infection,” Zachery encouraged her, scratching softly behind her thick ginger ears. “You want to be the best warrior you can be, right?”
“He’s so good with wolves,” Akemi sounded truly astonished.
“His father was good with animals also,” Sascha said, smiling as she remembered Tairek once again. “He must have gotten it from him.” The white she-wolf looked back to Riza and found that she was already half finished with stuffing the fluffy round flower down her throat. A tear fell down the ginger wolf’s face in disgust but she kept it up until the entire thing was briefly chewed and swallowed.
“That was the most horrid thing I have ever tasted in my life!” Riza barked with clear unhappiness.
Sascha smiled. “But it will still help,” she said.
“I wish I had water to drink,” Riza whined. “This taste will stick for hours if I don’t.”
Akemi stood up and flicked her tail. “I’m sorry but there’s no water near here,” she explained. “It’s all frozen. And you can’t eat the snow, because it’ll give you hypothermia.”
“But I’m thirsty!”
“We all are, come to think of it,” Sascha commented.
“Yes,” Akemi responded, and then a few moments later pointed her nose toward Zachery who crouched there comforting Riza. “You need to get him to treat the others.”
When she heard Akemi say that Sascha knew that it would be a long day, and it wasn’t even noon yet.
They had no herbs so Sascha would probably have to go out with at least two less wounded wolves to search for a good supply, in the beginning of winter at that, and try to communicate with Zachery.
As the day progressed and it eventually became noon time, the wolves had found some of the herbs that they needed. Titus had lit a fire just outside the Medicine Shed which offered a wonderful warmth to all wolves that gathered by it, huddling and sleeping.
They needed it now more than ever; for once twilight broke upon the world it was time to move out.
Jasmine, a golden colored dragoness, had brought a mouthful of Calendula Flowers and dropped them at the Medicine Shed so that Zachery could work with the rest of the wounded wolves.
Sascha had gone out with Stone and Hikaru looking for moss and had luckily found some by a frozen pond growing on a large boulder, having to dig through the snow that surfaced the rock to find it. They hacked a hole in the ice just beside the boulder and soaked all the moss in the water, then headed back to camp.
Sascha knew that everyone was thirsty and that they would be very glad to drink from the moss.
When the three wolves returned Sascha saw Titus beside the fire surrounded by almost the entire patrol, the winter sunlight beating down on his black hair.
Staring at him as Stone and Hikaru went inside the Medicine Shed to give their moss to the most wounded wolves, Sascha kept her green gaze on the druid warrior. She had never seen him look so strong and mature.
He looked as if he were Avyrus the druid King, sitting beside the wolves and staring solemnly into the noon sky. The druid clan did not have a prince as Avyrus had no sons yet, but Titus looked so much like the King, it was hard to believe he was not related to him.
Sascha pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and padded into the Medicine Shed to deliver wet moss to Thundermist, a she-wolf with sorrel colored patches and blue eyes. She was so happy to lap at the water, and it made Sascha happy that her temporary warriors were getting healthier by the hour.
At this rate they would be the strongest wolves in England!
The white she-wolf looked around the shed and saw Riza and Strawberry drinking rapidly from the moss until it was dry. The taste of the Calendula Flower was finally out of their mouths.
“Do you need anything else?” Sascha asked the brown and white she-wolf with a smile.
“No, I’m fine,” she responded softly, licking her lips for any extra droplets of the cold, sweet winter water. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” Sascha said joyfully, and then turned to Akemi who was lying down beside Zachery. “Akemi!” She barked and watched as her gray speckled friend raised her head to her. “Meet me outside.”
Akemi nodded and left the druid physician’s side, following Sascha outside into the cold air. “What is it?” She inquired curiously.
Now Sascha would finally be able to ask Akemi a long overdue question. “Will the patrol be able to fight tonight?” The white she-wolf smiled hopefully. “You don’t know how grateful I am for you convincing Talomi to grant you these strong warriors. I’m proud of them for their performance in the battle against Harloc.”
Akemi grinned and dipped her head. “Yes!” She exclaimed enthusiastically, waving her tail to and fro. “They are recovering faster than I’ve seen any wolf recover. By tonight I assume it will be as if they were never injured. The cuts will be visible, but their strength will be undying.”