A Traveller in Trouble

[Tamaya Ayashe]

May 19, 122PW

The bear lifted her head and sniffed. She was close now, she could smell the people, the food, the factories of the city. She forced herself forward. One more step. Then one more. And one more.

Most of the journey had been just fine. She'd stayed in the bear form for days, as it provided more security, and the undergrowth didn't provide as much hindrance. She'd eaten from beehives and fished salmon from the rivers. She'd even attempted a young moose, but it had bolted away before she had gotten anywhere near.

But then there had been the trap. An old-fashioned one, the kind she should have known to be careful for. Of course she hadn't seen it, covered with leaves and twigs, not with her eyes. She had walked straight into it, and it had closed around her right back leg.

She had panicked at first, trashing around and clawing the dirt, but once the human mind had regained control, she had managed to claw the trap open. She had limped hastily away, before the hunter showed up.

Since then, she had been dragging herself forward, still bleeding, trying to keep the wounds clean by licking them. In human form she could have bandaged them, perhaps even stitch them, but in human form the injury would have been too much to bear. "Never shift while injured. Especially if you're alone." That was the first rule.

But now she was within sight from the city walls. It wouldn't do to go further like this. A wounded bear would certainly be met with arrows. She had no option but to endure the transformation.

It was always more difficult to find the human within after a long time as bear, and even more difficult when injured. It was hard to concentrate through exhaustion and pain. The transformation itself, once she finally managed it, was almost painless, but the agony that shot through her leg all the way to the hip was even worse than what she'd been prepared for. Too tired to scream, she collapsed in the dust by the roadside.

[Cathal]

What a wonderful day. The sky above was cloudless, clear, and blue as a robin's egg. The sun shone brightly in the sky, but the morning was still crisp and cool. The town of Marn was starting to wake up. People began to emerge from houses and discover the gorgeous world which awaited them outside their doorsteps.

Cathal had already been awake for quite some time. He had never been much of a sleeper. He woke up early at dawn and began working right away. Today, he knew that he had to replenish some of his supplies. He brewed a special draught of his own design which helped to dull pain. It was simple and fairly crude, but it worked.

The banks of the Ofriyu Mar were supportive for various flora that Cathal used in making his medicines. There was something about the shores of that mighty river which allowed the heartiest of plants to grow. Cathal was very particular in what plants he used, and as such, only chose a select number of specimens, and only from just off the river.

As Cathal was strolling along outside of Marn, he noticed something in the distance. It was a bear, running fairly quickly. The healer stopped in his tracks, not afraid, merely in awe. He'd never seen a live bear before, though he'd certainly heard of them. He noticed how its strong shoulders surged forward with every stride. But.. something was wrong. Was it limping? Its front legs were consistent, but one of its back legs seemed to falter with every step. Perhaps it was injured. Cathal was certainly not brave enough to try and treat a bear, even if he could somehow get it sedated and keep it still. It was a risk he wasn't willing to take.

The change was sudden. The bear disappeared. A woman with short black hair appeared in its place, just for an instant. The moment she appeared, she collapsed to the ground. Cathal was stunned. Was this some sort of magic he'd never seen before? Though Cathal had never truly ventured outside of Marn, he certainly didn't consider himself to be inexperienced. But this was something far beyond anything he'd ever seen.

Cathal waited a moment to see if the woman would rise. She didn't. Immediately, Cathal began running towards her. When he arrived at her side, he saw that she was breathing. That was good. It was perhaps the only good thing. She had a large gash running up her right leg, from mid-calf to the bottom of her hip. She wasn't bleeding as much as she should have been - it was as if the wound somehow wasn't fresh. But if that was the case, then it would make sense that she'd already lost a lot of blood.

Cathal wanted to begin right away - he couldn't waste any time - but he never began work on a patient who was unwilling, if they were conscious. He placed his hand on her forehead, and pushed her hair to the side. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?" Cathal commanded loudly.

[Tamaya Ayashe]

A voice pierced through the darkness and pain. Tamaya shook her head weakly, forcing herself awake. The pain was still there, but someone was touching her face, talking to her. Squinting hard, she could make out a shape in brownish tunic, brown hair and a glimpse of blue eyes.

"I - I…" Her voice cracked, as it often did after a shift, and she coughed weakly. "My leg… Please, help me..."

The earth was spinning under her, and the sunlight was painfully bright in her eyes. She tried to push herself up on her elbows, but the spinning got worse and she gave up. Whatever strength there had been left in her bear body, had now completely abandoned her. She was completely at the mercy of this person, this young man.

"Would you… have any water?"

[Cathal]

Cathal strained to hear this young woman's voice. It cracked, possibly from dehydration, from fatigue, from both or any number of other factors. He had to make sure to treat her as much as possible while she was conscious. At her request, he nodded immediately. "Yes. I'll be right back; I'm not leaving you."

Cathal hurried down to the riverbank, pulled the waterskin from his waist, and began to fill it. He cursed himself for leaving the house without having it filled. He usually never did, but this morning he assumed that he wouldn't need it. Cathal would later recall how strange it was to be reprimanding himself for such a trivial, coincidental thing. Times of crisis cause such changes in the ways that people act.

Cathal returned to the woman on the ground, and knelt down next to her. He lifted the pouch and pressed gently against her lips. "Try and drink, but move as little as possible." His words were quiet, but authoritative. He was gentle but firm.

While Cathal helped her to drink with one hand, he rummaged through the pouch at his waist with his other hand to try and get to his bandages. He needed to start bandaging up her leg wound right away so she didn't continue to lose blood, but getting his bandages out with one hand was proving to be a difficult task.

[Tamaya Ayashe]

The water was cold, fresh and perfect. She drank so greedily that once the pouch was empty, she felt breathless. But the water refreshed and cleared her head. Despite the young man's orders, she pushed herself up on her elbows, this time successfully, and glanced around.

She was closer to the city than she'd thought. She could hear human voices in the distance, see moving shapes at the gates. She couldn't see anyone near, though, apart from this young man.

Exhausted, she slumped back down, wincing at the stab of pain. She turned her head and squinted at the man. "Who are you?" Her voice, though weak, was curious. The man had probably seen her as bear, yet he had immediately rushed to her aid without fear. And he wasn't panicking, but instead acted like a person who knew what he was doing.

[Cathal]

Cathal allowed a relieved smiled to light up his face. She was still conscious. Better yet, she was coherent. These both were signs that she hadn't lost as much blood as she thought, and she would likely be just fine. This was reassuring. It was amazing though, that she had sustained such a large wound and survived. And.. what about the bear he had seen? Perhaps he'd imagined it. The early morning light sometimes plays tricks on the eyes of those who may not be quite awake yet.

Cathal watched her collapse again onto her back as she had been before. The fact that she had been able to move at all was admirable, but not very helpful. "My name is Cathal. I am a healer. And I have to bandage your leg before you lose much more blood. Is that all right?"

Without truly waiting for a response, Cathal set his waterskin on the ground next to him, retrieved his bandages from the pouch at his waist, and began to unwrap them from their spool. He grabbed a small flask which was filled with a green-ish, opaque liquid and placed it carefully on the ground next to the bandages. He left it corked and returned his gaze to the woman on the ground next to him. It occurred to him that he still didn't know her name. This was unimportant, but perhaps it would give them something to talk about as he bandaged her leg.

[Tamaya Ayashe]

Tamaya wasn't going to refuse the help, although she groaned in pain as Cathal touched her leg. She dug her fingers into the dirt and stared up at the sky.

"A healer?" She managed a weak smile. "Then I'm very lucky." She turned her head away, so she didn't have to see what Cathal was doing to her leg. "I'm Tamaya. I'm - ow - a traveller." A vague definition, but she'd already learned that Eyropeans liked to know what was one's current main purpose in life. 'Vagabond', someone had called her on the western coast, but she preferred 'traveller'. After all, she certainly wasn't homeless or rootless.

Whatever Cathal was doing made little black spots dance on her field of vision again, forcing her to stop talking and focus on breathing. The bear within was telling her to fight away this man who was hurting her, but fortunately this time the human was firmly in control.

Take it easy, Tam. It'll be over soon. Just breathe.

[Cathal]

Cathal gave a slight nod in response to her question. "Nice to meet you, Tamaya." It was interesting to Cathal that someone could define themselves as a "traveller." Like travelling was one's sole purpose in life. Nothing else. It made sense, he supposed, but it was just odd.

His touch was gentle and his skin was smooth. Cathal wrapped carefully and diligently, routinely lifting Tamaya's and placing it softly on the ground. He noticed her chest rising and falling heavily, and he nodded as a smile came to his lips, "That's right. Just breathe. You're doing fine. Everything is going to be all right." As Cathal continued to wrap, he began to hum quietly. It was a slow, lilting tune that was peaceful and serene.

Before Cathal was finished wrapping the wound, he dripped several drops of the liquid in the flask onto Tamaya's wound. It would sting, he knew, but only momentarily. He hated the moment when it stung his patients, but it was always followed immediately by a wave of complete relief. Well, relief of the pain in her leg. Cathal was unsure, but he had a sneaking suspicion that she had sustained other injuries as well. He could tend to those later. The important thing was that now, at least, her leg was closed and could not continue to bleed.

Cathal tied off the bandages on Tamaya's leg, and sat looking at the woman for a moment. It occurred to him that she said she was a traveler, which means she probably didn't live in Marn. "Do you have a place to stay?" he asked. "You will need a few days' rest." He didn't wait for a response before adding, "Please, come stay with me. At least for the night. I can make sure that you get the care you need." Before he had finished speaking, Cathal was on his feet and brushing himself off. He removed a staff of knotted wood from his back, and dropped it on the ground next to him. Kneeling down, he offered a hand to Tamaya."Let me help you up." He realized that he had allowed her almost no time to process anything that had happened - it was partially intentional. Her injury was fairly severe and he needed to make sure that it was taken care of. Finally, now, he waited for her to respond as he knelt beside her with his hand extended to help her stand.

[Tamaya Ayashe]

The offer was surprising, but Tamaya was perhaps less taken aback than the average Marnian would have been. Not only because such generosity was natural in her own small community, but because there was something familiar about the young healer. The faint scent of herbs around him, the sting of the ointment, even the humming, reminded Tamaya of the healer of her own tribe, a middle-aged woman with whom she was close friends.

"That'd be nice," she replied with a shy smile. "If you're sure I won't be too much trouble."

She grasped his wrist and allowed herself to be helped up. To her surprise, she could actually put some weight on her leg. "You're good," she exclaimed, smiling more broadly this time.

Clinging tightly to his arm, she took a couple of experimental steps, grimacing as she did so. "I'm going to need a bit of help, I'm afraid. Do you live far from here?"

[Cathal]

"It certainly is no trouble at all," Cathal assured her. As she began to put more weight on her leg, he gripped her more tightly, to make sure she didn't fall. He laughed at her smile, a warm, airy chuckle which brightened his entire face. "Easy does it. It won't matter how good I am if you push yourself too much yet."

Cathal bent slightly, still holding tightly onto Tamaya, and grabbed his staff from the ground, which he handed to her. "Here, take this. We'll have to get to the other side of town to get to the Residential District. We can take our time, though. No hurry."

[Tamaya Ayashe]

Tamaya hobbled forward, leaning on the staff with one hand and on Cathal's shoulder with the other. Even though every step took quite a bit of effort and concentration, she kept her eyes open, squinting curiously towards buildings and passers-by. When they passed through large crowds of people she pressed herself nervously against Cathal, but as soon as the crowds thinned, she returned to her curious self.

"I haven't been to many big cities," she said in a conversional tone during one of their many breaks, as they were sitting on a bit of low stone wall. "I was born in a very small village, and lived there until I started my travels. Doesn't it get exhausting, living in a place like this?" She made a vague, all-ecompassing gesture with her hand. "All these people around you, constantly. No space of your own at all. Where do you go when you really want to be alone?"

[Cathal]

He had an uninterruptable aura of ease. As they floated slowly through the bustling streets of Marn, Cathal remained patient, never leaving Tamaya's side. He felt her gently lean into him when the streets became especially saturated. Her trust in him made a smile swell onto his face. It made him feel needed, which, oddly, he only felt infrequently. Already, for some reason, he had a strange connection to this woman. They just seemed to meld well together. She seemed especially organic, and true, which resonated strongly with him. He was raised in an environment of honesty and genuineness, which is perhaps what drew him to this woman.

As they sat together on the stone wall, Cathal couldn't help but look around and marvel at the swarm of people hurrying this way and that, taking quick strides and small ones. It seemed to him that the world was in general chaos, and every person claimed their own small piece of it. He nodded gently as Tamaya spoke, agreeing with her. "It does get tiring, I suppose, sometimes. I guess I've never really thought too much about it." He swept his gaze once more across the masses of people around them. After a moment's, thoughtful pause, he continued, "And I guess I've never really been alone. That's strange. I've become so used to having all of these people around all the time.. It feels like I've forgotten what it's like to truly be alone." He tilted his head slightly sideways, shifting an inquisitive gaze to his new friend. Perhaps he was seeking affirmation, perhaps a response.. Perhaps nothing at all. Her words had stirred something in him, though, which he had never thought of before. New thoughts, new ideas.

The walk after their conversation seemed quick, even though their pace was slow. After their brief connection on the wall, everything around Cathal seemed to be moving at a pace much quicker than he had noticed before. Or perhaps everything was the same as it always had been, but Cathal was now much more aware of the people around him.

The pair arrived at a plain apartment in a row of homologous homes. There was a simple wooden door, and a lantern to the top left-hand side. Cathal opened the door for Tamaya, and gestured for her to lead in. "This is my home - what's mine is yours."

The space was small and cramped, on all sides with bookshelves overflowing with tomes, manuscripts, drawings, diagrams and the like. On the far wall, there was a simple stove, a window, and a round table with two chairs. Immediately to the left of the door as you entered, their was a staircase leading to a loft directly above. This housed a bed, a bedside table with a lamp, and a small writing desk.

"I realize there's not many places to sit, but come, have a seat at the table. Would you like some tea?"

[Tamaya Ayashe]

As they walked - or hobbled - onwards, Tamaya mulled over Cathal's words. The idea of never having been alone was novel to her, and she found it difficult to imagine what such life was like. It made sense, though, that if one had never experienced being alone, they wouldn't miss it. Presumably city-dwellers had found other ways to gather their thoughts and regain their serenity when needed. How difficult it would be to raise cubs in a place like this!

By the time they reached Cathal's home, she was too preoccupied with walking to think, and she felt relieved when the healer indicated that they had reached their destination. She stepped inside and glanced around to evaluate the room by the standards she these days evaluated every new space: How easy they were to move in. Cathal's flat scored quite high, as small, narrow spaces would made it easy to navigate. The negative side was that she was guaranteed to knock things off the shelves, especially once the light got low.

She eased herself on a chair by the table, and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, I'd love some," she replied to the young man's offer. Her throat was parched again, and her hands shook with exhaustion.

"I like your place," she said, smiling. "It's cozy." Almost like a cave, she nearly said, but she'd already learned that some people considered such a comment offensive. Offending Cathal was the last thing she wanted to do right now. Regardless, she had taken instant liking to the place. Maybe it was the scent of herbs again, even if the plants were rather different than their Ayanan counterparts.

"You've lived here long?"

[Cathal]

Cathal crossed to his stove, and fished around in some nearby cupboards until he removed a tarnished, copper teakettle. It had been well used - likely in a variety of ways - though still appeared to be usable and in decent condition. He reached for a pitcher of water that he already had set out, and poured enough water into the teakettle for two cups. He placed the kettle on the stove, turned it on, and faced Tamaya as she spoke.

"Thank you. I like it also. It suits me well, I think." Once again, a warm smile erupted on Cathal's face, and his eyes twinkled with an authenticity that was often rare to find, particularly in a place like Marn. He looked around to survey as she commented, slowly nodding as she spoke. "Yes. Now that I think about it.. I have lived here for a few years. It never seems that long, though." Cathal offered a light chuckle as he turned back to face the kettle.

From on top of the stove, Cathal retrieved several jars of various herbs and spices. The first that he opened was filled with a lavender flower. It was pungent, immediately filling the room with a sweet, pleasant odor. It smelled like honey. He began to crush these leaves with a mortar and pestle as he turned once again to speak to Tamaya.

"I suppose I should ask how you got that your injury. I'm curious. Of course, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Cathal smiled comfortingly. It was becoming more apparent that it would be rare for Cathal to be not smiling. He always had some sort of smile on his face, or he had no expression at all. It made him seem pleasant and calm, which he usually was.

[Tamaya Ayashe]

Even if Tamaya couldn't always make out Cathal's smile from the distance, she could hear it in his voice. It made her feel homely and safe. And she didn't really mind answering his question anyway. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, enjoying the mixture of scents.

"I stepped in a bear trap. It was covered in leaves, and I can't see very well."

She still wasn't certain if Cathal had seen her as a bear, so she dropped the hint, waiting for him to react. Some people, she'd already learned, were wary to invite beast shifters into their homes. But surely anyone could step in a bear trap? It was possible, though, that if she had stepped in it in her current form, it might have cut off her foot…

She stretched her back carefully, as her muscles started aching. It always happened after a shift, and the long hobbling walk hadn't helped. She'd enjoyed her long bear walk - before the injury, that is - but right now the thought of drinking tea and sleeping inside sounded better than anything.