define('WP_CACHE', true); Chapter 47: Hypothermia – Crossed Paths – Logs

Mar 31

Chapter 47: Hypothermia

Chapter 47: Hypothermia

In Which Warms Baths And Fur Dyes Mix A Little Too Well.

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Yazeth: Presently, the vixen opens the door. She thanks the ferret, who’s name turns out to be Jinx, and turns to the pair. Unlike Dawn, Fiarah isn’t so quick to judge. She has Jinx lead the otter into her spacious room asking questions the whole time, the first, of course, being, “What happened?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He walks beside the vixen, moving the ferret again. “She fell in the river. I eventually got to her out of the water, but she was in there for a while. I kept her as warm as I could last night, and her shivering has lessened quite a bit, but she’s still really cold.”

Yazeth: The vixen pauses for a moment to check the ferret’s pulse before indicating she should be placed on a bed. Had the otter seeing eyes, he might have been surprised to find that Fiarah’s room resembled a healer’s hut more than anything else. Her living area took up a surprisingly small space amongst the bundles of herbs and other medicinal objects.

Arrin Woodgreen: He lies the ferret down carefully, although he keeps the blankets wrapped around her.

Yazeth: Fiarah, however, quickly strips away the blankets and performs a quick physical before wrapping the ferret tightly in a blanket of her own. “Hypothermia, I would say.  Jinx, go have Dysa draw a hot bath. We need to warm her up.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He looks to Fiarah hopefully. “Will she be okay?”

Yazeth: The vixen catches the obvious worry in the otter’s voice but is forced to shake her head. “I honestly don’t know. She’s managed to survive this long though, so the odds may be in her favor.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “At least there’s a chance eh?” He tries to grin, but it fades quickly.

Yazeth: Fiarah smiles and nods sympathetically. Before too long, Jinx returns to say the bath is nearly ready. The vixen turns to the otter, “Could you carry her downstairs again?  Jinx will lead the way.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods and lifts Jozra gently, careful not to wake her. He follows them to the baths, his mind buzzing. It’s getting harder and harder to ignore the pain in his foot.

Yazeth: The vixen follows a ways behind after gathering a few tools of the trade. The house’s washroom is decently sized and contains a halfway sunken tub that is currently full of steaming water. Jinx helps Soquan disentangle the ferret from the blanket and lower her somewhat rigid body into the bathtub.

Arrin Woodgreen: He mumbles a, “Thanks,” to Jinx and moves aside so the vixen can get close.

Yazeth: Fiarah merely checks the ferret again, though, and instructs the rattess and the ferret to keep an eye on her before turning to the otter. “Now, about your foot.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He turns away from Jozra to Fiarah. “Yeah… I kinda stepped on her knife.”

Yazeth: The vixen quirks and eyebrow but says nothing. She leads the otter to a pair of nearby chairs and has him sits opposite the otter, facing him. She lifts his leg to get a better look at the cut on his foot.

Arrin Woodgreen: He sits patiently and allows her to have a look. His ears are swiveled back as he still listens to the sounds at the bath.

Yazeth: Fiarah summons a basin of warm water and washes the otter’s foot in it. Cleaner now, she’s able to determine how bad the cut is. “Fortunately not too deep. I’ll bandage it, though you may want to try to stay off of it if you can.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “I’ll try.” He remains silent for a while, speaking up while she bandages his foot. “Thank you for doing this.”

Yazeth: The vixen nods as she finishes applying a poultice. “I’m a healer, it’s what I do.” Across the room, Dysa notices a light sheen on the water before realizing that the ferret’s paws are now quite a bit darker than they were. She prods at one of Jozra’s paws and yelps in surprise when the ferret grabs at her own hand.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan is immediately on his feet and over at the tub in less than a second. “What happened?”

Yazeth: Fiarah had been knocked over in the rush and she quickly scrabbles back to her feet from her sprawl on the floor. She’s right behind Soquan on the approach back to the tub. The rat stammers, “She grabbed at me!” Jinx noticed at the time, however, that it was more of a reflex on the ferret’s part than a conscious grab and she points this out.

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods, agreeing with Jinx, and sits on the edge of the tub.

Yazeth: Dysa points out the darker paws and Fiarah takes a closer look. She raises her eyebrows in surprise and a little amusement before looking at Soquan and explaining to the rattess, “She dyed her paws a lighter color. And if I’m right, her mask will be quite dark as well.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He quirks an eyebrow. “What’re you saying here?”

Yazeth: For the moment, the vixen ignores the otter and instead scrubs at Jozra’s mask. She smiles triumphantly. “Just as I thought.” She glances at Soquan again. “Didn’t you know? Your friend is a black-footed ferret.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He raises the other eyebrow. “Really? I had no clue.”

Yazeth: Fiarah shakes her head. “No, I didn’t think you would.That’s the sort of thing she would have to tell someone if she was dying her fur as she was. How long have you known her anyway?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He does some quick mental math before replying. “About half a season now, we met a few weeks away from my village.”

Yazeth: A thought occurs to the vixen and she bids Jinx to take care of the pair’s belongings, seeing that they are washed and dried and that a room is prepared for the two.

Arrin Woodgreen: He falls silent and holds the ferret’s paw, a worried expression on his face.

Jozra

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